Won my first International Award

Won this award for a picture I entered in a contest in Japan.

To see more information look in the gallery on my web.

dns

Blessed day

What a nice day. Just kick back relax enjoyed the quiet. Took some z's in the afternoon.

This is a shot from yesterday. Saw this hollow log and thought it would be interesting if I could get a decent shot of it some how. I walked past and laid down in the sand to get this shot. Of course I took several. In this one the texture of the sand is visible and log is sharp. I was disappointed with sky since looking the other direction is was so awesome.

Tomorrow is Nurosergon day. Should get some answers.

Wish me luck and join in with my prayer partners as I stand against these rascals.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. -- Psalm 32:7

Out of the attacks of evil come the victories of God and thevictory chants of God's people. Let's find our strength and protection in our holy God! Let's make God our hiding place, our source of security, and our hope in times of trouble.

Father, thank you for the confidence I have in your power and your might to deliver me from every attack of the evil one. You are worthy of all glory, honor, power, and praise. In the name of your Son and my Lord, Jesus Christ, I thank you for deliverance and praise you for your might. Amen.

God bless.

Shalom,

dns

Standing Apart

Another from my walk along the beach. Actually these were up in the dunes. I liked the color of the shell as it blended in with the sand. The wind was blowing the sand around the shell creating the patterns in mini dunes.

Well anyway, I have always been taught that a man is only as good as his word. Ones word should be his bond. A hand shake is as good as any legal document. And that is how God wants us to be. To be set apart from the world which is deceitful and full of lies. They belongs to the king of lies. The dark prince.

"Blind guides! How terrible it will be for you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple' -- you can break that oath. But then you say that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.' Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to take an oath 'by the altar' can be broken, but to swear 'by the gifts on the altar' is binding! How blind! For which is greater, the gift on the altar, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear 'by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear 'by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear 'by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne."

-- Matthew 23:16-22 (NLT)

Of course the bottom line for Jesus is that we shouldn't have to swear by anything: our yes, our word, should be enough. But to make matters worse, they went beyond swearing to a developed theology of what things by which you swear are most important. Jesus is angry because the simple truth has been complicated and comprised by petty distinctions in legal terminology. Jesus' anger should be felt by believers today. In an age of sound bites, spin, and hedging the truth through"legalize," we as Christians must be a people who simply speak the truth openly, honestly, and without compromise, but always in love.

Almighty and true God, give me a pure heart free of deceit. Help my words be true and have no need of nuance or fine print to be proved accurate and reliable. As your word is true, I want the words of my mouth to be accurate and to please you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

One quick addition. It has been my experience that if I don't live or act in a way that sets the need to have to lie, then I want ever need to. A battle for me is fixing to begin. As I take up my cross and carry my yoke solo against the giants of the state and their insurance companies, I have only 2 things working for me. The main one is God is in my corner and I have truth at my side. God has given me the rock that will knock down Goliath just as He gave it to David.

God bless.

Shalom

dns

Awesome day..

Out at the beach today I was looking for something to shoot. This old log caught my eye. The many colors in the wood, the patterns in the sand, and the nice soft clouds with a perfect blue sky. Man what will it be like when we get to the kingdom? When the Shalom of God will be around us all the time. Without the concerns of this world. Whew, I sure will be glade and praising God knowing all this craziness is past.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

-- Psalm 34:4

Majesty on high, the Holy One of Israel, my Father and my God, I seek you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. I want to know you more completely. I want to fully respond to your leading and your will in my life. Be near me today, and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Awesome. Father let me stay in your shadow as you place Your hand on my shoulder.

God bless

Shalom,

dns

Today's walk

I went out to the beach today to walk and shoot. It was very windy so that kind of put an end to shooting. The birds were hide out somewhere and all the plants were bowing to the wind. I did happen to get this one shot I think is pretty fair. I like the color blends and the soft depth of field.

I always thought of flowers and spring. I never really paid much attention to the wild flowers that bloom all year round. It is another way God shows Himself to me. Even with the wind and colder air there were grasshoppers, butterflies, and moths everywhere around me. Like this little fellow enjoying it's dinner, totally unconcerned about the weather or me. :) Is this the Shalom I have been telling you about??

