Davalynn Spencer's Blog, page 7
June 2, 2024
A Different Perspective
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Have you heard of the two-week rule?
I often refer to it when deciding how I like a new purchase, the rearrangement of furniture, or a questionable repair job.
The rule goes like this:
“Give it two weeks. If you don’t notice it anymore, leave it.”
How often do we become so accustomed to situations that we no longer “see” them? We can miss what is right under our nose. Or above our nose, as the case may be.
I live near Pikes Peak, commonly referred to as America’s Mountain, because it inspired Katherine Lee Bates to pen the poem-turned-song, “America the Beautiful.” For much longer than two weeks, I went about daily life in the shadow of Colorado’s famous fourteener—several years, in fact. It had become common, like a leaning fence or crooked picture on the wall.
A few summers ago, I decided to take a long look at that mountain from a different perspective: on top.
I rode the nine-mile Cog Railway out of Manitou Springs—the perfect way to see the majestic mountain. No winding roads or hairpin curves. Just straight up, relatively speaking.
Many lesser ridges lead to the 14,115-foot, pink-granite summit, and the view along the way demonstrates the old cliché—breathtaking.
But I’m glad I took the time to gain a new appreciation for the splendor of God’s handiwork. Along the railway, I saw a caved-in log cabin from the 1800s, fallen trees, bare rock faces, and foot trails. I saw things I couldn’t see from a distance, yet I also saw distance itself, as in the state of Kansas. At least it seemed that way while looking east with a 14,000-foot bird’s-eye view.
It’s all about perspective.
Is there something in your life that you’ve been living with for a long time and need to see from a different angle?
Ask God to show you the view.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:2
~
See it from a different angle.
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“It’s beautiful here. So clean.”
“Unless it comes a storm and you get caught in it without your slicker,” Cale said.
Ella looked up at him, concern pinching her face. “Really? That fast? Can’t you see it coming in time?”
“Oh, you can see it coming. Same way you can see a cougar leaping at you from a high rock.”
She shuddered and gripped her elbows but kept walking, a slight limp working into her steps.
“’Course that’d be a rare occurrence in these parts.” Though bears weren’t, it seemed, but he didn’t want to spook her, and lately he hadn’t done such a fine job of stringing words together. “See that patch of bright green under the hill there?”
She slowed and looked where he pointed.
“Aspen. They turn yellow in the fall. The only gold you’ll find in these mountains this side of Cripple Creek.”
She stopped and took in the view. “I’ve read about the Independence Lode and the fires.”
He reached behind her, took her by the shoulders, and gently turned her north where higher, pine-covered slopes rolled up toward the backside of Pikes Peak. “We could see the smoke from here. Worried Pa some. Hugh and Grace and I would sneak out at night and climb up the bluff to watch the sky glow red.” From behind her, he pointed over her shoulder. “Right over the ridge there. As the crow flies, about fifteen miles.”
She turned her head and her breath brushed his chin. “That close?”
Too close. “But not an easy trip unless you’re that crow.” He stepped around her and continued on, his pulse galloping with her so near. “A little farther, and you’ll see the break where the stampede came down yesterday.”
Sensing she wasn’t following, he looked over his shoulder and caught her rubbing her leg. “You all right?”
She straightened. “Why, yes. I’m right as rain.” She ran her hands down her riding skirt and looked around. “Though I don’t see any headed our way.” Her smile, a bit forced, still brightened the morning.
“Come on then, Rain Woman.” He held out his hand and she took it. He’d carry her if she’d let him.
Doc and Barlow meandered a ways behind them, grazing. Cale chuckled.
“What?”
“We’ve got a couple of tag-alongs.”
She glanced back. “Oh, the dears.”
“Don’t let on. You’ll hurt Doc’s pride.”
“Pride? You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“As an undertaker. He thinks he’s sneaking up on us.”
With her hand in his, her soft laugh fanned a spark. He lifted his hat and sleeved his brow before setting it down again. Things were warming up a might quick. If he wasn’t careful, he’d set the whole pasture ablaze. ~A Change of Scenery
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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May 26, 2024
Worship Through Verse
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
While I am away this Memorial Day weekend, I’d like to share the inspirational work of fellow author and friend, LoRee Peery.
