7/14/08

Who's Invited to Your Home? Canning GIVEAWAY!

Canning season is here!
Check out this awesome GIVEAWAY of exciting miscellaneous canning items (click on photo to enlarge). If you’ve never canned, maybe it will inspire you to give it a try. OR, if you win and you don’t can, you can pass it on to someone who loves to can or wants to learn!

I’m hearing more and more from younger ladies, how they have no idea how to can, but they’d sure love to learn and bring back this lost art!

My cousin Terri and I were discussing on the phone this morning different foods we plan to can this year. I will can my usual peaches, pears, applesauce and tomato sauce. I might even give cherries a try! Our mothers taught us well and we’ve continued this art of canning, now teaching our daughters. We love it when our pantries are full, and you never know in hard times how that full pantry will bless your family and those who come to your table!

Here are 4 easy steps to get you started:

~ Look at garage sales for canning materials, ie, canner, jars, rings.

~ Find someone who cans and ask if they will teach you! (Read Addie's post, here.)

~ Do your research. Call the orchards or markets nearby and find out when different fruits/veggies are in season and when you can get the best deal. Or pick yourself and save money this way.

~ Use the internet! Everything you need to know about canning can be found on the internet – just Google it!

Are you ready to WIN?

All you have to do is answer these TWO questions by commenting on this post, and you are eligible to win! Same as before, use my photo (if you wish) and post on your site and your name goes into drawing twice!

ONE.
When you entertain, who do you invite?
Family members
Church friends
Neighbors
Co-workers
Strangers
A variety of friends?


TWO.
Do you entertain those outside of your faith? Or do you mix it up?

I love everyone’s comments and differences! Hospitality is unique and practiced in so many different ways!

WHOEVER WINS HAS TO SEND ME SOME HOMEMADE JAM! Winner posted on THURSDAY of this week.

(See sidebar photos of yummy canning I’ve done).

129 comments:

Erika said...

We love to entertain in our home! I have enjoyed finding your blog because I really feel that your message embodies what Christ calls us to do- show others His love through simple acts such as having them over. My husband has been a church planter for six years, and entertaining has been the single most valuable tool we have had in meeting others and growing our church. When we entertain, we invite church friends, neighbors, and friends that we have met from mom's clubs and community events. Yes, we definitely entertain those outside our faith- there is no better way to show what our faith is about!:)

Anonymous said...

We love to entertain and wish we had time to do more of it. We love to have a variety of friends, new, old family neighbors. We especially love to have Matthew parties to reach out to seekers in our area.

We definitely entertain outside of our faith, just as Jesus would do. Everyone is welcome no matter where they come from.

Love your site, it is a real blessing to me!!

Blessings
Sue
marklovessue@numail.org

OKGardners said...

(1) I mostly entertain family members who live nearby. (My daughter, son-in-law and 2 grown kids.)

(2) It would not be a factor as to what denomation folks are in deciding who to invite.

God Bless you for this wonderful blog, Sandy.

Betty in Oklahoma
blue.eagle@cox.net

Kirstin said...

When we entertain it is usually family, friends and church friends.

The majority of people we know are in the church, though we have some who aren't and we have entertained them as well.

Dayna said...

We invite a variety of people, family, friends, acquaintances, etc. We invite people from all walks of life and faith!

I am one of the 'younger' gals trying to get into these lost arts. I would love to win! Thanks!

~nanashouse~ said...

Easy questions! When I entertain, I ask God "who do you want us to have over?" The answer is not always easy~~do I have sippy cups?? do I have emergency diaper changing supplies???

The answers are so easy. I stocked up on cups, diapers in all sizes as well as powder, ointment...

Food? For the adults, nachos with shredded beef or chicken, salsa, cheese, sour cream, organic chips...
For the kids? The same with...with fresh fruit and organic juice pops.
The Glitch?? BELLA :-)

Bella intinctivly knows who likes her and who does not. Grandma loves her, spoils her, feeds her...

The mail lady, newspaper deliverer, PGE man...now that's another story!!

Kirstin said...

Hey Sandy, I linked to your post, however the picture didn't work...hopefully it will later.

We also tend to entertain our daughters friends alot (C:

a woman who is said...

Wow, you make even canning look glamorous :)

I wish I had thought of canning cherries when I had an unexpected glut a few weeks ago. I ended up freezing them.

How is the yummy looking chocolate used in canning? I want that recipe.

So for the contest:

1. Family members, church members, neighbors, co-workers, friends, not so much strangers...I especially love to have over young married couples, and young college students, especially new to church…does that count as a stranger?

2. That is a good question...I don't think I mixed it up very much. I should though!

Laura said...

Another great giveaway. I'm one of the ones that would love to learn to can, my MIL would be so proud of me :)

I only entertain family and friends which includes friends from work or church. I would have to say that more of my entertaining is done outside of my faith though. I actually find that easier as my husband isn't Christian so I know there won't be any talk that will make him uncomfortable.

a woman who is said...

Sandy, I am having problem with the picture too!

bethany said...

I've really wanting to learn how to can!! This would be great! When we entertain, it is usually friends from church, but sometimes we mix it up with some of our neighbors!!

La Tea Dah said...

Who do I entertain?

I most often entertain family, friends, and young people (our children's friends in groups or individually). Impromptu 'hospitality' is important to me and I always try to have a glass of tea or something to eat (snacks or a full meal) for those who drop in unexpectedly. Over the years I've learned the art of making something out of nothing --- and I enjoy the challenge and simplicity of doing it.

Do I mix the groups/faith?

Yes, I mix the groups and entertain/host meals for both those of my faith and those who are not. I really like mixing the two groups together rather than compartmentalizing them.

:)

Jess said...

I'm a younger girl that has been taught how to can by my mother and we are just getting ready to do some massive canning. My husband and I just moved into a place that has 15 fruit trees in the front yard! Far too much fruit for the two of us, so I am inviting my mom & her best friend and my mother-in-law to come can!

