Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

Where the Ordinary Meets the Sublime

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

The other day, I placed a cat carrier on Facebook Marketplace. Yes, I still have Sunshine, for those who know and love my calico friend, but in my constant minimizing, I found we had two carriers from when we had … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth | 8 Comments

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

And what do you do? Isn’t that the question we all dread at class reunions, dinner parties, really any kind of meet and greet where we’re asked to explain ourselves in terms of work? In honor of Labor Day, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth | 5 Comments

My Captain

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Last week I was on vacation in Bermuda. Yesterday my half-niece set sail at seventeen with an all-girl crew in the Newport to Bermuda Race. Tomorrow is Father’s Day and my heart still bursts with affection for the man I … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Masterpieces

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

I recently reread Mary Karr’s Liar’s Club, and a few nights ago, finished Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood. Both are memoirs. Both are masterpieces, yet so different in so many ways. Karr’s story is set in the stuffocating heat of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Week After Mother’s Day, How Are You Doing?

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Just being real here. Much is made of motherhood in Christian culture. Greeting card companies make a fortune on this holiday. But what if becoming a mother was far from a Hallmark experience? What if being a mother feels like … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Hosanna to a God too Big to Fit on a Shelf

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

I went to church my entire childhood, but coming of age during the Woodstock Generation, I drifted farther and farther away from God. Looking back, no matter how far away I got, God was drawing me closer to his plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash memoir, Spiritual Growth | 1 Comment

Straining at the Oars

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Everyone I’ve talked to this week is stressed to their breaking point. Problems at work, problems at home, problems with health both mental and physical. With the war in Ukraine, a global pandemic, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, high gas prices—and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Writing Process | 2 Comments

Armageddon

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

The growing war in Ukraine has made me much more aware of the freedom, comfort, and family I enjoy. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s threatened or gone. Such was the case when I was in fourth … Continue reading →

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Lessons from Ukraine

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Like the whole world, I’m transfixed by the David and Goliath conflict in Ukraine and how it has illustrated truth I know, but need to trust as if my life depended on it, as if I were fighting my own … Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Growth | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Before and After Pix with Jesus

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Ann C. Averill

Don’t we all love before and after shots. My favorite version of before and after are home renovation shows on HGTV. It’s what I binge watch in bad weather while I use the treadmill. And, I confess, sometimes I fast … Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments