Scripture Series: He First Loved Us Card---Don't Miss Our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge Ongoing at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello Crafty pals!  I'm back to post the second card I featured in our bi-weekly Challenge going on at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Like always, you can enter as much as five entries per week as long as it's inspirational and family friendly.  If you want to see the first card I posted which highlights our Scripture Word Art at WAW, click HERE.  In this post, I am going to use the Scripture (digi stamp) from our sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps, which is included in the set called "Farmhouse Scriptural Quotes." It's in 1 John 4:19 which tells us, "We love because he first loved us."

Have you ever heard the statement, "You cannot give what you do not have"? Many have tried to use this statement pertaining to health, wealth, religion and many other things.  But I like to use it in relation to God's love.  For everything that we are and everything that we have comes from Almighty God.  Genesis 1:26-27 reveals, "Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." In these verses, God spoke about creating mankind patterned after Him,  in male and female gender and would rule over God's creation.  Genesis 2:7 says, "Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."  Here, we can see that He gave them a body and breathed unto them "life."  This breath of life is the "life and power of God" (Zoe in Greek which means God kind of life).  Humans are more than physical bodies because in us flows the life and spirit of the living God.  We are an animated, breathing, conscious, and living beings/souls.  Until God breathed His life unto us, we are nothing but dust.  Now, built upon that "Zoe life" is the immeasurable love of God! 

I want to share this article from gotquestions.org that says, "So, what does it mean that God is love? Love is an attribute of God. Love is a core aspect of God’s character, His Person. God’s love is in no sense in conflict with His holiness, righteousness, justice, or even His wrath. All of God’s attributes are in perfect harmony. Everything God does is loving, just as everything He does is just and right. God is the perfect example of true love. Amazingly, God has given those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal Savior the ability to love as He does, through the power of the Holy Spirit." Therefore, the very reason why we can love God and share that love to others is because God first imparted and demonstrated His love to us.  When Man fell into Sin, our understanding of love had been marred and reduced to merely physical and selfish love.  We become lovers of ourselves---our spirits darkened with no way of reuniting with God  till Jesus came to redeem us by way of the Cross.  God's agape (self-sacrificing/unselfish) love is best described to us in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  Until we come under the Lordship and saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Born-again, John 3:3), we are incapable of reuniting with God---our Source of both life and love.  I am so grateful that my Father in heaven loved me so much that He rescued and gave me the faith to believe in Jesus, His Son. The Holy Spirit lives inside me that I will never run out of life and love to share with others.  Glory be to God!
 
For this Card, I used several images from WPlus9 in the gorgeous set called "Doodlebuds."  Like the first card I made for this Challenge  I want to make something simple, with minimal coloring yet totally captivating.  So, I used a big background stamp (with scribbles on it) from Heidi Grace to make a decorative paper where I stamped the flower and fussy-cut them.  Then I added a very cute  Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps image from the "Squishy Hugs" Stamp Set and colored it with gray hues for a more vintage look (although it appears greenish in these pics).  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I also attached several white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  Lastly, I stitched all over this card.  I totally love it!

HE FIRST LOVED US CARD

 HE FIRST LOVED US CARD LAYERS

 HE FIRST LOVED US CARD INSIDE

HE FIRST LOVED US CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Brown Sugar---Love/Valentine
Colour Crazy---ATG (With Colored image)
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Crafty Catz---ATG
Jo's Scrap Shack---ATG
Pattie's Creations---ATG
QKR---ATG
Simply Create Too---ATG/Hearts
2 Crafty Critter---ATG (with Critters)
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Artistic Stamper---ATG (use rubber stamp)
CCK---Valentine/Love/Heart/For Someone Special
Classic DT---ATG
Craft Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Animal---ATG (with animals)
Digi Doodle---All About Love
Fabrika Fantasy---ATG/Love
Happy Craft---ATG
LTCCB---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG/Monochrome
Papercraft---ATG/Valentine/Love
YSP---ATG


I hope you'd take the time to join us at our WAW Challenge.  It's Anything Goes as long as it's family friendly with uplifting and inspirational messages, you can link up to 5 projects per week.  I can't wait to see your projects  and leave some encouragement on your Blogs.  Though the world is surrounded by darkness, let your faith in Jesus Christ shine like a beacon on a hill. Demonstrate the love of God to everyone you meet.  Pray without ceasing and believe that God can do the impossible!

