Davalynn Spencer's Blog, page 32

Going Off-Grid (Guiltlessly)

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 my husband and I rodeoed.

“Off-grid” is more of a disconnect descriptor for those who choose to live more independently without cultural infrastructure such as electricity, etc. It also describes those who have logged off of social media. For me, off-grid simply meant “out-of-reach.”

I needed the getaway. Sweet evenings by a whispering river with no television or phone calls or internet. Oh, Wi-Fi was available, but so was an off/mute button, complete with the rebellious sense of “I’m gone, and no one knows where I am!”

I wonder if Jesus felt like that when “he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (Matthew 14:23 NIV).

True off-gridders would have camped. I did the next-best thing at a mountain-valley Airbnb with gracious hosts and a guardian feline that kept a careful but distant eye on me from beneath a flowering tree in the yard.

But as much as I enjoyed my stay, I had to leave. However, I’ve learned that leaving means taking parts of my retreat home with me—like the sweet aftertaste of waking to a quiet dawn and walking by the river. Goslings in the pasture, the swaying music of giant cottonwoods, sunlight gilding not-so-distant snow-capped peaks.

Somehow, going off-grid makes coming back easier. I think it’s because I come back with the peace of “away.”

The anticipation of leaving, enjoyment of the experience, and remembering the change of pace, place, and priority all weave into regeneration.

He restores my soul.

If I let Him.

For me, renewal requires simpler over easier/faster.

How about you? How do you regenerate? Do you go “off-grid?”

If you could go away for a few days, where would you go—mountains, dessert, seashore, or somewhere else? I’d love to hear your choice.

~

Want to see where I went? Here’s a peek at Riverbend Retreat 

Come back with the peace of 'away'.
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   With the rising sun behind them, Cade kicked into a lope across the park, startling deer that bounded effortlessly across the meadow. A watery rush of wings and raucous honking sent a gaggle of Canada geese skyward, sunlight flashing off their bellies.

   Elizabeth’s heart squeezed at the familiar sight so long absent from her daily life. Denver and all that had happened there seemed miles and years away.

   Riding into the back country, she consciously threw off everything she could think of from her time in the city. The lack—so different from her life of abundance on the ranch. Cold, lonely nights waiting for Edward’s return from his so-called business. An unnamed hunger for warmth and love as much as for food.

   She’d known early on that marrying Edward had been a mistake, but ingrained in her very fiber was the fact that one did not go back on a promise. Clearly, Edward did not have the same upbringing.

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Forever #lovingthecowboy

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 new way of living, remind us that we are loved, and encourage us to take a chance.

In many ways, writing is similar to marriage. It requires faithfulness, hard work, and resistance to discouragement. Fidelity means saying no to other things so we can say yes to our commitment.

For me, writing and marriage have converged like the streams that feed the mighty Arkansas River near our home. The life I’ve shared with my husband has impacted countless published nonfiction articles, interviews, and devotions and also flavored my fictional Western-romance heroes. Every blacksmith or bronc-buster, rodeo clown or ranch hand carries a trait of one man who actually did each of those things and more.

And like the river, as well as our marriage, my writing continues to flow in the same direction, between the same banks, yet always with new water – new ideas, new goals, new dreams.

Anniversaries spawn remembering, and remembering has a way of refreshing our first love.

How could it not?

For I’ll be forever #lovingthecowboy.

~

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you … (Genesis 9:15) 

“I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”

~

Remembering our first love.
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An Improper Proposal

   Yellow lamplight warmed the page, and the words seemed to come alive and sink into his soul. Words that his father had noted but never shared. Words that Cade had not read or heard … until Pastor Bittman spoke them the day of the wedding.

   Hands trembling as he gripped the old Bible, he blinked against his blurring vision, tears spilling on the thin paper.

   “God forgive me for not forgiving him.” The prayer scratched up from Cade’s throat, healing an old, deep wound. He was no more perfect than his father, maybe even less so. For his father had realized what Cade nearly missed: Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

   He palmed his eyes and opened the ink bottle atop the desk, then he dipped the pen and made an entry below his name: Married Mae Ann Remington, 15 May 1880, Olin Springs, Colorado. In smaller script beneath her name, he wrote Proverbs 18:22.

 

Alicia Haney, you are the randomly chosen winner of Kate Breslin’s latest novel from last week’s giveaway. Congratulations! 

