Like a Tree Planted … and a giveaway!
ALT="tree by a river"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer  Do you have a favorite tree? Countless varieties flourish on the earth, but Psalm 92 mentions three with a descriptive promise attached: The godly will flourish like palm trees, grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon, and still bear fruit in their old age (

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Cords of Love
Alt="young girl holding baby goat"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer  Robert Fulghum’s 1988 New York Times bestseller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten was on that prestigious list for nearly two years. He made valid points and stirred most of us to consider the kindnesses and stress busters we were introduced

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Life wins!
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Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer  One morning last week, an ethereal veil hung over our small orchard, shrouding the budding trees with mist. I wondered, could that be what it looked like in God’s garden that we read about in Genesis? “… but a mist went up from the earth

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Of Birthdays and Other Interuptions
ALT="toddler eating birthday cake"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer  My perspective of age has changed over the years. Perhaps that’s because I’m on a different side of it than I once was. I still look ahead in anticipation, but now I look back with more gratitude for where the Lord has brought me and

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We Run Out of Time
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Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Time. We run out of time faster than we run out of money and milk. But we can always get more money and milk. We can’t go get more time. When I was growing up and my mother didn’t want to accept an invitation, she

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In the Beginning Was the Word
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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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Better Than What the Well Offered
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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
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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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Do Not Give Up – and a giveaway
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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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One Blessing After Another
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Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer About this time every year, an unusual looking fruit appears in the produce section of the supermarket, one that I first sampled at my grandparents’ farm in California: Pomegranates. The only attractive thing about a pomegranate is its exquisite garnet color. Beyond that, the round,

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Let the Silence In
ALT="sunrise against pine trees"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Last week we looked at what it means to “be still.” Quite a challenge for busy lives that don’t have much quiet time to reflect, listen, or simply breathe. Things always press in, demanding our attention, whether they are as fleeting as the news and

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Be Still …
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Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer On a recent trip to Pennsylvania to visit my daughter, I toured the University of Pittsburgh where she works – right in the middle of the city. The campus is scattered among blocks of governmental buildings, high-rise apartments, and historical churches, and the sense of

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Just Right or Not Quite
ALT="green zucchini squash"

Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Why do we think we should have things that are perfect? Things that always operate correctly and never breakdown or wear out? Is it a latent memory in our DNA left over from the Garden of Eden where everything really was perfect (except for a

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Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
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Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer October 13 is release day for Book 5 of The Cañon City Chronicles, Hope Is Built. As I wrote this story, continuing into the third generation of the Hutton family, I realized there was so much more going on than a romance. The second Hutton

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