Scripture Series: Justified by Faith Easel Card---It's Time for Another Word Art Wednesday Challenge!

Hello there, Crafty Friends!  So sorry this is coming out a day late due to the need to spend time with my family.   Just want to greet you all " A BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!"  We may be taken by all the chaos of the traditions during this season but none of them is more important than what the birth of JESUS CHRIST means for all of us.  You may not even believe in Christ but it does not take away the fact that He came in order to pay the debt of all mankind.   All of humanity's sin was placed on Him when He died on the Cross.  One of His last words was "It is finished!" This simply means that everything that needed to be done had already been accomplished by that once and for all sacrifice.  Jesus is not going to come back again in the same way,  He fulfilled what was needed to be done (for all eternity) in His time to bring man back to God (since there's no way for man to do so, all by himself).  GOD REACHED OUT TO US!  The Bible declares 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."  This tells us the very reason why God had to save humanity even though we are deserving of every judgment since all we've ever done is to rebel against Him.  It was LOVE that drove Him to come to us in the flesh to represent Man.  Yet He needed to be God because only God is without sin.  He left His heavenly kingdom and came to mankind to be the sole mediator between God  and Man----our Lord, CHRIST JESUS!  There's nothing on earth that can undo what He has done for humanity.  His sacrifice is good for all eternity.  Through FAITH, we have complete access to this wonderful GIFT OF LOVE.  He has given us a gift of eternal life (forever being with Him in His Kingdom) and all we need to do is to open up our hearts and receive that gift with all our hearts.  Let His sacrifice apply to your life by coming under His Lordship.  Remember that God has given us "FREE WILL"---to choose the path we want to take and He honors our choices.  He didn't make a bunch of robots.  He made us according to His own image and likeness and with it comes the ability to choose.  I pray for the Lord Jesus to touch your hearts today that you may see Almighty God's love for you...It is immeasurable, unselfish, eternal!  Revelation 3:20 told us, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."  All it takes is for us to open the door to our hearts, allow Him to give you a new life and let Him change you from the inside out.  Come to Him with all your burdens, baggage, struggles and ugliness.  Only He can transform your filthy clothing to radiant white---unblemished and righteous before His sight!  JESUS PAID THE PRICE for our freedom---and He is just a FAITH away.  One day, Jesus will come back as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  He will judge the living and the dead.  The scripture is very clear on the fate of those who have received Jesus in their lives and those that would ignore the gift of salvation through Him as stated in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, "All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." Today, when you hear the voice of the Lord, don't ignore His call.  We don't know what life is going to bring us in the next 5 minutes and while we are still blessed with life, surrender yourselves under His might hand.  Receive the MOST IMPORTANT GIFT you can ever received from a God who freely gives it to you.  He wants you to be safe in His arms not only in this lifetime but forever.  More than twenty-three years ago, I accepted His gift and my life was never the same.  I'm forever grateful!

Anyway, we have a new Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  We are featuring the free Word Art (by Karen Murray) which is available for you to download at the WAW site.  It features the scriptures in Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  This scripture summarizes the benefits of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and accepting His gift of salvation in our hearts.  We are JUSTIFIED (made right) in the sight of our Father through our faith in Jesus Christ (His Son).  We are no longer considered God's enemies but God's children.  The peace that comes from having Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior tells me that I don't have anything to fear about.  I know where I am going when my life on earth is done.  And if I continue to live on earth, it will all be for His glory and honor.  It's a WIN-WIN situation!  Knowing Christ is what VICTORY truly means.  For your inspiration, I made an Easel Card featuring a digi image from Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps called "Noah Waldo and Tweety" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base card is just plain white, cut and scored to create a 5.5-inches Easel Card.  The DP is from DCWV and CS from American Crafts.  I stamped some Christmas images from Recollections and layered them with a red brad for added dimension.  I included some more red brads and I applied some liquid pearls (white opal) on the image to create some snow effects.  Lastly, I did a load of stitching all over this card.  This is another simple card but I truly love it.  Thanking the Lord for always being there to inspire me.

