Let's talk about infertility and adoption. Chances are you or someone you know has walked one or both of these paths. Today's guest Cat Vandament shares her story of infertility and treatments that led to the birth of her daughter, and then the decision to pursue adoption with their son. Cat's story is unique in that during fertility treatments, they faced the additional stress and unfortunate timing of her husband's numerous military deployments.    Infertility and adoption can be sensitive and hard topics for many. Which is why it's important to have the conversation and gratefully Cat is willing to help us talk about the emotional journey. No two stories are alike, but as you listen to the conversation you'll hear hope and encouragement.    Cat speaks with honesty and vulnerability. She shares the struggle of not knowing why her body "wasn't working the way every other woman's body works" and how she overcame untrue thoughts like "trying to figure out what I had done wrong."    Cat's story is told through the lens of infertility and adoption. But, it's also a story of faith and helps us see how we all wrestle with our own worth at times.    Listen in to learn what NOT to say to a friend or neighbor who is trying to get pregnant. And, stay tuned as Cat reveals the number one way you can love your neighbor through infertility and adoption.   Links/Resources: Connect with Cat Vandament: Watch Cat's Turquoise Table Story Shop Noonday with Cat Instagram 🌟 Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening! Connect with Kristin: Facebook Instagram Twitter Website Book Join our free online community to continue the conversation at: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com 

In this week's episode host Kristin Schell interviews singer-songwriter Christa Wells. An award winning songwriter, Christa has collaborated with Nashville artists to write hit songs such as "Held" (Natlie Grant) and "Red Sea Road" (Ellie Holcomb). Christa is currently working on her 5th album and she shares behind the scenes look into the process.   Join Kristin and Christa for a conversation about the importance of community. Christa shares how even though she's in a season of having little to offer, she's even more committed to opening up her home to friends and has found great joy and community in doing so. We are all called to be agents of hospitality and Christa gives practical ways to share in any season of life.   Connect with Christa: Instagram Facebook Website Patreon   Be sure to check out our FREE online community for: full show notes and links podcast episode discussion guide journal prompts   Join us: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com   🌟 Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening!

(🌟 Today's conversation is a hard one. I want you to know that while it is full of hope, friendship, and a powerful story of community, it begins with the tragedy of suicide.)   In today's episode of The Turquoise Table, host Kristin Schell interviews Becky Powell and Katherine Reay. Katherine is an award-winning author of novels, including Lizzy and Jane and The Printed Leather Bookshop. Katherine recently wrote her first non-fiction book with Becky called Awful Beautiful Life: When God Shows up in the Midst of Tragedy.   On May 13, 2013, Becky faced the unthinkable: she learned her husband had taken his own life and had borrowed millions of dollars over the years from friends and colleagues. While grieving her husband's death, she became the focus of FBI, SEC and Department of Justice investigations. Today's episode is a gripping story filled with grace, faith, and community.   Links:   Join our free online community to continue the conversation at: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com    🎁 Check out our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide   Two of my favorite novels by Katherine: Lizzy and Jane The Printed Letter Bookshop   Becky's story, written by Katherine, is available on Amazon: Awful Beautiful Life: When God Shows up in the Midst of Tragedy   The playlist for the book's chapters is available at: www.awfulbeautifullifethebook.com   Affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you.

In today's episode of The Turquoise Table, host Kristin Schell interviews Bailey T. Hurley, who is committed to small community settings with her husband and two children. Kristin and Bailey discuss small groups: how to find one, how to join one, and even how to start one. Kristin shares how she and Tony are in the process of starting their own small group in their church community. Bailey gives tangible tips on how you can invite people into community in your life, as well as how you can sustain community. While Bailey is committed to lifelong friendships, she explains how you can start slowly and easily, as well as how to maintain high-quality friendships when you live far apart. In her neighborhood, Bailey builds friendships across generations. When Bailey arranges play dates, sets up the book club meeting or invites someone over, it's a lot of work. However, she gets quality time, the conversations she needed, and the chance to he heard in her circle of friends. On the other hand, when you experience hospitality fatigue, it is important to take breaks and know your boundaries. It's equally important to make sure that what you choose to do in community is something you love, so if you love reading, have a book club, and if you love cooking, invite people over for dinner. Links: Join our free online community to continue the conversation, get tips on how to host your own Pizza and Podcast Party, and find discussion and journal prompts from this episode at: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com Recommended Podcasts: Revisionist History with Malcolm Galdwell The 36 Questions Podcast Recommended Cookbook: Magnolia Cookbook: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering by Joanna Gaines You can find Bailey T. Hurley online: website, on Instagram (@bailey.t.hurley) and Facebook.

