The Importance of Hospitality

In our fast paced world, we sometimes neglect ordinances given to us by God. In an effort to protect our family time we close our door to preserve what small amount of time we have together. Our family is to be our first priority, but not at the expense of serving others in the name of God. This is a ministry our whole family can do together.


I recently found this blog entry on hospitality over at The Purple Cellar:

Romans 12:13: "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality" and on 1 Peter 4:9: "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." Susie says that when seeking to have a hospitable heart, there are four primary things to keep in mind:


1) Hospitality isn't based on having the "right" house.

2) Hospitality isn't always convenient.
3) Hospitality isn't always comfortable.
4) Hospitality is always about serving others.

Please go over and read the entire entry here, it is thought provoking. We can all think about a time when we were welcomed into someone's home for a simple meal, but much love. We should all follow that example.
Strive to use your time and home to serve the Lord in this important ministry.

Family Day

What a wonderful busy day. We started out this morning with a trip to my parents to pick up boxes. In addition to being able to see my dad and mom, we were able to see my two nephews. I was so excited to see them, I have not seen them since Christmas Eve 2006. As soon as I heard they would be there I charged my camera battery.

Dallas and Maverick

I took a lot of pictures of the cousins. I might have taken too many (see Bekah).


After we left my parents, we went to church to clean. Then we came home and fixed lunch for my father and mother-in-law. They came to bring us invitations for my sister-in-laws baby shower. I love my father and mother-in-law so much. They have always treated me very well.

Nana and Abby looking at pictures.

Bekah playing jacks.

Rachel watching the rain.


Today was a wonderful day with our extended family. As a bonus we had a nice little rain. These days are just filled with so many memories to look back on during a busy life. God is so good to bless us with family to share our lives with.

This week's deals

CVS

We purchased the following:

2 packs Huggies newborns (For my nephew who will be arriving in less than two months)
2 packs of Ziploc bags
4 packs Ziploc bowls
1 Venus razor
1 pack Scalpicin
5 tubes of toothpaste
2 cans Glade airfreshener

Paid OOP $18.33
Received $31.00 in Extra Bucks
Receipt says I saved $103.49

Walgreens

We purchased:

1 Mascara
1 Bronzer
1 Foundation
1 Finishing Powder

Paid OOP $4.05
Receipt states I saved $20.48

So the bottom line:

Spent $22.38
Saved $123.97
Still have $31.00 to spend

Woo Hoo!!!

Thank you Money Saving Mom and Thrifty Florida Mama for all your tips.

Please pray for us

I am sorry posts have been slow this week. We have had a lot of things going on this week. Last Tuesday we found out we need to move as soon as possible for safety reasons. So we have been looking for new housing.
We have a lead on an apartment, but we are praying that God would provide us with a house.
Please keep our family in your prayers.

Keep the Peace

As wives we have the privilege to set the tone and pace in our homes. We can either live frantically or slow down and take things as they come.

I naturally tend to be a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of girl, but I am realizing (I'm a bit slow) it makes our home stressful. When I stress, my kids stress and then when Richard comes home he feels the stress. Not good. I need to prayerfully plan out my days, so I bring stability into our home and not chaos.

I want to have a loving and peaceful home. Where is Jewels when you need a great example of peaceful living?

Valentine's Day Recap

Our Valentine's Day Dinner

Well, we had our annual Valentine's dinner. As I mentioned before we invited our single friends over to share the night with us. We ended up with 6 friends joining us. Our Valentine's dinner was never so lively, Pete can make anybody laugh I think. After dinner we played a couple of games and did the mailbox. I gave my girls an hour and a half earlier in the day to make all the cards and they still ran out of time. But our guests had plenty of cards to take home.
There were a few things I learned on Valentine's Day this year:

1. Simpler is better. I started off wanting to make an elaborate meal for our friends and realized quickly that it was not going to happen. Too much stress.

2. It is hard to make a meal that does not include garlic or onions.

3. I thought I was serving others, but God used our friends to totally bless me. As we sat around the table just talking, I just kind of sat back and looked around and thanked God for all our friends.

Thank you Pete, Elisabeth, Amy, Grace, Julie and Ricky for making our day so special. We love you all.

For My Sweet Valentine.

My Dearest Richard,

I want to say Happy Valentine's Day to you and thank you for being such an amazing husband. I honestly could not imagine my life without you.
I am putting your Valentine on my blog, so everybody will know I love you. Plus I can do this better than draw you a picture. We both know you are the artistic one and I am the social one.

Richard, I love you because:

• You are my best friend (I am happy just hanging around with you).

• You have given me 4 beautiful girls.

• You make me laugh.

• You protect me from others and from myself.

• You still give me chills when you kiss me.

• You chose me to be your wife.

• You comfort me when I am sad.

• You constantly challenge me to be a better follower of Christ.

• You are a man of integrity.
  

There are so many other reasons I love you, but this is enough for the world to see.
I love you more and more each day. I truly thank you for making my life so complete.