 JUSTIFIED BY FAITH EASEL CARD:

 JUSTIFIED BY FAITH EASEL CARD WHEN CLOSE:

  JUSTIFIED BY FAITH EASEL CARD SIDE VIEW:

  JUSTIFIED BY FAITH EASEL CARD WITH MESSAGE SPACE:

 JUSTIFIED BY FAITH EASEL CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


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

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Sweet Stampin'---Let It Snow
Crafting by Designs---New (my snowflakes stamp is new)
Creative Belli---Christmas
House that Stamps Built---Last Minute Christmas Cards/Tags
Little Red Wagon---Anything Christmas
The Paper Shelter---ATG
Rhedd and Rosie---Let It Snow
Stamp n Doodle---ATG
Stamping Chef---ATG
Make It Monday---ATG
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Digi Darla---ATG
Crafty Girls---ATG
Aud Sentiments---Christmas
Happy Campers---Christmas
MilkCoffee---Any Christmas Creation
Southern Girls---Christmas Wishes
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards---Happy Holidays
Craftitude---ATG/Christmas Sparkle
Crafts 4 Eternity---ATG
Craftyhands---Season's Greetings/Winter Theme
Digi Haven---Red and Green
Jellypark---Christmas
QKR Stampede---Happy Holidays
Sister Act---ATG
Stampin with the Dragon---Christmas
Wags 'n Whiskers---Christmas
Color Me Creative---Holiday Themed
Christmas Card---Make It Masculine
Hobby Cutz---ATG
OSAAT---ATG
Sentimental Sundays---ATG Christmas
Artistic Inspirations---ATG
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Digi Makeover---ATG
Melonheadz Friends---ATG
Pink Elephant---ATG
Party Time Tuesday---ATG
Creative Card Crew---ATG
Bearly Mine---ATG
LEJ Designs---ATG
Songbird---ATG
Top Tip Tuesday---Christmas (Top Tip:  Stamp several images in different colors and layer them for perfect embellishment like what I have done with the snowflakes here)
Inky Chicks---Christmas
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG/Optional Christmas
Dream Valley---Christmas
Come and Get It---Christmas
Sassy Cheryl's---Fave Image in a Project for 2013 (I have several but this is my latest and loving it)

Hope you are having a wonderful time with your family as we all reflect on the true meaning of the season.  Please don't forget to join us at WAW for our Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge.  We would love for you to use the free Word Art in your creation and link it to our Challenge though it's not mandatory.  As long as you create projects that are family friendly, inspirational and uplifting, you can enter up to 5 projects.  Please make sure to read the Challenge Guidelines.  Wonderful prizes from our sponsors namely V's Sweet Ideas and Diane's Daydream Designs awaits the winners.  Gotta go, enjoy all the benefits that Jesus' birth brought to us.  JESUS IS THE ONLY REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Not a Card but Gift Card Holders with Note Tags---It's Another Anything Goes (No Twist) Challenge in my Neighborhood---613 Avenue Create!

Hello, everyone! This is a day late but yesterday was one of my busiest Sundays having so many things needed to get done in the Church.  I am so happy to say that I survived the day and everything went great!  Thanks be to God!  Christmas and New Year are just around the corner and as the days come by so quickly, my family had to face/will be facing another transition in life.  It's not always easy to accept when we get news that we know would affect our future.  If you know me at all, my usual reactions would be worry, stress or panic.  Sometimes, we can be so comfortable in life that a change or possibility of change throws us in a curve.  I've experienced in my lifetime many forks in the road, which should make me a pro but no, I still feel like a rookie at times.  On the other hand, if there's one important thing I learned from God's Word (through Bible class studies and life experiences)  was Jesus' Word in Matthew 6:31-34 which instructed us, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  In these verses, did Jesus tell us to worry about certain things?----Not at all!  His exact words said, "Do not worry about "ANYTHING!"  This includes every facets of our being---physical (health), finances, family, other relationships and the list goes on.  Philippians 4:19 declares, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."I believe Jesus had to warn us about the ill effects of worrying because it can damage our health, make the object of our worry dominate our thoughts and will affect our work's efficiency and productivity.  Furthermore, worry steals our peace of mind (affecting how we interact with other people) and cause us to doubt God's promises leading to distrusting Him in our lives.  As we face life's toughest situations, we are free to make a decision!  We can either cooperate with God by giving Him all our worries and follow His lead or try everything humanly possible (out of our own effort) to get results.  I would not say that allowing God to have full control of my situations is easy all the time.  Oftentimes, I have to come against my own will (which eagerly wants to get immediate results instead of patiently waiting for the Lord's time) and place it under submission to the will of the Holy Spirit living inside of me.  It's a constant battle inside my mind, in fact!  But in my current situation, I made my decision!  That is, I will wait for the Lord's revelation and act accordingly to His direction.  I will make a conscious choice to rid myself of any worry and put my full trust in the Lord.  After all, He gave me His word of assurance in John 14:27 which says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Are you facing trials in your life today?  Know that when we have the Lord Jesus in our hearts and enjoys a personal relationship with Him (Born-Again, John 3:3), we are not alone in our struggles.  Jesus paid the price for our freedom from the bondage of sin and death through the Cross and sealed the victory through His resurrection.  If He willingly gave His life for our eternal salvation, how much more will He not give what we need here on earth? TRUST IN THE LOVE THAT JESUS HAS FOR YOU!  He first loved me (When I was unlovable) and He taught me how to love....Hence, I can now love and trust Him back!  I want to share these scriptures to encourage you to fix your eyes upon Jesus regardless of your circumstances:

