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.
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.
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A child’s perspective can open our eyes to things we’ve long forgotten about as adults. Like the vintage carnival-prize horse that belonged to my husband’s mother. Her great-granddaughter discovered that prize several months ago and let me know that she placed high value upon
It’s not uncommon for people to find spiritual insight through the behavior of their pets or other animals. I’ve experienced plenty of times when my eyes were opened by my old dog, Blue, or one of our other critters, including my husband’s clown mule, Ike. I’ve even
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Years ago when I dreamed of being an author, I wrote to a husband-and-wife team of authors who impressed me with their creativity and love for the Lord. They wrote back. Not only was I surprised, I was blessed and encouraged. Today I am
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer People often equate passion with sexual desire. However, passion is an interesting word with several shades of meaning. Merriam-Webster’s online definition reads: 1 often capitalized a : the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death b : an oratorio based
Last week, I harvested my giant sunflower and gave it to a friend who raises chickens. The flower had grown beyond the point pictured above, and the edge turned back, opening the face for the seeds to fall or be easily plucked by birds (and chickens). After
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Today is officially the first day of autumn, and I want to whet your appetite for turkey – or whatever you’ll enjoy a couple of months from now on Thanksgiving – though if I had to wrestle the guy pictured above for a drumstick,
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “Fuel up,” “pack up,” “load up.” These were oft-repeated phrases when our family rodeoed. With “up” attached to so many words, we must have lived a glass-is-half-full kind of life. Either that, or we had a roundup mentality. When Mike said, “Load up,” our