By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Merriam-Webster: prepare verb pre·pare | \ pri-ˈper \ prepared; preparing Definition of prepare 1a: to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity – prepare food for dinner b: to put in a proper state of mind is prepared to listen 2: to work out the details of: plan in advance preparing a campaign strategy 3a: to put
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer My farmer father taught me how to drive by starting me out on a tractor when I was about 10. His instructions included the following: Stand up on the brake if you can’t push it down. Stop at intersections even if no cars are
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Rarely have I seen a true silver lining on a cloud, but often I have heard that every cloud has one. John Milton is said to have coined the phrase in 1634. It has become a cliché encouragement to those in trying situations that
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last month I visited the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. After my initial amazement at how large the replica Ark was (built according to biblical dimensions), I was humbled by the lengths to which God would go to save His people and creation. The
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer More than a century ago, the Civil War uprooted dreams, decimated families, and divided the nation. Those who survived were determined to remember the price paid by decorating the graves of their fallen loved ones with flowers and flags on Decoration Day. Gradually, the
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Thank you for joining me for this “Takeaway” series with input from all four authors in the upcoming contemporary romance collection from Barbour Publishing, Always a Wedding Planner. We have heard from Toni Shiloh, RL Ashly, and Leeann Betts. Today I share what I hope readers
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Thank you for joining me for week three in our “Takeaway” series by authors of the soon-to-release Always a Wedding Planner. So far, we have heard from Toni Shiloh and RL Ashley. Today, author Leeann Betts joins us to share what she hopes will
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Thank you for joining me in week 2 of our Takeaway series from the authors of Always a Wedding Planner. Last week we heard from Toni Shiloh, author of the first story in the collection, “Finally a Sweetheart.” This week’s takeaway thoughts are shared
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last year an author friend approached me about writing part of a contemporary romance collection for Barbour Publishing. She and her two partners needed a fourth author. Would I join them? Yes! Always a Wedding Planner is a behind the scenes look into the
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Years ago when my rodeo-clown/bullfighter husband and I followed the circuit, we spent most of our summers on the road getting from one rodeo to the next. Headed north through Colorado one day on our way to Montana, we listened to the recording of
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Have you ever stood at the edge of the sea or a large lake and listened to waves lap against the shore? Or cradled yourself in a gently rocking boat, relaxing as you drifted with the breeze? How about making your way to shore
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A couple thousand years ago in Jerusalem, a man named Thomas got the short end of the experiential stick. Or did he? As one of the twelve closest friends of Jesus, he spent three years hanging out with God-as-man. He saw miracles. He saw
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The mob can turn. A big event was coming to town and everyone was busy preparing, anticipating, hurrying. The Jews called it Passover. Early in the week, on a dirt-and-stone street, a crowd hailed an itinerant teacher as a king entering the gates of
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Daylight Saving Time started today. At 2 a.m., to be exact. Were you awake? Me neither. I remember once asking my mother about Daylight Wasting Time. Of course she thought it was cute. But my elementary-school brain figured the opposite of saving had to
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Reading one morning from a different version of the Bible, I was caught by new wording of a familiar verse: You are my refuge and my shield. Your word is my source of hope. Psalm 119:114 In my childhood, I had learned the first