Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

Easter in an Eggshell, a Very Short Testimony

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Ann C. Averill

On a cold day in December my adoption became official. My birth certificate stated I was the daughter of my adoptive parents, as if my illegitimate birth and nine months in foster care had never taken place. I had a … Continue reading →

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The Jabberwocky and Spiritual Warfare

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Ann C. Averill

Once words leave our mouths or our pens, they are no longer ours. They belong to the listener or the reader and are subject to their interpretation no matter the speaker or the writer’s intent. And in this mysterious process … Continue reading →

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Connecting the Dots

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Ann C. Averill

Some people pick a word for the year, a word they believe God has in some way given them as a guidepost, a word that somehow defines what God’s hope and joy is for them in the next chunk of … Continue reading →

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Do You Live in a Shack?

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Ann C. Averill

A few nights after New Year’s, I watched the movie version of the novel, The Shack by William Paul Young. I read it years ago while it was a bestseller and frankly wasn’t impressed, but then maybe I wasn’t ready … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Spiritual Growth | 1 Comment

Memoir as a Process of Forgiveness

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Almost ten years ago, a friend helped me set up a blog after I’d published my first book, Teacher Dropout about discovering God’s grace while I worked in a poverty school. He explained, a blog is like the lady at … Continue reading →

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Nothing Gold Can Stay–Except Jesus

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

As a child, how I loved October, the chill on my cheeks and the early dark that foretold the coming of Halloween, that hallowed eve when I could become anyone I wanted. And, by merely pressing a doorbell, I received … Continue reading →

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Prove-it Prayers

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

When I was almost a believer, I started praying prove-it prayers to see if God was real. Could he see me? Could he hear me? Did he care about my circumstances? And did he have the power to intervene? I … Continue reading →

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I Never Wanted to be a Teacher

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

This is a guest post I wrote for another blog called The Soft Never. It’s about the weird way God guides us to our destinies despite our fears and failures. Maybe even because of them. “My thoughts are nothing like … Continue reading →

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Baila Bien

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

While I was an ELL (English Language Learners) teacher, I signed up for a summer Spanish immersion program in Mexico sponsored by my school district. Not all my students spoke Spanish, but the point of my two-week field trip, which … Continue reading →

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Angel of Mercy

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

This is the season when children go back to school with all its challenges, academic and social. And I’m reminded of someone I’ll remember forever for her kindness. Someone who sheltered me when I was small and vulnerable. But this … Continue reading →

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