I find it very fun to have fun.
I’m not quite sure where everybody else lands on this idea, but I am extremely motivated by fun. I find that much of life is hard and full of difficult things, so giggling and having fun is always such a treat. When I look back over my life, some of my sweetest moments of fun have been with people I love, gathered in my house.
If you want to get deeper on this idea of fun, I do believe God loves it too. Maybe I’ll talk about that at the end.
Parties with No Point
A great way to have fun? I love parties with no agendas. That means it isn’t a retirement party, fundraiser, or graduation celebration (although those can all be very fun, too), but just getting people together for the point of getting people together.
I find this is a fantastic way to let people feel loved and celebrated. When there is a guest of honor, eyes are on them. When it’s a pointless party, we are all just looking at each other. One of the best compliments someone gave me was when we had a group of friends over for a fancy dinner. My husband and I went overboard with good food and drinks, and towards the end of the night our friend said, “I feel like today is my birthday.” That sentence made me smile for the next week.
This idea is hard for some people to understand, though. In the middle of a party we were hosting, one of my friends pulled me over and quietly said, “I don’t get this. Are you announcing you’re pregnant or moving or something?” I laughed and said, “No, this is just for fun. There is no point!” Even in our celebrations sometimes we take things too seriously.
Don’t let your house stop you.
Early in our marriage, we used to move all the furniture out of the first floor of our 1,200 square foot house so we could set up tables and chairs to fit everyone for a sit down dinner. Last year, we invited 100+ friends over to watch a Browns party on TVs in our backyard, but rain forced our muddy selves all inside, which was truly breaking any capacity my house has. Funny enough those are the parties my friends talk about most often. There’s something about watching a host care more about her guests than her own house that brings comfort and enjoyment to others! “If Hannah isn’t worried about her house getting muddy I guess I won’t either!”
No one cares about your dirty floors or missing cabinet knobs. They care about how they feel when they leave. The dirty shoe marks will wash off. The joy of gathering others isn’t to show off your house or yourself. It’s for people to leave feeling better than when they walked in.
“One gives freely yet grows all the richer” (From Proverbs 11:24)
As we are in the chaos of getting things ready and making sure to pick up my kid’s puzzle off the floor, as we fill the coolers with ice, my husband often says to me, “I already know what you’re going to say tonight.” I always know, too. We laugh about it together but it truly does flow out of my mouth each time without even thinking. As our last guest walks out of the door, I’ll twirl around and declare “I’m so happy! I’m so happy, I love having everyone together!”
That simple verse in Proverbs 11 is the perfect summary of the joy of bringing people together — we give yet grow richer.
How does this show the goodness of God?
Well back to my beginning sentence, I do believe God finds delight in our fun.
When I was in the midst of losing my dad to ALS, I remember coming across a sentence in Psalm 35 that filled me with some questions. Verse 27 says, “The Lord is great! He is happy when his servant is safe and well!”. I looked it up in other translations and it said God delights in our “welfare”. As I sat in so much sadness of losing my dad, I was confused by the thought of my welfare. I wasn’t feeling well! After further digging, I realized the Hebrew word there is Shalom — that God delights in our Shalom.
This has become a life-long lesson for me: the beauty of the word Shalom and the fact that God desires for us to experience it. I invite you to go on the same treasure hunt and find out for yourself what that word means and why it brings God delight. I’ll give you a hint, I think helping others experience fun through inviting them over is part of it.
Yes, every time we open our homes or laugh with our neighbors we get a small taste of the shalom God delights in for us. Personally, I want to keep saying yes to being a willing host to make that happen.
And just like I say after every gathering in my house: I’m so happy. I love having everyone together.
— Hannah Nita for The Sublime Soiree (c) August 2025
We are so happy to welcome Hannah Nitz to The Sublime Soiree today! Hannah Nitz is an optimistic enthusiast. She’s worked with nonprofits, ministries, and conferences, sharing her skills in strategy, marketing , and storytelling. You may have heard her loud laugh on Moody Radio Cleveland, as a guest on the Java with Juli podcast, or hosting her own show, There’s More. Her favorite topic is enjoying God and His presence.
Hannah is currently running the PTA at her local elementary school and tries to host as many parties as possible. Hannah and her husband, Caleb, live in Copley, Ohio, where life is delightfully full with three cute kids.
