Having Jesus for Dinner

You know what is one of the most exciting things ever?  Having Jesus for dinner.  And I don’t mean the Lord’s Supper – I mean having Jesus over, as a guest, for dinner.

Over the past few years, hospitality has been gradually becoming a more and more important part of my life.  I always knew that hospitality was important – after all, the Bible tells us to practice hospitality – but it wasn’t something that I thought about much.  After Jesse and I got married and we had our own place, we developed a habit of having people over frequently.  We found that we both loved hosting potlucks and movie nights and games nights.  It was simply a part of who we were; I didn’t really think about it being hospitality.

Then one day I heard through a friend that someone else had said that I was one of the most hospitable people they knew.  Naturally, I appreciated the compliment (who doesn’t love getting compliments!), but it also stuck with me.  “Hospitable” just hadn’t been a part of my picture of who I was.  But it made sense.  Hospitality doesn’t have to be anything fancy, it is simply welcoming others, whether friends or strangers, with warmth and kindness.  And that is something that I love to do!  Since then I have heard it from several people – that I am very hospitable – and it has become a part of who I understand myself to be.  The neat thing about learning more about yourself is that you can become even more who you already are.  I have become more intentional about opening up my home to people and trying to make my home a place that feels comfortable, safe, and welcoming.

One of the newest things that my husband and I have started doing is what we call “Sunday Dinners at the Wingers”.  It’s actually an idea I got off a random blog on the internet – I don’t remember which one.  I was just looking up a recipe for something and followed a link that looked interesting.  It was about a family who opened their home once a week with an open-invitation supper for whoever wanted to come.  I loved the idea!  So did Jesse.  So we decided to give it a try.

We took the idea and adapted the details to make it our own.  Here’s how it works for us:  Every Sunday at 6pm we have an open-invitation supper.  We simply ask people to let us know if they are planning to come, and to bring something to share if they are able.  We will always have a big croc pot of soup or something on, and we look forward to sharing it with whoever decides to come!  We have spread the word around our college and church, and so far there has generally been a varied assortment of people on any given Sunday.

I have found the various responses that people have to this idea to be quite fascinating.  There are some who get very excited – they love the idea!  Others seem hesitant (Are you sure I can come?  I won’t be inconveniencing you?), or they have questions about how it will work:  What if you get tired of having people over every week?  What if there isn’t enough food?  What if too many people show up?  I’ve found that Jesse and I don’t really have any of those concerns.  We have found that God always provides, and there are always plenty of leftovers.  And we aren’t worried about space – probably because we are still at that college stage of life where sitting on the floor and reusing dishes are perfectly acceptable options!  (And anyways, we haven’t had to improvise like that yet.)

But what does all of this have to do with having Jesus over for dinner?  To explain, here is a short story.  The other week we were getting ready for Sunday dinner, and we got a call from someone who had heard about our open invitation and wanted to take us up on it.  We had never met this person before, and didn’t know who they were.  That made me really excited!  I would love for our Sunday suppers to get to the point where people feel welcome to come or invite their friends, even if they don’t know us.  As I continued with the preparations for dinner, a thought rose in my mind:  Jesus is coming for dinner.  I couldn’t shake the thought from my mind – our mystery guest was going to be Jesus.

And I was struck by how true that thought was.  Beyond the idea that it is possible to “entertain angels unawares”, in a very real way everyone who comes through our doors is Jesus.  As his people, Jesus dwells within each of us.  When I show hospitality to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am showing hospitality to Jesus.  Beyond this, Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40 that whatever we do for the “least of these” we do for Jesus.  That is part of why I love hospitality – I get to welcome Jesus into my home!

