My favorite person is BACK on the podcast this week, and once again, there was no plan beforehand for what to talk about, and there are NO EDITS! 🫢 Join me for another fun conversation with my fellow farmer and adventurer, inspiring entrepreneur and insanely talented chef - my husband, Steven Bailey.

For this episode, we sat down again here in the barn studio on Kindred Farm - this time with some good quality bourbon with a farm-fresh twist (listen to find out what it is!). In this completely freestyle convo, we share about our recent family-friendly dinner on the farm, adventures in cabbage-harvesting and kimchi-making, heritage experiences, and why it’s so important to embrace failure if you want to have success at anything.

You’ll also hear some behind-the scenes in his life as a chef and life on a working farm.

A few of the topics we chat about in this episode:

This episode will inspire you to DREAM but also give you ideas to take ACTION, right where you are. LISTEN IN!

We have SO much more to talk about, so you’ll definitely be hearing Steven again on the podcast in the near future!

Steven Bailey, a.k.a. The Korean Farmer, is a private chef, regenerative farmer, menu-creator, and farm-to-table consultant. Raised by a mother from the rice fields of South Korea and a father who grew up on a North Carolina tobacco farm, Chef Steven has been trained by his taste buds and unique Korean/Southern cultural heritage rooted in food and agriculture. As a private chef for his weekly clients and special occasion dinners, Steven crafts creative and inspiring food - from kimchi tacos to hand cut pappardelle, and everything in between. Steven attended Baylor University where he began cooking and baking and was probably the only guy in his fraternity to own a Kitchen Aid Mixer. Right out of college and living in Dallas, Steven started a missions travel company called 963 Missions and a fair-wage coffee company before founding Urban Acres, an organic produce co-op, market, and urban farm, in 2009. After selling Urban Acres in 2015, he moved his family to the rolling green hills of Santa Fe, Tennessee where they broke ground and began Kindred Farm.

Despite our best efforts to build lives for ourselves that are always smooth and problem-free, life still contains the contrasts - the co-existence of polarities like light and heavy, comfortable and difficult, beautiful and terrible. What do we do with this tension? In this episode, I explore a favorite Frederick Buechner quote that’s inspired me for years and share a story of a time I could have let fear overcome me. 

Instead of being tempted to live in fear and “pad” our lives to avoid risk, we can move forward in hope and choose to see the light breaking through. The tension of life is unavoidable - let’s learn to embrace this truth and live more fully through it. JOIN ME!

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Here’s your reminder today to NOT give up. 

It’s so easy to throw in the towel when we feel like we don’t know what we’re doing. Quitting might seem easier in the moment, but does it really serve us in the long run? And why does it matter to keep persevering in the small things?

Join me in this episode sharing my sourdough bread-making escapades - from the complete failures to the eventual, glorious success - a success I would never have had if I hadn’t kept going. 

📝 I also share several sourdough bread-making tips I’ve learned along the way so YOU can hopefully avoid some of the mistakes I made! 

I was a novice when it came to sourdough and had no idea what I was doing at first, but the last 6 months of deciding to keep going have been so worth it. Whatever your challenge is today, this episode will encourage you to keep persevering, in big and small ways. 

If you’re loving this podcast, please take a moment to leave a 5-star review. It helps so much - thank you!

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This episode is from my “From The Outside” series, where I record an episode OUTSIDE to share with you ~ either from a spot on the farm or elsewhere. 🌿 These episodes are shorter and focused on soaking up the beauty of the outdoors and engaging all five of our senses. 

Today, I’m back in our 6’x10’ mini seed-starting greenhouse here on Kindred Farm, but this time, the greenhouse is EMPTY. 

From my little perch next to a seed table that once held trays with thousands of seeds that are now planted in the field, I share the symbolism of this empty space. There is a mix of feelings when releasing something and entering a new season of growth. I also share a spring dinnertime meal I loved and some other discoveries. Grab your own spot outside, and join me!

If you’re loving this podcast, PLEASE take a moment to leave a 5-star review. It helps so much - thank you!

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What do we do in seasons that feel chaotic and overwhelming? If you’re like me, you might find yourself giving in to the chaos, skipping too far ahead, getting paralyzed by the details and to-dos. 

But that’s not how we’re meant to meet the challenges we face in life. 

In this episode, I share a story of something important I learned in the month of May two years ago, that there is so much peace to be found when we stop grasping and instead receive just what we need for this day, this moment - like manna.

If you have no idea what manna is, you’ll learn about that too. 😊 As usual, I share a gratefulness practice at the end, and this one is inspired by a recent trip back to my hometown. For a breath of fresh inspiration, listen in! 🍃

If you’re loving this podcast, PLEASE take a moment to leave us a 5-star review. It helps so much - thank you.

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My favorite person is on the podcast this week, and there are NO EDITS! 🫢 Join me for a fun conversation with my fellow farmer and adventurer, inspiring entrepreneur and insanely talented chef - my husband, Steven Bailey. For this episode, we sat down late one night in the barn studio here on Kindred Farm with a bottle of our favorite wine to share some thoughts about our spring farm-to-table dinner that we hosted last weekend...and so much more.

