Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to provide lunch for another family on the road (yes, there are others!). The Boyinks [see right] stopped by our campground and had lunch with us. We served grilled chicken, cornbread, peas, and chips with homemade guacamole dip. We talked about how we decided to buy our fifth wheels and discussed some of our experiences on the road.
After the Boyinks left, Stephanie and I commented to each other how important and refreshing it is to spend time with others. It is easy to get caught up in maintaining life (soccer games, work schedules, school, hobbies, etc.) and run out of time for those around us.
Being on-the-road is teaching us to slow down and make room for people in a very real way.
Inviting a family or an individual over for dinner or coffee may feel like extra work. It may seem uncomfortable. Perhaps, you hesitate because the person or people you want to invite over are different from you (age, ethnicity, with/without kids, etc), but...the potential for friendship is unlimited.
How often do you invite people into your home for a meal or dessert? If you don't do it regularly, what prevents you from doing so?
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Thanks again for having us - glad we could make it work in spite of dental surgery, less than ideal weather, and a earlier-than-desired campground switch.
When we were back in the stick home we often avoided having people over because we felt like the house was to small, or wasn't fixed up enough, or clean enough.
Then we'd go to someone else's place, have a great time, and come home commenting on how we really preferred it when people didn't to great extremes to have us over. We learned we could have a good time in spite of unvaccuumed floors, unwashed windows, clutter, or in houses that would never be featured in a Parade of Homes.
But for some reason it still seems easier to appreciate seeing someone else's "true self" than it does allow others to see that in us....
This year I made it a priority to have people over. So every Tuesday night i invite a friend over for dinner. Loving it so far!
We often have friends over for dinner, at least once a week, I would say. And anyone coming to my house knows me enough to know that my house is clean, but messy (we have kids, you know :), and friends are always welcome!
I like to invite people over as a motivation to clean my house. I don't do it often enough though. I like Diane's idea - intentionally inviting people over!
I often tell friends, "if you want to see us, come on over! If you want to see my house, give me some notice first" :) We love to entertain and used to quite a bit more...kids and a move into a much smaller house with a terrible yard have slowed us down a bit. But, the kids are older now (and need much less of our attention while entertaining because they play with their own friends and enjoy it too) and with some major remodeling to our house and yard done, we expect to do a lot more entertaining this year. I agree, it's so much more fun to get to sit and share a meal in the comfort of home rather than a noisy restaurant.
Love Leah's saying! We do it as often as we can on the road and actually have a friend here for the weekend! We're so lucky to have a guestroom in our RV!! We've loved meeting families on the road and now make it a priority.
Yes, we often let the checklists of life keep us so busy that we fail to remember that our God is a God of relationships. He wants us to care for what He blessed us with, but way more importantly, He wants us to care for others. One of my goals right now is to take the time to upkeep and build relationships...even if it means not getting my to-do list checked off this week!
I was scrolling down your blog, reading...and came across your entry about Leaving Comments. Admittedly, I rarely leave comments. But, I have to say that because I recently started WRITING a blog, I do appreciate the comments/feedback on my own postings. SO - I will make an effort to leave more comments when reading. We've never met in person, but I feel a certain kinship given our similar journeys. I have to say that one of the bet parts about being on the road is meeting new people all the time. We were not reclusive before by any means, and the first few months it took some getting used to, but now it takes only a few hours for us to acquaint ourselves with our surrounding neighbors (having a little dog helps a lot, although she's not as cute as your little ones). Earlier this week we met a family at the pool who is also on the road, and after spending the evening with them, discovered that they love Jesus and they're going through much of the same stuff that we are. It was truly a blessing, and just what we needed.
We try to have people over somewhat often. We have one person come over regularly (every Tuesday!), but we also make sure to invite people new to our church, neighborhood, etc and some friends over a few times a month. The kids have fun, we get good conversation and closer relationships, and we get to serve others practically. :)
oh my goodness - you are so right. I get overwhelmed by the WORK aspect of it. The cleaning, cooking. And then some people just won't even eat anything and you spent all day slaving. Sigh. Also we have had a ton of cancellations when we invite people over due to sickness, weather, whatever. So... we keep making this a goal of ours but are not very successful. Unfortunately.
We try as often as possible, but it seems that life is full of busy-ness now. Between FPU on Sunday and Awana on Wednesday, a Bible study on Thurdsay for my husband and at least one night of the week for me to go swimming it's hard to coordinate with other's schedules, especially when they look like ours.
We have family over once or twice a week, plus frequent houseguests (usually also family!). So getting together with others is a bit challenging. I find many people are too busy to come for dinner. Often it's weekends only, and only the closest weekend schedule is known. Our weekends fill up with visitors quickly, so we have to deliberately not schedule anything and then hope our invitees will actually be free!
The biggest trick is not getting all fancy about the food. Hospitality is about the people not what you eat or what your house looks like!
We like to have people over at least every other week. I'd like to become better at having new people over though...people who we hardly know...even some of our nextdoor neighbors perhaps. Thanks for the reminder!
We love to have people over for meals! It is probably one of my favorite things to do. I could have people over every day, but I have to keep *some* balance for my husband who would rather not have someone over every day :) We have people for dinner at least once a week. Prior to having kiddos, it was at least two, sometimes three days a week. Now that a lot of our friends have kiddos of their own, it makes coordinating people, times, and meals a bit more tricky. I love that you are already having people over...and that you are meeting so many fantastic people too!
We use to invite people over for dinner all of the time but as the kids get older it is getting less and less - why I am really not sure. I think it is because the people I want over my hubby does not and vice versa.
I love having people over - but it stresses my husband out because our house is "too small' "too cluttered" "too..." anyway - the house IS small and cluttered and we are trying to move this year to a bigger place, when we do I'm making it a point to start inviting people over again. I miss having people over for dinner, games or coffee.
When I was a teenager - my Mom purposefully made extra food all week so that on Saturday we had to "clean out the refrigerator" and eat all the leftovers. There were about a dozen of us teenage girls in the same church at the time and we usually ended up at my house to play games, eat mom's food and hang-out. It was great and I want our house to be the same way for my kids when they get to be that age.