For entertaining, we usually invite family members and church friends. There are times when we have friends from my hubbies work come or people from the clubs I am in. We try to mix it up, because it is always nice to get to know people better.

Me said...

I've never canned, but I'll give it a whirl! When we entertain, it is usually family and a variety of friends. We entertain outside of our faith often. We have friends of all different faiths, it has never really affected our gatherings one way or the other.

Amy said...

Hmmm....good things to think about. I guess I'm stuck in a rut of just inviting family & friends over, no strangers. And come to think of it, I must live in a bubble...all of the same religion.
I need to branch out a bit!

Lauren said...

I'm Kathy, the mom of Lauren. I am indeed a reluctant entertainer. My husband and I work full time outside the home, and I am always overwhelmed at even keeping up with our own family. The thought of entertaining is usually mind blowing to me. I have friends who are blessed to be able to be at home wives/moms, and entertaining seems like a JOY to them. They make it look easy. They also can every year, and I would love to learn from them. I just discovered your site recently and have been encouraged by it. To answer your questions, I usually have family members over. On rare occasions, we entertain one or two couples from our church.

Anonymous said...

I would consider myself young (29) : ) and I love canning. I'm getting ready to do strawberry jam today, after being in the U-pick with our 3 kids for 1 1/2 hours yesterday. There is just something about filling the house and enjoy the aroma of the summer in the middle of the winter.

We entertain a varity of people: neighbors, church friends, other friends, almost no family members as we moved from Germany to Canada.
But sometimes we also have strangers, like when my husband brings home a hitchhiker, that than stays overnight : )

Most of our neighbors are not Christians and we hope that our little light might shine to them and bring the truth in their life's.

As always - I love your blog, it really inspires me! And the picture of the canning supplies looks just like out of a magazine.

Blessings to you Sandy!

Dini
DinyB@web.de

Kim said...

I am so excited about your giveaway, as I have my "patio salsa garden" growing! I already made a bunch of strawberry jam and I want to make some more.

As far as entertaining - most Sunday evenings we have some single friends over to play games, usually with a light dessert. We also enjoy having other couples over, friends from church, work and neighbors. So, we do have a variety of backgrounds.

This weekend my old roommate and her husband will be visiting with us. They are great at practicing hospitality when we visit! It will be nice to return the favor!

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Ok this may be the kick in the butt I need to start canning. I'm always eyeballing the canners at Wal-Mart but have been to intimidated by it. If I win I Promise to start canning and will send you some jam lol.
As far as who we entertain, it's mainly friends.
Do we mix up groups and faiths? Well we seem to attract who we are so there really isn't as much diversity in our group but if there were we would gladly invite others.
I'm going to post this on my blog for my second chance to win.
This is an awesome giveaway and if I had to pick the one that I would like to win the most out of all that I've entered I think it would be this one lol! :)Does sucking up count as a 3rd chance to win? ha ha!
Thanks for making it available
Blessings,
Kim

Anonymous said...

When we entertain, it is typically with our family, neighbors and church friends. But, it is not very often because I've always been shy about entertaining...that is, until I found your website. It has opened my eyes up about entertaining and has taken away some of my fears of it. And yes, we do entertain outside of our faith. I've canned a little when I was growing up. And, I have always wanted to get back into it. Thanks for a great giveaway!

~Amy Salmons
www.teamsalmons.com

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

We entertain a variety of friends.

We definitely have people of other faiths over since we have Jewish friends and one of my son's best friends is of the Hindu faith.

When we had Christopher's graduation open house a few weeks ago, I made certain his Hindu friends knew that I had made a variety of vegetarian foods just for them (although some will eat chicken). It seemed to us that they were touched because we were thinking of their dietary needs.

Our Jewish friends also had a variety (they do not eat pork).

Beth said...

I love your blog because it's challenging me to reach out and be hospitable which is against my solitary nature.

1. Right now we mostly entertain family and people from church.

2. Because we have non-believers on both sides of the family we do have mixed groups, but I've never deliberately invited non-family members from different religious backgrounds.

My mother taught me to can, and I have been relearning the skills as I teach my daughter.

Anonymous said...

We intertain mostly family but sometimes church friends and neighbors.

I would say the majority of the time we are all of the same faith. But, about once a year we invite everyone on our street to a big bonfire/marshmallow roast in our back yard. Then, there is quite a mixture of faiths. We have a very eclectic street;)

Laura

Wendy said...

When we entertain it is usually family and friends. We are starting to invite neighbors over more and people we don't know that are of different faiths.

Great give-a-way - thanks for doing it!

Jen said...

We enjoy entertaing anyone...but the most would be church friends and family...not together though. We have about 9 couples from church and sometimes I invite just one or two couples or 4-5 or all 9. Feelings get hurt sometimes...but we love to have them over and cook.....outside of my faith...yes..we have neighbors over too. We always enjoy their company.

Michelle said...

We usually entertain a good mix of friends and family. And since our friends are an eclectic mix of faiths, I suppose that answers that question. It's such a joy to learn new things whether it be from travelling or just inviting someone new into your home.

I also posted this on my blog.

Thanks again Sandy for doing what you do and keeping us all entertained.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I have been trying harder to entertain more often. We actually have about 7 couples plus all their children coming for a cookout this saturday.

Usually, we entertain family and friends from church.

Outside our faith...we haven't had an opportunity to do that yet...but we're definitely open to the idea. :)

I love your blog and it's really been an encouragement to me...to open our home despite it's outdated and ugly appearance. It's okay...it's still our home...and I hope it's warm and inviting to others as well. :) Thanks so much!

Amy said...

Oh, wow - where to begin? I just stumbled across your site a few days ago, and I can't get enough of it! Keep up the good work!

As for me, I usually entertain family and honestly, I don't do it enough. We might entertain (brace yourself) two to three times a year! I never realized how important it was to open your home before!

I also entertain family of different faiths. I really don't examine my guest list and determine if they fit into any "category", so to speak. I love inviting talkers!

