As the holidays are FAST approaching and houses are prepared for guests, tables are set and food prepared, consider and pray for those who open their homes during this blessed time. Remember, hospitality is a fruit of the spirit. Just wanted to share what I read this morning with you and hopefully it will bring you the same peace it gave me.
This reading comes from My Daily Sanctuary reading out of my Bible:
Using The Gifts In Front Of You:
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. --Romans 12:6
Paul tells the Romans not only to figure out their gifts, but to concentrate on using them.
I looked at my first column (where I listed my interests). "Talking, Thinking, Asking questions, Journaling, Cooking, Welcoming unexpected guests, Feeling sympathy." It dawned on me that I already used many of these seemingly disparate attributes. Friends laughingly dubbed our African home "Hotel Van Reken" for the steady stream of people flowing through it. How many meals had I cooked? How many cups of water had I poured? But, again, these things didn't seem special. They were normal. Besides, I enjoyed talking with each visitor!
But now I saw that those people weren't unplanned interruptions in my schedule. Rather, they were God's assignments for me--and ones I could do at home while taking care of my kids! The lengthy conversations at my kitchen door, around meals, or late at nigh, were ways God used my gift of sympathy through "talking, thinking, and asking questions," to comfort and encourage others. Writing in my journal gave me practice for writing follow-up letters as people moved away....
Three years later, author and speaker Jill Briscoe came to our town. By then I'd begun using my gifts of "talking, thinking, asking questions" to lead a small Bible study. After one of Jill's seminars, I approached her. "Jill, we'd like to see our Bible study grow. How did you develop your groups into such a large network?" Jill looked me in the eye and said, "Ruth, just ask God what's in front of your face, and do it. You have eight women in your Bible study now. Prepare as though they were eight hundred. If they become eight hundred, great. If they don't, eight women will have been fed, and you never know what God has planned for them. Lots of poeple never do anything because they can't figure out how to do everything."
Powerful, practical, life-changing words--wherever you live.
-Ruth E. Van Reken
From Closer to God
As a child and into my teenage years, we had a family tradition that is still going on today. All my Grandpa's family, brothers, sisters and ALL their kids came to my grandparents for a family reunion on Thanksgiving Day. I love it. All those people we don't get to see a lot and all the kids running around, not to mention all the food. There is always more than enough to feed an army thanks to everyone bringing food and my Grandma overpreparing as usual. Good times. It got hard for me to enjoy Thanksgiving when I moved away because I couldn't always come home for Thanksgiving mostly due to working in retail. In fact, I missed more Thanksgivings than I attended. So when I got married I prayed and hoped and wished that one day my home could be the house that my family came to for Thanksgiving, kinda carrying on the tradition my grandparents started. Now, a lot of people would ask why I wished to have to cook and clean and do all that preparation instead of just going to someone else's house and relaxing but for me part of the joy of the holidays is providing a good meal and wonderful atmosphere just like my Granny still does to this day. Though we may not all be together, I feel like we are because of the tradition I have started in my own family. I still call Granny for advice on what to cook or how to cook something. It is such a blessing that I can do that. Hospitality is our family tradition. You have to just be careful what you wish for because God will give you exactly what you wish for. What A BLESSING! Today I am thankful for all the hard work and good food that my grandparents put out every year so that others can feel loved and enjoy being with family. THANKS GRANNY & PAPA!! LOVE YOU!!!
Hope you all have a blessed day and know that God loves you and so do I!
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