Christina Fox, Author at Women.pcacdm.org

How the Church Can Pray for Military Chaplains and Their Families

REBEKAH COCHELL|GUEST The young soldier sitting across the desk from my husband was around 20 years old. He was tall and thin with a foreboding look on his face. He was a little uncomfortable as he had never talked to a counselor before and had never been to church. He was an atheist. Yet, there he was, sitting across from a Christian chaplain, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of America. He had recently run into some trouble and his commander sent him to speak to the chaplain. By the time the counseling session ended, the young man had a relaxed smile on his face. He came back regularly for counseling. Curious about Christianity, he asked many questions, and they had some deep theological conversations. He became the type of soldier who noticed when other soldiers were struggling or in any type of trouble and encouraged them to go to “Chap” for counseling. This is a typical experience in my husband’s ministry as a military chaplain...

How the Church Can Pray for Military Chaplains and Their FamiliesChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:05+00:00

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

HANNAH AN|GUEST Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel's strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne. By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne As a Korean American growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, I remember celebrating Christmas in our tiny first-generation Korean church. Each Christmas Day, we would gather as a congregation, young and old, sing Christmas carols, listen to a sermon in Korean (much of which I did not understand), and end our time in the fellowship hall breaking bread together. The sanctuary would be decorated and filled with poinsettias along the front of the stage with two tall lighted Christmas trees flanking the sides. We sang the usual Christmas hymns that everyone knows from “Joy to the world,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” to “Silent Night”—all sung in Korean. Afterwards, we would all head downstairs to the fellowship hall to gather at long rectangular tables lined up in neat rows up and down the large room, eating rice and soup with a side of kimchi, and piling our plates with special sweet Korean rice cakes called dukk for dessert. As a young child, I found Christmas to be a joyous time for families in the Korean community to come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It was a season that many families would look forward to, and one of my favorite memories from childhood. As I grew into my adult years, I stumbled upon the season of Advent and fell deeply in love with the hymn “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”...

Come Thou Long Expected JesusChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:21+00:00

Sometimes Efficiency Is Overrated

KIM BARNES|GUEST In my yard lay a stack of firewood that needed to be relocated. We recently purchased a fancy red wheelbarrow. It was strong and sturdy and perfect for the job at hand. I put on a pair of work gloves, grabbed a piece of wood in each hand, walked across my yard, and dropped the wood in the new location. My fancy wheelbarrow remained untouched while I made 40-50 trips carrying two pieces of wood at a time until all the wood was moved and neatly stacked. What was the point of doing this job the hard way? It was not an efficient way to complete the task. Anyone could see that it made much more sense to load up my brand-new wheelbarrow with wood and get the pile moved in 3 or 4 trips. But here’s the thing. Moving the pile of wood wasn’t my only goal. In an effort to improve my physical fitness, I was on a mission to log at least 10,000 steps per day. In service of that mission, I looked for things to do that would enable me to log steps while also accomplishing something. I parked far away from the entrance to the grocery store. I walked up my longish driveway to get the mail, even when I knew I’d be leaving soon for an errand and could just pick it up on my way out. I took the stairs instead of the elevator. Efficiency is great when you need to make thousands of cars or grow acres of food. But sometimes efficiency gets in the way of the greater mission...

Sometimes Efficiency Is OverratedChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:30+00:00

Give Thanks to the Lord

BECKY KIERN|CONTRIBUTOR O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planes formed of old, faithful and sure. He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, It will be said on that day; “Behold, that is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:1, 8-9) There is nothing like the excitement of children around the holidays. Just the other day while on a video call with my niece, she excitedly showed me a count-down chain she and my nephew had just finished creating. She explained how each little paper circle represented a day of school they must complete before they get to start Christmas break. Christmastime is almost here, and she can’t wait. Likewise, the Christmas season stirs up a variety of emotions in adults as well. Gathering with family and friends can bring us much joy, laughter, and gratitude. But the season can also bring painful memories and tears as we grieve those who won’t celebrate the holidays with us this year. Hard emotions born from life lived in a fallen world often compete with the joy of the season—emotions such as grief, fear, doubt, weariness, loneliness, cynicism, or despair. They may wrestle for our affections and attempt to steal our hope and joy. But Advent knows better!...

Give Thanks to the LordChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:35+00:00

The Joy of Advent

BECKY KIERN|CONTRIBUTOR O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planes formed of old, faithful and sure. He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, It will be said on that day; “Behold, that is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:1, 8-9) There is nothing like the excitement of children around the holidays. Just the other day while on a video call with my niece, she excitedly showed me a count-down chain she and my nephew had just finished creating. She explained how each little paper circle represented a day of school they must complete before they get to start Christmas break. Christmastime is almost here, and she can’t wait. Likewise, the Christmas season stirs up a variety of emotions in adults as well. Gathering with family and friends can bring us much joy, laughter, and gratitude. But the season can also bring painful memories and tears as we grieve those who won’t celebrate the holidays with us this year. Hard emotions born from life lived in a fallen world often compete with the joy of the season—emotions such as grief, fear, doubt, weariness, loneliness, cynicism, or despair. They may wrestle for our affections and attempt to steal our hope and joy. But Advent knows better!...