Thanks for such an inspiring site! And, by the way, this 30+ mom of two has NEVER CANNED. Oh, my grandma would roll over in her grave if she heard that!! But I've always wanted to TRY!

beanjeepin said...

We entertain friends, when we do so rarely. We aren't religious so that's not a basis. I'd love to learn to can, and wanted to this year but couldn't afford the startup.

Stephanie said...

First let me tell you how much I have LOVED your site since I recently discovered it. I went back and read the old posts. You have encouraged me to open our home to others. We are on vacation now but I am planning a birthday cookout with our friends for my husband's birthday. I have never done anything for his birthday in the past!

Wow. I would love to try canning - we get lots of great tomatoes from my in-laws and our family cannot ever get them all eaten before they go bad. Canning would be wonderful but again, I am in my early 30s, and I have no idea how it is done. I have very vague memories of my mother canning though!

1. We usually entertain our family or our friends. We did not join our church's supper club last year for fear of the time commitment and entertaining at our home.

2. Our family and friends are all different denominations but everyone is Protestant or Catholic. I don't think we have ever entertained someone of a drastically different faith than ours.

Southerner said...

We do not live near family so we entertain church friends most of the time. The majority of our entertaining is the kids friends.I need to reach out to our neighbors but time is so limited with remodeling that my church friends have first priority.

I usually am with people from my same faith, but not because I am against entertaining others. I would love to try to include other people- just don't know people outside our faith.

Anonymous said...

We love to entertain, and be entertained! We usually invite friends and family over. Our family all attend our same church, however our friends do not.

Anonymous said...

Sandy,
Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. I would definitely gift it to someone else, we have most of everything to can with. I would love to encourage a friend to can, too.

We entertain church friends, (who have become our family), and a neighbor or two as well.

Our oldest is very active in his homeschool group and has asked that we invite each student and their family for dinner throughout the summer. It has been fun! Plus, more of the families have reciprocated as well.

Peace,
Lynne

Anonymous said...

We usually have family or friends over. Friends are from our church...or not. Sometimes from work or other "spheres" of life. We do occasionally entertain "outside" the Christian faith.

Donnetta said...

I have bits and pieces of items needed for canning and have done it in the past... but it's been a very long time! I'm hoping to have enough tomatoes this summer to do a bit of canning.

Question 1: yes. We have been known to invite all of those that you listed. We don't have one set group that we only invite.

Question 2: We have invited church only as well as activities where we have mixed it up.

Times of having people in our home is rarely the same every time!

Thanks for this giveaway! ;-)

Dawn said...

First, I love your blog!!! It really makes me want to entertain more often than I do!!!

When we entertain, we usually have a mixture of family and friends. Of course, most of our friends are like family anyway.

We also have been known to entertain those of a different faith in addition to those that share ours. I think it's a good learning experience for our children to meet and mingle with those who might worship differently than we do so that they are not afraid and maybe they will even learn some tolerance, too.

BTW, if I win, what types of jams/jellies do you like?
Thanks!
Dawn
striblin@yahoo.com

Carey said...

Sandy,
Thank you for your beautiful and encouraging blog! I've definitely improved my attitude about entertaining since "lurking" around here! We've also entertained more than we had in a long time. (BTW, our family loves the Crockpot Chicken Recipe you posted!!)

Your timing is perfect! I was just looking up canning on the internet the other day!! I told my son, since we had made peanut butter and bread, we should make the jelly, too!! (Haven't gotten to it yet, but am excited to try).

We entertain family members, friends, neighbors and the guys my husband works with (he's in the Air Force and there are lots of young Lieutenants and Captains who are hungry!!)

Yes, we entertain those outside our faith.

AmyOK71 said...

Question 1: Since we live so far from family (13 hours) I usually invite a variety of friends. I have been very reluctant to entertain until recently and would like to start doing it more.
Question 2: I guess I would say I mix it up.

An Adventurer in the World said...

GREAT POST and giveaway! : )

We entertain ALL of the above, with a heavy emphasis on church friends and strangers, even more than family.

I HAVE hosted people outside our faith, but not much. That's my week spot.

I can't wait to win and send you some of my homemade Apple Butter, Sandy ; )

deb meyers

Lissete said...

Every year I say that I will learn the art of canning. Each year passes and I have yet to learn. My mom has a gorgeous mango tree but it seems that it's on an every other year schedule. Last year it gave thousands of mangoes, this year a handful :( So maybe I can learn for next year!

We usually entertain family & friends, some of which are co-workers as well. We usually have a mix of faiths, races, political views, etc. Fortunately, no one has chosen our parties to get into debates :)

Wendy said...

When we entertain we invite:

Family members
Church friends (they are really our family too)
Neighbors
Strangers
A variety of friends

Co-Workers (My husband is a church planter, no co-workers yet.)

We will entertain anybody who will give us a chance. I love having unsaved people over, they love to ask questions in a small group setting.

Anonymous said...

Who do we invite? I mostly invite a family in our children's school who we do most things with. In the school year we do Wednesday meals with them. One week at their house, the next week at our house.
Our community is more school related and the mix of people and spirituality is vast and fascinating. I enjoy learning about all faiths but especially people who have an open heart to all. It makes for very interesting conversation.

Laura said...

I love to entertain...mostly a mix of friends and family.

The spititual mix of the people ranges from the "unchurched" to those who have know Jesus their whole lives. I love the conversations that come up and that we are able to show those that don't know Jesus what His love really looks like.

kamewh said...

We mainly entertain family and sometimes friends. We also definitely entertain those outside our faith as well!

Sara L said...

I have never canned but I'd love to try. My Grandma used to make the BEST pickles - yum!

I usually entertain family - we just moved here so we don't have many friends.

And our friends are mixed - some Christian and some not.

read2kds said...

