Christina Fox, Author at Women.pcacdm.org

Growth in Prayer and Gratitude

MEGAN JUNG|GUEST “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” Colossians 1:3). For 20 years, I’ve heard the same refrain. “I know I need to pray more...” “I know I should be grateful, but…” Regardless of location: my counseling office, a coffee shop on a college campus, or my seminary office, I have seen the exhausted, downcast, guilty expressions accompanying these words. I feel it too. I understand the tension about prayer and gratitude: I know what I need to do, and I don’t know how. Longing for gratitude and a robust prayer life is often coupled with frustration and uncertainty about how to change. Many of us feel like something stands between us, prayer, and gratitude. Some of us feel like we’re living a cosmic game of Tetris, trying to place spiritual disciplines between waking hours and a billion tasks. Not to mention a desperate need for rest. Some of us are embarrassed because we don’t feel like we have the right words. Others have pain, anger, or mistrust standing between us and the Lord. And if we’re honest, even the most mature Christians sometimes offer rote prayer and gratitude that feels boring and disengaged. (If you find yourself bathed in the mercy of a consistent, rich, grateful prayer life, we praise the Lord for His goodness to you! Please share with others how the Lord has brought you to this place. Sister, we need your witness and encouragement.) The Necessity of Prayer and Gratitude...

Growth in Prayer and GratitudeChristina Fox2025-07-09T18:29:38+00:00

Our Father Values His Children

KARI STAINBACK|GUEST This morning a nest of baby finches on my patio exploded with activity. Wild finches love to nest on my third-floor patio behind my wall lamp. I assume they see it as a safe place to start off their family, out of sight and away from so many natural dangers. I hear the baby birds' squeaky chirps and the joyful songs of their mom and dad sing as they happily share the responsibility of feeding these tiny babies. How amazing that the finches know just where to build a secure nest to establish their offspring. Each parent cares for and warms the eggs until the baby birds hatch. They both know just what to feed the little ones so that, in two weeks or so, they will be ready to leave the nest and learn to fly. But for those two weeks, referred to as the “fledgling stage” the baby birds still depend on their parents to provide for them. No doubt, Jesus also observed this amazing creation phenomenon with birds knowing that His Father, the God of all Creation, wisely made the birds with this innate wisdom to procreate and provide for their young so well. After all, the Father is the first cause, the Provider for these birds in season and out of season. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 6:26-27: Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?...

Our Father Values His ChildrenChristina Fox2025-07-09T18:30:03+00:00

A Family Resemblance

BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5a) I’ve been going through a box of old photos found in my dad’s attic, and I’m seeing the faces of my great and great-great-grandparents for the first time. I’ve seen their names written in the branches of our family tree, but for the first time I’m able to look for family resemblances in their eyes and smiles. I marvel at seeing my infant grandmother tenderly held in the arms of her parents under the shade of their garden, held with the same affection with which I held my own precious children. I’m connected to my great-grandmother in more ways than DNA can explain. I never met her, but her blood flows through my veins, and her love for gardening and family, along with her physical characteristics, have been shared down through the generations. When Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, he was writing to saints he’d never met. The gospel had been carried to them by his co-laborer Epaphras, had taken root, and was “bearing fruit and increasing” (1:6–7). Paul’s joy overflowed in thankfulness to God as he recognized the family resemblance in these unseen saints when he heard of “[their] faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that [they] have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for [them] in heaven” (1:4–5a). How did these saints and fellow brothers and sisters at Colossae resemble the family of Christ? They bore the traits of faith in Christ Jesus, love for all the saints, and a hope laid up in heaven. Faith, love, and hope are spiritual characteristics which set the family of God apart from the rest of the world. Faith The word “faith” is repeated five times in the letter to the Colossians, and each time it refers to a specifically objective faith in God the Father and/or the Lord Jesus Christ. This isn’t the baseless faith of the world that calls us to “just believe,” or worse, to “believe in yourself.” The faith that characterizes all Christians is “faith in Christ Jesus (1:4; 2:5), “the faith” in which they need to continue (1:23), “the faith” which is key to walking in Christ (2:6–7), and it is faith in the powerful working of God through which they were raised in baptism with Christ (2:12). Paul sees the family resemblance in the Colossians’ faith because he knows it’s nothing they’ve done in themselves; it is God’s gracious gift (Eph. 2:8)....

A Family ResemblanceChristina Fox2025-05-26T16:20:52+00:00

I’m New Here! Did You Notice?

