"Life is Good in Leroy"

My friend, Debbie, from Flower Child Designs, delivered some wall art today. Thank you, my friend.  I love LOVE it!
I'm not a fan of still-life (al la objet d'art) or "stuff" photography.  First, I'm not very good at indoor photography, so I'm jealous when I see others excel in that genre.  Second, it's stuff and not nearly as fascinating to me as God-made creations.  But sometimes you have to settle.  The Christmas season is very busy when you're involved with church work and there's little time between work and activities to find a fascinating outside sight.  Tonight I attended my Sunday School party where we played "Dirty Santa."  That's always so much fun.  I took a snow globe with frilly floating snow and beautiful music in the hopes that I would bring it home, but those ladies played dirty!  It was gone before I had a chance to snatch it.  Thankfully, I ended up with the second best item of the night, a Lenox glass angel with a battery-operated changing color light.  Yay!

Texture by Kim Klassen Cafe.
I love pink lady apples.  Petit, firm, juicy, tarty sweet, and they won't break the bank.

Texture by ShadowHouse Creations
I told you last year that I became frustrated with PhotoShop, uninstalled it from my computer, and started using Picnik.  I decided to give it another try with the help of a little e-course given by Kim Klassen.  Tonight I learned how to add texture in PS Elements 10.  This is the finished product.  It's not perfect, but I'm beginning to understand a little more how PS works.
An Ant Story at Christmas ... Because I Can

"When I was a young girl, almost every Sunday afternoon that my father was home, we would hike to the ridge of the mountain on which we lived. While those afternoon climbs are now just a precious memory, I still enjoy walking with Daddy when I go home. He can’t climb as high or walk as swiftly but the fellowship is just as sweet.

On one of our hikes, Daddy inadvertently stepped on an anthill. When he looked down at his big footprint in the soft dirt, he could see the havoc he had wreaked on the bustling ant colony. Panic had set in as ants scurried in every direction, confused as to what had become of their world. Daddy stooped down to try to reopen the tunnels, scooping away the collapsed soil, but to no avail. In frustration, he mused, if only he could become an ant, even temporarily, he could tell them what was wrong and how to fix it. But he couldn’t. There was an impassable barrier between himself and the little creatures because he was a big man and they were tiny insects.

That impassable barrier between my father and those little ants illustrates the impassable barrier between God and mankind. As God looked down from heaven, man scurried around in panic, unable to cope with the confusion and conflict of life–especially when man’s whole world seemed to collapse and life dealt unexpected blows. All man’s answers to the problems of pain and evil and death were insufficient. Life just didn’t make sense. There seemed to be no order or long-term purpose to it all. And so God became a Man, not just to sort our confusion and rebuild the collapsed world, but also to offer a new life altogether. Jesus came to make God visible as Man. And that visibility is irresistibly compelling."

~Anne Graham Lotz
Just Give Me Jesus

Wishing all a blessed Christmas.  The gift of Christ is the reason we celebrate.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. 
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
Since Alabama made national news today, I decided to pull down the old Alabama history books of Dave's mother and grandmother.  They are very old and have a decidedly Southern slant.  It makes one realize how society is influenced by the propaganda forwarded by those in the media and politics.  We are influenced by the books and magazines we read, the television we watch, and the music we listen to.  Sometimes we are easily led in a direction we know we should not go.  It is another good reminder to guard your heart.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.  Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."  (Proverbs 4:23-27)
I love summer fruit.  In the last week we have enjoyed watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, apples, and peaches.  But my favorite mid-summer fruit is cherries.  Not the typical red or Bing cherries, but what I call white cherries or Rainier cherries.  Oh, they are expensive (probably because old men buy them for their gout), but to me they are well worth it.  In my opinion, they taste like a cross between a nectarine and cherry.  Oh my!  If you find some fresh ones, give them a try.  I'm sure you'll be delighted too.
I'd planned on taking pictures of my pretty weeds today, but Dave decided to go to Mobile with me.  After work he wanted to go shopping and to go out to eat, so I relented (ugh!) and did what he wanted.  :-D)  We didn't get home until after dark, so I started looking for something to shoot.  I have to admit that I stole this idea from another blogger, Marianne Lomonaco, who's work I thoroughly enjoy.  A copy is never as good as the original, but it'll do in a pinch.
"Life is Good in Leroy"

My friend, Debbie, from Flower Child Designs, delivered some wall art today. Thank you, my friend. I love LOVE it!
"Life is Good in Leroy"

My friend, Debbie, from Flower Child Designs, delivered some wall art today. Thank you, my friend.  I love LOVE it!
"Life is Good in Leroy"

My friend, Debbie, from Flower Child Designs, delivered some wall art today. Thank you, my friend. I love LOVE it!
See photo in original gallery.