Davalynn Spencer's Blog, page 53

On What Do You Stand?

In preparation for Memorial Day at our house this year, I planted pansies and petunias in the back yard and stretched deer netting over the columbines and roses in the front to discourage nocturnal grazers. I also bought new lawn chairs.

After setting everything up, I decided to clean out the barbecue grill and raised the lid to find a large pile of straw, leaves and feathers on the rack. Tempted to sweep it out onto the patio, I stepped around to the end for another view. And that’s when I saw them: three yellow-beaked babies with heads too large to hold up, snuggled together in their perfectly camouflaged crib.

No barbecue for our crew this year. Of course my son said we were already set for Chick-fil-A. Not funny. He’ll be lucky if he gets to eat anything at this family gathering. For the life of me, I can’t figure out where he gets that rodeo-clown sense of humor.

But of course Memorial Day is about more than what to cook, where to cook it and how to eat it. Once known as Decoration Day, it was set aside to honor the fallen from our nation’s Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers and flags.

After WWI, honors were extended to include those who were casualties in any of America’s wars.

Battlefield casualties were obviously on the founders’ minds, but the fallen have given their lives in many venues.

During WWII, many women went to work outside their homes for the first time, picking up the slack left in the wake of their deploying husbands and fathers. One very young bride took to the Long Beach shipyards in southern California while her new husband served on the damp airfields of England.

But it was he who came home to a funeral, for her lungs could not withstand the ravages of tuberculosis, and she left a toddler in his arms when she died.

Every year on Memorial Day, my husband gives a nod to the woman who gave him life and ultimately her own for her country. And I think of others whose names we will never hear who gave all of what they had to give.

The giving goes on. And those of us who remain must live our lives in ways that offer examples of hope and faith and goodness.

Do you have a loved one who gave his or her life?

This Memorial Day, may we pause in our reveling and remember with gratitude the fallen upon whose sacrifices we stand.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

 

Available now for pre-order, “The Columbine Bride” in book four of The 12 Brides of Summer. 

Do You Need Discipline or Hunger?

My guest today is Dianne Neal Matthews, multi-published devotional author. Dianne’s inspirational words last week on the Christian Authors Network prayer link were such a blessing I asked her to share them with you, my readers, today.

 

You’d think that anyone who writes daily devotionals begins each day with a deep, meaningful quiet time with the Lord, wouldn’t you? I would think so if I didn’t know myself.

Sometimes I feel like my picture should be in the dictionary by the word hypocrite. Having a consistent prayer time has always been a struggle for me. But lately I’ve been ending most days with the realization that I failed to make time for the most important thing. I vow to start fresh the next day and make time with God my first priority.

I’d always chalked up my failure in this area to lack of discipline or disobedience; last Sunday my perspective changed as I sat with a handful of worshippers in my parents’ little country church.

The speaker reminded us that prayer time is not an item to check off our to-do list. It’s not a matter of discipline but a matter of hunger for God. Our actions reveal our appetites. If we say that we ate three meals yesterday, no one is going to say, “Wow, you certainly are a disciplined person!”

So I looked at what I’ve been hungry for lately. I had to admit that I always manage to find time to scroll through my Facebook newsfeed at least once a day, keep up with the latest episode of “The Voice,” and text or call family members and friends. Not to mention the things that I would be ashamed to mention. Trivial, self-centered activities that keep me from intimate fellowship with the King of kings.

From now on, I won’t be praying for God to help me develop more spiritual discipline. I’ll ask Him to help me get so hungry for Him that my soul’s longing outweighs my stomach’s growling for breakfast in the mornings.

 

 

My heart has heard you say,

“Come and talk with me.”

And my heart responds,

“LORD, I am coming.”

Psalm 27:8 (NLT)

 

Dianne Neal Matthews is the author of four daily devotional books including The One Year Women of the Bible (Tyndale House) and Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation (Baker Books). She also writes for websites, blogs, and compilations (including Guideposts’ Mornings with Jesus). Dianne and her husband, Richard, have three children and three grandchildren, and currently live in southeast Texas. Please visit her at www.DianneNealMatthews.com or connect through Facebook.

