Scripture Series: Nothing Too Hard for Thee Card---Time for Another Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Good morning, everyone!  Two weeks passed and were here for another (family-friendly) Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  As always, we are featuring a Scripture Word Art that you can download for free at the WAW site coming from Jeremiah 32:17 which says, "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee."  In this verse, Jeremiah was asked by God to buy a field outside of Jerusalem.  Sounds pretty easy but it wasn't.   The problem---it was a land already captured by the enemy and that soldiers occupied.  But in the midst of doubts and fear, Jeremiah meditated on the promises of God and prayed.  

I would like to share the explanation I read in my Life Application Bible which helped me to better understand our featured passage.  For God is the Creator of heaven and earth.  His unprecedented knowledge, wisdom and power over His creation is what Jeremiah recognized in our featured verse and how it relates to Jeremiah 32 as a whole.  It says, "After Jeremiah bought the field, he began to wonder if such move was wise.  He sought relief in prayer from his nagging doubts.  In this prayer, Jeremiah affirmed that God is Creator, the wise Judge of all the ways of people and Redeemer.  God loves us and sees our situation.  Whenever we doubt God's wisdom or wonder if it is practical to obey Him, we can review what we already know about Him.  Such thoughts and prayers will quiet our doubts and calm our fears. Trust doesn't come easy.  It wasn't easy for Jeremiah to publicly buy land already captured by the enemy.  But he trusted God.  It wasn't easy for David to believe that he would become king, even after he was anointed.  But he trusted God (1 Samuel 16-31).  It wasn't easy for Moses to believe that he and his people would escape Egypt, even after God spoke to him from a burning bush.  But he trusted God (Exodus3:1 - 4:20).  It isn't easy for us to believe that God can fulfill His "impossible" promises either, but we must trust Him.  God, who worked in the lives of Biblical heroes, will work in our lives too, if we will let Him."

I don't know about you but it's truly comforting to know that I serve a God Who is not surprised by anything and everything happening in the world.  In His omniscience, He knows all of our past, present, future and beyond.  The Bible declares in Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." Who among us can fathom the depth of God's knowledge or any of the many attributes of the Almighty?  We are the created, He is the Creator!  All good and wonderful things come from Him.  When and where there was rebellion and unbelief, He also allowed disasters as we've seen throughout history. The Fall of Man invited Sin and Death to wreak havoc in this world. As man continues to harden their hearts against God, we see the many natural disasters intensify (and will continue till all of God's plan is accomplished) although not every natural disaster is a punishment from God.  As believers (Born-again, John 3:3), we are to remain faithful especially in times of trials and testing, disasters and calamities knowing that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.  It's not easy to face trials but honestly, it's in those moments when we come humbly before God, realizing  He is our everything.  As we go through storms of life and come out victorious relying upon the goodness and promises of God, our faith is strengthened and we experience a deeper relationship with our Father.  Nowadays, not only do we have challenges at home but we are also affected by the chaos we see around the world.  Honesty is such a rare virtue to find in all pillars of our society.  Now more than ever, I have to bring every decision/action unto the Lord and trust that He will lead me and keep me safe.  I would like to share the following verses for added inspiration:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13)

"This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God  and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (1 John 3:19-24)

 For this Card, I used an image from Sassy Sheryl's Stamps called "Nature Boy Lover" and colored it using my Touch Five and Prismacolor markers.  The base is an A7 pre-cut card from Paper Studio and the DP's are from Recollections.  I stamped an additional sentiment from Studio 116, added some brad from Recollections and nail head gems from Imaginisce,  applied some glitters (Stickles-Crystal) on the background flowers and finally, did some fancy stitching using my awesome sewing machine.  It turned out fantastic.

 NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THEE CARD

 NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THEE CARD LAYERS

 NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THEE CARD INSIDE

NOTHING TOO HARD FOR THEE CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG
Little Miss Muffet---ATG
Crafty Friends---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Awesomeness---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Not Just Cards---Spring
Petal Lu---ATG
Sweet Stampers---Add a Sentiment
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
Your Scrapbook Place---ATG

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 enter up to 5 times this week.  Wonderful prize to be won from our wonderful sponsor---Simon Says Stamp ($25 GC) .  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the peace of the Lord overtake you today.  I serve a good and faithful God---Jesus Christ! 

CAS Series: Kind Strong Brave Card---Join the Monthly Anything Goes Challenge at our Neighborhood, 613 Avenue Create!

