Hospitality + A Free Printable

Going into this holiday weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about hospitality. Now that we are moving, time with precious friends becomes more important. We want to enjoy time visiting, talking and letting the kids play together; before we no longer live nearby.

Often, we get wrapped up in having everything “ready” in order to entertain. Yet, that’s not really what hospitality is all about. I think of this scripture in Acts, which reads “They broke bread together in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” God has impressed on me that our heart, not our homes, is what defines true hospitality.

[Tweet “It’s our heart, not our homes, that defines true hospitality. #gladandsincerehearts”]

As much as I love to decorate — and create — a beautiful home, I know that hospitality means being comfortable letting others into our home when it’s not perfect. I’m not perfect, my family isn’t perfect and our home isn’t either. My friends and family know that. Welcoming them into our home, even when it’s not perfect, requires a sincere heart that is honest about our imperfections.

Acts 2:48 // Hospitality Free Printable

Running around crazy, snapping at my kids to clean things up, being impatient and anxious… that isn’t hospitality. Even though our guests haven’t even entered the home yet, I’m not preparing for them with a glad heart.

Instead, a glad heart asks the kids for help; but in an encouraging and uplifting way. I should ask for their help with an attitude that isn’t focused on perfection but instead, is focused on the anticipation of visitors.

As a reminder of what true hospitality is actually about, I’ve hung this Bible Verse Art on our deck, where we often entertain. I’ve created an 8×10 version for you to download, too.

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You’re getting a peek of a recent project completed for our deck. I’ll be sharing it next month, but I completed it with hospitality in mind, too. So much of hospitality is in the preparation, both of our hearts and our homes. When it’s simple to entertain, we are more likely to invite others into our home. It’s not as difficult to offer a glad heart when we’ve been intentional about creating a home that welcomes guests.

[Tweet “Much of hospitality is in the preparation, both of our heart and our homes. #hospitality”]

There are simple ways to be intentional in our homes, to make it guest friendly…. just having a place for someone to sleep, a place to serve food and a place to relax and a place to play. They won’t necessarily be perfect spaces, but they can be prepared in a way that doesn’t require rearranging our entire home to welcome a guest. I don’t want to let last minute visits invoke anxiety so that I can focus on the anticipation of visiting with friends.

How can you better prepare your home to welcome others with glad and sincere hearts?