 

Congratulations! We have a #winner from the April 27 symbolism giveaway: Janet K. Brown won an e- copy of Branding the Wrangler’s Heart.

 

Join me on my Facebook page!

MOM: Trust Your Kids or Trust God?

#Alwaysbeforeme

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m sharing a page from my devotional book, Always Before Me. Enjoy!

Shiny Shoes

The man with the shiny black shoes sat down on our living room sofa and told us why the US Army was a great career choice for our son. Jake was a graduating senior and he’d met the Army recruiter at a career day at school. Two short years of his life, and he would be trained for the military, Shiny Shoes promised, as well as a career in the field.

I felt I was losing control, but of what? This man had come into our home and in so many words, told me he was going to take my son away. I resented his presence, but I knew Jake was supposed to grow up and go out on his own. That’s what his father and I had raised him to do. I guess I didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly. Eighteen years just isn’t very long when you’re in the eighteenth year.

Yellow lamplight shimmered on the recruiter’s black patent-leather shoes. It could be a lot worse, I told myself. Some parents lose their children to tragic accidents or drugs or reckless living or any number of things. The Army meant self-discipline, direction, determination. Yes, it could be worse.

Letting go was hard. Every day up to that point had been preparation for the big release, yet I was still frightened. Why was it so much easier to trust God with my own life than to trust him with my children? Perhaps the issue wasn’t trusting God, but trusting my children, which meant I had to trust God even more.

The last shiny black shoes I’d seen had been on my own feet years before, swinging above the floor from the church pew where I sat with my parents. The next pair I saw would likely be on my son at boot camp on graduation day.

Life is short, isn’t it?

Thank you, Lord, that I can trust you with my children. Thank you for the comfort of knowing that you go with them to places I’ll never be able to go. You help them in ways I never could. Help me remember that you are in control and I am not. I am so glad.

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world,

but that You should keep them from the evil one.

John 17:15

 Want to give Mom something a little different this year? Order a copy of Always Before Me, 30 daily devotions for busy or not-so-busy women. Paperback or e-book.

 

~Loving the Cowboy~

What’s the Symbolism in Your life?

Comment to enter my #giveaway!

When I was a young summer bride, newly arrived in Colorado with my cowboy, our first home was in Greely—feedlot capital of the world. Locals called the beefy fragrance permeating the shady streets and college campus “the smell of money.” But it wasn’t long before I discovered another perfume I much preferred: lilacs.

The bushes were everywhere. They bordered old homesteads, often growing tall enough to serve as windbreaks for farmhouses. They grew in city yards and along country lanes, and I quickly equated my new home with the beauty and perfume of the purple, white, or lavender blossoms.

The flowers said “Colorado” to me, and became a visual representation of my new life.

In many of my historical novels set in the Rocky Mountain state, I’ve scattered lilacs in some form—a bush in the background, or a bouquet of the fragrant blossoms on a table. Last year’s spring release, Branding the Wrangler’s Heart, showcased lilacs by the ranch house door.

Recently, I put the final touches on a manuscript set to release from Barbour Publishing in 2016—The Wrangler’s Woman. Sure enough, lilacs managed to slip into the tale.

But best of all, I have two young bushes behind my own home, and I delight in their spring color. Symbolism is important in stories, and for me, the lilacs of my Western romances symbolize my own young romance that grew into an enduring, life-long love.

Do you have symbols in your life that bring to mind an important moment or a loved one? If so, I’d love to hear about them. And when you leave a comment, you’ll be entered in a drawing for an e-copy of Branding the Wrangler’s Heart.

 

Is a Happy-ending Romance for Real?

Today I’m guest posting on Alexis Goring’s blog with a devotional about happy-ending romance.

Seriously?

In this world?

Check it out: Is a Happy-ending Romance for Real?

Are You Cynical About Love?

Saturday I drank coffee and sat at the feet of one of my favorite authors as she shared her expertise and experiences – all day!

Rachel Hauk was the speaker for this year’s Write in the Springs conference hosted by the Colorado Springs chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers.

When I grow up, I want to write like Rachel.

