Celebration of 16 year old...Paigey!

October 13, 2012...Happy 16th Birthday Paige!  We love you!!!

Prepared in Hospitality...

"Share with God's people who are in need.  Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

Prepared in hospitality is so much more than being the next Martha Stewart-cooking a fabulous meal, setting a perfect table, coordinating the flowers, and being the perfect hostess.  While some of us absolutely love doing those things, if we think that's what it's all about, then we've missed the mark.

Emily Barnes said, "Hospitality is so much more than entertaining.  To me, it means organizing my life in such a way that there's always room for one more, always an extra place at the table or an extra pillow and blanket, always a welcome for those who need a listening ear.  It means setting aside time for planned fellowship and setting aside lesser priorities for impromptu teas and gatherings."

I'd say that Emily gets , hospitality, wouldn't you?!  If you look up hospitality in the dictionary, you'll hear words such as "being warm", "kind", "generous", "receptive to guests and strangers".  Tonight as we went around the room and threw out our own words to describe our perception of hospitality, many of the same things were spoken.  You don't have to be a grown woman to get "hospitality".  In these young girls words, hospitality was "being made to feel at home", "feeling safe", "happy and full of joy", "warm", " I'm known", "welcomed", "made to feel special", "my favorite ice cream is always there in my place of hospitality". One of the girls said, "I'm always hungry when I come here to your house Robyn...and I always know you are going to take care of me."  Yes food may be a part of hospitality, but it is really the spirit in which it is given that makes the most impact. 

Hospitality puts others  before itself.  It chooses to give rather than receive.  Hospitality takes time for others, and invests in them.  It's a kind word, a thoughtful act, a note of encouragement, a special gift, an act of sacrifice. 

My grandma had the gift of hospitality like no one else I've ever known.  From memories of being a little girl and going to "grandma and papa's house", I can remember the countless hours she spent in the kitchen preparing meals for us.  At the time, it was just normal to me.  It was just what "grandmas" did.  I've realized since, that her gift of hospitality was truly rare.  Never did I go into her home that I wasn't made to feel "at home"!  Always clean sheets to sleep on, oreo cookies in the cookie jar, and kisses on the cheek.  She definitely took time and invested her heart in us.  One of my last memories of her showering me in hospitality was when she was 90 years old.  She was living in an assisted living apartment. I had gone to visit her and was planning on staying the night.  Much like the summers when I would go and stay with her, she had planned for popcorn and a movie to watch together.  The night wouldn't have been complete without a little bit of chocolate and a coke.  She hadn't forgotten her grandaughter's "sweet tooth"!  The sweetest part of the night was when she insisted I sleep in her bed and she would take the couch.  She would not take no for an answer, wanting me to get the best night's sleep.  At 90, she sacrificed her bed for me, so that I would feel "at home".  I doubt she had a clue how much it meant to me...it was just her normal...it was who she was. 

We see the act of hospitality most beautifully poured out as Jesus himself served the disciples at the Last Supper.  He made certain that all the preparations were made for the passover meal.  After sharing their meal, Jesus with kindness, vulnerability, and love washed their feet.  On the night before His own personal crisis, He put himself aside and invested in His friends.  That's true hospitality!  

Prepared in Beauty (Part 2)...Inner Beauty

"man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

Tonight with the girls was incredibly sweet for me!  I absolutely love spending time with them.  Truly they are beautiful brides being prepared by their Jesus.  Their hearts and faces radiate the most beauty when they talk about Him.  I love watching them laugh, tease, and talllllllkkkkkkk.  Yes, they LOVE to TALK!  But the sweetest part of this journey for me has been to watch their hearts being drawn to HIS.  

Attached is a link to the video we watched tonight as we closed.  Sometimes it's hard to reel them in, once they get started talking amongst themselves, giggling, teasing....but when this video played, He had their complete attention!  Nothing more beautiful than a revelation of HIS love for us.

....All of us....ravished by His beauty and by His love....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JlGITwe80&noredirect=1

Fun at Make Up Junkies

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday Genesis!  You share today's birthday with two of my favorite people...Dena and Shanda.

We LOVE you!

Prepared in Beauty (Part 1)...

"She had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics." Esther 2:12

In the bible, we learn about Esther being taken to the palace to compete to become the new queen of Persia.  Literally Esther had to undergo beauty treatments for an entire year.  Talk about "spa" paradise!  Can you imagine spending that much time getting to play with make up, getting massages and facials, ahh, and the perfumes!?  Sounds like fun to me...but then I've always loved playing with make up and all that "girly" stuff. 

What's interesting is that Esther was already naturally beautiful.  God's word tells us she was "lovely in form and features" (Esther 2:7)   So if she was already a natural beauty, why a year's worth of beauty treatments?
Why were the details of Esther's story important?  Why not just tell us that she became queen and then move on to the meat of the story?  

One thing I know is that God was intentional about ALL that is in His word. And as the writer of Esther was inspired by His Holy Spirit, then there must have been a purpose behind it.  What do you think it was? 

Here are some thoughts of mine:

I know that Hebrews tells us that God's word is living and active.  That means that even all those years ago, God knew that His word would have meaning for us in the year 2012!  Alive and Active...even in our culture.  I love how He has always been thinking about us, and how He wants to make this story revelation for us today.  I love how beauty was God's idea in the first place.  I love how beautiful we are in His sight. I love how liberating this story is for us as girls! 

The process of preparation is important to God...it really is ok to make the most of our physical beauty.  To take care of our health and our body.  Can we get out of balance though when it comes to "outer" beauty?  You bet we can!  It can become an idol to us, especially when we worry more about how we look than how we LOVE!  It can consume our time, our thought life...it can become vanity and even sinful.  Outer beauty can be used to manipulate and control to get what we want.   Sometimes it can be subtle, sometimes just outright obvious. Or we can take the other extreme and be consumed in self condemnation, even self hate.  Those paths lead to very dangerous roads. Roads of bondage.  Neither of these extremes are God's intent for us.    He doesn't want us to live in bondage of any kind. Satan will do his thing and try to pervert it. He'll either make us feel guilty for being beautiful, or beat us up for not measuring up.   Remember, Jesus came to set us free.  Free from all that keeps us bound.

The other thing I notice about Esther's story is that while she was "lovely in form and feature", she couldn't have been the ONLY beautiful girl there.  So it had to be something more than just physical beauty that caused her to stand out to the king.  I believe it was her inner beauty that set her apart from all the others and made her most beautiful.  Radiating Jesus...from the inside out...will be what makes any girl stand out.  Beauty is a gift from God, and the most beautiful we will ever be is when we are reflecting Him.  But more on that next week...Prepared in Beauty (Part 2)...to be continued.

REMINDER: Meeting at Makeup Junkies this Wednesday!

This Wednesday we will be meeting at Make Up Junkies at 6:00 pm.  Thank you to Melissa for hosting us! 

Melissa will be providing a make over for two girls, and then will give an opportunity for us to ask questions, and experiment with some make up techniques.  Once we are finished at Make Up Junkies, we will come back to my house for FOOD and our LESSON.  Your parents can pick you up at the normal time.

Excited to see you all Wednesday- Robyn