Scripture Series: Cast Thy Burden Card---Join Us for our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello everyone!  We have another bi-weekly Challenge that just started at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Like always, you can enter as much as five entries per week as long as it's inspirational and family friendly.  I am posting a couple of cards for our Challenge and this is the first of the two and it highlights our featured Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site) which comes from Psalm 55:22 which says, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
  
As a child of the Most High God, we encounter many oppositions to our calling as we continue to be living witnesses to the Good News (death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ.  We follow the footsteps of our Lord and Savior and carry out the mission He entrusted us.  Luke 4:18-19 says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  We are able to do what Jesus did because His Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us the power to trample over the works of the enemy and free people from the power of Sin and Death (spiritual, physical and eternal deaths). But just as Jesus was also persecuted, rejected and sentenced to death in His time, the same is true in our day.  When we side with the Truth that is Jesus Christ, we are also ridiculed, persecuted, condemned and even tortured to death for following Christ.  You see, Truth is despised by many who wants to stay in the dark for they fear that their lies and wickedness will be exposed.  When they continue to live in darkness, they no longer seek for the light, their hearts calloused and everything they do results in death and destruction.  They are incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.  Take for example what we see happening in our country today.  You would think, "How on earth could people sanction murder of the unborn/innocent just before birth with celebration and applause like we've seen in the state of New York?   How can one party allow enemies of our nation and murderers of our people to freely enter our country when their job is to protect the citizens of this nation and our way of life?  In essence, we are paying the murderers to kill both us and our children when the government uses our tax dollars to support such evil endeavors. Friends, when the government laws, rules and regulations deviate from the very Word of God, we are to stand against them through prayer and action.  My heart aches daily for the barbarism and utter rebellion that sits in the heart of man of our time. What comforts me is knowing our Heavenly Father is in control. And so I pray and cast this heavy burden upon Him so I can live and fight another day for His glory.  He did tell us to cast our burdens upon Him for He truly cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).  When we meditate on the Word of God (His promises) we are standing on a strong foundation that no force in heaven, on earth and beneath the earth can destroy.  No matter what happens around us, we know there is peace and safety in the presence of our Savior.  Whether it be a personal burden (family, finances, relationships) or a spiritual burden (fighting for justice, life and truth) for our country and the world in particular, God is the Only Solution and we can run to Him for comfort.  He is also our peace even in the time of war.  The God we serve is sovereign and His plan cannot be thwarted.  His is the victory forever!  I would like to leave you with the following verses to encourage you to rest your cares upon the Lord...

"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;  I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:7-16)

For this Card, I used several images from WPlus9 from the gorgeous set called "Doodlebuds" which I can say is my ultimate favorite stamp set.  I want to make something simple, without much coloring yet totally captivating.  So, I used a big background stamp (with scribbles on it) from Heidi Grace to make a decorative paper where I stamped the flower and fussy-cut them.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The stamp I used for the border is from Glitz Design and I also attached several white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  Lastly, I stitched all over this card.  I really love the result.

 CAST THY BURDEN CARD

 CAST THY BURDEN CARD LAYERS

 CAST THY BURDEN CARD INSIDE

CAST THY BURDEN CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting with Friends---ATG
Crafty Catz---ATG
Jo's Scrap Shack---ATG
QKR---ATG
Simply Create Too---ATG/Hearts 
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Craft Galore Encore---ATG
Fabrika Fantasy---ATG/Love
Happy Craft---ATG
LTCCB---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG/Monochrome
Papercraft---ATG/Valentine/Love
YSP---ATG


This is it for this post!  Please make sure to visit us at WAW and link up the projects you make out of our free Word Art although not mandatory.  You can link up any inspiring, uplifting, family-friendly projects, up to 5 each week.  Our wonderful sponsor this week is Stamps Simply Clear Stamps  with dies and/or clear stamps to give away. So, head over to WAW and show us your wonderful projects.  Enjoy your week.  Always remember that God is with those whose trust is in Him!

Scripture Series: He is God in Heaven Center Step Card---Come and Join Us for Another Fun and Inspirational Challenge Happening at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello everyone,  I'm here to share another card that I made featuring our Scripture Word Art for our Word Art Wednesday (WAW) current Challenge.  Like always, you can download it for free at the WAW site if you want to use it for your projects.  It comes from Deuteronomy 4:39 which tells us, "Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else." This verse  is packed with Truth which simply states---THERE IS BUT ONE GOD!  No one compares to Him and nobody can even come close to being Him.  But in order to fully understand the depth of this verse, we must let Scripture support/interpret Scripture to find context (true meaning) for complete understanding.  

