Author Ava Pennington
Author Ava Pennington

Answered Prayer vs. Expectations

It’s really difficult to pray without having expectations. Lots of expectations. I should know—we recently came through months of prayer for healing for my husband’s cancer. Those expectations create a disconnect when God’s answer does not match our prayer. Even when...

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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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Separate or Salty?

Come out and be separate. No. Go out and be salty. Which is it? Are we to be separate or salty? As our society continues to distance itself from its Judeo-Christian roots, Christians find themselves more and more detached from the mainstream by our values. The march...

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Unpleasant Choices

I’m watching toxic liquid drip into my husband’s IV as I write these words. Later this week, he’ll experience a needle in his eye. He didn’t easily agree to either activity. That brings me to choices.   Some are fun. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate? Tennis or...

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Who are You? What is Your Purpose?

Today I contemplate my purpose. What defines me? In our culture, after we learn a new person’s name, the next question is almost always related to what they do. Other times we’re defined, not by what we do, but by what happens to us. Rape victim. Cancer survivor. I am...

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My Personal Hope for 2017

A new year, a new word. In 2015, my “one word” for the year was release—a word I didn’t like, but did need. These posts explain my choice and my experience in applying my one word. The following year, my word was joy…a word that seemed to be the opposite of release,...

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The Danger of a Post-truth Perspective

Every year, Oxford Dictionaries chooses a word of the year. A word that, in their estimation, exerted significant influence on our language. A word that attracted much interest or encapsulates a significant change in our culture. For 2016, the Oxford Dictionaries Word...

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A Different View

In the past two months, I’ve been aware of several eye problems occurring among my friends. One friend had cataract surgery in both eyes. Another’s son experienced scratched corneas in both eyes. Although his eyes are now healed, at the time the doctor considered the...

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