Consumed but not stressed (yet)

Every year we host a BBQ for our church. This Sunday
we will have about 100 people for dinner. It is a lot of
fun--we have the perfect setting for such an event.
We have a trampoline, a swingset with sand box, a large
homemade playhouse, a metal (watering trough) pool for
swimming, a huge yard for volleyball, basketball on the
carport and plenty of room for horseshoes, whiffleball
games and anything else that might show up. Don't you
wish you could come? You'd be welcome.

We sandwich our church summer activities with this BBQ in
May and then a Fun Day BBQ at another member's house in
August.

I love planning for company. Don't worry, I am normal and
I definitely can get stressed out, but mostly I just enjoy it.
I even like cleaning up afterwards. The biggest kick I get
is during the BBQ (or whatever people are over for) watching
people have fun at my house. I love to provide a place that
will facilitate relationships and enjoyment. And on top of all
that my kids love this so much they don't complain at all over
the hours of weed-eating, mowing, and general clean-up
involved. Our yard never looks so good. It will get at least
one other good clean-up this year because we are hosting a
weekend family reunion in July for my husband's family.

I suppose the gift of hospitality is on my list of God-given
gifts. But I don't have it to the degree that my friend
Donna Miller does. She told me once that she only dusts
when she has company. "Ha ha," thought I, "she only has
company 4 or 5 times a week."

I Peter 4:9

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

I have to admit though that I was consumed (stressed?)
enough that on Wednesday I put the pork chops in the
oven at 4:00 and when I went to check on them at
5:30 I discovered I had forgotten to turn on the oven.
Oh well, the biscuits and scrambled eggs were good and
the pork chops fed us on Thursday instead.