Fire Breathing Hospitality Monster

Me- "Boys hurry.... we have to vacuum, dust,clean the bathrooms, the kitchen, mop the floors, put all the laundry away, clean your room, and make dinner... oh my and we only have 2 hrs "
  Then you become a fly on the wall for the next 2 hrs and you see boys laughing and playing in the room they are supposed to be cleaning.. Kaitlyn pushing a chair over to the counter and pulling all the silverware out of the drawer and throwing them on the floor... Now we need to add washing all the silverware to the to-do list.... Me becoming a fire breathing hospitality monster for the next 2 hrs ready to blow fire at anyone one who disrupts my cleaning plan (heaven forbid a house that doesn't smell lemon fresh and laundry that isn't put away, an unmopped floor or a dusty TV when you have friends over!!!)
     Once the 2 hrs is over and  the door bell rings I open the door with a smile and our friends come pouring in with their very excited kiddos and the rest of the evening is completely opposite of what the previous 2 hrs were... Everyone is relaxed and laughing... no one cares about my unfolded laundry in the basket, or the dust on the TV. The kids have every toy in the room out and there isn't a floor insight (why did I make such a big deal about the room being clean again???)
     Sadly more often than not this is what hospitality looks like for me. Praise God for His forgiveness and His mercy that is new every morning!!
     God showed me this passage in 1 Peter 4: 7-11

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious, and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

I was being hospitable but grumbling and I had been ministering to others ( not my family) but NOT with the ability from God!!! I have been trying to do it on my own, my own way!!!!  So it was time for soul searching, praying, repenting and  reevaluating my ways according to God's word. And as my faithful God has promised He been teaching this stubborn girl that His ways are soo much better than mine!!! Why don't I just get this but need to learn this over and over and over!!

 The past 2 weeks I have been able to put what I have been learning to the test !!!! The kids have been healthy and we have taken the opportunity to get together with many of our friends with whom we haven't been able to in what seems like such a long time. We have gone to friends houses for dinner and had friends over for dinner on every one of Mat's days off and I have even had friends over when he was at work!!! And it isn't stopping yet... we have 2 more things planned for this weekend.
 Things that have helped this fire breathing hospitality monster  become a woman who is learning to be calm, joyful, rested and ready to minister to other by hospitality are.....

~ Pray,Pray, and Pray while cleaning, cooking and preparing for company!!

~Plan what I am going to make before I do my weekly shopping to avoid last minute trips to the store that waste time and money!!!
~ Remember our families memory verses for the week " A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under controll!" Prov. 29:11

~Make the main portion of the meal the day before

~ Clean the night before. Once I put the kids in bed I turn on some music, set the timer for 1.5 hrs go to work cleaning
 ~It is not a clean house that makes fellowship sweet... It is a heart ready to love and laugh
~ Don't make new recipes you haven't tried yet... made this mistake this last week making lasagna which turned into lasagna soup ( I was completely embarrassed!!!) * I would love tips on how to make a perfect lasagna!!!
~ Don't mop the floor BEFORE company wait until after they leave
~Be thankful for my husband who tells me to stop and rest a bit and HE will clean the bathroom!!!
~ Don't feel like I need to be Wonder Woman  and do it all my self... Ask for help but in the right tone and more often than not help will be gladly given!!! What a wonderful time to teach my kiddos to joys of serving!!!
~ Realize that my kids are watching how I love and serve others whether I am having a willing, obedient heart or a grumbling and complaining one!!
~Hospitality is about giving, not impressing. 

~I want to make hospitality about eating, talking, and enjoying the fellowship.... The dishes can wait until after our friends leave or maybe even until morning!!

Through this we have been reminded how blessed we are with such wonderful friends. We get to laugh to the point of tears, encourage, pray for, share our struggles and what God is teaching us and just have sweet fellowship.

 Prov 18:24 "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
Prov 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."