Author Ava Pennington
Author Ava Pennington

The Bad News Proves the Good News

I’m weary. Worn out. Battle-fatigued by the relentless drumbeat of bad news. Alt-right. Alt-left. Murder. Racism. ISIS. I’m reminded of the 60s musical, Stop the World—I Want to Get Off. Problem is, it doesn’t stop….and I can’t get off. The headlines keep coming. The...

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Prisoner of Hope

What makes one person a prisoner of hope, while another is mired in hopelessness? My “one word” for 2017 is hope, so I’m especially attuned to this word this year. And the subject came up again during a recent lunch with a friend. She asked me how to become a...

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Life’s Traffic Lights

Today is the 103rd anniversary of the first electric traffic system installed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914. Four sets of red and green lights told drivers when to stop and go. The Cleveland Automobile Club praised the system, saying they expected that it was “destined...

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Bible Study is Not Enough

The title of this post is probably not what you might expect from a Bible teacher. Bible study is important. No, it’s more than important, it’s critical. But studying the Bible for the purpose of quoting it or making memes or posters with Bible verses isn’t enough....

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What is Your Worldview?

Is Christian your default status? To put it another way, do you identify as a “Christian” simply because other options such as Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist don’t apply? There’s a significant difference between self-identifying as a Christian—even if you attend...

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The Prayer of Jabez and Me

Do you remember hearing about the prayer of Jabez? When Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Prayer of Jabez, was published 17 years ago, it took the Christian community by storm. Quickly propelled to the bestseller lists, it encouraged Christians to daily pray the prayer of...

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Broken or Brokenness?

  I’m a broken person. I’m also someone who desires to live in a state of brokenness. Broken or brokenness? They may sound the same, but the difference in my life is huge. During a recent lunch with a friend, she mentioned a book she was reading on brokenness....

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What is Salvation?

Ever feel as if God is trying to tell you something? I confess, I can be dense. But when I read or hear the same thing repeated in a short time, that’s usually an alert that God is trying to get my attention. This time, the subject is salvation. What is salvation?...

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Coupons, Chocolate Milk, and Gullible People

The last time I logged onto Facebook, several connections joyfully shared a wonderful discovery: a $75.00 Safeway coupon toward a minimum purchase of $80. Who wouldn’t be excited to find a coupon like that? Fraud. Hoax. False. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a...

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