Christina Fox, Author at Women.pcacdm.org

The Wind Blows Where It Will

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR On our most recent road trip we spent a couple of days at the Grand Canyon. It had been years since we were last there, but we were still amazed at the wonder of God’s creation while viewing the deep canyons and rock formations carved by the Colorado River. Because school was not yet out, we were able to drive through the park at our leisure to take in the beauty of the landscape. At one particular spot, we were in awe at how the wind moved across the canyon. Far in the distance we could hear the winds picking up somewhere to our left. Then a minute or two later, the wind would rustle the trees right in front of us before moving further to our right. For a moment we could feel the wind, and just as fast as it came, it would leave us, only to start again somewhere to the left side of the canyon. My husband commented that this reminded him of the description of the Holy Spirit in John. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). This is an interesting verse. “The wind blows where it wishes,” reminds us of the mystery and sovereignty of the Spirit’s work. To be born of the Spirit means we are entirely in His hands regarding our regeneration. If God has elected us to salvation, the Holy Spirit assures that sinners’ hearts are opened to Christ. God will get all the glory because he has the right to choose whom He will save. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Ex. 33:19)...

The Wind Blows Where It WillChristina Fox2025-07-21T17:41:22+00:00

Discipling Children in Suffering

AMY SANTARELLI |GUEST When my children were young, my husband and I worked hard to prepare them for life. We taught them skills they needed such as tying their shoes, doing laundry, driving, and choosing a career. We also taught them Bible stories, character lessons, and how to obey. But how to suffer? Mostly, we tried to help them avoid it. Now I am a biblical counselor who sits with people who are enduring a wide range of suffering. Seeing their struggles, I find myself looking back at this aspect of our child rearing and wishing I could have a parenting do-over. In our efforts to raise our children well and prepare them for life, we missed something important—purposefully preparing them for a world where the Bible says we will have trouble (John 16:33; James 1:2; I Pet. 4:12–13). How do we equip our children to biblically respond to life’s troubles, so they do not flounder, or worse, run away from God to false comforts? When trouble hits, practice lament and submission to God with your children....

Discipling Children in SufferingChristina Fox2025-07-11T15:04:24+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

Growth by the Strength of God

JULIANNE ATKINSON |GUEST “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). I used to go fishing with my grandparents in the lagoons and ocean near their house in Savannah. We would choose bait specific to the fish that we wanted to catch. I’d squirm as I put the raw shrimp on the hook. What I really preferred was to squeeze the squishy, glittery plastic worms that caught the light of the sun like a fish’s scales. Whatever bait we used looked just like what the fish preferred to eat, smelled like what smelled good to them, and moved as they expected. Yet inside the bait is a terrible and deadly hook. Sin can act in a similar way. It’s like a shiny bait that catches our eye and makes us think we’ll be fulfilled and satisfied. Nestled inside the glittery facade is a sharp barb that leads to deep pain. The longer we live, the more we can see the devastation that sin wreaks in our lives. As the Puritan theologian John Owen soberly puts it in his book, The Mortification of Sin, we need to “be killing sin or it will be killing you.”[1] The more we let it get a hold of us, the deeper the hook embeds itself. We find it increasingly hard to remove. And we reap serious consequences. As believers, we know these things about sin and its effect in our lives, but what do we do about it?...

Growth by the Strength of GodChristina Fox2025-07-04T19:16:36+00:00

True Freedom in Christ

BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR As Americans we’re rather fond of freedom. Every July our communities are clothed in red, white, and blue, and fireworks pierce the sky in jubilant displays of national pride and celebration. “Give me liberty or give me death!” was the rallying cry at the birth of our nation and we repeat it again whenever we feel our freedom slipping away. At best our freedoms are enjoyed together with the mutual responsibilities that make living in community possible and pleasant. At worst, they descend into demands for unfettered individuality—the freedom to do whatever I want without restriction—when our personal Declaration of Independence is reduced to “Don’t tell me what to do!” As Christians however, we are blessed with a different kind of freedom, a freedom that goes spirit-deep and lasts eternally. Our freedom is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. But what exactly is the nature of this freedom? What are we free from, and, conversely, what are we free to? The answers lie in the very name and title of our great Savior: the Lord Jesus. His earthly parents named Him Jesus because He would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21), and His title is Lord, because we owe Him our loving obedience (John 14:15; Eph. 1:20–22). Give Me Liberty and Give Me Death There is no true liberty apart from God. He is our Creator and we live in the world that He made. The freedom enjoyed by our first parents was a limited freedom, as creatures before their Creator, and depended upon their perfect obedience to him...

True Freedom in ChristChristina Fox2025-07-10T16:54:24+00:00

Colossians 3 and Lessons Learned from My Wedding Day

BETHANY BELUE | CONTRIBUTOR It was a beautiful fall day when my husband and I stood in front of a sanctuary, with family and friends gathered around, and entered into a covenant of marriage. As our nerves jittered and our hearts pounded, our pastor pointed out words from four verses that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae. Almost nine years later, these words continue to remain in my heart and have overflowed into my marriage and family. Colossians 3:12-15: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 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. Our pastor encouraged us with four truths from this passage as we entered into this binding covenant. Love as you have been loved, forgive as you have been forgiven, encourage as you have been encouraged, and serve as you have been served. Love, forgive, encourage, and serve. These are words I’ve always wanted to offer in my relationships, but the Lord has specifically used the way they were taught from this passage to show me more of my need for Jesus and how it is only through Him that we can offer these things to others. Love as you have been loved It’s hard to love others. Over the last nine years of marriage, I’ve realized how much I really don’t have what it takes to love another person without the help of Jesus...

