Entertaining Angels: Red Letter Words, The Hip Hostess, The Reluctant Entertainer GIVEAWAY!
I’m SO excited for this giveaway today! It’s amazing, and it’s all about hospitality, and my friends Dee and Debbie are joining me.
We live in a culture where most of us don’t have strangers coming to our door asking for food. During the Depression, however, my grandparents did have this happen. I remember my Grandma sharing stories with me of how she’d feed them, give them coffee, share God with them, and send them on their way. I will never forget how later in life when I’d read this verse (Heb. 13:2), I’d think of Grandma, but it would also get me thinking not only about my life, but our culture today.
Years ago when I started blogging about entertaining and hospitality, I asked readers what kind of people they entertained the most in their homes.
The popular answers were:
1. FAMILY
2. PEOPLE FROM CHURCH
It actually made me sad that we don’t reach out more to neighbors, people of different faiths, backgrounds, and cultures.
Why do we stuff hospitality into a box, making it so pretty, perfectly safe, and always predictable? (Many of us rarely even open up our homes!)
So today Dee from Red Letter Words and Debbie from The Hip Hostess and I are giving away 3 items to ONE LUCKY WINNER.
We want to challenge you to think about hospitality with FRESH EYES.
We want to encourage you to do something different, radical, and courageous when it comes to opening your home for a meal.
It’s up to you to decide what it will be.
The cool GIVEAWAY:
Red Letter Words
Hebrews 13:2 Entertaining Angels gallery wrapped canvas
12×12
Here’s how Dee’s work is mounted. Down-right classy!
(Read the “Design Story” behind “Entertaining Angels,” HERE. A must-read!)
The Hip Hostess
4 BRAND NEW spring prints (below) – the winner gets to CHOOSE ONE!
This is fun! Do you know any of these bloggers wearing HH Aprons?
BTW, the NEW Annual “Hurry Spring” Sale starts today!
Use this Promo Code: SPRING25 for 25% OFF thru Mar 31
The Reluctant Entertainer
ONE signed copy (Yes, I’m wearing a Hip Hostess apron in my book! The Nester took this picture, but I know she won’t mind me using it here.)
COMMENT TO WIN all 3 amazing gifts that will help you with hospitality!
How do you feel about hospitality and does Hebrews 13:2 challenge you?
Do you always have the same people over for dinner or have you branched out?
– Facebook this post or TWEET about it @SandyCoughlinRE and @TheHipHostess and @RedLetterArt and get extra entries.
– Did you know Reluctant Entertainer has its own Facebook page?
– If you’ve never been a follower of RE, sign up today. This means my updates will come straight to your email!
– Let me know for extra chances to win. Contest ends Thurs. night midnight 3/17. Winner announced on FRI. 3/18! (USA, only!)
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I have definitely branched out and moved outside my comfort zone in the area of hospitality. I have three young kids (7, 5 &2), a husband with an unpredictable schedule (he’s a trauma surgeon), and no family in the state. I love to entertain but have had to find unusual ways given my circumstances. Often I invite other moms or even college girls over after the kids are in bed at night. This makes entertaining possible since I don’t need childcare, don’t have interrupting children and don’t have to put stress on my husband if he gets called into the hospital. In addition, almost daily I have a dozen neighborhood kids at my home and we practice hospitality with them. It’s been a great way to teach my children hospitality and we pray that our families values will rub off on these kids while they’re in our home.
What a great verse! My husband is always suggesting new people to invite over to our home. He is wonderful at getting them in the door, and I take care of the food and the ambiance—we make a great team! Each time we do it, I’m so glad we did. It’s still challenging for me–I battle the urge to “do” rather than to just “be” and enjoy the fellowship. I also battle the feeling that our home isn’t orderly/neat/clean enough with my twin girls’ toys taking up a corner of our living room. Of course, being a hostess requires some “doing” and having two babies requires having some toys. There is a balance with all of that. Each time we’ve had people over, it has been a blessing to us, and a lesson for me both in simplifying things, and in letting things go. From the feedback we’ve received from our guests, our home is a welcoming and comfortable place, which warms my heart, and encourages me to do it again!
My mom was also a reluctant entertainer, so I grew up with a lot of anxiety surrounding the whole idea of entertaining. Hebrews 13: 2 always reassures me as the fear becomes almost paralyzing. I have found that I really enjoy having my husband involved in the whole process, as he enjoys it much more than I do and his support relaxes me. He would have someone new at our table for every meal! He is my angel here on earth!
What a great canvas! I took the Network spiritual skills test and found that my strongest skill is hospitality. And yet I usually entertain friends and family…comfortable, safe. I have often thought about widening the circle but have yet taken that (scary, a little) plunge. Love that bible verse!
We typically host family and friends in our home. We enjoy being hopitable, but at times fear of rejection or others judging stop us from being as open as we would like to be.
I do tend to have the same groups of people over most of the time … I’ve been trying to challenge myself to invite others lately and so far I’ve been blessed to get to know some new friends this way. I love your blog and once again you’ve inspired me in my faith by challenging me to think of new ways to be hospitable. Thank you!
kathy k.
I try to entertain a lot of different people: family, friends, work friends, and invite new acquaintances over as well. No matter what, I feel that if a person is willing to open his or her heart and life to us, to let us be a part of that, then they are welcome. They don’t have to reciprocate, but I’ve learned that you simply cannot force people to care about you, accept your hospitality, or welcome you into their lives. My hospitality philosophy is simple: invite and see what happens. No guarantees for the event itself, just that you’ll be in good company.