In today's episode of The Turquoise Table, host Kristin Schell has an inspiring conversation with Rebekah Lyons, co-founder of Q Ideas, a nonprofit organization, and author; her newest book is Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose. During this episode, Kristin and Rebekah discuss how stress threatens our mental and physical health, and how to manage it in a holistic manner.  According to the American Institute of Stress, 77% of the population experiences physical symptoms associated with stress on a regular basis. This is the result of the loneliness epidemic, the false sense of connection in the digital age. These numbers are dismal, even at a first glance. But you can handle stress in a positive, efficient, and wholesome manner that gets you back into the rhythm God created for you. The way to do this is by following four pillars: rest, restore, connect, and create.  It is essential to remember that each of us is created for community. Being alone is not what God intends for us, and that is why we are suffering and stressed when we are lonely. Committing to 15 minutes every morning to connect with God will be beneficial and uplifting. You can do this by making this time to sit down, relax, and listen to what He has to say to you. Thus you will notice that you actually can get into the rhythms God created for us to be in back into your life. Make sure to tune in to hear all the healthy and encouraging wisdom and insight from Kristin and Rebekah.  ⭐️ Rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Links:  Rebekah's website: rebekahlyons.com  Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose  Join our FREE online community for:     full show notes and links     podcast episode discussion guide     journal prompts     Rebekah's fabulous charcuterie boar The Turquoise Table Community  

In today's episode of The Turquoise Table, host Kristin Schell interviews Leslie Verner, who is sharing with us about hospitality and loving others well. Leslie recently published her book Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness, which dives into the epidemic of social isolation as a result of us lacking face-to-face interaction with one another. Leslie shares when she's personally felt lonely in her life, specifically in life transitions, such as big moves across the country and her freshman year of college.   Links: Purchase Leslie Verner's book: Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness   Join our FREE online community for: full show notes and links podcast episode discussion guide journal prompts Leslie's recipe for Family Style Stir Fry Beef   Join us: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com   Connect with Leslie Verner Website: Scraping Raisins Twitter: @leslie_verner Instagram: @scraping_raisins Facebook: Scraping Raisins – Leslie Verner   Connect with Kristin: Twitter @kristinkschell Instagram @kristinkschell Facebook The Turquoise Table – Kristin Schell   Will you do us a HUGE favor? Please click those 5-stars and give us a review. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening.

In today's episode of The Turquoise Table, host Kristin Schell interviews Kat Armstrong, an innovative ministry leader, a sought-after speaker, and the co-founder and executive director of Polished. Kat stewards the community of Polished, which is a network of young professional women who gather over a meal to discuss the intersection of work and faith. The diverse group of women discuss the hardships they are experiencing at work, as well as what they believe and how faith can be applied to their careers. Kat explains how she uses the Bible to inform her personal life, and how Jesus has prioritized for us what's most important: loving God and loving others. Kat realized, through conversations and by looking inward, that many women want to give more of themselves to their communities and their faith, but they are scared. In her book, No More Holding Back, Kat uncovers the history of ideological gender bias around women not using their brains as much as men and being smaller or weaker. Theologically, any of the early church fathers looked to Eve as an example as someone easily deceived and not to be trusted with truth or leadership. But within the Bible, there are many hidden female figures that led and bettered the community.  Many of the young professionals at Polished are looking for a mentor, not just in terms of work, but also for life. Kat explains that any Christ-follower can find a mentor that is also a Christ-follower at a local church that works for your faith and schedule. In the Polished chapters, there are groups of women who believe in the power of prayer to support their fellow members in times of hardship or struggle. Kat's prayer for the women that read her book is that they feel they can still be who they are and love God and other people well. Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening!   Links: Purchase Kat Armstrong's book, No More Holding Back: Emboldening Women to Move Past Barriers, See Their Worth, and Serve God Everywhere Join our free online community to view the full show notes and to continue the conversation at: www.theturquoisetablecommunity.com  Check out The Turquoise Table website: https://theturquoisetable.com/ To find your local chapter, learn more about Polished, or to see Kristin Schell speak at the Austin, Texas gathering on October 9th, visit: www.polishedonline.org Follow Kristin and The Turquoise Table on Twitter (@kristinkschell) and Instagram (@kristinkschell) Connect with Kristin on Facebook

