My writing friends, Mavis Jarrell and Marilyn Johnston, exhibited our recently published books at the Dauphin Way Baptist
Spring Expo on Friday, March 6. Here is our picture taken by Jo Anne
McKnight. It was a great experience.
Betty Spence
Monday, March 9, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Good news! After several years of writing effort, Daystar, my 40-day devotional book of reflections, prayers and poems has arrived. Take a look at the first devotion below to help you decide if Daystar would be a good Easter gift for a loved one.
Send $12 which includes shipping to the following address:
3446 LaCoste Road, Mobile, AL 36618. Phone: 251-649-4892.
Send $12 which includes shipping to the following address:
3446 LaCoste Road, Mobile, AL 36618. Phone: 251-649-4892.
Is That You, Lord? Day 1
Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
The risen Christ revealed himself to his
followers in ways that were meaningful to them. For Peter it was the empty tomb. For John it was grave clothes folded and laid
aside. For Thomas it was the wounds
of Christ. For Mary Magdalene it was a familiar voice calling
her name.
Others among Christ’s followers also
became persons of witness, believers for whom the resurrection was made real.
In each instance Christ’s followers were taken by holy surprise, which
changed their plans not only for their day, but for their lives.
What about you and me? Have you, have I, become so familiar with the
Easter narrative, do we know it all so well, or think we do, the mystery of
faith no longer takes us by surprise?
Surely, the death and resurrection of Christ is a sacred ordeal which
demands constant reexamination and reaffirmation of faith.
Afterglow: The mysteries of salvation through the death,
resurrection, and ascension of Christ will
never be fully realized in
this life where at best we see through a glass darkly. God is faithful, however, to help us grasp
the mystery of mysteries in meaningful ways.
*******
Discovering the Daystar
John 20:19
Groping towards dawn
Mary comes to the palest of
gardens,
stoops low beside the open
tomb
and looks into the abyss.
Like an unenlightened
stargazer
whose concentrated stare
overshoots a million suns,
she cannot believe her eyes.
But when One she takes
to be the keeper of the garden
whispers “Mary”,
she turns to see who calls
her name
and the Daystar rises.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
It's a new year, and I am blessed. My book of poetry, Traces of Presence, published by Dr. Sue Walker, Negative Capability Press, is now available. Poet friend, Joe Whitten, author of Learning to Tell Time says:
Betty Spence chooses words for her poems as carefully as a
master quilter chooses colors for a prize-winning quilt. She sees the joyful
pattern of nature as “red feathers dusting green feeder” and longleaf pines
that “needle point a piece of Alabama sky.” For her, Vincent van Gogh “paints
not what is, but what seems/ in seeming swirls of yellow and orange.” Betty’s
faith is stitched into the fabric of her poems, for she hears the pink and blue
asters “telling the glory of God” and sees the coast of Main as “God’s Rock
Garden.” Be inspired by the poems in Traces
of Presence.
Here are a few short poems from the book.
Uncurtained
Window
What-cheer,
red
feathers
dusting green feeder swinging
on black shepherd’s hook.
dusting green feeder swinging
on black shepherd’s hook.
Call
For Calendar Reform
Tell me Spring’s not the time
to ring out the old; ring in the new.
to ring out the old; ring in the new.
Tell me the time of white blossoms
with a hint of pink is not the time
with a hint of pink is not the time
for bees to buzz the cup; not the time
for meadow grass to throw serpentine;
for meadow grass to throw serpentine;
not the time for Yellow Jasmine
to trumpet strains of Auld Lang Syne.
to trumpet strains of Auld Lang Syne.
Hey, you! You in the party hat.
Tell me the calendar didn’t say that.
Tell me the calendar didn’t say that.
Stitchery
as open and airy
as stanzas allowing
a sky blue canvas
to show through,
one evergreen stitch
at a time
Longleaf Pines
n e e d l e p o i n t
a piece of Alabama sky.
to show through,
one evergreen stitch
at a time
Longleaf Pines
n e e d l e p o i n t
a piece of Alabama sky.
To order books:
Betty Spence
3446 LaCoste Road
Mobile, AL 36618
251-649-4892
$15 + $2.50 S&H
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