Davalynn Spencer's Blog, page 5
October 20, 2024
Which way?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Last Monday, the post office was closed for the observance of Columbus Day. I imagine the following day had a line of postal patrons stretched out the door and into the lobby.
I have spent many post-Columbus-Day Tuesdays in a post office line. One year as I approached the end of the long queue, I noticed a college-aged man standing off to the side with paperwork in his hand. His facial expression suggested he’d never been inside a post office before.
“Are you in line?” I asked.
“Sort of,” he replied.
Not the answer I expected. I’d thought he would say yes or no.
I set my heavy box on the counter that separated waiting customers from the main counter, then looked at the young man and indicated the space in front of me. The space he should have been occupying.
“Go ahead.”
He did.
I don’t know the reason for his hesitancy that day. Many things could have kept him in the corner watching the line grow longer. But he reminded me of how dangerous it can be to go through life with a “sort of” attitude.
Some folks drive with that mentality—sort of in their lane. Often couples don’t get married because things might not work out. And others are often in a perpetual wishy-washy state about everything.
It’s not safe.
Yes, we all look for guidance in our decisions, but once we find it, shouldn’t we commit, whether to our convictions or our relationships with other people and with God?
The Bible mentions this concept several times:
…choose today whom you will serve … (Joshua 24:15)
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death … (Deuteronomy 30:19)
How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? (1 Kings 18:21)
… you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! (Rev. 3:15)
The young man in the post office was getting nowhere until he committed to either get in line or leave.
God committed Himself to us in His unfailing love. Jesus didn’t sort of save us from the penalty of sin. And we don’t have to fear that there is a sort-of way to heaven.
Thank God, He’s as clear and certain as His word, and that word stands forever.
For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything He does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”
Psalm 33:4-5
Is there something in your life to which you need to step up and say either yes, or no?
~
wishy-washy
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By the time Matt made it home, he felt better. He stocked his cupboards and fridge, set the gifts out on the counter, and started a fire in the fireplace. In spite of the new furnace, a fire seemed friendlier, warmer.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Mollie had said. He’d love to show up at her boarding house dinner table, take a seat across from Breanna, and stare a hole through Aaron’s forehead.
Instead, he walked to his bedroom for his drafting table. He’d move it to the living room, crank up the radio for background music, and work on some plans that needed his attention.
He flipped on the light and stood staring at the blank space against the outside wall. It took him a moment to remember, and the irony tugged at his mouth. He’d left the table at the boarding house. Good reason to drop by.
After a broiled steak and baked potato, Matt decided to stick to his earlier resolve and stay away while Mollie’s weekend guests were there. In truth, he didn’t trust himself, and he didn’t need to do anything to make Breanna think he was some kind of animal. Some kind of… ~A Boarding House Christmas from “A Country Christmas Collection“
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
The post Which way? appeared first on Davalynn Spencer.
October 13, 2024
It’s All About the Light
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
People who visit the Colorado mountains each fall to see the changing leaves learn how to position themselves in relation to the sun if they want the best picture possible. For the most vibrant colors and the bluest sky, they shoot with the sun at their back.
Other angles also produce pleasing results, but the colors are more distinct with the sun behind the camera because
it’s all about the light.
Autumn in Colorado offers a visual feast, especially the gold that trickles down pine-draped mountains in streams of yellow aspen. Sometimes, the trees appear to be on fire with autumn’s blaze in their leaves.
I’ve often wondered if these explosive seasonal colors are God’s reminder of how He wants His children to stand out – as souls on fire.
It’s His light within us that sets us ablaze.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12).
When we take Him up on that offer, a transformation occurs.
Jesus explained: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14 NIV).
Can people see the Light of Jesus shining out through the cracks in our lives?
This fall, let’s be souls on fire, burning with the light of God’s great love.
Remember – it’s all about the Light.
Souls on fire
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Coming soon:
Sweet holiday romance, A Country Christmas Collection, two previous e-book novellas now under one print cover. Explore contemporary cowboy love along Colorado’s Front Range in A Mistletoe Christmas and A Boarding House Christmas. Perfect for a cozy evening read!
