Mustard Seed Kingdom Day 1: Hospitality

     My goal was to do around 4 acts of kindness today. I think I achieved 2 notable ones. There were a few other random acts, but not very notable. There was a debate going on in my mind on whether or not to count throwing the empty Starbucks cup that I found in an aisle at target away; the answer was no. I don't want to get in the habit of counting every piece of trash I pick up as an intentional act, or I'm going to end up copping out on so much more.
     The first act that actually does count is having a friend over tonight and to spend the day with us tomorrow. Most of my day was spent cleaning the house in anticipation for her. I don't like to do things small either, I love for people to feel welcomed and pampered when they stay here. That does not always happen, but I try. I read that "the heart of hospitality is when people leave your home they should feel better about themselves, not better about you." I try to do that. Another great quote on hospitality is "Hospitality is not about inviting people into our perfect homes; it is all about inviting people into our imperfect lives." Our home is far from perfect. Only one room has been painted, things are still somewhat dirty (as much as we've strived for them not to be, there's only so much we can do in a summer), and we still have unpacked boxes, but we still want people to come be a part of this chaos we call life. We want them to see us as real people, with a dog that barks too much, and dust in the corners. We want for them to see that, but to ultimately come out of the other side feeling loved, valued, rested, and with memories. Our beds are soft and clean, and they are meant to be slept in. Our home is meant to be lived in, so we have strived to open it up as much as possible to anyone.

     Here's our imperfect guest room all ready for tonight's guest!

The small ways we try to pamper our guests



Striving to make our guest feel GREAT about herself after staying here

      These are just some small things we do to make guests feel welcome, and a small mustard seed way we try to change the world. 
       My second act today was to finally write a postcard to friends who are planting a church in Hawaii. They sent out these awesome postcards to send them a note several weeks ago. It's been stuck to the fridge since then, being procrastinated. I think I was trying to think of something profound to say, but I'm not super profound, I'm just me. I decided that this is a week all about celebrating my 30 years as me, so I needed to just write something from the heart. That's what I did. 

If you are interested in their work in Hawaii, they blog at http://joytpaul.blogspot.com/ You should check them out! They are also fundraising for their ministry there, so consider making a donation to their work. We have a hard task here in Hammond, but we are blessed to have family so close. They can't just drive home for a weekend, so I know they love words of encouragement and lots of prayers.
Day 1 was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the rest of this week, and discovering ways to be the kingdom here in our community and with the people I interact with.  

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16, 2014. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

One Response to “Mustard Seed Kingdom Day 1: Hospitality”

  1. Robbie, this is awesome! Told you I needed to catch up :) Thank you for 1) The encouraging postcard and 2) The shout-out on this blog! I think I'm all caught up now - and I want to participate in your Mustard Seed Challenge. I'll let you know. KEEP WRITING. You have a voice that needs to be heard.

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