Everyday Eden with Kathryn Haines

Kathryn Haines
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Christianity
  • Biweekly

Everyday Eden is a powerful guide to cultivating a life that reflects the hope of heaven through simple mindset shifts, everyday habits, and practical next steps. Through insightful conversations with best-selling authors, Bible teachers, leaders, speakers, and everyday followers of Jesus, each episode helps us dig deep and find the unexpected strength we need to live well in an unsteady world. Everyday Eden is hosted by writer, speaker, and Bible teacher Kathryn Haines. You can find her on Instagram @ImKathrynHaines and @EverydayEdenPodcast and subscribe to her Substack, Everyday Eden.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    How Not to Ruin Your Kids with Dr. Jon Eckert

    Today, Kathryn is joined by Dr. Jon Eckert, the author of The Happiness Crisis: How Adversity Can Build a Resilient and Joyful Next Generation and the Executive Director of the Baylor Center of School Leadership where they talk about the one goal every parent has in common: how not to ruin your kids.  About The Happiness Crisis In our happiness-obsessed society, we can become isolated in comfort zones and overly focused on temporary pleasures. Kids naturally do the same. In our effort to protect and help them, we often shield them from discomfort. But are we unwittingly denying them experiences that will form them into strong, capable adults? Could it be that we're training them to believe that challenges ought to be avoided, and that if they're struggling, they're not well? In The Happiness Crisis, global educational leader Jon Eckert speaks from decades of experience, explaining how he has seen parents, teachers, and coaches nurture transformation in kids ages 9 to 22. With practical wisdom, humor, and real-world evidence, he'll show you how to invite young people into challenges, risks, and adventures; prioritize real-life connections that show others they matter; resist living in echo chambers and chasing fleeting success; and welcome kids into lives that move beyond circumstantial happiness to lasting joy. Decades from now, the most resilient adults will be the most joyful. They'll know that joy isn't freedom from struggle; it's the fuel that allows them to struggle well. Young people can begin living that way now—if we invite them to. About Dr. Jon Eckert Jonathan Eckert has spent his career helping students become more of who they are meant to be. Now the Copple Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University and executive director of the Baylor Center for School Leadership, he first taught and coached intermediate and middle grade students outside of Chicago and Nashville. After earning a doctorate at Vanderbilt University, he served in the U.S. Department of Education under both the Bush and Obama administrations and later prepared teachers at Wheaton College. Jon and his wife, Carolyn, raised three kids and are about to be empty nesters. They are embracing Texas even if Jon still hasn't bought boots or a cowboy hat.

  2. Oct 13

    How to Find Breathing Room When Life is Loud With Kayla Craig

    This week, I had the absolute honor to sit down with author Kayla Craig to chat about what it means to create breathing room in a life that feels a little too loud. Chatting with Kayla and letting your soul sink into her words feels like sitting on a well-worn couch in a beloved friend's house. The kind of friend who doesn't care if you show up with yesterday's mascara and gas tank on empty. The kind of friend whose very presence feels like a long exhale after limping through the day. Reflecting on soul-sapping seasons like early postpartum and everyday parenthood, Kayla and I unpack questions we're asking like: How can you awaken to God's presence when life feels overwhelming, and you feel overstimulated? In the midst of feeling unseen and depleted, how can you let go of perfectionism and let the peace of God's presence hold you? How can you let all your life be a prayer? How does showing up to encounter God each day, with our whole and imperfect selves, shape our souls over time? Meet My Friend, Kayla Kayla Craig is a former journalist, bestselling author, and spiritual director whose work blends contemplative faith with fierce tenderness for the world God loves. She brings curiosity, compassion, and a love of connection to her writing, and her books include To Light Their Way and Every Season Sacred. Kayla's Year of Breath newsletter reaches readers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Her nuanced, relatable reflections appear in an array of books and devotionals and have been featured by Christianity Today and Hallmark's DaySpring. Kayla created the well-loved Liturgies for Parents Instagram account and speaks at retreats and conferences, helping peace feel possible and prayer feel doable in everyday life. She has trained in Christian spiritual direction and formation at Columbia Theological Seminary. Kayla lives in Iowa with her husband, four kids, and two dogs, where silence is…aspirational. About Our Daily Breath Discover the breathing room you need to pray when life is loud. We want to connect with God, but most days we can barely catch our collective breath. We're bombarded with digital noise, family needs, work demands, and heartbreaking headlines. Finding the time and energy for daily prayer can feel impossible. If you're tired or overstimulated, you're not alone. Join beloved author Kayla Craig on a year-long journey to pause, breathe, and reawaken to God's presence in a noisy world. Our Daily Breath Devotional gives you daily wisdom to borrow, breath prayers to exhale, and space to connect with the One who gives each breath, right where you are. In this timeless daily devotional, you'll find: Brief, relatable readings for rest, reflection, and renewal Scripture to anchor your day Intentional breath prayers, to move you from anxiety to calm, grounding both body and mind in God's loving presence Poetry, guided prompts, and embodied practices to help you know and love yourself, God, and your neighbor more fully Prayers to borrow and make your own Drawing from Christian thought and enriched by insights from literature, science, and psychology, Our Daily Breath Devotional brings you on a gentle path of spiritual formation--one breath, one prayer, one day at a time. May each day with this one-year prayer devotional be an invitation to a quiet new rhythm--where contemplation meets compassion, where prayer becomes practice, where you can breathe in God's peace and breathe out God's love into a weary world.

