Creating havens: simple and easy hospitality | with Liz Bell Young
Stephanie here! I am inviting you today to join me and Liz Bell Young, to share a deep, heartfelt conversation about creating havens in a world that often feels a bit upside down. It's like a warm hug for your soul. It is deeply Christ-centered, and it will fill you in places you didn’t even know you needed filled.
Liz Bell Young's "Let There Be Havens" isn't just a book; it's a whole vibe about creating comfort and care for others. She talks about beaming love and light into spaces - it's pretty powerful stuff. Liz's story about beaming into a hospital room? Pure magic.
NOTE!!!! Remember to join our newsletter to win one of 3 copies we are giving away! It’s a stunningly gorgeous book. Make sure to sign up at GospelSpice.com/signup
Here's the thing – creating spaces of comfort and care isn’t just about making others feel good. Liz and I really dug into the whole idea that, when you nurture others, you also end up nurturing yourself. It's like a love-filled loop, where everyone gets to feel cherished.
Liz and I also chatted about starting small and how those little acts of kindness can make a huge difference. Think about it – something as simple as making someone a cup of tea or sending a kind note can brighten their whole day.
Liz's childhood memory of her mom going back to get a blade of grass left on a tree stump? It's a beautiful reminder that embracing imperfections is where real love happens. And when Liz shared her experience with burnout and realizing the need for self-care, it hit home for me. Maybe it will for you, too.
We also touched on finding healing and support in community. Liz’s small group of women? They're her soul squad, sticking together through thick and thin. Her take on grace within the body of Christ? It’s like a big warm hug, reminding us that we’re all in this together.
My chat with Liz Bell Young is a beautiful reminder of the power of creating love-filled spaces and finding comfort in community. "Let There Be Havens" isn’t just a book; it's an invitation to spread love, nurture ourselves, and build real connections in a world that often feels fragmented. It's like a great big hug in the form of a conversation, and who doesn't need more of that?
I will take many moments from this conversation to ponder in the days to come. I invite you to join me. My list will start with the following… but I will add more!
1. Small Acts of Kindness Matter: Liz emphasized the power of creating small, welcoming scenes to care for others and make a meaningful impact. Let's start small and plant seeds of kindness in our daily lives.
2. Embracing Imperfections: Liz's story of the imperfect eggs beautifully illustrates the journey of self-worth and healing. Embracing our brokenness and imperfections is key to overcoming burnout and finding inner peace.
3. Community and Grace: The value of community and grace shone through our conversation. We discussed the healing potential of the body of Christ and the need to show grace to ourselves and others. Together, let's build nurturing communities and cultivate a culture of acceptance and support.
ABOUT “LET THERE BE HAVENS”
Discover the gentle lifestyle and deep satisfaction of practicing hospitality with what you have.
We all need people, places, and experiences that bring us home, feed our hope, rock us to sleep, then wish us well in the morning when we go back into the world and find others who need what we were just given. We long for these warm welcomes—and the ability to offer them to others without pretension or stress.
In this exquisite tapestry of stories, beautiful photography, and both practical and creative resources, writer and designer Liz Bell Young gives us a new vision for hospitality—one where we can both create space and give space at the same time. In Let There Be Havens, she shows us how anyone and any space can be part of this gentle and hospitable way of life.
Threading her life experiences in Italy, California, and Ohio—including camping events in fields and hosting friends in a van parked in the driveway—Young reveals the secrets of cultivating havens right where we are. She’ll inspire you through stories to open the heart; easy-to-follow guides for creating haven-like spaces; creative how to’s for everyday generosity and contentment; and beautiful recipes and simple menu ideas.
Page by page, this powerful manifesto will give what you need to build meaningful moments, draw people in, and offer more beauty to the world—piece by piece, life by life.
In Let There Be Havens, Liz Bell Young shares stories that will inspire readers to show love to their neighbors; offers encouragement for those who want to live a creative and generous life; and discusses how to replace fear and anxiety with calmness and kindness.
What is a haven?
A door held open.
A lamp turned on.
A place prepared.
This is haven: gentle hospitality.
