Your Birthday Be Special Card---It's Anything Goes with an Optional Twist in our Neighborhood, 613 Avenue Create!

A wonderful day, everyone!  I wanted  to share this yesterday but lots of things going on so, I'm only able to post this today.  I am featuring this Card for our Anything Goes Challenge with an optional "Happy Birthday" theme at 613 Avenue Create.  This week, I have many friends having their birthdays and it's wonderful to celebrate it with them. I just thought to myself, what is the importance of the day of our birth and why are we to celebrate it?

The Word of God didn't make a specific teaching whether it's right of wrong to celebrate birthdays. So, it will not be right to be dogmatic about something without Biblical evidence. I'm saying this because I remember many years ago when I first attended a Bible study near where I lived that the Church which hosted the Bible study were not into celebrating birthdays or any special occasions nor into wearing make-up, earrings etc.  I didn't get a chance to find out (whether this was true) for they have moved to a different venue the following week.  So, I just took the report as it was.  I was a teenager and was quite lazy to find out more.  But that feedback discouraged me from seeking more about God.  I though that the church could have been more of a cult with all those "weird" rules that I somehow concluded were true.  But going back to the subject of Birthday and being a Born-again Christian for many years, I have a greater understanding today on the significance of one's birthday as to how important one's final and eternal destination will be.  This is what Almighty God said to the prophet, Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 1:5.  It says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  But perhaps, the most wonderful verses about one's acknowledgment of how God created him to be comes from King David as written in Psalm 139:13-16 which says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  It is within these Scripture context that I have based my appreciation for that wonderful day in history that each of us were born.  That the Lord made all of us with utmost care---with every detail, function and form carefully thought about, having us ready for the day we'll be physically born. In order to fully appreciate it, we should recognize and reconcile in our hearts that like Jeremiah and David, we all have a greater purpose as to why we are here on earth other than just waking up each day to earn a living or carry out our everyday routines.  Each of us had been given a special task and along with that talents and abilities to fulfill  what God has assigned us to do.  That purpose/task will only be accessible if we avail of the "Key" that unlocks the door to God's will and purpose.  JESUS is that "Key" and is accessed by faith through what He accomplished at the Cross.  But wait, God spoke about a different birthday (other than earthly birth) in the Scripture.  John 3:3 recorded that encounter with Jesus and Nicodemus when Jesus brought it up.  Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."   Such birth is not fleshly but spiritual in nature!  We cannot accomplish this spiritual birth without first coming to earth.  Yet this second birth is so significant that it's a must for anyone who wants to spend eternity in the presence of Almighty God!  My physical birthday is important because the Father created me and allowed me to see the beauty of His earthly creation.  Despite the Fall,  He provided a way for me to become His righteousness through the saving knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (second/spiritual birth). Because I'm a living and breathing soul and spirit for Him, I will partake of the eternal beauty that He has prepared for all that faithfully served Him.  Yes, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LIFE!  I can say with all honesty that it's good to be born and to live this life when you have the Savior of the world living inside of you 24/7. Though circumstances becomes increasingly challenging in our day and time, my purpose remains.  That is to carry out the will of God (as it is written in His Word) whatever comes my way.  His Word is my "Road Map" to this journey called "Life" and my GPS on every twist and turn.  One day, like the time I was born, I will leave this place but will wake up in the arms of the Lord and see Him for Who He truly is---in full glory and majesty!  So my question is, how important is your birthday to you?

For this Card, I used images from one of our sponsors, Melonheadz Illustrating called "Nerd Party Bundle" and colored it with my ProMarker/Prismacolor markers.  The base is an A7 white pre-cut card and I rounded a couple of corners with my Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper.  The DP's are from My Mind's Eye and Paper Studio, the metal brads as well as the metal star clip are also from Paper Studio, and the nail head gems from Imaginisce.  I glittered a small part of each image using Stickles (Crystal).  The die-cut oval and lacy oval were done with Nestabilities and ran through a Cuttlebug.  Finally, I stitched all over, this time with a black thread. 

YOUR BIRTHDAY BE SPECIAL CARD:

YOUR BIRTHDAY BE SPECIAL CARD LAYERS:

 YOUR BIRTHDAY BE SPECIAL CARD INSIDE:

YOUR BIRTHDAY BE SPECIAL CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafts 4 Eternity---ATG
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Jo's Scrap Shack---ATG
Simply Create Too---ATG
Simply Papercraft---ATG
Wonderful Wednesday---Happy Birthday
Sister Act---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Crafting by Design---ATG
Great Impressions---Add a Sentiment
OSAAT---ATG with Children
Stamping Sensations---ATG with a Stamp and a Die
Love to Create---Anything Mixed Media/Creative/Inky Goes
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Craft Your Passion---ATG
Incy Wincy---Frame It
Melonheadz Friends---ATG (with Melonheadz Image)/Include a Sun
Not Just Cards---ATG
Perfectly Rustics---Glitter (There's glitter on the image)
Paper Nest Dolls---ATG
Crafty Calendar---BINGO (pink/die-cuts/stitching) 
Scrapper's Delights---ATG 

There you have it, folks!  Don't miss the opportunity to join our Anything Goes Challenge with an optional Twist at 613 Avenue Create.  There's wonderful prizes awaiting the winners from our lovely sponsors for this week---Melonheadz Illustrating and Chubby Mermaid.  Can't wait to see what fabulous projects you're going to highlight this week.  I hope you have a wonderful week filled with the divine inspiration of God's Word to carry through the journey of life.  Would love to hear your comments too.   Hugs, always!