So you may have heard we've had a bit of snow here in New York? It was the coziest of weekends. I love those days when everyone is forced in, when everything slows, when we can just all be together. We adventured outside to sled, and ran back in again to warm up with hot cocoa and games and movie marathons. One thing I realized about myself through this blizzard was that I needed to prepare my heart to love on my family, and to make a home for them in these shut in days. Because we really are so normal: There were a few tiffs some bumping into one another in our small kitchen, some whining about what else there was to snack on, there was a line for the bathroom almost constantly, a few grumbles about stepping over all the wet things, frustration over lost mittens, and at one point, some yelling about who hid all the Shopkins.
While I am prone to think of hospitality as an event like hosting a dinner party or a baby shower, it really starts with offering room in my heart and in my home to my own family. I also forget the capacity and power it has to display the wonder and personality and delight of God practically to another person!
Sally and I are talking about real hospitality for real people in this week's podcast, and beyond all that we do to welcome others in to our space, what it means to welcome them emotionally and relationally too- because that kind of hospitality might be an even bigger deal.
If you want to welcome your family in with some true warmth, extend beauty to your community, or if you just need some encouragement to see your home as a valuable place of life and ministry, I hope this is an encouragement to you!
So thankful to have you along with us,
Kristen