Dear Guests,

An open letter to our

guests

friends

family

We have a lot of people stay at our house.  A slew of guests.  gazillions.  

Our Mom calls our door a revolving door.  

Our living room is called the "hotel lobby."  

I share my bed or take the couch every week.  

We rarely have a meal nowadays with our whole family when someone else isn't over.  

Seriously, it is so cool.  I am so blessed to have parents that make such an effort to be hospitable and loving to every person that comes in our door (or driveway for that matter).  Some of it is tough love.  

The young people who are constantly swinging through do dishes and help clean.  They learn how to cook and set the table properly.  We send them down to the dungeon (that is a completely different story) or garden to fetch things for dinner.  

You don't come here to get the perfect Martha Stewart gourmet french meal.   More often than not you'll get one-pot or beans and rice.  You don't come here to have a tea party (but we will drink tea :-).  When you come in our door you won't find the perfect, clean, organized house.  Especially if you don't call ahead or even knock.  

People come here to learn.  They come here to grow.  They come here to question.  They come here to laugh.  They come here to be accepted.  They come here to rest.  They come here to work.  


They come here to live.  


When we say discipleship we don't mean taking you through a manual on what to wear and say and do to look spiritual.  We love books, and we study the Bible together, but it is more than that.  We try to put shoeleather to Christianity.  We talk about hard issues constantly. We don't run a cookie-cutter academy where you come to get "finished" and enter the world perfect.

When we say discipleship we mean living.  We take you through life.  Yours...and ours.  You make mistakes, and you learn from them.  You will get bruises and bumps.  We are NOT perfect.  We mess up.  All. the. time.  Then we say we're sorry and make it right.  We ask you to forgive us, and we change.

Whether you're here for a meal or you keep coming back for years we love you, and we try to come along side you where you are.  You think we're crazy, and we are.  You think we are teaching you but you have no idea how much you end up teaching us.  You bless and encourage us.  You make us more like Jesus.  You come into our home as we are, and you leave behind different people.

For that we thank you.  For that I thank you.

Come again soon, yes?  Let's change together.  

Let's live.