Scripture Series: Have I Drawn Thee Flower Pot Card---Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge Happening at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello everyone!  Today starts another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  As always, we feature a Scripture Word Art (free to download at the WAW site) that comes from Jeremiah 31:3 which says, "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Do you know that everything God does is motivated by His love?  Before we can even fathom the depths of what "True Love" is, God had already shown us love by allowing us to exist even though He knew what mankind was going to do. Before time ever existed and everything came into place, there's God---His will, plan and purpose!  Nothing is hidden from Him and His plan goes before any of us ever was.   And even before that, He also created the angels even though He knew Lucifer (Satan) would turn against Him and a third of these beings would wreak havoc all over His creation.  The Bible declared in 1 John 4:7-21 that "God is Love."  We will not know what "true love" looks like until we gaze at the best representative God sent to mankind---His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ!  John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known."  Every word Jesus had spoken, every action He took and His intent for both shows us the unselfish (Agape) kind of love  that is uniquely God's.  Not one of us is capable of demonstrating the true essence of  "Agape" unless God Himself draws us to the the Lordship of Jesus Christ, our choosing to surrender our lives to Him and us allowing the Holy Spirit to take over.  We cannot fully understand the vastness of what "everlasting love" means other than it's love without end.  Yet even with our limited understanding and while depending solely on what Christ has shown us through His death, burial and resurrection,  we get a taste of what God's everlasting love is like.  As one who experienced the incredible love of God (once a sinner, saved by His grace and living each day through the guidance of the Holy Spirit),  God's love empowers me to see myself not on my daily struggles and battles nor how others perceive or accept me but according to the eternal love God has for me.  The finished work of Jesus Christ at the Cross is not only victory I hold onto each day but my assurance to the eternal vastness of God's great love for me and everyone that love Him.  I am chosen from before time and He alone knows why, but I am so grateful He did.  I would like to share what I read from Life Application Bible about God's love as an exhortation to the verses from 1 John 4:7-10.  It truly blessed me so, here it is:

"Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling.  In reality, love is a choice and an action, as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows.  God is the source of our love: He loved us enough to sacrifice His Son for us.  Jesus is our example of what it means to love; everything He did in life and death was supremely loving.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love; He lives in our hearts and makes us more and more like Christ.  God's love always involves a choice and an action, and our love should be like His.  How well do you display your love for God in the choices you make and the actions you take?

John says, "God is love," not "Love is God."  Our world with its shallow and selfish view of love, has turned these words around and contaminated our understanding of love.  The world thinks that love is what makes a person feel good and that it is all right to sacrifice moral principles and other's rights in order to obtain  such "love."  But that isn't real love; it is the exact opposite---selfishness.  And God is not that kind of "love."  Real love is like God, Who is holy, just and perfect.  If we truly know God, we will love as He does.

Love explains (1) why God creates---because He loves, He creates people to love; (2) why God cares---because He loves them, He cares for sinful people; (3) why we are free to choose---God wants a loving response from us; (4) why Christ died---His love for us caused Him to seek a solution to the problem of Sin and (5) why we receive eternal life---God's love expresses itself to us forever.

Nothing sinful or evil can exist in God's presence.  He is absolute goodness.  He cannot overlook, condone of excuse sin as though it never happened.  He loves us, but His love does not make Him morally lax.  If we trust Christ, however, we will not have to bear the penalty for our sins (1 Peter 2:24).  We will be acquitted (Romans 5:18) by His atoning sacrifice."

For this Card, I used an image from WPlus9 called "Doodle Buds." I loved this stamp set the very first time I saw the cards people made with them.  Though it took some time, I am so glad I now have it in my collection.  So,  I stamped my favorite flower image on different colored CS and fussy-cut them, including the leaves.  The finished card measures 5 x 7 inches using Kraft CS as base.  The pot measures 4.5 x 4.25 x 3 inches.  The DP is from Recollections, the ribbon from my stash, the glitters from Stickles (Crystal) and the white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  I also inked part of the pot with Distress Ink (Vintage Photo), the sentiment in the message panel from Ms. Sparkle and Co.  and lastly, I added some stitching all over this creation.  I used this VIDEO from Splitcoasters as an inspiration for this creation. This was really fun to make.

 HAVE I DRAWN THEE FLOWER POT CARD

 HAVE I DRAWN THEE FLOWER POT CARD LAYERS

 HAVE I DRAWN THEE FLOWER POT CARD MESSAGE SPACE

HAVE I DRAWN THEE FLOWER POT CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafty Creations---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG/Flag Day
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Mod Squad---Colorful
Simon Says---Use Patterned Paper
Wonderful Wednesday---ATG
Create and Inspire---ATG/Tag
Not Just Cards---ATG
Paradise of Stamps---Summer
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Retarte---ATG
PINspirational---Photo Inspiration
OLLCB---Summertime
Path of Positivity---ATG/Faith Hope Love
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG


Make sure you join us at WAW Challenge.  You can use the free Word Art in your creation and link it to our Challenge but is not a requirement.  As long as it's family-friendly, uplifting and inspirational, you can enter up to 5 times this week.  An awesome GC of  $25 worth will be awarded to our Challenge winner by our awesome sponsor---Simon Says Stamp.  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up as we meditate on the love of God today.