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  (Psalm 121:1-2)  

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  (Isaiah 41:10)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) 

Anyway, I would love to share with you my project for our Anything Goes Challenge (No Twist) this week at 613 Avenue Create.  For these gift card holders, I used three of the wonderful images from The Paper Shelter (one of our sponsors this week) namely "In the 20's, The Turkey is Ready and Adorable Ms. Hall.  I colored them with my ProMarker/Prismacolor/Sharpie markers.  I had some difficulty coloring since the images were printed really small to fit the size of the gift card holders  which is 3.5 x 2.5 inches.  It was a lot of challenge to stay in the lines as the markers brush are not too pointy...LOL  I am thankful for the Lord's help in every way!  I selected some gorgeous DP's from K & Company for my gift card holder base.  I then cut, score and fold these DP's to form the gift card.  I went through my scraps to find wonderful DP's to compliment the base DP's of each gift cards and mat them with white and Kraft CS.  I made some tags and stamped it with a See D's stamp and I attached some ribbon.  I incorporated some sentiments from Studio G and Technique Tuesday clear stamps.  Finally, I tied a bow to secure the gift card.  The thing I love about this design is that I can include a personalized message which can make a gift card even more special.  I love making this though it can be time consuming but they are like mini cards that is oh so cute and versatile.  Hope you like them.

 ALL OCCASION GIFT CARD HOLDERS:

  ALL OCCASION GIFT CARD HOLDERS LAYERS:

 ALL OCCASION GIFT CARD HOLDERS INSIDE INSERTS:

 ALL OCCASION GIFT CARD HOLDERS INSERTS FOR GC AND PERSONAL MESSAGE:

SHOWING GIFT CARD AND NOTE TAG SHOWING BACK VIEW:

This Project is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting by Designs---Wrap It Up (Way to wrap my gift cards)
Crafty Creations---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Divas by Design---ATG
The Paper Shelter---ATG
Stamp n Doodle---ATG
Stamping Chef---ATG
Make It Monday---ATG
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Digi Darla---ATG
Crafty Girls---ATG
Craftitude---ATG/Christmas Sparkle
Crafts 4 Eternity---ATG
Color Me Creative---Holiday Themed
Hobby Cutz---ATG
OSAAT---ATG
Craft Place---ATG
Anonymous Stamps---ATG
Artistic Inspirations---ATG
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Digi Makeover---ATG
Melonheadz Friends---ATG
Bearly Mine---ATG
LEJ Designs---ATG
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG/Optional Christmas

This is all for now, dear friends!  Be sure to visit our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create and join us for our very easy Challenge this week---Anything Goes!  I can't wait to see what you come up with.  Wonderful prizes awaits our winners.  God bless y'all and have an awesome week!

