Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Hospitality celebrates

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The beauty of real-life hospitality: Everyone leaves whenever you are full in every way. - Kristin Hill Taylor, Bringing Home More Than Groceries #morethangroceries

In honor of my birthday and birthday season around my house, I wanted to share an excerpt from my book “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People.” It’s actually an excerpt from one chapter, so if you’d like to read the whole chapter on how hospitality celebrates, you can! DOWNLOAD IT HERE. 

Last year, we missed celebrating birthdays like we usually do, so this year we’ve been celebrating all the birthdays and love doing so! Three of the five of us have birthdays within two weeks from the end of April to the beginning of May. Pretend you’re joining us on our porch for one of the recent birthday parties, and let’s celebrate together.

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I grocery shopped on my 37th birthday. It was a Tuesday in the middle of a busy season for our family. Cate was finishing third grade and Ben had made it to the end of kindergarten. We’d all survived and maybe even thrived as we added a new person to our family about a month after Ben started kindergarten. We had a new groove as a family of five. 

The week ahead held birthday party preparations for my girl turning nine, end-of-the-school extras like class parties and Teacher Appreciation Week, and some of my own celebrating, of course. I had a really long list: ingredients to make chicken enchiladas for the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week and then double for my own family, gifts cards for presents, diapers in a bigger size because Rachel was growing before my eyes, baby formula, toppings for the pancake bar Cate wanted for her Pippi Longstocking-themed birthday party, and, well, food for meals and snacks.

Food might be my love language. I used to think it was gift giving. And then quality time started to matter more. I still really love and feel loved knowing someone thought of me, took the time to get me something, and made plans with me.

But food.

Greg brought me a cinnamon roll from a local bakery that morning for my 37th birthday. My best friend planned dinner with some of my other friends later in the week so we could celebrate together. Even when it’s not my birthday, I like to lunch with my friends. I plan gatherings with adoptive moms around a table at a local restaurant that also has a ball pit. Among favorite blessings as a new mom were when friends showed up with meals, so that’s what I do for other new moms. 

I’m telling you, food may be my love language. And birthdays.

Of course, there’s something sacred about sharing meals and our real lives around a table. So sacred that after God made covenants with people, they ate. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life (John 6:35) and multiplies fishes (Matthew 14:13-21) so people know what it’s like to feel full beyond their stomachs. We eat at weddings and birthday parties. We bring food after funerals and births.

Most importantly, we celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross with Holy Communion. Our church does this weekly, but I know frequency varies from church to church. Christ followers know this simple, traditional meal is life changing. We remember Jesus gathering with His disciples for one last supper. We remember Jesus knowing His time on earth was ending and displaying faithfulness to His Father’s plan. We remember His acts of dying and rising again and how that changes our futures forever. Communion is truth fulfilled.

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I have other hospitality-related goodies such as another excerpt, a printable on how to open your home and life in every season, and a playlist for you on the “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” page. Of course, you can buy the whole book at Amazon too! 

Hospitality in the new life of spring

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Spring breathes new life right into my soul. I’m always thankful when this season comes around, and not solely for the sunshine! In my book “Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People,” I open the spring section with this quote from author Shannan Martin: “Seasons changed, and we changed with them. Every day became its own kind of spring, good things growing from low places, belonging to everyone, teaching us to stick our necks out, take a risk, and bloom in spite of struggle.” 

In honor of this new season, I wanted to share another excerpt from my book. Join me on my porch that overlooks trees turning green, grass that needs to be mowed again, and the pool that’s waiting for someone to jump in. 

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We didn’t live here in the spring we bought this property, but we stopped by to check on things periodically. Living here when the grass and trees become greener brings healing and adventures. Now I know where the daffodils pop up, often in February, and I wonder if they’ll really survive March. Somehow they do. 

