Hospitality Friday

The month of hearts and candy and flowers is upon us.

This is a great time for all in our church. We have a dinner for all and don’t exclude anyone, whether they have a sweetheart or not.

Making it Special

Here are some easy, inexpensive ways we spruce up our Valentine’s dinner:

• I decorate with a lot of tulle. It is cheap and makes a great statement.  Tying a 2ft strip of tulle around chairs is easy and colorful. I use the colors red, pink, purple, and white.
• The tables are decorated with candles and glitter. I make my own placemats with our theme verse on regular copy paper.
• Pictures are taken as each couple walks in or person. We have a huge heart poster for them to stand in front of.
• A great game we play is Minute to Win It. A senior adult lady has won the past 4 years. It is hilarious!
• We also do a quick version of Newlywed game.
• Each lady is given a rose for the evening, and we usually have a neat story of  how a couple met and how the Lord has stengthened their marriage.

It is a great evening to share the story of our Savior with all He is our greatest love.

Hospitality Friday

Happy New Year! I am so glad to see 2014. Now it is time to get FIT.

To be FIT it involves three areas, Food, faith, fellowship.

We need to eat the right things, think the right things, and be around the right influences. As you look outside and seem already tired of winter this is a great time to think of great ways to keep fit in all these areas. The month of Janurary can be long and cold if you don’t think ahead. Here are a couple of suggestions:

• VBS is right around the corner, so January is a great time to have a VBS party. Then you can remember how hot you were during last year’s VBS. Picking your theme and decorating the tables and room always gets the teachers excited.
• For a fellowship idea: soup is a great winter time meal with homemade rolls and fresh fruit salsa.
• Our ladies have secret sisters and this the month. We reveal who has prayed for you all year and left notes of encouragement. This is great festive time, and the ladies play games and receive a new secret sister for the year. This is a great encouraging ministry and the ladies love it.

Hospitality Friday

A Mother-Daughter Evening

Leaving a legacy is not often spoke of in today’s families.  One might say, “What has that got to do with decorating or crafts?” This month is a great mom and daughter activity. You could even call it “Once Upon an Apron.”

Each person will have an apron pre-made from Hobby Lobby. Or, if you have sewing skills, they are quite easy to make. On Pinterest there is an adorable pattern for using a man’s shirt.  You will provide buttons, sequins, trim and fabric paint. You can put your life verse or favorite hymn on your aprons with a fabric pen. These aprons will represent you as a mom and what message you want to pass down when you are no longer here.You can easily copy a favorite family recipe on iron on paper and transfer onto apron. There are many different possibilities and avenues you can go in this area.

The neatest part of the whole evening that you will have with moms and daughters is talking about that spiritual legacy we all one day will pass on.

The apron they will make will be a forever memory for these young girls.

You could also have each family bring a special family recipe they could share with others. The tables can be decorated with kitchen utensils. Some of these items on the table can then be used as giveaways to the participants. Have fun sharing the awesome words God has given you and you will see those truths passed on for a lifetime.

Shiela Stadler  Romans 12:1-2

Hospitality Friday

September is a great month to start making list of gifts you may want to make for Christmas.

The new trendy decorating style is bohemian. This style can be done on footstools, chairs, bedspreads, curtains, and pillows, for just a few ideas.This look is done with swatches of material that are bold, shiny and very chic.

The picture below is a footstool and can be done for about five dollars in material.

If you have access to a fabric shop, they frequently have books of fabric samples that are from buyers. These are either thrown away or sold. You can usually purchase these books for about a dollar or two.

You will need to trim the paper off the edges, and then you are ready to sew these pieces together.

Gifts such as these are loaded full of originality and will be well used. Keep an eye out for old ottomans or chairs to practice on. You could also make great custom place mats for the holidays.  I have made Christmas stockings out of silk fabric books. It is really endless when you begin to think of all different ways you can use these pieces.

These material swatches really reminded me of the church as I looked at all the different designs and color and and those with lack of design. Some of the pieces accented others while some as you see stand out prominently.  We as believers are the same – individually we are so unique, yet together we are a beautiful  masterpiece.

Ephesians 12:14-31 is our written example of this truth. God is so good that He wants to use us, old remnants of cloth, and make us something to be looked upon with beauty. The church is His model of showing the world His art work. Everyone working together for Him.

Have fun patching your remnants together and see what a great piece you create. Send some pictures when you’re done!

Do you have hospitality questions for Shiela? Is there anything specific you would like her to share? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Hospitality Friday

Ladies, school is about to start, whether it be at home or away.

Now is the time to get organized for upcoming holidays and special events. Lets begin with a quick inventory of the necessities:

• tape
• scissors
• markers
• ribbon
  wrapping paper
• glue for glue gun

All of these items are great to be on hand so that unexpected gift will not catch you off guard.

Something I love to give my grandchildren is a picture of each individual one just with myself and grandpa. I will take these pictures throughout the year and then surprise them. They feel so special!

