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Here was my assignment. I was asked by the leader of our M.O.M.S. group at my church to prepare a class on entertaining ~ giving a party! Sounds like fun... I love to give parties! As I searched the scriptures on the subject, I found many verses which talked about hospitality. "Great," I thought, "hospitality and entertaining have pretty much the same definition! I've got lots of material to work with." The more I studied, the more I realized that Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining in the following ways: Entertaining focuses on the host - the home should be spotless; the food is well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured! Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests - their needs - whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance - are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together! So, I wonder, is it possible for entertaining and hospitality to be integrated together? I think the answer is YES!! And, you know what else I believe? I believe that by integrating the two, you will take the "musts, have-to's and shoulds" out of entertaining. Hosting CAN be fun... without faking looking relaxed! Let me share with you an interesting parallel between two sisters: Mary and Martha were one of the best hospitality teams in the Bible. For Mary, hospitality meant giving more attention to the guest himself than to the needs he might have. She would rather talk than cook. She was more interested in her guest's words than in the cleanliness of her home or the timeliness of her meals. She let her older sister, Martha, take care of those details. Mary's approach to events shows her to be mainly a "responder." She did little preparation - her role was participation. Unlike her sister, who had to learn to stop and listen, Mary needed to learn that action is often appropriate and necessary. Martha worried about details. She wished to please, to serve, to do the right thing - but she often succeeded in making everyone around her uncomfortable. Perhaps as the oldest she feared shame if her home did not measure up to expectations. She tried to do everything she could to make sure that wouldn't happen. As a result, she found it hard to relax and enjoy her guests, and even harder to accept Mary's lack of cooperation in all the preparations! With those two parallels, let's try to mesh entertaining and hospitality together. Does your house have to be SPOTLESS? No, just close the doors to the parts of your home that you don't want your guests to see! Does the food have to be fancy and expensive? Well, we know that there is nothing like a good pot roast or a delicious spaghetti meal! So, let's put our hyperventilation masks away and get ready to make some plans. Remember that your ULTIMATE goal is for your guests to feel welcomed, warmed, well-fed and most importantly of all for your guests to feel loved by you paying attention to them, instead of locking yourself away in the kitchen where you're never seen! Are you ready? Let's CELEBRATE! |
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:10-13 |
Ten Commandments to Great Party Giving! |
Easy Elegance |
Decorating Your Bathroom for a Party! |
Icebreakers |
Planning Ahead |
Saving Sticky Situations |
Putting Guests at Ease |
