Tea Time Tuesday: Hospitality: Serving the Least of These Pleases Jesus

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“And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” - Matthew 25:40

Tea Time Tuesday: Tending to the hearts of the “least of these” is what pleases Jesus. We are His hands, voice, and touch to those He has trusted into our care. Don’t despise the day of small things—it will pass so fast! You, like me, will find yourself longing for the “good old days."

My adult children have become occupied with their own busy lives, it is harder to bring them all together. Yet, recently as yet another birthday approached, I asked one of my daughters, “Would you like for me to spoil you and take you out to breakfast for a girl’s time to celebrate your birthday?” Her answer surprised me.

“What I would really like is to have an old traditional Clarkson family breakfast with all of us who can make it, to eat cheesy eggs, your homemade cinnamon rolls, and be together, celebrate our friendship. That’s what I want the most.”

I look at all of the years of raising my children. The cherished table times and moments together are where we became best friends. This is the best gift we gave. It is the thread that tied our hearts together through the years.

This table that I set was thrown together out of a habit I have learned over years. Using the resources available to me, since I don’t have a car, I had to be creative. Bringing color and beauty to our lives was one of the goals. I use thrifting to create mealtime art!

Each home where I have lived overseas has its own unique flavor. I make home whichever country I am in, celebrating every day as a gift, making sure to focus on the personal—their heart. We have very crowded tables in our homes overseas—no large dining rooms, just small places in our kitchen. I ordered dishes from eBay (8 china dinner plates for $12, candlesticks from a market for $2, a flower vase for $4, and 8 wine glasses that held juice for our breakfast for $10).

Celebrating so many birthdays before, putting together a family birthday breakfast was easy because of the practice of hosting them hundreds of times.

Join me on my Tea Time Tuesday podcast today, where I have my son Joel on to talk about his brand new album, Midsummer. Follow Joel on Insta: @joel.i.clarkson