Go In Peace
ALT="worried man"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Two weekends this month I have a small part in a play* about the life of Christ as well as the life of a wizened old judge whose dead friend pays him a visit. It is the second production I have participated in over the

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The Refiner’s Fire
ALT="Mary's Moment book by Susan G. Mathis"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Please welcome my guest blogger today, author Susan G. Mathis, as she talks about something we all experience … The Refiner’s Fire Have you ever gone through the refiner’s fire? I’m sure you have, and so did my characters in Mary’s Moment who had just

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Not Without Horses and Women
ALT="woman riding a horse"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer It has been said that the American West was “hell on horses and women,” but without them, the Wild West may never have been. Fits right in with Women’s History Month, doesn’t it? Alice Marriott, author of a book with the same colorful title, Hell

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One Thing
ALT="black button women's history"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer If you haven’t already heard, March is Women’s History Month. The button pictured above was left in my box in the teacher’s lounge when I taught at the college. I laugh every time I notice it on my “inspiration” board at home. However, I can

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In the Beginning Was the Word
ALT="In the beginning was the word"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Did you choose a “word for the year” at the beginning of 2023? Many people did. It has become a friendlier variation on the New-Year’s-Resolution theme. Researchers say resolutions last between two weeks and one month. I was surprised they lasted that long. However, a

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Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
ALT="tin scrolled heart on saddle horn"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A lot is said in February about the heart. A lot of money is spent too. Advertisers market flowers, candy, cards, and jewelry all connected to the little red or pink ♥-shape denoting love, affection, fondness, and fidelity. And of course the ♥ looks nothing

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Don’t Listen to the Doubt
ALT="sorrel horse"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Have you ever suffered from “imposter syndrome?” Misgivings about what you’ve been called to do. “Me – teach?” “Me – sing?” “Me – help the sick/poor/lonely?” As an author, I know well the spidery footsteps of doubt crawling up my shoulder … “You – write?”

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Better Than What the Well Offered
ALT="clay water pot"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Do you ever get so busy that you ignore other people? In too big of a hurry to sense their need. So tied up in your own thoughts that you miss the obvious.  I do. Maybe that’s why I enjoy accounts of Jesus meeting people

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Expectancy Frees Us from Expectation
ALT="a road curving through grassland"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When I was in elementary school, two of my classmates were identical twins. Even their names were nearly the same: Arlene and Darlene. I rarely knew who was who. As an adult, I’m learning the difference between two nearly identical words: expectation and expectancy. They

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How to Approach a New Year
ALT="Three horses in the snow"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A new calendar faces us. New challenges, new goals, new opportunities. And honestly, a lot of the same-ol’ same-ol’ repetitions we could do without. Yet, in spite of all those things we have no control over, we can choose to control our responses to them.

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Deep Calls Unto Deep
ALT="waterfall on Snake River in Idaho"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Iconic images of frozen Niagara Falls have hit the Internet as hard as a recent wintry storm hit North America. Amazing that the water’s thunderous, rushing journey can be stopped. I’ve never been to New York and the Niagara River, but I’ve heard the roar

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Do Not Give Up – and a giveaway
ALT="harvest vegetables"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer When asked what advice I have for aspiring writers, I say, “Don’t quit.” Sometimes I say, “Never give up.” And often I add, “Keep writing.” My advice is boringly repetitive. However, that’s the kind of stick-to-itiveness required for most worthwhile endeavors. One of the easiest

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The Truth Behind Fiction
ALT="mountain junction and restaurant"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Several years ago in one of my digs through the past, courtesy of the Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center,   I found an article about Texas Creek, Colorado. It wasn’t called Texas Creek in 1881, but rather, Ford Junction, a stage stop,

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A Christmas to Remember
ALT="little boy in big boots"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer A working dad took his son to day care early one morning and was surprised to find the police there. He soon learned from the distraught director that someone had broken into the center the night before and stolen all their food. Instead of

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In Everything Give Thanks
ALT="Pumpkins"

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “In everything give thanks.” Those ancient words are a tall order this year. Resentment tries to wedge in between them, dragging in excuses, arguments, and reasons for why we really don’t have to be thankful for everything. Maybe not anything. After all, this was

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