Make your table a place where your family and friends long to be―where they will find rest, renewal, and a welcome full of love. Beloved author and homemaker Sally Clarkson ( The Lifegiving Home, Mom Heart Moments, Desperate ) believes that meals lovingly served at home―and the time spent gathered together around the table―are a much-needed way to connect more deeply with our families and open our kids’ hearts. Food and faith, mingled in everyday life, become the combination for passing on God’s love to each person who breaks bread with us. In The Lifegiving Table , Sally shares her own family stories, favorite recipes, and practical ideas to help you get closer to the people you love . . . and grow in faith together. Readers will find: 29 recipes for holidays, family traditions, and mealtimes on busy days - Inspiration for creating a warm, welcoming environment that fosters connection - An appendix of conversation starters to spark meaningful discussions about God, literature, and life In this beautiful book, you’ll find a feast of ways to grow in faith and draw closer to the people you love around the table you set in your home. Make your table a delightful, lifegiving space where your family and friends long to be―where they will find rest, renewal, inspiration, and a loving welcome. When Sally Clarkson sets a table in her home, it’s more than just a place and a time to eat and run. It’s an opportunity to gather as family and friends to connect and commune, to open children’s hearts to lively discussions that will feed their faith, and to enjoy the beauty and bounty of God’s creation. In The Lifegiving Table , bestselling author Sally Clarkson shares her family stories of table talk and faith-shaped conversations, as well as her favorite recipes and practical ideas, all drawn from over thirty years of parenting and ministry. You’ll discover why the table is a place of belonging and anticipation where we break bread together to receive both food and faith for our lives, and where we open our hearts to savor the love of God. You’ll also find a feast of ways to grow in faith and draw closer to the people you love around the table you set in your home. From the flap (HC edition): Days before converging on our home for a family gathering this summer, both of our sons called me. “Mama, I can hardly wait to get there.” “What is your favorite expectation about coming home?” I asked each of them. Both boys answered with almost the same words, even though they were now separated by two thousand miles! “It is the feasting every night around the table with delicious home-cooked food, being each other’s best friends, talking about every possible subject and sharing in each other’s lives . . . that is my favorite part. I need my people. I want a place to belong.” It’s no accident that they feel this way. Creating a lifegiving table in their home was a priority for Sally and Clay Clarkson from the very beginning, and they put effort and intention into making it happen. In The Lifegiving Table , join Sally as she shares the lessons she and her family cultivated carefully through years of sitting down together; cooking, baking, and preparing meals; and practicing the disciplines of teaching manners and fostering conversation. You’ll discover the legacy of creating a lifegiving table in your own home, as you knit your hearts together to form tight bonds that will not easily be broken. The Life Giving Table Nurturing Faith Through Feasting, One Meal at a Time By Sally Clarkson Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2017 Sally Clarkson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4964-1420-5 Contents 1. Disciples around My Table: The Feasting-Faith Connection, 1, 2. Tableology: Biblical and Spiritual Foundations for Faith by Feasting (by Clay Clarkson), 11, 3. If My Table Could Talk: Discovering a Vision for Table Discipleship, 31, 4. This Is Who We Are: Shaping a Family Culture around the Table, 51, 5. Table Talk: The Gift of Dinnertime Conversation, 71, 6. An Anchor for Your Week: Starting Your Sundays Right, 87, 7. Fun, Faith, and Feasting: Celebrating Everyday Discipleship, 105, 8. Living Out Grace: Possibilities for Easy Feasting, 123, 9. Blessing Feasts: Making the Most of Milestones, 145, 10. Teatime Discipleship: The Power of One-on-One, 165, 11. The Gift of Us: A Family Day Celebration, 181, 12. Stepping into the Story: A Shepherds' Meal for Christmas Eve, 199, 13. Creating Kindred Spirits: A Christmas Tea for Friends Old and New, 215, 14. Lifegiving on the Go: Cultivating an Influence to Last a Lifetime, 233, Appendix: Table Talk Conversation Starters, 253, Notes, 257, Recipe Index, 259, About the Author, 261, CHAPTER 1 DISCIPLES AROUND MY TABLE The Feasting-Faith Connection If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health. SHAUNA NIEQUIST The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on th