[Jesus said] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

-- Acts 1:8

God Bless

Shalom,

dns

Shalom

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," said the Savior in John 14:27. The peace spoken of by the Messiah is the Hebrew word "Shalom." It occurs 429 times throughout the Bible as a sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes only from the Almighty. Shalom gives us the confidence and courage we need to conquer fears and live out His Word in a world full of intimidating circumstances and people.

You Must Focus!

Focus is what enables us to have the Shalom promised in the Scriptures. Isaiah 26:3, "He wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose minds is stayed on Thee." If we trust, or focus on things of this world then distress, fear and anxiety will grip us. But if we believe and put our assurance in the Father's sovereignty, then He will keep us in His Shalom or wholeness. The battle for Shalom is fought in our thoughts as Proverbs 23:7 teaches, "for as he thinketh in his heart, so he is" Know that if you stay focused on the Word, through prayer, study, and worship then and only then can you receive the true heaven-sent Shalom. Philippians 4:8 says,"whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." It is by thinking or focusing on the "right things" that we tune our hearts to the frequency and listen to the beautiful music of peace.

As you see I use the word regularly. As I seek the Shalom that God has promised. I also pass it on to you. As a blessing you must either accept or refuse. An acceptance is the return of the blessing passed backthe one who offers it to you. A peace through the Holy Spirit that comes from God and is shared by His children through Christ. As you read the scriptures you notice Jesus speaking this word often.

Shalom

Peace be with you.

For more on this look to:
http://www.goshenplace.org/Shalom.html

God bless.

dns

How not to lead

"They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called 'Rabbi.' Don't ever let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone callyou `Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah." -- Matthew 23:4-10 (NLT)

"How terrible!" statements. In these, he denounces the religious leaders of his day for their selfish, misguided, abusive, arrogant,contemptible, and condescending leadership.Unfortunately, many of the abuses by religious leaders that Jesus denounces in this chapter are actively and widely practiced today by some religious. Anyone longing to be a spiritual leader of any kind must routinely revisit this chapter to be warned about the dangers of distorted leadership. Jesus takes very seriously the way his followers will lead in his Kingdom. Of course, when the hero of a movement is willing to die a sacrificial death for his followers, it tends to stand leadership styles upside down. Maybe that's what Jesus had in mind when he said that in his Kingdom, "The first will be last and the last would be first!" Bottom line for today's verses: Leaders must be helpful to those they lead, not so they will be seen and honored, but so that those they serve will be blessed and God himself will be pleased!

This is an awesome message I have read and pondered on a lot. Jesus tells us by using the religious leaders of the day for an example, how not to lead. But as we look around at the many different churches, why it is so hard to find one that follows the teachings of the bible? People don't understand the Old testament and New Testament are one in the same. Jesus fulfilled the law so we do not have to be burdened by it, but He didn't put them away.

We celebrate pagan festivals in the name of Christ, but are told not to do it. God gave us feast and celebrations to honor Him and several are still to be observed. Passover is one of them. If you ever want to know Christ and see a perfect plan come to be, study the Feast of Passover.

Enough, I will never change the minds of men. But I will say that I will never understand how when Christ Himself says to never address anyone here on earth as Father, the largest Christian denomination in the world does it..

O God, forgive me when I grand stand my Christian service. Please open my heart so that I will serve you more genuinely and honestly whether anyone notices or not. Give me eyes to see those who have burdens that need to be lifted and give me willing hands to serve them as Jesus did. In my Savior's precious name I pray. Amen.

God bless

Shalom,

dns

Pretty critter

This is the first Praying Mantis I have found in my yard. It was on the back tire of my car? I picked it off and placed it in my flower-bed and got my camera and macro lens and took its picture. They are harmless to humans and are actually helpful.

These awesome creatures eat the harmful insects in your garden, so if you see one put it there as a natural pesticide.

