Christmas and the Brokenhearted
ALT="snowy bench Davalynn Spencer"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I have never thought of Christmas as a time of gratitude for those who grieve. However, I’ve had a closer look lately. Long ago, the prophet Isaiah foretold that God would send One to bind up the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourned. That

Read More »
 
Favorite Christmas Carols – and a giveaway!
ALT="Christmas carols and angel"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Christmas carols – I love them. That’s because I don’t sing them year-round or even in November. I wait until December and then savor them at church, in my home, and in the car on the radio. Many of the carols have roots in

Read More »
 
Christmas Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!
ALT="Christmas packages and scavenger hunt"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Merry Christmas! This week I’ve joined Hallee Bridgeman and twenty-three other Christian authors in Hallee’s annual Christmas Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. The prizes are spectacular: $250 first-place, $150 second-place or $100 third-place Amazon gift cards. I hope you’ll visit all the authors’ blogs so

Read More »
 
Always Before Me
ALT="Dawn over Pikes Peak"

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

Read More »
 
Occupational Hazard
ALT="computer on desk"

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

Read More »
 
Multi-Author Christmas Scavenger Hunt!
ALT="Author Scavenger Hunt"

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

Read More »
 
Life, Liberty, and a Little Help from Our Friends
ALT="bullfighter, bull, bull rider"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer For my family, equating the Fourth of July with rodeo is a long-standing habit. Yes, we’ve barbecued and sometimes watched fireworks, but when our kids were growing up, we never celebrated at the house. We didn’t have a house. We had a 16-wheel rig

Read More »
 
Time Is a Runaway Horse

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The bad news is, six months from today is Christmas Eve. The good news is, six months from today is Christmas Eve. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Remember when you were a kid and Christmas couldn’t come quickly

Read More »
 
Unfurling the Future One Day at a Time
ALT="Nativity and crown of thorns"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A couple thousand years ago, God told a young Jewish girl named Mary that she would give birth to His son, the Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit. That’s quite a life-changing announcement. But do you think He told her that she’d have the

Read More »
 
What do we have that we haven’t received?
ALT="decorated mailbox"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer ‘Tis the season of giving, right? Or is it the season of getting? “Six o’ one, half dozen of the other,” Mama used to say. But always she added, “We give at Christmas because God gave us Jesus.” I grew up hearing that and

Read More »
 
National Cookie Day – and a Give-away!
ALT="tine cookie cutters"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Tomorrow is National Cookie Day. I am certain the day of national recognition was determined with me in mind. As far as I’m concerned, Cookie Day is right up there with Mother’s Day and birthdays. I can easily turn down pie or cake. Doughnuts

Read More »
 
A Christmas Shopping Guide for Men (and women)
ALT="rope basket full of Christmas ornaments and pine cones"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Other than his ma, he’d never given a woman anything but a hard time. –Wil Bergman, Snow Angel Christmas-gift shopping is often a man’s least-favorite activity. I speak from the experience of living with a husband and son. To be completely transparent, I speak

Read More »
 
In Everything Give Thanks
ALT="Rocking chair by woodstove in everything give thanks"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching. Many people are busy cooking, cleaning, and preparing for a big family feed. Others are wondering who they’ll spend the day with, or they’re missing lost loved ones. Some are dreading the pending presence of a certain relative or

Read More »
 
Love Warms the Heart
ALT="knitted scarf"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I knitted once. Many years ago, I needled my way through a scarf for my soon-to-be-husband, hoping to keep him warm in Colorado’s snowy clime while I wintered in temperate California. That scarf was the extent of my knitting career. When I started writing

Read More »
 
If We Do Not Give Up
ALT="pumpkins"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When asked what advice I have for aspiring writers, I say, “Don’t quit.” Sometimes I say, “Never give up.” And often I add, “Keep writing.” I know; my advice is boringly repetitive. However, that’s the kind of stick-to-it-iveness required for most worthwhile endeavors. It’s

Read More »