Hello everyone.  It's the first Sunday of the month so, I am here to bring you my project for our Monthly Challenge happening at 613 Avenue Create.  But before that, I would like to share the Word of God coming from Isaiah 41:8-13 and it says, "“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’;  I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 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. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced;  those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

I was reading on my Life Application Bible on these verses and was blessed by it.  It explained, "God chose Israel through Abraham because He wanted to, not because the people deserved it.  Although God chose the Israelites  to represent Him to the world, they failed to do this; so God punished them and sent them into captivity.  Now, all believers (Born Again, John 3:3) are God's chosen people, and all share the responsibility of representing Him to the world.  One day God will bring all His faithful people together.  We need not fear because (1) God is with us ("I am with you"), (2) God has established a relationship with us ("I am your God"), and (3) God gives us assurance of His strength, help and victory over sin and death ("I will help you").  Have you realized all the ways God has helped you?"

It's amazing how God used the prophet Isaiah to tell His people (the Israelites) what would take place many years in their future in the hopes that they will turn away from their wicked living and make it right with God.  Before Judah (Southern Kingdom) went into captivity, they had plenty of warnings to get their act together.  I can't help but think of the similarity of those times with our situation (history and the past years) here in America.  You see, our country was founded on Biblical principles as God used men  with fear and knowledge of Him to establish our Constitution (the law of the land).  This country was blessed with so many wonderful things and God entrusted us to be an example of righteous leadership (beacon of hope) to the rest of the world.  But the time came when we became complacent and allowed the very things that God hate to influence us and take over our country.  We became self-centered, idolatrous, spiritually and physically immoral before the Lord.  We depend on our own might and power and turned away from God---the Source of all our blessings.  And so, for many years now, we have seen the degradation of our society and we allowed the highest office in our land be occupied by the ungodly.  The Church lost its voice and diluted the true message of the Gospel including all its warnings.  False prophets and false teachings polluted the airways, leading and deceiving people to their destruction.  But God is gracious!  He led a remnant of believers  to repent.  We called upon the Name of the Lord---asked Him to forgive us and our nation, restore us to His Truth and open for us a door that no one can shut.  Last November, God answered our call for help in a miraculous way.  

Today, we hear the name of the Lord being uttered/proclaimed in the highest seat in our land.  God used the several prophets of our day to proclaim a message of hope while we were in the middle of ungodly leadership.  These days, God will is being carried out in full force!  Despite the efforts of the enemy to shut it down by disturbing peace (anarchy, riots, baseless/paid protest) to destabilize the government,  I know they will not succeed!  Why so?  Because while these people thought they are fighting the current leadership,  they are unaware that it is God whom they are fighting with.  Consider what Romans 1:1-2 says, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."  The past eight years with Obama showed us how to be under ungodly leadership and we vexed our souls from the demonic laws that was forced upon us while many believers with their businesses were stripped off their religious freedom.  Many lost their businesses to follow their religious convictions as they were attacked by the ungodly.  Our country was plunged to extreme immorality and our nation was opened wide to threats and destruction from those seeking to annihilate us.  BUT GOD MADE A WAY FOR US!  Praise His Holy Name!  As we face the challenges of our time along with our dear President, Donald Trump, let us focus our eyes upon the Lord and entrust to Him all the affairs of our nation.  Be prayerful and grateful for we know that His protection is upon us (at all times) and He shall bring all our enemies under our feet.  Though we are bombarded by the noise of the enemy and his ungodly minions (foreign and domestic), know that they are no match for the God of the universe.  To Him be the glory!

For this Card, I used an image from Media Clear Stamps (lady and sentiments) and Hero Arts Rubber Stamp for the Landmark Destination background.  I usually build actual layers on most of my cards but this one is basically one dimensional layering through masking.  The first thing I did was to stamp the lady, color it with my Touch Five markers and apply some Liquid Frisket on the image (making sure to stay inside the lines) and allow it to dry.  I stamped the Landmark border on top of the image (the Liquid Frisket protects the colored image).  Then I took a cloud stencil (I created), positioned it and inked it with Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass).  I also laid the zigzag stencil from Recollections to create half of the background with another Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany).  I removed the Liquid Frisket from the image and stamped all the sentiments.  I love it!

KIND STRONG BRAVE CARD

 KIND STRONG BRAVE CARD CLOSE-UP

 KIND STRONG BRAVE CARD INSIDE

KIND STRONG BRAVE CARD WITH ENVELOPE

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts and Me---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Awesomeness---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Ecclectic Ellapu---ATG
Not Just Cards---New Beginnings (New Stamp used)
Petal Lu---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
Your Scrapbook Place---ATG
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Simply Papercraft---ATG
Creative Fingers---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Crafting with an Attitude---ATG
PDE Linky Party---ATG
Creative Ladybirds---ATG
Art by Miran---ATG
Crafty Girls Creations---ATG
Create and Inspire---ATG


This it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge with optional Twist (CAS, using the color Blue and sentiment as the focal).  But there's really no reason for you to miss it.  Link with us and join the fun.  Can't wait to see what you create. Please join me in praying for our nation and our leadership daily. 