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
The post It’s All About the Light appeared first on Davalynn Spencer.
October 6, 2024
Beautiful Bounty … and recipes!
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
My kitchen is brimming with apples, and the choices abound as to what I’ll do with them:
1. Make applesauce
2. Make apple pie or cobbler
3. Make apple cookies
4. Make apple bread
5. Bake apples
6. Dry apples
7. Slice and eat for snacks
8. Chop and freeze for oatmeal topping
9. Feed apples to Coconut, our expectant miniature donkey
10. Feed apples to the goats, Oatmeal and Little Bit
I’ve accomplished nearly all of the above, and I must admit that 9. and 10. are some of my favorite things to do!
Aside from that, I almost forgot about the delicious apple salad I made last night for guests and my favorite apple/pumpkin/Craisen muffins.
You’ll find those two recipes in this blog post so you can try them with your fall apples as well. Join me as we praise the Lord for His provisions and abundantly beautiful bounty.
“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.”
Genesis 8:22
~
Apple Salad
4 large apples, cubed
lemon juice for tossing apple cubes
1/3 c Miracle Whip or mayo
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 celery stalks sliced thin
1/2 c Craisens
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 chopped pecans
Toss apple cubes with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. In a separate bowl, mix mayo and brown sugar. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into the mayo mix so everything is evenly coated. Place in a pretty bowl, cover and refrigerate prior to serving 5-7 people.
Apple-Pumpkin-Craisen Muffins
2.5 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c applesauce
1 c peeled and diced apples
1 c Craisens
In a large bowl, mix the first seven ingredients. In separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients and add to the flour mixture. Line muffin tins with paper cups and fill 2/3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, adding minutes if necessary until done. Cool and remove from pan. Store in airtight container. Makes 18 muffins.
Two apple recipes.
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Coming soon:
Sweet holiday romance, A Country Christmas Collection, two previous e-book novellas now under one print cover. Explore contemporary cowboy love along Colorado’s Front Range in A Mistletoe Christmas and A Boarding House Christmas. Perfect for a cozy evening read!
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
The post Beautiful Bounty … and recipes! appeared first on Davalynn Spencer.
September 29, 2024
Of Fruits and Roots
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Last fall, a cheeky tree squirrel ate the autumn decorations off my front porch. One evening I had two pumpkins and a clutch of Indian corn; the next morning I had one ear of corn with several kernels missing.
And two hardened pumpkin stems.
So much for seasonal décor.
This May, I noticed a strange plant pushing up among the roses in front of our house, and I suspected an aerial fly-by planting.
By the time the squash-like plant matured and overtook the rose garden, green basket balls had formed on several stems, reminding me of last year’s autumn décor debacle.
From the fruit I knew the root.
In the natural world, that connection is easily recognized. The same principle is true in our hearts, but we overlook the spiritual application.
I’m currently reading three books, and last week they all intersected with the fruit-root concept. When something like that happens in my life, I know it is not coincidence but rather God saying, “Listen up!”
In Risk the Real, a stunning little book by Allen Arnold, the author reminds us that fruit always reveals its root. Arnold’s premise is based on Eden’s two primary trees around which the rest of the garden grew (Genesis 2:8-9). Tree number one was the tree of life and tree number two was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Adam and Eve were free to eat from any of the trees in that garden but were warned not to eat from tree number two.
They did, and that tree’s fruit has been reproducing ever since—death.
Death of dreams, death of relationships, death of hopes, and eventually death of the physical body.
The fruit-root connection also comes to life in Laura Frantz’s historical romance novel, Courting Morrow Little. Frontier life in the Ohio River valley is hard and dangerous in the 1700s. Settlers lose loved ones in cultural conflicts. Devastated, the heroine’s preacher father chooses forgiveness rather than resentment, even though it is hard. The heroine’s close friend refuses to forgive, and bitterness spreads from her hardened heart to everyone with whom she comes in contact.
