One hot, humid Sunday evening in August of 2015, I, the “new girl from Boston,” timidly walked into Vision Night with my parents guarding me on either side. I felt as if my life had been completely uprooted. But, coming into a completely foreign environment and anxious about the impending school year, I was comforted and felt an automatic place in this community. Small Group has been a sort of sanctuary for me. I love having this safety net of friends to share trials, celebrate accomplishments, and explore scripture with. It was intimidating at first. Many of these [...]

This is an excerpt from a series of devotionals called “40 Days of Doubt,” written by Rev. Eric Huffman, pastor of The Story Houston. This series is intended to speak to the questions being asked by the scores of skeptics, agnostics, and other nonreligious people coming to The Story. Confession time: I like dark TV and movies. I like to share a bottle of wine with my wife over dinner. Sometimes I curse — just when I'm alone in my car. Like anyone, if I had to choose between heaven and hell, I’d rather go to heaven. But [...]

I always knew growing up that I was adopted, but I didn’t understand what it really meant until I was in 7th grade when my mom and I would sit on the couch into the late hours of the night and I would ask her question after question. My mom was limited on what she knew, but the one thing she always circled back to was reminding me that my birth mom did what she did because she loved me and wanted the best life possible for me. Through these conversations, Mom supported me to one day meet [...]

For many years, I went to the Starbucks in Highland Village six days a week. Sunday morning adrenaline seemed to take care of my energy level, but Monday through Saturday, you would find me there, reading and drinking coffee for an hour or so. Because I was such a regular, I came to know the other folks who were just as faithful, and over the years, I started calling them my “Starbucks friends.” One morning, the handsome dad of a beautiful family (one of my SF) came over to me and said, “We have a piece of art [...]

Note: Jiggers are parasites with health implications. The social stigma that comes with them is crippling to those who are infected. Sole Hope makes a difference by providing shoes that offer protection for vulnerable children. Samuel Samuel lives in a village called Bujagali. He’s seen his community fall on hard times. He’s seen his brothers and sisters get so many jiggers (parasites that enter bare feet) they could barely walk to school. In fact, he knew of very little outside his own village. Until Sole Hope picked up Samuel and his sibling for medical treatement in their clinic, [...]

We stood in the River Jordan, along with hundreds of other pilgrims from around the world who came to the Jordan to be baptized or remember their baptisms.  We read the verses from Mark, in which Jesus is baptized by John.  We prayed together, asking God’s blessing on the water and on us gathered together.  And we recalled together what baptism means: 1. It is a sign of God’s grace, something God does rather than something we do. God chose us before we chose God. That is why we don’t actually rebaptize; God didn’t mess it up the [...]

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” Rev. 7:9 As Bonnie Hellums was walking down the hall of the church a couple of Sundays ago, she happened to hear a woman, with a foreign accent, asking a church greeter how to find the Encounter Service. The lady was there with a little boy. Bonnie said she was going to the service and would be glad to show them where it was. On the [...]

My husband Seann and I have two kids: James is almost four and our daughter Sara is seven months. We are both pastors, and two years ago we moved—we were sent from the church where we had been on staff together, to serve in new places. When we were leaving, one of the families gave us a book: Double Dip Feelings. It’s a collection of vignettes to help children understand emotions. But, just like the children’s messages here are for the children, but also for you, the book was for our son, but also for us. It goes [...]

I grew up going to various church camps, retreats, and mission trips. Compelling sermons would stir something within me. We all know the feeling—the “high” we get when our faith is validated and renewed after spending time in intense worship, service, scripture study, and fellowship. In those moments, I envision myself on the streets of Jerusalem waving my palm branch and shouting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem “stirred” the whole city, and they asked, “Who is this?” The crowd’s response? “This is the [...]

Remember when we sat in stackable plastic chairs as Dr. Pace preached in the Activity Center? Our St. Luke’s footprint looked so different back then. I’m thankful I was there one of those mornings. In his sermon that day, Dr. Pace talked about family dinner, about the importance of talking and laughing with our children, of establishing and nurturing real connections, while sitting down to share a meal. He referred to the family table as a “love feast” and gave us some gentle reminders to keep it loving as opposed to stressing. I remember feeling emotionally overcome, as [...]