Emily Christ

Christian, wife, mom. Interested in weather and agriculture, thoughts are my own.

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

I took this picture on April 5, 2015, the last time my birthday fell on Easter. It was not a great day for me. I fought back tears at church, and not in the overwhelmed-by God's-great-mercy way. Little did I know at the time, my year was going to take much worse turns. But I was newly pregnant with my second child, and though very sick and feeling pretty sorry for myself that Easter morning, I knew I was blessed with this new life and a Savior who loves me. I took this photo because it was a reminder of new life and bread of life, and the light of the world.

Later that year, I would lose my husband while 7 months pregnant. He died in September. My daughter was born in November. A lot of people wonder, and have asked me, how does one keep her faith through those dark days. I always wondered, how could I have made it through without it?

I was angry and scared and so, so thankful I had met Jesus before that moment. I met Him while reading one of those 90s teen study bibles with neon graphics, in my childhood bedroom. In my sad, grey adult bedroom, I woke up panicking in the night, but He was always with me.

I prayed Jeremiah 29:11 to calm myself down: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.'" I prayed it even though I didn't really believe it at the time.

It's not that Jesus solved all my problems in this fallen world or fixed my immediate pain right up. But I was in it with Him and with His promises. And he put the kind of brother in my life who would move in with me to help raise the kids for six months. He put parents in my life who showed up every weekend. He put a neighbor in my life who mowed my lawn every week and another who was a SEAL wife and understood grief like few do, and a best friend who could work out my paperwork (death is so much paperwork) when I couldn't.

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world," C.S. Lewis writes in "The Problem of Pain." I learned a lot while I was being shouted at.

I think about Jeremiah 29:11 and 11 years ago today. I think about how my little girl who was not yet born then baked my birthday cake today. I think about how she has three siblings now and the most amazing dad— I remarried in 2020 and he adopted the girls. He took all four of our kids to the store to pick out something for my birthday and then let them each choose a walkout song on the karaoke machine as he gave them a Bruce Buffer announcement call when they came down the stairs to present them to me.

I think about how they've gained grandparents and cousins and love and faith. (Our first holiday with Steve's family was Easter, and I took it as a good sign.) I pray they've watched our lives and gained trust in their Lord.

I think about how my patience was tested by them several times today, as the patience of a parent always is, and how infinite my Father in heaven's patience for me must be. I think about how much I love each of them, and how much my heart grew when each was born just to fit it all in, and how much greater still is my Father's love for me. I think about how much I have to learn and how my faith is still not as mature as it should be at this point (occasionally illustrated on this app).

Today in the car, my kids requested "No Fear" by @jonreddick , "Your Way's Better," by @forestfrank , and "Jesus Is Alive, It's a Happy Day" ��� that one came with sign language by the 3- and 4-year-old, which I recommend for making your heart soar on a Sunday. They listen to secular music, too, but those are their favorites.

One time, reading the Christmas story with my kids, I read "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people," and my eldest (about 5 at the time) said, "Mom, the angel always says that!"

She's right, the angel always says that! It is so hard not to be afraid, but we have a Good Shepherd. Our lives were touched by death, but He has conquered it.

My kids like new worship songs, but I love the classics, and today as on every Easter, I sang "Blessed Assurance," because Jesus is mine. And in the darkest times, He is new life and bread of life, and the light of the world. I am remembering to rejoice in that every day.

[Ben Sasse @BenSasse]

#NotDeadYet https://t.co/epoKP4HbPz

[Emily Christ @ehchrist]

"Death is terrible, but death doesn't win."

[Hoover Institution @HooverInst]

In December 2025, former US Senator @BenSasse announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. That's the primary topic for this @UncKnowledge conversation about mortality, faith, and what truly matters when time is short.

Talking to host @P_M_Robinson, Sasse reflects on "redeeming the time"—holding ambition lightly, loving family more deliberately, and resisting the urge to make politics or professional success the center of life.

The discussion also covers Sasse's thoughts on the failures of Congress; the dangers of a fragmented, attention-starved republic; the crisis of higher education; and the moral challenges of technological abundance.