The third book I’m reading is the Bible. In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, God again lays out two choices for his people: obedience and disobedience. Life or living without God and His blessings. He explains it this way:
“I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the LORD our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit” (Deut. 29:18).
The fruit-root connection shows up again in the New Testament:
“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many” (Hebrews 12:15).
It doesn’t take much to host a small bit of bitterness. After all, it’s just a little seed, like the mystery seed in my rose garden.
“But that person wronged me,” we want to say. And so the bitterness takes root and grows its poison. It afflicts not only the host, but also infects everyone they come in contact with.
Poison is poison, no matter how it’s packaged. And things eventually die—friendships, affection, trust.
Turning away and refusing God’s example of forgiveness causes bitterness to take root.
I’d rather not have pumpkins in my roses. And I don’t want to nurture bitterness in my heart.
God help me choose You and Your way. Help me choose life.
~
Of fruits and roots
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Dan paid the blacksmith. “Thank you. I’ll be here early.”
He didn’t know what time Thorson and his crew would get to the ranch, but he’d just as soon get there first, which meant he had work to do.
He checked the traffic and cut across the road to the lane by the feed store. At the boarding house, he stomped his boots off at the front door, knocked on the screen, and at a cheerful “Come in,” trailed back to the kitchen.
Pop and Dorrie sat at the table enjoying pie and coffee. Quite a habit for his father to take up at his age. But the fact was, he didn’t look his age anymore. Somewhere along the way sorrow had sloughed off and taken the fruitless years with it.
“I wondered if you’d be back in time for supper.” Dorrie set another plate and cup on the table, then served a generous slice of canned-cherry pie.
Dan hung his hat on the hook by the back door and took a seat. “Thank you, Dorrie. This will do for me. I won’t take supper this evening. I’ve got three hats to finish before tomorrow.”
“Why the rush?” Pop asked.
“I’ll be gone tomorrow, all day I expect. Which reminds me, Dorrie, would it be all right if—”
“By all means,” she said. “I have a dozen crocuses and some hyacinths that arrived last week, and I want to get them in the ground.”
“You didn’t ask if it was all right with me.” Pop cut Dorrie a side glance, then winked at Dan.
Coughing to disguise his amazement, Dan took his plate to the sink. “All right, Pop. What do you think of spending the day here tomorrow?”
“She wants to put me to work in her garden. Thinks I’m closer to the ground than she is.”
Pop’s sense of humor was sprouting like those bulbs would next spring. “Well, don’t work him too hard, Dorrie.”
“Pffft.” She swatted the air and topped off his father’s coffee cup. ~Covering Grace
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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September 22, 2024
Who Needs Boundaries?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Skyline Drive offers no railing in its climb up the hogbacks just west of Cañon City, Colorado. The narrow road lives up to its name, allowing motorists and hikers to feel as if they are scaling the sky.
Some of us don’t like that feeling.
I am one who needs boundaries, and I’m grateful for those I see around school playgrounds and along bridges and roadways.
Why?
The obvious answer is safety.
But sometimes there is more to it than protection.
Borders are often aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Consider flower gardens, farmland, and lawns. Without boundaries, overgrowth and chaos would distract from their beauty and productivity.
Other limitations in our daily lives are meant to help us. Health can be destroyed by over-eating and over-drinking. Ignoring yellow and white lines on streets and highways can result in vehicle accidents and even death.
Without limits, much of our life would be in floppy chaos.
The Bible has a lot to say about physical boundaries, but it also speaks to our emotional borders, limits that help protect our energy, and concentration.
In our busy lives, we often overlook emotional boundaries, especially when we have trouble saying “no” to demands on our time and resources.
In Matthew 25:1-13, we find the story of ten virgins, or bridesmaids in today’s vernacular. This parable is often used to stress the importance of being prepared, but I believe it also addresses personal boundaries.
