Christina Fox, Author at Women.pcacdm.org

How Knowing God as Father Fights Fear

AMY SANTARELLI |GUEST When I was a little girl, I stood at the top of the stairs at my house. It wasn’t a huge staircase, maybe 5-6 steps high. My dad stood at the bottom, holding out his hands, and told me to jump. He was a strong dad. He promised he would catch me. I leaned forward, arms outstretched, but I wouldn’t jump. I was afraid. I doubted that he would catch me like he promised. He finally gave up and sadly walked away. God as Our Father God is our heavenly father and in His Word He describes Himself as a father and His love as like that of a mother. In the New Testament, the familiar term “Daddy” or “Papa” is even used. These parental words are used over 250 times in the Bible. Here are a few examples: Isaiah 66:13: “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.…” Isaiah 49: 15: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Ps 103:13: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”...

How Knowing God as Father Fights FearChristina Fox2026-10-25T18:36:29+00:00

The Hope of the Gospel to Women

KAREN HODGE | CONTRIBUTOR Encourage- [en-kur-ij] to inspire with courage, hope, or confidence. “But encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “today” (Heb. 3:13 NIV). Happy Birthday to the enCourage Blog! We give God all the glory for ten years of inspiring courage, hope, and confidence to thousands of women. He has used editor Christiana Fox’s ability and creativity to curate this vast storehouse of encouragement. While many other platforms share ideologies, cultural commentary, or political views, our blog has one purpose: to encourage! To bring the hope of the gospel to the hearts of women. Courage and Companionship In Women’s Ministry, we have the opportunity to walk in front of or alongside women as we walk each other Home. The fear of the unknown, failure, rejection, or suffering can threaten to paralyze us. Borrowing others' courage when it is in short supply emboldens us to persevere. To encourage means to impart courage or implant heart into someone....

The Hope of the Gospel to WomenChristina Fox2026-10-25T18:22:42+00:00

When We Face a Relational Conflict

MORGAN FIKKERT|GUEST There it was: the email. And, with it, the anxiety. A lady from my Bible study group wrote to me that my response to her sharing her personal story had bothered her. The added twist was that her daughter was one of my closest friends. In my frustration and anxiety, I experienced two quick instincts: either shoot back a defensive email, or call my friend to vent to her about her mother. Other times, the tables have turned on me. Once, a lady told her friend about a decision I’d made that she disagreed with (although, she’d seemed happy with the decision when we had talked). Her friend then came to me, upset on her behalf. It left me with the question: why didn’t she talk to me about it herself? It should be simple, but we all know how hard it is to talk directly to the person we should be talking to. When a situation goes sideways, the anxiety can feel like water bubbling up in a boiling hot pot—it needs somewhere to go, and fast....

When We Face a Relational ConflictChristina Fox2026-10-18T18:19:42+00:00

Biblical Wisdom on When to Say Yes

BETHANY BELUE | CONTRIBUTOR It wasn’t long after I moved to New York City that I was commuting home from a day at the Redeemer offices and happened to be in the same subway car with one of our assistant pastors. I don’t know how the conversation began, but I remember both of us making comments about how busy our lives felt. I was a recent college graduate, single, and navigating life with a full-time job in a big city. He was a pastor, husband, and father of young children. Both of us felt overwhelmed but for very different reasons. I do not remember much of that conversation except for a simple statement he made that has remained with me for many years: “Sometimes we have to say no to a good thing to say yes to a better thing. Every time we say yes to something, we are saying no to something else.” He probably wasn’t thinking he was making a revolutionary statement to me, but to a young girl figuring out time, boundaries, and life out of college, the statement changed much of my perspective. The Pull of How We Spend Our Time When we step back and think about the big picture of our lives, God’s Word makes it clear that each of us has a set number of days. The Lord knows these days before one of them comes to be (Ps. 139:16), and He has directly told us to wisely use our days that He has given us (Eph. 5:15-17)....

Biblical Wisdom on When to Say YesChristina Fox2026-10-18T18:12:18+00:00

Fear You Are Not My Friend

TARA GIBBS | CONTRIBUTOR “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” says Proverbs 9:10. But when we think about the power of fear in our daily lives, that is rarely the fear that drives us. What makes you feel afraid? So often we don’t even recognize the root of fear which bears the fruit of not loving others as we are called to love. Am I bragging because I fear insignificance? Am I accumulating things because I fear lack? Am I running others down because I fear not being worthy? Am I a bad apologizer because I fear being wrong? Do I fear those who are different because they may threaten my security? Fear of the “other” in our country has risen astronomically in the last decade. Johns Hopkins did a survey in 2024[1] that showed more than half of each political party thought the opposing party was “downright evil.” In the 1990s, only about 20 percent of people held “very unfavorable” opinions of the opposing party. Fear is certainly affecting our world...