He speaks candidly and movingly about regret, forgiveness, prayer, and suffering—arguing that while death is a real enemy, it does not get the final word. Watch the full conversation on X:

[Ambassador Mike Huckabee @GovMikeHuckabee]

Today marks 50 yrs exactly when @janethuckabee & I faced an unexpected challenge. After getting married in May of 1974, I was in my final yr of college and Janet left college to work full-time with the plan for her to finish once I did. We couldn’t afford to both go at same time. In Spring of 1975, less than a year into our marriage, she started experiencing back trouble originally thought to be connected to her work as a dental assistant bending over patients. Months of various meds, therapies & doctors pointed to a disc problem. When it didn’t get better, an orthopedic surgeon recommended surgery to repair what he called a “textbook case” of a slipped disc. The surgery was scheduled for mid-September. The day before, a myelogram was performed to determine the exact location for the “textbook case” of the disc. I was retrieved from the general waiting room at the Little Rock Hospital and taken to a small private room. That is NEVER good news. Good news gets delivered in the big room; bad news is shared in the small private room. The doctor came and his face was as white as his lab coat. He told me that Janet wouldn’t be having the surgery because she didn’t have a disc problem. His “textbook case” was not accurate. He told us she had a tumor in the canal of her spine that was blocking her spinal cord. He couldn’t operate on it but had called a neurosurgeon to come and talk to us that night. That evening, Dr. Thomas Fletcher came to our room. He was kind, gentle, and honest. He saw 2 kids both barely 20 years old & married for barely a year. He spoke with candor but with genuine compassion. He assessed that the tumor was malignant and because it was in the canal of the spine, was likely inoperable. That meant terminal. He would try to make her as comfortable as possible but there might not be a medical option. The only alternative was to do surgery to see if the tumor could be reached, but attempting to remove it would most likely involve severing her spinal cord which would leave her permanently paraplegic. That was the best outcome we could hope for and that was a long shot. Hardly good options. We thought we had our whole lives in front of us. Now we were faced with the likelihood that there was little future for US ahead.
It was 50 yrs ago today, Sept 29, 1975 that Dr. Fletcher performed the surgery. When I saw him walk down the hall toward me, it was several hours before I expected him. I feared the worst. He told me that when he got the spinal canal open, he was able to remove the tumor but he wasn’t sure if she would have any movement or feeling from her lumbar area down. But she survived the surgery and we had to wait to see if she would be able to move legs, and toes. Hours passed as I watched and hoped to see sign of movement. It was evening when a small movement of her toes gave a glimmer of hope.
People from everywhere let us know they were praying. And they truly were. Dr. Fletcher ordered 6 weeks of intense radiation therapy to eradicate any remnants of the cancer. He and the radiologists did say to us that the radiation would render her unable to have children due to the almost certain damage to her ovaries. The dream of having children was erased, but she was at least alive. She would have to slowly learn to walk again building bits of strength over the coming weeks and months. Everyday for 6 weeks, I would drive the 150 miles round trip from our little $40 a month duplex apartment to Little Rock for 6 minutes on the radiation table. I made a bed in the backseat of the car where she would ride as she couldn’t sit. We would leave at 5am each day and return in time for me to get her in the hospital bed set up in our 2 room apartment and for me to go to class in what was my final semester of college. I was working 40 hours a week, caring for her, and taking enough classes to finish my degree by December. People we didn’t even know from everywhere sent us cards with $5 or $10 to help pay medical expenses that mounted way beyond our capacity. We had made the decision to take out medical insurance when we married, thinking we would not need it.
The following year, in November of 1976, we had our firstborn, a son. We lost our next child, but in July of 1980, our 2nd son was born. And in August of 1982, our daughter joined the family to remind us that God had indeed blessed us with 3 miracle children we were not supposed to have.
50 years later, all those children are grown. We now have 7 grandchildren that too are a part of the miracle of God’s grace. Life during all of the years has been a mixture of peaks and valleys. We’ve seen depths of poverty in our lives to a level of prosperity we never imagined possible. We’ve taken large risks. Some failed, but others succeeded beyond our dreams.
September 29 is just another day for most people. But for us, it’s a HOLY day. A day we remember that God heard the prayers of many. He didn’t answer with a sudden miracle or with blinding lights and a dramatic moment. But step by step, moment by moment, He intervened and built a road for us to travel. We believed Him then. We believed His Word. All these years later, we believe even more. And we believe His Word even more than ever. It’s not something we merely “think.” We have lived it. I will always remember what the great Bible teacher Ron Dunn said, “That when you hit bottom, you at least find out it’s solid at the bottom.” And he said, “It’s one thing to say ‘God is all you need; but when God is all you’ve got is when you find out that He truly IS all you need.’”
I don’t have a clue about the future, but because of having lived the past, I am certain that whatever challenges come, God is still good…all the time!