The Joy of AdventChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:44+00:00

How Jesus Cares for Caregivers

MARISSA BONDURANT|GUEST There is a picture on my phone that is hard for me to look at. It’s of me lying on the sofa with our four-year-old daughter lying on my chest. She’s completely bundled up in a thick, furry blanket. It wasn’t a cold day, but because of how sick the cancer had made her, it was the only way she was comfortable. I remember feeling exhausted that day. And overwhelmed. And sad. So sad. Deep in my heart, I asked God tough questions about my child’s suffering. I wondered what the days ahead would look like. I lamented the fact that I really didn’t want to be in that caregiving position. After all, caregiving is hard. Not only do we grieve the suffering of our loved one, but we also process our own losses. Caregiving requires us to lay down our preferences and plans, and pick up the holy calling of meeting the needs of another. Caregiving also means keeping. Keeping appointments and medicine schedules. Keeping doctor’s numbers and medical details. Keeping up with cleaning, cooking, and other family members’ needs. Keeping track, keeping up, keeping on top of. In the marathon of caregiving, we might hit a point where we look around and think: In all my caregiving, who cares for me?...

How Jesus Cares for CaregiversChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:48+00:00

Giving Thanks Every Day

BETHANY BELUE|GUEST Ten years ago, I sat across the table from a dear friend whose mother had recently passed away. As we shared a bowl of cheese dip, she talked to me about the pain of losing someone so close to her. Her grief was raw; her questions were real. But what I saw even more was how she clung to Jesus through her pain. That night she shared with me about keeping a journal of gratitude through the difficult season of watching her mom battle an illness and eventually go into the arms of Jesus. Each night, she wrote out specific things she was thankful for, things she was trusting God for, and a promise of God she was clinging to. Over time, she had pages and pages filled with her thoughts and desires. Although it did not change her circumstances, it gave her perspective in the midst of life's storms. What Happens When We Trace God’s Goodness As I walked the Manhattan streets back to my apartment that night, I was challenged by the discipline of my friend and her simple practice to remind herself of truth. At that time, I was in a season where life felt mundane and so many desires were unmet. It was so easy to lay my head on my pillow at the end of the day and think that the Lord was not answering my prayers and wonder where He was in my story. That night, I decided to start keeping my own journal...

Giving Thanks Every DayChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:46:59+00:00

Hurrah for the Seasons

HOLLY MACKLE|CONTRIBUTOR In college a friend told me she welcomes the seasons—even celebrates them. I’m sure I nodded to look cool, “I totally get that.” (Not likely.) I’m getting older now, with definitely more wrinkles and possibly more maturity, but finally I get it. Now I too celebrate the seasons. For me, this celebrating of the seasons is more than pumpkin spice lattes and tall boots—it’s about worship. God has been about the business of seasonality for a long time. He’s the One who set the Old Testament festivities for his glory and our good when we were just being introduced to his character. By way of introduction, the Old Testament Jews were given Passover, Purim, and the Feast of Booths—just to name a few. Through them it’s as if he said, Allow me to introduce myself. And once you understand me a little bit more you’re going to want to worship me—so here’s how you do it, and here’s how you celebrate who I am and the story I am writing. On this side of the cross, we have tremendous Christian liberty and holiday celebratory leeway as we walk around indwelt with Christ himself—the personification of the Temple, Jesus—abiding in our very hearts. In John 2:19 Jesus referred to himself as the temple, and 2 Corinthians 6:16 pulls from Leviticus 26:11-12 to explain how this indwelling extends to us, “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’”...

Hurrah for the SeasonsChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:47:08+00:00

From Grumbling to Gratitude

MARLYS ROOS|GUEST Have you ever played Doublets? It’s a simple word game, requiring only paper and pencil. Doublets was created by math professor, Charles L. Dodgson, (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland) in the late 1870s. The object of the game is to transform one word into an opposite term of the same length, one letter at a time, in as few steps as possible. It’s easy to change “dog” into “cat” or “heads” into “tails.” Advanced players transform longer words with more steps. Although “grumbling” and “gratitude” are both nine-letter words, I’m not sure grumbling can be transformed using Dodgson’s method. It takes divine intervention. Getting It Backwards Yet turning gratitude into grumbling is easy (though not in Doublets). It’s been part of our nature since the serpent in Genesis 3 twisted God’s words to make Eve question God’s goodness. Adam and Eve had everything: the perfect life with no illness, death, troubles, or shame, plus they had the physical presence of God to walk with them. What more could they have wanted? But there was that one thing they didn’t have, couldn’t have (v.3). So, Satan contorted the truth, infected them with the first case of FOMO, and turned their gratitude into grumbling...

From Grumbling to GratitudeChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:47:24+00:00

When Art Reminds Us of Eternal Truth

REBEKAH COCHELL|GUEST “...the Lion of Lucerne is the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” —Mark Twain Art has a transcendent quality. It can cause us to contemplate the struggles and joys of human experience. Sometimes it overwhelms us with the beauty of the mundane or the eternal. I believe that the search for truth, beauty, and goodness is inherent to the artistic process and is so embedded in the human heart that even if artists do not acknowledge the Creator in their hearts, their art often communicates some truth of the Divine. Since moving to Europe, I have encountered powerful aesthetic responses to beauty three times, bringing me close to tears, and taking my breath away. One of these times was when I visited the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland...

When Art Reminds Us of Eternal TruthChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:47:29+00:00

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