Well, since she said the same thing about another author, I guess that’s a common desire to confess. However, God has given us each a distinct “voice” to use in our writing, not someone else’s. But it’s certainly fun—and encouraging—to hear from a highly successful author who is farther along the road than I.

The conference was held at the beautiful Franciscan Retreat Center just west of Colorado Springs. I arrived early and strolled along a garden-like path where I found a mounted copy of Desiderata by Max Erhmann. I’ve not paid much attention to this poem in the past, but Saturday morning one segment stood out:

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Rachel writes inspirational romance, as do I. (We finaled together last year in the Selah Awards.) Writing about love was my reason for attending the conference, and finding the word “love” in such a setting brought to mind the words of the Apostle Paul,

 “The greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13)

God’s unfailing love is a recurring theme in inspirational romance, and that’s exactly what I want my readers to come away knowing—that God loves them without measure.

What a great day it was – apart from the world in a beautiful setting, reminding ourselves why we write about love and who the source of that love is – Jesus.

It was also fun to visit with fellow authors from Colorado whom I see about once a year or every-so-often on Facebook. And to my shame, I’m not very good at matching a flesh-and-blood person with his or her micro-chip size photo from social media.

Glad I’m not alone in that deficiency. One hostess didn’t recognize me either!

Event planner and ACFW/CS President, Beth K. Vogt (with me at left) and her hard-working team, Mary Agius, Casey Herringshaw, and Suzanne Norquist pulled off a fabulous day. And by the way, Beth’s 2014 release Somebody Like You is a finalist this year for Contemporary Romance in the Rita Award from Romance Writers of America. Go, Beth!

I’m also pulling for a couple of fellow clients of my agent from Hartline Literary Agency, who have titles finaling this year for the Rita: Rose Ross Zediker’s The Widow’s Suitor,  and Kate Breslin’s For Such a Time.

I pray that you are not “cynical about love.” But if you are, give God a chance. His unfailing faithfulness is a gift you shouldn’t pass up.

 

Now What?

He lives.

Everybody thought it was over, but it wasn’t.

Imagine yourself in Palestine around A.D. 33. Would you have been surprised? Would you have been frightened? Relieved? Looking over your shoulder, wondering who was your enemy and who wasn’t?

Would life ever again be the same as before?

It depends.

 

If you were the powers-that-be, you’d be forking over big bucks in a cover-up (Matthew 28:11-15).

If you were a woman transformed by forgiveness, you’d be telling everyone you saw Him and they’d think you were crazy (Mark 16:10, 11).

If you were hurrying out of town and met an interesting stranger on the way, your expectation of what should happen would cloud your eyes to what did happen (Luke 24:13-29).

If you were a man who said, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” you’d be on your face saying, “Oh, my God” (John 20:26-29).

So who are you? Here, now, two millennia later.

Will your life ever again be the same as before because He lives?

Who is the Lord of your tempest?

I am pleased this week to welcome guest blogger and debut author, Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, with her encouraging words about the storms we all face.

 

 

 

 

 

Then Peter got down out of the boat,

walked on the water

and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind,

he was afraid and, beginning to sink,

cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew 14:29-30

Waves crashing and rolling in the dark of night, Peter climbed out of the pitching and yawing boat and set off across the foaming waves toward Jesus who walked peacefully atop the surface of the water. Peter and his companions were not timid men. Most were fishermen, hardened to the toil of fishing boats and the rough, unpredictable waters of the Sea of Galilee. Storms were nothing new, but something about the ferocity of the roaring thunder, the lightning streaking across the sky, and the tumult of the waves frightened them on that night.

To the amazement of his companions, Peter strode across the thrashing sea with confidence, his eyes fixed on Jesus’ face. Then, in a sudden moment of panic, he glanced down in amazement at the churning water beneath his feet and his heart filled with fear of the impossible. He began to sink.

I have navigated the waters of infertility, chronic illness, my father’s sudden death, and my husband losing his job. In every trial God has proved unfailing in faithfulness and mercy. But when the outcome is uncertain, my thoughts stray to all the things that might go wrong. My heart knows God is in control, but my mind can’t see the impossible. My heart grows faint, my feet falter, and whitecaps of fear drag me under the choppy waves of doubt.

