Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Are we there yet? Have you ever heard that question roll out from the back seat of your car during a family vacation? Or have you asked it yourself in the middle of a long and tedious road trip? It’s just so hard to be patient when the
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last month, a tree in our young orchard was snapped off accidentally about six inches above ground level. Distressing, to say the least, and costly as well. It had to be replaced. My husband dug up the stump and tossed it aside to make room
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer People often ask how much of myself I put into my books. The question is straightforward, but most answers are ambiguous. The view we see of ourselves from the inside out is different from the view others see from the outside in. When I wrote
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “Daddy prays with me at night before I go to sleep. It makes me feel welcome and safe.” “Welcome” seems like an unusual word choice, but think about it. The child who said this feels welcome at home. How many do not? This child has a
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Early afternoon light dims beneath the gray underbelly of an approaching storm and thunder rolls from one side of the river valley to the other. Twenty minutes later, “… the rains are over and gone….the cooing of doves is heard in our land” (Song of
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Do you have a favorite tree? Countless varieties flourish on the earth, but Psalm 92 mentions three with a descriptive promise attached: The godly will flourish like palm trees, grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon, and still bear fruit in their old age (
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer For many people, Memorial Day signals the changing of the seasons. Those of us who can’t wait any longer for summer declare that it’s time to bring out the lawn chairs and barbecue. Who wants to wait another four weeks? We’d rather start thinking about
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Robert Fulghum’s 1988 New York Times bestseller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten was on that prestigious list for nearly two years. He made valid points and stirred most of us to consider the kindnesses and stress busters we were introduced
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer What would it sound like to hear God’s presence? Would it be the whirlwind mentioned by Job, the rushing wind of Pentecost, the whisper Moses detected? Genesis 3:8 tells us that Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden and hid themselves from His
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer One morning last week, an ethereal veil hung over our small orchard, shrouding the budding trees with mist. I wondered, could that be what it looked like in God’s garden that we read about in Genesis? “… but a mist went up from the earth
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer My perspective of age has changed over the years. Perhaps that’s because I’m on a different side of it than I once was. I still look ahead in anticipation, but now I look back with more gratitude for where the Lord has brought me and
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Time. We run out of time faster than we run out of money and milk. But we can always get more money and milk. We can’t go get more time. When I was growing up and my mother didn’t want to accept an invitation, she
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Everything changed at dawn. Light revealed the emptiness left behind when Life got up and walked out of the tomb. He does that, you know. Jesus does the unexpected. Even though He told His friends (and enemies) He wouldn’t stay dead, they were surprised. From
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A.D. 33 Bethany, a village near Jerusalem Six days before Passover Asher pulled his cloak tighter, wishing he’d worn his heavier wool garment this evening. The short walk to his neighbor’s house warmed him some, but the air nipped around his ears. Much remained
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Two weekends this month I have a small part in a play* about the life of Christ as well as the life of a wizened old judge whose dead friend pays him a visit. It is the second production I have participated in over the