Opening My Home

 We have found ourselves in a season of ministry at the moment.

I understand that for the homemaker, every ordinary day in her home is a ministry. But we have the unique privilege of hosting out of state missionaries for the time being.

I want our family to be able to say, as Job did, "My door was always open to the traveler." (Job 31:32)

It has been nothing but sheer delight.

What a fun honor it's been to provide a safe haven for these two ladies in my home.

My job is to make sure they are comfortable, loved, and well-fed. They work hard each day preparing and teaching lessons, and ministering at church in other various ways, that when they come home I want them to feel they can relax, rest, and just be.

I prepared Elsa's room for them to share while they're here...

(Elsa didn't mind giving up her room. She has been sleeping in bed with me, and it's going just fine. She is a very still and quiet sleeper. I don't even know she's next to me most of the time.)

😊

It can be overwhelming in the days leading up to guests' arrival. But I did my best to prioritize and not worry about the rest. For example, the priority for me was making sure they had extremely clean bedding.

I spent two days washing literally everything, right down the the pillows themselves and the mattress covers.

I washed the sheets and blankets in yummy smelling detergent, with a few drops of bleach, so everything would seem very fresh to them.

I also had fun assembling welcome baskets to greet them on their first night with us.

I filled the baskets with cozy, useful items like soft slippers, body lotion, chocolate, a journal, etc...

I've learned that traveling missionaries are great at settling right in and making themselves at home. They are used to a "life on the road." The adjustment is on the host's part. 

I had a little anxiety at the very beginning - just fear of the unknown. But we have now settled nicely into a routine, which has helped me relax very much.

The key is to pay close attention to their likes and needs within the first 24 hours (like how much they eat, what time they wake up, and their bathroom routines for example) so that the host can alter her family and her routine to cater to them.

They have been so sweet and appreciative of everything I've done for them, that it's been a blessing to serve them in these ways.

Booker T. Washington inspired me in his autobiography when he wrote, "In my contact with people I find that, as a rule, it is only the little, narrow people who live for themselves, who never read good books, who do not travel, who never open up their souls in a way to permit them to come into contact with other souls- the great outside world. I have found that the happiest people are those who do the most for others; the most miserable are those who do the least."

For me, if I open my home to you I have opened myself to you, because my home is an extension of my heart. I would be happy to do anything for these girls while they're here with me, and I've made sure to tell them that several times. 

My goal is to serve them and provide for their needs, but I also have another goal in mind, and that is to be a good example to them. They are young adults just starting out in a world that bombards them with messages like, chase your dreams, pursue higher education, and nothing is more important than a career.

Without ever actually saying a word to them about any of these things, I just simply wish to show them, through my actions and my homelife, a good example of a mother who is content and of a homeschool family who is doing well.

Who knows how far that could go? 

"Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home...." (Titus 2:4-5)

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

Keep me in your prayers, as I continue in my effort to provide for my guests as lavishly and joyfully as possible. And as I always say on my blog, to cast a positive light onto homemaking.

💐

~ Courtney