Not a Card but a "Child is Born" CHRISTmas Decorated Candle---It's Another Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, Crafty peeps!  This year I would say, is my busiest Christmas ever.  Time is flying by so fast, I am just amazed.  It seems like less and less is getting done each day that the Christmas presents have not been wrapped yet, oh my!  I got to get caught up pretty soon---like by tomorrow!...LOL  Though we may be caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the season, I don't allow myself to be side tracked by merely traditions.  I want to give honor to whom honor is due!   That one faithful day, a Child was born for the sole purpose of redeeming man from the depths from which they had fallen.  It was so deep that there was no possible way out unless God Almighty provided a way.  The good news is that God whose the Alpha and Omega (Beginning and the End) already knew everything that would happen before He laid the foundations of the earth.  Before everything was ever created, He had our salvation in mind!  Many would ask, "If God knows man will turn their back on Him, why create them in the first place?"  The Bible tell us in Colossians 1:16, "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."  This tells us that were created for His great pleasure.  We are not made to entertain God because He's not bored or lonely.  Without man, He will still be God.  Our God is a creative Being and it delights Him to make creations that have the ability to know Him (He made us after His own image and likeness) and in that knowledge of Him---to respond with love, worship, service and fellowship.  It is only in the knowing of "Who God truly is" will we have appreciation of  "Who we are" and give due reverence to the One who made us.  Many of us don't see ourselves valuable in our own eyes nor the world's eyes but I would like to tell you that God values you more than you would ever value yourself or anything else in this world.  Knowing what the future holds before He even began creation, He considered all the troubles we're going to create to still be worth creating us.  He was not looking at all our frailties---He was looking on "Who we are destined" to become!  For this sole purpose, He sent His One and Only Son, JESUS CHRIST, to suffer a horrific death (represents the ugly and brutal consequences of our rebellion from Him) so that we can again live in the joy, freedom and authority He originally gave us.  Jesus completed/finished the "death sentence" that we all are supposed to suffer.  But not only that, He didn't stay dead!  He triumphed over death and all its powers for all eternity.  The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."  Adam fell into sin and plunged all of humanity under the ruling of Satan but Jesus paid the price for what Adam did and took us back from the hands of the enemy.  We all have to make the ultimate decision in our lifetime--- the only decision that would impact eternity!  "Are we going to accept the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus already accomplished or reject what He has done and still carry the punishment that Adam has plunged us into?  I made my decision---I accepted the free gift of salvation and restoration by simply placing my faith in the finished work of Christ and I don't have to carry the burden Adam had placed on me.  I am truly FREE!  And all thanks to JESUS who is the true meaning of this season.  If you want to make the same decision I made, you can go HERE.  Jesus satisfied the void in my heart!  Even though trials come my way, I know where my help comes from which causes me to hope, to believe, to love, to rejoice!

Anyway, we have another Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  I want to feature my decorated candle as an inspiration project using the free Word Art (by Karen Murray) that you can download at the WAW site. The verse comes from Isaiah 9:6, "  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." All of us who came to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 3:3) and have followed the prophecies in the scriptures know why Jesus is deserving of all these great titles in this verse.  But the time will come when the fulness of the prophecies will come to pass and everyone (even the unbelievers) will see the Majesty that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior!  When Jesus rules His Kingdom on earth (Millennial Reign of Christ) for a thousand years (Satan is locked up in the bottomless pit), we will truly have a taste of God's Kingdom where the Ruler reigns with absolute Truth and Justice.  The good news is that all who have died in Christ and those that are living in Christ that were taken through the Rapture of the Church will all reign with Christ in that Kingdom with the glorified/eternal bodies God is giving us.  So you see, our talents and gifting will not be put to waste.  We will be able to use every single one of them to glorify God as we reign with Him in that Kingdom.  If you wish to read more about the Millennial Kingdom, read HERE.  For this project, I used a Mo Manning image called "Ragged Angel" and colored  it with my Promarker/Prismacolor markers.  I used some glitters (Stickles---Diamond and Stardust) for the snow and the wings of the angel.  I transferred the image and Word Art to the candle and attached some gold/red ribbon for a final touch.  I am pretty happy with the results. 

 A CHILD IS BORN DECORATED CANDLE:

A CHILD IS BORN DECORATED CANDLE CLOSE-UP:

This Candle Project is entered into the following Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More---ATG
Christmas at Sweet Stampin'---Let is Snow
Crafter's Cafe---Make It Sparkle
Crafting by Designs---It's All New (New Candle and Word Art)
Crafting for  all Seasons---Anything Christmas but a Card
Crafty Creations---ATG
Creative Belli---Christmas
Creative Moments---ATG/Winter Wonderland
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Divas by Design---ATG
Inky Impressions---Merry Christmas
Nutcrafters---Snow
Paper Playful---ATG
Rhedd and Rosie---Let It Snow
Ruby's Rainbow---It's Christmas
Scrapper's Delights---It's Christmas Time
Simon Says Stamp---Bling It On (Glitters on the angel wings and ground)
Sisterhood of Crafters---All that Glitters
Stamp n Doodle---ATG
Stamping Chef---ATG

Well, this is all I have at the moment.  Please don't forget to link up your projects to the WAW site.  You can submit up to 5 projects as long as it's family friendly, inspirational and/or uplifting projects.  Our goal for our Challenges is to honor God Almighty so, we have set up some rules that moves toward that goal.  If you have any questions, please read our Challenge Rules.  As much as we don't want to, any project that does not meet the criteria will be deleted.  Anyway, we have a couple of wonderful sponsors this week---The Scrapping Center and Stamp Art Designs by Kathryne.  I am excited to see what you have in store for us this week.  Have a blessed day and always remember that JESUS  is the reason for this season.