Scripture Series: Faith Hope Charity Card---Join Us for Another Family Friendly/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, friends!  Back again for another Anything Goes/Family friendly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Today's featured Scripture Word Art comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13 and it says, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." I looked for the meaning of "Charity " and what I got was mostly connected to generous giving.  One that comes closest for me described it as a Christian love which is God's love (Agape---selfless). The perfect embodiment of God's holy and pure love is His Son---Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The Bible tells us in John 1:18, "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known."  If we want to talk about true love and be able to put it into action, we can only look at the life lived by Jesus Christ on earth. He came with one purpose.  Jesus told us in John 4:34, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work." John 6:39-40 revealed "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Wow, what a purpose! Jesus left the grandeur of heaven, wrapped Himself in flesh to live among men, demonstrated the love and ways of the Father,  and gave His life to redeem us from the bondage of Sin (Sin Nature from the very heart of Satan) and Death (Spiritual, Physical and Eternal Deaths).  How many of us would willingly face death when we know the exact time, place and manner by which we'll die?  A soldier marches into the battlefield knowing that death could come at anytime yet could hope that he would have another day to live.  But Jesus, in His omniscience, knew everything that's going to happen before His death sentence.  He knelt down and prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:42-44 saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."  Jesus willingly gave His life to redeem mankind from their slavery to Satan and bring us back to the Father.  Romans 5:7-8 revealed, "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  

My friends, this is the kind of love (charity) our Father in heaven wants us to extend to the world.  I must point out though that while God is a God of love, He is also a Holy God and a Just God.  He does not tolerate Sin of any shape or form.  In this day and time, when people think that the Scripture is obsolete and has no bearings in the modern world, many will die and spend eternity outside of the presence of God because they rejected the grace and the hope that is freely given to them through Jesus Christ as it is written in the Scripture!   JESUS should be the Center of our faith and Source of all our blessings.  If there's anything (and I mean ANYTHING!) we are trusting outside of the finished work (death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ, we should repent and turn our lives over unto His Lordship.  No religion and ideology, power, fame, riches nor good works can ever purchase for us the gift of eternal life through our Lord, Jesus Christ!  He is the only means by which we can be saved (Born-again, John 3:3).  Knowing this, we are to be loving, yet firm in delivering the message of hope to the stubborn people of this age.  We are to make known to them the ways of the Kingdom even in the expense of name-calling and hatred.  True love does not mean giving them what they want to hear or agreeing with them while compromising God's Word.  It means having a pure motive to bring them to God through our actions.  The stakes are so high!  Tough love is often needed in  this rebellious and ungodly world.  John the Baptist didn't sugar coat God's Truth nor hugged everybody to tell people to repent from their sins for God's kingdom is at hand.  Jesus corrected and rebuked many and He didn't give people what they were eager to hear but what they needed to hear.  True love does not always translate to happy feelings and goose bumps.  Pure love, on the other hand,  always seeks and leads us to the Truth ("reality" in God's perspective). So, how should we live the example of Jesus Christ in our time?  We are to depend each waking moment to the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the ways God and as to how He would have us communicate His love to others.  We have no power on our own less we be led by Him.

For this Card, I used a rubber stamp from Stampendous called "Peacock Feathers", embossed it with clear embossing powder and fussy cut.  I did my own background design by using Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil and inked it with Distress Inks namely Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint.  I stamped some curly cues border from Fiskars and layered some Prisma flowers with a brad from Recollections at its center.  I ran it through my sewing machine for the final touch.  Quite different from my usual projects but loving it. 

 FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD

  FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD LAYERS

  FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD  INSIDE

 FAITH HOPE CHARITY CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Create with TLC---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG
Ecclectic Ellapu---ATG
Not Just Cards---New Beginnings (New Stamp used)
Paper Creator---Love is in the Air
Petal Lu---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
Your Scrapbook Place---ATG
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Crafty Addicts---ATG
Little Miss Muffet---ATG
Simon Says---The Color of Love
Simply Papercraft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Creative Ladybirds---ATG
Crafty Girls Creations---ATG
Create and Inspire---ATG


 Hope you join the fun at our WAW Challenge.  Wonderful prizes awaits our winners from Winnie and Walter ($25 GC), Crafty Individuals (15 euros GC) and the Cutting Cafe  (digis).  You can choose to incorporate the free Word Art (sentiment) you see in my card for projects you wish to make and link with us though it's not mandatory.  You can submit up to 5 projects (Anything Goes) as long as it's family friendly, inspirational or uplifting.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  Have a blessed week and find opportunities to share the hope you have in Christ by being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading.  Hugs!