Welcome to Season Two of The Turquoise Table Podcast. This is a special twelve-week season called The Case for Community. We're going to roll up our sleeves and dive in to answer this question: What Does Community Mean to You?  Think about that for a minute. How do you answer this question -- what does community mean to you? There are so many factors that affect the way we live and grow in community. And, we're going to cover as many of them as we can. We're going to talk about the Loneliness Epidemic in America. We're going to have a conversation about mental health and how it effects the way we approach community. We're going to hear from guests about what it looks like to truly be vulnerable and how that translates to empathy. We'll hear reoccurring themes like setting healthy boundaries in relationships and how in order to offer hospitality, we must also extend it to ourselves.  Over the course of the next twelve weeks I have the honor of talking to best-selling authors, bible scholars and teachers, community leaders, a musician, entrepreneurs, a CEO, TV food celeb, and all-around incredible voices.  Each conversation gives us a unique lens through which to view community. We're going to learn a lot from each of our guests, but the thing about community is you can't figure it out on your own. So, each podcast episode is designed to be a conversation starter. We want you to listen to it through your earbuds. But we want you to listen to it in community too. With your friends and neighbors. And, then we've created a unique way to continue exploring the question: What does Community Mean to YOU? You're invited to keep chatting each week in our very own Turquoise Table Community.  That's right -- we've created a thriving online community just for you. It's absolutely FREE and the conversation is encouraging and helpful. We've strategically chosen to move away from Facebook, so you need to make sure to join us in The Turquoise Table Community. For each podcast episode, you'll find exclusive resources: show notes recipes and tips from guests exclusive discussion guide with conversation starters journal prompts You don't want to miss this, so please be sure to join: www.TheTurquoiseTableCommunity.com And, make sure you are subscribed in iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go ahead and give us a 5-star review -- it helps more than boost my ego, friends. Your reviews and ratings boost the algorithms and allows other folks to learn about The Turquoise Table Podcast.

We're making Turquoise Table history today with our very first pop-up podcast! A few weeks ago, my hospitality partner-in-crime Susie Davis and I recorded a live podcast in my front yard with fifty friends and our special guest, Myquillyn Smith. And y'all, just a hint of what's to come: this will be the first of many pop-up podcasts because we had so much fun! So if you don't know Myquillyn, you're going to fall in love very soon. She's the brains behind The Nesting Place, a beautiful blog where she encourages women to create warm, inviting homes using what they have, wherever they are. Myquillyn just released her brand-new book Cozy Minimalist Home. And inspired by the book, Myquillyn answered questions from our live audience about how to create a cozy home with less stuff. Music to your ears, right? And be sure to stay till the end, where we dish on a yummy cider recipe you'll want at all of your holiday parties.

