On Wednesday, September 21, 142 parents stepped into their teenager’s shoes at Meet the Pastor Night, experiencing an HPUMC Youth Wednesday night just as their kids would. Parents heard a middle school or high school sermon that their students had heard before, worshiped, met their teenagers’ pas...

In the Sanctuary, mom-of-three Michele Spillman sheds tears of joy as her son, Sutton, professes his faith at the 2022 HPUMC Confirmation service. The Spillman family joined the church when Sutton was around six months old, and this year, the 13-year-old was confirmed into the Christian faith and...

As five, fifteen-passenger vans rolled away from the Tolleson Family Activity Center on a Sunday morning, there was a buzz of energy in the air. “Will this be a fun trip?” “What are we eating?” “What do the bunk rooms look like?” “Will I get to see my friends?” “Will I meet new friends?” “What i...

As I reflect on this past year and all the many ways that moms have poured themselves out for their families, pivoting in ways we could have never imagined, I wonder how many of us are hitting a wall? If you can identify with needing a little self-care this year, I see you. You made it. We made i...

I leaned over the sleek sink of our hotel, spreading pink lipstick across my lips, then sweeping bronzer beneath my cheekbones. Clay was turning 40, and we were staycationing at The Ritz, getting ready for dinner and drinks with friends at the fancy restaurant downstairs. Other than the momentous...

Our family bakes resurrection rolls to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. In the past, we have made them on Good Friday, but this year decided to use the activity as a way to kick off Lent and start the conversations about Easter. My kids are pretty young, so I assumed that I would h...

Thank you cards are an easy way to teach your kids about being thankful this holiday season. We encourage you to download and print out these thanksgiving cards and fill them out with your kids. Before you had kids, what did you want them to be like? What qualities did you hope they would intrins...

In my line of work, teaching and coaching families and teens, not a week goes by that I don’t hear a parent say that their teen is struggling with confidence. On the one hand, gaining confidence in oneself in the world is a developmental task of a teen. On the other hand, among kids where one wou...

When I was three years old, I came across my mother’s lipstick. It was a shiny tube of fancy lipstick that was clearly enticing for a young child. Dark shades of brown were all the rage back in the 70’s apparently. I watched my mother put on that lipstick every morning. It was such a simple ritua...

Do you ever wish that your kids had come with a manual? You know, one that would give you guidance and concrete answers on how to do this or that in every single scenario so that you could raise the perfect child? I don’t know about you, but I so desperately want to get this parenting thing right...