I love your blog!! You give words to what I have felt for so very long about offering hospitality in the home God has blessed us with...we also made zucchini noodles last week (my first attempt) and everyone gobbled them up (all 3 of my children(10, 9, and 3) eating the same vegetable is a huge accomplishment :-)) We love to entertain neighbors, church friends, family and co-workers. I DO entertain those of different faiths...one of my favorite verses is about how we are the "aroma of Christ, to those who are being saved we are the fragrance of life". What better way to share Christ's love than with the fragrance of good food and friendship freely offered! I love to make freezer jam but have never canned...I would love to learn!

Amy in NC

GiBee said...

When we entertain, we invite a variety of people, family, church friends, work friends... and the neighborhood families will often take turns gathering on each other's lawns.

We have no guidelines on entertaining within or without our faith... while we do like connecting with couples that have the same beliefs that we do, we open our home to anyone... "how else can we go forth and make disciples?" ;-)

I finally took the plunge and began canning. I have a pantry full of jams, and will can fruits and veggies throughout the summer!! It is easy, and I love doing it!!! The satisfaction is enormous, to!

Katie Benn said...

We love to entertain friends and family or some mix of both. My question for you is why would a person's faith make a difference for being invited to your home? We don't discriminate in our home.

grace said...

i'm lucky that i learned to can early on from both my mother and grandmother. it's a skill i'll never take for granted!

now, in answer to your questions:
1--i tend to invite family members (almost always), friends (usually), and neighbors (because wouldn't they feel sad to see such a fun time going on without them...) to my soirees.
2--the above list includes people of all faiths, so yes, i definitely mix it up.

Sandy said...

Dear Organized Dreamer,
I think faith issues can hinder many people from entertaining, if only out of uncertainty as to what might be offensive to others of different views. It does NOT personally hinder me. I find it challenging and rewarding and beautiful! I wanted to get reader's ideas on this ...

nora said...

When I entertain it is usually family members that are invited. But once in a while we invite friends that feel like family members! The people that come over are usually of the same faith.
I am a self-taught jammer! I bought a house last year that has a large strawberry patch. I couldn't let all those berries go to waste, so I researched how to make jam and syrup and never looked back. I recently went blueberry picking with my mom and made blueberry jam. Here is my recipe.

1 1/2 pints of blueberries
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

In sauce pan bring all ingredients to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. It will seem like sauce but don't worry once it cools it will gel.

Cheers!
Nora

Beth/Mom2TwoVikings said...

We don't "officially" entertain much - usually one family at a time that we know for a night in visiting while the kids all play.

When we've done that, we've had 2 couples from DaHubby's work or a couple from our church. And, we have a revolving door of DaHubby's family every Sunday! LOL

As for in/outside our faith, I guess technically we entertain intra-Christian but those of different denominations! LOL

orneryswife said...

Well, mostly we entertain family, but sometimes we invite neighbors. I never really thought about whether they were of the same faith or not, but I guess when it comes to neighbors, very few share our faith, so I would have to say we do.

I would love to win this! It has been years since I canned, but lately I have been dreaming of some homemade apple butter!
TM

. said...

Who do we invite? Mainly family and friends grace our table.
Our entertaining usually is with family and friends which means we are all like-minded in our faith. Yet, our neighbors, who have afforded some spontaneous entertaining as of late, do not seem to be like-minded which gives us such a neat ministry right next door!

fortyb4forty said...

We entertain family, friends, church friends, neighbors and co-workers. We don't usually mix, but have never thought about it until now. Hmm, why haven't we?
Maybe I'll have to mix things up sometime soon.
I began canning with my dad 5 years ago. He even put a kitchen in his basement for canning a few years ago.

GrammaGrits said...

We do all - family, church members, youth group, neighbors!

We choose to open our home to a mixture - many of our neighbors don't attend any church, so we don't know their backgrounds. We pray for them and desire opportunities to show them Christ and be a witness. The old saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" also can be used regarding our neighbors!

Thanks for the giveaway, and God bless you!

Shannon said...

I'm just dying to try canning. My grandmother makes strawberry jam so I think I'll start with her recipe...
When we entertain it's often family or church family and lots of mommy/kid lunches. I enjoy having different people over - I think it's a fabulous way to witness without making people uncomfortable. And I really enjoy learning about other people's customs and traditions. With four little ones, I don't make time for hospitality as often as I should. I miss it.

Barb said...

You know, there was a time when I was the queen of the dinner party. These days, my dinner parties are usually given for my family. But I read something ages ago, a simple remark, that really stuck with me.

"Treat your company like family and treat your family like company."

That's exactly the way I entertain for my family - like they're very special company, which they are.

And to answer your second question, I can't imagine limiting my friends or the people I entertain to people who totally agree with me on everything, including our choice of faith. Diversity - it's what makes life so interesting.

This is a wonderful giveaway. It's been way too long since I canned. Thank you for the opportunity to win.

Anonymous said...

When we entertain, we invite a mixture of friends, most are from different faiths.

You have peaked my interest in canning!

kelly
lockwood@tyler.net

Anonymous said...

#1 I love to entertain anyone and everyone! Family, friends, coworkers, people from church - anyone! We love to have them over separate or together. It's nice to have my different groups of friends meet each other

#2 We absolutely open our home to anyone, regardless of their faith. Most of our friends are believers, whether it be of the christian, jewish or catholic beliefs. I can't imagine not inviting people over simply because they don't believe the way I do.

I am so interested in canning! I have been planning on trying it for a while. I am actually going to try it for the first time this weekend and make homemade red sauce (for pasta or pizza) and can it.....we'll, I'm going to ATTEMPT to do it!!

Shannon P.
spinchok at hotmail dot com

Melissa P. said...

we love to entertian and i am always looking for new ideas, so thanks for your blog! we typically host family or friends, however i have recently tried ot be intentional about including neighbors or others who we may not know so well. and although most of our friends are believers, i welcome opportunities to spend time with people from all walks of life and try to be intentional about hosting those who are different from us as well.

Marlene McGarrity said...

When I entertain, I invite in this order:

my closest friends
my husbands family (because my brother-in-law complains if he hears that I had a get-together and he wasn't invited)
neighbors

My family lives too far away to invite to regular events. I let friends bring friends too because I love meeting new people and Lee always makes too much food.

