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 just “liked” RE on FB – and no, I didn’t know you had a page! How awesome! (My name is Jessica G — B—-.)
I love having people over – I think it might be because we rarely had people over when I was a kid, so I remember how excited I was when someone actually did come for dinner. Having friends and people from church over doesn’t scare me much at all – but the concept of having strangers over totally does. I would be so nervous that it could be unsafe; that they might have weird germs, etc. But then thinking about what your Grandma did, I realize how rewarding it was for her and the people she showed hospitality to. This verse is definitely a challenge to me.
Seriously, this is an amazing giveaway! I do have your book already but I would love to give a friend a copy – I have just the friend in mind, actually! :)
I’m a follower
I’m a facebook fan
I facebooked as Creative2xmom
Hospitality is something I strive for, but is still such a challenge. I’m so shy that it’s often hard to reach out to others. Usually I find myself entertaining out of town family or my kids’ friends. So yes, I absolutely find this verse to be a challenge.
We are always entertaining. Especially Sunday after morning church. Sometimes it is a single person, sometimes a family who’s cook (mother/wife) is gone for the day. We try to do cookouts during the summer with many of the church families. My husband is a Pastor and in 1 Timothy is talks about the qualifications of a pastor one is “given to hospitality” so not only do we enjoy it, we also are fulfilling what God expects.
My husband is a pastor and so that sort of forces us to branch out by trying to invite all from our flock over at some time during the year. The biggest help to hospitality is to just practice it! I have developed routines that make it easier. I remember to set the table in advance, get the ice bucket out, etc.
My life has been turned upside down. In the midst of my own struggles, I’ve discovered how to be more flexible in helping struggling friends who need a cup of tea and a safe and listening ear. Or throwing together a homemade mac and cheese and eating at the kitchen table…because when a husband walks out on his wife….it’s good for a mother and daughter to come to a home where there is order and love and peace and “realness”….on the spur of the moment….and otherwise a meal would not be made or eaten. I don’t know that that is entertaining angels. But, I believe it is blessing God.
What a lovely giveaway!!!
I think we do a good job of cooking for people we don’t know well! There is always room for improvement, but I think we do great!!!!
Love it! I “liked” on FB!
here is a quote I’ve been thinking about
“Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It’s no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: “You matter to me and to God.” You may think you are saying, “Come over for a visit.” But what your guest hears is, “I’m worth the effort.” Lucado
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
(1 Peter 4:9-10 NLT)
We love having people in our home. Sometimes it is difficult for us to plan ahead and invite people. By difficult I mean we just don’t do it. SO we end up asking old friends at the last minuted because we didn’t think to invite earlier. The last few years we have made a list of people we want to invite and then we plug them into available dates. The best thing we have learned to do is to flex and squeeze a new family into a dinner or dessert get together. It’s always good to ask folks even if you have just met them. Thanks for all the encouragement.
Kim D in SC
This is perfect for me! We usually have “the familiar” over because it’s just…easy.
However, in three nights we are having two sets of neighbors and their families over for “authentic Texas BBQ.” I am challenged by Hebrews 13:2 because I don’t seek out the unfamiliar too often – but it’s there that we can find our treasures, right? I am hoping to make some real connections at this dinner!
We are trying to have more people over that are new to our church (my hubby is a pastor) and to STOP saying, “Oh, you all should come over sometime…” because sometime never seems to happen. We are making plans and sticking with them!
Thanks for all you do!
My husband and I love having people over, but sandly enough it alway seems to be the same people over and over again. Hebrews 13:2 is an incredibly challenging verse, along with so many other scriptures that talk about helping and always taking care of those in need. I know what is right, but im the first to amit that i dont always do what it right…. But i take the challenge to open up my home, my pantry, and my heart to all the people out there who just need to be loved. Thanks for the wonderful reminder of how we are suppose to treat others.
Fabulous verse! Yes, we have branched out…more than just friends and family in our “comfort zone.” I’m trying to simplify entertaining as much as possible, because I know if it’s too complicated, I just won’t invite people over. Sometimes that means ordering pizza and tossing a salad in a pinch. I find that folks appreciate this, though, even at the last minute. I know when people invite our family over without making a lot of fuss, it makes me feel like they’re comfortable enough being around us not to have to try to impress. Honestly, my favorite people to share a meal with are those who invite you into their homes, mess and all, and just enjoy the fellowship.
I’m a follower!
Hospitality is one of my spiritual gifts. I lived in a 500 sq. ft. cottage for 10 years and couldn’t entertain there much. But my jobs at 2 different churches over the years gave me plenty of opportunities to exercise my gift. Now I am married and we have a small home with a tiny dining room. I love having family and friends over. It is cramped but I love having people over for meals and making their tummies happy. With warmer weather coming I would like to have neighbors over for BBQs. I think it would be a great way to get to know our neighbors better.
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I enjoying entertaining but, living in a small apartment, I often feel like our space is too small. One of my spring resolutions is to be more intentional about having people over anyway, remembering that gracious hospitality is more important than the size of your home! On that note, we are also trying to invite a new friend over for every time we have our older, more “comfortable” friends over. I love being reminded of this verse – it definitely challenges me to get out of my comfort zone when it comes to entertaining!
We live in a small apartment so it is hard for us to entertain very often. Usually any get-togethers we have are at someone else’s house and we make dishes to bring over and share.
I just retweeted, too!