Peery has written four devotional books in a series titled Worship Through Verse. The first, Shelter in the Night, speaks beautifully in a modern psalmist’s voice about those times we seek shelter from pain in the night.
Peery says of the second book in the series, Looking Beyond Self, that God asks us to lay our worries at His feet so His grace and compassion can get us through our troubles. Reflection in the midst of pain is often cleansing, giving us a different perspective in our walk with Jesus.
Below are two samples of these modern-day psalms, one from each book. I pray they will be a blessing for you or someone close to you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
You are my strength, I watch for you;
you, God, are my fortress.
Psalm 59:9
Renew My Mind
The world is noisy
The news is negative
I love my Abba Daddy
Help me tune out the din
The Lord keeps me going
I want to hear You
You wait for me to call
And answer with Your calm
I need Your fortress of walls
To keep distraction at bay
A spiritual battle threatens
Help me relax in Your presence.
~from Shelter in the Night
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Sovereign Lord has given me
a well-instructed tongue, to know
the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
Isaiah 50:4
Wake Me and Teach Me
The Lord God is my Teacher
He’s taught me to encourage
He wakes me each morning
To please and glorify Him
My tasks, my work, my all
Is set before me by Him
He gave me ears to hear
He’s in my heart to direct
My Lord saves and frees
He comforts with tenderness
I trust and love to obey
Joy and gladness make me sing
The Lord God is my Teacher
Teach me the rest of my life.
~from Looking Beyond Self
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Watch for Books 3 and 4 in the series, coming in June.
Worship Through Verse
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LoRee Peery is the author of numerous Christian novels and is drawn to reunion stories for two reasons. She believes God is a God of second chances, and the past often needs to be dealt with before anyone can move on in life. Connect with her at her website.
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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May 19, 2024
Like a Tree
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
With spring on its way into summer next month, I want to ask: Do you have a favorite tree?
Aspens are mine, beautiful all through the year, regardless of the season.
In winter they stand bare and white against evergreen forests.
In spring they burst with fuzzy catkins like pussy willows.
Summer finds them quaking full and leafy in the slightest breeze.
And in autumn they lift bright yellow coins against sapphire skies.
Each aspen tree is unique and different from its fellows, but they are not solitary trees. When purchased from a nursery, rarely are they planted alone, but in clusters. They flourish through an underground, interconnected root system.
One of the largest living single organisms on earth is said to be an aspen grove, or clonal colony, in south-central Utah.
Talk about networking! Aspens thrive in interconnected communities.
In nearly all of the twenty books I’ve written, aspens appear in one of their seasonal forms. With stories set in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, it’s easy to see how these glorious trees are so often part of the setting.
Aspens are also a beautiful metaphor for Christian living. Like aspens, individual Christians are distinctly unique from one another, but we are referred to as the “body of Christ” because we are interconnected by God’s Holy Spirit. We support each other, draw upon each other for strength and encouragement, and thrive in each other’s company.
A promise in the first chapter of Psalms tells us that we can be like trees “planted by streams of water,” forever fruitful and never withering. Three of the four conditions for this promise deal with connectivity – who we’re hanging out with.
You’re blessed if you:
Walk with someone other than the wicked.Avoid standing with those who keep on sinning.Sit with those who aren’t cynics.Love God’s word and think about it day and night.Being “like a tree” is the result of these choices – it’s cause and effect.
Today, may your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love (Ephesians 3:17 TLB).
What is your favorite tree?
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
~
Be like a tree.
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At the high gate, Caleb headed east for Cañon City and heeled Rooster into a lope. The sun pressed toward the peaks behind him, on run from the coming night. It pulled its warmth with it and threw a brassy light on the ridge ahead, where yellow flared through a dark pine blanket.
He had read about the aspen that flecked the mountains—those white-barked trees that bore the gold men didn’t hunt, the kind that showed itself year after year as witness to a providential hand.
He snorted. Providence. That was one thing he didn’t need.