Deuteronomy 4 deals with Moses' address to the Israelites who would enter the Promised Land (under Joshua's leadership).  He reminded them of obedience to God's laws, and to never forget all they had seen (God's great miracles) when God freed them from their bondage in Egypt.  He also warned them of idolatry.  My Life Application Bible explains, "We must remember that idol worship was not just keeping statues around the house---harmless lumps of clay, wood or iron.  It was the commitment to other evil qualities, beliefs and practices the idol represented (such as murder, prostitution, cruelty in war, self-centeredness).  When the strength and attributes of powerful humans or animals are revered or the cycles of nature are honored without reference to God who created them, this is idolatry.  Because God had so clearly revealed himself in Israel's history, the Israelites had no excuse for worshiping any person or power but the one true God."  Deuteronomy 4:23-24 tells  us, "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." An exhortation from my Bible  explains,"Jealousy is a demand for someone else's exclusive affection or loyalty.  Some jealousy is bad.  It is destructive for a person to get upset when his or her spouse talks to someone of the opposite sex.  But other jealousy is good.  It is right for a man to demand that his wife treat him, and only him, as her husband (and vice versa).  Usually, we use the word "jealousy" only for the bad reaction.  But God's kind of jealousy is appropriate and good.  He is defending His Word and guiding His high honor.  He makes a strong, exclusive demand on us:  We must treat only the Lord---and no one else in all the universe---as God!" I love how God's Word substantiated the importance of acknowledging God for Who He truly is---the One and Only God, in the verses before Deuteronomy 4:39.   Deuteronomy 4:32-38 says," Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today."

All of the verses I shared with you here tells us that we need to be serious in living our lives for the glory of the One and Only God who created all of humanity.  For He alone knew each and everyone of us at our innermost and He is the very life that keeps us going.  He is the One who gives us purpose and meaning and without Him, we don't/cannot exist.  I had a meaningful talk with a friend in my Bible class last week and she told me how she was praying for a friend battling with cancer.  Our topic was "how do we encourage a fellow believer to fight the good fight of faith while he/she experiences the pain and anxiety from a sickness that claimed so many lives."  We both agreed that genuine FAITH (trust)  involves the complete and total surrender of one's life to the Lord (even to the point of physical death).  That He who gave us this life in the first place can heal all aspect of our being and that includes our  physically bodies.  But on the flip side of that truth, He can also choose to call us home to embark on the everlasting life in His presence.  It's easy to say we trust God when everything is going well in our lives.  But when we are confronted by our mortality, how many out there can truthfully say, "God I trust in your will to heal me but if you have another plan, I willingly submit my life to you."? Wow, it takes us knowing the very heart of God and what He has in store not only here but for eternity to confidently pursue God the way Apostle Paul did in Philippians 1:20-21which 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 pray that we come to the Truth of who God is as we look at the life lived by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  He became God in the flesh in order to redeem us from Sin (Sin nature) and Death (a separation---spiritual, physical and eternal).  He also showed us the perfect will and heart of the Father for everyone who chooses to place their faith in Him (Born-again, John 3:3).  Through our new birth in Christ, we are spiritually reconnected with God, though we would die in the physical body (unless Rapture comes first), He will resurrect us (First Resurrection) and give us glorified bodies in order to live and reign with Him forever.  Apart from the Lord Jesus, there is no salvation and hope for mankind from anyone or anywhere else. Physical death may be the end of our earthly existence but it's the beginning of our eternal existence (without pain and suffering) as promised to all who had given their earthly lives to Christ.  Romans 14:7-8 states, "For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."  What an amazing promise we have in Jesus Christ! 

For this Card, I used a digi image from Make it Crafty called "Fern Log" that I colored using my ProMarker and Prismacolor markers.  The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches center step design.  The DP's are from K and Company, the washi tape and brad are from Recollections and the layered flowers are from Prima.  I incorporated some Liquid Pearls (White Opal) from Ranger, glittered the flower using Stickles (Crystal) and stitched all over this card.  So happy with the result. 

 HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN CENTER STEP CARD

 HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN CENTER STEP CARD LAYERS

 HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN CENTER STEP CARD SIDE VIEW

 HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN CENTER STEP CARD INSIDE

HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN CENTER STEP CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting with Friends---ATG
Crafty Catz---ATG
QKR---ATG
Simply Create Too---ATG
Cardz 4 Galz---Dimensional Elements
Crafting with an Attitude---ATG
ITD Creative---ATG
Back to Basics---Shaped Card
Crafting by Designs---Corners, Borders, Frames
Crafty Creations---ATG
Crafty Gals---Make it Sparkle (glitters on flowers)
I Love ProMarkers---ATG/Something New
Paper Shelter---Digi Image
Sisterhood of Crafters---Sparkle
Crafty Addicts---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Artistic Inspirations---ATG/Tag
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Get Creative---ATG
Path of Positivity---Inspiration
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG
Paper Nest Dolls---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 several times in two weeks.  A great prize awaits our winner from our wonderful sponsor---The Greeting Farm ($40 GC).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, meditate on the goodness of the Lord and rely on His promises.  As we see the world becoming more deceived each day, let us hold on to the hope and strength that only the Word of God can give.  We serve a good and faithful God whose never going to leave us nor forsake us!   

Encouragement Series: Take a Deep Breath Card---It's Our First Challenge of the Year at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello there, Crafty friends!  I would like to invite all of you to join our very first Challenge this year at 613 Avenue Create.  We had lots of wonderful entries last year and we're always grateful for participating and making our Challenge such a wonderful place to get some crafting inspiration.  Like our previous Challenges, you have a whole month to link your projects with us and meet some wonderful friends along the way.  It's always Anything Goes but if you're up for some challenge, take on our optional theme, "Use Watercolor."

The New Year started with some health challenges for me (which I talked about in my previous post). But like all the other years since I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I knew that I was never alone and that no matter what happens, I am assured of God's best interest for me.  It's not easy but a big part of our walk with God is choosing to believe (faith) in God's Word (His promises) even when your body and senses tell you otherwise.   Since our ONLY connection to God is FAITH (in what Christ accomplished at the Cross), it is imperative that we live each day relying upon God's Word and not the dictates  of our bodies.  Until the time we are given new bodies (not subject to time and space), we are fighting against the fleshly cravings/dictates of our present bodies that causes us to go against God's Word.  Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."  Not only does our flesh enticed us to sin but it also discourages us from believing God's Word by convincing us to rely on how/what we feel.  I get it!  Physical and emotional pain are not easy to deal with.  Many times I called unto the Lord and asked Him to take away the pain for they were too hard to bear.  But it's also in these times that I'm reminded of what Jesus had to go through at the Cross to redeem mankind from our bondage to Sin and Death.  Everyone who places their trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work at the Cross will one day live in a place where there's no more pain and suffering.  Jesus endured all kinds of pain so that He can reconcile us back to Himself.  For in Him we shall experience love, joy and peace for all eternity.   In the midst of physical and emotional pain, I meditate on these things.  I take a deep breath, surrender and rest in the arms of Jesus Christ!  When we are tired and weary,  Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28-30,  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” In His Word, I find hope and peace that surpasses all understanding daily.  His Holy Spirit assures me of His presence and empowers me to hold on to His promises no matter what life may bring. I would like to share with you the promises of God to them whose faith rested in Jesus Christ.  We have an eternal dwelling place especially prepared for us.  Be encouraged!

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come. Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)

For this Card, I used an image from Illustrated Faith that I watercolored using my Stabilo 68 markers.  The base is an A7, pre-cut card from Paper Studio.  The DP is from K and Company and Paper Studio, the washi tapes are from Recollections and the glitters from Stickles (Crystal).  And finally,  I stitched all over this card using my sewing machine.  Simply fabulous.  

 TAKE A DEEP BREATH CARD

 TAKE A DEEP BREATH CARD LAYERS

 TAKE A DEEP BREATH CARD INSIDE

TAKE A DEEP BREATH CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting by Designs---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG/Christmas
A2Z---ATG
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Designer Paper
Creatalicious---ATG/Something New
Colour Create Show---ATG
Daisy Chain---Add some Sparkle
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Happy Craft---ATG
LeAnn's World---ATG
Lost Coast---ATG (Images from Illustrated Faith Clear stamps)
Love to Craft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG
Morgan's Artworld---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Scribbles Designs---ATG (Anything Goes selected)
Sweet Stampers---ATG
World Wide Open DT---ATG


This is 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 (like I was), take on the Optional Twist (Use Watercolor).  But there's really no reason for you to miss it. Can't wait to see what you create. The Lord is with you every step of the way so, be at peace that you have Someone you can trust and have your back always. 