I entertain all of the people above. I don't usually know everyone's faith.

There must be some canning tutorials online or a video I could find of someone canning. I live in NYC and people aren't into canning. Garage sales don't include canning supplies here :(
I love looking at all of your friends canning pics though - everything looks so beautiful!

Kris said...

Sandy, I have fallen in love with your site in the last few weeks. You are a great encouragement to many.

As to who we invite, we invite family, church friends, friends outside of church and next on my list is our neighbors.

We have no problem inviting people outside of our faith into our home, what better way to say, "You are excepted and loved for just being you" than to have them into your home and to share your life with them.

Kris said...

I just posted a link to your site, and the picture worked for me.

Thanks, I would love to win.

Emily Dykstra said...

HI, Sandy--
1. I invite mostly church friends. I never thought of that until you asked today. I'll have to invite some neighbors, too.

2. And since question one's answer is "church friends", question 2 is "not so much". I have friends who I lunch with who are of different faiths, but as far as having people in my home and really showing hospitality...

Emily Dykstra

www.dykstrahouse.blogspot.com

Marlene McGarrity said...

I blogged about your giveaway here:

http://queenoftheclick.com/?p=152

queenoftheclick (at) yahoo.com

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Feeding my friends and family is my favorite thing to do. I love to see everyone gathered around a table, sharing, talking and just being together. I have many friends of all different religions and ethnic backgrounds and they all come to eat at my house!

Anonymous said...

I've really enjoyed reading your blog. I enjoy having people over, but sometimes it's easy to get caught up in my own busy life that I forget to make the time for it. We have young children 5 weeks, 3 and 5 so it can be difficult at times. We mostly have co-workers, family and a variety of friends. We have friends both of the same faith and outside of our faith that we have over.

Carla said...

What a fun giveaway! I asked my Mom to teach me how to can, but she replied it was too much work. How crazy is that!?

To answer your questions - we usually invite a mix of people that we know from where ever(work, church, etc.). And we are totally up for people that don't believe the same as we do. That's kind of the point of our faith.

theslajcherts AT gmail dot com

The DiLu-Fam said...

I heard about your giveaway from my cuz in law, Kirstin! I plan on learning how to can this fall!
1. Family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
2. Different faiths!

Robin said...

What a blessing that you were taught how to can! I am hoping to learn this year. I just need to find a willing teacher! I have started gathering my supplies and would love to win your giveaway! As for your two questions: We love to entertain our family and our friends. We are a mixed group of faith, so I guess you could say that we mix it up. Our favorite is to entertain on Sunday afternoons, but it is never a bad time to have loved ones over. Your blog has been such an inspiration and you have such great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing your talents.

Momilani510 said...

I LOVE to entertain, but sadly haven't done too much since we moved ( we use to live in Chicago...born & raised, but we moved to Georgia & it has taken some time to find new friends...) but I still manage to throw a get-together, here & there...mostly if family or friends are coming in from out of town, then I've tried to mingle in new friends we have made down here...so yes, I like to mix the crowd up as much as possible (always something to talk about with someone...) & religion, race, whatever, we've never had anyone leave without making a new friend or two...

100 Thoughts of Love said...

1. I enjoy entertaining anyone who wants to come to my house. Its probably family most times...i havn't met many of my neighbors as I am relatively new here...but I bet I would meet them if I learned to can and made some jams!!
2. Any denomination i welcome in my home...you never know when you may meet someone with whom you can share your faith!
Great Blog! Your pictures are awesome! i will come back here to spend more time. Thanks!

the tattered nest said...

We mostly entertain family, mostly our faith, but a few that aren't...it is funny I was just looking up a recipe online for raspberry jam! and then next site I click on is you! and you are having this awesome give a way! I am crossing my fingers...thanks! Gail

Sara at Miller Moments: said...

When I entertain, it's usually friends, particularly from church. We don't tend to entertain outside of our faith, because both my hubby and I work from home (long-distance co-workers) so we don't know anyone outside of our friends from church.

PS - I'm heading out to get at least 6 bushels of peaches this weekend - so bring on the canning!!!

Anonymous said...

We usually entertain family as we have moved twice in the past 2 years so friends are yet to be made. Everyone is always welcome, especially during holidays. Many times I've had family members bring people to our gatherings who didn't have anywhere else to go. I love that and always make strangers feel welcome. It doesn't matter what faith a person is. We are all God's children and he loves everyone just the same. I follow his example.

Blessings!

Kathleen W. said...

I mostly entertain friends and family, and occassionally neighbors. Nearly everyone is outside of my faith, as I am a Buddhist. I'd love to win the canning set, as I am fairly new to canning. I tried it once when I borrowed my mother-in-laws equipment and made delicious salsa. I'd like to try it again.

Anonymous said...

My husband is in the ministry, so much of who we invite is tied to the church. We host a bi-weekly couples' Bible study, as well, and we all contribute to the meal on those nights. We do enjoy having over friends who don't attend our church but whose kids share playdates with ours, but it's more rare.


Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
Megret
musesofmegret@gmail.com

Sarah said...

We usually invite close friends or our family or some of each.

Faith/Denomination makes no difference when we are inviting. Most of my family are Christians, but not the same denominations and our friends are from all walks of life. My favorite people to invite over are those who don't attend a church or have any faith - maybe we can be a good influence to them for the Lord.

I LOVE to can - I have 2 shelves full of empty jars just waiting for that wonderful time of year (which is just around corner in here in northern Nebraska!) Thanks so much!
Sarah

anya* said...

What a fun give away! I too have been thinking about my canning plans for this year. I really want to give pickles a try, we shall see.

When we entertain we invite families with kids over usually. this gives us parents a chance to actually talk while the kiddos entertain one another. But I think most of the entertaining done in our home is done during the day while my husband is at work. I made a point this past year to host brunches for moms with kids. I had a blast, and I think the guests did too. As a young mom myself I know that a vase of flowers, real silverware and mimosas go a LONG way.

