By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer With spring on its way into summer next month, I want to ask: Do you have a favorite tree? Aspens are mine, beautiful all through the year, regardless of the season. In winter they stand bare and white against evergreen forests. In spring they …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Not everyone has a living mother to hug, call, or send flowers to on Mother’s Day. And not every mothering woman has a child. Many of those women are aunts, neighbors, sisters, or friends. Like that little lady at church who always knows exactly …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Mothers are good at giving advice. (I see some of you rolling your eyes.) Mom would say, “Don’t roll your eyes, they’ll fall out of your head.” Well, a few Moms would say that. But honestly, some of the best advice I’ve received came …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer This two-word query is one of the most important questions a novelist asks while writing a book. Various answers propel characters into riveting plot twists or brain-throbbing conflicts. But for those seeking to live faith-led lives of obedience in the real world, “What if?” can be …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer In a scene from one of my Western romance novels, the heroine struggles with memories of her Christian mother’s favorite counsel: “All things work together for good.” She struggles because things are not going well. Bad things have happened. A lot of bad things, …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Wind and water have two-sided natures. When used in creative writing, wind whispers as a cooling breeze or roars like a tornado. Water sings in a trickling stream or crashes through canyons as a flood. Winds along Colorado’s Front Range flutter through golden aspen …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Most people in the U.S. are aware of the total solar eclipse occurring in North America on April 8, 2024. NASA Eclipse Explorer website states: “The total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow track stretching from Texas to Maine on April 8, …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I imagine Jesus’ resurrection from the garden tomb was a quiet miracle—aside from the earthquake and fainting guards that Matthew records in his gospel. The other three Gospel writers—Mark, Luke, and John—tell us, like Matthew, that women arrived early at the site to care …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The mob can turn. One day you’re the favorite, the next day you’re not. It happened a couple thousand years ago as Jerusalem was getting ready for a big event called Passover. Everyone was busy preparing, anticipating, and rushing around when a man rode …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer As spring approaches, I’m inclined to envy the vibrant, living metaphors of renewal sprouting in the bulb garden and singing from the trees. Oh for a fresh start, a do-over, new growth. Is it possible? Can we rejuvenate like the flowers and trees in …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer It happened again. I’m sure you noticed when you had to get up earlier. Due to Daylight Saving Time, we “lost” an hour of sleep Saturday night so it could be saved. How are we saving daylight? Where is it being stored? Is there …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer March is Women’s History Month. Several national sponsors have added their support in “commemorating and encouraging the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.” It’s an interesting topic, and more can be learned about it at the Women’s …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A small natural disaster created a major inconvenience here a few years ago. On national radar it was a blip. Locally it was a rockslide. Literally. Seven thousand tons of rock slipped off the mountain and across U.S. Highway 50 like a broken string …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A friend of mine shared plans to participate in a spiritual retreat called Walk to Emmaus. As we visited about the weekend event, I prayed it would be one of personal revelation. Personal revelation is exactly what happened in the gospel account of two …
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “No waiting on checkout aisle number three.” I squeezed the red plastic handle of my shopping cart and held my ground. The frenzy around me resembled the Indy 500 at the drop of a green flag as shoppers rushed to be first in the …