Most Wonderful Time Card---Join the Fun of our Anything Goes Challenge in my neighborhood, 613 Avenue Create!

Hi there, friends!  It's already Monday and I missed posting this earlier as Sunday is truly one of my busiest days of the week.  It's hard to believe that CHRISTmas, which is my favorite time of the year is just around the corner.  God is super faithful that He allows us to wake up each day with our freedom and liberty despite the full attack on our civil and religious rights for many years now.  We have allowed the satanic doctrines (doctrines of death) to creep in our society in the name of tolerance and political correctness.  Many who knew the Truth have allowed passivity to take over and in the process, failed to be productive members of God's kingdom.  They become like the world---worshipers of themselves and lovers of pleasure.  They don't weep anymore for the babies being killed mercilessly due to Abortion.  They don't feel the need to speak the Truth about the importance of Biblical Marriage and to defend the family structure.  And yes, they don't even care whether they will still wake up the next day to a free and sovereign country.  They truly have betrayed the country that feeds them and have placed the lives of their children for generations to come to fulfill their temporary worldly and fleshly desires in the name of their false beliefs.  They have been so calloused that they don't feel nor even see the need to shelter (protect) their kids from the evil doctrines being fed to them daily in the school system.  They stopped fighting for what is right and as a result, they ceased discerning the voice of the very God whom they professed they know.

But thank God for the "REMNANT!"  In these perilous days, we will witness what true believers of Christ are made of.  These are the kind of people who does not only speak of Christianity with their mouths but are passionate doers of their faith.  The kind who still lives and breathes in accordance to the Word of God.  That in the time of testing, they lift up the name of their  Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST, instead of denying their relationship with Him!  They are the voices crying out in the wilderness, never ceasing to speak of the hope that they found in their Maker.  That in the vast darkness, they shine a ray of light that pierces through.  As one of God's remnant, I was reminded of the story of how Gideon and the Israelites defeated the Midianites in Judges 7.  Severely outnumbered with the plan to go after the Midianite army of one hundred thirty-two thousand men with their thirty-two thousand, they were bombarded with fear .  Yet even with this ratio, God knew that if He granted them victory, they would take the credit for themselves, thinking highly of what they accomplished with their own strength.  So, God told Gideon to separate for Him a different breed of men (see Judges 7).  It's important to point out that their selection process didn't involve their physical qualification nor their ability to fight.  These three hundred men were used by God in their time and their story was written in the Holy Scripture to humble, demonstrate and teach us that it is not by our own might and power that we win the battles of our day...It is solely by HIS SPIRIT!  (Zechariah 4:6)

It is extremely important that we listen to the voice of God (His Word) to be able to quiet down every noise that seeks to deafen us.  Don't depend your life on any mortal man, establishment, religion or teachings.  Your life should solely depend on the One that gave it to you in the first place.  Apostle Paul spent a lot of time, gave so much effort and withstood persecutions to warn us against the dangers of "false teachings" (anything that perverts, twist, adds or subtracts from what Jesus Christ accomplished in His death, burial and resurrection).  Jesus and His finished work at the Cross is the ONLY means by which man can be saved through FAITH.  If we want to remain true to the calling that God has placed in our lives, WE MUST TEST everything that we hear and see regardless of who is delivering the message or how great they sound.  If we go to a Church and we hear a Pastor/Teacher delivering a message, we are to hold them accountable to the infallibility of God's Word.  It has nothing to do with how they sound, their appearance, their convincing power nor their public speaking techniques.  Should we stop filtering one's message just because they seemed to always sound okay that we just say"AMEN" to whatever they preach?  I urge you to NEVER STOP!  False teachings can creep in so easily that before long, you've been deceived that you no longer recognize what is wrong from right.  Apostle Paul didn't refrain from warning believers during his time.  The same message is as important for all of us to this day.  One of them is written in Galatians 1:6-10 which says, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

I said it before and I'd say it again, test every doctrine, messages, preaching, policies and even thoughts that is presented to you.  A true believer (Born-again, John 3:3) has ONE STANDARD of TRUTH.  It is the written revelation of the Creator Himself, fulfilled through Jesus Christ and translated and implemented in us today by the Holy Spirit.  The Word of God is Spirit and they are life unto them that uphold them.  No teachings of man can ever come to par with the wisdom contained in the Holy Scripture which is good yesterday, today, tomorrow and the eternal future.  Let us not give up the Truth for a lie, the eternal for the temporary.  Though we be few---a REMNANT of a people who wholeheartedly loves God and are viewed insignificantly by this world, we possess the promise of an unchanging God---victory at all counts as we spend eternal life and ruler-ship with Him.  I want to share the following verses to encourage everyone of us to proclaim boldly the HOPE WE HAVE IN US---without fear and compromise!

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved

and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called:

The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

“So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:1-8)

Anyway, we are having our usual Anything Goes Challenge with an optional Twist (Create Your Own Challenge) at 613 Avenue Create.  I don't really make a lot of traditional Christmas cards but I really love the image I got way back as it shows the lovely decorations/preparations of the season.  We were decorating our balcony with wonderful lights and have seen my husband go through the boxes of lights and ornaments to use.  It inspired me to come up with this design. For this Card, I used an image from Mo Manning called "Ho Ho Whoa" that I colored with ProMarker/Prismacolor/Spectrum Noir/Bic markers.  The base is Kraft, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from DCWV, the sentiment was stamped from Momenta and the white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  I finalized this creation by stitching all over it.  I've been wanting to use this stamp for a long time now and I'm so happy I was finally able to.  I had so much fun creating this!

MOST WONDERFUL TIME CARD:

MOST WONDERFUL TIME CARD LAYERS:

   

MOST WONDERFUL TIME CARD INSIDE:

 MOST WONDERFUL TIME CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Aud Sentiments---ATG with a Sentiment

Brown Sugar---ATG 

Crafting from the Heart---ATG

Craft Rocket---ATG 

Craft Your Passion---ATG 

Love to Scrap---ATG 

Crafty Hazelnut---Patterned Paper 

Playing with Paper---Christmas Card 

Artistic Inspirations---ATG/Twist of Pearls 

Desert Divas---Christmas 

Crafty Boots---Spots and/or Dots

Dream Valley---Stitching

Melonheadz Friends---Use a Digi

Not Just Cards---ATG 

Our Crafty Corner---ATG/Lace and Pearls 

Crazy Challenge---ATG 

Paper Nest Dolls---ATG 

Use Your Stuff---Lots of Layers 

Where the Heart Is---ATG/Winter Blues 

Whoopsi Daisy---Lots of Layers 

Color Your World---ATG 

Great Impressions---Bling On the Holidays

 Lacy Sunshine---Sweet Dreams of Chrsitmas 

Quirky Crafts---Christmas

2 Creative Chicks---ATG 

Card and Scrap---Christmas 

Craft Galore Encore---Use a Stamp or Digi 

Creatalicious---Merry Christmas 

Creative Craft Cottage---Christmas 

Digistamps4Joy---ATG 

Oddball Art Stamp---Lots of Layers 

Petal Lu---ATG 

Sisters of Craft---ATG 

World Wide Open DT---ATG 

Your Scrapbook Place---ATG

This it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge.  If you want to be challenged, take on the Optional Twist.  But there's really no reason for you to miss it.  Our sponsors---A Day for Daisies, Zuri Artsy Craftsy and Di's Digi Stamps are giving away some fabulous prizes.  Can't wait to see what you create. The Lord is with you every step of the way so, don't be afraid of the what the future holds---we are safe in the arms of Christ always.