SAMI MACDONALD|GUEST As the resident of my 17th home in 34 years, my many memories of being the new girl often culminate in various cafeterias. Memories of circling tables while scanning for an open seat, holding a tray that feels as wobbly as my quickly beating heart. I remember wanting to ask the scariest question: “Is this seat taken?” What I really wanted wasn’t just a seat, but for someone kind to notice me and offer me a seat at her table. I longed to belong. And that longing doesn’t end when schoolgirl days are over. Maybe you have been here, too. Being new – to a church, town, job, or just walking into any room full of unfamiliar faces – can leave us feeling quite vulnerable. Newness stirs in us a deep fear of isolation, including her counterparts’ shame and rejection. About this, the Gospel has much to say. I invite you to consider periods of transition as opportunities to lean into the rich spiritual realities of our bond with Christ. Let’s look to the beloved book of Ruth, whose story of new girls in a new land demonstrates God’s faithful love. Ruth and Naomi were single women uprooted from their home country. Being in a foreign land wasn’t just uncomfortable, but dangerous. In a patriarchal society, they were vulnerable without a husband’s provision. In God’s kindness, Ruth is seen by Boaz, who eventually becomes her redeemer. “Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10) We also are seen in our vulnerability. Acknowledging the reality of our aloneness in new situations is appropriate but does not have to define us. At one time we were indeed separated, alienated, and without hope (Eph. 2:12). But we find rest when we remember God graciously fixed His gaze upon our vulnerability and brought us near, grafted us into Himself, sheltering us under His wings. These aren’t just momentary truths at salvation or future hopes for eternity. Our Father sees our vulnerabilities now and it is in His very character to move toward our needs (Matt. 7:11). Furthermore, Boaz not only sees Ruth’s needs, but he also welcomes her to his personal table. “And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over” (Ruth 2:14). Boaz is a pointer to Christ. He doesn’t just satisfy her need for a meal, but as the story unfolds, he marries her, providing ultimate security as she joins his covenant family....

I’m New Here! Did You Notice?Christina Fox2025-07-09T18:30:57+00:00

On Minds Set Above

ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR “Just Do It.” The iconic Nike slogan has inspired millions, not only to work out, but also to purchase the swoosh-branded gear. Unfortunately, many Christians have unknowingly adopted a similar “Just Do It” mindset when approaching the gospel command, “Set your minds on things above” (Col. 3:2). But here’s the problem: apart from first resting in the gospel reality of our union with Christ, we cannot carry out this command. As we slow down to consider the context of Paul’s words, we find something far better than mere motivation—we find the hope-filled reality that empowers and invites us to set our hearts and minds on the things above. The Hope-filled Gospel Reality As Paul so often does in his epistles, he begins by proclaiming gospel realities (also called “gospel indicatives”), naming what is true of us because we are united with Christ. He then follows these realities with gospel commands (also called “gospel imperatives”). To fully understand and live out Paul’s exhortation to “Set our minds on things above,” we must first consider our identity in Christ. In Colossians 1-2, Paul describes our new identity in Christ: we have “faith in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:4), we have been made “mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28), and we “walk in him” (Col. 2:6). In Him we also have “redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14), and in Him, we are reconciled with God (Col. 2:21). Most importantly, our citizenship has changed. Because of Christ’s work on the Cross and our faith in Him, we have moved from the “domain of darkness” to the “kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13-14). We have been “buried with him in baptism” and “raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12)....

On Minds Set AboveChristina Fox2025-05-26T15:42:26+00:00

Summer Study on Colossians and Philemon: An Interview with Sarah Ivill

CHRISTINA FOX|EDITOR The 2025 recommended summer Bible study for PCA Women’s Ministries is Colossians and Philemon: That in Everything Christ Might be Preeminent by Sarah Ivill, Below you’ll find an interview Christina Fox did with Sarah about the study and her writing process. Christina: When you work on developing a Bible study, what is your study process like? Do you have a particular pattern you follow? Favorite commentaries? Sarah: I do have a particular pattern that I follow. First, I read the book of the Bible I'm studying in its entirety to get the big idea of the book. Second, I make an outline of the book so that I know which chapters I will cover for each lesson. Third, I study the specific passage of Scripture for the lesson and then read commentaries on it. If I have to choose a favorite series of commentaries, I like the Reformed Expository Commentary series published by P&R Publishing. Fourth, I write study questions for the women to answer and notes for the women to read. Finally, I go back through the lesson with an editorial eye. Christina: You have written a study on every book of the Bible. Was that a goal you had that you worked toward? How did that develop? What does it mean to you to have completed it? Sarah: To write a study on every book of the Bible was a desire that grew out of my love for studying God's Word. I wanted to learn God's Word and then share what I had learned with others. As I was nearing completion of the project, I felt grateful that God had given me the opportunity to do it, but I also felt sad that it was coming to a close. Spending those years writing studies on each book of the Bible was immensely satisfying, as God's Word pointed me repeatedly to Christ in the midst of my own sin, suffering, and service. There is no other book that I would rather be reading. The Holy Scriptures are majestic and pure. They comfort and convict. The Bible is "no empty word for you, but your very life" (Deut. 32:47). Christina: As someone who has studied and taught on the Bible for many years, what is something new that you learned while working on this study for Philemon and Colossians?...

