THE BLESSINGS OF CREATIVITY...

I thank the LORD JESUS for each day that is given me to create wonderful projects...As always, I give Him all the glory.


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Scripture Series: Fruit of the Spirit Card---Time for Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

A wonderful Wednesday, everyone! I am thankful to the Lord today for providing me such relief from the environmental allergies that gives me discomfort in the ever changing weather out here in Texas.  For about 2 weeks now, I've been breathing well, though with the aid of a couple of allergy medicines (Thank God for medicines too!), I am appreciating everyday I am waking up with no congestion and frequent sneezing.  It is great to find blessings in our lives that for most of the time, we take for granted.  I have so much appreciation for breathing comfortably for I have been in a place for several years now (during allergy months) of not having the luxury to go to a doctor and have proper treatment for environmental factors that affected me.  I had many sleepless nights and tried to sleep sitting down because it was too hard to breathe.  I was dreading the changes in the weather knowing how it can affect me.  Finally, relief came and I have everything to be thankful for.  You see, there are many problems I have to face each day but then, I decided to not concentrate on them!  Instead, I focus on the victories the Lord blessed me with each day.  Over and over, He tells me not to worry about my circumstances yet there were times I would be so stubborn thinking of them.  I am so glad that the Lord is  ever so patient in my unbelief and that He wouldn't give up on me.  I remember a wonderful Pastor told us (in my Bible class) that trials come in different degrees or level.  There are some that does not take much to solve and those that requires more from us.  As I desire to serve the Lord Jesus more, trials never fail to come and they try to hinder me from ever fulfilling the purpose that God prepared for me.  I have seen many people who were so zealous in the ministry that the Lord gave them but in the event of many trials, they started pulling away.  I've learned that when the enemy tries to stop me from fulfilling God's work, the more I have to go against my feelings, condition and situation.  When I don't want to give to the work of God, the more I have to.  When I feel like skipping Church, the more I have to go---even if I drag myself in the process.  The more I feel like giving up, the more I have to fight against my own weakness.  If  it all depends on my own abilities and strengths, I would be long gone from the path the Lord has taken me.  But because He, who is inside of me, is greater than any demonic forces that seeks to pull me down, I can pull myself up and command my soul (consist of mind, will and emotions) to go against the suggestions of the enemy and my human nature (selfish desires) and to submit to the dictates of my spirit whose under God.  A Christian life is never without a battle!  Everyday in every situation, we need to decide! We can choose to follow the ways of the devil which leads to destruction or follow the righteous ways of the Lord which leads to holiness and eternal life.  I ask myself this, "Will I be willing to give up the eternal (without time, forever) life that Jesus won for me for a "momentary" (earthly life, temporary, a wink of an eye) existence here on earth.  And suddenly, I know what I needed to do!  It does help every believer of Jesus Christ to have an "ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE" in life when facing spiritual battles.  It will save us a load of troubles!  We are not to be strangers to the Word of God (the Bible) for in it is the written revelations of our Creator who gave us every instruction and solutions to every question we have in mind.  It contains our past, present and future and if you want to learn to value a life that comes after our final breath here on earth, we ought to spend time meditating on the Word of God!  This would require some spiritual disciplines (Meditation of the Word, Prayer, Fasting, Silence and Study).  Mastery of these five is not the source of our power as a believer.  Our only Source of power is found in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.  What these disciplines help us achieve is that they place us in a position that would separate us from the world (flesh) and go after the things of God.  We are to integrate these disciplines in our lives until it becomes a lifestyle.   Here's some verses I want to share with you that would help us persevere in our walk with God:

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)

"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:17-18)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:3-7)

Anyway, we have another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  We are highlighting a wonderful Word Art (by Karen Murray) which you can download for free at the WAW site.  It features the Word of God in Galatians 5:22-23 which says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."  These are the characteristics that should be found in men and women that have been transformed by God through a Born-Again experience (John 3:3-7).  The Holy Spirit living inside of us equips us with these qualities (without Him, it's impossible for us to do it) and though it may seem like a challenge for us to develop some or all of the qualities,  He is not finished with us.  Everyday we live is a step in the right direction if we depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us focus on the finished work of Jesus on the Cross,  As we keep our attention to Jesus Christ, the less and less we are to focus on ourselves.  That's how we become Christ-like!  Contrary to what the people of the world thinks---all of us (believers) are a work in progress.  Not one of us has gotten it altogether but when we finally come face to face with God, we'll see the fulness of our transformation in Him.   For my inspiration card today, I used an image from one of our sponsors, Robyn's Fetish.  it's called  "Crock Pot 'n Flowers" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base card is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5-inches square card.  The DP's and colored CS are all from my scraps.  The lacy circle is cut with Nestabilities and added several metallic gems from Imaginisce.  I cut the Word Art into strips and matted it with a blue/gray CS.  Lastly, I did a load of stitching inside and outside of this card.  Love how it turned out.
 

