Dear Martha Mercy, Mama fell in love with naming you Martha first. I was resistant for the longest time, but eventually God settled it in my heart when I saw your ultrasound and heard your heartbeat. While we didn’t find out that you were a girl until you were born, God used that moment to give me peace in naming you Martha. Since then...

Concerns Wednesday is my day in the office, so that's where I was when Lauren called me yesterday and told me that we needed to take Ruth to Iowa City. That hit me like a punch in the gut. We thought Ruth might have an infection at the site of her G-tube surgery. Our concerns started on Monday when we noticed she was starting to develo...

When elections roll around, they seem to set our minds on all that may or may not change with their outcomes. As they should. There's much at stake. But whether your candidates win or lose their elections, what changes in your Christian calling if you're a follower of Jesus Christ? Absolutely nothing. I’ve included a few examples from ...

It's only been a few days, but there's much to say. The short of it is that God brought Ruth Truth safely through surgery, and we made it home Saturday evening, November 2nd (despite the Hawkeye football game happening that night). Sniffles and Answered Prayer Ruth's surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning, October 31st, so we drove...

In my last update, I said that I was moving all future updates to this platform. If you're reading this, well done. You found me. Also, thanks for your patience. I said that I would aim to write one update for Ruth each week, but so far I’m quite off target. On Writing It’s not that I don’t want to write. Really, one of my main desires...

Without Like Bilbo returning from the Lonely Mountain, or like Odysseus from Troy, or Marlin from Sydney, we have returned home after a long time away. It’s a strange thing to be gone for so long and then return to find that everything is different yet the same. We left in summer and we’ve returned in fall. We missed the gradual change...

Waves and Storms Trials are often described in oceanic terms. They are waves and breakers that wash over us. I’m sure this resonates with our coast-dwelling friends, but what about us—the people of the plains? As our family has gone through a month of weathering these trials, I’ve come to think of them as dark clouds. There they are, l...

There’s a saying that says, “Laughter is the best medicine.” And it’s commonly accepted that this saying originated from Psalm 17:22: “ A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” I’m not one to argue with God’s Word, let alone add to it, but lately, as I’ve sat in the hospital day after day, I’ve thought...

Today brought about a new battery of tests and consults for our Ruth Truth. And as I was praying over it last night, I realized that we really have no idea what to expect. But we want to expect a miracle. We’ve prepared ourselves for bad news, but we’re praying for the best news. We know that with a word, our Lord Jesus can heal our li...

On August 9th, our daughter, Ruth Truth, was born. Everything went smoothly. Confidently, naively, we thought, We’ve got this. We know what we’re doing. But by Ruth’s sixth day of life, we were in the ER with her. This was followed soon after with admittance to the NICU at MercyOne in Waterloo. Over the course of our first few days in ...

Author's Note: This letter was originally written before the birth of our first child, Martha Mercy, in November of 2021. Now, as we eagerly await the birth of our second here in August, I wanted to revisit this and publish it here. Sweet and gracious Lauren, Here we are, on the eve of parenthood—the cusp of a grand adventure! This adv...

The superscription at the beginning of Psalm 63 says, "A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah." As I reflected on this, I was reminded that God's people are no strangers to the wilderness. And while the wilderness appears barren, there are lessons here to be harvested. We would do well to keep this in mind as we face ...

At the beginning of Paul's first letter to Timothy, after greeting his child of the faith, warning against false teachers, and summarizing the purpose of the law, he shares his testimony in four verses: 1 Timothy 1:12-16 “[12] I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to ...

Proverbs 25 is chock-full of examples of what self-control does and doesn't look like. As the last verse in this chapter, Proverbs 25:28 gives the final word on the topic: Proverbs 25:28 “ A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” With this verse in mind, I want to walk through three questions: 1. W...

Author's Note: The original version of this was written in August 2022 as part of "The Year of the Lion", a collection of 52 devotionals meditating on the names of Christ written by members of Cedar Heights Baptist Church. I recently revisited it as I studied the final judgment. Rev. 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my reco...

In the panorama of earth-shaking events in Revelation, there are several moments that shine out amid all the rest. One of these moments is when Heaven is opened and our Lord and Savior is revealed in battle-ready glory (Rev. 19:11-16). See Him: the rider on a white horse. He whose eyes are like fire and from whose mouth comes a sharp s...

“You said it was a windstorm?” The old fisherman lowered the knot he was trying to undo with his teeth and spit the muck of it on the beach. “I’ve sailed this sea since I was a child. Never seen the like of what hit us that day.” The fisherman’s companion looked up while his fingers continued to dance around his net, “Why don’t you tel...

Author's Note: The original version of this was written in October 2021. I've revisited and rewritten this into two posts as I've reflected on serving others. This is the second. Weapons of Life is the first. To further explore the thought that God's weapons give life to those who love Him, I'm adding another idea for a weapon in the a...

Author's Note: The original version of this was written in October 2021. I've revisited and rewritten this into two posts as I've reflected on serving others. This is the first. The War Hammer of Blessing is the second. When I taught Sunday school to the 5th & 6th graders, one of the tasks I gave them was to create their own weapon or ...

Author's Note: This was originally written as an article for a five-part series on spiritual disciplines for Cedar Heights Kids. When you think of spiritual disciplines, what do you think of? Does service make the list? Service is often a spiritual discipline we overlook. In serving, we give of ourselves to benefit and bless others, an...

Author's Note: This was originally written as a training for our greeter ministry at Cedar Heights Baptist Church. In past trainings, we focused on logistics, tools, tips, and tricks, but this year God led us to make His Word the foundation of our ministry. What follows has been lightly edited to fit this format. Psalm 84 shows us what...

Author's Note: This post inaugurates what I intend to be a series where I wonder at the truth of a single verse (in context). If there is one verse that I've clung to like a drowning man clings to a lifebuoy, it would be Psalm 16:11: “ [11] You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right ...

Hi there! If you're reading this, that means you're either subscribed to my blog or you found your way to world.hey.com/avery. Either way, thanks for reading! With this post, I wanted to share an update about the blog. Ugh. Blog. I feel so pretentious to even say that I have one. But let me clarify a few things: 1. Word-working is my c...

In the summer of 2017, Lauren and I visited Northern Ireland with my mom (and in a few short days we will make our return, God willing). We were blessed to stay with my mom’s best friend, Susan, and her husband, Steve. Steve has a thick Irish accent, so much so that even though he was speaking English, I needed Susan to interpret what ...

Last year, one of my spiritual growth goals was to cultivate a vibrant prayer life. But as my year of prayer progressed, I realized that I underestimated all that prayer is and overestimated how much progress I could make. Prayer is a spiritual discipline that doesn't just need a year to refine—it needs an entire lifetime. Prayer is a ...

I want to ascribe to the LORD as a scribe to the LORD. In my last entry, I explained what I meant by: I want to ascribe to the LORD. If that was all I said, if my statement ended there, that would be enough. Right? After all, isn't that the most important part? In this entry I'm going to explain why successfully fulfilling: "I want to ...

Since I was a boy, I’ve aspired to be a writer. That aspiration has waxed and waned in different seasons, but I’ve always returned to it. In recent years, that aspiration seems to have turned into a calling. God has pressed upon me that writing is not the only thing I am to do, but it’s definitely a thing I am supposed to do. But befor...