insomnia for the reader

means that i get to finish books at 3 in the morning that i have been working through for a while. i started this book in november when my husband brought it back from a conference he went to. i was a bit insulted thinking that it was a subtle way of telling me that i don't keep a clean house.

it is not. in fact, this might be one of the best books i have read in a long time in relation to christian living. i found it to be one of the most encouraging and challenging books i have read for the practicality of making & creating a home.... not just a house but a place of hospitality.

"how much more hospitable it would be if our homes were routinely to be places filled with satisfying meals, with shirts warm from the dryer, with smoothly made beds--not because we are trying to win the housekeeping prize but because these are good and pleasant ways to care for one another and ourselves."

it is not about "baking for jesus" but about seeing the job i have creating a home where my family and others are cared for.

"a godly home is to be a place of nurturance and refreshment not only for its inhabitants but also for strangers and guests. household members come home not to escape the world and it other inhabitants but to eat and to rest, to enjoy fellowship, and to go back out into the world of work and other people."

what a different concept than the one that says home is our safe retreat from the world.... our escape... our place where our private world rules and we separate ourselves from the public. it was interesting how she talked about how our grandparents probably shared beds with their siblings, our parents shared rooms with siblings, we had our own rooms, and our kids have their own bathrooms. our culture continues to drives itself away from community and more toward the ideal of privacy. hospitality then is the antidote to private living creating a sense of community around the table, the sharing of space, and a place of welcome.

i really loved this book. thanks, kate!