Jesus tells His listeners that five of the ten young women were foolish and five were wise. When the five unprepared women asked the other five to share their lamp oil for the night, those other five said no.
At first, their answer seems selfish and “unchristian.” However, good stewardship calls for refusal to recklessly give away what one has been charged with. This includes time, resources, and emotional energy.
A visual example could be the bound edges of dishcloths and bath towels. Do we like it when the hems unravel and the fabric begins to fray?
How often does our life feel like that—frayed around the edges? Is it because we have no boundaries or limits?
Psalm 139:5 speaks of God’s care when it says, “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.”
Often, we fight against boundaries and press past them—eating too much, drinking too much, not following God’s plan for relationships.
Boundaries provide not only beauty, protection, and a sense of order, but when heeded, they lead us away from regret, overextension, and stress.
Skyline Drive may be an exciting excursion, but when it comes to everyday life and challenges, I am one who needs boundaries. Thank God for the buffer He provides.
For further study on boundaries mentioned in the Bible, see the following passages:
Proverbs 8:29 The sea has boundaries put in place by the Creator. Wisdom says, “I was there when He set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when He marked off the earth’s foundations.”
Psalm 16:6 Property lines protect ownership. “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
Proverbs 15:25 The Lord recognizes the importance of boundaries. “The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.”
“Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.
“Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
Jeremiah 5:22
~
Who needs boundaries?
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“We’ve got a runaway stagecoach and we need you to chase it down, jump from your horse, and take control of the team.” Thorson looked at Grace. “Dressed like Molly.”
Grace stood in her stirrups for a better view of the incline ahead that narrowed into a razor’s edge, dropping off on both sides about a hundred feet.
Was Thorson out of his mind?
No wonder Molly wanted to keep both feet in the stirrups.
“I can do it, but not here.”
The director stammered into an irritated holler. “Why not?”
Grace swept her arm out over the scenic drop below them. “You are severely short on land.”
He swore under his breath.
A couple of cowboys grinned, but silently.
“I’ll chase the stagecoach to the top, then chase it down the other side, but I won’t risk the life of my horse on this narrow sky-track. I’ll do the stunt on flat ground and you can splice it in.”
Since Cody had taken an interest in filming his Wild West Show the previous year, Grace had learned about such scenes. It was entirely possible.
She also knew that no one else would do the stunt, so she wasn’t surprised when Thorson swept his hat off and mopped his forehead with his sleeve. “All right. We’ll shoot the chase now and tomorrow film the transfer out on the road to the Hutton ranch.” ~Covering Grace
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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September 15, 2024
The Lord is … the Lord Forever
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
“The Lord is … the Lord forever.”
These six words are the first three and the last three of the 23rd Psalm. They declare a simple yet profound truth, and in between them, we discover the character of God.
This psalm is not just a telling or recounting, but a demonstration. In it, we see God through His actions.
Six short verses reveal the intimacy with which He cares for, provides for, and protects His own.
The author/narrator is David, the shepherd-king of Israel. He writes the first three verses of this psalm/song in the first-person, using the pronouns “I” and “me” as he speaks about the Lord.
My overseer is God.
I have everything I need:
Rest
Refreshment
Renewal
Direction
In verses 4, 5, and part of 6, David speaks to the Lord, as if addressing Him face to face.
When things get dark and difficult, I won’t be afraid if You are with me.
You set the table.
You single me out.
You give me more than enough.
Your goodness clings to me like a shadow.
Your mercy follows along.
The final line of verse 6 circles back to David’s original first-person declaration:
I will live in God’s house forever.
In this Shepherd’s Psalm, David shows us life and God’s participation in it:
The Lord prepares us for the journey.
The road is hard.
The destination is God’s house where
the table is set
and we are favored.
We have more than enough.
Goodness dogs us,
Love follows us.
And we never have to leave.
The journey is worth it.
Forever.
The Lord is … the Lord forever.
The Lord is ... the Lord forever.
