faith

A Testimony in Sorrow

JENNA BOGARD | GUEST As my dear pastor neared the end of his life in 2022, I wept by his hospital bed. All I could utter was, “Jim, you are going to be with Christ soon!” His face lit up; that was all he wanted. His intimacy with Christ was apparent to everyone who knew him. Prior to his death, he repeatedly urged me to dive into the Song of Solomon as it ministered to him greatly in his last few months of suffering with ALS. At the time, I dismissed his claim that the book had anything to do with Christ and the church and even teased him for holding such beliefs. I wish he was still here so I could humbly admit my error and thank him for pointing me to some of the most beautiful truths of Christ that I’ve only begun to uncover. A Reflection of the Heart Dr. David Murray’s exposition of Song of Solomon chapter five was particularly impactful as it so perfectly described my spiritual condition at the time: utterly weak, fearful, depressed, and desperate.[i] As the chapter opens, the groom is at the door, calling the bride to open the door (v. 2). However, the bride is apathetic to his call. “I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them?” (v.3) The bride didn’t want to put in the effort, a situation we usually find ourselves in when we have temporarily satisfied ourselves with the lust of our idols...

A Testimony in SorrowChristina Fox2026-02-14T18:25:24+00:00

What Seminary Meant to Me as a Mom

ALLYSON BRUCE | GUEST This past May, as I walked into my graduation ceremony at Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) we sang, “How Firm a Foundation.” This hymn beautifully captures my journey through the Masters of Arts in Counseling program. This foundation wasn’t laid in ease or in ideal conditions; it was built in the midst of motherhood. When I began seminary, I was a mom with soon to be four children under the age of five. I didn’t enter with spare time or energy, but with a desire to know God deeply, believing it would shape my mothering. A Foundation in the Word The first stanza of the hymn declares, “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.” Through lectures, small groups, papers, and exams at Westminster, God laid a foundation rooted in His Word—shaping how I see people and view joy and sorrow through the lens of the gospel. I learned to see Christ in all of Scripture, in both the Old and New Testament. For example, we all face pain and suffering. I turn to Psalm 77 and remember the Israelites’ wilderness journey and their longing for the promised land. In that struggle I see God providing daily bread (Ex. 16), faithfully sustaining them. In John 10, I see Jesus healing and providing for His people, where He ultimately laid down His life for His sheep. We are still in the in-between period, waiting for the promised land, but He will provide. He is faithful. He is enough. As my kids face trials and difficulties, I am so thankful that this is the framework I meet them with—one of eternal hope in God’s faithfulness....

What Seminary Meant to Me as a MomChristina Fox2026-02-10T21:03:24+00:00

Bird Watching Wonder

MARIA CURREY | CONTRIBUTOR When we see a beautiful bird soaring above, my husband and I crane our necks until the last feather vanishes. The majesty and soaring beauty of an eagle in flight; enigmatic, insistent whippoorwill calls through wooded cover; bluebirds nesting in reclaimed spaces, prepping their nests for fledglings’ flights, each of these draw our attention and spotlight God’s creative hand. To hear morning mockingbird songs before sunrise, where every note is a symphony of our Creator’s natural orchestrations. Birds hearken to God’s hands of wonder, and we need only lift our eyes to the sky and witness His splendor! Eyes to the sky: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). Ponder the fact that God knows and protects the sparrow; He knows the number of hairs on your head. He is the omniscient, all-knowing God of WONDER who created the whole earth and who knows everything about you. He bestows all-knowing care, love, attention, and protective salvation grace upon you as His one-of-a-kind daughter....

Bird Watching WonderChristina Fox2026-01-24T17:18:35+00:00

Our Shepherd in the Desert

KC JONES | GUEST Growing up in the arid Rockies of Colorado, I did not need anyone to tell me how important it was to drink water and lots of it. I applied lotion twice a day, morning and night, so that my feet and palms would not crack and bleed. I knew better than to go on any excursion alone without taking necessary precautions such as informing loved ones of where I was going, how long it should take, and securing plenty of snacks and water. Lots of water. One does not typically search for water in the desert. It is hard to imagine anyone might find refreshment and restoration in a place consisting of the most extreme elements– scarce in human resources. Yet, for those who see with their spiritual eyes, the desert is precisely the place God uses as a refuge for His own. Perhaps it seems odd that the desert is often used by the Lord to protect His people, provide for them, and to prepare them for what He has for them. If we examine the significance of the desert experience, it might be easier to comprehend God’s purpose for our lives...

Our Shepherd in the DesertChristina Fox2026-01-16T19:24:23+00:00

The Call to Remember

LINDSAY FUNCHES | GUEST Apart from the two times when I actually forgot my children, the worst episode of mother forgetfulness in my life occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, when I had four children under the age of six. Having just moved to the area, we had been attending our new church for two months. Mary Boyde was five, Sam was three, Steele was nineteen months old, and Hayley was two months old. Steele had Crouzon Syndrome, a craniofacial syndrome like the boy in the movie Wonder, serious medical issues, and literally a dozen doctors. He wasn’t sleeping at night because of severe sleep apnea. Needless to say, I was exhausted as Christmas approached. As is often the case, our new church performed a magnificent Christmas pageant every year with the Sunday School children. Oddly enough, they held this Christmas pageant during the Sunday School hour...

