Denise Day Spencer

It was a small thing he asked of me,

a thing that would have cost so little.

But small things are easily forgotten,

ignored,

set neatly aside for another day.

For there will always be another day —

until there isn’t.

So now I carry one, tiny regret

like a millstone dangling from my heart.

Another in my series of children’s sermons based on the doctrinal summaries in the Disciple’s Study Bible.

SCRIPTURES: Psalm 19:1, Luke 2:9, Romans 15:4, John 15:26, John 14:7

OBJECT: an item from nature, a picture or figurine of an angel, a Bible, a picture of Jesus

We talked last time about God’s revealing Himself to us throughout history. I promised that today we would talk about how God reveals Himself. Read the rest of this entry »

When Noel blesses everyone in the family by presenting each of us with a copy of her Christmas wish list in…oh…June or so, she always writes at the top, “It’s never too early to start!”

And so keeping in step with my earlybird daughter, I’m posting the gist of a Christmas program we did at our school this past Christmas. I wrote it to be as flexible as possible with the music. Take a look, and if you can use any part of it this holiday season, it’s free for the taking. Just think of it as my early Christmas gift to you. All I ask is that you give me credit for the writing. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently Michael, Clay and I took a day trip to the quaint little town of Berea. There we visited a used book store that a friend had introduced Michael to. (Thanks, Joel!) It was a delightful store–with no resemblance whatsoever to the hideous maze o’ books that nearly sucked us into its evil vortex in Columbus.

Every time I thought I was ready to leave, I recalled another author I wanted to search for. Finally the cashier rang up my purchases: The Hunchback of Notre Dame for $3, The Confessions of Nat Turner at $3 and Sue Grafton’s P is for Peril for $2. How’s that for eclectic taste? (And for shopping cheap!) Read the rest of this entry »

Why is water so much more fun to drink out of a bottle than out of a glass? (I think because it makes me feel like some sort of athlete–which I’m not!)

From where I sit at my desk at home, I can watch the house next door. The other day the 3-year-old girl was taking giant steps back and forth, walking to and fro on the stepping stones her dad put in the yard. Her 11-year-old brother was lying in the gravel. Just…lying there. This went on for a long time. Kids who are easily amused–always a good thing.

Recently I saw the UPS guy making a delivery–to the Post Office. That seemed funny to me for some reason.

I was sitting outside and a teensy baby fly landed on my arm. It struck me that I didn’t know if I’d ever seen a baby fly before. My first impulse was to think, “Oh, look. A baby! How cute!” Then I remembered that this darling tot existed to ruin picnics, eat garbage, and regurgitate…not to mention that it was recently a maggot. O.K. Forget cute. Anybody got a flyswatter?

Another children’s sermon based on the doctrinal summaries in the Disciple’s Study Bible.

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 6:2-3

OBJECT: business card, pamphlet for a new business, etc.

Today I want us to think together about the word “revelation.” I’m not talking about the book of the Bible called “Revelation,” but about what that word means. To reveal something is to show it to someone, or to tell someone about it. Read the rest of this entry »