Providence had drawn him away from his father’s wishes and proven livelihood. Providence had left him without a bride, a living, or a place to lay his head. And Providence had led him to the hollow hope of a fresh start.
His gut kicked against the blasphemy, and he kicked Rooster into a dead run. Maybe Providence wasn’t to blame. Maybe he had done all those things to himself. ~Loving the Horseman
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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May 12, 2024
Find a Mother
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Not everyone has a living mother to hug, call, or send flowers to on Mother’s Day.
And not every mothering woman has a child.
Many of those women are aunts, neighbors, sisters, or friends.
Like that little lady at church who always knows exactly what to say when you’re down.
Or the woman you talk to about raising kids and how you wish you’d done a few things differently.
What about the young mother of five under 10 whose hands are blistered from the rope she’s clinging to?
This Mother’s Day, find a mother and thank her for what she does. Call her. Send her a card. Mow her lawn, fix her dinner, watch her toddler for a couple of hours.
She’s demonstrating a kind of love that God compares to His own.
Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Isaiah 49:15
Praise God. He loves us even more than our mothers do.
~
Find a mother
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Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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May 5, 2024
Mom’s Best Advice Ever and a Giveaway
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Mothers are good at giving advice.
(I see some of you rolling your eyes.)
Mom would say, “Don’t roll your eyes, they’ll fall out of your head.”
Well, a few Moms would say that.
But honestly, some of the best advice I’ve received came from my mother.
Don’t put your hands in the pockets of your sweater; it will sag.
Wear good undergarments – what if you’re in a wreck?
Moisturize your neck as well as your face.
Much of my mother’s advice I ignored and I won’t go into that here because this is not a True Confessions Column.
But I will tell you her best advice ever:
“Love Jesus more than anyone, even me.”
That single sentence has been a rudder for my life.
What about you?
In the comment section below, share a sentence or two about your mom’s best advice, and you’ll be entered in a random drawing for a signed copy of my story-devotional book, Always Before Me. (Drawing closes May 7, 2024)
By the way, the book would make a great Mother’s Day gift. Just sayin’. Purchase links here.
Honor your father and mother.
Then you will live a long, full life
in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
~
Don't roll your eyes.
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There’s a little cross-over between Mom-care and God-care.
Psalm 121:7 tells me the Lord will keep me safe and watch over me, and He does it all the time, even when I don’t know it.
When the auto-service technician called me out to my car the other day to see the split rubber on the inside of the left front tire, I remembered that verse.
The left front tire is the closest to oncoming traffic. All the other tires on my car were in good shape. There was an imbalance somewhere, a misalignment that I didn’t know about. The fix was easy, but the damages could have been horrific.
This was not the first time the Lord had watched over my life, nor will it be the last. ~Always Before Me
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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April 28, 2024
What if?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
This two-word query is one of the most important questions a novelist asks while writing a book. Various answers propel characters into riveting plot twists or brain-throbbing conflicts.
But for those seeking to live faith-led lives of obedience in the real world, “What if?” can be the most derailing question of all.
How often do we ask, “What if?” when God tells us to do something? Because—let’s be honest—He’s asked His people to do some challenging things.
Like march around a walled city for seven days blowing trumpets.
Or feed a crowd of thousands with a kid’s sack lunch.
Or invite a neighbor to church.
Sometimes God asks us to be unlike everyone else because He wants to lead us on a different trail, often referred to as a path of righteousness.
But instead of stepping out in obedience, we start asking “What if?”
What if it doesn’t work?
What if my timing is off?
What if people won’t like me?
These worry-inducing questions can stop us in our tracks.
When it comes to walking the right path, it helps to remember that we’re not alone. The same God who said, “Let there be light,” is lighting our way.
Peace rushes in when I do what God whispers in my heart.
It’s just a two-step process, like the old song my parents used to sing, “Trust and Obey.”
It may not be easy, but it really is that simple.
What if we just do what He says?
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Psalm 23:3
~
By the time they rode down Main Street, Mary’s head hurt from trying to smell the past. Hugh pulled up in front of the Denver and Rio Grande train station, set the brake, and came around to help her. Secretly relieved, she arched her toes to keep the shoes on as she climbed down, using his hand for support.