The Call to RememberChristina Fox2025-12-12T12:00:54+00:00

The Journey of the Magi: A Christmas Reflection

REBEKAH COCHELL | GUEST James Tissot, Journey of the Magi, 1894, Minneapolis Institute of Art. Public Domain. There is a Christmas poem that has haunted me ever since I read it years ago: The Journey of the Magi by T. S. Eliot. It is not your typical cheerful Christmas poem; it has a somber tone, contrasting the Birth of Christ with death. Yet I keep revisiting it, finding truth and beauty—and, ironically, Christmas cheer. If you are unfamiliar with it, you can read it here. A Brief History Between 1927 and 1931, the publisher Faber & Gwyer created Christmas pamphlets called the Ariel Poems. Each pamphlet was a collection of beautifully illustrated Christmas poems meant to be given as Christmas cards. They were collaborations between popular poets, artists, and typographers. Among them, Eliot’s Journey of the Magi (1927) stands out as a strange inclusion. It begins: ‘A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.’...

The Journey of the Magi: A Christmas Reflection Christina Fox2025-11-28T15:31:14+00:00

It’s the Little Things

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR When I had emergency shoulder surgery from an accident while in Yellowstone, I was transported in a two-hour ambulance ride to a small hospital in Jackson. I was blessed with a fine orthopedic team there, very experienced from treating broken bones from all sorts of extreme sports accidents. When it came time to leave the hospital, the man who brought my meals each day presented me with a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread wrapped in cellophane with a note attached that said he hoped this would make my trip home a little sweeter. It was a little thing, but his kindness really lifted my spirits! Opportunities to Bless Others In the Thanksgiving season, we are provided with so many opportunities to practice being thankful by helping others. We give prayers of thanks for God’s grand plan for our redemption, but we also give thanks for His simple daily provisions. As the hands and feet of Jesus, we must be on the lookout for those opportunities where we can make life a little sweeter for someone else. It is the appropriate response for all our blessings. It is easy to overlook these possibilities. A neighbor you know is alone for the holiday. She might be included in yours. Those who must work at the grocery store on the holiday may appreciate a kind word of thanks. Not a day goes by that the mail does not contain a heart-warming request for donations. There are requests for holiday gifts for veterans and their families, meals for the homeless, and shoes for needy children. We might like to help them all, but it is easy to just pass. Paul gave practical advice to believers about living in grateful response to God’s blessings. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). We are called to resemble God the Father and His Son, Jesus, in compassion for others, in humble service, in kindness to all, and with gratitude in our hearts. This includes all our daily actions, great and small. Fruits of our Faith...

It’s the Little ThingsChristina Fox2025-11-05T20:12:23+00:00

When a Holding Pattern is Your Homework Assignment

LAURA PATTERSON | GUEST Three years ago, I found myself in a holding pattern over the city of Nashville. Only minutes after the pilot instructed the cabin and crew to prepare for descent, the plan seemed to change. I realized over the next 30 minutes, with no announcement from the cockpit, that we were not landing after all. Instead, we were circling the Nashville airport in a racetrack pattern, suspended at 30,000 feet. For someone with anxious tendencies, combined with the fact that I was traveling alone, I began to feel unsettled. I focused on deep breathing and tried to distract myself. But I knew something was wrong—why weren’t we landing at our intended destination? Perhaps the experience of a holding pattern feels familiar as you settle into the realities of a new school or ministry year. You bought tickets to an intended destination, packed your bags appropriately, and now that you are in the air, you are confronted with the fact that you are not actually in control. Unknown Flight Path As far as I can recall, every past school and ministry year has brought with it a new or ongoing holding pattern. It’s like a spiritual homework assignment set on repeat. And, as a new year of learning and growing is now underway, I find myself wondering how this journey will go...

When a Holding Pattern is Your Homework AssignmentChristina Fox2025-09-12T11:51:41+00:00

Grief and Lament in Texas: Weeping with Hope

MARISSA BONDURANT | CONTRIBUTOR A cloud of collective grief hovers over Texas. For days after the flood, there was an actual dark cloud over all central Texas as the whole of creation groaned together in the pains of grief and longing (Rom. 8:22). A suppressive force of humidity mixed with shock and stirred with sorrow made it hard to breathe, sleep, or even make basic decisions. Although the headlines focus on the heartache in Texas, I know that this grief is seeping much farther from here. So many of the people who died were visiting from all over the country. Little girls at summer camp. Families camping under majestic cypress trees. Grandparents bunked up with grandchildren to make precious memories over the holiday. And now, thousands of people across the country grieve the loss of loved ones, co-workers, classmates, teammates, neighbors, and friends. Living in San Antonio, the Guadalupe River is considered our backyard play place. Everyone I know is only 1 or 2 degrees away from the devastation. My church alone had three girls at Camp Mystic the day the water rose. A dear friend of ours is on the ground doing recovery work. He’s got a military, warzone, ER doctor background, and he said he’s never seen anything like this. As of the writing this, they expect close to 300 image bearers to eventually be found in the debris. And in this deep, collective grief, we need the Church. We need you....

Grief and Lament in Texas: Weeping with HopeChristina Fox2025-07-11T19:04:12+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