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, July 31, 2013

Scripture Series: Help is in the Name of the Lord Center Step Card---Hurry for Another Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, Crafting peeps!  It is a joy to be back after a week of no post.  When I am not here (or making projects to feature here), I actually try to do all the other stuff that seems to get forgotten at home---like laundry, tidy things up and eliminating clutter, some cooking, attending to my hubby and son, attending Church and rehearsals with the worship team, family days and getting together with friends and families every now and then.  And I am still way behind...LOL Anyway, tonight, while I was browsing online, I came across a video of Ravi Zacharias (one of the greatest Apologist of our time), and he talked about the many belief systems that people of this days are dangerously flirting with which consist mostly of catering to how people think and feel than the absolute Truth of God's Word.  I wrote some of the things he said and here's what they are (some were paraphrased):

"Truth is what makes relevant, relevant!  Without the Truth, relevance is irrelevant.  You cannot strip anything from the Truth." (Read John 4:24 and John 14:6)

About the origin of the distortion of Truth, he said, "It started at the Garden of Eden when the enemy of our soul (Satan/Lucifer) inserted doubt in the propositional revelation of God." (Read Genesis 3:1-15)

"God's Word is what's eternally true.  I have to alter my thinking to conform to God's Truth, not the other way around." (Read Romans 12:2)

This is speaking of what has become of our society today.   Even though God's Word clearly says what is right and abomination to His sight, people kept on doing what they wanted to do, driven by their own lust and rebellion which came from it's very source---Satan, and the sin nature he afflicted us with when Man fell from his status of righteousness in the presence of God.  So what is Truth and is there an Absolute Truth?  Common sense would tell us that the Truth is defined by the Creator and not the created.  When we create something, we come up with the concept, gather the tools needed and shape and form our materials to our motivation---based on present and future use which determines its function and purpose.  So, if you ask  "What is Truth?" to someone like me who upholds the Word of God based on Genesis 1 and 2, I would say,  "Truth is reality in God's perspective."  This means that I come under the authority of the written revelation of God as stated in 2 Timothy 2:16-17 which says,  "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."  Because of this written revelation (Word of God), I was led to God's personal revelation of Himself---Jesus Christ.  We all grew up with messed up thinking, mostly from parents who adhered with religion instead of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  If we look all around us and investigate the claims of God through His creation by the the written Word of God, our conscience (moral compass) would tell us of His sovereignty.  Literally, it takes tremendous amount of faith to believe and prove there is no God and that things happen in random when all we see is order and intelligent design from our Creator.  Ultimately, rebellion (sin) will meet it's punishment at it's due time because it utterly supported the distortion of Truth and exchanging it for a lie.  Romans 1:18-21 clearly says,  "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."  Many people handpicked what they want to believe about God's Word---that which gives them warm fuzzies and emotional high.  Yet, the Word of God that alienates them because it does not support their lifestyle (adultery, fornication, lies and media lies, murder and abortion, all forms of addiction, homosexuality, selfishness, greed and many others) were not only disregarded but trampled on.  They not only hate God's Truth but hated everyone who reminds them of the Truth.  So, my question is, where are you going to be?  Personally, my answer is simple, like what Ravi Zacharias said, "I will conform my thinking to God's Truth, not the other way around." 

Anyway, here's a card inspiration for you for our Word Art Wednesday (WAW) Challenge.  Our free Word Art (you can download from free at WAW Blog) comes from  Psalm 124:8 which says,  "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."  This verse gives me huge confidence in my walk here on earth.  The One who created everything in all wisdom, understanding, radiance and beauty is able to take care of every creation He has made, and assures me that nothing  happens to me without His knowledge.  Yes, we encounter tragedies in life (believe me, I have my share of those times) but we are not alone in our battles.  Acknowledge that through the finished work of Jesus Christ, the  Holy Spirit lives with us and is literally inside of us to help us in all situations---be it in joy or in pain.  When we made Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we are never alone---He is always there---in my prayers of matters of life and death and in my simplest need (like looking for my car keys...LOL) Okay, to highlight my verse, I used an image from Make it Crafty called "Whimsical Log" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor/Spectrum Noir markers.  The base card started with a 5.5 x 11 inches of Kraft card base and folded into a center step card.  All the DP's are from DCWV matted with CS with similar colors, punch a border from MS Punch, stamped the swirls from Inkadinkado and added some white gems from Imaginisce.  I added some glitters on the image (Stickles-Diamond) and stitched all over this card.  Hope you enjoy this.


 HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD CENTER STEP CARD:


 HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD CENTER STEP CARD SIDE VIEW:


 HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD CENTER STEP CARD LAYERS:


 HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD CENTER STEP CARD INSIDE:


HELP IS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD CENTER STEP CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

By Lori Designs---Designer Papers
Crafting By Designs---ATG
Crafts and Me---ATG
Fab 'n' Funky---Make a Set
Inklings and Yarns---ATG
Lady Anne's Challenges---ATG
Paper Shelter---ATG
Penny's Paper-Crafty---Stitching
Ruby's Rainbow---Layers
Simon Says Stamp---ATG
Scrap-Creations---ATG
Inky Chicks---Summer Colors
Party Time Tuesday---ATG
Songbird---Favorite Things (I love glitters and gems)
TTCRD---ATG
Amusing Challenges---ATG
As You Like It---Favorite Fancy Fold and Why?  (I am loving the Center Step Card for you can be as dynamic as possible considering there's already an element of 3D even before you decorate it.)
Card Mania---Summer Blooms
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Color Me Creative---ATG
Creative Inspirations---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Eureka Stamps---ATG
Inspire Me Fridays---ATG
Lacy Sunshine---ATG (With hand-colored image)
OSAAT---ATG
Paper Crafting Journey---Punches and/or Die-Cuts
Paper Playtime---Pattern Paper
Pattie's Creations---Recipe (I used Gems, Glitter and Sentiment)
Pile It On---ATG
Corrosive Challenge---Fancy Folds


That's about it, folks!  Don't forget to join our Challenge at WAW and win some wonderful prizes from two sponsors for this week---Milk Coffee Stamps and Close to my Heart.  You can enter a project utilizing the free Word Art for this week but not a requirement.  As long as you submit family-friendly, inspirational or uplifting projects, you can enter up to 5 creations.  I'm so excited to see what you come up with.  Whatever you are going through in life today, call on the name of Jesus for He truly cares for you.  

24 comments:

  1. Hi Jo! Your cards are always SUCH a blessing to me, and I thank you for sharing your talents with us. You are a blessing straight from God and I praise Him for you! I also wanted to mention that if you ever want to do the blog write-up/paragraph for any week's scripture, please just let me know. Your words are so inspiring and I know they would also bless others, so just in case you want to - you are most welcome to do so!

    Also, there's a blog hop this weekend Friday - Sunday to celebrate the 1st birthday at Paper Sweeties with an AWESOME prize. You can check it out on my blog or the Paper Sweeties blog to participate. I know you would LOVE these sweet stamps and the prize is amazing.
    HUGS!
    Karen

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  2. Wonderfully vibrant card and elegant envelope Thanks for joining in at Fab N Funky
    Alli x

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  3. a fabulous card with a GREAT style!

    thanks so much for playing along with us at Ruby’s Rainbow Challenges!

    hugs and kisses from germany,
    silvi xoxo

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  4. Oh I love your pretty card. Thank you for joining us at As You Like It Challenge. hugs! MOjca

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  5. Amazing card! Such a beautiful and colourful creation! Thanks for sharing it with us at Songbird Challenges.
    Chris
    x

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  6. Such a gorgeous card and your coloring is wonderful...
    Thanks for sharing with us at PTT..

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  7. Wonderful card, such strong colours and so much attention to detail :) Good luck in this weeks OSAAT challenge and hope to see you back again soon. Hugs Jane OSAAT DT

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  8. Beautiful card, wonderful design!
    Thanks for joining us at Eclectic Ellapu and I hope we see you again soon!
    Hugz
    Laurian

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  9. Gorgeous card, and fabulous colouring! Thanks for sharing at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge!
    Mandy x (PPCC DT)

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  10. Fabulous card....thank you for joining TTCRD this week.

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  11. Love the coloring Sahm. Thank you for playing along this week at OSAAT. I sure hope to see you back again very soon. Good Luck in the challenge!!!

    TTFN,

    CraftyGirl OSAAT DT
    craftygirlcardsandcrafts.blogspot.com

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  12. Wow - your colors are so vivid and the image super beautiful (perfect for the verse). Amazing creation - thanks for sharing it with us in the Pattie's Creations Recipe challenge. Nancy - DT

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  13. This is amazing! Love the image and your coloring is fantastic! Thanks for joining us at Crafting By Designs this week!

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  14. Stunning card, as always! Thanks for joining us at The Corrosive Challenge!
    {hugs}
    Regan

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  15. Amazing project!
    THanks for joining us at Penny's Paper Crafty and I hope we see you again soon!
    Hugz
    Laurian

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  16. Such a beautiful card! Love it!
    Thank you for sharing it with us at Card Mania Challenge and Good Luck!
    Smiles, Kaly

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  17. Totally gorgeous love love it. Thanks for joining us at Creative Inspiration Paints. Come again!

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  18. Another wonderful creation and your attention to detail is so charming. I love the image and great colour palette.

    Thanks for playing along at Fab'n'Funky Challenges this week.

    Rachel x

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  19. Gorgeous creation :-) the whole design is fabulous :-)

    thanks for joining us on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
    luv
    Lols x x x

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  20. Gorgeous card Jo Ann, love the image and the design is wonderful.
    Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
    hugs
    Mandy xx

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  21. It really scares me when leaders' sinful lifestyles are taken for granted and even promoted in the media. That's a real downfall in our society, and one we're going to pay dearly for in our future. May God help have mercy and help us stay strong in our belief system, especially our children… I love all the paper engineering you did in the structure of your card to create your miniature garden. Blessings!

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  22. Beautiful work. Very original. Thank for joining us at Paper Crafting Journey.
    Iwona

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  23. Wow, JoAnn, your center step card is just beyond awesome! Such wonderful creativity you have shown here. Your garden is beautiful.

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  24. The card is simply DELICIOUS. I have no idea how you do it.
    You have won a few challenges and check out Feline Playful's new blog.
    Love xo
    Carole
    Love you posts. I hope you take Karen up on her offer.

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