The Turquoise Table Podcast with Kristin Schell

Thanks to social media, it's never been easier to compare ourselves to others—and feel ashamed our lives don't look like the sparkly ones we see on our phone screens. In this episode, Kristin sits down with bestselling authors and entrepreneurs, Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan, to talk about their new devotional Always Enough, Never Too Much and how we can stop struggling with comparison and hiding our flaws, and how to live more authentically. Jess and Hayley also divulge how their friendship blossomed online, who women are really comparing themselves to (spoiler alert: it's not Rihanna), and how they create connection and community through their businesses.

Kristen Welch is a busy mother of three who runs the popular blog "We Are That Family" (WeAreThatFamily.com), in addition to a non-profit called Mercy Global House. In 2010, Kristen traveled with Compassion International on a trip to write about poverty in a huge slum. That experience turned her world upside down and led her and her family to start Mercy Global House--an organization that helps empower women and families in Kenya. Kristen wishes to give every family the tools to experience what it's like to answer the call of the needs in our world, creating community with those in need, and in turn, raising up a new generation of "givers." Kristen is the author of several books--her latest being Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World. Stay tuned for the entire episode and hear about gift package giveaway featuring Kristen's new book!

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Show Sponsor: Shipt: Grocery Delivery

Food blogger & cookbook author Bri McKoy wasn't always a great cook. She didn't really cook at all until the moment she realized what a gift it was to be able to feed her family and others. Bri discovered the true joy serving others with food and with hospitality. As she moved from food fails into cooking smart, she started her wildly popular food blog: OurSavoryLife.com. Focusing on paleo eating. Far from hardcore about diet, Bri realizes that every now and then you've got to have nachos and wings to keep life interesting. Her new book is called Come and Eat was born of a desire to lean into the idea of an everyday table, to pass on the abundance of her life to others, and to serve wherever she can. Whether God calls you to Ecuador or to your own front yard, Bri encourages us to "go get the neighbors," and break bread together.

This week we talk with the guru of freezer to table meals - Polly Conner. Polly will be walking us through how to easily make freezer meals ahead of time and serve them up to your table like a pro. She'll also tell us about how to start your own "freezer clubs" where you and your neighbors can cook together to provide a week of meals for you and your families while creating community in the kitchen. Polly and her business partner Rachel have written about this great way to plan meals in their book "From Freezer to Table." They also head up the Thriving Home Blog which has incredible resources for busy moms. This episode will revolutionize the way you look at meal prep and give you time to actually enjoy dinners with your family.

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Show Sponsor: Shipt: Grocery Delivery

Today's Guests & Featured Product:Polly Conner & Rachel Tiemeyer's ThrivingHomeBlog.com

Freezer to Table: 75+ Simple, Whole Foods Recipies for Gathering, Cooking, and Sharing Cookbook

Today Kristin visits with another kindred spirit in the "gathering well" tribe--Amy Hannon. After almost 13 years as a wedding stationer, Amy pursued her dream of opening a kitchen boutique in her community. Amy shares about her new venture, and the namesake of the enterprise--her grandmother Euna Mae--and the unique legacy she created around gatherings that left a lifetime imprint on Amy. She and Kristin also discuss the difference between "hospitality" and "entertaining" and encourage us to never shy away from get-togethers because of a crazy season of life we may be facing. They both admit that they are chronic non bed-makers, and are totally okay with just shutting the door when they have company. Together, they implore us that we don't have to the perfect hostesses, cooks, entertainers, housekeepers--or whatever other ideals we're trying to live up to--to have people over to our homes. Kristin's Kitchen segment features a recipe from Amy's new book, Love Welcome Serve: Recipes that Gather and Give.

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Show Sponsor: Shipt: Grocery Delivery

Amy Hannon:

www.EunaMaes.com

Amy Hannon's cookbook, "Love Welcome Serve: Recipes that Gather and Give"

A continuation of our table talk with Kristin's actual real-life neighbors, discussing how they continue to foster community after first coming together years ago. You'll hear honest interaction about the vulnerability of "putting yourself out there" as a neighbor, and how introverts and extroverts approach getting to know one another. Kristin's Kitchen segment features one of Kristin's favorite "go-to" recipes--so easy that the most difficult part of the recipe is using a can-opener!

This week's episode features Part 1 of Kristin live at the Turquoise Table talking to her own neighbors about how they got to know each other. Through a few simple steps of outreach, their community and neighborhood flourished as neighbors took the initiative to be welcoming, hospitable and accessible. Listen in on their conversation, which is full of advice to those of us who really want to know our neighbors, but don't know where to start. You'll love hearing about where they started and where they are today--and how we can all create greater connection on our own street.

Ever wonder how you could be a better neighbor, but don't know where to start? Help has arrived! Dave Runyon is the author of "The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door." Dave's experience with neighboring goes deep—in 2010 as pastor at Foothills Community Church and the Next Level Church, he launched a neighboring movement that mobilized over 70 churches and 40,000 people in the Denver Metro area and reshaped the community to become closer. We'll learn about the benefits of this kind of connection, and how, with a few simple steps, you can build better relationships right outside your front door.

In this episodes Kristin's Kitchen segment, Kristin walks us through her super easy banana bread recipe--her go to gift for meeting new neighbors. She talks about how this simple offering goes a long way not only in starting new relationships, but showing our neighbors that we care.

The Turquoise Table Podcast welcomes our guest for Episode 2 who is a kindred spirit; she loves and honors the joys of gathering at the table as much as we do! Shauna Niequist is a New York Times best-selling author whose books include Bread & Wine, Savor & Present Over Perfect. She talks about the special bonds that are created over meeting across from each other at the table. She gives us simple tips on hospitality, easy recipes to follow for any level of cook, and lets us in on her cooking club--a gathering of friends who take turns hosting and cooking. In Kristin's Kitchen today, we'll walk through the steps to create Shauna's Magical White Bean Soup while Kristin shares wisdom from Shauna on how some foods, like soup (and fulfilling connection around the table) evoke comfort, bring warmth, and soothe our souls.

Welcome to The Turquoise Table Podcast with Kristin Schell. Kristin's guest in our debut episode is Thomas Farley, better known as Mister Manners. Thomas is an etiquette expert, speaker, and author who inspires audiences across America. He's perhaps best known as the beloved guest in his role as Mister Manners on NBC The Today Show. Kristin and Thomas talk about what it means to be a good neighbor and Thomas gives tips on simple ways to get around barriers that keep us from knowing the people who live near us whether home is the upper West Side of NYC or suburban America. Emphasizing that face-to-face communication is always to be prized over digital connection, Thomas encourages us all to put "people over pixels," and that life is much sweeter when we are in community with each other.

In Kristin's Kitchen segment this week, sponsored by Shipt!, Kristin shares her grandmother's delicious and easy chocolate sheet cake recipe. While she whips up the decadent cake, Kristin invites you to think about the rhythm of your neighborhood and shares a story from a Turquoise Table in Tulsa, Oklahoma.