Weekly Photo Challenge & Daily Prompt: Ghoulish & Rounded

Both will pertain to the autumn and Halloween that some celebrate.

I love to decorate for fall adding a few old time Halloween touches throughout, as cheaply as possible of course. I wait to get my pieces in sales, sometimes from clearance the year before.

We will start out with emphasis on curves such as the altered glass plate from Ikea I hang in front of the lighted trellis. The roundness of pumpkins, gourds & squash prevalent this time of year and various decorative items.

Now we come to the “good stuff.” The ghoulish or macabre. Not my cup of tea but many like this stuff, especially around Halloween.

One of my sons LOVES Halloween and really goes all out each year. This is him as the crow and that is his own hair, no wig. The other videos are some of the special effects that he uses. Enjoy this very “ghoulish” display if you dare!

Enjoy my PhotoDraw animated slide show for Halloween fun!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Christ Christianity Daily Prompt enlighten enlightenment God Jesus spiritual blindness spiritual truth spirituality The Daily Post

Daily Prompt: Is Enlightenment a Choice?

It appears that “enlightenment” or understanding that which was not previously known has everything to do with the heart of a man. My grandmother once told me many years ago, she does not understand why some can experience the same things as others and not be damaged or defiled but stand strong, steadfast in their very soul and not be broken while others use it as an excuse to become angry, broken people. I used to think that some were not trying, now I don’t really know. I do know it has to do with intent. Intent and need is everything. When you cry to God in your heart, He hears you. When you put up a spiritual wall He will not enter because He can’t unless he breaks it down and God does not work like that. Jesus talked about seeking and finding, knocking and the door being answered and it is written you will find God if you fervently seek Him with your whole heart.

Know in these end times, the only people “not getting it” ain’t trying. They are the ones with evil intent or a delusional mindset because they choose not to know the truth. If you seek the truth you will always find it. It’s there, it cannot be hidden. The human mind works that way. It hides what it wants or needs to hide depending on the condition of the soul or what works in their favor if they are selfish. Most refuse to humble themselves to God and pray for forgiveness and salvation because they think they are too good. They care more for their own pride than they do their own soul. Anyone who thinks they are better than God will never know God. God is also able to block enlightenment at His Will.

Jesus is the Light of world and there has never been more proof in this world than now. All those who shun and mock the true God of Love that Jesus explained to us are lost. They always seem to have the same excuse of “that’s their choice.” They’re right. It’s not the right choice, but like all choices, it is theirs indeed, only many in the world suffer and die because of it and that’s not OK. You can’t pretend to be a “good” person and not love Jesus or at least “get” Him. It’s not possible. There are great folks who were not raised to know Jesus and that is not their fault, also they do not mock or take away from others. I do know that the most evil in God’s world mock Christ even to this day and show all just how unenlightened they really are. They are still killing Christians around the world and “liberal” groups are working fervently to remove all signs of God and Jesus from this world thus telling the world who they serve.

baking chocolate chips fall dessert food pumpkin pumpkin bread sweets walnuts

Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

I LOVE Autumn for so many reasons but the main one is that it cools down enough to begin baking again! I’ve been trying to find creative ways to use apples, pumpkin and hard squash without all those excess carbs. I have managed to cut them way down, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables which has helped me to lose a few pounds even after I stopped dieting on purpose.

Once you alter your diet to a more healthy one, you shouldn’t miss the junk food and I can say when you allow your palate to get used to clean, fresh, good organic sustenance you won’t enjoy garbage anymore. We were never meant to eat the kinds of man made chemicals that most of the large corporations add to their mock foods to give them a longer shelf life. I think their foods are going to last longer than us!

Enjoy the following recipe I have doctored from other recipes to have less fat, sugar, sodium and even cholesterol since I reduced the eggs from 3 to only 2 for most of my breads.

