31 Days of Breaking Bread: Halloween & Hospitality

HALLOWEEN & HOSPITALITY

We’re wrapping up our 31 day challenge, and I didn’t come close to posting every single day, but I have so loved this topic. With Halloween coming up on Friday, I’m already thinking about the opportunities for connection and community. I know that for many of us, community is the biggest barrier to being an inviter and opening up our hearts and homes.

How do these wonderful, magical communities seem to fall into people’s laps? Who am I supposed to invite?

I’ve been there, and it took a lot of work and intentionality to get that sense of community. It took inviting and inviting and inviting when it feels repetitive and like it might even be a little annoying. But it’s worth it.

We’ve been in our neighborhood now for almost a year, and we’ve tried to be “front yard people.” We spend a lot of time playing in our driveway and riding bikes in front of our house. Because of this, we’ve had great opportunities to meet our neighbors and continue those conversations from one day to the next. Even Boudreaux has welcomed himself into a neighbor’s home. (But that’s a story for a different day! Crazy dog!)

Our neighborhood is having a little cul de sac party before trick-or-treating begins on Friday night. I’m excited to get to know some of our neighbors that we haven’t gotten to know yet. I’m looking forward to learning their kids’ names. It’s such a great opportunity to make connections and then invite people over for chili and cornbread the following weekend. Why not?

I’m going to be thinking of some easy, intentional things that I can do and ways that I can invite, and just invite. That initial invitation can be the biggest hangup and barrier to community, but I can assure you that people want to come!

The first time one of our neighbors invited us over for dinner, I was truly surprised and also so touched. It was so special to us that they said they wanted to get to know us.

When your neighbors stop by and trick-or-treat, memorize their names. Learn something new about them. And maybe even extend an invitation for them to pop by for supper one night. You never know what could come of it!

This post is part of 31 Days of Breaking Bread

31 Days of Breaking Bread

31 Days of Breaking Bread: love of strangers

Did y’all know that Biblical hospitality means love of strangers … and enemies? I seriously squirm a little when I type that.

I honestly can’t think of a single “enemy” in my life. But I can think of lots of people that I have just ignored because I’m too busy. People that I’ve walked past while looking down at my phone. People whose faces I’ve never seen, but I had every opportunity to take 90 seconds and show love.  Show what it means to be a Christ follower.

It’s taking the extra time in the grocery store checkout line to start conversations with the employee. And before you know it, after weeks of having conversations with the same employee, you’ve created a relationship.

It’s choosing not to yell at the car in front of you that didn’t go when the light turned green. Or choosing to pray a blessing for the person who cut you off on the interstate. Ouch.

Instead of asking a friend what you can do to help, it’s showing up and helping. It’s picking up a kid from school when there’s a family crisis happening. Or just to make life easier.

Hospitality doesn’t always mean inviting and hosting. It’s loving. The way you would love a brother.

It’s hard. We’re busy. We have so much responsibility and things to do and errands to run and kids to shuttle around. We volunteer and commit and over-commit and taking the time to not only check in with someone, but to notice them? To help them? To think kind thoughts and go above and beyond to be a light in that person’s day? It’s not exactly on the to-do list. At least for me it’s not.

But I’m challenging myself to think about it a little differently.

It doesn’t have to be a radical action because it’s big enough for everyone to notice. But it’s radical because it’s different than what I’m naturally inclined to do.

This post is part of 31 Days of Breaking Bread

31 Days of Breaking Bread

31 Days of Breaking Bread: She Reads Truth Hospitality Study

Oh, friends. I am so sorry I dropped the ball on our conversation about breaking bread and how we can have imperfect hospitality and imperfect community. Hudson broke his arm on Sunday night, and Monday was spent getting him treated, and the rest of the week kind of followed suit. All is well in our household, but I’m finally coming up for air. And I promise to jump back in because after reading many of your comments, I think there are a few more important things to talk about.

But, today, I wanted to be sure you all knew about the upcoming She Reads Truth Bible study about Hospitality. It begins on October 27, and you can still order this gorgeous workbook (the cover was designed by the incredible Ashlee Proffitt) and when you order you also receive two prints from Ashlee Proffitt.

I am so excited to dive in more to what Biblical hospitality means, and I think some of you might enjoy it, too! I know that I received mine immediately, so I am pretty sure that if you order now you’ll receive it in time for the study to begin on Monday.

She Reads Truth- Hospitality

She Reads Truth- Hospitality 

This post is part of 31 Days of Breaking Bread

31 days of breaking bread

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