Some movies stay with you forever. Schindler’s List is one of those movies for me. And the emotional pull did not stop when the closing credits ran. The movie ended with the various actors, paired with their real-life counterparts, filing past Oskar Schindler’s actual...
Israel and the Phoenix
Watching the news this week reminded me of the phoenix. Ancient Greek literature contains references to a phoenix, a beautiful bird that would live for hundreds of years, die in flames, and rise from its own ashes to live anew. Later references can be found in Dante’s...
Study Proves Moms Work Harder
For all you moms who are convinced you work harder and longer than most other people, it’s finally been confirmed. You actually do. A survey sponsored by Welch’s noted that mothers work an average of 14 hours a day for a 98-hour work week. The survey included 2,000...
God Wink
Ever have God wink at you? You’re going along through your routine day, and something unusual or special happens. Others might call it a coincidence, but the sense of joy you receive tells you it wasn’t merely a convergence of random circumstances. Rather, it’s a...
How to Respond to Suffering
Suffering is hard. So we work just as hard—if not harder—to avoid it. We don’t want to talk about it. And we run away from it. We devise detours that often end up causing even more complications. Of course, no one wants to suffer. It’s even more difficult when we have...
Forgiveness : What Are We Really Forgiving?
What’s one of the most common reasons we give for not forgiving others? If you’re like many people, you might have answered that our forgiveness implies approval or tolerance of the behavior. We read about it, talk about it, and teach it. Yet for most of us, forgiving...
Aging Gracefully . . . and Biblically
Is it possible to age gracefully? What does that even mean? Been thinking recently about aging. It may have something to do with the fact that I’ve reached another milestone birthday. In a culture that worships youth, I wonder how long it will be before I become a...
Easter Sunday is Coming!
The clichés abound. Life is a process. Life is a journey. Life is a highway. Life is each of these and more. But as we move through the processes, in our journeys, and on the highways, what are we doing during these times? Especially during the times of waiting? Or...
Seasons of Life, Jumping to Conclusions, and Worry
When we relocated from the northeast to Florida, one of the things we missed most was the change of seasons. Native Floridians quickly advised us that instead of winter, spring, summer, and fall, our seasons are snowbird, love bug, summer, and hurricane. While the...
Two Deaths and a Movie
Billy Graham died 2 weeks ago. Stephen Hawking died today. And this week, I Can Only Imagine releases in movie theaters. What do these three events have in common? Billy Graham was a well-known evangelist who spent his life sharing the gospel. His message was that God...
Receive Ava’s weekly blog
posts & occasional
newsletters in your inbox!
You May Also Like
Christians and National Cookie Month
Christians and National Cookie Month Did you know October is National Cookie Month? Not that I need an excuse...
Feelings, Rights, Preferences, and Honor
Feelings, Rights, Preferences, and Honor “Honor” is not a concept often mentioned in our culture these days. I...
Tearing Down Walls in Difficult Relationships
Tearing Down Walls in Difficult Relationships Have you seen this meme on social media? “Life is too short to...