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(c) 2019 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.

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Memorial Day Historical Giveaway

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 of the Sea. Winner chosen randomly on June 1, 2019 at 8 p.m. (MT).

Welcome, Kate. I have long enjoyed your thrilling, heart-tugging stories. If you could spend a week/month as a main character from one of your novels, which character would you choose and why?

Interesting question, Davalynn! As an author of wartime historical fiction, I wouldn’t want to experience any of the hardship and trauma of my characters; however I would like to be Johanna Reyer, the heroine of my most recent WWI novel, Far Side of the Sea. Johanna’s had a very difficult life, but instead of being weakened by her experience, she’s a bit of a “scrapper,” becoming strong, determined, and daring. She’s also very clever and uses a most creative ploy to call in the necessary aid to help her find her lost family. And though she harbors deep wounds from the past and feelings of unworthiness, she is still willing to listen and learn about God’s love for her, and to put that faith to the test when it counts most.

What was your most unusual source of inspiration for a story.

During my research years ago, I was surprised to read about pigeons being used by the military in WWI and their successful service in battle. I’d thought to write about them one day and then at our local pet store, the young woman behind the counter brought into work her pigeon, Stuart, and he seemed quite happy to be near her in his wooden cage. She told me that she’d rescued him from a cat fight and nursed him back to health and he became hers. At home she would let him out of his cage and he would fly out the window, but always came back. I think her love for Stuart helped to spark my desire in writing about Little Corporal, my pigeon in Far Side of the Sea.

How important to you is the setting of your story? Is the story’s plot dependent upon that setting, or could the story take place anywhere at any time?

For me, with writing wartime fiction, my settings are key because the specific events of that place and time period constitute the narrative of my story. The setting can also be the basis of growth for my characters.

Do you visit your story (place) settings or rely primarily on research from afar?

With Far Side of the Sea, I was fortunate to have been in Paris, France, many years ago and more recently I took my mom to visit Barcelona, Spain. I have also been to other countries mentioned in my stories, like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, however I have yet to visit Great Britain, where I love placing my characters! In that case, I have to rely on research, using online tools like Google Earth, YouTube, Pinterest, and travel blogs in order to get a good visual grasp for my story setting. It can be challenging too, since my writing timeline is 100 years ago—old buildings have been torn down, new buildings erected, and street names have changed over the years, not to mention another Word War occurred between my storyline and the present. I try to utilize real places whenever I can, so it requires digging a bit deeper to see how the area has transitioned through the years. An example: in my new novel, my characters visit the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, France. In the early 1900s, the capitol building’s rosy brick façade was covered over in a white paint that was removed in later years. This may seem an inconsequential detail, but because Toulouse is famously known as the “La Ville Rosa,” or the Pink City for its rosy brick buildings, and because my characters were there in 1918, I felt it necessary to mention the paint for historical accuracy.

How much effort (if any) do you put into choosing character names? Do different names fit better with specific personality traits than others? If so, how?

I actually put a lot of thought into naming my characters. I teach a class on character development and this is the first step. When we think of a name, it conjures an instant impression and perhaps two or three traits that describe a behavior type. Maybe the name of someone we know, or a famous figure in history, or a character from a movie. Choosing the right names for my characters at the start helps me to flesh them out and shape their personalities.

What is your favorite scene from the book featured today? Why are you emotionally invested in it?

Davalynn, I have more than one, but because they are story spoilers I’ll just say that there is a reunion scene that’s very poignant to me because it reminds me of my dad, to whose memory I’ve dedicated this novel.

When readers come to the end of today’s featured book, what do you want them to leave with besides a satisfying ending?

I always hope my stories entertain and give my readers a history lesson without seeming like a history lesson, but it’s always on my heart to share some facet of God’s love as well. In Far Side of the Sea, it’s the idea that our heavenly Father isn’t One to be feared, but to befriend. He is with us always, and we are each unique and equally important in His eyes, and in His unconditional love.

Thank you, Kate, for joining us today and for writing such inspiring, truth-filled fiction.

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Kate’s latest novel, Far Side of the Sea.