Scripture Series: Armor of God Card---Join Us for our First Challenge for the New Year at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, Crafty pals!  Here to highlight my inspiration project for our newest Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  As always, we feature a Scripture Word Art  that you can download for free at the WAW site.  It comes from Ephesians 6:11 which says, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."  What a wonderful passage to begin the New Year, 2019.

Before anything else, I would like to greet you all a late Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Joyous New Year!   I've been away from the Blogging world for most of December due to some family vacations and the regular hustle and bustle of the Holiday season.  The past few days leading to the New Year, I felt very sick from severe allergies (mainly due to pollen and the drastic weather changes here in Texas) that made breathing very difficult---well, EXTREMELY difficult.  It was hard to sleep and rest when I had to gasp for air each time I breathe.  I had to sleep sitting down for better air flow.  To make matters worst on New Year's Eve, I had terrible stomach ache the whole day that I thought of spending New Year in my pajamas, laying in the sofa. That would be the first time I would welcome the New Year in that situation.  But a couple of hours before we rang the New Year, I made a decision to get up and gathered the energy to clean up and get dressed and prepared myself to head outside with my family to watch some fireworks downtown.  I was determined not to allow anything negative to dampen my spirit and reminded myself that my joy, my strength and my wholeness is in the Lord.  Because I held on to this Truth, I was able to do what I wanted to do and no hindrances of the enemy would ever stop me.  The New Year came hastily and we kept memories of a wonderful and happy night celebrating the goodness and faithfulness of God as a family.  The pain and discomfort didn't magically disappear but the "feeling sorry for myself" attitude was replaced with "I am so grateful for the Spirit of the Lord that lives in me."

Friends, before anything happens/manifest in the physical, there is a spiritual source from where they originate.  Others see sickness and diseases when they physically wreak havoc to the body but couldn't understand where they come from and how it's rooted from Sin and Death that affected all of humanity since the world began.   But even before that, how God created everything beautiful and flawless, His original intent for His creation and His purpose for all of it.  Our natural curiosity should have brought us to the Creator but instead, we stopped at what our senses could perceive, therefore depriving ourselves of appreciating the majesty and power of the One who made it all.  Whether we like it or not, there are forces of darkness that seeks to destroy humanity (God's masterpiece) so that we can remain ignorant, not knowing the pathway to salvation and break free from the bondage of Satan which plagued us since the Fall of Man.  But to whom God revealed Himself, those who accepted the finished work of Jesus Christ at the Cross, those He declared righteous in His sight through their faith in His Son, we are given the Holy Spirit!  He is our Power Source to battle against the enemies of God.  Ephesians 6:12-18 reminds us, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Watch the VIDEO below this post to find out more about the "Full Armor of God"

The Truth is, no one without the Holy Spirit of God will ever succeed in defeating these demonic beings.  That means that anyone who thinks they can rattle the enemy by their fleshly weapons are set for a rude awakening.  Unless a person comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit (The Only One who can defeat the power of the enemy), everyone will continue to live as a slaves to these demonic powers.   This is the very reason why we can't just quote Scripture and pass them on to everyone  without knowing (through study) the context of the passage.  So, as a child of the Most High God, I am declared (by my Father in heaven) righteous and holy in His sight simply by being in Christ Jesus.  Everything that Jesus won at the Cross through His death, burial and resurrection are for me and no one can take that away from me.  He clothed me in His armor and I fight with His Word through the supernatural power of His Holy Spirit.  I have direct line with God through prayer and I have a host of heavenly angels to carry out His work.  I know who I am in Christ and nobody (flesh or spirit) can alter that Truth.  I encourage each and everyone of you to be strong in the Lord and in His Word.  Don't ever accept the lies of the enemy.  Not because it's the New Year, the enemy is going to give you a break.  He didn't give me a break!  He wanted me miserable but the Spirit of the Lord acted mightily inside of me and destroyed the enemy's plan.  If you want to rise up above your situations/circumstances, live the higher calling in Christ Jesus!  IN CHRIST, THERE'S ALWAYS VICTORY!