When she landed successfully, he didn’t let go and enfolded her hand in both of his. “Remember.” His voice dropped to an intimate level. “Not a word to your brother about what I told you.”
She resisted her instinctive reaction to his husky tone and tried to look away, but neither would he release her gaze.
“Promise.” He held on.
“I promise. But why?”
“Trust me.” A quick squeeze of her fingers.
Could she? Could she trust this big, not-always-so-brazen cowboy with her future? Her inheritance? Her heart? ~Hope Is Built
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
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(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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April 21, 2024
Work Together
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
In a scene from one of my Western romance novels, the heroine struggles with memories of her Christian mother’s favorite counsel: “All things work together for good.”
She struggles because things are not going well. Bad things have happened. A lot of bad things, and the scripture-turned-platitude chaffs my heroine’s sense of fairness.
Certain external conflicts and setbacks are beyond her control. Her less-than-perfect life has landed her in a stranger’s home where she is trying to do her best. At one particular moment of helplessness and frustration, she does the only constructive thing she can think of: she decides to make a cake.
Flour dust taints the air as she sifts the proper amount into a bowl. A person could choke on flour—a tasteless death for sure.
Then she adds Baker’s chocolate, a dark and bitter ingredient.
Next comes sugar—everyone’s favorite but sickening in great quantities.
Eggs follow, not exactly tasty in their raw condition.
None of the ingredients she adds to her mixing bowl are appetizing on their own, but when worked together, they combine to create a chocolate cake—something very good indeed.
As she pours the batter into a baking pan, she sees how her efforts reflect what God does in her own life. He takes the bad—the less-than-perfect things—and works them together into something good for her. Because she loves Him.
Because He is good.
If God can make light and earth and sky from nothing, and man—made in His image—from dirt, imagine what He can do with our difficult circumstances and challenging situations. Our wrecked lives.
Imagine what He can do with our surrendered hearts.
And we know that all things
work together for good
to those who love God,
to those who are the called
according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
~
Together for good
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The kitchen window framed a perfect view of the neglected garden. Had Cade’s heart been left in similar condition after losing his mother, sister, and the—well, the woman Willa had mentioned?
An idea sparked in Mae Ann’s breast. A tiny flare that hinted at purpose. Could God use her to break through Cade’s wintered soil and stir life there again? Perhaps that was why she was here and not with—
No. God had not taken Henry’s life. She had to believe that.
As soft as the parson’s blessing had whispered earlier that morning, words she’d learned at her mother’s side rippled through her like a silken thread. All things work together for good to them that love God.
She did love God, but did she love Him enough? He’d allowed her mother to die penniless and abandoned by Mae Ann’s father, though the dear woman had insisted God was working all things together.
And He’d allowed Henry to be gunned down in cold blood—an act she would never understand. How did God plan to work that together?
Her fingers ached, and she looked down to see them clenched and white at the knuckles. Taking up her apron, she tied it on, then wiped the eggs clean and gathered other ingredients for the cake. ~An Improper Proposal
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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April 14, 2024
What Is Your Foundation?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Wind and water have two-sided natures. When used in creative writing, wind whispers as a cooling breeze or roars like a tornado. Water sings in a trickling stream or crashes through canyons as a flood.
Winds along Colorado’s Front Range flutter through golden aspen leaves or pummel with shuddering gusts that send lawn chairs, trash cans, and fences flying.
Rain sprinkles the earth, watering wild grasses and flowers, or it falls in torrents that wash out roads and force landslides of mud and car-sized boulders.
Life often pounds us like the extremes of wind and rain—not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. Jesus knew this and He told us how to withstand the onslaught. He said if we’d put His words into practice, we’d survive the storms the same way a sturdy house built on a rock survives the wind and rain.
It’s all about foundation.
This picture of a gnarled tree was taken atop an exposed hill. Wind and rain have twisted the tree into its unique shape. But the tree hasn’t washed away or blown off the hilltop because its roots are imbedded in the rock.
This image reminds me that if I’m rooted and anchored in Him, the Rock of my Salvation, together we can weather anything.
Anything.
