The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

My guest for The Happy Hour #147 is Kristin Schell. Kristin is an established speaker and blogger on the subjects of food, faith, and hospitality. As founder of the Turquoise Table and Front Yard People movement, Kristin travels the country speaking at conferences and events with an encouraging word on how to open our lives and homes to others. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Tony, and their four children. Kristin and the Turquoise Table has been featured in a wide variety of media outlets including the The Today Show, Austin American-Statesman, KEYE-TV/CBS Austin, MOPS International. Today's show is a little different with a live recording of our summer book club. Kristin and 50 other ladies joined me in my back yard for a conversation about The Turquoise Table. We chat about opening our lives up to the people around us and loving where we live. We talk about practicing hospitality in every life stage and no matter what your space looks like. I absolutely loved Kristin's book and loved being able to chat with her in person about how she champions the front yard people movement in her life. If you haven't already read her book, make sure to grab one here. You won't regret it. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

The very hilarious Sophie Hudson is back today for episode #146 of The Happy Hour. Sophie joined me for episode #54 and for The Happy Half Hour #8. She's one of my favorite guests and she's back today to chat about our recent travels to Kenya with Compassion International. On today's show, Sophie and I recount several of our favorite stories from Kenya and how they impacted our lives. We chat about visiting the slums (you'll find some pictures below), meeting our sponsored children and their families and seeing how Compassion is changing the lives of children all over the world through the local church. And of course, we can't talk to Sophie without a few hysterical moments - so you'll hear her story of monkeys robbing her pistachios, a van ride neither of us will soon forget and my inability to control my bladder. It's a show you won't want to miss. And again, I strongly encourage you to consider sponsoring a child through Compassion. For just $38 a month, you can change the course of a family's lives forever. Go here to sign up today. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

Maria Goff is my guest for The Happy Hour #145. Maria has made a career out of loving her family and neighbors, raising her children, and turning houses into homes. She is married to national bestselling author of “Love Does” Bob Goff. Together, they operate Love Does, an organization dedicated to helping kids in conflict areas around the world including Uganda, Nepal, India, Iraq, and Somalia. The Goffs have three adult kids who are starting families of their own. They live in San Diego, where they continue to dream about and plan new adventures yet to be had with their growing family. Maria’s first book, Love Lives Here, was published in earlier this year. In our conversation, we chat about raising children and how fast the little years fly. Maria shares about her book and how she works to make her home comfortable, inviting and a place of peace. She talks about how she views her role in supporting her husband, Bob, in his very successful career. And finally, Maria shares about the fire that consumed their property in Canada and how they are moving forward. I know many of you are probably familiar with Bob Goff, but I just know you're going to fall in love with Maria. She was such a joy to chat with and I was so encouraged by her and her wisdom in being a helper to her husband, parenting and taking on new challenges. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

Sarah Harmeyer is my guest for episode #144 of The Happy Hour. Sarah is the founder of Neighbor’s Table, a concept born from her personal passion for gathering people, and her desire to get to know her own neighbors. She has personally witnessed how lives are transformed when people gather around the table and share their stories. Sarah asked her father to build a cedar farmhouse style table big enough to seat 20. They placed it under the oak tree in her backyard in Dallas, dropped chandeliers overhead, and started inviting. Sarah set a goal to serve 500 that year, one dinner party after another. The 500th guest walked up her driveway on Thanksgiving Day. Now five years later, more than 2500 people have celebrated at the original Neighbor’s Table. The power of community that now regularly happens at the original Neighbor’s Table has spurred a desire to launch a movement – a love mission, if you will. Sarah’s vision is to have tables in backyards across the US, placing them in every state by 2020. Together, Sarah and her father are building more than custom handcrafted tables. They are growing a Neighbor’s Table family nationwide. Sarah and I met several years ago on a trip to Uganda. I love so many things about Sarah, but the thing that I love most about her is how comfortable and important she makes people feel. In every conversation I have had with her, she makes me feel like I am the only person in the world at that moment. In our conversation today, you'll see her giftings naturally flow right out of that quality. She has an amazing knack for making people feel cared for, seen and important. We talk all about community, gathering people, and her secret undercover restaurant in college. We also chat about the barriers that keep us from hospitality. To make hosting maybe just a skosh easier for you, Sarah is offering 10% off her shop using the code HAPPYHOUR. So, make sure to check her site out and snag you a few hosting goodies. And as you may have heard, I am currently galavanting through Kenya with Compassion International, you can follow my trip here. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