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Dorrie paused a moment before addressing her again, an added depth of tone in her voice. “I see her fearlessness in you. The only thing different is your hair. You have more than your share, as did your grandmother, but hers was fiery red to match her spirit.”
Grace’s eyes welled, spilling first across her soul with the healing of home she’d not found when she returned to the ranch three weeks ago. Her brothers and their wives had welcomed her. So had Helen and the boys. But she didn’t fit there. Just like she hadn’t fit before she left with the Wild West Show.
But here? In her grandmother’s home with a woman who had known her so well?
Grace pressed her arm against her eyes, determined not to be a blithering twit. “I heard often of her remarkable romance with my grandfather, Caleb. I wanted a love like that of my own.”
Surprised by her unplanned admission, she hoped she hadn’t misjudged the widow. No one alive on this earth knew her secret.
Dorrie closed her eyes and sipped her tea, then looked at Grace from a place familiar yet not. “Perhaps the reason you left when you did?”
Grace blinked and more tears advanced. Such painful cleansing in truth’s wake. “Yes,” she whispered.
Dorrie laid a hand on Grace’s knee. “And did you find it?” ~Covering Grace
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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September 8, 2024
Suddenly September
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
It’s suddenly September. Well, I guess it’s not exactly sudden, but it sure feels that way.
On August 8, a month ago, the sun rose at 6:07 a.m. on Colorado’s Front Range and set at 7:59 p.m.
Today, sunrise was at 6:34 a.m. and the sun set at 7:16 p.m.
That’s more than an hour difference in daylight this month compared to last. What happened?
Here in the northern hemisphere, we’ve been losing a little daylight ever since the summer solstice on June 21. But in August we lose daylight at a faster pace – roughly two minutes every day, more than an hour by the end of the month.
It’s similar to the “overnight” success of musicians, artists, and actors who skyrocket to fame after years of small steps and hard work.
Nothing sudden about it.
There is no way I’m going to try to explain Earth’s tilt, rotation, and orbit in relation to the change of daylight hours. If that sort of thing intrigues you, check out this Science and Technology page for Middle School designed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center.
My point is – sometimes things sneak up on us.
Or do they?
Most of us have heard about watching paint dry and grass grow. Neither activity appears to be identifiable to the human eye, but both are measurable and, given enough time, noticeable.
It’s the same way with the musician who practices for hours everyday, improving incrementally as he does so.
It’s the same way with our eating habits. What we feed on becomes apparent over time.
And it’s the same way with our spiritual growth.
What we fill ourselves with eventually produces a type of fruit, whether fretful or peaceful.
Over the last several months, our world has seen nations, states, and communities stirred, and the ripples are unsettling. But unsettling times have come and gone before our own days in the sunlight. And the thing to remember is that none of them caught God off guard.
We may not understand the mystery of what He allows, but we can count on the mastery of His power.
In the midst of chaos, grab hold of Him and cling to His peace. He’s there, so close that you can hear His whisper.
Feed on His promises. Read the comfort He gives us in His word. The books of Psalms and Isaiah are two of my favorites.
And pray.
Pray for your families and loved ones, community leaders, and governmental representatives – whether you voted for them or not.
Remember, God has seen the world spin and tilt before.
He’s got this. The closer you are to Him, the more His peace permeates.
~
From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3
Grab hold of Him.
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Grace turned to find Dan leaning against the buggy, arms folded and one boot cocked up behind him on a wheel spoke. No impatience about him, but an easy, peaceful smile. “You’ll make a great mother.”
Her face warmed and she ducked her head as he handed her up to the seat.
Light fell fast on their way home, and Grace bundled herself in the quilts and blankets and scooted as close as possible to Dan. “Do you think your father and Dorrie are doing all right without us?”
He chuckled deep in his chest and the vibration worked through his arm and into hers. “They’re probably glad to be by themselves for a change.”
The mare’s easy gate set a rhythmic pace that had Grace close to dozing in the dusk. “Hmm.”
Dan raised his arm and pulled her close against him, kissing the top of her head. “Why didn’t you stay at the ranch when you returned? Move in with your family rather than coming to town?”
