Building Family in a Singles' Household

This article was originally published in The Hospitality Handbook.

It was Saturday night at 12:30—or should I say Sunday morning—when I arrived home for the first time since 7:30 a.m. My day had been incredibly busy and I was completely exhausted. I had coordinated a wedding and reception and was particularly happy about how well both had gone. During the drive home I began to think about how quickly my morning would come. I thought to myself, “I’ll get up early, spend some great time in Bible study and prayer, go to the grocery store and begin preparing lunch.” I had invited a few other Christians and a friend who was studying the Bible to come over after church.

Hospitality: Eager, Not Just Willing

The following article was originally published in The Hospitality Handbook.

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." -- 1 Peter 4:9

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." -- Proverbs 11:25

Three or four years into our marriage, I found myself still resisting my husband’s magnanimous open-door policy, for which I was ill-equipped, both in temperament and in talent. I preferred solitude to company. I was a novice cook, an uptight perfectionist and a penny-pincher on a limited budget.