Such a beautiful giveaway! I am very aware of needing to be hospitable, and teaching my girls this gift. Praying for God to show me how, in the midst of our crazy life and limitations to extend it to those I meet.
I am new to town so I would have to say, no I haven’t branched out with the hospitality. I am still trying to get a feel for the town and we are moving to our new house soon. So maybe then I can invite the neighbors over.
A great reminder–entertaining angels–I love that!
What a fabulous giveaway! I must admit to normally having friends and family. However, part of a prophetic word over my husband and me is that we will “have those people into our home who could never pay us back, and we will show them how the church works and love on them and see them knit into the body.” We have seen this happen in our lives and it has been a tremendous blessing in our lives. This post reminded me again to be on the lookout for someone new to invite into our lives.
we do our best to practice hospitality in our homes and with our lives. our children ask almost every day if someone will be joining us for dinner that evening. it is easy to have friends over. however, when it’s a stranger, it is different and sometimes uncomfortable, but we still strive to practice the hospitality the verse speaks of in heb 13:2.
thank you for hosting this giveaway!
Hospitality is so important, and sometimes, in our 5-person household, neglected. We have been more intentional about it this past year, and began by inviting each new set of neighbors into our home for dinner when they moved into our large development. This simple act proved such a blessing in so many ways!
I have long felt frustrated because of WANTING to invite neighbors, or others we don’t know as well, for dinner, but because our house is so tiny, simply not having the space to put everyone (as our own family is already 6!). This verse is a challenge for sure, and as church planters, something my husband and I feel is an area we simply must cultivate. It’s so hard for me to allow myself to be vulnerable to letting others in to see my ridiculously small and outdated kitchen, and squeezing them into a tight space to dine. I’ve been seriously considering ripping out the carpet in our living room, and eventually investing in a nice, Amish-made table with a gazillion leaves so that we can extend it right from the dining room into the living room. It’s not exactly in the budget at the moment, but I want to make it a priority goal. Thanks for the gentle reminder!
I have long felt frustrated because of WANTING to invite neighbors, or others we don’t know as well, for dinner, but because our house is so tiny, simply not having the space to put everyone (as our own family is already 6!). This verse is a challenge for sure, and as church planters, something my husband and I feel is an area we simply must cultivate. It’s so hard for me to allow myself to be vulnerable to letting others in to see my ridiculously small and outdated kitchen, and squeezing them into a tight space to dine. I’ve been seriously considering ripping out the carpet in our living room, and eventually investing in a nice, Amish-made table with a gazillion leaves so that we can extend it right from the dining room into the living room. It’s not exactly in the budget at the moment, but I want to make it a priority goal. Thanks for the gentle reminder!
What a great challenge! We’ve been challenging ourselves to invite at least one family from our church over for dessert once a week… yes, they’re from our church but it’s not the same people over and over again. We’re forcing ourselves to meet and get to know new people. And it’s been such a powerful blessing. Also, our kids go to an elementary school that is near a university with lots of international doctoral students. They bring their families to the US with them and we’ve had a great time getting to know them thru our elementary school connections. Usually, the blessing goes both ways as they return the invite with some amazing food from their homelands!
Facebooked it! :)
I have always believed in this verse–When I was a small child we were on a trip. My father turned around to pick up an elderly woman who was carrying groceries and walking down the side of the road. We took her down the road and then dropped her off at her house. She thanked us and when we pulled out of her driveway she was gone. You just never know!
We have opened our home more and more to our loved ones and friends we don’t know well. In this economy it’s a cheaper way to get to know people! I also love having people over–we may not have the nicest things, but we always try to make people feel welcome.
I am so excited about this giveaway!!!!!!
I love this verse! Yes, it challenges me to think beyond the norm when offering hospitality to others. This is an awesome give away!
This is an awesome giveaway!! I’ve really been wanting to read your book!
Your blog really challenges me spiritually…in the best way possible. I know what an important role hospitality can play in sharing Jesus with others. I always think of the way Jesus truly relied on the hospitality of others as He travelled, and I know the ways my own life has been blessed by the hospitality of others.
I don’t really do a very good job of this!! My husband and I are newly-weds, and we have a really tiny one-bedroom apartment. Small table and not very much seating. Plus, I don’t really feel very comfortable with my cooking skills haha. I know none of these are good excuses!! When we first moved into our apartment, I made a point of having people over to eat, but I’ve since gotten lazy and started focusing on those excuses/insecurities.
Thanks for the challenge. :)
How timely is this? Just this past weekend we had over 45+ people over for a BBQ. More than half of them have never been to our home before and the majority of them were from Teen Missions so they ranged from ages 17-24. It was THE funnest BBQ we ever had. It stretched me, but I would do it again in a heart beat. It’s the year to bless and serve others.
Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Oh, and I did a facebook post about this giveaway!
Hospitality was something I’ve always struggled with because I’m an introvert and having people over for a couple hours can be draining. Hebrews 13:2 challenges me for two reasons. I find it difficult to trust strangers, let alone invite them into my home, and it seems to mean being ready all the time for visitors, which is a challenge even on a day that isn’t particularly busy. I tend to have the same people over, which is something I need to work on. When I studied abroad in Scotland I was impressed by how the Christians there welcomed me even without knowing me, and I’m going to try to follow their example.
We do entertain our friends and family quite often, but I wouldn’t say that we branch out that much. That seems to be all we have time for.
Hospitality comes fairly natural to me but inviting people out of the norm is a more uncomfortable and challenging yet, a place where I need to go. What a great challenge and reminder. Thanks.