Here it is, in case you missed it – a run down of the best content (gauged by number of comments) that appeared on the blog this year! If you’re new here, I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know me and my blog a little better with this glimpse into the archives. If you’ve been around for a while and have read all these posts – I would love to hear how your journey has been since you read that post, tried that recipe I shared, or where the inspiration you found here took you!
This year Hospitality was a real theme in our home and what I shared online.
I submitted my first guest post, “Hospitality: To Bless or Impress?” to my all-time favorite blog, Passionate Homemaking in March and quickly made several new friends with the gals that followed me over from Lindsay’s blog. When we completed our guestroom, we actually hosted several blog readers who took us up on our Open Invitation to visit and became friends In Real Life!
Some people thought we were weird for inviting complete strangers into our home, but they didn’t know how much fun it really was! Not only did we enjoy some wonderful fellowship, we became aware that the Biblical instruction to exercise hospitality actually means to SEEK opportunities to show hospitality. So we continued to actively look for ways to open our home more often, and that’s when we found out about A Candle in the Window Hospitality Network and joined up immediately!
We had hope to host another Fall Open House, but the apple harvest was too small to make much cider. We enjoyed hosting many of you in smaller get-togethers, and hope to create many more memories with you all in the coming year! Further organizing and arranging has allowed us to convert two rooms upstairs to guest rooms and we have the space for even large families. If you’re ever coming through the Fingerlakes Region of Upstate New York, don’t hesitate to email and set up a visit! We’d love to meet you!
How about you? Were you inspired to reach out and pursue hospitality this year? How were you blessed? Do you have plans to make hospitality a regular routine in your home in the coming year? I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Yes, we have created the most opportunities ever this year to perform hospitality in our home. We look forward to more opportunity in the new year to come. Thank you for your inspiration. I truly enjoy reading your blog! It's a breath of fresh air.
Getting to know you via your blog archives was a blessing. Getting to know you “In Real Life” was WONDERFUL! So thankful God allowed our paths to cross – – even ever so briefly. I'm certain ours will be one of those friendships where we can pick up right where we left off each time we meet again. 🙂
I never dreamed that God would do so much in our lives in the past few months, however I am so grateful and amazed at His goodness.
While there are no B&Bs in Barrow, there are a few (overpriced) hotels. But Stephen and I have a vision that our home (small & humble though it may be) could become a retreat, not just for family and friends when they might visit, but mainly for missionaries and our bigger Christian “family”. It will take some time to get to that point (we're living with borrowed linens and dishes right now!), but the hospitality you and Jeremy extended to us, Trina, has inspired me to work towards that end. So grateful for the REAL YOU that you share with the world via this blog…
We loved the couple of days we got to spend with you last summer and are looking forward to doing it again this coming summer. One of things that I am grateful about our new home is that we have an extra bedroom…the bed is always made up and there is a basket of toiletries waiting for expected or unexpected guest…