Be inventive in hospitality

May 11, 2019
” Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant.
Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.”
Romans 12 9:13
The Message
 
Whenever the words “it is better to give than receive” are heard it is usually to hide our disappointment at not receiving. The Bible is quite clear on the matter. Give of yourself; time, money, shelter, food, drink, advice, help, a smile, a hug, a ear.
 
It is truly better to give and to make someone else feel worthy; making someone know they are special. There isn’t much I can offer, but what I do, is with a good heart and cheer. Cooking has become a form of meditation for me. When I feel overwhelmed I invite people over. So I set myself with tasks like making my home presentable, preparing dishes which aren’t to my immediate taste, & of course, setting 
my focus, on the needs or preferences of my guests.
 
A recent lunch I shared with a life long friend. I consider her to be ‘my sister from another mother’. I love her deeply in a family way. We have shared so much joy and heartache over the years that our lives are entwined. It is more-than fate or coincidence that we met some 32 years ago. She’s vegetarian; but I forgive her!
 
Following a diet plan as I am, there are certain foods which although are allowed, are by their nature, a taboo. Interestingly enough, all foods are reported in terms of a SYN value. I am sure there is a sermon in there somewhere; how we live each day succumbing to the least of amount SYN/Sin.
 
My ‘Tree of Knowledge’ is pastry. The more you resist, the more you want! You don’t need pies, pasties, or sausage rolls; they are comfort food. Passing any Jenkins, Greggs or independent bakers is a chore. The air enriched with the aromas of freshly baked fayre, enticing us, resembling the serpent’s call to Eve takes  super-human willpower to resist. Star Trek’s Borg’s calling card told us bluntly, “Resistance is futile”!
 
With all this in mind, I set about making a lunch of sausage rolls, pastry encased 1/4lb burgers and fries. Using vegetarian products (Linda McCartney range) and a light pastry, homemade crisps and a healthy hearty salad; we enjoyed an acceptable amount of SYN, and more importantly, a good old natter.
 
Making the effort to give, opening my home and attempting to make someone else feel special & know they are loved left me with an enormous sense of wellbeing. A lesson my mother taught me, now she was the ‘hostess with the most-ess’.
 

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