24 Oct There Is No Place Like Home By Sandy Scheer
I have done quite a bit of traveling lately which has been so much fun but exhausting at times. The changing of time zones, running to meet flights, stressing over the many details from what to pack to leaving a key piece of clothing back home that you REALLY needed! It’s all worth it but I think there is a key ingredient that makes it really worth it………..Hospitality!
I know some of you are thinking that I was going to say, winning the lost or changing people’s lives. Yes, that is the reason for the trip but I’m talking about hospitable people that make life easier and fun! I have experienced some of the greatest people on these trips that treat me so well. It’s the little things that make them hospitable. The attention to detail knowing that you aren’t at home but you are in their home! It truly is a gift that is for everyone!
1 Timothy 3:2 states that if you want to be a leader, you have to be given to hospitality. It means to love like a friend even to a stranger. Romans 12:13 states that we should aggressively set our hearts to develop hospitality in our lives. Hospitality is just being helpful and welcoming to others
When my children were small, we used to have game nights and dinner with friends at our home. It was so intimate and fun. The kids are grown and now we meet people at restaurants or a movie which we love but I can’t help but wish we were at our home entertaining our friends. Everyone seems so busy that entertaining in your home feels outdated or not worth it.
I want to encourage all of us to be hospitable not just with our circle of friends but with people that may need a friend. Ministry doesn’t just happen in the church! It happens through us to others that may need a little hospitality.
Open your heart and your home and watch your life flourish in ways you never expected.
I grew up in Mississippi where we were taught hospitality before we learned how to walk but I’ve learned so much from these trips. It helps to see both sides of ministry. Travel is tougher than you think and a little hospitality will help the entire experience go to another level.
I want to recommend two books that I love on hospitality. One is Be Our Guest by the Disney Institute Theodore Kinni and the other is The Golden Standard, the Ritz Carlton Experience. I think these two books will be very helpful.
Enjoy your life and help others enjoy their life!
Be hospitable! It won’t disappoint!
Sandy Scheer