Scripture Series: Peace, Good Will To Men Card---It's Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday, Crafty friends!  It's another cold day (without snow) out here in Texas...If it isn't that cold for weeks now, I would be going out more often and possibly go shopping when I really don't have to.  So, I think it's great because I stay home more and  saving a bit of money for really important things.  You see, God told us to rejoice whatever season/circumstances we have.  It helps a lot when we look at the bright side of life especially when the dark clouds surround you.  Just a ray of light penetrates the deepest darkness. Focus on that light and it will lead us to the way out.  Understand this, a person who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are only living by what's in their past and what's in front of them.  They cannot see any further because they are limited.  Our natural eyes can only see what is in the physical realm, can hear, feel, taste and smell what is in this world.  The physical will never be able to perceive anything that is higher than itself, in that case---it cannot understand anything SPIRITUAL AND ETERNAL.  The Bible tells us in John 4:23-24, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  When God created Adam and Eve, God used the dust of the ground to form them to His image and likeness.  They were still lifeless and not until God breathed unto them that they became a living soul (See Genesis 2:7).  God has given us a part of Himself which He has not given any of His other creations---His life, power and Spirit (Read more of this HERE).  There's something special about mankind that God is willing to do everything possible to take them back to His arms after they chose to rebel against Him---The One who gave them life.  I love this verse in Psalms 8:3-5 as I stand in awe of the great love of God for us which tells us, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!"  If I use my finite mind to understand the depth of the love of God, it would not make sense to me at all. Why?  Because we (humans) only give "conditional love."  When people are nice and supportive of us, no matter what we do, we love them back.  Yet when someone tells us   the truth and end up going against our will, we condemn then and even plot harm to destroy them.  We would not understand why Jesus would say in Luke 6:29, "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. " How about 1 Peter 3:9 that declares to us, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."  The answer to this could be summed up by God's declaration in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Not one of us will be able to conceive the depth, height, length and width of the love of God for us as well as His thoughts,  until we come to a personal relationship with Him.  The Fall of Man darkened our spirits and the connection that we had with God in the very beginning had been severed.  There's no way for man to go back to the glory he had in the presence of God in his own terms. The ONLY SOLUTION that can change man's status from guilty to not guilty (of high-treason) is through the God/Man, JESUS CHRIST!  He didn't possess the sin of Adam since He didn't come from the line of Adam.  The Bible declares that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20), the Seed of a woman (Read Genesis 3:15---we all know that woman don't have seed, the male carries the seed) and was God clothed in flesh, to become the perfect Mediator between God and Man.  This is why we (as believers, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ) can boldly declare to anyone, without apology, what the Lord Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Have you been persecuted for standing on the Word of God?  I have many experiences and I remember when long time friends left me right after I received Christ as my Lord and Savior (Born-Again Experience---John 3:3) two decades ago.  Time and time again, I've had people email/ wrote me hurtful words, baseless insults and cursing just because I share the Word of God in a forum or my Blog.  You see, if people back in the days of Jesus had problems with the Gospel, I am pretty convince, people in our days still have the same problem with Jesus.  Is it not obvious why they have so much hate for Jesus?  They don't really go after other people's religion/gods?  Why would they?  The truth is,  the devil does not really care whatever religion people observe/follow as long as it's not directed to the One and Only Savior---Jesus Christ!  Only through the Son of God will people find release from the bondage humanity could not escape from since the Fall of Man.  People's life change and the broken find healing and restoration.  They find far more than what their finite minds can understand and are given by God a new life which understands the spiritual and eternal life He has prepared for them.  Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it is impossible to understand the Kingdom of God.  It's no wonder Jesus told Nicodemus (a Pharisee) in John 3:3,  "“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  We should not be surprise at all when unbelievers come to us and ridicule, twist and insult the Word of God.  We are to pray for this people,  for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and break the yoke of the enemy in their lives---because they are blind to the things of the Spirit.  I know it's easier said than done but when confronted by those situations, I pray for the Lord to clothe me with His compassion that I may be able to act not by my emotions but by the love that God has for that person.  Ephesians 6:11-13 tells us, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Anyway, I would like to share some inspiration for our Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  We have a wonderful and free Word Art for you to download at our WAW site, created by our lovely artist, Karen Murray.  It features the wonderful verse in Luke 2:14 which says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  If we can only get it in our hearts the very reason why Jesus had to come and eventually die for our sake, we will be able to appreciate this wonderful verse.  Because He triumphed over death and hell, resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Father to judge the living and the dead; we have great assurance, a sure promise of a life in Him eternally. All who placed their faith in Him should live a life of peace, hope and rejoicing to the One who holds our future securely in the palm of His hands.  No matter how dark this physical world become, we know that God's light is in us and until the Lord takes us away from this world, we are to share that very light to those who are still lost in darkness.  For this Card, I used an image from Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps called "The Perfect Christmas Gift" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  I used a white CS as base card cut and scored to make a 5.5-inches square card, a glittery white CS, red and grey CS for matting.  I used a scrap of paper (from K& Company) to paper-piece my image's clothes and added some metallic gems from Imaginisce.  I inked all over the image using Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Pumice Stone).  Lastly, I stitched all over this project.  I know this is simple compared to my other projects but I would like to give emphasis to the image as it connects to the message. Jesus is the reason for the season and the greatest gift for mankind.  I hope you like it.

