Hogan's Journey
What Is Hogans Journey?
Hogans Journey is a place for reflection, conversation, and discernment.
It grew out of our own lives, out of family, loss, faith, hospitality, and the long process of learning how God shapes people over time. We’ve discovered that transformation rarely happens all at once. More often, it unfolds through lived experience, honest questions, and moments shared at the heart of the table.
This is not a site built around quick answers or polished conclusions.
It is a place for thoughtful faith and meaningful stories.
Why “Why to What”?
Much of life is spent asking why.
Why did this happen?
Why did things turn out this way?
Why does faith sometimes feel harder instead of easier?
Over time, we’ve learned that while the “why” questions matter, they are rarely where life settles. Eventually, God invites a different question:
What now?
What does faithful living look like here?
What is being asked of us in this season?
What does it mean to move forward with trust rather than certainty?
That movement, from why to what, has shaped our journey and continues to guide it.
Who We Are
We are Jim and Debbie Hogan.
Our story together began in the 1960s, when we met in high school and formed a friendship long before we understood what life would require of us. We were married in 1969, young and hopeful, stepping into adulthood with plans for the future and very little sense of how fragile those plans could be.
Just weeks before our wedding, Debbie’s parents were killed in a sudden midair plane collision. In an instant, the foundation beneath us shifted. What should have been a season of joy became one marked by grief, uncertainty, and the need to grow up far too quickly.
We began our marriage carrying loss we did not yet know how to name, learning early that faith is not built through ideal circumstances, but through choosing to move forward when life feels unsteady. Those early years shaped us deeply. They taught us compassion before we knew the word for it, resilience before we understood its value, and dependence on God long before it felt comfortable.
Over the decades that followed, life continued to unfold, through family, work, ministry, laughter, disappointment, and moments of unexpected grace. Healing came slowly. Purpose revealed itself gradually. We learned that God often does His deepest work not in dramatic moments, but through faithfulness in ordinary days.
Out of those experiences grew Standing Stone Ministry, founded on the belief that when people face seasons of disruption or transition, what they most need is steady presence. For many years, we have walked alongside ministry leaders, couples, and families, offering encouragement, perspective, and the reminder that even when the ground feels shaky, it is possible to stand firm.
Hogans Journey flows from that same heart. It reflects a lifetime of learning that God uses both joy and sorrow to shape who we become; and that the most meaningful journeys are not defined by how they begin, but by how faithfully we continue.
What We’re Working On Right Now
Like many seasons of life, this one is full and active.
Debbie continues to write and develop her cookbook, returning again and again to the place she loves most; the kitchen. As recipes are tested, refined, and shared, many of them find their way here, offered as an expression of hospitality, memory, and the belief that meaningful conversations often begin around a table.
At the same time, Jim is writing his newest book, From Why to What, a work shaped by decades of experience, reflection, and the ongoing question of what faithful response looks like when life disrupts our plans. The writing is still unfolding, much like the journey itself.
We share this simply to let you know that this site is alive, growing alongside the work happening quietly behind the scenes.
Where You Can Begin
Read Our Latest Story
Learn more about our journey and what has shaped us along the way.
Gather at the Heart of the Table
Stories, recipes, and moments of hospitality where faith and life are shared together.
Reflections from the Journey
Writings shaped by lived experience, ongoing discernment, and the belief that faith grows through honesty. (October 7th Story) Jim and Debbie tell their latest trip to Israel.
Take your time. There’s no rush here.