Sane, Simple, Sacred: Hospitality

Hospitality - the Aftermath

In the "aftermath" of hospitality, I find time to

reflect,

be thankful,

pray,

smile.

I never mind the cleanup.

For some reason, our house always seems
better after "hospitality" than before...cleaner, softer, quieter. Blessed.

14 comments:

Cheryl April 7, 2013 at 8:30 AM
Love this post! (And love your ice bucket!) ;)
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BookieApril 7, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Cleaning up gives you quiet time to reflect and recall the special moments experienced, often too busy to do that in the heat of the moment. I can feel your descending peace as you put things back to right in your house.
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Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage BlogApril 7, 2013 at 10:51 PM
Ah, the best kind of aftermath!

I am just sitting down from clean up after sharing dinner and the evening with dear friends from church.

Blessed,indeed.

Deanna
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Karen LangeApril 8, 2013 at 4:32 PM
I like the way you put that - the aftermath. :) Was cleaning up in our aftermath the other night when our family came for dinner. It's a regular thing, every other Thursday. Good time to reflect.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. It's great to meet you!

Blessings,
Karen
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DeeApril 8, 2013 at 6:05 PM
Good post Rebecca....sometimes after my grands leave I just sit in the messiness drinking in the love of family that I do not get to see very often.
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Janettessage.blogspot.comApril 8, 2013 at 9:03 PM
Amen...you have said it well...when we enter into true relationships we are filled to overflowing!! and our efforts are worth it all
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TannaApril 9, 2013 at 6:30 AM
Beautiful, beautiful post, Rebecca. You are an inspiration this morning. Thank you so very, very much. blessings ~ tanna
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elizabethApril 9, 2013 at 1:50 PM
I am loving the clean white of your new blog look! I loved this post on hospitality, too. Bless you, friend.
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Simply ShelleyApril 10, 2013 at 12:57 PM
Lovely post today...great wisdom...thanks for sharing....blessings
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elaine @ peace for the journeyApril 12, 2013 at 11:30 AM
I need to work on my hospitality. Rarely do we have people over. Not sure why that is. Life is pretty crowded these days, but this is no excuse. Praying God gives me the energy and creativity to open my heart and home to a new group of folks.
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PamelaApril 20, 2013 at 8:45 PM
I don't know that I've ever stopped to think about the "aftermath" but in retrospect, you are right. There is a feeling of peace that settles after serving company. Sometimes I get too busy to offer hospitality and I have to slow down and do some inviting.
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Hospitality - the Aftermath

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