By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer With the change of the calendar comes the almost irresistible urge to change other things in our lives. Not light bulbs, sheets, or towels, but things like habits, reactions, and goals. I’ll not use the phrase New Year’s resolution due to my experience as
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer May every good and perfect gift be yours this Christmas. How can that be possible, you say, when hearts are breaking and things are such a mess? Because God is good and perfect, and His gifts reflect His character. He does not change. So
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The parent of a young child told me last week that this year’s Christmas-tree decorating experience was the best ever. Why? Because the parent discovered that the tree didn’t have to be perfect. At least not in anyone’s eyes but the child’s. Ornaments were left where the youngster
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Mother used to say, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” Not that we were sailors. We were not. We were farmers. But farmers get to see those red skies hemming the horizon because they’re up early in the
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The young Jewish woman we think of each Christmas must have been an equestrian of the highest order, riding full-term over rough ground on a donkey. Twenty miles a day for more than seventy miles she and her fiancé traveled so they could be
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I am often asked what advice I have for aspiring writers. My answer is always the same. “Don’t quit.” However, sometimes I say, “Never give up.” And often I elaborate: “Keep writing.” Sound boringly repetitive? I’m afraid so. But it is the kind of
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 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 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.
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When asked what advice I have for aspiring writers, I say, “Don’t quit.” Sometimes I say, “Never give up.” And often I add, “Keep writing.” I know; my advice is boringly repetitive. However, that’s the kind of stick-to-it-iveness required for most worthwhile endeavors. It’s
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer You’ve probably watched a parent hold their child close and pour in their love. Eye to eye. Face to face. Maybe you’ve even done it yourself. Holding a little one close to our face is often symbolic of how we hold them close to