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CARD:


FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CARD LAYERS:


 FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CARD INSIDE:


FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


*** WANT THIS CARD?  AVAILABLE AT MY ETSY---HERE! ***


This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Make it Monday---ATG
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Inky Impressions---Someone Special
Rhedd and Rosie---ATG
Lacy Sunshine---Use a Sentiment
OSAAT---ATG
Robyn's Fetish---Valentine
Gem of a Challenge---All You Need is Love
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG + Optional Use a Heart
Artistic Inspirations---ATG/Hearts
Digi Darla's---Your Personal Style (Layered)
Craft Your Passion---Love is in the Air
Digi Makeover---ATG
Ladybug Crafts---The One I Love
Papertake Weekly---ATG/Optional Shaped Card
TTCRD---ATG
Crafting by Designs---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG/Add Some Sparkle
Scrap-Creations---Favorite Embellishment (Little Nail Gems)
Scribble and Scrap---ATG
As You Like It---Favorite Style (I love "Layering" with Clean and Graphic Design)
Crafts Galore---Add a Bling
Craftyhazelnut's---Use Patterned Paper
One Crazy Stamper---ATG
Loves Rubber Stamps---ATG
Cuttlebug Mania---A Touch of Red (Used Cuttlebug and Nestabilities for Lacy Circle)
Fan-Tastic Tuesday---ATG (Must be Square)
Top Tip Tuesday---Girly (Cut up sentiments can have a wonderful effect on a project)
Bunny Zoe's Crafts---Stitching
Great Impressions---Floral Images
Doodle Pantry---Any Digi Goes


Thanks a lot for visiting my site and leaving some comments.  I truly enjoy reading them.  Just want to encourage you to join our Challenge at WAW.  You can make any project you want as long as it's family friendly, inspirational or uplifting.  You can enter up to 5 projects for more chances of winning.  We would like to see your creation using our free Word Art but it's not mandatory.  We just enjoy the creative inspiration that each of you share and would be happy to know you a lot better through your artwork.  There's wonderful prizes to be won from our sponsors this week---Heart and Soul Rubber Stamps and Robyn's Fetish.  Take the time to meditate on the many blessings that God has in store for you today instead of focusing on the negatives.  

38 comments:

  1. Beautiful card and beautiful post.

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  2. What a beautiful card .....wow, the stitching is gorgeous Jo Ann.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely card in our challenge this week. Ingrid xx ( OSAAT Team )

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  3. Pretty card, great design, thanks for joining us at Fan-Tastic Tuesday this week

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  4. WONDERFUL card I love the sentiment, colors, images. It's a wonderful happy card. I saw your card on MIM.

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  5. Wonderfully designed card with great coloring! Thanks again for playing with One Crazy Stamper!!

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  6. Such a gorgeous card! Love all the color and your design. Thanks for sharing it at TTCRD.

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  7. Beautiful card, love the fussy cutting and layering! Thanks for joining us at Doodle Pantry Digital Challenge #43 hope to see you again!

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  8. I really love this!! Saw you on MIM your card caught my eye so I came in for a closer look!

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  9. Beautifull this card. Great text.
    Thanks for joining us at Craft your Passion.
    xxx Michelle (DT)

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  10. A great card - I love all the layers and stitching. Thanks for playing along at Cuttlebug Mania this time x

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  11. Very Pretty Design, love the papers and image, thank you for joining us over at Fan_tastic Tuesday Chellenge Challenge, we would love you to come back next week and join us in another fab challenge....
    Hugs
    Suzy B~Owner~Fan-Tastic Tuesday Challenge
    Xx

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  12. Super cute card, love all the graphics and layers. Thanks for joining us at Great Impressions.

