Scripture Series: Fear Not, I Will Help Thee Card---Time for Another Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Good morning, wonderful fellas!  I am a day delayed again in posting this for our Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Yesterday was a challenging day for our family having lost our canine family member of 10 years.  I know this day would come but it's still hard to let go of a "loyal friend" that has been part of our lives for a decade.  She was there before my son was born and had been with our family for all the fun times and the not so good times.  It hit me the hardest after  I came home last night...I will not be able to hear her barking excitedly, wagging her tail with just my mere presence.  Even our cat, whose best friends with her, is missing her a lot too.  He's there sniffing her bed and going through the areas where she used to stay.  It breaks my heart!  You see, death is not an easy thing to face.  I know this for a fact after losing both my parents (who were both healthy and didn't show any problems) died within months apart from each other.  Though they didn't live together for many years due to unpleasant situations, I lost them without much warning.  There's really nothing that can prepare us when physical death comes knocking at our door.  All  of us will see it happening around us and eventually face the fact that we ourselves will someday face our mortality unless the Lord takes us (every Born-Again believer) prior (rapture of the Church).  This is what the Lord revealed to me yesterday in the passing of our dog, Buffy!...As I face the sad decision to end the life of a friend whose endured pain and suffering from all the tumors growing inside and outside her body and how it tore me up inside, so, I saw a glimpse of the heart of God seeing each and every individual He created (in His image and likeness---Genesis 1:26) face death without accepting the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ has provided for each and everyone of us.  He is the Only Way Out of the "eternal death" that is awaiting everyone who have been spiritually dead by being born in Adam.  When Man fell  in the Garden of Eden,  he (Adam) gave away the authority (dominion) that God originally gave him and deliver it to Satan (committed high-treason).  By one act of man,  he plunged all of humanity into fiery lakes of hell.  There's nothing we can do in it ourselves that can change that outcome until Jesus came into this world and paid the price for our freedom with His own blood!  Romans 10:9-10 says, "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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."  Because God knows that man needed to be restored spiritually (Born-again Experience, John 3:3) to ever see His Kingdom and that physical death is eminent, He provided to us the Only Way for restoration---JESUS CHRIST!  Like I grieved for the passing of my parents and recently, my dog--- His heart bleeds for every soul that rejects Christ knowing that after every opportunities in their lifetime to come to the knowledge of Christ, they rejected the very One whose able to save them.  It is not the heart of God for anyone to die as He originally created us in His image---immortal and without sin.  But the Fall of Man happened and SIN and DEATH BY SIN took a toll on all of us which are still affecting all of humanity to this day.  

I am thankful to the Lord for He opened my eyes to the reality of my need for Him.  The Bible is very clear in John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  Though I will not be able to see my Mom and my Dad, my pet (Buffy) while I am on this earth---because I have ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST,  I will be reunited with all my love ones (who came to know Christ) in God's eternal Kingdom.  Because of this revelation, I can face the future.  Though with a bit of sadness,  but with  far more hope and exceeding joy.  When this life is over, (immediately) my true life in Christ begins and will never end.  Be comforted by these promises from the Lord...

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me (Jesus). In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."  (John 14:1-4)

"But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)

Anyway, I would like to share with you the inspiration card I made for our Challenge at WAW this week.  As always, we feature a verse that you can download for free at the WAW site like the ones you see in my card below taken from Isaiah 41:13 which says, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."  What a word of comfort from the One Who created heavens and the earth!  Picture this, in the coldest of times, in our darkest hours, we have a God who holds us...Because He is God, He's never letting go!  As we reach out and cry out to Him like a child to his Daddy, fully trusting of the love in our Father's heart, no harm will come upon us.  His voice reassures us that, "Things are going to be okay."  I don't know about you but when the Lord promises things, He always fulfills!  Numbers 23:19 tells us, "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?"  We may not receive every answer to our prayers but rest assured that whatever it is, He has a greater plan for our good.  Be it in joy or in sadness, let us put our trust in God Who truly cares for us.  He loves you more than you can ever fathom.  Anyway, for this card, I used a wonderful image from one of our sponsors this week, Robyn's Fetish, called "In the Cold" which truly embodies the message of the scripture for this week.  I colored it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor marker and did some paper piecing on a part of the image's  clothing.  I added some glitter (Stickles-Stardust) to show some heavy snow.  The base card is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5-inches square card.  The DP's are all from My Mind's Eye (Lost and Found Two Paper Pad), added some brads and a banner from Basic Grey.  Lastly, there's a ton of stitching all over this card.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

 FEAR NOT, I WILL HELP THEE CARD:

 FEAR NOT, I WILL HELP THEE CARD LAYERS:

 FEAR NOT, I WILL HELP THEE CARD INSIDE:

FEAR NOT, I WILL HELP THEE CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Bearly-Mine---ATG
Card Mania---ATG
Craftin Desert Diva's---ATG
Craftin for all Seasons---Autumn Colors
Crafty Boots---Autumn
Crafty Creations---Autumn Colors
Crafty Sentiments---For All Guys Out There
Paper Make-up Stamps---Lots of Layers
Divas by Design---Use a Digi
DL.ART Thankful Thursday---ATG
Everybody-Art---Autumn
Hanna and Friends---Glitter
Ladybug Crafts---Autumn Colors
Love to Scrap---ATG
Loves Rubberstamps---ATG
My Craft Creations---ATG
My Mum's Craft Shop---Autumn Colors
Nutcrafters---Autumn Splendor
Paper Pretties---Falling For You
Papertake Weekly---ATG
Parade Your Crafts---Autumn
Penny's Paper-Crafty---Lots of Layers
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Wags 'n Whiskers---ATG
Victorine Stamps---Fall or Thanksgiving
Deep Ocean---Winter
Delightful Challenges---All that Glitters
Fresh Brewed---Snow/Christmas
Paper Shelter---Winter Fun

I hope you'd been blessed by what the Lord has put in my heart.  If you are suffering from a lost of a love one these days, my heart goes out with you.  Allow yourself to grieve and let the Lord help you move on.  That's what I am going to do.  He is able to deliver me from anything.  I am going to hang onto Jesus for His help never fails.  Make sure to join us in the WAW Challenge for a chance to win great prizes from our two sponsors this week---Mark's Finest Papers and Stamps and Robyn's Fetish.  You can make a project out of this week's free scripture Word Art (not mandatory) or link any family friendly, inspirational or uplifting projects, up to 5 (Anything Goes).  Please read the Challenge Rules to make sure your entries qualify.  It's not fun for us having to remove entries that don't adhere to the rules.  I am excited to see what you link with us this week.  Anyway, keep your eyes upon the Lord and He will see you through...Hugs!