FRIEND FRIDAY | J'NET WEBB

This summer I am so excited to announce that I will be doing "Friend Fridays" on my blog!

The goal of these friend fridays is to use the stories of some amazing women I know to inspire you to seek God, dream big, give generously, and to not despise small beginnings.

Each one of us has gifts and talents that are given to us from God. If we all focus on what we have been given and choose to not compare, I believe that we will be so much more effect as we work together in the body of Christ.

This week I will be featuring my very first friend in life, My Mom, J'net Webb.

I hope and pray that her story inspires you to live a hospitable life toward others.

Both of my grandmothers were southern hospitable women. Teaching me from an early age that when people visited your home it was an opportunity to extend a welcome but also to try new recipes, play board games, tell funny family stories, and often play practical jokes.

My granny Hinkle and grandad Hinkle lived in Roswell New Mexico and I didn't get to see them often. But what I remember most about getting to see them was their little 3 bedroom home that was located across the street from a pecan orchard. They also had 3 pecan trees in their yard and because of the work that it took to shell the pecans, what they gave as gifts ended up being almost as valuable as little nuggets of gold. At Christmas time their home was filled with candy. The holidays seemed to revolve around candy there. Martha Washington cherries, sugary old fashioned fudge, sugared pecans, and popcorn. Cold nights were filled with fudge. Grandad would make a big pan of fudge and they would cut it while still warm and serve it with hot buttered popcorn. While all the men played 42, all the women would sit around, gossiping, and taking turnings yelling at the kids.

Summers were a different time all together. They always had a garden that every meal was served from. Fresh sliced tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon were some of the produce my mind remembers. Every summer they would take a trip to the near by mountains and buy apples and cherries which they would then make all sorts of canned concoctions.

There was always food but more importantly there was always an open door to friends and family. They had a large enclosed porch that was adorned with string lights. Many memories were made as people entered that porch.

There was a constant stream of family, neighbors, and friends that would stop by and very few of them left without a slice of pie, a jar of jelly, a bag of prized pecans, or some kind of object that my grandfather had made out back in his woodshed.

It was a reflection of a life spent in one community, helping family and friends/neighbors in times of crisis or need. Having a generous attitude of sharing and being constantly mindful that God had richly blessed them, they loved serving others.

One of the most satisfying things now for me in life is to plan and prepare an event for my guest to enjoy. I enjoy seeing guests warmly welcomed, full of delicious food, and lingering in laughter and conversation. I love creating an atmosphere where loved ones can come together and break bread, fellowship, and let their guards down.

In Acts 2: 42-47, there is a picture of the early believers and how they were living their lives. They broke bread together and were united! When we as believers join together, it knits our hearts together. When we share our resources and our lives, guards come down, and we begin to really see each other. This is the place that the Holy spirit longs for us to be. We have a choice to make as we become familiar with others and see into their lives. The Holy Spirit prompts us to share our time, money, belongings, and the deepest part of ourselves with others.

When our good GOOD Father blesses us, we are to share. He blesses us so that we can share it as an opportunity to show others God's rich provision and abundant love. It's a way to show unbelievers the good and perfect love of the Father.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:8-11

As I look back on my life there have been several constants. One, I want Jesus to be glorified with my life. Two, Feeding people makes me happy. And three, I want everyone that walks through my front door to feel welcome!

At the beginning of my marriage, I did what I knew. I invited friends and family over for birthday parties. Mike and I were so poor that I had to get creative in my attempts to make a meal stretch. I pretty much made everything from scratch because I learned that a bag of flour and a 5 pound bag of potatoes could feed a lot of people! I even took cake decorating classes so that I could make birthday cakes myself. God always provided a way for me to use the talents He had blessed me with to help provide for my family but also to bless others. Cooking, sewing, painting... I was always challenged to learn and then use what I learned to bless people.

I look back now and see how God used all these different seasons in my life to bring me to where I am now. About 3 years ago, and after battling some health issues, it became increasingly apparent that I no longer could bake and decorate cookies for extra money. I knew that God was closing that door and I was at a loss. In the middle of that hard season of life, questions were ever present. What's next God?

As I prayed, Real Estate kept coming to my mind. I was 100% terrified at the thought.

But in obedience I enrolled in Collin County College in January and by June I was a licensed Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams!

As I began work in this industry, I realized that the business ventures I had been involved in were all leading me up to this moment. As I began to meet new people and work with them on buying and selling homes, I realized we all want the same thing (basically). We all want a safe place for our families to live. I realized that all these years of customer service (sewing dresses, making wedding cakes, or hand painting cookies) my attitude has had to be the same.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man. Colossians 3:23

I believe that the details in our lives matter to God. So now when I help people find their dream homes, I pray for them. I ask God to lead me to help them. I ask God to be with my clients and that He would lead them in the way they should go.

So whether I am on the job helping someone find a home or opening my own home to others, I pray that my home and heart would be a place that the spirit of God resides. That my home would be warm, inviting, filled with laughter and joy. I am a caretaker of what God has given me. That includes my home, my attitude, condition of my heart, and the people He has brought into my life.

May God reveal to you how you can use your gifting and talents to love on and inspire others!

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13