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
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked. Prov. 4:25-27 Stay on the path. A simple directive. As simple as the one about not
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer It’s amazing what one may chance to see when taking a puppy out to pee. Now you know why I’m not a poet. Poetry aside, life rhythms have changed for me over the last few wintry weeks. One late night as I stood bundled
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” wrote Elizabeth Barrett Browning. For simplicity’s sake, let’s merely count the kinds of love. Romantic love. Empathetic love. Brotherly love. Unconditional love. Unfailing love. Mature love. Sacrificial love. Endless love – as is the
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Dawn may be my favorite time of day. It appears full of promise and new possibilities. Most of my stories present at least one sunrise that catches my characters’ attention and provides a moment of reflection and gratitude. I also find dawn mentioned during
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “I talk about these made-up people as if they were real,” I told a friend as we discussed the characters in one of my books. “I know them better than I do most real people.” “That’s because you know their hearts,” she said. “You
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The earth was eating my driveway. Where had all the gravel gone? (Sounds like a Pete Seeger song.) My remedy: order more. But that’s not how it works. I couldn’t just call the rock shop and ask them to deliver plain gravel – even
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Ah, peace. What a priceless commodity these days. Isaiah 26:3 offers an equation for finding peace like no other. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee.” The old King James English may grate on
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Have you ever read something familiar and found yourself seeing it with fresh eyes? It happens to me frequently, and lately it’s been Matthew 11:28-30. Clearly this passage speaks to me, for I wrote about it in September. Is God trying to tell me
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer After commiserating over recent heartaches the other day, a friend said, “God obviously has different plans than what I had envisioned, and for you as well. And yet, His plans are always perfect.” The comment stopped me cold. This person had some seriously
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer From my journal, the evening of December 21, 2020 . . . “It wasn’t so much the bright star convergence. It was standing outside in the dark with my camera and tripod – watching, listening, feeling the glory of God – seeing the night
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer God loved, so He gave. He promised. He revealed. He pursued. He’s been after us all our lives, and to prove it, He came. In His most vulnerable condition, He could not be stopped. Yet, at the peak of His earthly walk, He surrendered
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A working dad took his son to day care early one morning and was surprised to find the police there. He soon learned from the distraught director that someone had broken into the center the night before and stolen all their food. Instead of
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Do you need a reason to celebrate Christmas this year? Holidays for many people are difficult moments during which they grit their teeth and just get through. Reasons vary – from death of a loved one or loss of a friend, to economic hardship