Chen Chronicles

God is Good All the Time.... and ALL the time He is Good Never STOP running the race..... NEVER stop learning!  To say that the last few months have been easy would make me a liar, but I have held on knowing God would heal me, move mountains so that Katie can attend a school, whether online or in person, that fits her special needs (and He has answered every prayer). Since there has been so much sickness with me because of surgeries I had, I pray that I can stay well so that Aaron's stress goes down and we have a peaceful and happy time when his mom comes to visit for Christmas.  I came across something I wrote in January this year when life was tough. I thought I would share it in case anyone else can use these words of wisdom about their marriages.  Choose to understand that love isn't always a feeling. Many days love will be a choice. It's a choice to press through and learn to enjoy the fragile blend of both the bliss and disappointment of two people sustaining a fami...

I was inspired to write this because of our church's MOPS chapter.  This month's theme was "Courage to Tell Your Story," and falls under this year's theme, "Be You, Bravely."  Thank you for inspiring me to share this testimony.  I did not see God’s purpose in all the suffering until over a decade later, in the cold, dark abyss of Eastern Russia.   Twelve years ago, I was a tiny, energetic, beautiful 22-year old with stars in my eyes.   I was an on-air personality for a national radio conglomerate and was going to be the NEXT Katie Couric.   I had the world by a string….until one fateful day when a host of medical problems stopped me in my tracks.   Three kidney stones, a horribly traumatic infection and a blood clot left me a miniscule of my former self. I was broken. What I did not know then is that God had greater plans for my life than even I could envision. In the book of Jeremiah, it is written,"For I know the plans I have for ...

My mother-in-law's favorite saying which is plastered all over her walls is: Live, Laugh, Love. A friend of mine (who I will not name) struggles with some health issues seemingly similar to my own, but she prefers not to "give them power by speaking about them." That is a hard practice to implement. Think--I can't be anxious as I wait to find out WHAT is plaguing my 33-year-old body. I have signs of an autoimmune disease and this takes a LONG time to figure out--sometimes years. I have a sarcastic humor and it feels like I am living out an episode of Mystery Diagnosis. For the last 10 years, I have struggled with times when I feel worried about how I feel, but I do not want to become SO focused over the next few months and forget others and my family until they figure out this enigmatic event. Things that don't seemingly fit together completely are related. My brain tells me to breathe, sleep, eat, etc. so it's all concomitant. I write for therapeuti...