  3. Oct 6

    How to Reclaim Connection in a Divided and Distracted World with Ian Simkins

    This week, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with pastor and author Ian Simkins to chat about what it means to cultivate connection in a divided and distracted world, using the same tool as Jesus: an ordinary table. In today's conversation with Ian, we're going to unpack what it looks like to invite people to your table to be seen and known, and ultimately, give them a taste of the forever feast that awaits us. In this episode, we'll chat about: What does it mean to cultivate a place where people feel truly seen and know they always have a place at your table? What's the difference between Biblical hospitality and today's entertaining? Discover what your everyday altar might be in the very place God planted you. Grab Your FREE Cultivating Connection Conversation Cards These printable cards feature conversation cards for kids, friends, neighbors, small groups, couples, and blank ones so you can make your own! Just print double sided and start connecting with the very people you invite to your table! GRAB YOUR FREEBIE HERE Introducing Every Table an Altar: Reclaiming Connection in a World of Division, Distraction, and Loneliness by Ian Simpkins What if the antidote to our loneliness isn't found in another program or platform, but in something as simple and sacred as a table? We live in an age of distraction and disconnection. Many of us scroll endlessly, perform constantly, and ache quietly for real community. We're desperate for the simple joy that comes from sitting with a friend and engaging in life-giving conversation. The Bible gives us a model. Throughout Scripture, God does some of his most transformative work around tables. Jesus didn't build stages or start programs--he shared meals. There, foes became friends, strangers became family, and those on the outskirts of society were welcomed in. That same invitation still stands. Whether you're sitting at your kitchen island, a corner booth at a bar, or a lunch table at work, you can experience radical connection. In this book, you'll learn to: Rediscover the gospel's invitation to genuine community Choose presence over performance Cultivate simple, daily habits that form a table-centered life Break barriers by breaking bread See hospitality as a mission, not just decoration The gospel spreads best not through grand gestures but through small, faithful acts of presence. When we see every table as an altar, even the most ordinary moments become sacred ones. The table isn't just where we eat; it's where we remember who we are and whose we are. So pull up a chair. There's room for you here. Have you met Ian Simkins?   Ian Simkins is the lead pastor of The Bridge Church just outside Nashville, Tennessee and the author of Every Table an Altar (Zondervan). He and his wife, Katie, have three boys who keep their home incredibly loud and their table beautifully full. BUT! I wanted to share a little bit about Ian, and the heart behind this book…