Another idea I love is putting their picture on their gifts – no reading required! They love seeing their picture on their gifts .

The holidays are fast approaching, and now is the time to think about party theme ideas and colors of decorations to be on hunt for. Picture frames are a great gift and can be painted to fit the decor of any home. If your friend or family members follows Pinterest they may have pinned a quote or saying they love. This can be easily painted or printed in a neat font and given as a gift.

We live in a day and time where gift giving can be quite frustrating. Don’t let that happen! Give them something that is from the heart and thoughtful. That is what takes those special days from ordinary to extraordinary. That is really what God does in our life – takes the ordinary and makes us extraordinary for the work He has set before us.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

Hospitality Friday

Summer is busy in the life of most churches.

Whether it is VBS, camps, weddings, graduations, or Fathers Day, most mean outdoor parties. So, where do we start in all this outdoor fun?

First of all, you need citronella candles. If you cannot use candles there are plants you can put around in your area in clay pots called citronella plants. You want to stage the atmosphere, which needs to be bug free. I just had an outdoor wedding and these worked wonders and kept bugs away.

Next comes the actual event planning. Even though it is already behind us, let’s choose Father’s Day as our sample event. My husband is a big NASCAR fan so our day focused on the race. BBQ was our main food with miniature cars on the table. We had finish line napkins beside our plates. To save money I bought small, decorative dessert plates and placed them on heavy-duty plain white plates. These made the table look festive. You can decorate in other areas as well. For our celebration, we used the cars we decorated with to have a race of our own. The children had pit crew matching shirts, and they raced to get whatever the guest of honor needed.

What great fun and even greater memories are made on days like these! I love to use everyday, ordinary objects on extraordinary days like Fathers Day. God does the same in our lives. He loves to take ordinary people and show them the extraordinary plans He has for their lives. This is the privilege we have as we serve our Lord and Savior in His church.

Enjoy your summer months! Take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Do you have hospitality questions for Shiela? Is there anything specific you would like her to share? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Hospitality Friday

This month we are going to plan our first event and it begins with five simple words:  who, what, where, when, and why. All of these words will need to be addressed in order to have a successful event. No we are not taking Ann’s job, but the same principals in writing a good paper need to be applied when planning a special event.

Let’s take father’s day, for example. We already know the “who” (Dad). Now lets explore the rest of the “W” gang. What is it we are going to do? Maybe a picnic or BBQ. Maybe a fiesta with a taco eating contest. See how fun this can be to plan? But keep in mind if your dad is like Phil on duck dynasty he probably won’t want an elegant dinner with china. Know the man in your life and what he would enjoy.

The next “W” is where,  the venue is very important. It may be a quiet spot or in the park or a NASCAR race. Whatever it is, have fun.

The next is when. We already know that, so chose the time for all to attend.

The why is next. The question is simple: Why is dad so special?  Because he is a perfect Picture of our heavenly Father. Just as we are to give our Heavenly Father honor, so should we also honor our earthly father. God didn’t institute Father’s Day but He did institute fathers. So let’s give our dad or husband that respect and honor this one day.
Making a simple elegant dinner is the answer to why because he is a special and gift from our heavenly Father. This dinner can be elegant and simple. Give the Lord thanks most importantly and then Honor the leader God has given you. Have a simple and elegant day with Dad.

Need a decoration idea? This chandelier is made from recycled jars and a plant hanger. 
The cost is very minimal. The door can be purchased at your local habitat store for $10. Legs can be purchased at your local hardware store.

Do you have hospitality questions for Shiela? Is there anything specific you would like her to share? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Hospitality Friday

Have you ever walked into the October Ministers’ Wives Luncheon and marveled at the amazing decor? Everything you see is the work of our amazing and talented hospitality queen Shiela Stadler. Every fourth Friday, Shiela is going to share a few of her tips and secrets in Hospitality Friday, a post to help those of us who don’t quite posses her natural eye for decoration and hostessing skills!

Parties, holidays, fellowships –  there always seems to be those special days in our lives. “Where do I start?” is always the question that one asks.

The answer to that question is, pick a theme for whatever event you are going to have . Your theme may be a word such as overcome, or a verse in the Bible. It may even be a picture.

The fun now begins, ladies. You now begin your hunt. “For what?” you ask. For anything that relates to your theme. It doesn’t have to begin in the store but in your home or church. There are so many things you can find when you just look around . Re-gift is a word you hear at holidays, but rearranging things in your church or home is key in keeping entertainment inexpensive and always fresh.

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As you discover what great finds there are in your houses of worship and homes, you will say, I didn’t know I could use my things to decorate!” Next month we will learn how to turn old doors into picnic tables or fences into chandeliers.

In the meantime, Mother’s Day is almost here. What can we give that is from the heart? How about her favorite verse on card stock and placed in a picture frame or her favorite saying when you were a child? Look for more ideas next month.

What surprising decoration have you run across in your home or church? 

Do you have any questions for Shiela? Be sure to ask in the comments!