Home: Bless not Impress!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009, by Leigh Anne & Sherra

We have designated Tuesday as a day where we will have different women share “Moments & Memories” in their lives.

We plan to feature women from all walks of lives – it may be in the form of an interview or as a guest writer. The column on Tuesday will be centered around our word of the month. We’d love to feature you as a guest writer. Qualifications: No experience necessary…just be willing to share a great moment or memory with other women. Send us an email and we’ll schedule a date. Our guest writers do not necessarily have to have a website or a blog as we want iLashGirls to be a place where every woman has a voice!

Leigh Anne and Sherra say…

We are both privileged to know Lyn Johnson through our homebased businesses. She is a role model to all who meet her with her gifts of graciousness, hospitality and true caring for others! She is a true delight and if she inspires you half as much as she has inspired us through the years, let her know by leaving a comment at the end of this article. Please welcome Lyn to iLash Girls…

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Lyn Johnson was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She worked as an elementary school teacher before staying home full time to care for her family and help her husband Brett pastor their church.

In 1986 Brett and Lyn moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Lyn has been a top leader with an international direct sales company for 19 years and heads up a team of over 1400 independent consultants who are situated in Canada and all over the USA. Her passion is to develop people and is she is grateful to use her gift of encouragement on a daily basis in her business. Lyn’s public speaking has included business seminars, preaching in men’s prisons, women’s retreats, and church sermons.

Lyn partners with Brett in the ministry of an organization that they co-founded. Lyn travels extensively as she helps lead teams of businesspeople who volunteer their time on short term missions’ trips to South Africa, Indonesia and India. Hospitality is one of Lyn’s other passions and their home is always full of guests who are either staying for short or long periods of time and people who just “pop in”.

Lyn and Brett have three children: Fay who graduated from UCLA and is working in Washington DC, James who will be graduating from the Air Force Academy in Colorado in May (and getting married 4 days later) and David who is attending Film School at Chapman University in Southern California.

Favorite color:

It changes all the time just like a chameleon- currently orange!

Favorite food you associate with the home:

Traditional South African food

Pet Peeve:

Hot air from sportscasters and politicians

What is something that no one knows about you?

I have visited 37 countries on 5 continents and if I count layovers in airports, over 40. I have a Nigerian godson and an adopted son in India!!

One word that describes you:

Encouraging

What’s your motto or mantra:

“Done is better than perfect.” (I am a non-perfectionist and think that is one of the reasons why I get so much done!!)

What are the top three things that are most important to you—the things you love to do and are passionate about?

My greatest desire is to learn to know God better and to live my life in a way that pleases Him.
I am passionate about people – I have hundreds of friends all over the world.
I love being part of the non-profit my husband and I started where we encourage people to walk out their call, especially through businesses.

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Home

Bless not impress! These were the words that came to mind years ago as I tried to think how best to describe the true heart of hospitality. They have remained with me as the true heart of the hospitality that I hope to demonstrate in my life.

Impress is about me, about showing off how well I decorate, cook, and serve the meal and how well my children behave!

Bless is about you.

How comfortable are you in my home?
How relaxed do you feel as you sit at my table?
Do you feel refreshed and encouraged when you leave?

Hospitality has been a passion of mine from long before I was married and had my own home. Thankfully my parents encouraged my twin sister, Michelle and me to bring all our friends home and we did. I also collected the “strays”, people who had no other place they could call home. On hearing a sermon by a couple who said they had a “ministry of hospitality”, I quickly prayed that when I had my own home I too would have that ministry. Little did I know how that would be fulfilled!

After Brett and I were married, our 700 square foot home was filled with teenagers from our youth group, people from our church and neighbors who all used to “pop in”, which is a common practice in South Africa involving just arriving for a visit without letting anyone know you are coming! A month after we were married our first long term staying guest moved into the spare room as we provided a friend twice our age with a place to land while he sorted out his life. This joyful practice has continued for 30 years of marriage as we have hosted people who initially came for 3 weeks and stayed for 10 months or came for 3 months and stayed for 3 years!

I like to think about hospitality as being 2 strands – a thick gold cord and a smaller silver thread. The gold cord is the true heart of hospitality and can be practiced by welcoming a group of teenagers to stand around your kitchen table while devouring pizza or around a simple campfire! The silver thread represents the beautiful, thoughtful, creative touches we add that say, “You are worth my taking the time to bless you with my extra effort to make things beautiful!”

I was deeply impacted years ago when I read a story by one of my favorite authors, Edith Schaeffer. It was either in her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking or What is a Family and I may not have all the details straight! Edith grew up during the Great Depression and often unemployed and hungry men would knock on the door of her parents’ home. Edith’s mom would make a sandwich, cut it into a shape and put it on a pretty plate, add a bowl of nutritious soup and display it on a tray with a fresh cloth napkin. She would send Edith into the back garden to cut a flower or pick up some colorful leaves to decorate the tray. At times they would add a little lit candle. Many of the men would begin to cry as they saw the tray put before them. These hungry men received far more than a meal that day as their self-respect was restored as they were treated with dignity and care and left with renewed hope. This is a true example of the gold and silver threads!

At a time in history when we may be tempted to pull back and protect our time and resources, I encourage you to practice hospitality. Edith Schaeffer’s mom knew the importance of this. Reach out and offer both the gold and silver cords. You never know; for someone it might be more than a just a meal. It may be a lifeline.