Blessings,

dns

Texas Photo Forum

Several months back I joined this forum. It was a nice place to post photos and get feedback on them, as well as a good place to share Brazoria County through the medium of photography. It became obvious over time there were a few hecklers who made a point to wait for a photo post that may not be perfect. They would then chime in with some negative comments and ridicule the photograph.
Now I will never say I am the best as I am still learning and will always be learning. So I went searching to see just what these so called experts had to offer in a way of photography. First off very few of them ever posted any photos? They had a very limited web site or none at all.
Much of what I know in life is from learning from other people. Whether it be the right way or the wrong way of doing something. Before I make that decision I look to see their level of knowledge on the subject then listen or reject what they have to present. In this case I found the most voicetrous had the least knowledge and skill levels. And of course that is usually how it is, the one who talks the loudest and boast the most is the least capable and must empress others by their talk. As we say in the boat world, it is easy to talk the talk, but lets see you walk the walk. And 99% of the time they can't or don't. Dont' tell me show me.
I did enjoy post by a lot of the people there and there are some real good photographers. The level of shooters goes from beginner to pro. My frustration with the forum had nothing to do with the photography, but the childishness and lack of professionalism of those who try to pass themselves off as being professional. The forum is about photography and photo related subjects.
But a couple made it a point, excuse me for being truthful, to show their ignorance and a form of enjoyment at hearning themselves rattle. They made it a forum to air their views or comments on very unrelated subjects. And on being so bold as to tell a couple of them so I hurt their feelings. Well I say tough!!
You who know me know I take photography very seriously. It is my life. I have no spouse or children, I have photography. I live it, breath it, and share it with others as an outlet to bring an understanding of the gift that God has given me. And that which I share would not be possible if it were not for Him.
I am through with forums. It was habit forming because of the praise I would receive from people who I don't know. I was taking the glory for something I know was not to be mine. God should get all the glory since all I do is capture in a split second of time of something He created and placed there for me to see.
The photo projects I do like the statue and other stuff, my reward will be seeing it published. That is mine and I feel God is OK with it. As Jesus said the praise you get from others is your reward. Meaning the reward that comes from men in this world will not be rewarded in heaven. But what we do to honor God and expect no glory, but the glory due Him, we will be rewarded in paradise.
So from now on my photography will speak for me. I will not present it publicly for self gratification, but strickly to the glory of my heavenly Father. The forum became a addiction to me. Breaking away was difficult, but when those people spoke out against truth, I finally saw what was happening.

God bless.

dns

Psalm 25

God's word is a light..

Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule overme. -- Psalm 119:133

God's word is a light to our dark path in a morally uncertain world. It must be our standard for right and wrong, righteousness and evil. As God's will and Word have sway in our life, we are delivered from all sorts of destructive practices that can ruin our lives.

Great and Almighty God, who raises the dead and restores the fallen, make my heart delight in your truth and my life more perfectly conformed to your will. Lead me in your way and guide myf ootsteps in righteousness. Empower me to freedom from any form of bondage that Satan might use to control me and ruin my godly influence. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Fish

This was taken Saturday at the beach. God has blessed us with some awesome weather after such a long hot summer. I am enjoying it and know everyone else is too. I have started walking again, praise God, and I hope that He will share more of His beautiful creations with us.

I particularly liked this picture because of the lighting and the soft color. Seagulls are fun to photograph because they forget you are there and get right back to being natural.

Thanks for looking and God bless.

Shalom,

dns

Posting comments

I was not sure about this ability. I have set it up now so that anyone may comment. I have also made it so one has to verify their comment so I don't get anymore spam. So please do leave me a message. I know that you are looking and it helps me to have the incentive to continue. :)

God"s love

"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "`You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."

-- Matthew 22:36-38

Total love. That's what God wants. No more, no less. Total love. Total love is different than total obedience. While obedience is important,even sometimes necessary even when we don't understand why, it is notlove. Obedience can show love, but it can also show fear. If we loveGod, we will obey him. Total love is different than total knowledge.Knowledge is good. Knowledge can lead us to know more about God. But knowledge can never replace loving God. If we love God, we will be able to know him. Total love is not feeling good about God. Some things that love asks us to do are not fun and do not leave us feeling good. But love does help us develop deep feelings for God. Heart, soul, mind and strength. Jesus wants total love. Love from our emotions. Love from our spirits. Love from our knowledge. Love in our physical actions. Love that reaches in and combines all of who we are and hope to be. Love for God is eternal. It joins us to the King of Ages in joyful appreciation of all he has done for us, is doing through us, and will do for us in the future...