I would also like to share what my Life Application Bible shared regarding the verses  I shared here from Ephesians 6 for it truly blessed me.  It says, "In the Christian life, we battle against rulers and authorities (the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by Satan, who is a vicious fighter.  To withstand their attacks, we must depend on God's strength and use every piece of His armor.  Paul is not only giving this counsel to the Church, the body of Christ, but to all individuals within the Church.  The whole Body needs to be armed.  As you do battle against "the powers of this dark world," fight in the strength of the Church, whose power comes from the Holy Spirit.  These who are not "flesh and blood" are demons whom Satan has control.  They are not mere fantasies---they are very real.  We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ's Church.  When we believe in Christ, these being become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from Him and back to sin.  Although we are assured of victory, we must engage in the struggle until Christ returns, because Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord's side. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan, and God has provided this by giving us His Holy Spirit within us and His armor surrounding us.  if you feel discouraged, remember Jesus'  words to Peter:  "On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."  (Matthew 16:18)

For this Card, I used an image from Cute as a Button called "Put On the Full Armor" that I colored using my Hobby Colour and Prismacolor markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from Paper Studio, the flowers are layered using Prima flowers, the brad from Recollections and the glitters are from Stickles (Crystal).  I also included some die cuts created from Sizzix die and Fiskars punch.  Lastly, I stitched all over this card.  What a wonderful Scripture to start this year since we know that out battle is not of flesh and blood of of the evil spirits that seek to destroy us.  Therefore, we must arm ourselves with the spiritual weapons that the Lord Jesus empowered us with to withstand and counter the attack of the enemy in our lives.

 ARMOR OF GOD CARD

 ARMOR OF GOD CARD LAYERS

 ARMOR OF GOD CARD SIDE VIEW

 ARMOR OF GOD CARD INSIDE

ARMOR OF GOD CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting by Designs---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG/Christmas
A2Z---ATG
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Designer Paper
Creatalicious---ATG/Something New
Colour Create Show---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
DL Art---ATG
Happy Craft---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG
Morgan's Artworld---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Scribbles Designs---Favouring Feminine (selected)
Sweet Stampers---ATG
World Wide Open DT---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 worth 15 pounds will be awarded to our Challenge winner by our awesome sponsor---Clearly Besotted.  So excited to see what you come up with. For the meantime, serve the Lord with gladness knowing that our labor in Him is not in vain.

 THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD EXPLAINED

Scripture Series: Out of Thee Shall He Come Winter Card---Join our Inspiraitonal/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello guys...So sorry this post is several days late.  I just don't have a lot of time to sit by the computer and Blog this month.  So many things to do and activities to attend to.  As always, you are free to download the Scripture Word Art featured in this project by visiting our Word Art Wednesday (WAW) Challenge Blog.  There's a load or prizes to be won and you will be inspired by viewing my fellow designers created shared in their Blogs.

Our Scripture Word Art comes from Micah 5:2 which says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."  My Life Application Bible shared an important detail about this verse that truly blessed me and I want to share it with you.  It says, "Ephrathah  was the district in which Bethlehem was located.  The ruler spoken about in this verse is no other than Jesus, the Messiah.  Here, Micah accurately predicted Christ's birthplace hundreds of years before Jesus was born.  The promised eternal King in David's line who would come to live as a man, had been alive forever---"from of old, from ancient times."  Although eternal, Christ entered human history as the man, Jesus of Nazareth."  

Friends, no other Man in human history fulfilled every prophecy that was written about Him hundreds of years ago and still continuing to do so to this day.  Jesus was there before the foundation of the earth and He left the majesty of His throne to come to this world---to live among us (human beings) for the sole purpose of dying on the Cross.  It was the Only Way to save us from the eternal torment brought by Sin and Death that we inherited from being in Adam separating us from God, our Father!  Apart from Him, there is no other Savior!  Everyone have sinned by virtue of our affiliation with Adam.  The Scripture talks about Jesus from beginning to end.  He came, He lived, He died on the Cross and He rose again so that anyone who places their trust in Him ---His finished work at the Cross will live forever in His presence. I am eternally grateful to Jesus, my Savior, for He has chosen to reveal to me His plan and purpose which to this day are still hidden to many.   His Name be praised!

For this Card, I used an image from Stampendous called "Winter Stack" which I colored using my Hobby Colour markers.  The base is an A7 pre-cut card from Paper Studio, the borders for the hills are from Lawn Fawn and the glitters from Stickles (Crystal).  I also added some Liquid Pearls (White Opal for dimension as well as some fancy stitching.  The sentiment inside the card is from Momenta Stamps. 

