Practice Makes Imperfect Giveaway (And Announcing an Online Study!)

Special Note: Be sure to join us tomorrow when former Victoria’s Secret supermodel Kylie Bisutti joins me telling her story of giving up modeling immodest clothes because of her faith in Jesus. You will love her story and admire her courage!

Welcome to those of you who have joined after reading my Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today devotion. If you haven’t peeked at it, click here to get caught up, but be sure to come back for the announcement and giveaway!

Does the phrase “Company’s coming!” send you running for cover? I can sooooo can relate.

I married into a family full of interior decorators, caterers, and Bed and Breakfast owners, while I myself could hardly boil water!

On weekdays beginning Monday, March 19th, we’ll be having ourselves a 15-day online study based on my book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others. (It will run weekdays for three weeks and end on Good Friday)

With special guests, great giveaways, doable, practical ideas, and YOUR recipes, decorating tips (perhaps even a few hospitality horror stories?), this inter-active online journey will enable you to:

·      Recognize the difference between “entertaining” in today’s culture and biblical hospitality

·      Identify the top excuses for not opening your home and apply simple solutions to overcome them

·      Acquire weekly, quick-cleaning strategies, a proven system for de-cluttering your house and easy, decorate-on-a-shoestring tips

·      Arm yourself with delicious cooking-for-a-crowd recipes, make-ahead meals and kid-friendly favorites

·      Discover “hospitality on the road” ideas for living a life of welcome wherever your daily life takes you

This study will take place here (but also have all of the links to the posts on my Facebook study page.)

Sign up is a simple two-step!

#1–Just click on the little envelope icon in the top of the sidebar here to get my posts delivered to your email box each day. (If you decide you don’t want to keep getting my posts via email after the study, simply click on the “unsubscribe” link in the email) You can do this today or just before the study launches. (You might forget so I suggest you do it now.)

#2–And, get yourself a copy of the book. (Click here to get it from Proverbs 31 Ministries) You’ll need to start reading the book (have chapters 1-4 done before we begin, if you can. PLEASE don’t fret about keeping up with the reading. This will be a relaxed study, full of grace!)) and have it to refer to during the study (for discussion purposes and for crazy giveaways like: “The first person to leave a comment telling me what recipe is on page 176 wins a prize!)

Now, as a little pre-view, check out this hospitality giveaway. It includes:

~ A pair of fancy-pants cleaning gloves. (Won’t you be stylish scrubbing those toilets for company?)

~ A “Greener Clean” Scotch Brite non-scratch sponge

~ A new sage green dish towel

~ A plum spatula (as in plum colored, not one made for plums, although it certainly will work if you need to scrape yourself some mashed plums out of a bowl).

~ A set of collapsible measuring cups

~A Ghirardelli Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar

~ A triple layered candle (apricot, mandarin-cranberry & tropical twist)

~ A signed copy of A Life That Says Welcome

In order to be entered in the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us the last time you had someone over for supper or a snack. Be honest. If it hasn’t been since 1997, that is okay!

 

ALSO: If you mention this post on Facebook or Twitter today, leave a second comment letting us know to have a double chance to win.  (Here is the short link to the post: http://goo.gl/kMlGu )

 

Oh yeah—and the winners of the 7 Ebooks from Amy Bayliss are:

Carissa, Sylvia, Polly Knehr, Kamya, Beth Cranfrod, Amy S and Ann :-) You’ll be receiving and email from my assistant Kim at the address you left when you commented so be watching for it!

 

Now, be sure to come back tomorrow to meet Kylie. Happy hospitality!

