By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer If you tuned in Sunday afternoon for the NFL playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, toward the end of the game you saw a perfect example of the difference between POWER and AUTHORITY. After a Bronco missed catching
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I’ve always liked the story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman in Sychar, because it shows how important individuals are to Him. He’d stopped to rest by a well in the middle of a hot, dry day on his way north, and
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Mothers have a way of knowing what their children are capable of. Mary did. At that wedding dinner – you know, the one everybody attended – the host ran out of wine. Not cool. How do you toast the happy couple without wine
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer My front door wasn’t doing its job. At first, I couldn’t get it open without a crow bar (slight exaggeration). A few weeks later, it wouldn’t lock. (No exaggeration.) I jammed a chair under the doorknob at night as an extra precaution. One
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A couple thousand years ago, an innocent Jewish girl had expectations for her future—just like all her friends. She’d met a nice guy, an honorable Jewish man who had plans. In fact, those plans were set in motion. Promises were made. Today we
@davalynnspencer Author Paula Moldenhauer is my guest today, sharing about the “Christmas miracle” release of her devotional book, Soul Scents: Awaken, the first in a four-part series. Her book is free today on Amazon for Kindle and would make a lovely Christmas gift for someone looking to
by Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer We have St. Francis of Assisi to thank for our modern Christmas imagery. Nearly 800 years ago near Greccio, Francis staged a living nativity scene to draw attention to the birth of Christ and away from the secular materialism of the day. He
Remember when Christmas was simple? You were probably a kid. Music. Pine trees. Frosted sugar cookies. Adults tend to complicate things. Parties. Pre-lit trees. Maxed-out credit cards. Sometimes in our attempt to simplify, we say no to all things Christmas. We go overboard and throw the baby
This week, author Amy Blake shares an encouraging observation about God’s choice in people. I trust you will see her words as a beacon of hope for us all. Weakness Levi Prince, the main character in my new release, The Trojan Horse Traitor, isn’t anything special, at
It’s usually the little things in life that make a big impression, change our direction, or impact us the most. This Thanksgiving, don’t forget those little things. Consider them to be as important as salt and pepper on the dinner table, cinnamon in the pumpkin pie, and
Strength and rest – contradictory concepts. Rest is sedentary. Strength is active, right? Not necessarily. Ever hear the cliché, “quiet strength”? Maybe there’s more to it than meets the English-teacher’s eye. I found an unlikely connection in the story of Moses. He begged God to go with
Something about this time of year makes me want to cook more. Is it the cooling weather? The shorter days? The anticipation of approaching feasts? I’m sure all these things play into it, and I find myself tearing recipes from magazines in search of a new twist
When I was a child, my parents drove around town on wintry Christmastime nights so we could ooh and aah at decorated houses glowing with lights and roof-top displays. How I loved the fantasy lands that appeared, twinkling through the foggy dark. When I had children of
Let me introduce you to Oakley, the hinder half of Annie and Oakley, my two teen-aged tabby mousers. Litter mates and identical in appearance, I can tell them apart only by their attitudes. On that point, they are as different as salt and pepper. Especially when it
I was off the path the other day, pulling weeds from the edge of my driveway where no one ever walks. At the time, I thought nothing of my attire, but since then I will be careful to dress appropriately for off-the-path work. For there in the