When one person reaches for another, makes an offering, and believes we all hold such worth. No matter what we have in our pockets or where we’ve been up until now, we take care of each other―whether we’re strangers on a sidewalk or families around a table. Each day, we create trails of beauty and connection. One open door opens the next. And then it happens: our streets fill with lamplight, our lives lift with spirit, and our homes become circles of gold.
Let there be havens.
CONNECT WITH LIZ BELL YOUNG
Liz Bell Young is a writer, experience designer and collaborator in the Midwest. Her work appears in Magnolia Journal on the shelves, Artifact Uprising and Darling on the sites, Procter & Gamble in the studios, and Woman Camp in the woods. A grad of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago + University of Cincinnati, LBY takes a multidisciplinary approach to her work and home. Favorite pairings: words on index cards, words next to rolling film, words covering real paper inside real books. She also adores rocks, oyster shells, the smell of hay and gasoline, old Austrian boots, coffee in small cups. But above all: her life with Ryan and their children.
We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.
Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog
Identity in the battle | Ephesians
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/74762/link/
Centering on Christ | The Tabernacle experience
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/94182/link/
Shades of Red | Against human oppression
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/115017/link/
God's glory, our delight
https://www.podcastics.com/episode/126051/link/
You are invited to join us on the Gospel Spice Prayer Bible Study, titled "The heart behind prayer" starting September 20, 2025! Details and registration here: https://www.gospelspice.com/prayer
There are a few things in our Christian life that we know we should do more, or at least better – and prayer just might top the list. Prayer is a mystery. Why would a conversation with a human have any influence on God’s eternal, sovereign plan? It defies logic, and beckons love. How can God, the Almighty Lord of Hosts, be this close, this personal? It defies understanding, and beckons involvement.
But, lack of time, inspiration, and discipline, combined with the ruthless tyranny of our busy lives, push prayer to the periphery, to the “one day I’ll get to it” pile. And yet, we can excel at what we endeavor to undertake. So, why isn’t prayer more of a spiritual priority? Could we develop a mindset around prayer that made it attractive, inspiring, even maybe delightful? What if we attuned our spiritual ears to listen to God, and our spiritual eyes to see His provision?
As an unassuming student, I’m going to humbly offer to share the little I have learned from others about the joy of prayer. I will give us theology, practical tips, and useful resources, sharing what works for me as we, together, learn to pray.
If you find prayer intimidating, or if your lack of prayer makes you feel guilty or “less than,” then this is the place for you! If you have been a student of prayer for many years, this is the place for you too! If you have breath in your lungs, then prayer can become one of the deepest joys of your day. Don’t miss out!
A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT PRAYER
To pray is to believe that God not only hears, but that He responds. It is to stand in the gap for a broken world, wielding the authority of Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and trusting in the goodness of the Father. The question is not whether prayer works, but whether we are willing to pray the kinds of prayers that invite God’s Kingdom into the darkest places of the earth—and of our own hearts.
We may never fully understand the mechanics of prayer, or how it intersects with God's sovereignty, but we are not called to understand everything. We are called to be faithful. And faithfulness means showing up—in prayer, in persistence, in expectation.
So today, let us pray not only for the comfort of our hearts, but for the transformation of the world. Let us take our place as image-bearers, co-laborers, and co-heirs. Let us believe that God is still listening—and still acting. Because He is.
There’s only one way to find out what might happen when we truly pray like this.
Let’s begin.
THE MINDSET BEHIND THIS COURSE
Before we begin, let me tell you the obvious: I don’t really know how to pray. I’m a humble student and absolute beginner at the holy endeavor that is prayer. So, this course isn’t really about what I’ve learned, or any wisdom I might have gathered. But, I’ve sat at the feet of many prayer warriors over the decades, through books and teachings.
So, I’ll share what I learned from them. Humility is going to be our primary heart posture! With each lesson, I will offer a few thoughts, practices, and ideas – with much humility, and not taking myself too seriously. I will also share her favorite books and resources about prayer. FInally, I will introduce you to some of the most influential prayer warriors of our history as the Body of Christ.
Most importantly, I will invite YOU to pray! Learning to pray comes from praying. Our humble ambition is to inspire you to pray, and to give you a few tips on how to do that. Then, it’s up to you! Prayer is a lifelong endeavor. Let’s make it delightful together!
So, let’s get started.
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