433 Comments

  1. The last time we had company was the last in a series of football-season company to watch our university team games and championship finals. Everyone brought something to go with the main theme of the party or the main dish. The year before last we had a “tailgate” party. Someone had bumped into my husband’s truck’s tailgate and he had taken if off to take in for repairs. We brought it in the house, cleaned it up and put all the food (sandwich and salad theme) on the tailgate on our dining room table—that was fun! I often make a cake putting a small rubbery football with our team name on top of the frosting. We set up seating w/kids on the floor, adults on couch and love seat, dining room chairs and high bar stools behind the others so everyone can see. The first game was only on a pay station so everyone pitched in a few dollars to see it. Once they made it into finals it was televised free.
    We also always have Christmas Eve here and often have an open house Christmas Day Night—-after everyone is home from their Christmas dinners they come at any time bringing leftovers or snacks. I make the main food. We put out jigsaw puzzles, piles of games and have extra tables set up. We play games, snack, listen to Christmas music and occasionally watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” and have a fun ending to Christmas. We haven’t done it for a couple years—people now call us to see if we’re having it. This year we will do it because all our kids and grandbabies are coming home for a visit and they have requested it!
    It has taken me years, no decades, to stop feeling like I must clean the entire house before a get-together and that has made having company much easier and more fun.

  2. Just moved to a new city so I called an old friend over so our young daughters could have a playdate! This was back in Sept I think. Time flies.

  3. We have people over weekly, mostly friends of my college kids but I am always looking for hints to run a more efficient household.

  4. We had people over for our granddaughters 1st birthday the end of January. This online study sounds interesting.

  5. I love hosting and have opened my home in times past to people who end up hurting me. My desire is to be a hostess for God and doing what he has called me to. I will really love to learn how to open my home again and make a difference. I have been protecting myself for a long time and really want to let go. Please help me do that.

  6. My last hospitality attempt was a week after my second c-section. I was sleep deprived, cleaned for hours, cooked for hours, and everything was perfect…until I started hemorrhaging. I had to go to the hospital and left my guests watching my new 2 week old and 18 mos old. I wasn’t suppose to be lifting, cleaning, etc… I was crazy. Haven’t braved a party since.

  7. The last time we had someone over for the evening was just a couple of days ago … BUT it wasn’t because I wanted to! I have to admit I don’t like hosting, and it was just because it was my boyfriend’s birthday and he wanted to have some family over.

  8. shared on facebook would love to win this as this is my spirtiual gift just haven’t used it like i should or want because i don’t have any one to really share this gift with

  9. Glad to see that I’m not the only one that worries about having company! My husband LOVES to have people over and I enjoy it but worry SO much about cleanliness and clutter. My husband doesn’t even notice when the house is messy- this is a blessing in one sense but not when he keeps inviting people over unexpectedly! I NEED this study!

  10. I had my son’s birthday dinner on February 23 with family and friends here for dinner. I usually don’t have people over because I am too lazy to do the big production. If I would scale down and not make it such a big thing, I might do it more often.

  11. We love having friends and family over…we do it at least once a month and I would do it more often! Thanks for the blog and upcoming study! I’m looking forward to it!

  12. Not sure if I’m too late for this giveaway. It’s been a couple of months since we’ve had anyone over. We’ve had sickness after sickness here. But, I have a friend coming over for lunch this Friday.

  13. Thanksgiving….

    Tho we did have 20+ 8th graders over to meet our new youth pastor and pizza in January

  14. Four of us (myself, husband, and two boys- 7 and 13) live in an apt that is less than 1000sf. We had some dear friends over for Thanksgiving dinner (2 parents, 2 kids) and it was a lot of fun! They came early and stayed late. Now, I admit, there were cooking shortcuts. I bought the pies at the grocery store and the gravy came from a jar. Everything else I cooked was very simply done. Still, I’m very reluctant to having guests.

  15. My husband grew up in a family that had people over more than once a week. I grew up in a family that did not except if family came to visit. Hospitality is difficult for me, but I try. This past Saturday we had my son-in-love’s mother and father and grandmother for lunch. All things considered, it went pretty well. I’m always stressed, but enjoy it once the company is here.
    Looking forward to this study.

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