Adventures don’t always come easily to me because I like order, but I’m part of a family that’s full of adventurers. And now I live in a place that beckons me to come out — out of my house and out of my comfort zone. My kids are growing up here, where the stars are easier to see and the trees shelter so much life. Since we’ve moved to the country, they’ve outgrown many pairs of shoes and pants, lost their teeth and Nerf bullets, and moved up so many notches on the growth charts. 

I’ve grown up too. Greg and I have had some of the best years of our marriage here in the country, where my soul feels more relaxed and the pressure to keep too-quick a pace is less. I’ve bought muck boots, know the best entrances to the creek, and keep an eye on the turkey and deer who like to call our yard home too. 

Spring on our property and in my soul makes it seem like life is always changing and being made new. But my faith remains in a constant God who faithfully ushers me into a connection with Him and my people in all the seasons. Hospitality allows us to adventure because we’re anchored to where we’ve been, where we are, and the unknown that’s still to come. Through it all, God is unchanging and asks us to seek Him all of our days. 

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Hospitality matters in every season. As a reminder of that, please download the free printable that offers practical suggestions on how to open your heart, home, and life to others — regardless of the season. (DOWNLOAD HERE.) Also on the “Bringing Home More Than Groceries” page, you’ll find sample chapters, endorsements, and a playlist. 

How to make celebrations fun

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We’ve got Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day coming up soon, plus my kids recently had Spirit Week at school. And there are always birthdays and anniversaries to remember. It’s no secret, I love celebrating people and dates, but sometimes it’s hard to know how much to do. Truthfully, my kids don’t need elaborate celebrations to make memories.

The good news is that there are lots of ways that you can make any occasion special. The key is taking some time to think about how to make certain days more memorable. Below are some tips to do just that.

Theme your day 

A great way to make special occasions and events more enjoyable and memorable is to theme your day. We love some themed birthday parties around here. You could theme any holiday or anniversary based on what you and your people enjoy. Themes can help you come up with activities, foods, and party favors.

We’ve had sports, character, hobby, and food themed birthday parties around here for our kids. We even got creative when everyone was quarantining this spring and our family had three birthdays in two weeks.

Incorporate dressing up 

To break up the monotony of January, my kids’ school had Spirit Week recently. For Be Sweet Day, Ben dressed up like a Sour Patch Kid. One day Cate matched one of her best friends for Twin Day and Ben matched three other boys in his fifth-grade class who have the same navy sweatshirt jacket. Then they wore Ja Morant jerseys – one from Murray State and one represented the Memphis Grizzlies – for Favorite Sports Team Day.

Dressing up to match a theme or incorporating costumes add extra fun to whatever day you’re choosing to celebrate. After all these days in comfy clothes, even dressing up in fancier clothes may be a good way to mark an occasion. I loved the coordinated pajamas we were gifted before Christmas. Of course, I may like matching more than my kids do at this point. Perhaps you could get matching t-shirts for the whole family from a toddler St Patrick’s day shirt to something similar for the teenager. 

Create your own family traditions 

One thing I love about traditions is how we’ll celebrate certain occasions is already decided for me. Sure, we tweak the details, but we know we are having three other families over in early November to celebrate Friendsgiving as a prelude to Thanksgiving. I know that my kids and husband will pick what dinner they want me to make on their birthdays, and we’ll likely eat out to celebrate mine. We typically celebrate Memorial Day weekend at the lake with my siblings and their families and then spend Fourth of July with my husband’s extended family.

Of course, sometimes the reality is traditions change. We used to love hosting a Birthday Party for Jesus with friends and even one year as a communitywide event. That hasn’t happened in a few years, but it could again one day.

Traditions don’t have to be complicated. My husband writes me letters for Christmas and my birthday that I save in a binder. I write letters on my blog to my kids on their birthdays. (Read them there: Cate. Ben. Rachel.)

More than eighteen years into marriage and more than thirteen years into parenthood, traditions make our celebrations more fun. Decide once how you’ll celebrate any given day and then fill in the details. Get creative and remember your celebrations don’t have to look like what others choose to do.

How do you make celebrating any given occasion more fun?