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...

Marriage is an art form like no other. It often requires much sculpting, shaping and sometimes completely erasing the images from the past and starting anew in the same relationship. Our late pastor who married us, used to say, "One Life, One Wife." Sometimes you just want to quit and leave and this is the devil at work in your heart. We must guard our hearts daily  against this. When someone does something wrong to us, we are called to forgive them immediately, whether they ask for it or not. This is no easy feat; I am the first one to admit that. But this is forgiveness.  In a Tenth Avenue North Christian song entitled, "Remade," the artists sing: "You are more than the choices that you've made, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, You are more than the problems you create, You've been remade. Cause' it's not about what you've done, But what's been done for you. This is not about where you'v...

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...

As many already know, I am a Southerner at heart, born and raised in Alabama and married to a man from Louisiana. We met on e-Harmony. Yes, online dating works and we are a testament to the value of this as we have been married seven years and together for eight. As I pondered how to address this particular topic today, on the "love" holiday of the year, I thought it best to approach this from a Christian viewpoint as it best aligns with my beliefs.  In our monthly MOPs meeting this month, they assembled a panel of men and these men answered pre-selected questions meant to "tame the mystery of man." It was nice to hear one of them say that his wife was NOT submissive and it was possible to have a good marriage and good life with someone who wasn't. I agree with that statement somewhat, and I even mentioned it the other night to my husband after I came home. He reminded me gently that this isn't the way God intended our marriages to be and that bei...