[Billy Graham @BillyGraham]

“My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us and that as we trust in Him we will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us,” Billy Graham said from the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., just days after the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Hear his message to a shocked and hurting nation—just as relevant and powerful today—and his emphasis on the hope of Jesus Christ and our need for each other, even in the darkest moments:
https://t.co/HUt50Qg5DL

[Liz Cheney @Liz_Cheney]

Watch - Latvians sing Ukrainian National Anthem in front of Russian Embassy in Riga.

[Tennessee Valley Authority @TVAnews]

It's going to get cold! 🥶
We have all of our available generating resources to meet the power demand, including our three nuclear plants.
Reactor Operators at the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant monitor the production of 2,400 MW of reliable electricity.
#ReliabilityMatters

[Georgia Tech @GeorgiaTech]

At 4:07 am, GT student Richard Xiong captured this stunning image of an almost total lunar eclipse at the precise moment the moon sat at the top of Tech Tower. He calculated the moon’s exact position to capture this image — and the chance to repeat it may take hundreds of years.

[Judith Curry @curryja]

Gates gets it
https://t.co/WaX6u7hYTL

[Emily Christ @ehchrist]

@JDVance1 https://t.co/4iHZdbdvXL

[Emily Christ @ehchrist]

An encouraging speech in the aftermath of yesterday...
Sasse: America Can't Do Big Things If We Hate Our Neighbors https://t.co/GePWuggSXK via @YouTube

[Georgia Tech @GeorgiaTech]

Georgia Tech alum Thomas Carter took a photo at a 1918 football game during a flu pandemic.

More than 100 years later, his great-grandson Andy McNeil is back in those same seats, taking the same photo.
Masks helped reduce the spread of the virus then, and they're helping now!

[Georgia Tech EAS @GeorgiaTechEAS]

Jackson Sims is EAS Undergraduate Student of the Month for September 2020. Congratulations Jackson!
To learn more about Jackson: https://t.co/8YmLMfxOAk

[Georgia Tech EAS @GeorgiaTechEAS]

Amy Weng is EAS Undergraduate Student of the Month for May 2020. Congratulations Amy!
To learn more about Amy: https://t.co/8YmLMfPpYU

[Georgia Tech EAS @GeorgiaTechEAS]

Congratulations to Dorien Minor and Laurel Freeman, National WxChallenge weather forecasting competition winners!
https://t.co/MBr612sSJ1

[Emily Christ @ehchrist]

Great article

[John Kasich @JohnKasich]

The #coronavirus made me doubt my faith, until I realized it was there all along.

Please take a moment to read my latest column in @USAToday - @usatodayopinion

https://t.co/uKNdGo48b9

[Christianity Today @CTmagazine]

"I wondered, Lord, how in the world can you consider my troubles 'light and momentary'? I will never walk or run again. I’ve got a leaky leg bag. I smell like urine. My back aches. I’m trapped in front of this window" https://t.co/rkhdHcMuUl

[NWS Atlanta @NWSAtlanta]

Latest from the 04 AM NHC Update: #HurricaneMichael is a Category 1 #hurricane and will continue to strengthen to a major hurricane on Tuesday. Impacts to Georgia, including damaging winds, heavy rain, and brief, isolated tornadoes, are possible on Wednesday and Thursday. #gawx

[NWS Atlanta @NWSAtlanta]

Here is a look at the peak wind and rainfall total forecasts for #Michael over our area. Keep in mind that, due to uncertainties in the track of the storm, these forecasts could be subject to change. Please continue to monitor for the latest forecast information. #gawx

[NWS Atlanta @NWSAtlanta]

#Michael has been upgraded to a Category 1 #hurricane as of the 11 AM EDT update from NHC. Impacts to Georgia, including damaging winds, heavy rain, and brief, isolated tornadoes, are increasingly likely on Wednesday and Thursday. #gawx