The LifeGiving Table – A Book Review

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As a mom, I long to nurture my children physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

But in the midst of dirty diapers, three meals plus some snacks, baths, and sibling squabbles, how am I supposed find the time to add in nurturing their little souls? We already have very limited activities outside activities. We already limit screentime to what we feel is reasonable. Where does this discipleship some in?

Enter Sally Clarkson and her latest book The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith through Feasting, One Meal at a Time which released today.

When it comes to motherhood and home, other than my own mother and grandmother, I cannot think of anyone who has influenced me more than Sally Clarkson, and I’ve never even met her. I have read other books of hers including The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming, Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Love , and Educating the WholeHearted Child. Through these books, I have gained insight and wisdom into motherhood, discipleship, purpose, and making my home a place that breathes life into my family. So when I saw that she had written a new book, I preordered a copy and even joined her launch team.

The subtitle says it all—“Nurturing faith through feasting, one meal at a time.”

And in those few words, I am given hope that this job of discipling my children is not something I must add on as another item on my to-do list. Rather it is something I can do while meeting my families most basic needs.

Inside the book are fourteen chapters filled with wisdom and inspiration to create my own lifegiving table around which I can nurture the souls of all who pull up a chair. Some of the chapters are “Tableology: Biblical and Spiritual Foundations for Faith by Feasting,” “Table Talk: The Gift of Dinnertime Conversation,” “Living Out Grace: Possibilities for Easy Feasting,” and “Lifegiving on the Go: Cultivating an Influence to Last a Lifetime.” Sally has also included some of her family favorite recipes at the end of each chapter as well as Scriptural references to ponder and ideas to try in our own homes.

A few of my favorite quotes from the first couple chapters follow: 

“All table-talk discussions, love given, and beauty cultivated at our table are for the purpose of making real our Savior and calling those who share life with us to serve Him their whole lives.

“Even as God’s beauty calls out to us in what He has created, beauty in our homes lifts the spirits of all who live or visit there.”

“But Jesus didn’t simply use food as a tool in His ministry. He made it integral to His explanation of who He was and what He had come to do.”

“In the mundane moments and through the revolving seasons, the lifegiving table remains a constant—but only if we hold to the vision that each moment is packed with potential for life-changing conversations and relationships.”

Sally talks of the days when there were cheerios rolling around as well as days of elegant feasts. She brings hope that even in this stage of life when the faces are messy and food ends up on the floor I can make our table a lifegiving one. I hope you will join me in creating a living table in your home. I’d love to hear what you are doing in your home to intentional build into those who enter whether that means you are using paper plates or fine china.

I am giving away a copy of The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith through Feasting, One Meal at a Time over on my Facebook page so be sure to join me there to enter.

And just a disclaimer, I didn’t receive anything in return for this review, I just want to pass along a great resource I discovered for being more intentional in my home.

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