Here Jesus is also stating the first 3 of the 10 commandments. Those which God states we must keep His name holy, know Him as the one true God, and honor Him by keeping His sabbath.

PRAYER: Lord God Almighty, I reverence your holy name. I want to obey your every commandment. I want to become a loving servant and bring glory to you for all you have done for me. But most of all Father, I want you to know how much I love you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
God bless.

Shalom

dns

To a good friend

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. -- Proverbs 3:3-4

These words are my friend John McMinn. A man with a good name and with the favor of God. Always a kind word. Thanks John for being my friend..

May your name be found in the book of life and may you be with God until we meet again.

God bless and so long.

dennis

The color of purple

Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. -- Psalm 34:21

God has promised a closing time, a reckoning where human powerand influence cannot buy out the truth and where each person willhave to face up to what he or she has done. Evil will overtakethose who have been partners with evil. Those that hate goodpeople, righteous people, will be condemned in their own hate.God's righteousness, truth, and justice will not beshort-circuited!

Father, thank you for making clean and whole by the purifying work of your Holy Spirit. Teach me to be righteous. Help me develop a revulsion for what is sinful and evil. Use me to help someone caught in the evil one's work to find deliverance. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

God bless..

Shalom,

dns

God's gift..

Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailinglove. -- Psalm 31:16

The double beauty of this shot. An awesome sunset and this magnificent creature together. This is the same Great Blue Heron that is sitting on the logs. These guys are found throughout Texas. Another example of the beauty that God puts before us every moment of every day. We just have to look for Him and He can be seen.

God bless.

Shalom,

dns

Beautiful Bird

This guy was shy at first, but as I followed him around he gave in to my bugging him. Got some nice shots here and at the waters edge. The days are getting shorter and as winter approaches the sunsets will be more dramatic. I have a special one I will place here later, so come back to see what God has shown me to share with you.

God bless..

Shalom,

dns

A blessed day

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again tofear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,"Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit thatwe are God's children. -- Romans 8:15-16

Ab-ba. Listen to a baby and you will hear these basic earlysounds. Incredibly, Jesus showed us, and the Spirit enables us, tospeak to God with these syllables of familiarity, trust,vulnerability, dependency, and intimacy. The Spirit is ourguarantee that we don't have to be afraid of God, but that we canapproach him as our loving and tender Father who always listens toour hearts and seeks to bless our lives.

Abba Father, you are glorious and majestic. Your deeds areawesome. Your power, O LORD, is unfathomable. Your grace, AlmightyGod, is wonderful. Thank you, Holy and Righteous Father, forallowing me to approach you as my always near and ever presentAbba. Please make your nearness clear in my life today, and everyday that follows. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Praise God

Shalom,

dns

Welcome to those first timers..

This is a reddish egret. They are only found in U.S. along the Texas coast. I took this picture yesterday as it was wading in the surf feeding. This is just one of millions of awesome birds God has created and placed here for us to enjoy. Watching one of these as they dance around chasing their prey is really quite entertaining. Each different species has its own special way of foraging, nesting, and living in our world.

To believe that it all just happened is beyond my comprehension. But that is better left to the individual to make up their own mind about.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy atthe works of your hands. -- Psalm 92:4

May God bless you and keep you safe today and everyday.

Shalom,

Dennis

Beautiful Day

Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lacknothing. -- Psalm 34:9

What an awesome few days. The weather has been super. I took the opportunity to go out for some picture taking at the beach. There were a lot of birds. Some that are only seen in the U.S. along the Texas coast.

Then to end top it off, the moon is coming full. Beautiful!! I may try to go out and shot some more to morrow evening if I am able.

Until then. God bless..

Shalom Dennis

Good Morning

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears areattentive to their cry...

-- Psalm 34:15

We are righteous because of God's grace. We are rememberedbecause of God's faithfulness. We are heard because of God'sfaithfulness. We are blessed because God is God.

Thank you, Father, for seeing my needs, hearing my cries,answering my prayers, and coming down to save, comfort, and bless.In Jesus' name. Amen.

Shalom

dns

Nice evening.

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law,but under grace. -- Romans 6:14

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but undergrace? By no means! -- Romans 6:15

Awesome words there. Here's were it comes from:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to allmen. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions,and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in thispresent age... -- Titus 2:11-12

Freedom! We are free from the yoke of sin through Jesus. We turn our backs on sin. God is great..

