The conversation of my heart
Is hospitality. My spirit and flesh wrestle as I struggle to understand how to give of myself this way. How to give of my family and home. How to be available when all I really want to do some days is hibernate with my family in the simple life. Indulge in the things I enjoy. Use my resources on myself.
Today I’m thankful for the people in my life who converse with me. Who partner with me in hospitality. Who challenge me and affirm me. Encourage and restore me. I have a mother and sister who share a love for food and fellowship. Who enjoy the little details that make a meal enjoyable and meaningful. They’ve taught me skills, and share with me in the joy of making our houses homes. We have lifelong memories of sharing our spaces and resources with others. Of making our homes a blessing to those who enter. This journey in hospitality is made better through them.
I have a father who is generous. Who has taught me how to give and not expect in return. This is the way he loves people. And as a recipient of this love, I am thankful. Not only for the gifts, but for the lessons in giving he has taught through example.
And there’s Tessa. A friend who loves exploring new ideas and recipes. Who dreams with me about what hospitality looks like in ministry and everyday faith living. Her family is committed to the struggle too. Of understanding this calling of receiving life as participants in God’s redemptive work on earth. Without judgment, we can share our victories and expose our selfishness as we journey and struggle together.
And Tom. Who enters my home and makes it his. Oh, the joy he brings to this place, to our lives. He receives hospitality with grace. Something we all must learn. For we are called not only to be givers, but receivers of this gift.
I have a team who I shared life with in Uganda. A team who was open to learning together what it meant to hold people in a different culture. What it meant to provide for the hurting and needy. What it meant to share our private spaces when all we really wanted to do was pull the blinds shut and pretend we weren’t living among the obvious brokenness that surrounded us. Their example and support was life giving.
I have a church family who gathers in homes and shares meals as we discern together what it means to be the church in this time and place. What it means to share life together. What it means to welcome our neighbors and love the broken.
I have a family who is committed to the mission with me. A husband who challenges me, grows me, loves me. But most of all, who shares me. Who embraces a life much different than his personality would carve. He’s the spirit who feeds our home with grace. And then there’s our children. They know how to welcome at a young age. They know how to share their space, their beds, their time. They adapt to the new realities placed before them. And they teach me more about hospitality than anyone else. For these children, they enter. They take. They interrupt. They consume me in ways that keep me looking to Jesus to be filled.
And to the one who calls me, I am ever thankful. To the one who leads me, I say I will continue to follow and obey. Thank you for giving me the grace to see that I need to change. To see that this conversation is important. It is you that initiates all the conversations of my heart.
For those at Rochester Church of Christ who have been given a hospitality challenge of gathering on a Wednesday evening in homes, rather than at the building — I offer you this delicious meal created by my husband, who is quickly becoming the expert of homemade soup.
This Brunswick Stew can be made the day before you are having company, which is helpful in reducing the tasks necessary to having people in your home. It’s a delicious meal, with only bowl and spoon needed!
Mark first enjoy Brunswick stew as a receiver of hospitality from his Aunt Carolyn in the Carolina mountains.
Brunswick Stew (12-16 servings)
3 Lbs whole chicken boiled
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 lbs cut pork
16 oz. frozen cut corn (approx. 3 cups)
4 cups potatoes
2 cups cut carrots (approx. 3 large carrots or 4 medium)
1.5 cups cut celery (approx. 4 stalks)
1.5 cups minced onion (approx. 2 medium onions)
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 can (16oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (16oz) tomato sauce
Spices
1 tsp salt
Pepper
Mrs. Dash
Bay leaves
Paprika/Red Pepper/Cayenne Pepper
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Cook chicken and prepare stock. Boil Chicken about 2 hours until tender. Remove chicken and strain broth. Enhance flavor of broth by boiling with vegetables (onion, carrot, parsley, celery, ginger) approximately 1 hour. Set aside and let cool overnight or remove fat with separator.
- Cook main ingredients. Cover bottom of large stock pot with olive oil and heat to medium/medium-high. Season pork with salt and pepper and fry in stock pot, approximately 5-7 minutes per side until browned. Remove from oil and set aside. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add carrots, celery, and onion to stock pot and saute until vegetables are soft. Stir frequently to avoid burning, adding more oil as necessary. After vegetables are soft, add minced garlic and cook approximately 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, Stir potatoes into vegetable mixture and cook another 4-5 minutes.
- Cover vegetable mixture in chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Add diced tomatoes and reduce heat to medium and cook about 30-40 minutes. During this time, cut pork and chicken and add to the stew. Add corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes on medium.
Add tomato sauce and lower heat to low/low-medium. Add salt, pepper, bay leaves, seasoning, and vinegar to taste and simmer about 1 hour.
This soup pairs wonderfully with beer bread, an easy homemade bread with very few ingredients.
Beer Bread
3 Cups Flour
1 TBS Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 bottle of light beer (something like a Shiner)
4 TBS Butter, melted
Combine dry ingredients, add the entire bottle of beer and gentle fold with a fork just until all the dry in mixed in. Do not over stir. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 52 minutes. Remove from oven and pour melted butter all over the top. Bake for 5 more minutes.
