Ah, fall. It’s that hectic time of year again, and with two busy teenagers if we don’t make our family time a priority it won’t happen. God commanded us to “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). I take care of my…

With the blessing of growing up in a small farming community in the '50s and '60s, my childhood was akin to a Norman Rockwell painting. The TV did not get turned on until the 6:00 news, and we ate our meals at the table. Sundays always included…

This morning was our Fall Kickoff at Hillspring! It was awesome to worship together then share lunch with so many friends as we celebrated our ministries, signed up for new classes and reflected on…

The new song we sang in worship yesterday is likely the final one we will introduce this year. Yes, there is a method to the madness of which songs we sing, how many we have in our repertoire, and when/how we introduce them. This so-called madness provides…

During my renewal time this summer, a passage from Galatians kept coming to me, “… the only thing that counts is faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) That passage really carved my time away as I focused more and more on how Paul's words spoke to me as a disciple and as a leader of our church.

One of the favorite things about my job is the opportunities I have to help people. I enjoy getting calls from people either asking for prayer requests or advice. Recently,

There are rare moments when eyes light up, lightbulbs turn on, and audible ooohhhhs are heard that let everyone know, “I get it now.”

More than this, it's the number of "Hallelujahs" we have taken outside these four walls and into the world. Sunday worship is meant to be a recentering and celebratory time of worship and surrender. Don't limit worship to just singing but think of your life as a song of praise to God. Worship without ceasing!

On one of my recent trips, trapped for far too long in an airplane seat, I stumbled upon a movie I probably wouldn’t have otherwise watched called…

Hello, Hillspring!

I'm Nicole Jansen, the new face on staff. I started May 1 as the part-time Ministry Coordinator, and although I'm only a month in, I already love the job. I've been out…

A little over a month ago, my dad, Tim, my son, Nathan, and I took a road trip from San Francisco, California, where my sister, Samantha, lives to San Marcos, Texas, where my parents live. It was the trip of …

As you might’ve heard, I returned about a week ago from spending some time in Israel. Israel is always amazing, and this time proved no different. There are so many things I…

On a recent trip to Oklahoma, we attended worship with our son and his family. On that Sunday, the former preacher came out of…

When I write these blogs, I try to really research the biblical context of the verses and stories I use. We just celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday, and I…

Several years ago, we journeyed through a time of prayer to discern our church vision. God gave us a gift with what we called our DNA Statement, Live, Love, Grow…

On March 2, we observed Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday focuses our hearts on repentance and prayer. It is a time set aside each year for…

I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine last week. She recently went on a long weekend trip to Arizona, where she…

This week, while exploring Bible Gateway (as one does), I stumbled upon Philippians 4:8:

As we were starting, I got a text that one of my friends I have known from church had passed away. I tried to keep my composure, but as I looked around the room, my heart instantly felt heavy, and…

I didn’t grow up in a church that practiced many liturgical aspects of worship like Ash Wednesday, which we observed last week. The first time I ever participated in this kick-off to Lent was here at Hillspring, and it has become…