What are you rooted in?
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine
and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock.
Matthew 7:24-25
~
What is your foundation?
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An Improper ProposalLight exploded ahead of them, and the horse reared. Cade tore off his sling and fought to keep the mare in hand. Again lightning speared the road and thunder slammed through the wagon seat and into Mae Ann’s bones. She caught a glimpse of Cade’s corded neck, his clenched jaw, and linked an arm around the bench back to keep her seat.
Lightning ripped across the cloud canopy, illuminating the scene and opening heaven’s stores. The mare bolted.
Cade stood with one boot braced against the buckboard, leaning back, the reins wrapped around both hands and every rock-hard muscle in his arms and legs bulging against his drenched clothes.
Mae Ann had learned what a summer storm could do. Rain-gorged creeks became raging rivers, and if Cade didn’t stop the wagon before they reached the upper crossing of Olin Creek, they might not make it across without being swept away.
“Oh, Lord, we need your help.” The slashing rain and wind tore the words from her lips. She thought of Jesus stilling the tempest, and pleaded for Him to calm their storm and give Cade the strength he needed. ~An Improper Proposal
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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April 7, 2024
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Most people in the U.S. are aware of the total solar eclipse occurring in North America on April 8, 2024.
NASA Eclipse Explorer website states: “The total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow track stretching from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states.”
According to an excellent article about the event, several U.S. counties and principalities have declared a state of emergency in order to handle the influx of visitors anticipated in total blackout areas.
Additional explanation and spiritual application can also be found in this informative article and video that follows.
Our God is indeed a God of wonders, and He uses creation to reveal Himself and get our attention.
David, the great singer of songs, wrote in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship.”
That should be a comforting reminder that Creator God is in control. He knows what is happening and what will happen, and He loves His people beyond their comprehension.
So what should we do as we await this amazing celestial event?
Let’s ask ourselves:
What is the light in my life?
What eclipses the light in my life?
Can pain, discouragement, or fear?
If you haven’t yet, let Jesus be your light. Nothing will eclipse Him.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said,
“I am the light of the world.
If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness,
because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12
~
The heavens declare the glory of God.
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Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
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(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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March 31, 2024
A Quiet Miracle
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
I imagine Jesus’ resurrection from the garden tomb was a quiet miracle—aside from the earthquake and fainting guards that Matthew records in his gospel.
The other three Gospel writers—Mark, Luke, and John—tell us, like Matthew, that women arrived early at the site to care for the body but found the tomb empty. However, no trumpets.
All four Gospels also mention angels, but no Hallelujah Chorus.
In none of the accounts is there fanfare.
No slides or video presentations.
Not even a heavenly choir singing, “Glory to God in the Highest!”
Jesus simply rose.
His other life-giving miracles were also quiet.
The water became wine.
The blind man saw.
The bleeding stopped.
Jesus never spread His arms and shouted, “Ta-da!”
But He did spread His arms and say, “It is finished.”
There is a message for me here regarding the way I live my life. Am I ever quiet enough to let His voice be heard, still enough to sense His touch, attentive enough to see Him move in someone else’s life?
His quiet miracles continue because He rose from the dead.
And that is the quiet miracle upon which I base my life.
They will flog Him with a whip and kill him,
but on the third day He will rise again.
Luke 18:33
~
A quiet miracle.
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Always Before Me – 90 Story Devotions for WomenOn Sundays I felt self-conscious about raising my hand during worship—a common practice for many who attended our church. What if someone turned and looked at that imperfect hand? How could I lift it up to a perfect God? I was embarrassed.
And then one Sunday morning the worship music touched my heart so deeply that I had to raise my hand. I suddenly felt bare, exposed, as if I were lifting my whole imperfect, scarred life to God. Would He accept me?
In that moment I sensed Him reaching down to me through the scarred hands of Jesus. It was as if He were revealing His own wounds, opening His hands to me, unhesitatingly, unembarrassed. I realized that I was not the only one who had scars in her hands. Nor was I the only one with scars on her heart. Isn’t that all we really have to offer God anyway—our torn, ruined lives? ~Always Before Me
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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