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, November 5, 2014

Scripture Series: In Everything, Give Thanks Center Step Card---Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday again, everyone!  Here to feature another free Word Art for our Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) It's taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  It's interesting how God told us to give thanks for EVERYTHING!  How about the times when things are not going so well for us?  When we are sick, in a financial bind, in emotional struggles with our marriage, problem with our kids and many other situations that brings us down.  Are we supposed to give thanks?  The answer is YES!  God did say---EVERYTHING!  For those that have not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it's even harder to comprehend why we need to have an attitude of "Thankfulness" when things are not going our way.  Our sinful nature always wants what is for our own benefit and is predominantly selfish!  When things are great, we credit ourselves for everything we gained without understanding that it is because of God's grace that we are here in this world.  And so, we do everything we want and what's right in our own eyes and when we are faced with the consequences of our actions, we then remember God and blame Him for what were going through.  God said in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  This is a significant message that applies not for everyone but for those that have answered and will answer to God's call for repentance by placing their faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the Cross.  It is only by complete and total surrender of our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ will we be able to understand why we need to be thankful for all things.  God allows trials and storms in our lives to develop our character.   Jesus lives inside every believer and when we meditate on the promises of His Word, we have the assurance that He knows what we are going through and that we are never alone in the fight!  We have to lay claim to all of His promises and believe that He will come through for us in His perfect time.  It's not easy to wait and honestly, patience is one of the virtues God is working constantly in me.  Yet I realized that without Him, I cannot do anything!  As a Christian whose trust is in Jesus Christ, there's nothing I can do but to "trust in the goodness of God."  Matthew 6:26-27 clearly tells us, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"  He Who came to this world to sacrifice His life as ransom for all of mankind will not withhold the good things from His children.  Before I came to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I lived my life the way I pleased and boy, did I get myself into a lot of trouble.  Those were painful experiences that I can now look back with joy because in the midst of the pain, I came to know the Healer!  Sometimes, when we could not see the reason for the storm and chaos in our lives, trust that God is able to turn them into something beautiful one day.  In Christ, there is always hope and nothing ever comes to us that the Father has not filtered.  Yes, give thanks and hang in there no matter what your situation maybe.  He will always provide a way out!  Here are some scripture that tells us to give thanks to our wonderful God.

"Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." (1 Chronicles 29-12-14)

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ"  (Colossians 2:6-8)

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Now, for my inspiration Card today, I used an image from Stamping Bella called "Bench Buddies" which I paper-pieced and colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base is Kraft, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches center step card.  The DP's are all from American Crafts, the washi tape from Paper Studio, butterflies from Recollections and glitters using Stickles-Crystal.  Lastly, I stitched all over this card!  I'm pretty happy with the results. 


IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS CENTER STEP CARD:


IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS CENTER STEP CARD LAYERS:


IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS CENTER STEP CARD SIDE VIEW:


IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS CENTER STEP CARD INSIDE:


IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS CENTER STEP CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:


This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafting by Designs---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG/Celebration
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Hambo Hoedown---Thank You
House that Stamps Built---Give Thanks
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Little Red Wagon---Home is where your heart is (My Home is with the presence of God)
Paper Pretties---Give Thanks
Scrapper's Delights---ATG/Paper-Piecing
Wonderful Wednesdays---ATG
Crafty Sentiments---Make It Sparkle
Digi Choosday---Thank You/Winter Colors
Scrap-Creations---Make It Sparkle
Loves Rubberstamps---ATG
ODBD---Holiday
Papertake Weekly---ATG
Party Time Tuesday---ATG
TTCRD---ATG
Top Tip Tuesday---Chevrons (Top Tip:  To make your card fun, slant some elements of your project)
Tuesday Throwdown---Shaped Cards
Great Impressions---Thankful Thoughts
Jellypark---Festive
Craft Hoarders---For All You Do, Thank You!
Love to Scrap---Bling (Glitters)
Path of Positivity---Gratitude 
Perfectly Rustics---Stitching 


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 submit up to 5 entries.  Our wonderful sponsors for this week are Daydream Designs ($20 GC to their shop) and Heart and Soul Rubber Stamp Co. (2 Mounted/4 Unmounted Rubber Stamps of choice to their store).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the joy of the Lord overtake you today.  He truly loves and cares for you. 

34 comments:

  1. Wonderful words again Jo Anne - thank you. Wonderful card too :-)
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  2. So gorgeous Jo Anne. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely creation with us at Through the Craft Room Door.
    Hugs
    Cathy DT Member
    xxxxx

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  3. Jo Ann this is gorgeous your cards are always so different and great designs.
    Thanks for join us at
    {Digistamps4Joy DT Member}

    Karin

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  4. So cool. Love all the layers and dimension. Thanks for playing along with us at LRW!

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  5. This is gorgeous Jo Anne!! I always enjoy viewing your creations. They are always full of so much detail, dimension and texture!! The image goes perfectly with the verse. Gorgeous coloring and design!! Thanks so much for sharing your love for the Lord and talent with us at ODBD!!

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  6. Fabulous card and I love how you incorporated the chevrons. Thanks for joining us at Top Tip Tuesday. Great tip too!