My guest for The Happy Hour #143 is Angie Smith. Angie is married to Todd Smith, of the Christian group, Selah, and mom to five daughters. In 2008, the Smiths received news that their 4th daughter, Audrey, would not survive, and Angie began blogging as a means of communication with friends and family during those difficult days. Angie now writes books and Bible studies, and teaches around the country, but the heart of her ministry is the same as it was when her fingers typed the very first words on her blog years ago: Angie's greatest passion is to make the Bible feel accessible and relevant and to encourage others in their faith journey. Angie holds a Master’s Degree in Developmental Psychology from Vanderbilt University and is a best-selling author of multiple adult and children’s books. She and Todd (and their house full of daughters) live in Nashville, TN. I have known and loved Angie for a few years now and am way overdue on having her join me on The Happy Hour. In today's conversation, we talk about the loss of her newborn daughter just hours after she was born. She writes about her story in her book, I Will Carry You, which will captivate you from the very beginning. And finally, we talk all about Compassion International and the trip that I am able to take with them to Kenya. If you're not familiar with Compassion, they are an incredible organization offering child sponsorship all over the world in third-world countries. Angie and I have both been supporters of Compassion for a long time, and we're excited to introduce you to them and good work they are doing. For just $38, you can change a child's life forever - offering them all of their basic needs, education, and access to the gospel. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please use this link. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

One of my all-time favorite guests, Bianca Juárez Olthoff, is back today for episode #32 of The Happy Half Hour. If you missed Bianca's first appearance, you must catch up here.  Bianca is back to fill us in on the latest happenings in her life - including a pretty major life transition with prison ministry. She also answers the how she recharges, where she'd live for a year, her biggest pet peeve and how she defines success. You're going to love catching back up with her. If you're interested in prison ministry and how you might be able to link arms with Bianca, make sure you check out her site here. {You can listen to the show HERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!} Links from the Show Bianca's Book: Play With Fire Bianca's Prison Ministry Initiative 13th 13 Reasons Why Music from Jason Poe Connect with Bianca Facebook // Twitter // Instagram Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram Sponsor: PrepDish Prep Dish wants to help you with mealtime sanity this summer! Chef Allison created a fun 21-Day Meal Prep Challenge to motivate and encourage you to get started meal prepping and gain control of healthy meals for the summer. When the Challenge starts, you will get an easy-to follow guide for prepping all of your meals- breakfast lunch dinner & snacks for the full 21-days. They’re throwing in lots of goodies too! Checklists, bonus recipes, a guide to eating out, a Facebook group page for accountability, and more. For only $1/ day, you can delegate the worry and stress of mealtime this summer...your sanity is worth $21! The 21-Days start June 3rd. Register today at prepdish.com/happyhour21

My guest for The Happy Hour #142 is Cheryl Scruggs. Cheryl is a Biblical counselor with her husband, Jeff. She is the mom to adult twin daughters - Brittany Morgan and Lauren Scruggs Kennedy (who joined me for episode #132). She's also the co-author of I Do Again and Still LoLo. Cheryl and her husband live in Dallas, where they run a marriage ministry called Hope Matters Marriage Ministries. I have been so anxious to get a chance to chat with Cheryl. You may remember part of her story from Lauren's interview a few weeks ago. After her own extramarital affair, Cheryl filed for divorce from her husband. She shares about the Lord saving her in the years of their divorce, and calling her to restore her marriage. After 7 years of divorce and a beautiful story of reconciliation, Cheryl and Jeff got remarried. They are now passionate about marriage ministry and helping couples to find hope in their marriages. I absolutely loved hearing Cheryl's story. Marriage is hard, really hard. There are marriages all around me that are in hard places. Cheryl's story is evidence of how our marriages are never without hope with the gospel as a foundation. In today's show, I also had a short chat with Kristin Schell, the author of The Turquoise Table. Her book will be our first read for our Happy Hour Summer Book Club! For more information on that, please click here. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

