Hospitality Helps

This week in my Essentials of Christianity class for the Seminary Wives Institute at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary we learned about hospitality. Mrs. Mohler taught our class and it was such a blessing. Here's some highlights from the class.

Some Key Verses Regarding Hospitality:

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

1 Peter 4:9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.


1. Hospitality is the unselfish desire to meet the needs of others. (Dr. Dorothy Patterson)
2. True hospitality comes before pride, it has nothing to do with impressing and everything to do with making people feel welcome and wanted. (Mains)
3. Hospitality is not merely an interest or a talent but a gift of the Holy Spirit and thus a supernatural ministry as well as a command to all believers that can be used of God above and beyond what we can even imagine.
4. Hospitality is found in the dictionary between "hospice" (shelter) and "hospital" (healing).

It is NOT:
1. An option- Christians are commanded to practice it.
2. Synonymous with entertaining:

• Entertaining is more concerned with things and not people.
• Entertaining has a motive to impress whereas hospitality seeks to provide comfort and edification.
• Entertaining tends to major on secular functions and minor on a genuine desire to serve.

Basics of Planning an Event:
1. Pray.
2. Brainstorm on paper using a form that works for you.
3. Do a recipe search.
4. Do as much as you can in advance.
5. Enjoy yourself as you practice the true art of hospitality.
6. Keep good records.

I hope that this information helps us all to better honor God by serving both His children and people we desire to witness to, through the discipline of hospitality.

Blogs I Like - Part 2

Life Hacker

This is a very cool blog; in fact, it is too cool for me. They update many times a day with posts ranging over a myriad of topics all with one goal: to make life easier (hence "lifehacker"). This blog has something that appeals to everyone. I usually skip over the computer/software posts as they are usually way over my head. But if you watch, you can learn neat ways to make Gmail perform better and Facebook do things you didn't even know were possible.
I really enjoy the posts on more general topics. The other day they had a really good one on managing finances. Other favorites include: how to order at a five star restaurant, how to hide money so a burglar won't find it, and how to use vinegar to give your towels their life back.
This blog is extremely practical and I've learned so many little tricks to save time and money every day. There is no way you can keep up with every post; it would be a full time job in of itself. They help you with that, though, by giving the title of each post a 'tag' that identifies what kind of topic the post is. You can quickly identify which tags you are interested in and only pay attention to those. My favorite tag is the 'tip jar' which is just a series of tips that didn't really deserve a full post but were too good to discard completely. I definitely recommend that you check this blog once or twice a day; the posts are short and you can see in just seconds if they have updated something you are interested in.

Tim Challies
Tim Challies lives in Canada with his wife and children and works as a web designer. He is also one of the top Christian bloggers in the world. I like Challies' blog in part because it is very organized. His topics are always good and his posts, while sometimes on the long side, are well written, thought out, and biblical. I enjoy his 'A La Carte' posts where he links to interesting articles that he found throughout the day. He also does a 'Free Stuff Fridays' post where he gives you tips on where to find...well, free stuff. :)
Another feature of his blog that I enjoy are his 'Reading the Classics Together' series. Challies take a classic book (the most recent of which was 'Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment' by Jeremiah Burrows) and doe a book study with his readers. We read a chapter a week and then he will write a post with his thoughts and observations on the chapter and the readers discuss in the comments.

CJ Mahyne's View from the Cheap Seats
CJ Mahyne doesn't update his blog very often but his posts are always worth reading. He does a lot of series. Recently he has also been doing a lot of interviews with some of the big names in the Christian world and he just finished up an awesome series on Adoption. He also just brought on two other pastors from Sovereign Grace to write with him.

Witty Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Ladies! Karen asked me to post this week's Witty Wednesday since she is in the hospital for the next few days. Please remember to keep her in prayer during this time - that the Lord would see fit to heal her quickly but even more so that she would react to this trial in such a way that His Name would be glorified.



Delegates from the original thirteen states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, A Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin had gone to Boston carrying all his clothes in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. He invented electricity by rubbing cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand". Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

George Washington married Martha Curtis and in due time became the Father of Our Country. Then the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the Constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.

Is Your Home an Attractive Place To Be?

"The most powerful way to keep your child from being attracted by the offers of camaraderie with the wicked is to make home an attractive place to be. Young people do not run from places where they are loved and know unconditional acceptance. They do not run away from homes where there are solid relationships. They do not run from homes in which the family is planning activities and doing exciting things." -Tedd Tripp (Shepherding a Child's Heart)

As a mom with 5 kids this is something that stands out to me. I'd like to hear what people think about this. Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Tripp? Why or why not?

I would love for some of you to share stories about your families. How did you parents strengthen the trust and love in your family? Was home a place of peace, where you knew you were loved and accepted? For those who grew up in christian homes, was the gospel central in the home? How clear was that to you and why was it, if was? Why not, if it wasn't?

Would you mind sharing any fond memories you have just to testify of God's goodness? Believing family or not.

Thank you!

God will always be near

 

 

I read a quote from Mother Theresa that really spoke to me.   She said: God will never, never, never let us down if we have faith and put our trust in Him.  He will always look after us.  So we must cleave to Jesus.  Our whole life must simply be woven into Jesus.    I am so thankful that God promises to take care of His children.  This was always an area in my life that I struggled with and sometimes still do.  But, I am trying to keep my eyes on the Lord and put my trust in Him.  With everything around me in chaos, I can rest in the Lord and have peace in my heart.   God is always faithful, even if we are unfaithful.  He loves us and He will always be there working in our lives even if our minds are far from Him during a trial of some kind.  I remember being in the hospital after one of my leg surgeries and I was hurting so much I didn't think I could take it anymore, but I knew in my heart that He was watching over me and would take care of me.  I tried to pray but, at that point I was unable to.  God really helped me to feel His presence during that time and gave me comfort.    God is so good!