  4. Aug 10

    How to Process Pain with the God of Comfort with Lisa Appelo

    In today's conversation, Kathryn is joined by her friend and bestselling author, Lisa Appelo, where they dig deep and invite you to meet the God of comfort in the midst of processing unbearable pain. In this episode, we'll chat about: What does our culture get wrong about greif? How do we rebuild a sense of trust and safety with God after devastating loss? What does it look like to bring all your overwhelming emotions and lingering questions to God? How one of the first signs of healing is reaching behind you and helping others. Practical ways to support the people in your life who are grieving. Introducing God of Comfort: A Devotional Journey for the Grieving Heart In grief, it's easy to become focused on our circumstances, look back on the life we had, or even look around at others who seem to be living their best life. This devotional calls you to instead look up at God, who walks with you in grief. When we grieve, God is already there, waiting to wrap us in his unfailing compassion. Yet in the mental fog and physical exhaustion of grief, it's hard to know where in the Bible to turn for help. With plenty of empathy—but zero empty platitudes—someone who knows the pain firsthand invites you on a 50-day journey where you are not rushed, fixed, or left alone in your grief. Through Scripture, guided prayers, journaling prompts, and honest poems, Lisa Appelo walks alongside you as a companion in your grief, gently pointing you to the character of God. Because when we fix our eyes on our God of comfort, we will find grace to get through each day, strength to move forward, and hope for the life he still has for us. Available now everywhere books are sold. About Lisa Appelo Lisa Appelo is a speaker and author of God of Comfort: A Devotional Journal for the Grieving Heart and the ECPA bestseller Life Can Be Good Again. Her ministry began after she suddenly became a widow and single mom to her 7 children, who were 4 to 19 years old. As God walked her through grief, He gave her a new compassion to help others find hope in grief and deepen their faith in life's storms. She's been featured at LIFE Today, Cornerstone Television Network, Insight for Living, Ann Voskamp, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and Risen Motherhood. A former litigating attorney, Lisa writes at LisaAppelo.com, is a leader with the national organization Never Alone Widows, and serves on the Executive Team of COMPEL Training, part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. If she's not writing or taking long walks, she's probably hanging with her 17 grandlittles.

  5. Jul 27

    How to Make Delight a Spiritual Discipline with Ruth Chou Simons

    Welcome to The Everyday Eden Podcast, a place where Kathryn Haines, alongside her fellow friends, writers, creators, and thinkers, gets really honest about cultivating a life right here and right now that brings the reality of heaven, homeward. In today's conversation, Kathryn is joined by her dear friend, Deidre Braley, and bestselling author Ruth Chou Simons, where they dig deep and unpack the spiritual practice of delight. In this episode, we'll chat about: What it means to chase down delight in our day-to-day life How delight shows up in the hidden years of motherhood What it would look like for our hearts and souls to make delight a spiritual practice How perfectionism is the enemy of delight Practical tips and fun freebies to help you prioritize the spiritual discipline of delight CLICK HERE to get the chapter on delight for FREE from This Moment Matters Introducing This Moment Matters: 100 Ways to Cultivate a Grace-Laced Life You can live a beautiful life filled with meaning and purpose. In This Moment Matters: 100 Ways to Cultivate a Grace-Laced Life, bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons shares how recognizing God's grace can make your everyday life something special. Everyday moments are what shape your life; you can sail through them on autopilot, or you can make small, purposeful choices that fill you and those around you with beauty and grace. Ruth shares suggestions for six areas of life: looking to Jesus, cultivating delight, embracing simplicity, taking care of yourself, creating a haven, and investing in your people. Begin a journey of: Discovering God's grace in daily life. Inspiration to make small but meaningful changes to your home, routines, and relationships with 100 ideas for habits, tips, recipes, and more. Cooperating with God in cultivating the intentional life you long for—in the simple choices you make every day. Embracing beauty through photography paired with Ruth's hand-painted artwork. This Moment Matters will help you understand that the gospel—the good news of forgiveness and freedom in Christ—is connected to the way you make dinner, decorate your home, speak to your kids, and embrace the life you've been given. This moment matters, friend. Whether it's thrilling, disappointing, uneventful, or even mundane,this is the day (and the moment!) that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Available everywhere books are sold on August 4th, 2026   About Ruth Chou Simons Ruth Chou Simons is a bestselling and award-winning author of several books and Bible studies, including Beholding and Becoming, Now and Not Yet, and The Way of the Wildflower. She is an artist, podcaster, speaker, and the founder, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer of GraceLaced, a Scripture art brand. Simons uses each of these platforms to spiritually sow the Word of God into people's hearts, making deep truths beautifully accessible with her signature art and relatable communication style. Simons has been featured on Good Morning America, Fox, Christianity Today, and Hallmark Home and Family. Ruth and her husband, Troy, live in Western Colorado and are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure.

    How to Make Delight a Spiritual Discipline with Ruth Chou Simons
  • 5 Episodes

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About

Everyday Eden is a powerful guide to cultivating a life that reflects the hope of heaven through simple mindset shifts, everyday habits, and practical next steps. Through insightful conversations with best-selling authors, Bible teachers, leaders, speakers, and everyday followers of Jesus, each episode helps us dig deep and find the unexpected strength we need to live well in an unsteady world. Everyday Eden is hosted by writer, speaker, and Bible teacher Kathryn Haines. You can find her on Instagram @ImKathrynHaines and @EverydayEdenPodcast and subscribe to her Substack, Everyday Eden.

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