After much delay, I have finally been able to complete the final chapter of our book study on Practicing Hospitality by Lisa Tatlock & Pat Ennis. I hope all of you who were reading it together with me were able to complete it successfully. If not, press on! It has been such a challenging and eye-opening read. I highly recommend it! I would love to hear your concluding thoughts here today! As Summer is upon us, we have many glorious opportunities to demonstrate hospitality through opening our homes. BBQ’s, picnics, and the like provide amble opportunity to extend a loving invitation to people from all walks of life. Would you join me in making a diligent effort to demonstrate hospitality this summer?
If you missed any of the summaries of previous chapters in this book, please visit the book club category. You can find chapters 1-7 to review.
SUMMARY
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). In final conclusion to the book, the authors give encouraging testimonies from ladies in many different seasons of life who faithfully and yet creatively extend hospitality. Here are some concluding tips on practicing Biblical hospitality:
“Hospitality does not have to be a grand affair; rather, we must continually be looking for the little ways to serve and minister to others.”
“It is all right not to have everything perfect when your guests arrive. In fact if the guests can help with the finishing touches, they will feel more at ease. It is easier to chat when we are working instead of just staring at one another.”
“Invest in a crock-pot! It is a great time-saving way to be ready for whatever entertainment opportunities arise. Using a crock-pot is a wonderful way to have a meal ready when we return home from church on Sunday, and it provides an incentive to invite guests to come home with us for fellowship.”
“The most hospitable person is someone who can be herself and not ‘put on’.”
“Our greatest desire should be to point people to Christ, who is the perfect One; the rest of us are in this life doing the best we can by God’s grace to live a life that glorifies him. When we are weak, he is strong…So if someone catches us unprepared, we can delight in knowing that we aren’t perfect and that all we need is Christ’s perfection. Christians who lay hold of the fact that they possess Christ’s perfection can be free to be themselves around others.”
“Plan and work ahead. Develop a schedule. Clean as you go. Play music quietly. Light a candle.”
Simplifying Hospitality at Our Home
Here are a few ideas that I am beginning to practice in our home that will keep hospitality simple and manageable.
- Include your husband! Allow him to cook the main dish on the BBQ. Pray together in advance and plan conversation and the events of the evening in order that they might be most Christ-centered. Let him lead in fulfilling this plan.
- Leave the dishes! This is a huge challenge for me as I hate a dirty kitchen, but I find that time is short and the clean-up can wait until my guests have departed. Focus on the company and enjoy the fellowship!
- Prepare as much of the meal in advance. Keep basic ingredients on hand for an impromptu meal. Chocolate chips in the cupboard, for example. We like to serve homemade ice cream when possible and it is easy but a special treat for our guests. It is simple to make in advance.
- Schedule in hospitality events on your calendar each month. This is a must for making it a habit!
- Frugal additions: fresh flowers, soft music, and candles. These small items will make your home warm and inviting.
- Budget in hospitality and be generous! Set aside a designated amount per month for your hospitality. I am learning to not skimp on my guests, but rather to aim to serve them my best. This is an offering of worship to the Lord and a way to minister to my guests. Pick up some nice meat when it is on sale! Make it an event that your family looks forward to as well.
Hospitalitudes
The authors coined the word “Hospitalitudes” to summarize the contents of the book combining the words hospitality and beatitude (From Matt. 5:1-12 as commonly referred to as the Beatitudes). They give a final encouragement to get in the habit of being hospitable. Here are some of the hospitalitudes:
- Happy are those who practice biblical hospitality because in so doing they are demonstrating their love for God (1 John 3:17-18).
- Happy are those who pursue the love of strangers for they are choosing to obey their heavenly Father’s command and modeling his character (Rom. 12:13b).
- Happy are those who develop hospitality management skills, for in this way they are capable of being faithful stewards of all that the Lord has provided for them (1 Cor. 4:2).
- Happy are those who intentionally extend hospitality to ‘the others’ – singles, widows, the grieving, the hospitalized, those with dietary challenges, and those experiencing food insecurity – for they are choosing to live out biblical compassion (James 2:14-16).
- Happy are those whose homes are both a place of refuge and a center for evangelism for they are glorifying their heavenly Father by their actions (1 Peter 2:11-12) and fulfilling his instructions to ‘do the work of an evangelist’ (2 Tim. 4:5).
May God go before you dear friends as you open your home to demonstrate hospitality! Remember it is an offering of worship to our King! Lay aside your fears and struggles and let Him work through you! Be His hands and feet in demonstrating His love to people from all walks of life and cultures. Your reward is being stored up for you in heaven!