Amber Newberry is my guest for The Happy Hour #141. Amber embraces her calling as wounded healer and seeks to show all people that they are beautiful and beloved. Through sharing her story, Amber hopes to begin to free people that have been living in the bondage of shame in their own stories. You can find Amber at beautifulandbeloved.com where she shares not only her stories, but the ways that God has given her redemption and healing through meditation, yoga, oils, and prayer. In today's show, Amber shares her story of sexual assault and rape as a teenager, leading her to an abortion at the age of 19. She talks about hearing the gospel for the first time when she was 24 - learning that the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus was available to her. And she tells about her passion now to see men and women set free from the bondage of shame and secrecy by sharing her story first. On a lighter note, our conversation closes with talk about essential oils, the perfect concoction for allergies and Holy Yoga. My heart (and Amber's heart) for today's show is that if you have experienced sexual assault or have an abortion in your history, that God would start to bring healing to your heart through our conversation. You are not alone, and you are not beyond the reach of God's grace and mercy towards you. Also, in today's show, I announced that we are started a Happy Hour Summer Book Club! For more information on that, please click here. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!

My guest for The Happy Half Hour #31 is my friend, Alli Worthington. Alli is the author of Breaking Busy and Fierce Faith, business coach, advisor and Executive Director of Propel Women. Alli’s no-nonsense, guilt-free take on business, family, and balance has lead to appearances on The Today Show and Good Morning America. She loves to speak at women's conferences and business events. Alli, her husband, Mark, and their five sons live outside of Nashville, TN. Alli was on The Happy Hour for episode #114. If you missed her then, make sure to catch up here, as she was one of our most popular guests in 2016.  She's back today to catch up, report back on her personal mantra, the advice she loves to give out, her personal goals for the year and her pet peeve. Alli is also graciously giving away her 52 Ways to be Happier, Healthier and Enjoy Life More Series. Make sure you check that out here. {You can listen to the show HERE. And of course, I would love if you would share with your friends. Just use the FB & Twitter links at the end of this post!} Links from the Show Alli's 52 Ways to be Happier, Healthier and Enjoy Life More Series The Way Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Common Sense Media Music from Jason Poe Connect with Alli Facebook // Twitter // Instagram Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram Sponsor: PrepDish Prep Dish is a healthy subscription-based meal planning service. When you sign up, you'll receive an email every week with a grocery list and instructions for prepping your meals ahead of time. After a couple of hours on the weekend, you'll have all of your meals ready for the entire week. You'll save time and have some amazingly delicious meals like Smoky Paprika Chicken Legs with Roasted Carrots, Parsnips & Fennel or Turkey & Zucchini Lasagna. Allison is offering listeners one month for just $4! You can't beat it. Check out PrepDish for this amazing deal! Use code: happyhour

The Happy Hour is THREE! To celebrate, I invited some of my closest friends and biggest encouragers to join me for a real life happy hour. We met at Chicon, one of my favorite restaurants in Austin and celebrated all that The Happy Hour has become over the last three years. In today's show, you'll get an inside peek into the celebration and my relationships with some of my favorite people. I pull a few friends in to ask me a few questions that you sent in. We cover my tattoos, the best conferences I have been a part of, my indecision of being an introvert or extrovert, and of course, my eyelashes. We really cover the good stuff. More importantly, I want to thank YOU, the listener. You are really the ones that make this show possible. You're the ones that keep listening and keep us going. I can't believe this life, and am so thankful that you have helped to make it possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you SO much. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE!