During the month of October I’m joining The Nester’s 31 Day Challenge and writing “31 Days to Building Community”. I’m passionate about building relationships and growing in community together. To see all the posts in the series click here.
THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN FEBRUARY OF 2012, IT WAS SUCH A BIG PART OF WHAT I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT BUILDING COMMUNITY THAT I FELT I HAD TO SHARE IT AGAIN AS PART OF THIS SERIES.
There are a ton of things that we make excuses for, and one of them is our homes and inviting people over.
But why? Why can’t we open our homes and invite people in? Because inviting them in to our home and lives makes us vulnerable. They might see a dirty dish or something out of place. Eeeeek!
Reading this post about not apologizing for your messy home got me to thinking about our home, our mess and whether or not I apologize for it.
Sometimes I do. I can hear myself saying, “Come on in, I’m sorry the house is such a disaster,” even though, it’s really just a little messy.
One thing I’m very grateful for is that we have always invited people over. We love to have people over! We eat, watch movies or football, play board games or watch youtube videos over and over again.
But the best part is that we didn’t wait to have a “perfect home” to have guests (good thing!). In fact, we had people over at our first apartment with mismatched furniture and boxes of wedding gifts that just didn’t fit anywhere except the dining room floor (and by dining room I mean a small corner connecting the living room and kitchen). For Harrison’s birthday that year we invited friends over. They helped us carry the grill down to the parking lot to cook steaks and then sat in bag chairs circled around the coffee table to eat dinner. I WISH I had taken pictures of that!
When we moved into our house we hosted a Bible Study and a Community Group before we ever painted a wall or hung a picture. And even now, these groups come over while there are dishes in the sink and crumbs on the floor.
Just this weekend we had friends over to watch the Super Bowl. They walked in through the foyer and right past our unfinished “Gallery Wall” that is laid out with wrapping paper taped on the walls. And you know what? It didn’t matter!
And why should it? It’s just real life, people.
I like to think that we have an open home where people can come and go and be comfortable, and that it doesn’t have to be spotless to have guests. And I LOVE it.
If you have been waiting to invite people over until you get the wall decorations hung, or the boxes put away or that dream living room furniture – STOP IT.
No one is coming over to see your decorations or your furniture or your clean house – in fact, having a less-than-perfect house will probably make them feel more comfortable anyway.
Just invite people over and welcome them in to your life.
For ideas on some simple get togethers or some tips on formal hosting, check out my pinterest boards - Invite People Over and What’s for Dinner?
Do you invite people in to your home? What other excuses do you make for not inviting people over?
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Amen sister! When I first got married, I was very “Martha” about my home, making sure there were lines in the carpet whenever anyone came over. But I started to have a lot of people over thanks to our small group, so I got over that quickly. My friends didn’t care and it was getting too exhausting! I still have my Martha moments, but it’s important for me to remember how I feel at other people’s homes — not scrutinizing and judging their house, but just thankful to be invited!
[...] Day 3: Invite People Over [...]