Shalom,

dns

Hopefully this one will work.
Click on pitures to see larger version..

Sadness surrounds us..

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

-- Psalm 34:7

I don't see him, but I know he's there! The same angel of theLord who destroyed Israel's enemies is now fighting to win desperately battle that rages around you and me.

Give me faith, dear Father, to believe that your heavenlymessengers are around me to deliver me to you with glory and greatjoy. Thank you!

In Jesus name. Amen.

Blessed art thou Lord God King of the Universe.

I praise God and give thanks each day for His never ending blessings on my life. I was going to close out this blog, but I have received some e-mails that have touched my heart. Now I know that God has lead me to place this here so He might be glorified.

My troubles are few and thanks to the one God the creator of us all, I know I can take my problems and worried and lay them at His feet. Knowing that He will hear my cries and relieve me from my burdens. Whether you do or don't believe in His awesome love for you all I can say is that through experience I know He is always there to carry you when you stumble. All you need do is ask and put your trust in Him and His Gracious Son.

Blessed art thou O Lord, King of the Universe.
Shalom,
dns

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. -- Psalm 34:12-13

God's little beauty.

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Proverbs 4:18

Thanks Emily

God bless you and Adeline.

Shalom,

dns

Some Idea

I thought this would be a good idea. Post some photos andget a little feedback. Find out who is interested and who is not. By the number of comments I've received I guess no one is so I'll end this waste of time with one of lastest favorites.

Later..

dns

Texas Zoo..

I was going through some pictures and came across some of theTexas Zoo in Victoria. I went there a few weeks back to have a look around. It is a very nice zoo. Small, but photographer friendly. I stayed a couple of hours and shot different aspects of the different animals. I walked around returning to the same area several time. It gave me a chance to watch and shoot as the animals went about their daily routines. Seeing them in different angles.

There were no crowd or little kids running around. It was quiet and peaceful. The animals were somewhat relaxed even though they watched me closely. I guess I was a sight for them as well, this big man pointing his big lens at them. :)

Please take a look at my web site gallery under essay for more picures from the zoo.

Thanks for looking,

dns

A good Tern..

This tern photo was taken Thursday evening at Surfside

before Rita came calling. I dedicated it to my buddy Donnie.
He & I rode out to look around, check on the Anchor, and jsut

chill out from readying for the storm.

See more birds shots in my web gallery..

God bless,

dns

Today at Bryan Beach

Rode out to the beach today. 1st time since Rita.

The beach has been washed away in places.

The tide was high so it was hard to tell how bad

it was messed up. Not many birds either. Shot this one

from a distance. Looking forward to the cooler weather.

Will bring in more birds from up North.

Need some color.

Nice Butterfly. :)

This is one of my favorite butterfly shots.

I like the colors and how they blend together.

The wind blowing the grass.

Have this one along with others on my website.

Dragonfly at sunset.

Sundown at Sea Center Texas a few weeks ago.

With the cold front coming the butterflies and

dragonflies will probably go south soon.

Hope to get one or two more good shoots before they all leave.

Today I decided to go out to Bryan Beach to see what damage Rita did. When crossing over the Brazos river I shot this through the passenger side window. Didn't know if I'd get it or not, but I got off three before I got across. This was the best..

Awesome day in God's world.

Welcome to my new blog

Well here I go trying something different. I hope this blog will grow as I share photos with my family and friends. Please save this in your favorites and return often I hope to learn this blog thing and make a nice photo place out of it...

dns

What is a Photojones???

I have a photojones. That's when you love photography so much you live it, dream it, and spend most of your awake hours doing something related to it. My bummper sticker would read: "My money and my time go to photography". :)

I live on the Gulf Coast or as it is sometimes called the "Third Coast". There are many places and things here to photograph so I seldom get bored with shooting in this area. Although a change is always nice.

So here I go hoping that this blog thing will workout and be a nice place to display my pictures as well as a place to meet new friends who are also interest in photography or just like to see a split second of God's world captured and frozen in time.

This a test run so I can learn how to upload pictures.

I love to see these awesome beautiful creatures. Only a

Creator could have producted such beauty.