But I am also challenged by this realization too, as I think about stories in the gospels about Jesus and hospitality – especially the story of Mary and Martha.  Like many who enjoy showing hospitality, I can have very strong Martha tendencies.  I want to make sure the apartment is clean, that there is plenty of food, that the table is set nicely… etc.  And it becomes easy to be all hustle and bustle, busy serving my guests rather than simply being with them.  That is part of why these Sunday dinners are so good for me.  They are, in their very essence, meant to be informal and relaxed.  This isn’t the time for fancy place settings and centerpieces (as much as I love those things).  Supper is a simple pot of soup – no frills, not even any dessert!  (Unless someone brings some.)  While I love the elegant and fancy, and there is a place and time for that (I’d love to host a gourmet multi-course meal someday, I think it would be so fun!), this is not that time.  It is a time to simply be – to be with people, to slow down, to not worry about the messy kitchen or the piles of homework that have been shoved into the corners.  People, relationships, become the most important thing.  To look in the eyes of each person and see Jesus.


P.S. Please join us some Sunday, you are most welcome!

I Don't Want To

I've been thinking a lot lately about how often what I do in a given moment is dependent on what I feel like doing or don't feel like doing.  I am guessing I am not the only one, so I thought I'd share my ponderings.

I find that I generally have a decently long list of things that need to get done - more than I could realistically do in a day.  I think we're pretty much all in that situation.  In any given day my list involves home tasks like sweeping, washing the dishes, watering the plants and making supper.  Since it's Fall, I also have a list of canning and preserving projects that I haven't had time for yet, including canning spaghetti sauce, drying apples, and freezing apple pies.  Then there are all my school responsibilities - the paper that is due next week, the marking I need to do for my TA position, and I should really be practicing piano every day to keep up with my lessons.  And of course there are all the projects I am in the middle of: a braided rug, sewing projects for baby, and this blog that I don't like neglecting for too long.  And then on top of all of that, there are friends I want to catch up with, my relationship with God to nurture, spending quality time with my husband, and an increasingly needed nap time.

So where do I begin?  Generally with what I feel like doing.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with that - I mean, it is good to do things that I enjoy and have motivation to do.  And it is not always the "fun" things that I find that I want to do - sometimes the desire to have a clean bathroom puts cleaning at the top of the list!  However, I have begun to notice that this approach leaves me consistently postponing certain things that I should really do.

You have probably seen this grid before:

	Important	Not Important
Urgent
Not Urgent

Our tasks can be placed in a quadrant depending on how important/not important and urgent/not urgent they are.  The idea behind looking at our tasks this way is that without realizing it we often do the things that are urgent (whether important or not), but neglect to do the things that are important but not urgent.  (Note: I don't remember where I heard this from, so I'm not able to give credit.)

I wish I could add a third dimension to the grid, including "what I feel like doing" and "what I don't feel like doing".  Unfortunately, I'm not that tech savvy, so this will have to do:

	Feel like it	Don't feel like it
Urgent/ Important
Urgent/ Not Important
Not Urgent/ Important
Not Urgent/ Not Important

I'm not going to fill in this chart with my "to do list" for you, but you can probably guess where this is going.  Generally, what I get done in a day comes primarily from my "Feel like it" column, regardless of whether it was important or not.  Often I will get things done from the "Urgent/Important/Don't feel like it" category, but after all, those things are urgent and important - they NEED to get done!

Through all of this reflection, I have particularly been challenged by my neglect of the things that I don't feel like doing and that are not urgent yet are important.  For example - practicing my music.  I don't know why, so much of the time I just don't FEEL like practicing.  And while I know it is important, it is just not urgent, since I still have five more days till my next lesson (or whatever).  Another neglected part of my life is taking time alone with God.  Again, I know (in my head) that it is important, but it does not have the sense of urgency attached to it that other things do, like getting supper on the table or homework, and most of the time I don't FEEL like it.

So what should I do?  Here are some thoughts on breaking out of the "Don't feel like it" cycle.