Colossians 3 and Lessons Learned from My Wedding DayChristina Fox2025-07-04T19:05:42+00:00

Wasteful Thinking

SUSAN BENNETT|GUEST We have been hearing a lot lately about cutting wasteful spending from our nation’s budget to reduce the debt burden on taxpayers. But waste isn’t easy to trim—whether it’s extra pounds, finances, or even our thinking. Wait, what? Wasteful thinking? Who said anything about that? Yet, a person’s wasteful thinking can be just as burdensome as out-of-control spending or eating. The problems that arise when we neglect our thought life are huge—and sadly, some have eternal consequences. Paul tells us in Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Here, Paul speaks of those whose hearts were untouched by God’s Spirit, still walking in darkness rather than light. But even those of us called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light are called to strive in our salvation. One of the most common battles in this struggle is wasteful thinking. As a biblical counselor, I’ve seen how real this is. Wasteful thinking can lead to discouragement, discontentment, divisiveness, and despair. Sometimes it becomes so deeply entrenched that it feels like the person has no control over their thoughts. This burden weighs heavily—not just on them, but on those who love them....

Wasteful ThinkingChristina Fox2025-06-30T17:03:30+00:00

Idolatry of Authority and the Supremacy of Christ

KC JONES|GUEST [4] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. [5] For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. [6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. [8] See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, [10] and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (Colossians 2:4-10) It should not surprise us on this side of the Garden that the forbidden tree from which Adam and Eve took and ate the fruit was known as “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:17). Knowledge has always been prized and coveted by mankind because of the inherent belief in all of us that it contains power. And, like Adam and Eve, we crave such power because we believe we can and should be in control of our own lives and perhaps over everything else in the universe. A People Deceived Paul warns the church at Colossae of this temptation. He writes, “See that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to Christ. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (Col. 2:8-10). This deception is of the same nature as that which the serpent used to lure and entice both the first man and woman to twist the words of their master and disobey His command. First, the serpent planted a seed of doubt by simply asking a question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). The woman replies by correcting the serpent, yet she adds her own variation as well, “’We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die’” (vs. 2b-3) Eve’s alteration suggests that even before the rest of the story unfolds, she believes God’s rule is up for personal interpretation. She inserts herself as a figure of authority, adapting and using language to meet her own desires....

Idolatry of Authority and the Supremacy of ChristChristina Fox2025-07-09T18:27:16+00:00

Road Trips

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR I love road trips. Recently we were traveling in a remote area where we saw a road sign that read simply “Rough Road Ahead.” It wasn’t long before I felt the impact of a road that was in such poor condition that I knew we were in for a long, bumpy ride. I slowed down sensing that I could easily get caught in the potholed surface. We bottomed out a couple of times. I slowed down even more, dodging divots, sometimes slipping, and praying for smoother surfaces ahead as I tried to maintain control. Road Signs for Life Wouldn’t it be helpful if we had road signs for life that signaled when we were in danger, and needed to prepare for a bumpy ride? In fact, such instructions for life are recorded in Proverbs 4. Here Solomon, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, provides instructions for his son to obtain wisdom, which will guard him for life. In a later passage we learn that “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Prov. 9:10). True wisdom comes from a reverential view of God’s authority and greatness. We respond to learning about God and His ways by living in accordance with His commands. It all comes down to choices. You can choose the path that serves God, or the path of the wicked. Wisdom is the principal treasure to be acquired. With it, “When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run you will not stumble” (Prov. 4:12). Solomon uses an ‘Attention’ sign to signal us to listen to his words, meditate upon them, and hide them in our hearts. “Be attentive to my words, incline your ear to my sayings” (Prov. 4:20). This prepares us for a life seeking a godly path rather than our own path. Solomon’s words are “life to those who find them and healing to all their flesh” (Prov. 4:22)....

Road TripsChristina Fox2025-06-21T19:28:20+00:00

The Stewardship of Suffering

AMY SHORE | GUEST Winter crept into my heart early this past year. Weariness gave way to selfish wallowing and introspection as I reflected on hard realities during the holiday season. December 31st, I found myself unable to breathe. A beautiful sand dollar, a Christmas gift from a friend, lay shattered on the kitchen floor. I fell to my knees in despair alongside this visual representation of my current brokenness. January 1st, a morning filled with missed calls and urgent messages: my dad had suffered a heart attack and was undergoing surgery. Then came January 21st when I faced the devastating reality of his death. I couldn’t catch my breath. The Learning Journey “Learning to live in the reality of His presence is the essence of our prayers and our pilgrimage.”[1] For the past year and a half, well before my father passed, I’ve been chewing on that quote from Susan Hunt around the journey to know God better amidst fear and frailty. I long to live more fully in that reality. You may have heard the saying, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” My pride wants this to be true because it means I can pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I’ve tried. My bootstraps snapped....

The Stewardship of SufferingChristina Fox2025-06-21T19:25:35+00:00

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