By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The words caught me. I hadn’t expected them, but there they were. Following my Bible-reading plan for the day, I had turned to the first chapter of Malachi in the New Living Translation. Verse 2 jumped off the page: “I have always loved you.” …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer How many of us today prepare meals? I can think of a few people who go all out when it comes to cooking and inviting, or putting on a big spread, as farm/ranch families might say. But we have busy lives, right? Times have …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer As a novelist, my life often intersects with my fictional characters—or theirs with mine. A challenge they face may be one with which I’ve wrestled. A discovery they make could mirror one of my own. This was the case with my recent novella, Just …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Have you ever felt like you’ve lost it all? Have you ever really lost it all? Following a recent surprise that completed a trilogy of painful events, a familiar scripture came to me with fresh perspective. God remains the strength of my heart; He …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer One of my favorite promises in the Bible is found in Isaiah 40:31 where new or renewed strength is assured for those who wait on the Lord. “They shall soar high on wings like eagles,” says the New Living Translation. I’ve written quite a …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last week I shared my life verse – Psalm 16:8 – and how it encourages me in the New Year as well as in every new endeavor. Recently I discovered what I consider to be a companion verse. As is often the case when …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer New beginnings. Technically, that’s a redundant phrase – like tuna fish. If something is a beginning, then it’s new. And if it’s new, then it’s the beginning of something different. However, our ears seem to like the sound of “new beginnings.” It rings with …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Shadows of the Season My baby’s hands so fine so perfectly formed hiding crease and fold within their tiny grasp as though from years of bending. What shadow do I see across his palm as he lies gently sleeping? My baby’s face so pure …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Repetitive action at keyboards has cost me a couple of wrist surgeries. Occupational hazard, some would say. Worth it, I would say. The piano came alive to me in kindergarten, a typewriter in high school. Dancing my fingers over a keyboard in emotive expression …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Welcome! This week I’m part of a multi-author Christmas scavenger hunt and I’d love it if you’d join us in the fun. At each author’s blog, you will find a question that can be answered by checking out the free preview for their book …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I’m a Christmas-carol fan. The music takes me back to my childhood and all those candlelight Christmas Eve services we attended. From there I went on to high school choir and church choir and – okay, I admit it – I know all the …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I have a time machine in my home. When I run my fingers over the smooth wooden doors, I’m transported to the turn of the century. Not this century, but 1900. It’s a primitive piece, one of three hutches that belonged to my grandmother. …
In her new Christmas novella, Sara’s Surprise, part of the historical Thousand Islands series, author Susan G. Mathis looks at a modern issue that is not at all modern. It’s been around for a long time. Abused by your Boss? By Susan G. Mathis A Canadian survey …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When I taught sixth-grade world history, I grew accustomed to adolescent boys who dreamed of becoming soldiers and warriors like the ancient kings they studied. Later, when I taught English composition at the college, several of my students were young marines who bore unseen …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer What was that hanging from my bird feeder – a bat? I looked again. Sparrows swarmed the feeder and the ground beneath it, scrabbling for seeds and corn in the snow. The dangling creature flapped its wings and tried to upright itself. A bird. …