October: A Month of Loving Others Well

One of my favorite childhood memories was carving pumpkins with my Dad. He would cut open the top. Then my siblings and I had the joy of dipping our hands inside and pulling out the stringy, sticky guts. Once the inside was all clean, my dad would help us carve a friendly face onto the pumpkin. And finally, we would place a candle inside and watch them glow. Afterwards, he would gather us all around and we would read “The Pumpkin Patch Parable” by Liz Curtis Higgs. The whole concept of the book is, like a pumpkin, God transforms us and puts his light inside of us to shine in the world. With this concept in mind, we are preparing to spend October intentionally practicing Biblical hospitality.

Loving Others Well

Biblical hospitality doesn’t have to be complicated. I love how Rachel Schelb phrases it as “loving others well on purpose.” It is simply seeing where you can intentionally love others in your everyday. It’s so simple, but it’s also easy to get caught up in our own lives and neglect inviting others in. So in October we are shifting our focus to be more intentional in practicing Biblical Hospitality, and I would love if you would join us!

Ideas for Loving Others Well

I’ve created a cute FREE printable with some ideas of how we can practice Biblical hospitality. This isn’t meant to be a checklist, but more of a visual aid to help us keep this intention in the front of our minds. Some ideas can be baking cookies for the neighbors, or writing a note to a friend. We also will be using this time to disciple our little ones in Biblical Hospitality, like carving pumpkins and brainstorming ways we can shine God’s love to others.

Click here for your FREE Printable!

I would love for you to be on this journey with us! Please, share your ideas to your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #littlepumpkinlights. Let us shine the love Christ has put in our hearts into this dark world.

NOT A Halloween Thing

My heart is that this would NOT be a Halloween thing. Every year I cringe as October 1st hits and my Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with fellow believers arguing how to handle this holiday. I avoid the subject at all costs when talking with Christian friends, because it always leads to hurt feelings and awkwardness. I truly believe that Satan’s biggest win on Halloween is NOT the celebration of fear and the apparent delight in evil. Instead it is the division and quarreling amongst believers. And the thing is that most of us have reached our personal convictions through very valid reasons. So instead, my hope is that this would be a place of common ground, that we all recognize we are called to be lights in this world, and we can each do this in our own way. We don’t have to lay down our convictions to find a way to love our neighbors. Sure, greeting neighbor kids on Halloween with a bowl full of candy may be how you choose to love your neighbors, but it doesn’t have to be. You may choose a different day to invite a “fringe friend”* to a playdate, or to take the elderly neighbor across the street some muffins. There are a lot of right ways to practice Biblical Hospitality, and very few wrong. We each are going to choose what’s best for our families based on our own personal journeys and people Christ has entrusted us to love well. So let’s do this. Let’s put down the the metaphorical fists and pitchforks, and come together with a mission to love each other and our neighbors well.

#littlepumpkinlights

I can’t wait to see all the ideas and inspiration you all come up with. As Mother Theresa said “We can all do small things with great love.” So let’s find some small ways we can love others well.

What are some ways you can love your neighbors this October?