trust

Let God Cook

SUSAN TYNER | CONTRIBUTOR My husband Lee and I do not fight a lot, but when we do, it’s usually over something small. During our first year of marriage, our fights started in the kitchen. He had a way of cleaning knives because he worked in a restaurant growing up. Since I grew up cooking (and washing a lot of dishes), I didn’t really think that advice applied to me. When he insisted his way of knife handling was better than mine, I took it personally. Two hours later, we were making up after a huge fight. Turns out, the fight was not about the knife, but control. Before you think this is a “how to” marriage blog, hear my next kitchen story. For context, this is after thirty-six years in the kitchen. We have learned we have different approaches to meal prep. I tend to go fast and “eyeball” measurements while Lee’s perfectly chopped onion would make any sous chef jealous. Recently, I was cooking a recipe for the umpteenth time while Lee and our youngest daughter, Rebecca, were hanging around the kitchen island. Lee kept on asking questions about what I was doing to the point of triggering another Iron Chef battle episode. Although that was not his intent, it was slowing me down and I could feel my heart wanting to grab control of my kitchen. Before that could happen, Rebecca says in her twenty-something slang, Dad, let Mom cook!...

Let God CookChristina Fox2026-05-23T16:48:29+00:00

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

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

Sowing in Tears

GINNY VROBLESKY|GUEST He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. Psalm 126: 6 (NIV) I remember sitting at my computer quietly weeping. I had been unemployed for quite a while. Job hunting has always been one of the hardest things in my life. I felt as though I did not fit anywhere. I had prayed, asking God for help, when suddenly, the phone rang. It was someone I had never met calling from a different state. He was involved in campus ministry and was planning to use some work that I had done years before. I was amazed and touched that God had him call just when I needed some encouragement. But the best was yet to come. He also sent me an email which included some verses from Psalm 126. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. Sowing while Weeping At first, I thought those verses applied to persevering when life seemed to be hard. Send out those resumes and keep knocking on doors. But as I have studied this psalm, I have realized that much more is involved. The song is about people who have returned from exile to the longed-for land of promise. In the beginning, they could not believe what had happened: We were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter. They saw what the Lord had done for them. They were where God had led them. Even though I was looking for a new job, I too was where God had led me...

Sowing in TearsChristina Fox2025-10-24T17:22:34+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

Encouragement for Moms During Graduation Season

STEPHANIE FORMENTI | CONTRIBUTOR Graduation invitations. Yearbooks. Senior photos. Open houses. All signs point to graduation season—a busy and joyful time. And while motherhood is an emotional endeavor all the time, for many moms, graduation ceremonies feel like a sacred threshold where the intensity of pride and joy walk hand in hand with letting go and releasing control. In the time it takes for your student to walk across the stage, a barrage of emotions rush in: joy, relief, pride, nostalgia, and a whole new set of worries, fears, and anxieties. As a mom, you’ve watched your child grow, struggle, stretch, succeed, fail, and begin to learn responsibility. You’ve prayed over, cheered for, cried with, rejoiced with, and, at times, worried for your son or daughter. And now, the next chapter of life awaits. How can you walk faithfully through graduation season? Philippians 1:3-11 provides a beautiful guide for all you are experiencing. Much like our desire as parents, Paul writes to his spiritual children to encourage them in their faith and toward maturity and perseverance. This passage presents a helpful movement for us as moms: Give thanks. Entrust. Keep praying. Give Thanks Philippians 1:3: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…” Throughout Scripture, God regularly invited His people to pause and remember. Sometimes it involved a sacrifice, a song, or a small tower of stones. These physical elements were meant to invite reflection on and recollection of the faithfulness, power, love, and mercy of God. The invitation to remember is an invitation to reorient our hearts toward what we know to be true about God and to let those truths change us from the inside out. Remembering is a powerful first step toward gratitude and trust...

