Scripture Series: To Everything a Season Card---Join Us for an Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday morning, everyone!  I took a break for a couple of weeks but it sure is great to be back here and the Blog Land with the wonderful team of Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  I love the Word Art we are highlighting this week (which is free for you to download at the WAW site) coming from  Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  Let's take a moment to meditate on this profound revelation which gives us a glimpse of an All-knowing Being, a Creator, a magnificent Planner who arranges and appoints everything according to His perfect Will.  Before He created man on the 6th day, He went through creating all the other things that was good and would sustain the life of His Masterpiece---MANKIND (created in His image and likeness)!  Man's first day was the 7th day which God declared as the day of rest.  He could have made man in between so as to get us to work but He opted to give us rest instead, for our first day.  Just for a moment, think about the goodness of our loving Father.  As I meditate on these thoughts, I realized that this is exactly how God wants us to come to Him---totally dependent on His goodness and His plans as we journey through life.  Sure, He has given us task to do but never without His presence.  When Man fell from the glory of God, He provided a way for us, through the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have forgiveness for every sin we committed in our lives and a promise of victory in this life and after.  The same as when He provided everything we needed before we were created, there is nothing in it ourselves that we can do to conjure up our own salvation.  Not our own abilities, fame, power, influence nor charities will any of us be able to earn eternal life...God's only plan for salvation of mankind is through the Man, Christ Jesus---through faith in Him alone!  Think about it, why are we born in the day/year we were born?  Why not later, why not earlier?  Ephesians 1:11-12 says, "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."  I am thankful to our Almighty God for having been born in the Church Age (period of grace) where through faith in Christ, I was set free from the sin nature and freed from the law.  All I need to do is embrace what Jesus accomplished for me at the Cross, be a vessel of honor for Him and share the very Gospel (Good News) to them who have no hope.  Knowing that everything happens for a reason and in the time appointed by God---I have erased the following words in my vocabulary---LUCK and FORTUNE!  I am convinced that these 2 words and it's derivatives have no basis in the scripture.  I would like to leave you with some verses to meditate on about God's plan for your life:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." (John 15:16)

 

"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  (Ephesians 2:3-10)

So here's my inspiration card for you today for the WAW Challenge.  I added some colors to the free Word Art using my Paint program.  The beautiful image is from Stamping Bella called "Uptown Girl Lolly and her Brolly" and colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers with some paper piecing.  The base card is a white CS; cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches, square card.  The DP's are from Recollections and the olive green and grey CS' were used for matting.  I inked the sides of the image using Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Pumice Stone), added some brads and glitters (Stickles---Lime Green and Crystal) for added dimension.  Finally, I stitched all over this card.  It turned out great and hope you like it too.

 

 TO EVERYTHING A SEASON CARD:

 TO EVERYTHING A SEASON CARD LAYERS:

 TO EVERYTHING A SEASON CARD INSIDE:

TO EVERYTHING A SEASON CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Make it Monday---ATG
Inspire Me Fridays---ATG
Sister Act---ATG
Scrapper's Delight---Make Your Own Embellishment (I made the banners with brads and stitching)
My Creative Moments---Seasons
Glitter n Sparkle---Add Some Metal  (Brads)
2 Sisters---ATG
Craftin Desert Diva's---Anything with a Sentiment
Creative Craft Challenges 2---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Crafting By Designs---ATG
Lady Anne's---ATG
Penny's Paper Crafty---ATG
Simon Says Stamp---Going Dotty
Stampavie and More---Flowers
Stamping Chef---Stitching
Anything Goes---Out with the Girls
Crafty Sentiments---Favorite Technique/Color (My fave technique is Layering)
Everybody Art---Stitch
Flourishes---Paper Piecing
Ladybug Crafts Ink---Pierce, Sew or Inky Stitch
Loves Rubber Stamps---ATG
Tiddly Inks---ATG
Top Tip Tuesday---Flowers/Top Tip (In paper piecing an image, use a similar paper (DP or CS) from your background paper to establish design continuity and harmony)
Twisted Tuesday---Heavy Metal 
Use It Tueday---Use 2 Hoarded Items (Designer Papers and Brads)

There you have it folks. Please stop by the WAW Challenge and link up your projects featuring the wonderful Word Art freebie although it's not mandatory.  You can also link up to 5 projects, as long as it's family friendly, inspirational and uplifting, to our "Anything Goes" Challenge.  We have a couple of wonderful sponsors this week namely, Lisa's Altered Art, Eureka Stamps and Karen.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  Have a blessed day and know that your steps are ordered by the Lord. Continue to trust in Him.