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  7. Adorable card, Jo Anne. Such a sweet image to go with the verse. Love your designs always and am continually encouraged and challenged by your thoughtful devotional posts. Blessings on your week.

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  8. Wow, wow, wow! As always, gorgeous design, coloring and attention to details! Thanks for sharing your fabulous project and joining us for our current challenge at Inspiration Destination. Hope to see you again and good luck!
    Ema
    IDCB Owner

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  9. gorgeous shaped card! and love your image and all the extra embellishments.Thank you for joining us at Tuesday Throwdown shaped card challenge. Irene DT xx

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  10. What a gorgeous and cute card. Love the scripture and details. Thanks for playing along with us on Tuesday Throwdown!
    Huggies!

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  11. Jo Anne, this is a wonderful creation with great attention to detail and perfect for our ‘ANYTHING GOES’ challenge. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Good luck.
    Hugs
    Desíre
    {Digistamps4Joy DT Member}
    {Would love you to visit my blog and join my 1,000 Follower Give-Away. Thank you so much, if you have already entered, and good luck.}
    {Doing Life – my personal blog}

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  12. Wow, great work, well done and good luck! Splendid! Just splendid!
    Hugs, Jackie
    Digistamps4Joy.DT
    Member

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  13. such a lovely card and great stamp, thanks for sharing with us at Crafty Sentiments this week and hope to see you back next week

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  14. Such a great creation with amazing details inside and outside. Your coloring is fab Jo Anne, oh and I like the banners! Thank you for playing along with us at DigiStamps4Joy and hope to see you again soon. Have great moments Jo Anne.

    Hugs,
    Asmah
    [DS4J DT Member]
    [Qinaahana Arts And Crafts ~ My Personal Blog]

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  15. JoAnne, this is incredible! Beautifully done, and thanks for sharing it with us at The House That Stamps Built!

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  16. What a gorgeous card. Love the details with the centre step fold, awsome colours and the added sparkle and paper piecing. Thanks for playing at Crafty Sentiments, Top Tip Tuesday and Scrappers Delight and good luck. Hope to see you back tuesday and next wednesday for some new challenges. Bettina GD Member at Crafty Sentiments, DT Member at Top Tip Tuesday and DT Member at Scrappers Delight xx

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  17. Cute-Cute-Cute!! Love scripture being incorporated!!

    Thanks for playing with us @ Party Time Tuesdays.

    I'd love for you to visit my blog:
    www.krcmasterpiece.blogspot.com

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  18. This has to be one of the prettiest center step cards I've seen! Beautiful colors, coloring, design and details! Picture perfect Jo Ann! Thanks for creating with us at ODBD!

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  19. Stunning card! Love the fold you have used and all the details.

    Thanks for joining us in our Thank you winter colors challenge at Digi Choosday Crafting Vicky (DT)

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  20. Absolutely beautiful, so much detail but yet its not overwhelmed. Thanks for playing in the Scrappers Delight
    challenge Penny (Scrappers Delight NRDT)

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  21. This is one beautiful card with so much attention to detail! Thanks for participating in our challenge over at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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  22. Really beautiful! Thanks so much for joining us at the Hambo Hoedown.

    Peace & Luv,
    Jeannie

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  23. This is gorgeous! Thanks for joining us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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    Replies
    1. Beautiful card. Thanks for joining us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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  24. This is such a beautiful card! I love all the layers, the wonderful focal image on the front and the amazing coloring! Thanks for sharing this with us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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  25. Fabulous card! Great card fold, wonderful image, piecing, coloring and glitter placement. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Love to Scrap. I love it.
    Debi DT LTSCB

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  26. Wow, you are going off with the stitching on this card. It looks totally awesome. Thanks for joining us at Perfectly Rustics.

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  27. Very cool card :)

    Thanks for joining us at Scrapper's Delights this week. Good luck and you're welcome back :)

    ~ Anne Lise ~

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  28. Just gorgeous! I love all the elements you've included. THANKS for joining the Hambo Hoedown this month!
    Lyn

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  29. Your project is adorable. And so creative. Thank you for all the Scripture. It is hard for Believers to remember that the admonition to be thankful for EVERYTHING is hard for the unbeliever to understand. And we should have compassion and grace for those who don't know Him and are struggling to find thankfulness. Your post touched my heart today, so THANK YOU! Thanks for sharing your work with us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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  30. Another darling card, JoAnn! LOVE the beautiful coloring of this image--the dimension on the butterflies is perfect, too! Thanks for joining us at Great Impressions! HUGS! :) Mynn xx

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  31. Another great card of thankagiving! Love the step card-your colors and design tock! Thank you for playing in the Path of Positivity challenge this month!

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  32. Wow! You're card is beautiful! I love your coloring and all of the layers! Thank you so much for joining us at Great Impressions! :)

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  33. Back with another DT hat on:
    Jo Ann this is just so beautiful. I just adore your very unique creative style. Your colouring and design is always amazing. Wonderful wording on this too. This is so perfect for our GRATITUDE theme this month. Thanks for sharing your talent with us and good luck.
    Hugs
    Desíre
    {Path of Positivity DT Member}
    {Doing Life – my personal blog}

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