I guess I entertain outside of my faith often, but I really never think of it in those terms. For play dates or mom group meetings or canning sessions, I just invite people who I meet at the park, my neighbors, my husbands co workers wives- but usually we have children with similar ages in common. That gives us some common ground and then my hope is that I can reflect some Christ like qualities to them as our friendships develop.

Aubrey said...

We love to entertain family and friends! They usually tend to be church friends, since me and my husband both work at church.

"Hello... It's Me Again..." said...

I really enjoy your blog.

We enjoy inviting family over to make fun memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.

We enjoy mixing it up by inviting our Christian and non-Christian neighbors over from time to time too so we can be good Christian models for them and their children.

I canned back when I lived in a rural community, but lost all of my canning supplies when my former husband moved out almost ten years ago. I haven't thought about canning again until now. I would love to again bless my new husband, his grown children and my children with my gift of canning beets and pickled okra (my grandma taught me to can). I need to teach this gift to my teen daughter.

Unknown said...

We enjoy having friends from church over and we haven't had anyone of another faith over in a long time, just kinda happens that way.

Grateful Gramma said...

Need to learn to can, so this would be great!

Just me and the cats here so I rarely entertain. When I do, it's just my daughter and granddaughter.

Sue said...

We love to entertain and usually it is our large family that joins us at home,although we do enjoy entertaining a variety of friends in our home. Our guests are from all walks of life and have all different beliefs. Spending time with us is a great way for them to see how we live.

By the way, your local Cooperative Extension office has lots of resources available on food preservation and safe canning methods. You can find them online or in your local phone book. Most counties across the country have an office- they are affiliated with your state land grant university. Here in PA Penn State is our Land Grant and the home of our Cooperative Extension. ( Can you tell that I work there?:))
Sue

Stephanie said...

The way we entertain and the people we invite has changed over the past few years as we have lived in several different areas. I woud say that most of the time it has been church friends, coworkers, and a few strangers. Since we are now closer to our families, we have been entertaining them as well.

Faith has no influence as to who we invite. If we get along or want to get to know them better, they get invited.

Last year one of my new things to try was canning. I was so scared at first but it really was easier than I thought it would be. Jam was the main thing, though I did try relish and pickles. (We still have lots of pickles . . .yeah, we aren't really pickle eaters. LOL )

willzmom said...

Wwe love to entertain, and I especially like it when we have about 3 other couples. That means a good mix but not so many that you can't have great conversation. I love to have friends from church or a group of old friends that we don't see as often-and it's really fun to add old and new together.

While I'd love to win you giveaway-I have all of the canning and freezing supplies already-so I'll give up my chance for someone else. I just got a 10 lb box of fresh peaches to freeze, I see peach cobbler on the menu this fall!

Susie said...

I can honestly say at age 40 that I've never once canned. The art was obviously lost by my mother when her own mother died young.

About entertaining, we usually have family and friends over. Many of our dinners in the past are appreciation type dinners for people serving in my husband's ministry area. We need to do more random inviting for sure! It wouldn't matter what faith, but they have to like meat according to my husband. Hee Hee, just kidding.

Rhonda Martin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rhonda Martin said...

I must say canning is a lot of work and very gratifing. One Summer I canned 60 quarts of Black Berry Jam. I'd pick them in the morning while it was cool and then do the canning at night when it cooled off again. My hands were purple for a month straight~! As far as entertaining I invite a variety of friends and relatives and I don't care what thier faith is. All I care about is that they are nice loving people who care about others. After all is'nt that the important part that we love and care for one another!?!

Andrea@Sgt and Mrs Hub said...

A friend can be found anywhere - so we invite anyone and everyone - friends, church people, co-workers, neighbors - and we mix up the company too. We invite a bunch of people from different parts of our lives to come over at the same time.

And yes, people from outside our faith are welcome guests in our home. Like I said - a friend can be found anywhere :)

-Andrea

MyKidsMom said...

Oh dear, I wish I'd seen this sooner. I'm still going to try to link to it. Great giveaway!

I am hoping to start entertaining more. Right now it's mainly family and a few friends. Not all are of the same faith.

This is also my first year canning; I plan to pick Mrs.Darling's brain when the time comes; right now we're both waiting for our gardens to actually grow something;)

Tara said...

When we entertain we ususally have families from church over. As a SAHM that's where my connections lie. We also have a heart for larger families.

Since they're from our church, usually our guests are from our same faith.

And, I'd love to learn to can! :)

Anonymous said...

I entertain everyone! Family, friends, neighbors. Spur of the moemnt or planned in advance.
I am not the least bit concerned with what my friend's faith differences might be. I try to be the best example of my own faith that I can be and let it go with that.
Tracey

Dawn said...

I usually invite family and and church members. I am a preachers wife and have not entertained like I should, but hope to do more after finding your blog and being so inspired. I have actually hosted three gatherings since finding your blog, and am having my first ladies luncheon for our church ladies in another week. I am hoping to make this a monthly tradition.

I do mostly invite those who attend church with me, but those are the ones I am around the most. I really need to start inviting my neighbors as well.

Thanks so much for your amazing blog.

Dawn AKA (The reluctant preachers wife)

Dawn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Barbara said...

We love to entertain and it's not limited to how we know people. I'm always up for meeting new people and a good way to do that is to add them to an open house style party, that way they can come and go when they like and it's a more informal.

I actually have no idea what faith most of our friends are, so I guess I'd answer that with a yes, we entertain outside our faith.

This is a great giveaway, I just started canning last year!

Tamara said...

I just did my first canning project with my mom...we picked some wild grapes and made grape jelly. I didn't have any supplies...I bought jars & sure-jell, and made do with what I had for the rest! The jelly was yummy & I've enjoyed sharing it with friends.