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  13. Love how you've decorated the inside and envelope as well!

    Thanks for joining us at One Stitch at a Time this week, and good luck!

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  14. OH so fun! LOVE the bold and bright colors and I adore the stitching! Thanks for joining us at Great Impressions! HUGS and have a great rest of the weekend! :) Mynn xx

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  15. great and fantastic card Jo Ann.

    Thanks for join us at ScrapbookStampSociety Challenge.

    Greetings Karin DT Coördinator

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  16. Wonderfully done card, cute image & great design!
    Good to see you join us for the One Stitch At A Time Challenge, hope to see you come back soon!
    ¸..• ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.•´ .•´¨¨))*((¸¸.•´ ..•´
    Shell in Alaska ~ OSAAT DT ~

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  17. Hi Jo Ann!
    Beautiful card Hun & LOVE your coloring! Great design too!!!

    Thanks so much for playing along with us @ Inky Impressions & hope to see you back again for our next challenge!!!

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  18. Very lovely and an inspiring sentiment. Thanks for joining us at One Stitch at a Time this week. Good luck! Maggie (OSAAT DT)

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  19. Fab card. Thank you for joining in Rhedd and Rosie's, good luck Hun, Zoe DT xx

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  20. Fun card design!! Love it!! Beautiful inside and out!! Thank you for joining the challenge at Great Impressions!

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  21. Great card thanks for sharing it with us at artistic inspirations.
    Good luck
    Fiona dt. x

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  22. Great colours on you card. And lovely layout. Thanks for joining us at Lacy Sunshine. Hugs, Lene

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  23. Beautiful card. I like the way you pieced out your sentiment and the colors and design on this one.

    Mary Anne, Great Impression DT

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  24. Such a great entry for our challenge at Rhedd & Rosies...love how your card are so vibrantly coloured, stunning make...x

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  25. Love your card, the coloring on your image is so pretty and the scripture is always encouraging! Wise words you have shared , thanks:)

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  26. Beautiful card! Thanks so much for joining our challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps! :)

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  27. Wow! Vfab card.. Leona (Creative Moments DT)

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  28. beautiful work xx thank you so much for joining us at Loves Rubberstamps xx

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  29. Such an adorable card! Thanks for joining Loves Rubberstamps Challenge :)

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  30. Fabulous card, I love the way you've laid out the sentiment, it adds so much dimension. Thank you for joining us at the Crafts Galore Encore Add A Gem, Glitter etc Challenge #2 and Good Luck!

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  31. Adorable card. Love the colours and design. Thanks for sharing over at AYL? Carolxx

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  32. Such a gorgeous card, lovely crisp, vibrant colours.

    Thanks for coming over and joining in with our 25th Challenge at Rhedd and Rosie's Challenge Blog - Anything Goes.

    Great Big Huge Hugs

    Becca xxx(DT Member)

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  33. Wonderful again this is beautiful. I like the colors they pop off the screen. Nice 3D effect popping the sentiments up. The flowers are so pretty you colored wonderful. I like the sewing, my favorite touch on your card. Great job! Thanks for entering our ATG challenge at One Crazy Stamper! Nicely done!

    Leanne DT@OCS!

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  34. Wow you have out done yourself again. Wow indeed. My son was looking at this blog with me and he noticed how you have a signature sign to your work and that is that you cut out your colored image and than mount on cardstock and cut out again. Your coloring is amazing and to have a signature style is a wonderful accomplishment, but when others see it in the crafting world and can pick out your work anywhere, that is just totally splendid and a blessing. Thanks for doing it again this week with this totally gorgeous card and sharing it with us over at Doodle Pantry. Hugs.

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  35. Beautiful card and fantastic stitching. Thank you for joining in with our Touch of Red challenge at Cuttlebug Mania x

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  36. Another beauty! thank you for sharing over at Lacy Sunshine, Kerry DT xx

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  37. Wow I love the design of this card. Great details with the flowers and bright colours and love the tip regarding the sentiment as well.Thanks for playing at Top Tip Tuesday and good luck. Hope to see you back tuesday for a new challenge. Bettina DT Member at Top Tip Tuesday xx

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  38. Thank you so much for joining my Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge for February with another lovely card - hope to see you again soon. x

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