Let's Decom-stress photo caption contest begins today!

Photo by nature photographer Marian Crawford,
www.MarianCrawfordgallery.com

Here it is! The first photo for our
Let's Decom-stress photo caption contest! 

I'll be posting a different awesome photo from nature photographer Marian Crawford each Monday throughout August and Sept. All you have to do is send in your one-line caption, loosely based on the theme, "Too Blessed to be Stressed," the title of my new book.

(To learn more about my books, check out my FaceBook author page or hop on over to my website, www.DeboraCoty.com ).

Your caption can be funny, poignant, silly .. whatever helps you decom-stress. Just send your entries to DeboraCoty@gmail.com (those who have already submitted entries to this blog, please resubmit to DeboraCoty@gmail.com - thanks!).

The previous week's winner will be announced each Monday when a new picture is posted. It could be you!

All 9 winners will be entered into a drawing for an autographed copy of  Too Blessed to be Stressed, plus a week's supply of your favorite Starbucks chill-out beverage (mine is chai latte).

So dear friends, without further ado, slap on your thinking caps and send in your ideas! You can enter as many times as you like.

Smiling in the Dark

I'm soooo excited that Everyday Hope has been nominated for a Retailer's Choice Award! It's such an honor even to be nominated, but the down side is that it's up against a Max Lucado book. Yikes!

It would take a real miracle to win. But hey, God's in the miracle business, right?

May I share a letter excerpt from a reader of Everyday Hope?

"I went into the grocery store and this beautiful little book jumped into my cart! It must have known how many people in my life are struggling with hope. I shared your devotion, 'Smiling in the Dark' with a friend whose mother-in-law fell two months ago, which resulted in her becoming blind. My friend couldn't believe the words that seemed meant for her:

'Hope isn't just an emotion; it's a perspective, a discipline, a way of life. It's a journey of choice. We must learn to override those messages of discouragement, despair and fear that assault us in times of trouble and press toward the light.

Hope is smiling in the darkness. It's confidence that faith in God's sovereignty amounts to something ... something life-changing, life-saving and eternal.'"
~ Nancy Stoppelkamp, North Carolina