You Really Are Amazing Card---Especially Requested/Made for a Friend's Birthday!

Good Monday morning, everyone!  Just want to share today's project for our Anything Goes Challenge happening at 613 Avenue Create.  I created this for a friend who wanted to surprise his wife (who happens to be a very good friend of mine) of a birthday card that would describe how special she is in his life.  I am very  pleased to say that she liked it very much and was very appreciative of his thoughtfulness. I'm thanking God for the inspiration to create always.

Anyway, I have learned something very valuable from the Guest speaker (Bro. Bud Garner) at our Church yesterday.  He is the founder of our congregation and would occasionally visit to bless us with wonderful teachings from the Lord.  Many valuable things were spoken but one thing that stood out for me  and spoke volumes in my heart was this---WE ARE TO "ZOOM  OUT" (like the lenses of our cameras) OF OUR EVERYDAY CHALLENGES IN ORDER TO VIEW THINGS IN GOD'S (wide angle) PERSPECTIVE.  This may be a simple illustration for somebody yet for me, it has profound meaning!  Nowadays, it's so easy to be trapped in the everyday challenges we are facing.  From family, relationships, work, finances, goals and the list goes on, we can easily be frustrated when things aren't happening the way we planned.  We tell ourselves, how can we even look into the problems of our community, our state, our nation and the world when we can't even find solutions to the challenges we face daily?  More often than not, we are so drowned with failure and self-pity, swallowed up by hopelessness that we are not a help to ourselves nor to anyone else. 

People who don't have a personal relationship with Christ (John 3:3, Born-Again) can only see things from around them.  Their happiness is limited to the things they can see, taste and feel.  But a person who has seen God and live by His Word has a "BLUEPRINT" of God's plan for his life, for this world and for eternity.  We have to exchange our short distance lenses to God's powerful lenses (see things the way He sees things).  In the battlefield, we can see ourselves surrounded by many enemies, their numbers seem to never end...But if we have an "AERIAL VIEW" of what's going on, we can see where the enemy's army ends and can better plan, come up with strategies to best defeat our foes.  Like everyone else, I have many concerns from personal to family life, who doesn't?  But those who have been following my Blog and take the time to read the messages I share through God's grace could see that the direction of our nation with its demonic policies and rulings and persecution of the Church remains the biggest concern in my heart.  Seeing the many people who follow others blindly---teachers that have perverted the Word of God for their own gain are sending people to their eternal destruction.  So many of their followers don't even care to validate their teacher's heretic teachings for they are lazy to do the work and therefore, get's deceived.  Not everyone who comes to the Church and sanctioned by the pastors and elders of the community are trustworthy.  There, I said it!  I don't care whether they're the biggest names, have many followers and sold millions of books.  A teacher of the Word of God needs to speak solely the Truth of God's Word, not adding nor subtracting to water down or contaminate God's message.  If we make it a habit to read the Scripture and subject the ministers of the Gospel to the written Word of God, we could have prevented many of them that drank the Kool-Aid to their death.  It is idolatrous to consider someone as authority in God's Word other than the Written Word of God alone. GOD'S BLUEPRINT FOR US IS IN EVERY PAGES OF THE SCRIPTURE.  We are to subject every preacher/teacher to the high standard of God's Word, making sure that they are delivering nothing but the Truth. As a believer, we are to  fill government positions with people who love God and hold themselves accountable to Him.  For what does ungodly man know about what is Just and True?  Anyone who does not acknowledge God is either serving themselves, the Devil or both!  Everything that is not of and for God is for the enemy.  There's no other way around this. 

Having this burden inside my heart could easily weigh me down but yesterday's message from a man of God reminded me of one of God's greatest Truth.  It is the fact that I have seen the BLUEPRINT (God's eternal design for all His creation and the victory that awaits the redeemed)!  I can walk with complete confidence and peace that all the things I'm going through and will be going through are just part of God's divine plan and are meant for my good.  Horrible things have happened throughout history to those who profess the name of Christ and many of our brothers and sisters in the Lord paid for it by their blood to this day.  But if we choose to see beyond the physical (temporary) and put on our spiritual lenses (eternity driven), we will find out that all the pain and suffering we are/will be going through in this present life is lightweight compared to the glory that awaits us who are faithful to our Master.  I would like to share the following verses to inspire us to always view life according to God's eternal blueprint.  

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."(1 John 5:1-5)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-15)

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5)

 

For this Card, I used an image from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps called "You are Beautiful" which I colored with my ProMarker/Prismacolor/Spectrum Noir markers.  The base is dark grey CS from Core'dinations that I cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I used some Kraft Paper for matting, the DP's are all from Recollections and the die-cuts were achieved using Nestabilities (shapesand swirls).  I layered some flowers from Prima and placed a button in its center from my stash.  The sentiment I got for free at Create with TLC (Thanks, Paulette!).  I added some glitters to the flowers (Stickles-Crystal), some white nail head gems and finally, lots of stitching.  I truly love the result.

YOU REALLY ARE AMAZING CARD:

 YOU REALLY ARE AMAZING CARD LAYERS:

YOU REALLY ARE AMAZING CARD SIDE VIEW:

 YOU REALLY ARE AMAZING CARD INSIDE:

YOU REALLY ARE AMAZING CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX:

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Not Just Cards---ATG
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Our Crafty Corner---ATG
Whoopsi Daisy---Hand-colored Image
Kraftin' Kimmie---ATG
Artistic Inspirations---ATG
Aurora Wings---ATG
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Craft Your Passion---ATG
Stamp and Create---Brown or Kraft
Paper Nest Dolls---ATG
Where the Heart Is---ATG/Use Stencils
Color my World---ATG  

This 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, take on the Optional Twist and use the free Word Art, created by our amazing Coordinator, Kathi Sylvia, inspired by the quotes of Eleanor Roosevelt.  Having the freedom to create any project, there's really no reason for you to miss it.  Our  brand new sponsor---Kitty Bee Designs is giving away fabulous prizes.  Can't wait to see what you create. The Lord is with you every step of the way so, don't be afraid of the what the future holds---we are safe in the arms of Christ always.