Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Today’s prompt is Visit!

As many of you know I have spent the last several days in South Carolina at the Allume conference. The entire theme this year surrounded the idea of hospitality.

I would like to think that I have the gift of hospitality…but I have been thinking about it this weekend and while I do think I have that gift, it is conditional.

If my house is clean enough or I can present you with the perfect meal then you are more than welcome to come and visit me.

But what would I do if someone just showed up? Even more would I ever be willing to invite a stranger in?

I don’t know why I have to associate good hospitality with having it all together?!

A few months ago we were approached by a friend from church asking if we would be willing to host a small group each week in our home. This is the first time since we moved here that this was a opportunity for us and I was excited. We have been blessed with the perfect home for entertaining, with plenty of places for people to sit/gather. Dominic and I both agree that God gave us such a gift with our home and we should share it with others.

But the Sunday afternoon before the first meeting I was running around like a crazy person. Vacuuming (which is truly a MUST with 4 children and a dog), dusting, cleaning toilets in the bathrooms that people may use, washing all the mirrors and appliances down.

Oh and then about 2 hours before everyone showed up I thought that spot cleaning the rug in the family room was something that HAD to be done, so I cleaned about 6-7 bad spots….and realized about 20 minuted before everyone came that the spots had not dried. So when everyone walked in the room there was the risk that they would step in the spot and wonder if they had stepped in dog pee.

Ah yes, the life of a crazy women with the gift of hospitality.

I had lost focus on the real reason that I wanted people to come into our home. The heart connections that were possible when they all came to visit. We sat around the table, a mix of ages and backgrounds and talked over tough issues and laughed over good treats.

The spots on my carpet didn’t matter. I don’t believe they matter to them…why did they have to matter so much to me?

I want my home to be a welcoming place for people to come and visit. I want to always be open to swing wide the door and offering an invitation to life with someone else.

If other people can look past the dust and the stains, the handprints on the wall, why can’t I?

If we want to build community, be hospitable, we have to be willing to let people see the imperfect parts as well as the clean. This is easy to write and more difficult to implement for me but I am willing to try.

So you are all invited, I don’t need advance warning. I may have dishes in the sink and dog hair on my floor….but if you come and visit, I promise that I will spend my time cherishing the guest and not stressing about the mess.

In Him, Kristin

Photo Credit: WaywardShinobi

Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Today’s prompt is LOOK!

Today my view is different than normal.

I started my journey early in the car headed 3 hours towards the Minneapolis airport. My destination? Greenville, South Carolina and the Allume conference.

I am so blessed to be able to travel to Allume again this year, but this time I attend with a different focus. Last year I went so that I could learn more about blogging, and to potentially grow in my understanding about how to make money from this writing gig. But the reality last year is that God grabbed ahold of my heart in a big way and showed me that all of this was so much less about me and so much more about what I can do for others.

It was and continues to be a gift.

So today as I start the trip again I am filled with anticipation about what God will do. This time around I am excited about the community. I am anxious for long talks with the women who were strangers last year and now have become close friends. Excited to pray over and encourage dreamers that come to our God-sized Dream meet-up.

As I drove I couldn’t help but take in God’s beauty all around me.

The clouds were pink-tipped as the sun started to rise. The outline of the tree banks glistened and it was all I could do to not stop and just take picture after picture.

My journey went quickly and I rested for a few moments in MSP before we boarded the flight. Even the view from an airport waiting room chair can be beautiful if we are able to take in the blessings all around.

Can you see them…whatever your view today, can you count the blessings?

In the air I thanked God once again for the opportunity to travel, for my family that supports me and handle all the things while I am gone. For a safe flight, with a beautiful view.

If I look, I always find the blessings.

I can be a negative Nelly. I really struggle against it. But if I look, if I am just open to seeing with God’s eyes, the gifts abound.

I don’t know what God has in store for the next few days. I am praying once again that my agenda will be left at the door and His will come through loud and clear.

Help me to see Your will Lord. May I always be open to looking for You in each moment.

In Him, Kristin