So far, when we have entertained, it has usually been church friends or family. Since I have to overcome the perfectionist barrier as well as the shyness barrier, close friends are easier to entertain! However, God did lay it on my heart that we needed to do something in our neighborhood, so we've hosted 2 neighborhood events in our front yard. One was a "bring your own mug" coffee/cocoa/spiced tea evening in the late fall, and one was an ice cream party (I won a contest sponsored by Dreyer's Ice Cream). We have been praying about what our next neighborhood event should be.

Obviously, when we host a neighborhood event, we are inviting those outside our faith. We are hoping to build relationships with more of our neighbors so that it will be comfortable and natural to invite them to our home for a more intimate gathering.

Thankfulheart said...

ONE.When you entertain, who do you invite? Family members, Church friends, Neighbors, Co-workers, Strangers, A variety of friends?
We have done all of the above. Since we have grown up children we most often have them over for dinner. We do have other various get togethers occasionally but I am a reluctant entertainer. I love having people over after the fact but am reluctant before hand.
TWO.Do you entertain those outside of your faith? Or do you mix it up?
We do entertain outside the faith but I love good Christan fellowship. Meals are a wonderful way to learn about other peoples faith and cultures. The most fun and memorable get together was when we moved into our new house. We invited two couples over for dinner. One couple was from our church and we wanted to get to know them better. The other couple were some friends from the old neighborhood that were of the Muslim faith. We all had a blast!

Nancy in CA said...

We entertain both family and friends at home. The more the merrier. Faith plays no part of who we invite to our home. Just found your site via Notes From A Cottage Industry. I have always wanted to try canning maybe thi swill get me going. I have bought several vintage canning books over the years...I guess it's about time I ue them. Thanks, Nancy

Zaankali said...

We have a mix of guests, family friends, church friends. Some of our friends are friends from HS so some guests have different beliefs than we have but the majority are very similar.
Smiles!

Anonymous said...

hi Sandy

well I guess for me as a newly non-reluctant entertainer it's gonna have to be the answer friends - we have no family at all in Australia, they are all 17, 000 miles away BUT since entertaining last week my resolution is to entertain all, of any faith, I have intentions to invite people every other weekend from now on, I am so excited about it too, some of my plans though involve the warmer weather when we can entertain outside and make it easier to entertain a larger number (can't believe I'm writing that woohoo)

love your blog, I keep dipping back to the old posts for more faith and messages

Sarah
newly non-reluctant enteratainer!!

a beach cottage

Elise said...

I love to can!! I was certainly not taught, though.
Most of the time when we have people over they are church friends, because that is mostly what we have.
One time my husband brought home a homeless(sort of) man and we fed him and let him spend the night.
I would love to win this giveaway!!
Elise

Cheryl said...

I love to entertain in our home and I would do it more if I could.
We moved to our current location almost two years ago. We are very far away from all of our family and our "old" friends. Because of this we can only entertain our "new friends". Most of our friends come from church.
This goes right into the second question. We have a lot of friends in our church and we have also hosted the missionaries for our church that are in our area but we really haven't had many people from other faiths over. This is not because we don't want to but just because we are so close to those we hang out with all the time. I do have a few friends that have come over a few times but sometimes we have found it hard because of being judged by false perceptions of our religion.
Back home my best friend was of a different faith and it was fun to be able to share the best of ourselves with each other without judgement. I would love to find this again as well. I know I need to reach out more as well.
That said, I am glad you had us answer these. It gives me a lot to think about. And it renews my interest in learning to can!

Beca said...

I must say that I've never canned before but this would be a great time to teach myself. Well we don't entertain much but when we do we always invite family and sometimes church folks. We mix it up a little bit. Religion is never a factor. I like your blog!

Lovie said...

Wow I just found you through Notes from a Cottage Industry! Will be adding you to my favorites over at my blog.
Coincedently, just today, my daughter came over and I taught her how to make peach butter. It was so fun! And my 5 year old granddaughter was right there helping us.
As to who do I entertain? A variety of people usually at most gatherings.
Do I entertain outside my faith? Absolutely!
P.S. If I win I will give to my daughter. I already have everything and she is gung-ho and wants to get all the equipment now.

Anita said...

We love to entertain and love mixing up who we invite. Young and old alike! It's usually a mixture of family, friends, co-workers and church members.

We entertain outside of our faith as well. We enjoy getting to know people from all walks of life.

Unknown said...

We have small apartment and entertain our close friends and family, but would be open to entertain any person we would become acquainted with.

I made strawberry jam for the first time this year with berries I piked myself. thats a really great feeling. :)

Erin said...

We entertain a lot and it's usually friends ~ family lives too far away.
We don't put any restrictions on faith when we invite guests. The more variety of personalities the better - it keeps conversation interesting. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Oh how do I love canning supplies. We have been putting up peach preserves and strawberry jam here this week!

To answer your questions:
1) We entertain pretty much everyone from friends and family to co-workers of my hubby's. We often open our home to the guys that he works with, that are away from their families due to work so that they can enjoy a home cooked meal. We frequently have guests over for finger foods and cards and I have hosted "ladies night out" on more than one occasion. Having three children at home we do entertain many kids from all walks of life. I keep an open door policy with the kids because I want to feel comfortable when they are here. So many kids come from broken homes and sharing our family time is such a joy.

2) While I am very comfortable with those we worship with (mainly because I have known some of them for 20 years) I want everyone to feel comfortable in our home! Having my huby's co-workers over has been a most rewarding experience for the entire family. Anyone is welcome at our table and to our house!

Anonymous said...

Funny that you ask this. I am in charge of social activities for my church and I have been ruminating on an idea I have called "Sunday Supper Swap." Families who want to participate put their names in the hat and we randomly choose two families to eat Sunday dinner together.
Should be interesting.

Anonymous said...

Hope it's not too late...I would love to can my own tomatoe sauce. Because we've moved often, I find that when we entertain or "have people over" (because it's never very formal) we have new friends, co-workers and strangers (that become friends). Their faith doesn't matter to me. I just hope they have faith in something.
P.S. love the polka-dot items!
michelleb.

Anonymous said...

