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 can honestly say that most of my entertaining is family. I need to be better about inviting others into our home and lives.
Thank you for a chance to win!
lise
Right now, we live in a small home and it is challenging to host visitors, so I invite smaller groups of people and prepare simpler meals. At first it was too challenging to have a smaller space, but then I realized that it would be better to tone down food prep and do things more informally than to stop having visitors. Besides, I think I enjoy hosting as much as my guest enjoy visiting!
shared it on FB
I definitely need to work on opening our home up more often. Too often I am worried about messes my kids make or not being a good enough cook. I know that when I go to other peoples’ homes, I don’t care how perfect their home looks or food tastes. I am just blessed to fellowship with them and by their friendship.
I tend to be a reluctant entertainer. I come from generations of people that had difficultly and much anxiety having people over. I am determined to break that generational bondage and not pass it down to my child. I have to push myself hard to invite people to my home. The scripture presented is a great reminder and motivation.
Sandi…this verse has always inspired and intrigued me. To me, it speaks of the blessing that comes from serving others. I grew up in a culture(Ireland) that was more open to welcoming strangers into you home for meals, or something a little less sophisticated like a cup of tea. We belong to a church that has visiting preachers come from time to time for a week, or maybe more, to speak. There are 3 families that share in the responsibility of hosting these preachers. Some we know, some we don’t, but one thing we feel is blessed, not only to sit under their ministry but to have time to talk with them privately in our home. For the past 6 or 7 years we have had college students come every Wednesday night for dinner before a Bible Study. This has led this past year to one of the students asking if he could live with us for the rest of the school year. Is it a sacrifice?, yes!…but the blessing far outweighs the sacrifice on our part.
The verse in Hebrews always seems to remind me of the verse which says “God will not forget your work and labor of love”.
Blessings Sandi.
My good intentions of hospitality are rarely realized for no good reason but staying too busy with unimportant stuff. Thank you for the encouragement. I will start penciling in dates and guest lists!
This is one of my favorite verses! It is amazing that even during sinful times in a wicked city, Lot was able to show love to strangers by doing something so simple: inviting them into his home. I have always loved entertaining and in the past have just invited close friends and family over. In the years after graduating college, I have started to branch out by hosting bible study and neighbors in my community for dinners or gatherings. One of my favorite activities is hosting outdoor barbecues-I have many great, EASY recipes for any hostess if anyone is interested!
This past year, I was in a bible study and we took a “spiritual gifts” quiz one night. No one was surprised, including myself, when we discovered that one of my spiritual gifts was hospitality. (I also studied Hospitality Management as part of my Bachelor’s degree.) I now am a catering and events manager for a specialty market and help host events and gatherings in people’s homes. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to use my gift to help others enjoy friends, families, and coworkers in their own homes, which can be difficult for others.
I try to live by the motto “There are no strangers here, just friends who haven’t met yet.”
Thank you!
Hospitality makes me SO Nervous, but I am really praying about God opening my heart and changing it where this is concerned. I focus too much on everything being “Perfect” for guests, instead of focusing on just loving and serving. Everyone always tells me they love being in our home, that I am so hospitable, etc… But, my heart is different! I want an attitude of hospitality to permeate my personality…to show God’s Love continually, even when my home isn’t “Perfect”. We have recently begun branching out, inviting new church friends and neighbors to our home.
I love that quote!
I’m not good about having people over to my house period, but I am trying to be better about it and my husband and I are planning on having board game nights and inviting his friends over.
I TWITTERED and reTWEETED your tweet : D
I am now a follower on FB for RE. Glad I found it! Thanks
P.S. I should note that even though I don’t have adults over for dinner much, I encourage my kids to bring their friends over and as a result we have extra kids at least three nights every week! Love having them around – many need encouragement due to family situations at their respective homes. Now you’ve challenged me to get outside my box and start inviting some adults over more often. I just need to get my introvert husband on board! *Grin*
I posted giveaway on my facebook
I love this verse. It reminds me of my grandma, it’s one of her favorites. She said her father lived by it. They never turned away anyone that came to their door….apparently this happened alot during the depression. Stranger or friend everyone was welcomed at their dinner table, because you never knew it could’ve been an angel!!!
Love this giveaway! Thanks!
Love the giveway items. Love love the sign, and the apron and book as well!! I read a book maybe close to 30 years ago called Open Heart Open Home by Karen Burton Mains. I don’t really remember a lot of it. But something she said really struck a chord with me. She said something to the effect of that people really don’t care how clean your house is, it’s all about the relationship / fellowship. So often I want to invite people over but think the house isn’t quite ready. We need to let go of that kind of thinking. Thanks for offering giveawy!!
Sandy,
This is such a great reminder to get out of my comfort zone. I currently only invite people over that I have known awhile and I am super comfortable with. Thanks for this post.
I love the Hebrews verse. When my children were younger (they are now 10, 12, 14 and 15) we frequently read a book called “If Jesus Came to My House” and it quotes this Hebrews verse and gives a great analogy for children to understand it at a younge age. I highly recommend that story to anyone reading hits! So yes, the Hebrews verse does challenge me. We don’t invite people for dinner very often (something I am not proud of), but when we do we try to reach out, we invite families going through a tough time who need encouragement versus having someone over just for the purpose of visiting.
I feel that hospitality for me and my situation is often where I bring something special to someone else. I am a fond “deliverer” (is that even a word!) of meals to those who need it, whether sick or on the mend from a hospital stay or a death in the family. Food is comfort and it is always something that is needed. I also enjoy delivering homemade cookies to the tire guys who take care of my needs even when it is freezing cold outside (Les Schwab guys!) Finding places that are unexpected to share is a favorite. You challenge and inspire me to be even more creative!
I like on FB!
I subscribed!
We love having over and have been trying to reach out more and more to our neighbors. It is easier to have our family and usual friends over but we are branching out some! This is a challenging verse and I wholeheartedly believe it. I do want to live it more though.
I used to entertain all the time in my home, but since having a baby, moving and life taking over it’s been a long time. I’d love to get back into it, meet our neighbors and share this gift with others.
We used to entertain fairly regularly, but busy-ness has become a real distraction. I have set a goal to have weekly guests this Summer. Life is better with friends in it!
I facebooked about this :)