MFP 361: The Story of All Stories: Catholic Parenting & Hospitality with Emily Stimpson Chapman

Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Mike and Alicia Hernon : Catholic Marriage Parent and Family

Parenting, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Kids & Family

4.9 • 841 Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Hospitality and real community starts by inviting people into your messy home…"

Summary

In this episode, Mike and Alicia sit down with best-selling Catholic author Emily Stimpson Chapman to talk about Advent, Storybook for young Catholics, and the beauty of simple hospitality. Emily shares the real, lived rhythms of Advent in her home—reminding parents that peace and prayerfulness grow best when traditions are tied to everyday routines and kept flexible, not burdensome.

Emily also introduces her newest work, The Story of All Stories, a beautifully crafted children's story Bible from Word on Fire that presents salvation history as one unified narrative. Although written for ages 7–13, it has already captivated teens, parents, and grandparents alike.

Finally, the conversation turns to hospitality—how ordinary families can open their homes joyfully, even amid noise, chaos, and little ones. Emily offers practical tips, simple meal ideas, and a vision for welcoming others that prioritizes connection over perfection.

Key Takeaways

Advent traditions work best when tied to existing family routines—like dinner—rather than starting from scratch.
Flexibility in traditions preserves peace and allows your family to embrace the joy of the season without stress.
Hospitality doesn't require perfection—simple meals and genuine presence build true community.
Opening your home combats loneliness and helps families live their mission together.

Couple Discussion Questions

What Advent traditions have been life-giving for our family—and which ones cause unnecessary stress?
How could we anchor Advent prayer or traditions more naturally into our existing daily routine?
In what ways do we tell the story of salvation to our children? Is there room to deepen our approach?
When we think about hospitality, what holds us back most—perfectionism, time, or fear?
Who is one person or family we could invite over in the next two weeks for a simple, joy-filled meal?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Family, all in this together.
0:08.2	Family, we're taking a chance.
0:10.8	Family, like birds of a feather.
0:13.3	Family, get off my shoes and dance.
0:15.4	Hey, we are Mike and Alicia Hernin.
0:17.4	We have 10 kids and grandkids too, and we are here for every parent. Because we are on a
0:22.2	mission to empower moms and dads to embrace their sacred calling. So join the conversation.
0:27.7	Family, we're taking a chance. I am always thinking about moms during the Advent season. And I called,
0:37.0	I called the time from right before Thanksgiving
0:39.2	till New Year's, the mom Olympics. It's the mom Olympics, you know, because you're exhausted.
0:45.1	Everything is like holding on your shoulders to try to like get everything ready for people and,
0:51.2	you know, doing all of the traditions and the food and the hosting and all of that.
0:54.4	So I thought who would be a great encouragement for our moms, for our audience. And Emily Stimson
1:00.8	Chapman, welcome. We're so happy that you're here. I'm so happy to be talking to you from,
1:06.4	you know, like half a mile, a mile away. We 100% could have just done this in person, but it would have been a little split screen
1:13.1	here for us.
1:14.4	So we were going to have two screens in our house, but then we were like, we'll let Emily go home.
1:19.3	She can just do it from her house.
1:21.5	Emily is a best-selling Catholic author, and we have particularly three books that we want
1:27.2	to talk about
1:27.7	tonight, but you've written a dozen or more books. I've known you've written a ton for a lot of
1:33.9	Catholic organizations over the years. You continue to blog or Slack or wherever you want to
	...

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