Memorial Day Giveaway
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Former bookseller-turned-author Kate Breslin enjoys life in the Pacific Northwest with her family. A writer of travel articles and award-winning poetry, Kate’s first novel, For Such A Time, was shortlisted for the Christy and RITA awards and won ACFW’s 2015 Carol award for Debut Novel. Kate’s fourth novel, Far Side of the Sea, released in March 2019. When she’s not writing inspirational fiction, Kate enjoys reading, hiking in Washington’s beautiful woodlands, and traveling abroad. Please visit her at www.katebreslin.com.

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Far Side of the Sea – In spring of 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries at the front, receives an unexpected message by carrier pigeon: it is an urgent summons from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life—a woman he believed to be dead. Leaving Britain’s shores to return into war-torn France, he hopes his reunion with her will ease his guilt and this mission restore the courage he lost on the battlefield.

Colin is stunned when he arrives in Paris to discover the message came not from Jewel, but from a stranger who claims to be her half-sister, Johanna. Johanna works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence; having found Jewel’s diary, she believes her sister is alive and in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is at first skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them.

When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot however, that trust is at stake, as danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives.

 

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O Taste and See That the Lord is Good!

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer

I don’t even like donuts, but this enthusiastic eater of doughy delights makes me want one.

Do food commercials affect you that way? What about a billboard with an image of someone chomping into a juicy burger or slurping a double-scoop ice-cream cone?

Yeah, that.

No wonder advertisers use visual hooks to get us to buy their products.

We could learn something from these marketers because we “advertise” all the time to our families. People, especially children, often emulate what they see us doing or hear us saying.

What concepts are we touting? Which ideas are we discussing around the dinner table?

Do we even have a dinner table?

The idea that God loves us could be a radical concept to someone who doesn’t know Him. Have we shared that idea?

I’m not talking about preaching or dictating.

I’m talking about sharing and listening. Making others hungry.

Let’s try it this week. Hopefully, our family and friends will want to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:8 NKJV

~

Taste and see!
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Mae Ann laid a healthy slice of chocolate cake on the boy’s plate, keenly aware of Deacon’s jealous glare.

Todd dug in and rolled his eyes. “This is even better than what Sophie makes.”

Deacon huffed.

“More coffee?” Mae Ann held the pot above Deacon’s cup and gave him her warmest smile. She also filled Cade’s and caught his enjoyment of the foreman’s cake-grudging discomfort.             ~An Improper Proposal

 

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All I Want

By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer

Have you ever wanted something so simple that it crosses all barriers of time and culture?

I have. Fire.

            The warmth of a wood stove on a cold spring morning.

            The campfire of a cowboy who rolls out his ground sheet and blanket while dry wood snaps in the flames.

            The glowing coals of a shepherd’s camp in Judean hills, where he beds down his flock, cooks an evening meal, falls asleep to the song of a nearby stream.

Such fire, found also in well-chosen words, does more than warm the body.

Lately, I find myself shying away from those whose words contain no flame. I find myself seeking the power of story, and I wonder if that power is what drew crowds millennia ago from their daily lives to the words of the Galilean.

To the One who built fires of hope in their hearts.         

It’s that intimacy I long for, sitting in the presence of One who can show me how to do life simply.

With peace.

With purpose.

With clarity.

Sometimes, that’s all I want.

What do you want?

~

“Were not our hearts burning within us as he talked with us on the road?”

Luke 24:32 NIV

All I Want
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The breeze danced downstream and shivered through the trees. Caleb’s campfire was not the only glow along the river, and he was grateful for its warmth.

As he cut open his last can of beans, he counted a half dozen flickering lights scattered up and down the banks. ~Loving the Horseman – Book 1 of the Canon City Chronicles – FREE

 

 

 

 

Robin in NC – you are our randomly chosen winner from last week’s drawing for a copy of Laura L. Padgett’s devotional book, Jesus in Shorts. Congratulations!

 

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HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT … and a giveaway

I’m happy to introduce guest-blogger, author, and dancer Laura Padgett today. Expression is her forte! Can you relate with her take on masks? Be sure to comment below for entry into a drawing for Laura’s devotional book, Jesus in Shorts – a great play on words!

Masked

I performed the dance in a mime costume complete with a white, expressionless mask covering my face. Audience members depended upon my movements to tell a story. The music had words. But I portrayed someone who felt safer expressing those words from behind a mask.

At the conclusion of the piece I hurried back stage, removed the mask and sighed, “Ahh, now that’s better.”

There are a number of factors that make wearing masks difficult. Peripheral vision is diminished. Obstructed vision limits perception of personal space. That limitation can impair balance, causing the wearer to proceed with caution in an attempt to avoid injury.