Your blog has been such a blessing to me. When I was growing up (and to this date) my mother would never have anyone over because everything was never perfect. So entertaining is so difficult for me because in my mind I replay all those things I grew up hearing and they end up being excuses for me. (we need to paint/i'll do it when i get everything organized/the table linens aren't ironed/i haven't cleaned "enough")

So little by little your sweet written words of encouragement are replacing the old ones.

So when we have people over its usually just my husbands family which is much larger than my own. (and all the same faith) They've been good practice for me because they aren't at all critical. Thank goodness. But I would love to start having small groups of friends over.

Thanks for doing this.

Ellen

Anonymous said...

1. When we entertain we invite a variety of people, friends, neighbours (or ex-neighbours who are now friends), church friends, and family. BUT our families live in California and we are in Maine so it's not often that we see them.
2. We mix it up.

I just made three batches of strawberry jam and am heading out to get raspberries tomorrow from Farmer's Market.

Anonymous said...

hey Sandy, can't wait to see your thrifted sofa, don't you just love garage sales? thanks for coming by my blog, you are a sweetheart

phew there sure are a lotta comments on here for you to get through, good luck

I'm entertaining again this weekend, it's gonna have to be easy as I'm pretty busy on Sat in the daytime so I'll be thinking about that tomorrow, how amazing that a few short weeks ago I wouldn't have considered it and now this weekend I am having people over and not being there all day to stress over it, I'll blog my non-reluctant entertainer journy of course!!!

keep up the good work...I don't think I need to mention how many people appreciate it :-)

Sarah

Brandi said...

Usually, we entertain family. Faith and denomination does not matter when inviting people. We do have the opportunity to invite our neighbors for a neighborhood get together after we finish some work on our home to make it more hospitable.

K :) said...

This summer we have really been entertaining (new pool). Most of the time it's neighbors, but we also have my husband's work people and our family. And we definitely have people from all different faiths.

Awesome giveaway.

a pink-bee said...

Wow ! What a great post and prize :)
crystal

Anonymous said...

I love to can and to entertain. When we invite people over, it is most often friends and family. Once a year we host a big picnic and invite practically everyone we know. This would include coworkers & neighbors, whom we would not normally host for a dinner party or game night.
We do not pick & choose based on faith. My husband & I have many close long-time friends whom we love and do not judge them on where they sit or do not sit on Sunday.

Angela
Towanda, PA

The Tomball Three said...

I enjoy entertaining for family mostly ... but I also will always invite over friends. Some of my friends have BECOME my family!

I always mix it up ... Texas is a diverse state- can't leave anyone out!

Anonymous said...

Seeing these questions made me realize that I haven't entertained any of my sisters for quite a long time. When all 4 of us get together it can get quite stressful due to personal situations. One of my sisters is Bipolar, one has a man living with her that she met at a bar and the third has borrowed large sums of money from family members and never paid it back. Talk about different world views! LOL! I am going to pray about how to show hospitality towards my sisters.

A lot of the entertaining I have done the past few years involved people from my boys' school. Kids, parents, even teachers. This summer we have been inviting a variety of kids to our church's middle school youth group. This past Tuesday we had 5 kids come that don't attend our church. It was the very first time for two of them. I carry several of the youth group brochures in my handbag so if I run into people I can invite them and give them the info.

I love your blog. It is so very encouraging!
Kim
mytupkim2003 at yahoo.com

Kathryn said...

I love canning! Can't wait to get started on the green beans and pasta sauce. Just waiting on my tomatoes to get ripe.

We practice hospitality to a variety of people from a variety of religious and nonreligious backgrounds, but especially try to reach out to those in our church, particularly our small group. Our church tries to focus on building strong relationships between individuals and families. We would love to have family over more often, but they live on the West Coast and we are here in South Carolina.

Anonymous said...

We love to entertain our friends and family, some of which are outside our faith. Thanks, Meredith

Kath Mattus said...

We enjoy entertaining friends and family in our home. Most of our friends are of different denominational faiths than we are. Dinner and a few rousing card games is always enjoyable!! :~) A wonderful way to show hospitality!

Anonymous said...

I usualy invite my family as we are all very close, but I have no problem inviting those of other faiths. God wants us to love all of his children!

Libby

Anonymous said...

I've canned once, probably over 10 years ago. And I had to borrow all of the stuff. I have wanted to get my own canning supplies since then. So...here goes!
I love to entertain family, friends, church friends, neighbors...whoever I can get to come...in or out of our faith.

I hope I'm not too late!

. said...

We entertain family, friends and definately neighbors...love all my neighbors. I just did a post on jam making...it's a great little ritual and wonderful bonding time.

Heather Anne said...

We used to love to open our home to all sorts of friends, family members and our church family, but our efforts at hospitality are a bit more limited now that I cope with chronic illness. Still, we do what we can, when we can, and enjoy every minute of it - well, maybe not the clean u, but almost every minute! We don't have as many contacts with people outside our faith right now, but we do have good relationships beginning and hope to make more. Our neighbor is of a different faith, but that doesn't stop us from taking over cookie, bread and soup each week! He even asked us to pray for his dog recently - a step in the right direction!
I actually have a lot of canning supplies, right now, so I don't need to be included in the contest, thank you. I have been blessed recently by my Mum who found a bunch of jam jars at resale shops! I am set for the summer canning season and have 65 jars of jam already made ... but we've already given 10 away! I really want to learn to can other things this summer - as my health and the crops permit.

Alisa said...

I may be too late to enter but had to post anyway. I found your blog...um I am not sure how but I have sure enjoyed it. It has hit on some things I have been thinking about-having people over, and enjoying it, being relaxed, having our home be a blessing of peace to others.
And this post got me- I was planning on going out of town to visit a friend to learn to can this weekend! (plans changed)
Our family invites friends, and family over. We have started asking the kids what familys or friends they would like to have over.
It started out being mostly friends of our faith, but we are branching out, and including everyone.
Thanks for your insights with this blog, I sure am enjoying it.