Living on Pins and Needles
ALT="prickly pear cactus flowers"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Every year my little patch of prickly pear cactus blooms with the most delicate yellow flowers—a flaring contradiction to the plant’s spiny pins growing in protective clusters. Overshadowing the cactus patch on its east side stands a magnificent Colorado blue spruce with its

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Train Up a Child
ALT TEXT="Rodeo clown and child running with pony"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Not until I had the photograph developed did I realize I’d caught the pattern. Look at the feet and legs, the arms, and the focus of attention in this father and son—my husband, Mike, and our son, Jake. At two years old, Jake

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Rest is Underrated
ALT="Psalm 127:2 sunset"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I took a couple of days off, went to a mountain retreat, and planned to write thousands and thousands of words on my next novel. No phone (when I turned it off). No chores or cooking or other life distractions. Just writing. Plain

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The Mountains and Hills Will Burst Into Song
ALT="mountain valley"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I’ve often been told that the settings of my stories are almost like characters impacting the humans. That makes me smile because natural landscapes and seasonal weather situations affect how people live. Each geographic location has its unique challenges whether mountain, desert, forest,

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