A Breath of New Life, Ep 2 of 6

Erin Davis: Erin Davis has to remind herself the purpose of a home is using it to serve others. We want to have a beautiful home, but we don't necessarily want to be hospitable. And we want to have that magazine cover look, but we don't want anyone to mess it up.
Dannah Gresh: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Revive My Heart, for September 22, 2026. I'm Dannah Gresh. Yesterday, Nancy began a series about the Shunammite woman found in Second Kings chapter 4. We saw the importance of this woman's hospitality to the prophet Elisha, and that teaching got a lot of our listeners thinking. So let's pause together and make this personal. How might we open our homes and use them to serve the Lord? One listener remembers an example from her childhood.
Guest (Female): If anybody came into my mom's house, it didn't matter what time of the day, it didn't matter, she would always bring out food—always, breads, cookies. So if you ever went away from my house growing up, it was really surprising because there was always food. So I don't know if she just had the spirit of hospitality, but it was always there. My sister and I were not as generous as my mom. We don't constantly bake and cook. So it is a spirit that I don't know if it's a dying art, but I think most of us that are in our 50s remember the older generation always had food ready.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: I remember that as well, but here's the thing we need to remind ourselves and especially the younger generation: you don't have to be a gourmet cook. You don't have to be into baking. You don't have to be into anything exquisite or extravagant or massive to be hospitable. I've shown hospitality in my home with pop-in pretzels or popcorn or some other things not so healthy that I won't mention. It's the heart we're talking about. And I think so many times we get intimidated by the thought of hospitality because we think the house has to be spotless. I just tell you right now, with a family of six living in my house, my house is not spotless. And you may trip on toys or who knows what else right now. That's not the point. The point is that we open our hearts and we welcome people into our space. What we're doing then is welcoming them into our lives. We say, "I care about you. I want to serve you. I want to bless you." And one way to do that is through meals. But I've gotten really creative over the years when I sometimes walk into my house after my company gets there for dinner at times, and I found ways to get creative about providing food. It may be that I say, "Come bring your own dinner." But in whatever ways we can, we say, "Here's a space where we can enjoy each other, where we can fellowship." Let me say also, as a single woman in ministry, how grateful I am for friends I have who do know how to cook and bake and do know how to provide really healthy, wholesome meals. I'm looking at Jennifer here. I was in your home not too long ago, and you and your mother-in-law prepared a great meal. It was a home-cooked meal. That was a real treat for me. As a servant of the Lord, what a blessing it's been to experience the gift of hospitality from others. So don't underestimate the power and the gift that it is to serve your family, guests, and others in your home.
Guest (Female): I have six children. About a year and a half ago, we moved to a home that was a little larger and on the property had a guest house so that we could host our in-laws. That's been a stretch to sometimes have them so close. It's been a blessing as well. Also in the home, just having the space to have people over with all the children has been something I know God has called us here for. However, it's my heart attitude that I struggle with sometimes. I wonder how to do this with a joyful heart as well, even though I know that God is calling me to do this. This talk has reminded me that I need to do it with a joyful heart as well.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: The heart attitude makes all the difference, doesn't it? And sometimes others can't tell, but we know.
Erin Davis: I was just sitting here thinking about what a relief this program is going to be to women to know that you don't have to be Pinteresting. I'm a technology recluse because I just can't handle it, but I think Pinterest is what magazine covers were and what malls are—just such a source of condemnation. I was so struck by the Shunammite woman and she said, "I'm going to give him a bed and a table and a lamp." She didn't decoupage the room. She didn't carve it out of driftwood she found in her backyard. She just met his needs and that was going to be enough. So often for us as young women, we're twisted. We want to have a beautiful home, but we don't necessarily want to be hospitable. We want to have that magazine cover look, but we don't want anyone to mess it up. Typically, my home is full of teenagers and they're so easy to please in many ways. Pizza rolls and Pepsi and we are rolling. I love that. God's really blessed us recently with a bigger house and a farm and a fainting goat. It's been such a privilege just to have more to be able to give more. I don't think it's something that young women are necessarily hearing a lot about or understanding. They think it's about having a home that looks like Pinterest. So I just think you've nailed it with the heart of it.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Kim is another, as would be true of many of you in this room, I've had the privilege of being a guest in her home and being warmly welcomed there. I know she and her husband have a real heart for ministering to others in their home. Just how's it been a blessing to you to use your home for hospitality?
Guest Kim: I love having people over. I really do. And I don't get to do it as much as I would like or as much as I used to, but I love to have people over. It blesses them, but when I'm cleaning up after a big mob has been there, it is just a sweet time of reflecting and thinking about how we've shared fellowship in what God is doing in each other's lives. I think about a big birthday party I threw for a friend once where she was able to hear from so many people how she had blessed their lives and it was encouraging to her. I'm thinking of my friend here sitting beside me, who is a single woman and lives alone, but has prepared her home with three nice bedrooms. She opens her home all the time to visiting people that come through our city.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: She's been trying to get me to come stay there.
