Shine Your Light {Season of Hospitality} #Dayspring #LiveYourFaith

**Product received for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own. Post contains affiliate links. 

Hospitality

hos·pi·tal·i·ty
ˌhäspəˈtalədē/
noun
1.
the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas season right around the corner, these final few months of the year truly are the season of hospitality. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 4:9, 'Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.'... but how exactly do we do that during the holiday season?

When I hear the word, there are two stories/verses in the Bible that immediately come to mind. First is the story that for me is the ultimate definition of hospitality- the story of Mary & Martha:

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. 
"She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her'" (Luke 10:38–42).

This story happens to be a favorite of mine, in part because I see a lot of myself in this story. Now, I wish I could say that I see myself as a Mary, but I must admit, more often than not I find myself to be a little more of a Martha. I think if we were being completely honest, a lot of us have that Martha in us. When we are having company visit for the holidays, we want everything to be just perfect. We clean the house top to bottom, getting all those little nooks and crannies that might have gotten neglected in your every day cleaning. Oh, and the decorations. I must admit, I have these dreams of having a home like you see on the TV... when you walk in, every last detail has been made over for Christmas. The perfect wreath on the door, a beautifully decorated tree, throw pillows and garlands perfectly hung, stockings at a fireplace neatly in a row... Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to have a perfect home, but we cannot be so caught up in that quest that we let our Martha take over and push our Mary to the side. And the reality? My tree is slightly crooked (thank you toddlerhood),  there are still messes on the floor and that fireplace? Yeah, we don't have one. Every ornament perfectly in place? With a kitten and a toddler? I must be dreaming!

Still, if I cannot have that perfect Martha home, I at least want my decor to reflect this season of hospitality. I want it to be warm, I want it to be welcoming, I want it to MEAN something. This year when I was choosing the theme for my tree, I found myself thinking about hospitality, and came upon another perhaps less obvious verse on the topic:

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.- Matthew 5:16

What a wonderful verse! Isn't that what hospitality truly is all about? When we offer hospitality- be it opening our home or volunteering our time/resources to serve others- we are being that light that God has called us to be, bringing glory to His name. This is a verse that I strive to live by throughout the year but during this holiday season I truly wanted my home to reflect that too. And so I came to the theme, 'Shine Your Light'... a beautiful combination of silver and gold finished off with a stunning gold and burlap tree skirt. Add in some nativities and Letterpress blocks, and I have the perfect reminder for my family of that light seen on that first Christmas night leading the wise men to Christ. And like that light, we can shine our lights through our actions and our hospitality in a way that brings glory to God.

O, Star of wonder, star of night Star of royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.

Looking for ways to keep Christ in your Christmas decor? Dayspring has just what you need. And when you use the code SHINEHISLIGHT, you can save $20 on your purchase of $60 or more, plus get free shipping.



Want to read more about hospitality and the Christian life? Check out these fantastic articles from Dayspring for more! And let me know in the comments- how do you show hospitality?