I Break for Creativity
I’m running late on some things today while I rest from sciatica pain, so in my photo memories, these actual fireworks I captured were desperately needing creative editing. The pink one is the most obvious that it’s a real picture because it only needed a little creativity, but I really have fun with the alchemy filter in the Mirror Lab app for Android.
Here’s one before image…
You can see where I got rid of the smoke and added some saturation for better colors. Those simple edits, plus an AI request to clean up the smoke behind the big fireworks were done with the Photo Studio Pro app. (Link goes to the free ad-supported app, but if you have Play Pass, this is one of the included pro apps.) After that I applied the alchemy filter.
One more mid process…
This one has been cropped and had contrast and saturation adjustments before putting it through the strong alchemy filter to really stretch out all those points of light.
Finally, when I got a few I liked (and it got too late to work on anymore of them, I grabbed my 3 favorites and put them in a collage using the Photo Studio Pro app.
And that’s my day and night for this post. I sure would love to see some responses from people trying any or all of these apps I share to tell me what you think and maybe show me some results. I do not use affiliate links to share these, so I’m not even certain what’s clicked on, but it’s important to me to think I’m being helpful to people. And because I have no Apple devices, I can only hope you can find some of these if that’s the system you prefer to work in.
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Blog Break: Fireworks Converted by AI
You’d think I actually did a play for 3 days with how tired those 3 posts left me. I have so many drafts I’m working on and excited to share, but it’s one of those nights where sleep seems to be calling more loudly.
So this is an image of beautiful fireworks at Patoka Lake in Indiana. But with night pictures, there’s almost always a little blur and a lot of photo noise. I took my beautiful photos through AI to clean them up and add even more beauty. I’ll let y’all know when I’ve completed the album, so you can see before and after shots.
Good night and sweet dreams. 😴💭
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Blog Break ⛓️💥 Fireworks
I fell asleep in my chair and couldn’t get my mind to complete the task I started for this post, so I’ll try to finish tomorrow. I hope you all had a beautiful Sunday that included giving thanks to our Creator for His love, mercy, and provision. He is so worthy of all praise! 🙌
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America, Bless God!
First, Happy Semiquincentennial (250 years) Birthday, America! 🎂🗽🇺🇸 I’m grateful for this nation that so many flock to because they know there is hope here they may not find in their home countries. It’s up to us to teach them the skills to work for those freedoms, starting with lawfully abiding by the plans we’ve put in place to bring in immigrants and keep out our enemies. We sure don’t want to bring thieves into our own homes and businesses to make it easier for them to case the joint, right?
By the way, that cross in front of the 250 on the cake was unintentional, but I left it there because it seemed right for this post. In the image prompt, I was trying to get 250 candles and sparklers, so I put a “+” sign in front of the 250 to show importance. Wombo turned it into a cross. How cool is that, right?
The Freedom to Bless God
So, what exactly is freedom? Is it getting to make all our own decisions, not answering to anyone above us, and never having any responsibilities? Is it always having everything go our way? Is it a land with no laws that cause someone to feel less than welcome no matter what evil intentions they may be hiding in their hearts?
Or is it a place where we have the freedom to do the right things, and we get to harvest the results of our hard work without someone who thinks of themselves as better than us taking it away just because they can? Even if it’s done under the guise of charity, if we can’t keep what we’ve worked for and choose where to share our abundance, we are missing the true American dream—the dream where we work hard and gain an abundance that we want to share with others.
An Entertaining Example
Even though it’s a Christmas movie (though Christmas in July is a thing now), one of my top movies is “The Ultimate Gift.” It stars James Garner, Drew Fuller (before his 6 seasons on “Army Wives”), and Abigail Breslin in roles that perfectly demonstrate the blessings of hard work and heartfelt obedience out of love. I highly recommend it, and if you’ve got Amazon Prime, it’s there for free. Also, I found it on YouTube with ads. But in case you want to see a preview before you decide, here’s one that’s less than 3 minutes:
Where is the Blessing?
Most of us have likely heard the adage it’s more blessed to give than to receive. That spirit has driven some of the finest moments in the US as a nation. The moments when someone sacrifices for the benefit of someone else even with the risk it may cost them everything. It’s the drive that makes a soldier keep fighting, a woman in labor keep pushing, and a tired parent keep striving to bring a better life to their family. It’s a mix of hope and resilience with a finish line calling out, “Don’t give up!” These people give even before they have a promise of payback much like the biblical patriarchs in Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:13, 16, 38-39 BSB
[13] All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
[16] Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
[38] The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
[39] These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.13-39.BSB
The whole faith chapter:
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.1-40.BSB
But there is a promise out there. The soldier often survives and makes it back home to a loving welcome and a family. The mother gets to hold her new baby in her arms. The striving parent is able to get a home for their family, or at least a nightly meal on the table. And usually, someone says thanks to them, and it makes all the sacrifices worth it.
Don’t Give Up!
We have a loving Father and Creator who has built a world for us. It’s a place where the law of the harvest allows us to plant exactly what we want to grow. If we care for the plant according to its needs, we will reap a harvest if we’re patient. And all He wants is a thank you and to not be forgotten when things are going well.
Galatians 6:9 BSB
[9] Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/gal.6.9.BSB
An Attitude of Gratitude
In the USA, we have freedoms and blessings now that were just hopes and dreams of our founding fathers. They knew back then that true abundance came by the provision of our Lord and Creator. And beyond the harvests in this life, we have the same great and precious promises our biblical forefathers had. Some happen here, and some come with eternity. All are gifts from God that are worthy of our thankfulness to Him.
People have a choice to be grateful even when things don’t go their way. They can endure the hard things and keep pressing toward the goals they desire, and they can be both satisfied and hopeful at the same time. They can ask God to bless America and still thank Him for the abilities to do the hard work to bring in an abundant harvest. Even more, we can thank Him for the ultimate blessing of His presence through all the moments of this life—good and bad.
Or, people also have a choice to become petulant and ungrateful with a perpetual demand for entitlement—throwing tantrums and filing lawsuits for every minor offense or discomfort. They can demand that God bless them (and maybe America), and all the pet projects they deem worthy of His blessings.
Which do you think will bring people the most genuine happiness? The demand for a blessing? Or the grateful heart that blesses God first and gives more than it receives. I vote for the latter, so I say,…
“America, bless God!”
Note: I’m grateful for a bit of collaboration with Gemini catching a couple issues where the flow went a different direction.
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