My heart and my feet might fail, but my God has promised He never will. When the storms of life threaten to pull me beneath the waves, I must remember the One who controls the tempest. God may allow me to be buffeted, but He will never let me sink. He will not fail, for our God is mighty to save.

 © Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, March 14, 2014

About the Norma Gail:

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, set in Scotland and New Mexico released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 19 years. Her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, and New Mexico Christian Novelists. She is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 38 years. They have two adult children.

About the book:

Alone and betrayed, American professor, Bonny Bryant longs for a haven of peace. She accepts a position at a small Christian college in Fort William, Scotland, craving escape from her painful past. The passionate love which develops when she meets fellow professor and sheep farmer, Kieran MacDonell, is something she never anticipated.

Kieran harbors a deep anger toward God in the face of his own devastating grief. When Bonny’s former fiancé reenters her life, Kieran’s loneliness draws him to a former student.

How will Bonny decide between her rivals? Can they set aside the past to make way for a future, or will it drive them apart?

Land of My Dreams spans the distance between New Mexico’s high desert mountains and the misty Scottish Highlands with a timeless story of overwhelming grief, undying love, and compelling faith. Buy Land of My Dreams at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Connect with Norma at:

www.normagail.org

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459.Norma_Gail

https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail

 

Forget New Year’s – We Have Spring!

Springtime in cow country means the babies are running and romping.

I love watching them bound away from their mamas, squiggley tails straight up like a cat’s, then bound right back again. They exemplify the season’s name: Spring!

These calves have convinced me that this is the season for new beginnings, not New Year’s. This is the time we need to take stock of our lives and lay out a plan of resolution.

As for the lists we all made in January—no wonder they’re so hard to follow. Those days are cloudy and gloomy (unless you live Down Under).

Who wants to start over when you’d rather just sleep in?

But spring? Oh, yes. How much more appropriate with its vibrant, living metaphors of renewal sprouting in the bulb garden and singing from the trees.

“Behold!” said He who sits on the throne. “I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

Personally, I’m planting flowers, ordering a load of crushed rock for the driveway, and working on a new novel.

What would you like to start fresh with this spring?

 

Ever Want to Just Ride Into the Sunset?

I’m working on a Cowboy Brides story for Barbour Publishing and loving every minute of it. I’ll be the first to admit, I like to escape into a good book, and trying to write a good book is just as much a form of escape as reading one.

But I need more than a simple get-away. That’s why I’m picky about what I read and the movies I watch. If there is no hope, no life thread, no subtle message of resurrection or second chances, then I check out. I don’t need a make-believe downer.

My current work in progress is called The Wrangler’s Woman. You guessed it – a cowboy romance. The widowed rancher needs someone to show his little girl, Jess, how to be a young lady, so he hires a woman from town to do the job. She seems to have what his daughter needs. He just doesn’t expect her to have what he needs, too.

No release date yet for this story, but as soon as I find out, I’ll let you know.

There’s a little bit of cooking in the tale. My heroine, Corra Jameson, and her charge make pies: vinegar pies and strawberry/rhubarb pies. I’d love to post a picture of the vinegar pie I made last week, but it was a bit on the thin side.

And I’m still trying to figure out why it’s not called sugar or butter and egg pie when the recipe calls for all that rich goodness and just a couple tablespoons of vinegar. Made my veins quiver just tasting the results.

If you have a favorite get-away book, I’d love to hear about it. Even better if the story has a mouth-watering dish that makes you want to cook up a sample of your own.

Leave a comment below, and I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a copy of my next novella releasing this summer: The Columbine Bride.

 

The Columbine Bride is the sequel to my Christmas novella, The Snowbound Bride. Lilly’s brother, Buck, meets a young widow who steals his heart and changes his mind about setting out on his own. Will he take his own courting advice so freely dished out to his nephew, Nate, or will he lose the best thing that ever happened to him? The Columbine Bride will be available in paperback exclusively from Walmart July 14, 2015,  and online in an ebook collection September 1, 2015.