Guest Kim: She has invited you many times, Nancy. You have a standing invitation. But everyone that stays there, they say, "I have never slept in such a great bed. I've never had such a great night's sleep." She has games there for children of all ages and for adults. It's a party place, but it's not necessarily a Pinterest showplace. It is comfortable, it's inviting, and I just think that that's the heart of God: to come sit beside me and let me love on you. I love doing that in my home and I love going to people's homes who do that to reflect the heart of Christ.
Guest Angela: Recently I had a lady come and live with me who just got out of prison. I did not know her before and it's been very difficult. I'm single and don't have a large home but have really sensed the Lord said, "It's time for you to have her in your home." There have been many times I've wanted to open the door and kick her out, but I know that the Lord continues to say that even when it is hard, you have to keep pushing through because you don't know who you're entertaining or the influence that you could have. Several of my friends have said they can't believe I am doing that. It's not me because I don't want to do it. So it's been very, very difficult.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: But can you say anything about the blessing of it?
Guest Angela: It has been a blessing too. She came to know the Lord in prison and is continuing to grow. She is working at our family camp cleaning houses, and she's around to help me. I have been traveling a lot on the road with the ministry and she's there to take care of things and be there to do things that I cannot do.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: I think she is a jewel in the making. The way you're bringing her into your home is a picture of Christ welcoming her into His home and His heart. She's just going to blossom. There have already been so many changes in her life. This season of her knowing that she is welcome in the family of God is going to deeply impact her life.
Guest (Female): I'm an empty nester, but when my children were teenagers, I had a freezer stocked with slice and bake. I don't know what this Pinterest thing is, but a couple of friends used to make fun of me that I wasn't a home baker. I grew up in New York City and we had a tiny kitchen. So our version of baking was to pull out the slice and bakes. You buy cookies that are ready to just take off and stick on the cookie sheet. Several of my daughter's friends still consider me their second mom and come back and visit now that they're all grown and married. Hospitality can look in different ways. I also wanted to mention that sometimes my husband and I are on a different page. I always want to have everyone over all the time. One of the things as I've been praying to respect him more and honor him in our home is to really wait on him and to make sure that his heart is in the same place as mine. That's been really beneficial and exciting to see him grow more into wanting to do it. When we do have people over, we're together in it. And that's a good thing. I just thought that was important.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: You see that in the Shunammite woman. Before she adds a room on her house, she talks to her husband about it. It's a good thing to be on the same page. Your husband may be more introverted or isn't a party waiting to happen. You need to be sensitive to that because your husband is your most important guest in your home. And yet, scriptures teach that being hospitable is a qualification for being an elder or a deacon to provide leadership in the church. Now that doesn't mean you always have to have parties at your house, but it does mean having a warm and welcoming heart and using the things God has given you to be a blessing to others. Give him room to grow in that, but also realize that sometimes God may be protecting you by your husband's reticence to have a party there every night. He may realize that this is stretching you beyond what is practical or reasonable at this season of your life. That's why God gave you to each other so you could help each other and balance each other. Make it a matter of discussion and prayer. Seek the Lord and say, "How can we use what God has entrusted to us in this season to be a blessing to others?" I just feel so strong in my heart right now. I am praying that the Lord would reach down and grip ahold of our hearts and put His desires in our heart to want to do this, because it's not out of our own desires that we can do this. I am praying that the Lord will put on each one of our hearts somebody—a neighbor or a friend. I pray He would just put their face in your mind and your heart, and that we would be intentional and respond and say yes to that. I know I always pause or I feel like the Lord's nudging me or pushing me and then I just stop and let selfishness get in the way. So I really pray that the Lord will put somebody on each one of our hearts and that we would say yes. We want these people to come to know the Lord.
Guest (Female): I'm a homeschool mom. I have four children and we host a small group in our home every other week. We have 30 children that come. We believed in being fruitful and multiplying. My house kind of gets trashed sometimes, and this was very timely because we've led a small group for about 10 years. We always had the kids present. Not with us while we're discussing, but we always have childcare. They do Bible lessons themselves, but we just felt it was important that they saw us as their parents gathering together to pray. Honestly, I'm getting a little tired and weary. To be here today and to hear the Lord just speaking to my heart that this is good, that having all these kids over all the time is good. He reminded me that after 10 years, they started out really little and now we've got some big ones. Our young men in our group are getting ready to start leading the Bible teaching to the new littles now that we have. I'm very blessed to be here today because I've been very tired.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: That's where we have to get filled up so that we can give out to others. Keep in mind, this woman in Shunem didn't have everybody over all the time. That's where you need wisdom and discernment in seeking the Lord and saying, "For this season of my life, who is it that You want us to minister to in this way?" God may not have provided you a place where you can have a small group with 30 kids. It may not be a season of life where you and your husband feel that that's the best way to use your home. So don't compare to somebody else's story. Don't get on a guilt trip about what you aren't doing or get proud about what you are doing. Ask the Lord in this season together, how can we use what God has entrusted to us to be a blessing to others?