Encouragement for Moms During Graduation SeasonChristina Fox2025-05-05T18:43:27+00:00

Taking our Stress to the Lord

MEGAN JUNG|GUEST Take breaks…Be present…You can’t be all things to all people. Meet others where they are. Eliminate hurry. Don’t delay. Know your limits. Start exercising. Strength, not cardio. Stress makes you sick. Drink more water. Strive for connection. Make time for yourself. Get enough sleep to prevent “X.” Wake up early to do “X.” Good enough is good enough. Do your best. Take media breaks. Stay up to date. Say “no.” Do more. How did you feel as you read that list? I don’t know about you, but I felt stressed! A Stress-filled World The world invites us into its fear and its solutions to that fear constantly. We live in a particularly tense and defensive time. Fried nervous systems and dialed up threat responses crowd our communities, near and far. Well-meaning tips about stress management often invite more stress with additional tasks to incorporate into our packed lives. And if we’re honest, unhelpful messages about stress are not exclusively external. Most of us could single-handedly fill a small pond (or larger) with our own internal narratives, to-do lists, and strategies. We don’t need help from outside sources to react to stress with stress. It’s in us. Stress is a product of brokenness, many parts of it will remain until Jesus returns, and we all have it in common. And we all want relief, peace, and help. It's National Stress Awareness month, and I want to encourage you, not with psychoeducation about causes and symptoms of stress (which are beneficial!), but with what we can do with the reality of stress. Like our brother Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we have thorns in our flesh...

Taking our Stress to the LordChristina Fox2025-03-26T14:20:02+00:00

Trading Striving for Rest in Motherhood

GRACE THWEATT|GUEST Six months after my second child was born, both kids were sleeping through the night. I, however, wasn’t. My body exhausted; I’d lay my head on my pillow only to find my thoughts racing: I haven’t spent enough quality time with my oldest since the baby came. I wonder if he feels neglected. Goodness, I wish I hadn’t yelled at him when he disobeyed earlier. I really need to work on having more patience. I’d begin to drift off to a restless sleep, only to have a stressful dream wake me and leave me with an urgent sense that a child needed me or that I had forgotten to do something important. I would check the time, and my heart would drop with despair at the glaring number, 3am. I needed sleep to have energy to face the next day! My worrisome thoughts continued: Should I reset my alarm to get a little more sleep and just skip having an early-morning quiet-time? But I’m already feeling distant and lacking in my relationship with God… Anxiety and striving had grown to characterize my life, and they were eating away at me. I imagine I’m not alone in this. As moms, it seems we often strive in response to the anxiety we feel about our parenting. We worry: Are we teaching our kids the right things about God? Should we be memorizing more Scripture with them? Are we praying with them enough? And discipline… are we doing it right? Are we really helping facilitate heart change? We move through our days trying to do it all and do it all right. Our striving often comes from a good place: we desire to be good moms and godly individuals. But our striving ultimately leaves us feeling burned out and in bondage to our finite strength and capabilities...

Trading Striving for Rest in MotherhoodChristina Fox2025-01-20T19:13:31+00:00

Parenting is Hard

LISA UPDIKE | GUEST Parenting is hard. I mean really hard. I know. Of course, parenting is rewarding, wonderful, and awe inspiring. I’m not denying any of that. In parenting, we experience a depth of love that we never knew we could fathom. In parenting, we catch a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s great love for us. In parenting, we begin to understand just a wee bit of why Jesus laid down his life for us, his beloved children. Still. Parenting is hard. Some days more than others. I’m right, and you know it. It’s important on those difficult days to remember that hard isn’t bad; it’s just hard. In fact, hard might even be good. It’s funny. We think if God calls us to do something then He will make the path clear, straight, navigable. Somehow, we actually believe that if God calls us to something, and we obey, then it should be easy. But somehow life just doesn’t work that way, does it? You see, God calls us to the hard. Jesus promised that we would have tribulation in this world (John 16:33). Paul even said that Christians rejoice in their sufferings! (Rom. 5:3) And sometimes, parenting is definitely full of both tribulation and suffering. I wonder if, when God told Eve there would be pain in childbearing (Gen. 3:16) if He meant the whole experience of raising children would increase in pain. We parents are so vulnerable. After all, we love these children of ours and want to protect them from all the difficult things that can happen: rejection, failure, sickness, disability, temptation…on and on the list goes. When our children suffer, we suffer. But our job isn’t to protect them from suffering, is it? After all, God loves us far more than we love our children, and He actually brings suffering to us for our good. Our job is to point our children to Jesus in the midst of it all...

Parenting is HardChristina Fox2025-01-18T15:06:55+00:00