Fear You Are Not My FriendChristina Fox2026-10-12T17:15:01+00:00

Women’s Ministry: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

MOLLY THOMAS|GUEST What a gift that CDM Women’s Ministry has been to me, our church’s women’s ministry, our presbytery, and our denomination. CDM (Committee on Discipleship Ministries) stands by its mission of connecting people to people and people to resources, and the trellis it has built to connect women is bearing abundant fruit across the nation and around the world. I grew up in the PCA but had never heard of CDM or the work they do. I first stumbled upon CDM the day that I had agreed to serve as the volunteer Women’s Ministry Director at our church. I knew I had stumbled upon a treasure trove of resources, but I hadn’t yet discovered the people. Registration had ended for Leadership Training 2024, but in God’s providence, He had a spot for me on the wait list. The theme that year was “A Covenantal Framework for Life and Ministry,” and for the first time in my life, I received a full overview of Covenant Theology and what it meant for me as a redeemed woman. Not only that, but God used the many speakers and facilitators there to show me that to be a Helper is a calling and a command, and that I had work to do in the Church!!...

Women’s Ministry: The Gift that Keeps on GivingChristina Fox2026-10-12T17:07:09+00:00

A Testimony of Spiritual Mothering

STEPHANIE FORMENTI | CONTRIBUTOR I was a young mom to three children under the age of 5. We had recently navigated an international move far from my family and friends and absolutely everything was new. I couldn’t speak the language, I couldn’t drive, we didn’t have a backyard, and the food was really different. I was struggling. In my struggle, my husband and I committed to praying and asking the Lord to bring an English-speaking friend into my life. In His kindness, about two months later, a woman from the UK moved to our Brazilian city with her family and we met at church. Mary (name changed) was a little farther along in life and ministry than I was, loved Jesus, and had a warm and welcoming presence. So, when she suggested we meet up for coffee, I jumped at the chance. Over time, we started meeting regularly and those get-togethers became a lifeline for me. Speaking English was a welcome retreat after navigating daily life in Portuguese. Having an hour to sit in a cafe was a sweet respite from the busyness of caring for three young children. And this newfound mentor was fun and insightful. But more than anything else, these regular meetings became an important part of the growth and sanctification the Lord was already doing in this season of challenge because of my friend’s willingness to do three important things:...

A Testimony of Spiritual MotheringChristina Fox2026-10-05T19:42:08+00:00

Making Room: Raising Up Bible Study Leaders in the Local Church

KIM BARNES | CONTRIBUTOR I was a freshman in college, newly involved in campus ministry, when I fell in love with Bible study. Each week, I gathered with a small group of fellow students to study God’s Word with the help of an older student. None of us—including our leader—were Bible scholars. We were simply college students who loved Jesus and wanted to know Him more. At the end of that first year, I attended a student leader training conference. For the remaining three years of college, I co-led small-group Bible studies and discovered the joy of crafting questions that helped our group uncover truths in a passage of Scripture. I graduated from college nearly forty years ago, and for most of the decades since, I have led Bible studies, usually with small groups of women in my local church. I was not a Bible scholar in college, and I am still not one today. Most of what I know about Scripture has come not from formal academic training, but from decades of ordinary Bible study alongside ordinary saints. I don’t lead as a scholarly expert, but as a fellow learner. And you can lead that way, too....

Making Room: Raising Up Bible Study Leaders in the Local ChurchChristina Fox2026-10-06T14:37:20+00:00

A Warm Welcome

ELIZABETH STEELE|GUEST It was a cold and blustery January morning when my Marine-Corps-fighter-pilot-husband flew off for a seven-month deployment to the Western Pacific. We had been married for only three months as I gave him a tearful kiss goodbye and drove back home as a weepy mess. I wondered what in the world I would do to keep myself busy until he came back home in July. I had a part-time job working at a makeup counter working three days a week and was glad for something to do. But the truth is, I really longed for a meaningful way to serve the Lord and wondered what that was going to look like now that he was gone. I had left my work in Tennessee as a director of a residence hall and women's coordinator for Campus Crusade in order to marry Joe and was happy to do so. But I did love those jobs; I got to be around lovely college-aged women all day, teaching Bible studies, mentoring them in one-on-ones, and hosting folks in my little apartment on a nearly daily basis. Of course, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, but there was a lot of joy in it for me. It filled my cup to serve them as I served the Lord. But now what?...

A Warm WelcomeChristina Fox2026-09-30T19:27:58+00:00

Forming Better Questions for Decision Making

HEIDI MOSHER | GUEST Choices. Options. Paths. Each stage of life presents something momentous to consider—“what’s next” questions that demand decisions. This college or that? Should I date him? Marry him? How about a baby? How about another? Daycare? How will we educate these kids? College or career? Which college? Is it time to switch jobs? Time for new surroundings—if so, where? Should Mom be living alone? How should I best use my time in this new stage of life? Sometimes we must decide what’s next. What advice should we follow? Sometimes a child or a friend seeks our input on a decision. What advice should we offer? As Christian women, we turn to the Lord with our “what’s next” questions, acknowledge him (Prov. 3:5–6), ask for wisdom (James 1:5), and pray for peace (Phil. 4:6–7). We can even ask for doors to open or close (Col. 4:3) and trust the outcome (Prov. 16:9). And we search Scripture for guidance. We may not find the specifics we seek however. No Bible verse will reveal the exact college to attend or the name of the city to move to. Yet, the Bible lights our paths (Ps. 119:105)....

Forming Better Questions for Decision MakingChristina Fox2026-09-29T19:29:52+00:00

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