Skip to Main Content
Women of the ELCA
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
  • Ministry & Action
    • Discipleship
    • Justice
      • Human Trafficking
      • Racial Justice Advocacy
      • Racial Justice Advocacy Network resources
      • Domestic Violence
    • Membership
    • Stewardship
      • Thankofferings
      • Faithful Friends
      • Katie’s Fund
      • Gift Planning
    • Special Initiatives
      • Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls
      • Dear Friend in Christ
    • Scholarships
      • Lutheran laywomen
      • Lutheran Ordained Ministry
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Events
  • About
    • History
    • Executive Board
    • Staff
    • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
« Back to All Daily Grace

Invite, welcome, nurture

9.18.2015
|
Daily Grace

Spiritual practices always require discernment. We need to figure out how to strike a balance so that we don’t overdo or under-do. Hospitality takes place in three different movements: in, with, and out—and we need to balance between the three. Welcoming God’s love and compassion into our hearts through sacred dialogue and centering prayer are inward practices. They develop space inside us for God to live.

Once we have a foundation for hospitality between ourselves and the God of Love, we are in a position to offer hospitality to family, friends, neighbors, strangers and even our enemies.

The inward part is what allows us to become receptive. It’s about being open toward others and ourselves.

The second part is what happens between us and others. When we are invitational, people respond to our openness and suddenly we are in a position to welcome them.

Receptivity and reverence toward others leads to the desire to give. Practicing generosity is the third part—the outward element. It is a posture of nurture through which we offer physical, spiritual, and emotional care and gratitude.

Strive to strike a balance between these three elements. It is then that hospitality becomes most transformative.


Today we remember Dag Hammarskjold, renewer of society (1961). This message was adapted from “Opening Our Hearts” written by Nanette Sawyer that first appeared in the April 2010 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine. If you are reading “Daily Grace” online, sign up to receive it by email daily.

Share

Sign up for Daily Grace

Daily Grace is an on-the-go companion for your journey, offering a faith reflection every day. Encounter God’s extravagant, boundless and often surprising grace by signing up for a daily email message. You can also download the newly updated app for your IOS and Android devices.

Women of the ELCA
29 Jan
Women of the ELCA
@WomenoftheELCA

Happy birthday, Katharina von Bora Luther! 🎉⭐️🎂 From "A Bold Life of Faith: Katharina von Bora Luther" by Linda Post Bushkofsky, A resource from Women of the ELCA, 2009. womenoftheelca.org/filebin/pd… #KatiesBirthday #2122KatiesFund #KatharinavonBoraLutherwasborntoday #Jan29 pic.twitter.com/fC9yD265al

Expand reply reply retweet retweet favorite favorite
Back to home

8765 W. Higgins Rd.

Chicago IL 60631

800-638-3522

[email protected]

Stay In Touch

Sign up for the WELCA Newsletter

Explore WELCA
  • Ministry & Action
  • Daily Grace
  • Resource Library
  • Events
  • Blog
  • News
  • About WELCA
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Photos
Explore Publications

Bold Cafe

A Lutheran perspective for women of Christian faith or any woman who is interested in how faith relates to the issues facing women today.

Gather Magazine

A mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith.

Cafe Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast:

Click to subscribe

© Copyright 2023 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
© Copyright 2023 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.