By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I find myself shying away from those whose words contain no flame – people books movies I find myself longing for the power of story, an ageless warmth that drew crowds from their daily lives to the words of the Galilean – to feel
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer This week marks the arrival of spring – the season of rebirth, renewal, and resurrection. Of all the seasons, I believe it is the closest to those remarkable days when God said, “Let there be—” The very first thing the Bible says about God
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I have a black button-pin with white letters that say: “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” The round pin was left anonymously in my campus mailbox when I taught Creative Writing at Pueblo Community College. A reminder that March was Women’s History Month. What a
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I don’t even like donuts, but this enthusiastic eater of the doughy delights makes me want one. Do food commercials affect you that way? What about a billboard with an image of someone chomping into a juicy burger or slurping a double-scoop ice cream
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I remember the day a dump truck backed up my driveway, extended its hydraulic arms, and spilled a stream of crushed rock down the center of the muddy lane—just exactly as I’d ordered. Someone had been carrying off my gravel one chipped rock at a
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Life is full of give and take—sharing. It’s a back-and-forth effort like a swing at the playground. But, as is often the case in the English language, there can be a play on these two words. What, exactly, are we giving and taking? Are
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Chocolate and flowers abound in February because it’s the love month. Romance is in the air, and greeting-card companies, candy manufacturers, and florists attribute much of their sales to Valentine’s Day. I certainly don’t begrudge their success, but I’m not a fan of what
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Eight hundred years ago near Greccio, Italy, St. Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas by assembling a living nativity or creche. He used live animals for a depiction of Christ’s birth, hoping to draw attention to the advent and away from secular materialism of the
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer An advent wreath was not part of our Christmas traditions when I was growing up. We didn’t light advent candles during the holidays or talk about what they meant, so learning about advent as an adult became one more thing on my to-do list.
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 Eleven years ago at one of my earliest book signings, I sat behind a little table near the front of a Colorado Bible/book store, surrounded by everything Duck Dynasty. Talk about a duck out of water – that was me. My book had nothing
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Strength and rest have long seemed like contradictory concepts to me. Rest is sedentary and strength is active, right? Not necessarily. I’m currently reading a novel, Where Trees Touch the Sky, one of Karen Barnett’s National Park Novels. The quiet strength of the West
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I wish I had known my grandmother when she was a young woman with long russet hair and ankle-brushing skirts. I wish I could have seen her dreams, her daily struggles, and heard the defiance in her voice when she said, “I will not
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 Last Monday, the post office was closed for the observance of Columbus Day. I imagine the following day had a line of postal patrons stretched out the door and into the lobby. I have spent many post-Columbus-Day Tuesdays in a post office line. One