My soul has been refreshed as well and inspired.

That is what I wish and pray for you, my friends.  I hope yours have been as well, so that you can tap into your creativity and capture some of God’s goodness in this summer season for my Finding Direction 2010 Summer Photo Contest.

This time I have left the word “Desktop” out of the title, but originally, that was what this contest was all about, for those of you who have joined the party late.  For, I have been blogging now for five and one half years.

You see, it was winter time and I had no good “desktop” photo to look at here on my computer.  I tire of having the same one all the time and tend to change out my desktop photos as the seasons change.  Thus, the reason – and hopefully – inspiration for you to participate.  To make my computer desktop and joy to behold.

Even more this time, I shall award a grand prize to the top winner who most captures – or finds – the photo that gently murmurs, “it’s summertime and the livin’ IS easy.”

Have fun while doing this.  It isn’t meant to be hard to do or anything more than sharing camaraderie with fellow readers and commenters.

Many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

How’s everyone’s summer going so far.  I CANNOT believe it’s already after 4th of July!  Can you?

Anyway – here’s the latest on the brand new “Finding Direction Summer 2010 Photo Contest” that I just started last week, I think.  I can’t remember.  At this age, time goes by WAY too fast, ya know?!

Here’s some of the “rules” for you entrants, and I’m waiting patiently – or not – for the first of you to show up with some great summer photos.  To enter, just go to the “Contact Me” tab above and write to me from there.  I will send you my email address so that you may submit your photo(s).  The theme this time is “Summer Time & The Livin’ Is Easy.”

Here’s some “rules,” such as they are:

(1) Enter as many photos as you would like under the “theme” as stated above.  The photos, preferably, will be your own that you have taken, but do not HAVE to be, knowing that not everyone is a God-gifted photographer.  In fact, you may “Google” or whatever online to find some good summer time photos to submit.  People in the past have done so.

(2) I’m giving y’all the rest of July and until the 15th of August by which to submit your photos.  At that time, the revered Finding Direction Judges shall review all of the entries, shall go over each with a fine tooth comb and shall make their esteemed decisions, based upon quality of the photos, personality of the entrants (just kidding!), and appropriateness to the subject matter.

(3)  All photos should be submitted as jpegs or gifs, preferably jpegs.

(4) The Finding Direction Judges shall consider the entrants’ behaviors during the contest period, i.e., attempts at cheating, seriously and shall engage in appropriate “penalties,” as needed.  This is especially true of those who are currently ministers of the Gospel (Good News) and former ministers of the Gospel, now engaged in burying the dead, otherwise known as funeral directors.

(4) Humor in photos will have points added to their “values” as the Finding Direction Judges are greatly in need of humor in their lives at the moment.

(5) All decisions are final, based purely on objective values, and prizes shall be awarded, as needed.

(6)  The Grand Prize Winner shall have their winning photo displayed on the Finding Direction Judges’ desktop home computer, which is a “grand” prize, indeed!!

(7)  The Finding Direction Judges shall award an ACTUAL GRAND PRIZE award to the winner this time, for about the 3rd time, btw (Greg!), so y’all pay attention and get with it here, ya hear?!

That’s it for now, guys.  Take some photos or sift through what you already have taken and have stored away in your computer, because I KNOW that the lot of you have LOTS of photos to choose from – either your own, some you’ve received in Power Point presentations, or on the internet – that you can enter.  So, get WITH it!!

Cheers!  And many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

I’m in Texas once again – second time in three weeks – for another family visit.  This time, I wised up and flew out to Dallas instead of driving nearly 600 miles one way.

Things are going as well as can be expected, I suppose, although things are tough right now for some family members, including me, truth be known.  But, God provides and He rules above all, so we are winners always as His beloved children.

Right now, I’m with my mom and while we aren’t in Austin, the state capital does it’s grand share of celebrating July 4th with family gatherings, this year worship tomorrow on Sunday, and fireworks.

Hope each of you have a very wonderful and blessed July 4th weekend, ya hear?  I’ll be back in a couple of days to talk more about the latest and ongoing Finding Direction Summer 2010 Photo Contest.  Haven’t received any entries, yet, and I know y’all are busy with the holiday weekend, but be thinking about it, taking photos all weekend in your activities and climb on board for some fun!!

Love, Dee

I haven’t done one of these in over a year, but inspiration has struck me (thanks to Greg over at “why, soitenly,” although I still have him booked as the “Ex-Rev’s Ramblings”) and I’m now on a roll.

For those of you who may be new, the quickest way to get up to speed is to check out my Categories on my right side bar and go down to the entry, “Finding Direction Contests,” where you will find all of the “rules” (slack though they may be) and entries of each of the categories, which are determined by moi at some point along the line.

I held five Finding Direction Photo Contests, in the Winter of 2005-06, Summer 2006, Winter 2006-07, Summer 2007, and Winter 2007-08.  So, y’all have had lots of time to collect photographs to enter.

