On Hospitality Pt. 2

So I want to do a post on Christmas but I think I'll save that for later and do part 2 of my hospitality posts.  Christmas actually reminded me of this because my family got sick on Christmas Eve and so instead of having dinner with them, we ended up having friends over to our house.

So much of hospitality is just getting over one's self.  Seriously.  It is about humbling yourself and esteeming others better than yourself.  I'm going to keep this short and simple.

Stop worrying about yourself and how your house looks.  Work on maintaining a fairly tidy and organized home (I definitely need to work on this one) so that you don't have to stress and run around cleaning like a madwoman before guests come.  If they do see you with a messy house, who cares?  The point is to provide a loving and welcoming home not to be the model of perfection.

Do you have a small house?  This one takes some creativity.  We live in a house that is barely over 1000 square feet but we try not to let that stop us from having guests over.  One way we try to solve this problem is by planning on having over larger families during the spring or fall so that we can eat outside on our deck and spread out.  Just remember that your guests want to spend time with you and with each other and might not mind to be squashed together.  You can also plan hospitality away from your house such as organizing a picnic at a park or inviting others to go caroling outdoors.

Preparing food for a bunch or even a few people can be daunting especially if you do not consider yourself a good cook.  I love to cook so this isn't really a fear that I have.  Here are a few tips that I have:
1. Ask your guests about any potential allergies.
2. Be unafraid of people's allergies or eating styles.  I used to be afraid of inviting over a family that primarily ate organic and vegetarian.  It turns out that they while they eat rather selectively at home, they are totally willing to eat just about whatever we served them.  Also the internet is your best friend for gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian recipes.
3.  Ask your guests to bring food.  There is no need for you to be the ones to cook everything.
4.  If cooking is really not your thing, order a pizza and throw some dressing on a bag of salad.  The goal is not to impress but to share and love your neighbors.
5.  Plan in advance.  Do NOT wait till the last minute to figure out what is for dinner.  The crockpot is great for guests since you can make up your food hours before.

Just as the task of preparing for guests can be overwhelming, cleaning up can also be scary.  Don't be afraid of using paper plates and plastic cups.  I love having guests but I used to hate the clean-up the day after the dinner party.  Throwaway dinnerware saved us!  Now we have a dishwasher and it isn't a big problem.

At the end of the day, just keep in mind that hospitality is about you loving a neighbor.  It is not about showing off, performing, or making everybody happy all the time.  True humble hospitality is radical in today's world and a great way to advance God's kingdom.

I originally meant this to be more in depth and eloquent but my child is screaming...again.  Excuse me while I work on dying to self and showing hospitality to my baby.