“There wasn’t enough room.” She snuggled against him, aware only of his warmth and the rocking of the buggy. “But there was plenty of history, and I needed a new story. Not a rehashing of the old one.”
For a long moment he said nothing, then made a sweeping left turn that she knew took them off the ranch road and onto the road to Cañon City.
His voice came soft and low, as comforting as the quilts around her. “I’m glad the Lord brought you back to town. I can’t imagine my own story without you in it.” ~Covering Grace
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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September 1, 2024
Come and Drink
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Look closely at the deer. He’s a loner. Imperfect.
In the world of nature, those imperfections put him at a disadvantage. He would lose in a battle with another buck, so he stays to himself.
Alone he forages at the back of our property and startles us when we walk up on him unawares. But he still holds himself with dignity in spite of his deformities.
And he still needs water.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God,” says the psalmist.
Are we like the deer? Do we pant for the Life-Giver? Do we pursue Him in spite of our imperfections and failures? Our unworthiness.
May we always!
There is no other source than Creator God.
He doesn’t tell us to go away and come back when we’re more together. He doesn’t tell us we’re not quite ready. He tells us what we need so desperately to hear …
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink – ” (Isaiah 55:1)
Be like the deer.
~
To all who are thirsty
I will give freely from the
springs of the water of life.
Revelation 21:6
Be like the deer.
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Grace Hutton’s gaze wavered, but only a moment, then her hands clamped onto her waist. “I need someone to watch Mrs. Berkshire while I ride home and tell my family that I’ll be staying in town for a few days. It will take a while to get there and back, and I don’t want to leave her alone that long. You know her story—you were there. Can’t you please come and sit with her? Or have you never cared for the infirm? Anyone other than yourself.”
Dan’s teeth clenched, and his grip tightened on the door. He’d never lit into a woman and he wasn’t about to start now. But Miss Hutton was worrying her luck and his patience. ~Covering Grace
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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August 25, 2024
How Much of You?
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
“How much of you goes into your books?”
As a novelist, I’ve often been asked that question, and it’s tricky to answer. I may scatter pieces of myself among characters, but I’ve never embodied one completely. I can’t say of any book’s cast, “Oh, that character is me.”
Sometimes, though, a character may do something I long to do or respond in a way I’d like to respond. They’re always wittier and braver than I.
My most recent release, Covering Grace, doesn’t have much of me in it, but there is a character I actually met a couple of years ago. I fancied him up a little for the book and gave him skills that I’m sure others like him wish they had.
He’s a handsome fellow—strong, faithful, true. My friend, Cindy Richardson, introduced him to me on a trail ride.
“Harley the Wonder Horse,” she said. A bona fide member of the Rocky Mountain breed. “Everybody loves him.”
I sure did after a day of riding up around Brush Hollow in the hills not far from my home.
For me, it’s a very short trip via horseback to the fictional world of characters in my Western novels. At the time, I was working on Covering Grace, and I knew the gaited, chocolate-colored gelding was just what the story needed.
The main character, Grace Hutton, had been hanging around in my head for three years—ever since I wrote about her twin brothers, Cale and Hugh in books 4 and 5. They brag on their little sister who can out-ride any of the cast in the Selig-Polyscope flickers being filmed in and around Cañon City, Colorado, in the early 1900s.
How could they not brag, with her never-say-die approach to life, and stick-like-flypaper perseverance. When they were all growing up, she was never far behind the boys, proving she was just as good as they were.
Trouble is, she was better, and her skills earned her a place in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. That’s where she meets Harley, and when she comes home in Book 6, he comes with her.
Now understand, real-life Harley is not a fancy trick-riding horse, but I have a real-life friend, Linda Scholtz, who owns a string of them. I’ve watched her do some mighty fine stunts, so fine that she teaches wanna-be trick riders how to be real trick riders.