I don’t have the time right now as today is Monday – Laundry Day – but when I do have a bit of extra time, I’ll put the links here to the winners blog posts from the five contests, along with the “rules,” – don’t worry if you don’t know any of them, it doesn’t matter.  Doesn’t even have to be your own work!

Okay – here’s two from Summer 2006 and Winter 2006-07.  I went back through all the winners’ blog posts and found that the photos  were all missing, so I’m going to have to check with TheoBloggers to see if their expert/genious status can pull them up for you all to see.  But, do go back and read some of the entries under that category – Finding Direction Contests, because then you’ll see how much FUN we all have “competing” in these.

Love you all!  Sorry I’ve been so long in posting.  We were out of town most of last week gone to a Tri-State Press Association convention in Tunica, Mississippi, just south of Memphis.  It was for Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, and we had a great time.   I’ll post a photo later.

Cheers!  And many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

Many of us are making “holiday” plans for this three day weekend starting tomorrow, including our president – our erstwhile “Commander in Chief” – who is going off for enjoyment, rather than going over to Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths among the fallen soldiers of this great land of ours.  I don’t know about you, but that really bothers me.  A lot.

I mean – we have plans, too, but quiet ones.  Nothing ostentatious or celebratory by any means.  In fact, in looking for a photo to place here on this post while ago, I found several images that had superimposed over them the words “Happy Memorial Day.”  I find that offensive.  Since when is a day of remembrance of men and women of valor who died for the cause of their country to be a “happy” day?  I think not:  in any way, shape or form.

Tom & I just finished watching the 10 part HBO series “The Pacific,” about our fathers and other elderly relatives, fewer every day who remain living, who fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II.  It was horrific, both in presentation on TV, and even more so in reality.  They talked with aged veterans at the beginning of each episode and the interviews were hard, even now, for some of them to do, all these many years later.

By the time the series closed; when we got to the 10th and last episode, I could barely stand it and cried most of the way through the hour for these men who came home changed forever.  The series had followed the lives of real soldiers who fought real battles, who had families they left behind, who had plans and dreams for the future.  Some of them didn’t make it home at all.  For many of those who did, it took a long time – if not a life time – to get over the nightmares of their experiences.

What made me cry the most is that their story has been so long in being told.  Some of the guys in the group had written books about their lives in war.  Others kept journals.  They were part of one company, so knew each other in real life.  But, most of these real life soldiers have already died.  Some as long as 20 or 30 years ago.  Just a couple of them remain alive today, and both are very elderly.  The majority did not live to see the respect and tribute that some among us so wanted to give them, including Steven Spielburg and actor, Tom Hanks, who produced the movie.

Nearby in New Orleans resides the National WWII Museum, which is magnificently done!  Tom Hanks had a lot to do with it, as well.  It began as the National D-Day Museum (exactly 10 years ago next week – June 6), a dream of author (now deceased) Steven Ambrose, who wrote of WWII in several books.  The museum was so well done that people flocked to New Orleans to come experience that important time in our history.  Thus, they expanded it to cover all of WWII, not just the European fronts.

I urge you all – any of you who can – to come to New Orleans and go there.  You will be forever changed by the experience, which includes listening to and watching oral histories of every day people who lived through it here in America, as well as soldiers who went overseas.

This is my “sermon” for the day.  For the weekend.  I hope to participate in remembrance activities on Monday and to stop and reflect on all who have served and fallen from the very beginning of this country of ours.  May we ever seek God’s favor and grace on us as we live as Christians in the freest land in the world, at least from its inception up until now.  And, may we NEVER forget.

God bless you all today, and God Bless America.  Dee

Mom & Laura got to see some of the lovely wildflowers in bloom around Abilene, and I was happy for them about that.  Yet, I missed not being able to go with them.

However, a good school friend sent us some outstanding photos of the spring wildflowers around where they live, near Austin.  I thought I’d share these with you here today.  Enjoy!

Aren’t those really beautiful?  And, to think I grew up in Texas!

But, hmmmm.  Somehow I don’t remember seeing any of these when I was just a kid living in Abernathy, just north of Lubbock about 17 miles.  Why do you suppose that is, huh?

Oh . . . maybe it has something to do with the two photos below taken of Lubbock this spring.  Up on the high plateau of what is called the Caprock in the lower panhandle of Texas.  Check it out for yourself:

Now WHY did my dad have to be a cotton farmer up on the high plains of Texas.  Why not a rancher down in the beautiful hill country?  Or, maybe a country and western singer like Willie.

You can see why I left there at 18 and have never moved back.  But, I DO love to visit home, all my family and all of the  beautiful parts of Texas I missed growing up.  You have to admit, it’s a big enough state to have it all, folks!  And IT DOES!!

Cheers & many blessings to you each today!  Dee