 OUT OF THEE SHALL HE COME WINTER CARD

 OUT OF THEE SHALL HE COME WINTER CARD LAYERS

 OUT OF THEE SHALL HE COME WINTER CARD INSIDE

OUT OF THEE SHALL HE COME WINTER CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Sweet Stampers---ATG 


I hope you'd take the time to join us at our WAW Challenge.  It's Anything Goes as long as it's family friendly with uplifting and inspirational messages, you can link up to 5 projects.  Our sponsors this week are Gina Marie Designs (Elf Themed Stamp Set) and The Cutting Cafe (Digis). I can't wait to see your projects  and leave you some encouragement on your Blogs.

CAS Series: Butterfly Flower Birthday Card---Join Us for our December/Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello, everyone!  Last Sunday, we started our December/Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  I created a very simple card that features our optional theme of "Use Some Washi Tape" for my inspiration card. Wow, it's already December!  I was hoping I could say how cool the weather is in Texas but it's still pretty hot in the daytime.  But as always I am grateful to the Lord for every day we wake up and experience His blessings. Be it in victory in the midst of trials or rejoicing from His abundance, there's always something to be grateful about.

As we celebrate this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, what am I truly thankful about?  I can enumerate many things in this world God has blessed me with.  I may not have riches, fame nor power based on worldly standards but I have what is truly important/valuable---I have Christ in me now and for all eternity!  This past week, many of us heard of a well known Christian artist whose recent rise to fame in the Music Pop Charts suddenly compromise God's Truth to avoid a career-breaking backlash on the issue of "Homosexuality as a sin."  After personally hearing the VIDEO of this artist's interview hosted by a secular radio station, here's a reaction/comment I made on Facebook on a friend's page that deals with this artist's worldview on the issue.  I wrote, "Even before I became a Born-again Christian and has very little knowledge of the religion (Roman Catholicism) I was born-in, I knew that homosexuality is a sin as well as adultery, fornication, lying and many more.  The "conscience" (moral compass) witnesses to the statutes of God in our hearts. Many wrote their conscience off when they needed to satisfy their fleshly desires or when they have love ones and friends doing it/in bondage to a sinful lifestyle. I remember the saying that “not because someone invites you to jump off a cliff, you should do it.” Having learned/studied God’s Word personally just solidified my conviction to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. So, the argument that she’s a baby Christian ignorant of this basic Truth doesn’t fly by me. She chose to compromise in order to satisfy a personal ambition. We are to pray for her but we have to expose her error to warn others of what the love for stardom can do to one’s faith.”

There are so many things that the enemy can use to veer us (believers) away from God.  The moment we take our focus away from Jesus Christ and His finished work at the Cross and set our eyes on things of this world (personal ambition that caters to the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life), we are allowing Satan to target and devour us.  Once we fall on the enemy's trap, darkness takes over----causing deception and blindness in our spirit.  Don't ever think that we have strength in ourselves to battle with the host of spiritual wickedness in high places.  The only reason we can triumph over them is because of our new birth in Christ (Born-again, John 3:3) that allows the Holy Spirit to operate inside of us.  In Him, no power of the enemy can stand!  So, when we're faced with all kinds of temptations (fueled by our selfish ambitions), we are to confront our own flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit through the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Turn our eyes away from ourselves, repent and submit solely unto the Lord.  Luke 10:17-20 tells us, "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” God had blessed me (and every believer) with so many things including the power to trample over the works of the enemy  that I can say "no" to the many temptations that seek to devour me.  But more than that, I am forever grateful that God Almighty chose me from before time to carry out His purpose, writing my name among the redeemed through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, My Savior!  So, if I'm stripped off everything in this world today, I will always have a reason to rejoice.  For Jesus Christ is my true hope of glory!


For this Card, I used an image from Inkadinkado Stamps called "Sending Wishes" and colored it with my Prismacolor markers.  The base is white A2 card (comes with an envelope) from Paper Studio, the sentiment from Studio 112 and the Washi Tape from Tape Works.  Truly a simple card that came out so beautifully.

 BUTTERFLY FLOWER BIRTHDAY CARD

BUTTERFLY FLOWER BIRTHDAY CARD WITH ENVELOPE

This it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge with an optional theme.  Can't wait to see what you create. The Lord is with you every step of the way so, don't compromise God's Word nor be afraid of the what the future holds based on your faithfulness to His Word.  Great is our eternal reward in heaven for us whose trust in not of the world but in Christ!