We had zero plan for what to talk about, so what we share in this freestyle convo is what you get to hear! We pull back the curtain on how and why we do farm dinners and on Steven’s full-time work as a private chef. This episode will inspire you to embrace imperfection, take risks outside your comfort zone, and live with more boldness and authenticity, right where you are. LISTEN IN!

A few of the topics we chat about in this episode:

I’m excited to bring Steven back on the pod in the near future for more “no-edit” episodes, so stay tuned!

Steven Bailey, a.k.a. The Korean Farmer, is a private chef, regenerative farmer, menu-creator, and farm-to-table consultant. Raised by a mother from the rice fields of South Korea and a father who grew up on a North Carolina tobacco farm, Chef Steven has been trained by his taste buds and unique Korean/Southern cultural heritage rooted in food and agriculture. As a private chef for his weekly clients and special occasion dinners, Steven crafts creative and inspiring food - from kimchi tacos to hand cut pappardelle, and everything in between. Steven attended Baylor University where he began cooking and baking and was probably the only guy in his fraternity to own a Kitchen Aid Mixer. Right out of college and living in Dallas, Steven started a missions travel company called 963 Missions and a fair-wage coffee company before founding Urban Acres, an organic produce co-op, market, and urban farm, in 2009. After selling Urban Acres in 2015, he moved his family to the rolling green hills of Santa Fe, Tennessee where they broke ground and began Kindred Farm.

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The internet can be used for good, my friends! Meet Sara Janssen, a.k.a. Nesting Gypsy, whose vibrance, creativity, fun recipes, and wholehearted joy have inspired me online over 18 years! A few weeks ago, we finally got to meet in person for the first time when she and her family came here to Kindred Farm. Of course I had to take the opportunity to sit down with her in the barn studio and capture some of her fascinating story to share with you!

Sara and her family’s journey began by traveling in a VW Bus, then in an RV run on vegetable oil, and continues now in their 13th motorhome that they take around the country for family adventures…that is, when they’re not renovating their 1895 South Dakota farmhouse and growing lush flower gardens on their own prairieland!

Woven throughout, you’ll hear how Sara cultivates both her sense of home and her spirit of wanderlust with her family by her side. 

Just a few of the questions/topics we cover in this episode:

LISTEN IN, and be inspired to add more adventure, beauty, and healthy rhythms to your life, wherever you are. 🌈

Sara Janssen and her husband Matt have been married for 23 years and have spent almost half of those years traveling around the country in their motorhome! They have now settled into an 1895 farmhouse on the prairielands of South Dakota, where they homeschool their 3 daughters and enjoy 21 acres of woods and wildflowers. Sara is an Air Force veteran, an accomplished photographer and writer, and a lover of all things gardening and green.

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What is delightful about your life? Your spouse? Your children? Your home? Sometimes it’s easier to go through our days with a spirit of dread rather than delight, especially in the midst of seasons that feel really heavy. Being delighted means choosing to embrace wonder. To exchange a spirit of heaviness for buoyancy. To let ourselves have fun. To be reminded of the beautiful things about this world, even in the midst of hard times. 

We all need this.

In this episode, I share a story about a time I realized I was living in dread instead of delight and how I shifted my perspective. I also share a gratefulness practice at the end and lots of gardening inspo! For a breath of fresh air, listen in!

If you’re loving this podcast, PLEASE take a moment to leave us a 5-star review. It helps so much - thank you!

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How can we create an intentional, life-giving culture of connection in our home that is unique to our family? How can we parent from a place of confidence rather than fear of messing up our kids, or of the world messing up our kids?

My dear friend of 28 years, Christy Crosby, rejoins me on this episode where we come back together to share some ideas on shaping a unique and healthy family culture in our homes. We cover all different ages and stages of childhood, through teen years and even into young adulthood. Moms, we can make it through the hard seasons of parenting. We can reject the narrative that parenting teenagers or toddlers (or whatever you want to insert here!) is something to dread. We can live in joy and carve out the lives we want for our families.

You all loved episode 18 where Christy and I discussed cultivating deeper friendships, and there are SO many more gems in this episode you won’t want to miss!

Just a few of the questions/topics we cover in this episode:

We end with some prompts to reflect upon as you shape a unique family culture in your home. If you want to GROW and find encouragement on your parenting journey, JOIN US!

Christy Crosby serves on the staff of Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN in women’s ministry and outreach and on the ⁠MomLife Ministries⁠ Board of Directors as President. She's been married for 23 years to her high school sweetheart and is a mom of two - a daughter who is a college sophomore and a son who is a high school freshman. She finds so much joy in this season of parenting and describes herself as a life-long learner who loves to read, listen to podcasts, and ask questions about all the things. Christy loves finding God’s beauty in the arts, so she’s always up for a good concert or theatre production. On a rainy day you can find her knitting with a cup of good coffee. 

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