A few other things from my life play into the book, like the setting. Is there anywhere more beautiful than the Rocky Mountains as a storm blows in quicker than your breath? Or aspens shivering in the slightest breeze, pouring gold down mountain gullies and ravines in autumn?
And what of huddling before a crackling fire in the woodstove as fall runs in ahead of winter, warning of colder weather on the way?
I’m always surprised by what shows up in my books, as if I’m watching a movie in my head while I write, observing characters do and say things that lead them to do and say other things. And so it goes.
Join me for a ride in the final book of The Cañon City Chronicles series, Covering Grace. Come meet Harley the Wonder Horse, and imagine that you are one of the characters, doing and saying things you’d love to do and say.
And don’t be surprised if Harley turns out to be more than you expected.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
~
How much of you goes into your books?
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*Photo credit: Cindy Richardson
“Covering Grace is a must-read for those who love an adventurous story filled with faith, courage, and romance. Five stars for this inspiring, action-filled journey that highlights the beauty of God’s grace.” -Amazon reviewer
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
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(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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August 18, 2024
The Good Way
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Storm clouds hung like a heavy curtain ahead of us, and we anticipated rain at our destination. Torrential rain.
As the road curved, it lined up with a bright spot on the horizon, door-like in its invitation to escape the storm and go beyond.
I was reminded of the prophet Jeremiah as he told the people of Israel:
This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is,
and walk in it, and
you will find rest for your souls…”
Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Who doesn’t want rest?
Who doesn’t want to make it to their destination?
Who doesn’t want to know for certain that they are on the right road?
Often, other ways look easier. Short cuts are tempting, and detours can offer a seemingly smoother path. But if they are not God’s chosen path for us, they won’t be easier. They won’t get us there quicker, and they will likely lead to danger.
So how do we know if we’re on the good way?
Notice in Jeremiah’s declaration he says, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths.”
He doesn’t say, “You’re on your own, figure it out.” He says look around and then ask. Don’t ask for the quickest way, ask for the ancient path.
The ancient path is still there, faithfully leading people to the place they need to be. Not leading them into danger and death.
That doesn’t mean the way will be easy or carefree. But if we’re on the right path, we know we’re not alone. We can be confident that we’ll make it.
When it comes to life, new and improved isn’t always better.
Ask the original Road Builder, the One who blazed the ancient paths. He knows the best way.
And He’ll show us.
To walk out of His will
Is to walk into nowhere.
~C.S. Lewis, Perelandra
~
Choose the good way.
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The blacksmith’s thick mustache spread nearly to his ears. “You’re gonna watch Grace rescue that runaway stage.”
“Yeah.” It wasn’t any of the fella’s business, but a good horse was. “See if the rumors are true.”
“That she can ride, rope, and shoot better than her brothers and every other fella in Fremont County?” Smitty shook his head and wiped his blackened hands on a dirty rag from his back pocket. “She’s been doin’ that since before she was growed up. Then she went off and made a living at it with that Buffalo Bill outfit. You know, that’s what took her away to begin with. That Wild West show stopped here about four years ago, and she was hooked. Her brothers didn’t think much of the idea, but that didn’t stop her.”
Dan huffed. No surprise there. “I’ll be leaving near sunup.”
Smitty stepped out from the hitch rails and looked up Main Street. “Take this road here all the way out of town.” Pointing, as if he could see to the end, he added, “When you get to Soda Point, follow the curve on around the hill and keep goin’ past the turnoff that takes you up to Skyline Drive. About a mile after that, there’ll be a road that cuts off to the north, just before another big turn to the left. Take that road five or six miles up, and the main ranch road will be on your right. Big gate entrance with a high crossbeam, though you’ll already be on Hutton land. All that good cow country up there belongs to them.”
Dan paid the blacksmith. “Thank you. I’ll be here early.”
He didn’t know what time the movie crew would get to the ranch, but he’d just as soon get there first, which meant he had work to do. ~Covering Grace
~
Don’t forget to enter the Covering Grace book tour for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Click on the image below then scroll down to Covering Grace.
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
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