Wishing Gifts and Giggles Card---Come Join the Fun in Our "Anything Goes" Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello there, Crafty peeps!  It's another wonderful Sunday morning to give praise and thanks to the Lord.  The world we are living in is not getting any better but our trust should be to the One Who holds this world in the palm of His hands, Our Lord God Almighty!  Everyday is filled with uncertainties...What used to be a God-fearing nation is now being conquered by godless men and women who seek to devour this country that was established by men and women who fought with their lives to see that our Godly heritage stands the test of time.  No other constitution had lasted 225 years like that of the United States which should be enough proof of it's effectiveness in governing this country.  But I am sad to see that in our time,  a move to change very crucial foundations of our Constitution were permitted without a fight by the Church (Body of Christ) due to passivity.  We have allowed media and government to take over our values and allowed them to corrupt our minds, our children's minds, softening us towards tolerance and political correctness. We have exchanged our trust in God, our Creator, with selfish desires and ambitions, fame, power and connections that we have sacrificed the very principles that made this country great just to promote ourselves.  By not doing anything, we have allowed the enemy to establish his throne in the government and if it wasn't enough, we became blind and drunken with the poison (lies) being forced on our throats that nobody even care to fight anymore.  Without God, we are in total darkness, total chaos, not being able to distinguish right from wrong. Why I am not surprised?  Those that have hardened their hearts (like in the time of Moses and Pharaoh) will keep on doing evil things and there's no amount of Truth you can place in front of them that will change their minds for by rebellion (denial and disobedience to God), they have deceived themselves.  The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."  Having a Biblical worldview is what keeps me going at these very trying times.  As a believer of Jesus Christ, my Savior equipped me with wisdom and understanding through His Word (the Bible) on signs of the times and seeing the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies come to life everyday is terrifying yet full of hope.  It is sad that many people will choose destruction over life just because they missed the time when the door to salvation was wide open.  Anybody whose not Born-Again (as per John 3:3---born of water and of the Spirit) will not see the Kingdom of God.  It does not matter how good we think we are, how much charities or people you helped in your lifetime, even if you gave all your money to the poor and sacrificed all your life to serve people, you are going to the same place the devil goes.  Why?  Because it's not what we have done (our own efforts, actions) that takes us there but "WHAT WE ARE." 

After the Fall of Man, everyone born from Adam had been a slave to the devil, had been cursed with a "sin nature" which gives us the irresistible urge to rebel against God.  Take for example a toddler---even if we don't teach them to lie, they know how to.  Everyone is guilty of disobeying "The Law" (Law of Moses) and no one is saved by obeying the law because no one can really follow them all (to break one is to break all).  Man's only hope of salvation from the condition Adam plunged us into is Jesus Christ!   He was the Only One qualified to pay the ransom to free us from slavery to Satan and He willingly gave His life to do so, once and for all...By accepting what Jesus done in your behalf  and the freedom He won for us, our darkened spirit died from our old self (being in Adam),  and a new spirit is born-again (born from above) to a new creation in Christ.  Hence, we are restored to our original state of righteousness just like when we were with Him before Adam sinned and the best thing is that we haven't done anything in it ourselves to achieve it.  It's all God's work and only He deserves the glory.  The Bible declares in Romans 10:9, "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  With our situation in this country right now, it is extremely unwise to leave God out of our daily existence.  He is our Only Hope and I can only rejoice every morning,  no matter what  problems the day holds, because I know where my true citizenship is at.  I rely on the very same hope Apostle Paul gave us in Philippians 1:20-21 which says, "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  I encourage everyone not only to pray for our country but also to accompany your faith with action.  Encourage those that need encouragement (especially government officials that fight for our rights) and point out the wrong in our society in every outlet we can (Media is suppressing the Truth, we cannot rely on them) so that those that can still see will see.  In the Lord, there's always HOPE.

On the lighter side of things, I am here to invite you for another "Anything Goes" Challenge with an optional Twist (Pile It On) starting today at our neighborhood, 613 Avenue Create.  Here's my inspiration card for this Challenge.  We are sponsored by Lacy Sunshine so, I am happy to use this wonderful image called "Eleanor Circus Clown" and had fun coloring it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers, added some glitters (Stickles-Crystal) and some Liquid Pearls (Key Lime) for dimension.  The base card is a Kraft CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5-inches square card.  The DP's are all from Recollections, the eyelets came from my Crop-a-Dile, the border strip from Heidi Grace and the banner/pennant is from Recollections.  The main sentiment was a freebie from my favorite site,  Create with TLC.  I die-cut the Lacy Circle with my Nestabilities and punch the sides of the card using my MS Border Punch.  Last but not the least, stitching all over this card. 

 WISHING GIFTS AND GIGGLES CARD:

 WISHING GIFTS AND GIGGLES CARD LAYERS:

 

 WISHING GIFTS AND GIGGLES CARD INSIDE:

WISHING GIFTS AND GIGGLES CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Create with TLC---Show it Off Sunday
2 Sisters---ATG
Emerald Faeries---Sparkle
Brown Sugar---ATG
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Color Me Creative---ATG
DL.ART---ATG
Inspire Me Fridays---ATG
Jo's Scrap Shack---Favorite Technique (Stitching)
Ladybug Crafts---Use Your Die-cuts
My Craft Creations---ATG
My Heart Pieces---ATG
Paper Creators Crafts---Dies and/or Punches
Quirky Crafts---Favorite Things (Designer Papers, Stitching)
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG
Sister Act---ATG
Stampin' for the Weekend---ATG
SweetPea Stampers---Sparkle and Shine
Corrosive Challenge---Dress Me Up
Paper Girls---Sew It On
Sisterhood of Crafters---ATG
MilkCoffee---Spots and Dots
Craftitude---ATG/Things that starts with "S" (Stitching)
Anything Goes---ATG
Make It Monday---ATG

There you have it, friends!  Make sure to visit our Challenge Blog---613 Avenue Create to join us for our "Anything Goes" Challenge with an optional Twist (Pile It On).  If you are like me who loves to layer, then, this  Challenge is an easy peasy for you.  But even if you have a simple card, you are still invited to join.  That's what I love about our Challenge.  You can do whatever you fancy with your projects and have a chance to win a fabulous prize.  Let us all come together and honor the Lord with songs or praise and thanksgiving.  He is totally in control thus, I have peace!  God bless, y'all!