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD:

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD LAYERS:

 PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD INSIDE:

PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


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

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Make It Monday---ATG
Crafty Sentiments---Christmas
Flourishes---Words to Inspire
Inky Chicks---Christmas
Loves Rubber Stamps---ATG Christmas
Papertake Weekly---Christmas Creatures
Songbird---Merry Christmas Everybody
Sweet Stamps---Simple Christmas
TTCRD---ATG
Tuesday Throwdown---What Christmas Means to You?
Twist of Faith---Traditional Christmas
Creative Moments---ATG/Winter Wonderland
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Divas by Design---ATG
Handmade Harbour---Merry Christmas
Penny's Paper Crafty---Feminine with Sentiment
Rhedd and Rosie---Use Old Stash ( The image, the sparkly CS and the metal gems were forgotten)
Ruby's Rainbow---It's Christmas
Scrapper's Delights---Christmas Time
Sisterhood of Crafters---Christmas Sparkle
Stamp n Doodle---For the Holiday Spirit
Stamping Chef---ATG
Scribble and Scrap---ATG
Create with TLC---Show it Off Sunday
Papercrafting Journey---It's Christmas Time
Card Makin Mamas---Christmas and New Year
Craftyhands---Season's Greetings or Winter Theme
Digi Haven---Christmas Cards
Scrapping 4 Fun---ATG
Gem of a Challenge---ATG
Come and Get It---Christmas
Craft Place---Christmas
Corrosive Challenge---ATG
Craftin Desert Diva's---Christmas
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Parade Your Crafts---Christmas Projects
Crafty Boots---Christmas
Created with Love---ATG
Get Inky!---Christmas
Melonheadz---Christmas
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG with optional Christmas
Creatalicious---It's Christmas Time
Challenges 4 Everybody---ATG
Clear It Out---ATG (The image, CS and metallic gems are more than a year old)
Pile It On---P is For (Perfect Gift)

This is it for now.   Please don't forget to join us at this week's WAW Challenge by linking your "Anything Goes" projects.  You can use the free Word Art I featured here in your entry but it's not mandatory.  As long as your creation is family-friendly, inspirational and uplifting, you can enter up to 5 projects to have more chances of winning.  Our sponsors for this week are Nice Crane Designs (choice of digi images)  and  Verve Stamps ($25 GC).  You don't want to miss out on these wonderful prizes so, make sure to join our Challenge.  This Christmas, it is easy to focus on the traditions and the commercialization of the season but I know why I celebrate Christmas, that even if the date does not pertain to the true birth of Christ---I know that there's that one faithful day that the Messiah was born for the purpose of saving me and all of humanity.  That for me stands alone as the One and Only True Meaning of Christmas.  It's Christmas with a capital C...

Scripture Series: A Shield For Me Easel Calendar Drawer---It's Another Anything Goes Challenge with Optional Twist at 613 Avenue Create...Join Us!

