It’s time to take a brief pause from my narrative and offer you a chance to reflect on what you’ve read in the preceding five blog posts. Please take this moment to reflect on the Life Lessons that you might within the information I’ve shared with you.
To do that reflection more intentionally, may I ask you to please think very carefully and analytically about the following questions? Then, will you please take a piece of paper and jot down your answers?
- What people do I know who display a special quality of “open heart/open home”?
- What do these people do or say which conveys this openness?
- Why is the hospitality of these people of importance to me?
- What quality in myself makes me respond to these people in this certain way?
Thank you for taking time to reflect. In future blog posts, we will return and look at these questions again to see if you would still answer them the same way that you did at this point in time.
Real-life examples are extremely important as models for growth in our own lives. I hope the previous examples will help propel you to a place where Christian hospitality becomes a very natural outgrowth of your walk with the Savior.
Please continue reading, as I share with you my thoughts in the next series of blog posts on the contrast between “entertaining” and “hospitality.” As always, I welcome you to connect with me through my website, Hungry Souls.
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Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen Mains serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags. This micro-finance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
Karen has long had an interest in Christian hospitality and is the author of the best-selling book, Open Heart, Open Home.
An award-winning author of several other books, Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. The are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and churches at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.