By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer In the sport of rodeo, the game is never called on account of rain. Well, almost never. The only place I saw a performance canceled due to weather was Drummond, Montana, where standing water mirrored the bucking chutes (above). But there was no cancellation
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer For my family, equating the Fourth of July with rodeo is a long-standing habit. Yes, we’ve barbecued and sometimes watched fireworks, but when our kids were growing up, we never celebrated at the house. We didn’t have a house. We had a 16-wheel rig
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer The bad news is, six months from today is Christmas Eve. The good news is, six months from today is Christmas Eve. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Remember when you were a kid and Christmas couldn’t come quickly
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last week I left it all behind. Well, sort of. I took my laptop because I was, after all, planning to write. Which meant I also needed my smart phone and Nikon camera. Now that I think about it, I lived more off-grid when
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “I do” was a high-priced promise. On this, the anniversary of my wedding, I see how those two little words spoken so long ago were life-changers. That’s one of the things I love about words—and writing them. They can open our hearts to a
I felt it quite fitting that today’s post for Memorial Day be presented from wartime novelist Kate Breslin. Kate’s answers to my questions are well thought-out and insightful. Comment below for entry into a giveaway for a paperback copy (ships US) of her latest release, Far Side
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “May all that you read be uplifting.” Have you seen that line? I use it at the bottom of my email and quarterly newsletters, and I include it at the end of most of my novels. However, it’s more than a poetic parting. Life
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “Automation is on the horizon,” said the checker at my favorite grocery store as he rang up my weekly purchases. “Everything will be done electronically via camera and scanners.” I was stunned. No more friendly conversations, smiles, and small talk during my marketing experience?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer This is an interesting week. Today is the deadline for government taxes due in the United States, and this Friday is the day Christians commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross. These events seem as far apart on the spectrum as possible, yet in
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I ask why a lot. Do you? Why did mother die? Why did that guy cut me off in traffic? Why did I lose my job? Why has life not gone as I planned? Maybe I’m asking the wrong why. Maybe I should
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Today is April Fool’s day, observed in many Western nations as an opportune time to play jokes on the gullible and unsuspecting. I’ve played tricks on employers, family members, and students and have had plenty of tricks played on me. It’s a fun day
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer One morning as I hurried around the house, fretting over my ever-growing to-do list, I muttered, “Did time go this fast for the Hebrews who wandered in the wilderness? How about when David was a shepherd boy, giant-killer, and king? Or when Jesus walked
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When my daughter was a small child, she referred to the marigolds in our garden as “miracles.” I didn’t correct her. My young son once pointed to shafts of sunlight breaking through a cloud bank and said, “Maybe heaven’s having a tour.” What a
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Laura Jameson Bell was born in the 1870s. She buried two husbands, all her children, and was 104 when she died. Toward the end of her life, she lived with my family since we were the only living relatives she had. My mother was
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Some of you may know that I blog regularly for Heroes, Heroines, & History on the 17th of every month. Yesterday was my day, and I’m sharing the link with you today. I hope you find this little tidbit about Canon City another rich