But despite the drawbacks, a mask sometimes provides something that many (like the little mime) crave – safety.

In the months since that performance, I’ve tried to notice how many times I subject myself to the tiresome endeavor of being in disguise. Often I don’t present my authentic self for fear of rejection or disapproval. This may be due to lessons I learned as a child, or memories ingrained as I danced with life’s disagreeable experiences over the past six decades.

It can be hard to recognize when I’m restricting vision, compromising balance, and making my journey a tedious march through obstacles, perceived or real. Many days it’s just plain easier to don the mask, be what others expect and move with calculated caution through life. Those are the days when it’s evident I’ve strayed from the assurance of God’s love.

I’ve learned that the closer I walk with the Lord, the more I find deep peace in the truth that He accepts me just as I am. Any mask I attempt to wear is invisible to Him anyway.

I prefer to never feel restricted or unbalanced by not being my authentic self. When I do find myself in those situations, however, I can rely on the knowledge that I have a place to turn for rest and assurance. I can remember the One who always welcomes me with acceptance and love, beyond pretenses.

I look forward to, and am grateful for, the times when I sit down with my Heavenly Father, sigh in relief, remove the masks of the day and say, “Ahh, now that’s better.”

~

Come to me all you who are weary… (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Remove the masks.
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Be sure to comment below for entry into a drawing for Laura’s devotional book, Jesus in Shorts: Twenty-five Short Stories of Life-Changing Jesus Moments. Winner will be randomly chosen from commenters on Saturday, May 11, 2019.

 

Laura Padgett holds an MA from Regis University in storytelling and dance. She holds several medals in dance and awards for writing. She is the author of two nonfiction books, Dolores, Like the River, and Jesus in Shorts: Twenty-five Short Stories of Life-Changing Jesus Moments, as well as several pieces in anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul. She writes a monthly blog, “Livin’ What You’re Given” (found on her website lauralpadgett.com) where she shares stories of inspiration, transformation, and encouragement for others to find/share their gifts. Laura lives in Lakewood with her husband, Keith, has three children and three grandchildren as well as multiple grand dogs and cats.

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May All That You Read Be Uplifting

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 is too full of that which tears down, depletes, and depresses, so I want to encourage people to read books, stories, and articles that are uplifting.

This is not to say we stick our head in the sand and pretend that nothing bad ever happens. It’s to say that in spite of the unlovely, there is hope and we need to be reminded of it.

The power of story can change a person’s life. Jesus knew this and used stories to teach Truth. God’s words are the most uplifting words ever spoken or written, and I like to begin each day with a page from Daily Light, a collection of topically arranged scriptures complied by Samuel Bagster in 1794.

But in my recreational reading, I want uplifting novels. Such stories are not genre-exclusive and they can be found in several categories: adventure, political thriller, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and more, both contemporary and historical. Many stories across many genres weave a redemptive thread.

Hopefully, such stories will be found at the hands of Christian authors.

With that in mind, I want to invite you to a Christian-author event planned for this evening.

Do like meeting authors?

Do you like reading historical Christian fiction?

If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, then you’ll want to join our Facebook Party today, April 29, from 5:30 PM – 9 PM EDT.

Five other Christian historical novelists and I will be sharing insider tidbits and prizes. Two grand prize winners will be chosen from participants who do the following:

Visit the Facebook party page and click that you are going to the party.
Share the party on your timeline.
Comment on at least two authors’ posts during the party. 

One grand prize is a $50 Amazon gift card, and the other prize is all six of the books shown below.

What a fun way to spend a Monday evening!

So with that, I’ll repeat myself:

May all that you read be uplifting.

~

Wise words satisfy like a good meal;

the right words bring satisfaction.

Proverbs 18:20 NLT

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May all that you read be uplifting.
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Impressed by her confidante’s ability to string questions together so rapidly, Elizabeth smiled for the first time in a long while, encouragement pricking a tender spot behind her ribs. ~ An Unexpected Redemption

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Is It Personal?

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?

“What about people who have served the community for years,” I asked. “What about their jobs?”

Corporate doesn’t care, he implied. It’s nothing personal. It’s just not in their bottom line.

Has anyone ever said that to you, tried to ease an assault by saying, “Nothing personal, it’s just business”?

