Unexpected Connection: Hospitality & Courage

In my last post, my birthday wish (and prayer) was for my boys to possess courage.

There is an unusual connection between hospitality and courage, which is pointed out in my husband’s new book, No More Jellyfish, Chickens or Wimps, which is available in bookstores today, June 1st! (by Paul Coughlin, Bethany House)

Here’s an excerpt from the powerful conclusion of his book, which relates to the character traits possessed by those who rescued Jews under the Nazi occupation:

The seventh and final trait [of the courageous] is the ability to offer hospitality. Most rescuers had an active church role in a church at some point and were aware of the biblical texts on hospitable acts and lifestyle. Their most frequently quoted passage was that of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus tells us to identify with those who are imprisoned, naked, sick, hungry, thirsty and foreign.

Hospitality is a powerful training ground for altruism, which must be present if one is to acquire courage. Said Henri Nouwen: “In a world full of strangers, estranged from their own past, culture, and country, from neighbors, friends, and family, from their deepest self and their God, we witness a painful search for a hospitable place where life can be lived without fear … That is our vocation, to convert the hostis into a hospes, the enemy into a guest and to create the free and fearless place where brotherhood and sisterhood can be formed and fully expressed. [Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out: Three Movements of the Spiritual Life]
Let’s ponder and remind one another about this connection between courage and hospitality as we aim to raise our children toward lives well lived.







If you want to win a copy of No More Jellyfish Chickens or Wimps, enter a comment today!

The WINNER will be drawn on Sunday, June 3rd! The book will be mailed out to the winner on June 4th!

Pass the word along …