Guest (Female): Our home has always been open to whoever wants to come. The way that looks has changed over the years. Before we had children, we tried to minister to other couples. Before we had our children, we were involved in youth ministry and we had young people in our house. As my kids were born, they went to public school and what a huge ministry that was. The kids that came in and had dinner at our dinner table came to our house. That's a huge thing of hospitality. So many kids are not exposed to that. They don't have a clue what a family is, even in Christian homes where everybody's so busy. Hospitality evolves over the years and it truly is a legacy that we as mothers and single women can leave. I just feel like so many people have poured into my kids' lives. Even now as I hear Nancy speak, my daughter is at Moody and she's single and just dealing with the singleness when people around her are saying, "You need to have someone else in your life." She says, "Mom, I just want to be content where I am and with what God's going to do with my life." Hospitality can take on a lot of different looks, whether it's to an individual or to a family or a group of young people. My heart right now in my season of life is that the older generation is being left out. There's lots of wisdom to be had there. I just think that's a group that we could be ministering to a lot more effectively.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Great, good. A good word from a woman who's been through some of those seasons. One more, right back here.
Guest (Female): When I think of an example of hospitality, I think of my mom. We grew up with four girls in a two-bedroom home. Mom and Dad got kicked in the basement when we were younger, but they always had missionaries in. I remember particularly one time when they had a couple up, all four of us girls stayed in one room and the pastor came to my mom and said, "Diane, we need more room. I've got two more guys coming in, have no place to put them." We all went out of the bedrooms and the missionaries all had the bedrooms. It doesn't matter how much you have, just be willing to use it. The blessing through all that is one of the missionaries, two of his sons married two of my sisters. You just never know what God has. God has blessed me with a wonderful example of a mother and I have now enjoyed reaping the benefit of doing it myself. Always a full house is a good house.
Dannah Gresh: We've been listening to a group of Revive Our Hearts listeners talking with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth about the value of hospitality. For a deeper dive on this topic, can I recommend our series, "You're Welcome Here"? It features teaching as well as the stories of others who model hospitality well. You can hear the series when you click on the link in the transcript of this program that's at reviveourhearts.com. To close our time out today, let's listen to Nancy.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Number one, hospitality is one of the most practical ways to express the love of Christ. That's how people can know that we love them and that we love each other as believers. Number two, hospitality reflects the hospitable heart of God. When we practice hospitality, we show the world what He is like. Number three, hospitality is a great way to build unity and community with other believers. It's a way to really get to know each other. Getting into each other's lives just does not happen within the four walls of a church. That's where we can meet each other, but then when we come into our homes, that's where we break bread, we break down barriers, and we create a climate for true fellowship. Number four, the Bible promises rewards for those who practice hospitality. And those rewards, by the way, are not only here on earth. There are some rewards promised in heaven. Number five, hospitality is one of the most effective ways to create a hunger for Christ in the hearts of nonbelievers. Some people who won't go in the door of a church will come into your home, and that's where we can begin to share with them the love of Christ. Number six, hospitality will help you deal with loneliness and depression. I think of even some singles or those who are widowed or divorced and live by themselves. Hospitality is one way of dealing with that. Number seven, hospitality will help us deal with selfishness. My bent is to be selfish, and hospitality is a way of running into the face of that selfishness and breaking down that natural selfish instinct. Number eight, hospitality will help you deal with materialism and help you get values that are eternal. Number nine, if you have children, hospitality is a great way to cultivate in your children a heart for ministry. And number ten, if there were no other reason, this would be sufficient reason: and that is that God commands us to be hospitable. If you're a child of God, hospitality is not an option.
Dannah Gresh: That's Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth with ten reasons hospitality matters so much. Did you know you can hear more past episodes just like that one at reviveourhearts.com? We're able to provide so many rich resources for women thanks to listeners who see this ministry multiplying God's kingdom. These are friends who want to be involved with what they see God doing. We need listener support to keep coming to you each weekday. Without that support, there would be no Revive Our Hearts. If you value these podcast episodes and radio programs, you can partner with us to keep them coming. Visit our website to make a donation today. When you do, we'll send you a copy of our new study, "Devoted: Six Women of the Bible Who Said Yes, Lord." To make a gift of any amount and receive your complimentary copy, visit reviveourhearts.com or call us at 1-800-569-5959. And if you'd like to partner with us to spread the core message of Revive Our Hearts and support women in ministry, you've got to check out our Ambassador Program. Revive Our Hearts Ambassadors connect with local women's ministry leaders and pastors' wives to pray for them, equip them, and cheer them on. To learn more, visit reviveourhearts.com/ambassador. That's also where you can see if there's an existing Ambassador in your area and connect with them. If you're a woman in ministry, I hope you'll check that out. Tomorrow, Nancy will be back with episode three of this series, "A Breath of New Life." She asks, "Are you growing in contentment?"
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: If you're not satisfied with what you have, you won't be satisfied with what you think you want. And I see in this woman a heart of contentment. Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Dannah Gresh: Please be back for Revive Our Hearts. This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.