In the 1998 romantic comedy, You’ve Got Mail, mega-bookstore owner Joe Fox, (Tom Hanks), bankrupts independent-bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly, (Meg Ryan), and tells her, “It wasn’t personal.”

Kelly is having none of it.

“All that means is that it wasn’t personal to you,” she says. “But it was personal to me. It’s personal to a lot of people. What is so wrong with being personal, anyway? Whatever anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”

I couldn’t agree more.

After my disheartening supermarket conversation, I followed the “nothing personal” line of thinking to the extreme and came up with chip-reader salvation. Auto-deposit eternity. Smartphone forgiveness.

God didn’t have to be so personal. He could have given us a heavenly card-swipe, a praise-and-worship PIN, or access to the Kingdom via text: “Yeah, God. Sign me up!”

But that wasn’t His way.

When Jesus hung by his hands and feet on the Roman Empire’s execution tree, it was personal.

When He gave His life in exchange for mine, it was personal.

When his tomb was found empty on the first day of the week after His crucifixion, it was personal.

Two women made the discovery, and ran to tell His other followers who came to see for themselves. Later, when they were all gathered in a closed, locked room, Jesus came to them—personally—and said, “Peace be with you” (Luke 24:36).

Because Jesus loved us, He came into our messy world. 

Because He paid for our sins, we’re forgiven.

Because He lives, so can we.

Now that’s personal.

It ought to begin by being personal.
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Betsy watched them until Garrett drew rein at the fence and dismounted. His horse reached for the trough, and Garrett pulled him up short, removed the headstall, then let him drink.

“He’s beautiful,” she said.

Garrett leaned into his horse as if whispering a secret. “Don’t take it personal. She meant it as a compliment.”

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Jesus Paid What We Owed

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 a subtle way, they are related.

One day, Peter, a follower of Jesus, was asked if Jesus paid the Jewish temple tax required by all Jewish males. Peter said yes (Matthew 17:24-27).

But the question must have weighed on Peter’s mind, because when he joined Jesus at the house where they were staying, Jesus questioned Peter about his opinion as to who should pay taxes – a ruler’s children or a ruler’s subjects.

The subjects, Peter answered. Jesus agreed, and said the children of a ruler would be exempt. Yet He didn’t stop there.

“But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Peter was a fisherman, so throwing out his line to catch a fish wasn’t foreign to him. However, I imagine finding a coin in a fish’s mouth was, especially when that coin was enough for the tax required for two men.

Later, during the week leading up to the Jewish Passover* and Jesus’ crucifixion, religious leaders tried to trap Jesus with a trick question by asking him if Jews should pay taxes to the Roman government (Matthew 22:18-22).

Aware of their intent, Jesus didn’t give His questioners a yes or no answer. Instead, he asked to see the coin used for paying the tax, a silver Roman-minted denarius.

“Whose portrait is this, and whose inscription?” Jesus asked.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Jesus’ answer stunned them. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

I can almost see His adversaries shuffling away disgruntled and amazed.

Much has been said and written throughout history about taxation, its limitations or lack thereof, its fairness and unfairness, and Jesus’ actions and comments are worthy of our consideration. In the account of Peter and the coin-swallowing fish, I find it interesting that Jesus did more than pay His own tax, He paid Peter’s as well. Perhaps this was a foreshadowing of things to come.

This Friday, a day we refer to as Good Friday, let’s remember what Jesus did when He gave His life on a Roman cross at the insistence of Jewish leaders—a sacrifice ordained by God, not man.

Jesus paid what we owed.

~

Jesus paid what we owed.
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*This Friday evening begins the first day of the Jewish Passover.

 

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Try Again

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 try again.

Why is the trickle of a stream like a song? Why is the sky so blazingly blue? Why do spring daffodils pop up crisp and pure?

Why is my home so warm in winter? My table prepared with food? My friend just a phone call away.

Why does God love me?

Have you ever asked the wrong why?

It’s not too late to change.

Go ahead—try again.

~

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

Job 42:3 (NIV)

Go ahead - try again.
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“The question is why,” Garrett said. “Why would you come back to your hometown, lead everyone to believe you’re married, and not go home to the family ranch?”

Or not. Betsy buried her burning fingers in the folds of her skirt and blinked away the frustration that threatened to do more than threaten. “Don’t you have better things to busy yourself with? Like hunting down real criminals?”

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