You face the scary head on, call it\u2019s bluff and up the ante!<\/p>\n
I\u00a0not only planned to host something church related at our place once a month, BUT EVERY WEEK invite a new couple over for dinner.<\/p>\n
And about three months in, I looked and sounded a lot like this:<\/p>\n
![\"anigif_original-20955-1448375304-4-2\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/anigif_original-20955-1448375304-4-2.gif\")
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Yep, I am the QUEEEN of \u00a0the Company\u2019s Coming Freak Out.<\/strong><\/p>\n I told y\u2019all about that time I served red beans and rice<\/a> to new friends and I worried all night we\u2019d be gassy. Did you know that all night long I was on fart watch? Even though I took Beano? It was not my finest hostessing hour.<\/p>\n The freak out comes when I don\u2019t feel like my home is enough,\u00a0 like the\u00a0a\u00a0sofa I have with the burned arm cushion from when my son tried to dry the water he spilled\u2014with my blow-dryer. \u00a0I am literally\u00a0sitting on storytelling gold and I worry every single time someone sits on my couch! \u00a0I really shouldn\u2019t;\u00a0 it\u2019s cute, funny, and the perfect parental anecdote. We\u00a0actually\u00a0do sit down around here\u2014on a couch with a burned arm cushion! But still, \u00a0the freak out is resting right below the surface.<\/p>\n Why do we do this to ourselves?<\/strong> \u00a0Why do we freak out when people are come up into our spaces? It\u2019s not like they have never seen a hamper full of clothes or a sink-ful of dishes (which by the way, you dirtied those dishes to PREPARE an DELICIOUS\u00a0dinner\u2026respect)! It\u2019s not like they don\u2019t know that litter boxes a certain eau de feline<\/em> to them. \u00a0Or heaven forbid they\u2019re reminded that teenage boys can mask all that funk on their bodies with AXE but Febreeze ain\u2019t got nothing on a stinky boy bedroom.<\/p>\n And yeah, you do need to make sure your kids flush the toilet before company comes over and maybe wipe the sink. \u00a0It\u2019d be great if there were fresh towels\u2026scratch that.. a<\/em> clean, dry, Febreezed ( because Febreeze is the catch all for the hostess in a bind) hand towel. \u00a0But perfection. \u00a0Nah\u2026 we simply don\u2019t have time for that crazy.<\/p>\n I, for one, am positive that I don\u2019t have time, energy, or desire to entertain that crazy.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not what having people over is about. \u00a0It\u2019s about building a life with the people in my world. \u00a0It\u2019s about creating memories and laughing and teasing and washing dishes side by side. \u00a0It\u2019s about sharing grimaces when you collectively realize you burned the bottom of the lasagna. \u00a0It\u2019s improvising by topping your garlic bread with the salvageable lasagna and calling it an open faced Italian sandwich. \u00a0It\u2019s crying over infertility and marriage and how hard it is to know what God\u2019s calling you to. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s more than a Pottery Barn catalogue come to life. \u00a0It\u2019s the kingdom coming right to my\u00a0front door.<\/strong><\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t that sound better than rushing to IKEA an hour before dinner because you only have four wine glasses and six of you are wine drinkers? I think so.<\/p>\n But, I\u2019m a planner. I live on lists and protocol and step by step instructions, so I\u2019ve got you, boo. \u00a0I won\u2019t drop a bomb like \u201ckingdom coming to your front door\u201d and not help you figure out the logistics of loving people with your home.<\/p>\n Here are the three things I do when I want to freak when people are coming.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not talking about that one with there perfect pictures or the super hot chef on the front. Girl, I save that ambition for when it\u2019s just me and my man. \u00a0He\u2019ll love that I tried and I\u2019ll feel amazing for simply tackling those recipes. No, I want authenticity in my cookbook a homegrown cookbook full of stories and encouragement. I found my go-to cookbook in the \u00a0\u201cMennonite Girls Can Cook: Celebrations\u201d. It\u2019s delightful and perfect for my little goal of becoming comfortable in my hostess skin. \u00a0It\u2019s full on accessible recipes compiled by the Mennonite Girls and interspersed with reflections, poems and Scriptures about the beauty of sharing a meal with your community. I also love that all proceeds from the cookbook for towards feeding hungry children<\/a>.<\/p>\n We are all called to be hospitable, and that means so much more than \u201centertaining\u201d people.<\/p>\n \u201cMennonite Girls Can Cook: Celebrations\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s even a section at the very back with twenty-two tips from the \u201cMennonite Girls\u201d on hosting. They\u2019ve combined their collective wisdom so I don\u2019t have to put mental energy the \u201chow-to\u201d of hosting so I can have energy for the next two things I do.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Listen, this doesn\u2019t need to be a big deal. I definitely\u00a0don\u2019t need to break out my Stormie O\u2019Martian Power of a Praying\u2026.Whatever for this. \u00a0The morning I know I\u2019m having people over, I write their names down on one of our (many) chalkboards and pray for them. I pray for them to have a good day. I pray for health and for their nerves because there\u2019s a unique anxiety the guests feel that I sometimes forget in my rush to get everything ready for them. I pray for God to pull at the strings of their heart that would reach out to the strings of mine so that we can connect easier. \u00a0I pray for them to find our place in the dark with very few missed exits or wrong turns.<\/p>\n Hospitality is about people and nothing is as effective in connecting people to each other as praying to the one who made us. \u00a0God is delighted when we gather. \u00a0He the ultimate host!<\/p>\n Then I send a simple text of confirmation.<\/p>\n \u201cExcited to have, y\u2019all!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cRed or White wine?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBring the baby! We can put her down in the kids\u2019 room.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHave an awesome day!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Then I or the kids will write a welcome message for them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When I people come over I worry about everything from the chores to the food to the KIDS\u2019 HAIR but forget about me. \u00a0When our guest come, more often than not, I look (and feel) a hot mess. Sometimes, \u00a0I realize as I\u2019m pulling the casserole out of the oven that I HAVEN\u2019T \u00a0EVEN SHOWERED or put on deodorant! \u00a0No, girl. \u00a0No\u2026girl. I\u2019ve learned that I\u2019m a happier person and by extension a happier hostess when I take just a few minutes for myself. \u00a0I take a long shower, put on a little make up, and get dressed before I even start cooking.<\/strong> \u00a0I means I have to wear an apron, yes, \u00a0but hello\u2026that\u2019s a super cute look! Tell you don\u2019t feel more purposeful and \u201con it\u201d when you\u2019re wearing an apron- even if it\u2019s over jean and a t-shirt.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The chic apron=instant hostess cred.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If I have time, I go to Trader Joes and get flowers for the table, but that\u2019s extra and not necessary at all. \u00a0Sometimes, I ask my husband to bring flowers on his way home and it\u2019s always delightful to see what he picks. Then when our friends are gone and it\u2019s just me and the sink of dishes and the smelly dog, \u00a0the flowers he bought are a lovely reminder that I\u2019m not alone in this hosting friends business.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_8308\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMG_8308-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n1: \u00a0Grab a good cookbook and plan my meal- at least three days ahead.<\/h1>\n
My\u00a0Pottery Barn dream is entertaining, but is it soul-nourishing?<\/h2>\n
![\"IMG_8310\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMG_8310-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"IMG_8311\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMG_8311-e1454087019958-768x1024.jpg\")
2. Pray for my guests<\/h1>\n
![\"janandjon\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/janandjon-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3: Get ready BEFORE I start cooking.<\/h1>\n
![\"Grab](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/apron.jpg\")
![\"osheta\"](\"https:\/\/shalominthecity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/osheta-3-300x121.jpg\")
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