I'm sorry I am so late getting caught up on my reading. Just been a busy week in my family, I guess. In Karen Mains book Open Heart Open Home, Chapter 7 is entitled Tell Tale Marks. I believe this chapter is mainly about being hospitable to those in our family, our children's friends, etc. Although I believe we should treat our family as well as we do guests, I don't really consider this hospitality. I also agree with her that sometimes we overlook opportunities to be hospitable to those we see often. Such as neighborhood children. When my girls were little, say 5 and 6, we carried an older neighborhood girl to church with us for a long time. She was probably about 10. I remember one Sunday she wouldn't behave in church. I turned to her and whispered harshly, "do you want to go outside?" Mind you, this in not my child, but someone else's. I don't know what I thought I was going to do to her in the parking lot, but she was horrified. She said "NO, NO!". I was so embarrassed that I forgot who she was, and who I was more importantly. But she settled down and everything was fine. I guess I didn't treat her much like a guest. But what she really wanted was to be treated like a member of our family. So maybe it all worked out OK.
Chapter 8 is entitled Welcome. In this chapter it is discussed that life doesn't wait to start until you get married. This is a good lesson. We have opportunities to show hospitality at all stages in life. I know where I used to go to church for many years, an elderly couple would have a fish fry each fall for the "widow women". I thought it kind of odd at first, since they were still married. But now I see what an honor and treat this was for all involved. We should all look for opportunities that may easily be overlooked by the majorities.
Now I am caught up and ready to move on this week to chapters 9 and 10. See you soon.
Honey
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