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 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
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer People who visit the Colorado mountains each fall to see the changing leaves learn how to position themselves in relation to the sun if they want the best picture possible. For the most vibrant colors and the bluest sky, they shoot with the sun
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer My kitchen is brimming with apples, and the choices abound as to what I’ll do with them: 1. Make applesauce 2. Make apple pie or cobbler 3. Make apple cookies 4. Make apple bread 5. Bake apples 6. Dry apples 7. Slice and eat
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last fall, a cheeky tree squirrel ate the autumn decorations off my front porch. One evening I had two pumpkins and a clutch of Indian corn; the next morning I had one ear of corn with several kernels missing. And two hardened pumpkin stems.
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Skyline Drive offers no railing in its climb up the hogbacks just west of Cañon City, Colorado. The narrow road lives up to its name, allowing motorists and hikers to feel as if they are scaling the sky. Some of us don’t like that
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “The Lord is … the Lord forever.” These six words are the first three and the last three of the 23rd Psalm. They declare a simple yet profound truth, and in between them, we discover the character of God. This psalm is not just
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer It’s suddenly September. Well, I guess it’s not exactly sudden, but it sure feels that way. On August 8, a month ago, the sun rose at 6:07 a.m. on Colorado’s Front Range and set at 7:59 p.m. Today, sunrise was at 6:34 a.m. and
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Look closely at the deer. He’s a loner. Imperfect. In the world of nature, those imperfections put him at a disadvantage. He would lose in a battle with another buck, so he stays to himself. Alone he forages at the back of our property
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “How much of you goes into your books?” As a novelist, I’ve often been asked that question, and it’s tricky to answer. I may scatter pieces of myself among characters, but I’ve never embodied one completely. I can’t say of any book’s cast, “Oh,
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Storm clouds hung like a heavy curtain ahead of us, and we anticipated rain at our destination. Torrential rain. As the road curved, it lined up with a bright spot on the horizon, door-like in its invitation to escape the storm and go beyond.