Everywhere I go, people scold me for being stiff. "Avery, stop being so rigid! Let your arms relax. RELAX!!!" During art class in highschool, my teacher would gasp in horror at the death grip I had on my colored pencil, swoop down behind me, and begin kneading my shoulders with all the satisfaction of a … Continue reading Reflections on Worship: Introduction
Faith
Waiting for the Sunrise
This was supposed to be like the DR. I'm in a strange new environment, surrounded by God-fearing mentors, waking up at the crack of dawn, overwhelmed with responsibilities...why am I not experiencing revival as I did in the Dominican Republic? Why am I not marching out of my spiritual wasteland? Exhausted by my disappointed expectations, … Continue reading Waiting for the Sunrise
Vulnerability of a Learner
I cannot count the times my professors have said something to the effect of: "Learning means letting go of something you thought you already knew." That being the case, I am quickly discovering that in order to learn, I must be vulnerable. It's a frightening neccesity, this opening of my mind. I hold my presuppositions … Continue reading Vulnerability of a Learner
Nightfall on the Mountaintop
Night has fallen on the mountaintop. The stars dazzle-gleam tauntingly As I stretch to hold them As I ascend into the heavens And fall back, Cowering in the pregnant gloom, Waiting for the blow Which will send me hurtling Back into the foothills...
Song Draft: Nightfall on the Mountaintop
Enjoy the Daniel Now version of my latest poem.
A Liturgy for the Wronged
The line between venting and gossip Is too fine for my rage-blinded eyes to perceive. The dam which stems the bitter flood Of careless words is cracking.
Ice Cream Edification
Even in my "desert" of a summer, there has been scatterings of refreshment. It seems that the Lord handpicked an assortment of customers, as unbelievable as characters straight out of a Dickens novel, to hammer home truths through humor.
Beauty Under a Bushel
"When it comes to the treatment of heavenly treasures, we ought to make children our models"
Rereading Regret
"Regret is the precursor to redemption."
The Death of a Dream
Learning my limits sooner, it seems, was better.
Reflections from Brightfield 