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Loving well isn’t always convenient.
Hospitality may not come naturally.
Serving others takes up our time.
But aren’t we so thankful when others go out of their way to love us? Isn’t it worth what we give up to invite others in? Doesn’t so much good come from serving others.
Love well today even if it’s inconvenient.
Invite someone in even if it’s intimidating.
Serve those in need even if you have to give up your time.
You’ll be glad you did. And they will too.
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Have you ever prayed through your to-do list? I hadn’t either until recently.
I will tell you what surprised me? As I prayed through the to-do list of errands, bills, laundry and more I found myself saying thank you.
Thank you for food to feed my family.
Thank you for money to pay the bills.
Thank you for clothes to keep up warm.
Thank you for a car to get me from place to place.
Praying through my to-do list opened my eyes to things that I am truly grateful for but rarely take the time to actually say thank you for. It turned the list from an “I have to” to an “I get to” attitude.
What are you thankful for on your to-do list?
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I am holding on to the wrong things.
I am holding on to the bold yellow silk scarf that one day I might be brave enough to wear. But not the food in the freezer for a hurting family.
I am holding on to the bitterness from a person who deeply hurt me. But not the space for a last minute invite to friends.
I am holding on to magazines from 2012 in case I need to remember how to get that particular stain out of the carpet. But not the willingness to introduce myself to the new neighbors.
I am holding on to things that are keeping me from connecting with others. I am crowding my mind and space with stuff by holding on to the wrong things.
I want to start letting go of the wrong things and start making space for the right ones..What might you need to let go of and grab on to?
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I was like a deer in headlights when my mother-in-law asked me to make whip cream.
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15 years ago I was newly married and barely knew how to cook anything beyond pasta and buttered frozen corn.
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I had no clue. My mother-in-law so kindly and graciously pointed to the heavy cream and the mixer and said to whip it before it turned to butter. That’s it?! Wait. And that’s how butter is made?! And buttermilk?!
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That’s when I knew I needed to learn how to cook. Her graciousness mixed with my mother teaching me the importance of gathering around the table drove me to want to learn.
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I don’t claim to be a good cook by any means. But I have come a long way.
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If you’re new to cooking or baking. Keep trying. Keep failing. Keep learning. Keep inviting, even if you burn the chicken. People aren’t showing up for your food, they’re showing up to be with you.
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And besides, there’s always pizza just a phone call away.
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I wish there was another word for hospitality. It seems someone either thinks of the restaurant industry or confuse it for entertaining. We hear it and are intimidated or think we aren’t gifted enough to be hospitable. And where does that leave us? Alone.
Can I make up my own word? Taking suggestions if you’ve got a good one. But defining it isn’t as important as doing it. The beauty of hospitality is it’s not about perfection. It’s about using what you have to love others.
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It’s another flower in the vase.
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Time spent with people can feel life-giving, exciting, encouraging. It can also feel rushed, surfacey or not like it used to.
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Time with people, whether life giving or meh, is still a flower in the vase. One flower alone is pretty, but add more and you have a beautiful bouquet.
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As we emerge from our cocoons of Covid, I encourage you to be patient with those who may only be able to handle a little at a time. Keep showing up. Keep inviting. Keep adding flowers to the vase.
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These words from Isaiah 58 jumped off of the page. A phrase I have never noticed before.
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Right after Isaiah says to share our food with the hungry, invite the homeless into our homes and to clothe the naked, you’ll find it.
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Anyone else guilty of worrying so much about the big things we are to do for the world that we easily neglect what is needed right in our own homes?
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But how beautiful that it is not an either-or situation. We can be available for our people and share the food in our homes with a food bank or our table. We can offer a space for the homeless (whatever that looks like in a safe a wise way. Honestly, I wrestle with this one). And we can clean out our overflowing closets and give to those who really need it.
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How can you be available to your family today?
Three words: raspberry jam butter.
I’ve had a hankering for biscuits, but let’s be honest, gluten free biscuits are just not the same. I skipped over JoAnna Gaines biscuit episode because it would be too much of a tease.
Enter my friend Kelly who randomly handed me a bag of gluten free biscuit mix and told me about the butters JoAnna made on the episode I was avoiding.
Thank you JoAnna Gaines for the butter recipe which you can find here. I used Raspberry jam instead of Strawberry preserves. As well as Bob’s Red Mill for making gluten free biscuits a thing of beauty
I’ll be freezing the rest to use later for biscuits and gravy. Once the biscuits are baked and cooled, you can wrap them air tight and freeze them for use later. Taste of Home recommends the following for reheating frozen biscuits: To reheat previously-baked biscuits, transfer the frozen biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes. To prevent the biscuits from over-browning, lay a sheet of foil over the frozen biscuits. The biscuits are ready when they’re soft and warm through the center
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We are hosting a small gathering for the Super Bowl. Our family and friends love to contibute to our get-togethers. We, as the hosts, almost always supply to main dish which is usually some kind of meat or fish. Today it will be brisket. From there I like to ask if there is anythingour guests would like to bring. Some like to bring veggies while others prefer to bring a dessert. So after everyone has claimed their dish, I try to fill in the gaps as best I can. Veggies, meat and dessert were taken care of, so I wanted to provide some kind of fruit and something with nuts. Because I’m usally cleaning up before people arrive, I wanted to keep it simple. These are the two dishes I chose for today. *For the cinnamon dip I used cream cheese instead of marscapone and heavy cream and milk instead of whole milk.
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The older I get the more I realize how much I don’t know.
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At what point does our wonder as a kid stop? I love watching my kids discover new things or grow in their talents.
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I find myself, more and more, loving to learn. What about you? What would you want to learn more about? History? The piano? Science? Art?
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