Homestead Haven Beginnings

The gift of hospitality!

Growing up, my mom taught us to have an open door policy, and this has stuck with me throughout my life.  She never had much to offer, but she always had lemonade in the summertime and hot coco in the winter.  If someone needed a place to stay, she found a place in our trailer house for them to sleep, and she would throw their pillowcase in the dryer with a fabric softner sheet so it would smell nice.  She would always anticipate the needs of our guests before they even needed something.

(Webster's dictionary)

Hospitality: The act, practice or quality of being hospitable.  Friendly and solicitous.

(1 Peter 4:8-10)

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

No where in those definitions is there mention of a clean house or a "busy life" it is an act of servanthood.  The best place to start is in your own home, with your own family!  Do all the members of my family feel welcome?  Do I try to anticipate their needs before they even arise?  Do I have a servants heart torward them?

I think hospitality is fast becoming a lost practice, with hotels and restraunts to do the job for us.  What a blessing to visit someone's home and not feel that you are an imposition, to be able to put up your feet and relax.  To feel you are on a mini retreat, able to rejuvinat yourself.  What an even bigger blessing to be the one to make someone feel that way!

Thanks mom for teaching me the gift of hospitality!