Schedule:  When I notice that there are important things getting neglected, I could try scheduling them in at a certain time each day.  For example, always practice piano right after breakfast.
Just do it:  Even if I don't feel like it.  The funny thing about not wanting to do something - starting is often the hardest part.  Once you get started, it usually ends up being way better than you expected.
Keep it up:  Get into a habit of giving priority to the things that are important - both the urgent and not urgent ones, the ones you feel like doing and the ones you don't.  I don't want my days to be defined by "filler" that I just do because it was easy (facebook and internet browsing can suck so much of my day away if I let them).  I want to me more intentional in how I spend my time, and not be ruled by my fickle feelings of what I want to or don't want to do.
Ask why:  Why don't I feel like doing this thing that I know is important?  For example, I sometimes don't feel like writing something for my blog because I feel like I don't have something worth sharing.  However, that is generally because I'm being hard on myself, rather than it being true.
Get encouragement:  I find I often forget about this, but asking for help is actually a good thing!  Once I told Jesse that I was finding it hard to practice my music, he started asking me to play for him, and telling me how much he enjoyed it.  Sometimes some external motivation is all we need when we can't find the internal motivation.

Now excuse me, I'm going to go play piano or read my Bible or something...

What are some different ways that you have found to help yourself find motivation?

Meditation on John 2:1-11

The first sign recorded by John is when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding in Cana.  What I find fascinating is that so few people knew that the miracle had happened.  Jesus' disciples knew (since it is recorded that as a result they believed in him), perhaps Jesus' mother knew, and the servants who drew the water knew.  The wedding guests did not even know that there was a problem, let alone that Jesus had provided a solution.  The hosts of the wedding - the very ones who would have been in disgrace because the wine ran out - had no idea what happened.

I wonder if it is often like this in our lives.  We are so busy and distracted that we don't notice the miracles that happen all around us.

There are three characteristics of the people who witnessed the miracle:

• They were aware there was a problem.  If there are no problems in our life, we have no need for a miracle and we won't be looking for one.
• They were the outsiders.  The only ones that we are directly told were aware of the miracle were the servants.  I think that it is often the outsiders - the lowly, the outcasts from society, that are able to see more clearly what God is doing.  Christians in parts of the world where they are persecuted report frequently witnessing miracles, whereas in our comfortable, affluent culture where we easily fit in, we say that God doesn't do miracles anymore.
• They were close to Jesus.  Jesus' disciples were with him.  The servants obeyed what Jesus told them to do.  Because they were close to Jesus, they were witnesses of the miracle that he performed.

I drew this drawing to express these thoughts.  I desire to be a person who witnesses the miracles of Jesus.  I don't want to be so busy, caught up in my own pleasures and pursuits, that I miss the miracles that are happening right in front of me.  I want to be aware of the needs around me, be willing to be on the outside, and be close enough to Jesus that I can see what he is doing.

"Perfect Pony"

My latest project has been another stuffed animal for baby, but this time a crocheted one.  I found a free pattern online for a stuffed animal horse, called "Perfect Pony".  Here is the link if you want to check it out:  http://members.optusnet.com.au/we2/perfectpony.html

I used a bunch of random yarn that I picked up at MCC last year, and used a crochet hook that seemed comfortable.  Since the pattern didn't have a tension gauge, I really had no idea what size my pony would end up being!  I also decided not to make the saddle and bridle that was a part of the pattern.  Here is a peek at the process, although really the most time-consuming part was all the crocheting, and I didn't take any pictures of that.

It's really quite amazing how a bunch of random yarn can become something so cohesive, beautiful and useful.

There were definitely moments when I had to just hope that the pattern was telling me to do the right thing!

The pieces of one pony - ready to be assembled!

I am always impressed by how easy it is to sew crocheted pieces together.

Then all there was left to do was make the mane and tail, and add the facial features.

All finished!  Overall I found it to be a very easy pattern, and since I was able to use supplies that I already had (yarn and the stuffing from an old pillow) it was an inexpensive project too.  Sorry about the overabundance of pictures, but I think it's just so cute!

Thanksgiving 2014

As I pause and reflect on my life, I cannot help but think about how I have so much to be thankful for!  God has provided abundantly and my heart overflows.

Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; 
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
...Praise the LORD!

~Psalm 147:1-11, 20b

A Thanksgiving centerpiece, complete with fall leaves from Ontario that Mom Winger sent us

A final blossom

A lovely visit with Charlotte, and getting to go hiking again

A visit from Caleb, and our church's yearly retreat at Camp Squeah

A little one on the way

Another baby bump picture :)

God's beautiful creation

So blessed!

What are you thankful for today?