YOUR TURN
I am interested in hearing what you took away from this chapter and your final concluding thoughts from the book. Feel free to post comments below or write your thoughts on your blog (and come back and post the link in the comments). No need to share any thing profound, just what ever stood out to you.
1. What are your concluding thoughts from the book? How has your perspective changed on practicing hospitality?
2. What practical tips can you add to the list for practicing Biblical hospitality?
I am so glad I discovered this book review (and the blog in general)! I am an American recently moved to New Zealand, and we have been shown much hospitality since our arrival 6 months ago. The Kiwis know how to welcome people, focus on people, and are always prepared to have someone pop in to say hello. Our city also has a significant refugee population that can be reached over a meal. We are on a very limited budget, but we are now going to set aside part of the budget for hospitality. For me, the best part of this review is the emphasis that it’s more about intentional Christ-centered relationships and sharing God’s love than the food and the table decor. At the same time, thinking about how God abundantly lavishes kindness on me, I am now excited to spend a little extra on a nice meal for others. My husband and I are looking forward to learning the art of hospitality together.
A big thank you for your blog article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Hi I typed in the word hospitality on wordpress search engine and it brought me over here. I like what I have read so far on your blog and plan on looking a bit more. The whole purpose of me starting my blog was motivated behind hospitality or what I call evangitality (evangelism+hospitality).
I love this topic! God desires that our hearts be open to Him, and a fruit of that is the love we have to share with others.
We are currently preparing to entertain a family for the weekend and I froze all the meals ahead of time. I am hoping to have some time to relax, too! I also asked the family to provide one simple meal to help out. It can be quite a budget stretch to double the amount of people at the table for an extended period. Overnight guests should be conscious of this!
I bought a $3 booster/tray chair at a garage sale for visiting babies and also borrow a pack’n play to help with naptimes.This makes moms so much more comfortable!
And even though I’m a fan of easy, I’m also a good food fan! I agree with Lindsay – please do not skimp on your guests. Inviting over your friend the gourmet and serving her frozen pizza and bagged salad won’t be very special. It’s always best to consider the guest and Who they are, their likes, dislikes and special needs.
Of course, the most important thing is to show Love!
may i also recommend Christine Pohl’s “Making Room: Recovery Hospitality as a Christian Tradition.” It’s a much meatier handling of the same issue. And I really appreciated her chapter on the limits of Hospitality, which I think are particularly helpful within the family.
Hi! I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your blog. I stumbled across it from a friend of a friend and I’m so encouraged. I’m living in Liberia right now and am not able to get this book, but your reviews and comments have been so great to read. I’ve struggled to know how to practice hospitality here because of a different culture, limited resources, traveling from village to village and living in other people’s homes but I see even more now how it is a matter of the heart. Thanks for sharing and I’m excited about reading more!
A couple hospitality keys that have helped me over the years:
1. Always keep a clean extra set of sheets handy and ready-to go. Sometimes I even make the beds with two sets on each bed – that way we can quickly strip off the top set and be all ready for company — SUPER FAST!!
2. Have some quick and easy meal ideas (and have the ingredients for these items on hand) for unexpected (or last-minute) company. These could be as simple as a couple extra pizzas in the freezer, or ingredients for a big batch of popcorn.
3. Keep your HEART open. This is the biggest necessity to always keep on hand. If we keep our heart open, and work together as a family, hospitality can be fun . . . and God will continue to STRETCH us.
This last year, our family once invited a huge Korean mission group (with 30 people) over for dinner at our house, with NO preparation or warning whatsoever. We had met them at a park, and our college age son encouraged us to have them all come over, saying, “It’ll be EPIC!!! With all of us working together, we pulled off a giant quick meal (tons of frozen ribs . . . which we had got on sale . . . and rice and green beans and bread) and it ended up being an amazing life-memory!!
I posted my final review here:
http://puttinggodfirstplace.blogspot.com/2009/04/practicing-hospitality-final-review.html
I loved this book!!! Great choice!
-Ashley
Set a goal for yourself to see how simple you can make the whole event. Use paper plates for little clean up. Buy and bake a frozen pizza or two. Get pre-made salad mixes. As the hostess, it should be your goal to be cheerful and practice hospitality without grumbling. These shortcuts can bless you in accomplishing that — and it will bless your family and guests. Plus, your guests will feel more at ease when they finally invite YOU over, knowing they don’t have to live up to a high standard.
I like your comment – “Make it an event your family looks forward to as well.” So many times, my “Martha” comes out and I make my family stressed over having company!
We keep games on hand – dominos, board games, etc. and it becomes a good way to gather impromptu and have relaxed conversation and is a great alternative to renting a movie, which kills conversation.