Chocolate Chip & Walnut Pumpkin Bread

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C sugar

2 C fresh pumpkin puree (or 15 oz canned pumpkin puree)

3/4 C oil

1/4 C plain nonfat yogurt

1/2 C pumpkin spice flavor creamer

2or3 eggs

2 1/2 C Flour (your choice)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

dash cloves

dash cardamom

1 C chocolate chips

1 C chopped walnuts

Pretty simple if you are familiar with baking. Combine all the dry ingredients & set aside to add to the wet once they are all combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, place in a greased Bundt pan or divide for a couple of loaves if you prefer. Bake at 350° for 45-55 min. Try not to over bake.

You can also use this batter for muffins

I also love this recipe for Pumpkin soup. I hope to get more creative this year.

autumn autumn leaves Christ Fall fall foliage fall leaves glow God Jesus nature photography photography weekly photo challenge

Weekly Photo Challenge: Autumn Glow

My favorite time of the year. I once saw a tree actually appear to glow from a distance but I had a witness with me as we drove towards it he turned to me and said “did you just see what I did?”

Sort of like this:

The following are some fall colors with enhanced contrast, lighting and other effects.

Enjoy the following autumn colors. Beauty is so fleeting on earth.

bathroom scales diet exercise fish fish scales humor lifestyle Scale Steven King Thinner weekly photo challenge weight loss

Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale

Boy can this “prompt” be used in many different ways!

SCALE

The first thing that came to mind was my bathroom scale. It is near Halloween so it’s appropriate that I bring something up that can be a very frightening experience for many of us.

Not only that, but check out the name of my scale. If you are a fan of Steven King, you get it!

Thinner indeed!

I felt sure that I would begin losing weight once I started using this scale to weigh myself, but obviously a misnamed product.

Then there are “fish scales.”

Believe Christ Christianity empowered enlightenment faith God Holy Spirit Jesus John 6:47 meditation peace prayer serenity spiritual truth spirituality truth

Daily Prompt: The Danger in “Believing”

The secular world has borrowed and defiled many of God’s holy words and truths. Man is becoming famous for stealing the Words of God and pretending they are their own unique ideas to sell books or speak to the lost in our world. If you are knowledgeable in the Word, you will not be fooled into believing the false doctrine of others.

Many times I see just the word “Believe” on a plaque or canvas and I wonder, “Believe what?” You can believe anything but it helps to believe in the truth, always. People of the world feel foolish or simple-minded to believe in anything as simple a concept as “God.” They feel they are too intelligent and educated to be fooled into such a primitive belief. This is a world-wide belief as far back as man existed and continues today for good reason. It’s true. Is it explainable? Not really, but those of us who believe, know it.

Who can explain the spiritual truth of Faith? If you don’t have it, it does not exist for you. It is something between your heart and God and God cannot be fooled. It has to do with genuine love inside and need to humble yourself because you love and really desire God because you need Him. We all do need God but few get this because the world does it’s best to make you feel foolish in this desire by making you prideful and “empowered” within yourself.

Anyone that has even the slightest spiritual enlightenment or sensitivity knows that there is something more in our world than meets the eye. Many of us have experienced it and know there is another realm to this world that cannot be seen with the eye, but can be felt in the spirit. This is where your “good vibes” bad vibes” idea comes from and we all know this is true. Some are completely thick-skinned or oblivious to others “feelings” towards them while others pick up on that right away.

There is that feeling of peace and serenity with prayer and meditation and the unsettled or angry feelings that come with fighting and cursing. There are definite intents and intent is everything. Just like someone smiling while stabbing another in the back, literally or figuratively. Just because you are smiling does not mean you have “good vibes.” This is what many are finding out with those who currently control our mainstream media news, entertainment and governments.

The world’s art and entertainment has long been on a slippery slope of ugliness, negativity, hypocrisy, insincerity as well as perversion and downright evil. A society’s culture represents the society and right now it’s not good. Most people are basically still good, still pretty down to earth and knowledgeable BUT the media currently representing all of us does not represent us fairly or accurately for the most part because it’s only there to serve the needs of the few who control it.