We love to talk about community around the table, about fostering connection with people on our streets and in our neighborhoods. But we get really inspired when we see people take their Turquoise Table gatherings to the next level by getting together to create connection beyond their neighborhoods. That's why we're excited this week to share an opportunity with you on how you can easily organize a gathering that brightens the lives of children in other countries by packing simple shoeboxes full of toys and goodies. Each year, Operation Christmas Child delivers hundreds of thousands of these shoeboxes, filled by volunteers, to kids all over the world, spreading a message of love in the process. And to tell us how meaningful this little gift can be, we're thrilled to have Yuliya Shubina and Gracie O'Laughlin from Operation Christmas Child on the show to tell us all about the program and how we can participate. Just wait until you hear Yuliya's story—when she was 9 years old, she received a shoebox that changed her life forever. Her story shows us how a simple act of love can have a huge impact. And stay around until the end of the episode, when Kristin shares a delicious sweet-and-salty snack you can make for your own shoebox packing party! Show Summary:Our guests today are going to help us get ready for the holidays in the best way: they're preparing our hearts for giving to little ones in need. Gracie O'Laughlin and Yuliya Shubina work for Operation Christmas Child, an international relief organization that shares God's love with children around the world in the form of a shoebox. At some point, maybe your family has packed a shoebox gift, whether through your school, church, or neighborhood. Today, Gracie and Yuliya are going to walk us through how to pack those shoeboxes, what to put inside, how to host a packing party at your Turquoise Table, and when and where to drop off those boxes. And just wait, y'all, until you hear Yuliya's story. When she was nine years old, Yuliya was living in Central Asia and actually received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift with a letter from the young girl who packed the box. These shoeboxes of love really do make an impact, and Yuliya is living testament to that. I cannot wait for you to hear her story. The Turquoise Table has been an Operation Christmas Child partner for a few years now, and it's one of our favorite things to do every year to kick off the holiday season. I am thrilled to have Gracie and Yuliya on the show today to share this wonderful work. And stick around for a super yummy Heavenly Harvest Chex Mix recipe that's a snap to whip up for your shoebox packing party!   Links, Products, and Recipes We Mentioned: Operation Christmas Child Gift Suggestions (and what not to pack) Turquoise Table Blog Post: "How to Host a Shoebox Packing Party" Need help from an Operation Christmas Child volunteer? Recipe: Heavenly Harvest Chex Mix Interview Quotes:"God, we know, doesn't waste any seasons in any of our lives " – Yuliya Shubina, Operation Christmas Child   "I remember [my stuffed puppy dog in my OCC shoebox] was the nicest toy that my sister and I have ever owned. And so even though I didn't want to, I had to share this puppy dog with my sister, also with my cousins. This puppy would travel to their house, stay with them a week or two at a time. They would play with it, and then we would get it back—not to mention, all of the neighbor kids who also got their turn playing and petting this puppy dog." – Yuliya Shubina, Operation Christmas Child   "The most important item [in my shoebox], actually, wasn't a puppy dog. It was the letter from the girl who packed it for me. . . . She wrote, 'I am praying for you. God loves you.' And I remember reading and translating that very simple letter, and getting to these last two sentences and just wondering why would a stranger, who has never met me, who lives all the way across the world from me, who doesn't know me, would not only bless me with a beautiful shoebox gift that is packed with so many wonderful items, but also tells me there is God out there who loves and cares for me and that she is praying to this God on my behalf. " – Yuliya Shubina, Operation Christmas Child   "I will never forget the feelings that those words left in my heart. I remember carrying that sentence with me for years and continuing to wonder, Who is this God that she's praying to. And once again, why would a stranger do something like that?" – Yuliya Shubina, Operation Christmas Child   "There's just something so approachable about the simplicity of this. . . . When we just show up and do something so simple, it allows God to do what only God can do. That's the beauty of it." – Kristin Schell   "It's fun to pack fun items such as toys, school supplies, hygiene items in the shoeboxes, but that's not the most important part about this ministry. The most important part is prayer that we packed the shoeboxes with." – Yuliya Shubina, Operation Christmas Child   "There are millions of stories that we have heard. The most surprising for me is when a child has been praying for a very specific item, a child or a family praying for a very specific item, and then that item shows up in a shoebox. " – Gracie O'Laughlin, Operation Christmas Child   Connect with Operation Christmas Child: Website FacebookTwitterInstagram