Good Sunday morning, guys and gals!  It's super duper cold out here and I am stuck in the house for two days, not desiring to go out at all.  The weather gave me a chance to think thoroughly what to do for the Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  But prior to that, I am supposed to rush on some projects I wanted to include at our Christmas Shoppe that is supposed to happen today but due to the overly cold weather, the Church had to cancel.  I am okay with it though since it gave me more time to concentrate on today's project. Anyway, last Thursday, we began another topic in my Bible class which focuses on the Five Disciplines (Prayer, Silence, Meditation, Fasting, Study) and we began by comparing the scriptures in Matthew 25:14-30 which is the "Parable of the Talents" (Read it HERE) and Luke 19:11-26 which is about the "Parable of the Minas" (Read it HERE).  The scriptures in Matthew tells us that man is given by God a measure of talents and abilities.  Not everyone has the same talent and the same portion and we don't get a chance to select.  It is God who provides according to His perfect will.  So, when the first 2 servants came with an increase, even though their portions differ,  yet their increase were the same based on the talent they have started with.  The one that has 5 doubled it up to 10 and the one that has 2 increased it to 4.  Notice that the Master gave them exactly the same rewards.  This tells me that when the Lord gives us talents and abilities, He expects us to use it towards fruitfulness.  It does not matter whether it's a little compared to others but He wants us to give it our all and believe me, He knows when we give it our all---totally surrendered to the working of His His Spirit in our lives!  In Luke 19, something is different.  Here, there were 10 servants and each one of them is given one mina which represents what every believer of Christ possess, a common denominator to all who have put their trust in Christ.  Take for example, we all got saved by means of the New Birth (Born-Again Experience---John 3), we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we were declared righteous in the sight of Almighty God through the finished work  of Jesus Christ, we have equal access to God through prayers and many others.    When the 2 servants gave their report, one servant added 10 to his and the other servant added 5.  Notice that in this case, the rewards were different.  One that have larger increase gained more than the other one that has a bit of an increase.  This just goes to say that the degree of passion and work you exerted towards obedience to the task/assignment/purpose  that God has placed in your life can have a great impact than those who were given the same yet didn't do much.  Our perseverance to fulfill the purposes of God in our lives are set to meet obstacles along the way but as we remain faithful, obedient in taking action towards our faith, we are going to receive eternal rewards in God's Kingdom where no earthly reward will ever compare.  On the other hand, in both Parables, the 3rd servants have one thing in common.  They told their Master that the reason they both wasted the opportunity towards fruitfulness was because they were AFRAID (FEAR).  If were going to apply our worldly/earthly thinking to this Parables, we would probably tell them, "Oh, you poor thing!  Don't worry, it's okay.  Let me give you a hug to comfort you from that fear." ---Yet that is not what the Master told the 2 servants in both Parables.  Words like wicked, slothful, lazy, idle----did those look like words of comfort to you?  NOT AT ALL!  Being afraid of God or afraid of obeying God because you don't want to work or leave the worldly life He is calling you out of  is NOT AN EXCUSE!  We often paint God as the meek, lowly, never lost His cool God we want Him to be but if you've read many of the passages in the Scripture especially how he dealt with the Pharisees. He said some pretty strong words to them here at Matthew 23 (Read HERE).  When one is called a hypocrite, blind guides, snakes, brood of vipers among others by Almighty God, it should send us a message that God is not playing games with us!  He is righteous, holy and a JUST GOD and we will have to answer for all the talents, abilities and gifts He has entrusted us with.  Know that as a believer of the Lord Jesus, we are not doing "good deeds"  in order to be accepted in the sight of the Lord.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, we were clothed in righteousness and it's a gift.  Nothing we have ever done and didn't do gave us that right standing with the Lord.  It is ours solely because of what Jesus Christ has done.  And so, we work, making every good deed for the Lord because He that lives in us only does what is good and pleasing to the Father.  Our good deeds stem from completely relying on the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and allowing ourselves to be His vessel to fulfill His purposes on earth.  The end is coming really soon and those that hear what the Spirit says knows this Truth in our hearts.  Let us make the most of the time on earth telling others about what Christ has done for them for the door is going to shut down soon and no outsider will be able to come in.  You who have compassion, hear what the Spirit has to say!  Don't mind the harsh words, the persecutions from friends, family, co-workers and strangers.  Keep your eyes firmly on the Lord for our rewards are stored up in the heavens.  These are ETERNAL REWARDS awaiting all of us who have triumphed in the name of Jesus!  I want to come face to face with my Lord one day and hear these very same words: " Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you  in charge of many things.  Come and share your Master's happiness!" (Matthew 24:21).  I want to share with you some verses about the hope for our eternal future:

"For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what is the outcome be for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?  And if is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (1 Peter 4:17-18)

 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:13-14) 

"He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.  I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:  These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  I know your deeds.  See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you." (Revelation 3:5-9)

