1. Drop a meal the week of a PCS (before the move or after a neighbor moves in).

2. Been invited from the park to an in home Bible study.

3. Had a friend send specific times and dates she was available to watch kids during my spouse’s deployment.

4. Been invited to extended family dinners that weren’t my own.

5. Spent Thanksgiving with my church family during deployment.

6. Had a baby shower thrown for me after only 3 months of being somewhere.

7. Been picked up by a small group member with car seats after getting in an accident.

8. Weekly coffee / park play dates

9. Had a friend drive an hour to be with me at a children’s doctor’s appointment.

10. Been added to a small group text thread upon arriving.



Maybe some of these are obvious to you. Maybe some of them seem like a stretch. Maybe you think, “when I have more capacity” and it’s a valid reason.

Maybe you think, “when I have more capacity” but you never plan to make the margin.

My biggest takeaway from both this study from The Daily Grace study on hospitality and the book Habits of the Household by Justin Earley is that

[hospitality is not the same as entertainment]

Is that hard for you? It’s been hard for me! But I want to practice more. In this military world where we are all transient – to be for a short time, a landing place.