Summer Study on Colossians and Philemon: An Interview with Sarah IvillChristina Fox2025-05-18T21:04:42+00:00

Rest and Renewal in Christ

MARIA CURREY | CONTRIBUTOR Summer is upon us and with it comes vacations and times to get away. What speaks rest and renewal to you? Soothing surf-sounds and sand in your toes? Cruising to your dream destination with vacation days sprawling ahead? Manis and pedis at the spa? While rest and renewal may imply luxurious escape, there is a much deeper, eternally lavish rest and renewal offered in Christ. God offers lasting treasures. He gives us physical, spiritual, and emotional rejuvenation, perfectly portioned time which we are encouraged and exhorted to set apart. Rest and renewal are given within God’s pace of grace, gifts wisely given and guarded, when and IF we choose to receive them. Creator Rest Where do we first see rest and by Whom is it reflected? God Himself models rest in Genesis 2:2-3, "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” If God rested after creating, should we not also rest after we work? Do you have a sanctified day of rest? A day set apart to be holy, for sacred purposes...

Rest and Renewal in ChristChristina Fox2025-05-24T16:41:12+00:00

Life After Cancer

MARISSA HENLEY|GUEST Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from Marissa's newly published devotional, After Cancer: Thriving with Hope (P&R, 2025), used with permission. Filled with both dread and hope, I forced a deep breath through my anxiety-stricken lungs and stepped into the counselor’s office. Almost two years had passed since I had been diagnosed with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma. The chemotherapy, clinical trial, radiation, and surgery had ended about a year prior, and my scans showed no evidence of disease. Some days, I was thrilled to be alive. I felt happy, grateful, and free. Other days, I felt like cancer still had me in its suffocating grip. The new perspective that made me grateful for each day also made me greedy for years I wasn’t sure I’d get to enjoy. Cancer had been purged from my body, but it wouldn’t leave my mind. I was tired of feeling consumed by cancer. A few minutes later, I sat on the counselor’s sofa, telling my story through tears. I started with the facts: The lump in my breast. The phone call two weeks later. The internet search that revealed a grim prognosis. The oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center who looked me in the eyes and said, “I can cure you.” The months of chemotherapy. The clinical trial that took me away from my three young children for weeks and weeks as I received treatment in Houston, six hundred miles from home. Radiation and surgery, also in Houston. God’s faithfulness and provision through dark days of suffering, sickness, and fear. But my story was more than those facts. Fear, grief, and trauma interwove through those details, but I often buried my emotions as I shared the happy ending of my story. I talked freely about the when, where, and how, but I didn’t think people would want to hear the questions I wrestled with daily: Why? What now? I often separated the facts from my feelings when I told the story, but in the safety of the counselor’s office, my emotional turmoil rose to the surface and overflowed...

Life After CancerChristina Fox2025-05-24T16:33:49+00:00

I Will Sing

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR When I hit a recent milestone birthday, my children made sure that I was celebrating for a full week. There were new surprises each day. My favorite was a poster board they created with their special memories about me, one for each year. My daughter wrote this as one of hers, “I loved that you sang hymns to me while you were fixing my hair for Sunday School.” I had almost forgotten about that! And it is funny that she would remember those times since I cannot carry a tune. But the words of those hymns and their truths are embedded in her memory, and now she sings those same hymns to her children! Ministry Through Song In Exodus, Moses led the people in song, a hymn of praise, to celebrate God parting the Red Sea and protecting the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army. Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:1-2)...

I Will SingChristina Fox2025-05-05T18:49:30+00:00

Church for the Super Busy Family

KATIE POLSKI | CONTRIBUTOR I was a few minutes early to our weekly Bible study when a fellow mom came and sat next to me, letting out a defeated sigh. Noticing her exhaustion, I gently asked if everything was alright. “Yes,” she answered apathetically. “I just don’t think I can keep coming to this study, though. We are just so super busy right now.” I felt frustration surface, and not because she might not return, but because I was overwhelmed as well, and she beat me to the complaining. I showed up that morning feeling utterly depleted, running on fumes myself. But I also lamented that returning the sentiment would only turn into what has become a “typical” suburban exchange: “How are you?” “Great; just super busy.” But I told her anyway, admittedly with an edge to my voice: “Yeah, I’m super busy right now too.” The Hidden Barrier to Church Connection Busyness. Everyone experiences it, in some season or another, because it is inevitable. There is work to be done, deadlines to meet, people to connect with, children and grandchildren with activities and responsibilities, and then… there is our church. During busy seasons, it’s easy to let church and community take a backseat. But it’s in these very moments of overwhelm that we need the church the most. As I sat in that Bible study with my friend, I was reminded of the power of consistent involvement—not just for spiritual nourishment, but for the encouragement and strength we draw from one another. I needed to be there amid the busyness. The church is God’s provision for our spiritual growth and need for community. As Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us, we are called to “stir up one another to love and good works” and not neglect meeting together, especially as the days grow darker. The strength we need for the day-to-day grind comes from the body of Christ. One of the primary reasons people leave a church is because they do not feel connected to the body of believers. During our 25 years in ministry, if a family has not relocated, feeling disconnected is the main reason families give for leaving the church or looking elsewhere. If this has been the case for you, it may certainly be due to an unwelcoming community or because of leaders who do not set the precedent for a hospitable environment. But often, disconnectedness comes from a lack of involvement, and lack of involvement is blamed on a full schedule....

Church for the Super Busy FamilyChristina Fox2025-05-05T18:45:24+00:00

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