Anyway, here's the project I want to share with you today.  We have an Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create with an optional twist (if you want a bit of a Challenge).  That is to make a Perpetual Calendar or Mini Calendar.  I have not made one in my several years of Crafting so, after researching and deciding on what to do, here's what I came up with.  It's an Easel Calendar with fabulous drawer boxes.  I got some wonderful inspiration from this BLOG. I did make some changes to the size of the drawers and made 3 drawers instead of 4 small ones in order to fit the Easel size I made that is 6 x 6 inches square.  I had to experiment on the boxes several times before I was completely satisfied...The whole project took me 3/4 of an entire day...LOL  I love it though and I'm planning to keep it in my desk so, it was worth all the effort.  Here,  I used an image from our sponsor, A Day for Daisies called "Pearls in my Hair" and colored it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.   I used mostly Kraft CS for the base and 3 gorgeous DP's from Recollections.  I die cut a Lacy Oval from Nestabilities as a frame for the image, added flowers from Recollections and applied some glitters to them and the birds (Stickles-Stardust).  I added some Liquid Pearls (White Opal) to the image,  The wonderful scripture Word Art is a freebie from Karen Murray featuring Psalm 3:3 which says."But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head."  This is so true and I want to be reminded of this wonderful verse as I go through all the days of this year (in my calendar...LOL).  I found the calendar online (by Finding Nana) and she has it free for download but found out that they were quite big for my project.  So, I took her sample instead and print that and they came out the perfect size for my Easel calendar  after I added some matting to each one.  I placed a Velcro behind each month so that I can remove and place the months accordingly with ease.  I store the rest of the months on the front (big drawer).  The 2 small drawers open on the side and can use them for extra storage.  I used some black ribbons as handle for my drawers, secured by black brads.  I took one of my prepared I-Top Big daddy brads (by Imaginisce) and adhered it to my Easel as a stopper.  Behind that, in the secret area of this Easel, I place an itty bitty notepad (cut-out white papers) in which all (about 8) pages were stamped with "just a note" from Printworks and attached it with 2 tiny clothespin.  Lastly, I did a load of stitching here too.  I was exhausted but very happy with the result.  Enjoy the many pictures I posted here.  Thanking the Lord for the strength.

A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR DRAWER WHEN CLOSE:

 A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR DRAWER:

 A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR DRAWER SIDE VIEW:

A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR DRAWER TOP VIEW (DRAWERS OPEN):

A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR DRAWER SHOWING NOTE PAD:

A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR SHOWING BIG DRAWER (With Monthly Calendars):

A SHIELD FOR ME EASEL CALENDAR SHOWING SMALL DRAWER (There's 2 in this project):

This Card/Calendar is entered into the following Challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge---ATG
Clear It Out---ATG (The I-top brad, the brown brads, brown little flowers were with me for years)
Crafts and Me---ATG
Crafty Ribbons---Spots or Stripes
DRS Designs---Glitter It Up! (There's glitters on the flowers and the birds)
Flourishes---Stitch It Up!
Krafty Hands---ATG
Loves Rubber Stamps---ATG
My Craft Creations---ATG
My Heart Pieces---Sparkle (Glitters were applied to flowers and birds)
Papertake Weekly---ATG
Ribbon Carousel---ATG (The handles for the drawers are ribbons)
Really Reasonable Ribbons---BINGO ( Plka Dots/Flower/Glitter) + Ribbon ( drawer handles)
Scrapper's Delights---Make It Sparkle (Glitters on flowers and birds)
Stamp and Create---ATG
Stamping Sensations---Free and Easy
Corrosive Challenge---ATG
Squirrel and the Fox---Summer or Winter
Stamping Chef---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Tok Bokok---ATG
Pile It On---P is for (Polka dot, person, paper, pearls...)
Simon Says Stamp---Make Your Own Background
Crafty Girls---ATG
Make It Monday---ATG
Crafty Bloggers Network---Girly
Crafty Creations---ATG except Christmas
Create with TLC---Show it Off Sunday
Dream Valley---ATG but a Card
Great Impressions---Use Glitter/Sequins
Scribble and Scrap---ATG
All Sorts---ATG but Christmas
Inkspirational---Photo Inkspiration
Sweet Stampin'---Ribbons (The handles for my drawer are ribbons)
Creative Fingers---ATG with Optional Twist: Easel
Scrapping 4 Fun---ATG
Wags 'n Whiskers---Things with Wings
As You like It---Favorite Digi and Why? (This Digi from ADFD conveys faith and hope)
Happy Campers---Glitter It
Little Miss Muffet---You've Been Framed

Okay folks, that's it for me!  Just a quick reminder to visit us at 613 Avenue Create and join us for the fun at our "Anything Goes" Challenge.  Wonderful prizes are awaiting the winners each week so, don't let it pass.  I pray that you have a wonderful fellowship with the Lord and other believers today and if you have not made the decision to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, this is the day.  Let the Lord lead you to a Church house (Full Gospel) and give the Lord a chance to turn your life around.  I took on the Challenge 2 decades ago and my life was never the same---eternally grateful!