Everyday Eden with Kathryn Haines

This week, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with pastor and author Ian Simkins to chat about what it means to cultivate connection in a divided and distracted world, using the same tool as Jesus: an ordinary table.

In today's conversation with Ian, we're going to unpack what it looks like to invite people to your table to be seen and known, and ultimately, give them a taste of the forever feast that awaits us. In this episode, we'll chat about:

• What does it mean to cultivate a place where people feel truly seen and know they always have a place at your table?

• What's the difference between Biblical hospitality and today's entertaining?

• Discover what your everyday altar might be in the very place God planted you.

These printable cards feature conversation cards for kids, friends, neighbors, small groups, couples, and blank ones so you can make your own! Just print double sided and start connecting with the very people you invite to your table!

GRAB YOUR FREEBIE HERE

What if the antidote to our loneliness isn't found in another program or platform, but in something as simple and sacred as a table?

We live in an age of distraction and disconnection. Many of us scroll endlessly, perform constantly, and ache quietly for real community. We're desperate for the simple joy that comes from sitting with a friend and engaging in life-giving conversation.

The Bible gives us a model. Throughout Scripture, God does some of his most transformative work around tables. Jesus didn't build stages or start programs--he shared meals. There, foes became friends, strangers became family, and those on the outskirts of society were welcomed in.

That same invitation still stands. Whether you're sitting at your kitchen island, a corner booth at a bar, or a lunch table at work, you can experience radical connection.

In this book, you'll learn to:

• Rediscover the gospel's invitation to genuine community

• Choose presence over performance

• Cultivate simple, daily habits that form a table-centered life

• Break barriers by breaking bread

• See hospitality as a mission, not just decoration

The gospel spreads best not through grand gestures but through small, faithful acts of presence. When we see every table as an altar, even the most ordinary moments become sacred ones. The table isn't just where we eat; it's where we remember who we are and whose we are.

So pull up a chair. There's room for you here.

Ian Simkins is the lead pastor of The Bridge Church just outside Nashville, Tennessee and the author of Every Table an Altar (Zondervan). He and his wife, Katie, have three boys who keep their home incredibly loud and their table beautifully full. BUT! I wanted to share a little bit about Ian, and the heart behind this book…

In today's conversation, Kathryn is joined by her friend and bestselling author, Lisa Appelo, where they dig deep and invite you to meet the God of comfort in the midst of processing unbearable pain. In this episode, we'll chat about:

• What does our culture get wrong about greif?

• How do we rebuild a sense of trust and safety with God after devastating loss?

• What does it look like to bring all your overwhelming emotions and lingering questions to God?

• How one of the first signs of healing is reaching behind you and helping others.

• Practical ways to support the people in your life who are grieving.

In grief, it's easy to become focused on our circumstances, look back on the life we had, or even look around at others who seem to be living their best life. This devotional calls you to instead look up at God, who walks with you in grief.

When we grieve, God is already there, waiting to wrap us in his unfailing compassion. Yet in the mental fog and physical exhaustion of grief, it's hard to know where in the Bible to turn for help. With plenty of empathy—but zero empty platitudes—someone who knows the pain firsthand invites you on a 50-day journey where you are not rushed, fixed, or left alone in your grief.

Through Scripture, guided prayers, journaling prompts, and honest poems, Lisa Appelo walks alongside you as a companion in your grief, gently pointing you to the character of God.

Because when we fix our eyes on our God of comfort, we will find grace to get through each day, strength to move forward, and hope for the life he still has for us.

Available now everywhere books are sold.

Lisa Appelo is a speaker and author of God of Comfort: A Devotional Journal for the Grieving Heart and the ECPA bestseller Life Can Be Good Again. Her ministry began after she suddenly became a widow and single mom to her 7 children, who were 4 to 19 years old. As God walked her through grief, He gave her a new compassion to help others find hope in grief and deepen their faith in life's storms.

She's been featured at LIFE Today, Cornerstone Television Network, Insight for Living, Ann Voskamp, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and Risen Motherhood. A former litigating attorney, Lisa writes at LisaAppelo.com, is a leader with the national organization Never Alone Widows, and serves on the Executive Team of COMPEL Training, part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. If she's not writing or taking long walks, she's probably hanging with her 17 grandlittles.

Welcome to The Everyday Eden Podcast, a place where Kathryn Haines, alongside her fellow friends, writers, creators, and thinkers, gets really honest about cultivating a life right here and right now that brings the reality of heaven, homeward.

In today's conversation, Kathryn is joined by her dear friend, Deidre Braley, and bestselling author Ruth Chou Simons, where they dig deep and unpack the spiritual practice of delight. In this episode, we'll chat about:

• What it means to chase down delight in our day-to-day life
• How delight shows up in the hidden years of motherhood
• What it would look like for our hearts and souls to make delight a spiritual practice
• How perfectionism is the enemy of delight
• Practical tips and fun freebies to help you prioritize the spiritual discipline of delight

CLICK HERE to get the chapter on delight for FREE from This Moment Matters

Introducing This Moment Matters: 100 Ways to Cultivate a Grace-Laced Life

You can live a beautiful life filled with meaning and purpose.

In This Moment Matters: 100 Ways to Cultivate a Grace-Laced Life, bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons shares how recognizing God's grace can make your everyday life something special.

Everyday moments are what shape your life; you can sail through them on autopilot, or you can make small, purposeful choices that fill you and those around you with beauty and grace. Ruth shares suggestions for six areas of life: looking to Jesus, cultivating delight, embracing simplicity, taking care of yourself, creating a haven, and investing in your people. Begin a journey of:

• Discovering God's grace in daily life.
• Inspiration to make small but meaningful changes to your home, routines, and relationships with 100 ideas for habits, tips, recipes, and more.
• Cooperating with God in cultivating the intentional life you long for—in the simple choices you make every day.
• Embracing beauty through photography paired with Ruth's hand-painted artwork.

This Moment Matters will help you understand that the gospel—the good news of forgiveness and freedom in Christ—is connected to the way you make dinner, decorate your home, speak to your kids, and embrace the life you've been given.

This moment matters, friend. Whether it's thrilling, disappointing, uneventful, or even mundane,this is the day (and the moment!) that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Available everywhere books are sold on August 4th, 2026

About Ruth Chou Simons

Ruth Chou Simons is a bestselling and award-winning author of several books and Bible studies, including Beholding and Becoming, Now and Not Yet, and The Way of the Wildflower. She is an artist, podcaster, speaker, and the founder, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer of GraceLaced, a Scripture art brand. Simons uses each of these platforms to spiritually sow the Word of God into people's hearts, making deep truths beautifully accessible with her signature art and relatable communication style. Simons has been featured on Good Morning America, Fox, Christianity Today, and Hallmark Home and Family. Ruth and her husband, Troy, live in Western Colorado and are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure.