Scripture Series: He Counted Me Faithful Card---Get Creative and Link Your Inspirational/ Anything Goes Projects at our Word Art Wednesday Challenge!

Hello everyone. Back again to highlight another card I made for our bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  As always, it is Anything Goes as long as it's inspirational.  We are also incorporating a Scripture Word Art (all the DT's used) you can download for free at the WAW site.  It comes from 1 Timothy 1:12 which says, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry."

We are living in the times where deception is rampant in our society.  How do we spot deception?  When people use their knowledge, experiences and way of thinking to rationalize and support an issue that goes against God's Word.  I can site many examples but will focus on one for the sake of time.  One prominent example in our day is the case of Sodomy (Homosexuality) in our nation denying it as a "SIN."  We have many prominent so-called "preachers" making money and filling their stadiums perverting the Word of God (false teachings).  Well known politicians and powerful personalities have polluted the minds of the weak by ranking homosexuality among the protected clause along with race, color or nationality.   As a babies in our mother's womb, we don't have an input which country to be born from---much less the color of our skin. Furthermore, God's Word tells us in Genesis 1:27, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."  We are one or the other based on the biological make-up our Creator assigned for us.  Homosexuality on the other hand is something a man/woman could struggle with after he/she is born and growing up.  Like any other sin, it is a product of the Sin Nature (originated and implanted in us by Lucifer after the Fall of Man that causes us to hate and rebel against God).  No doubt each one of us are affected by the quality of the upbringing we encounter in life and the worldly influences we expose ourselves into.  Abuse (verbal, physical or sexual) as well as the lack of strong and Godly parenting/leadership accounts to most of the struggles we see and hear.  Many homosexuals responded and surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus.  They turned away from homosexuality and are now fulfilling God's purpose in their lives.  However, we don't see/hear their testimonies on a worldwide platform because they are persecuted, threatened and suppressed by a demonic (leftist) agenda.  This evil group of deceived individuals don't want people to hear the truth---that homosexuality is a sin and the One and Only cure is JESUS!  Their strategy?  They use God's love (out of context/perverted) to silence God's people.   The truth of the matter is, God's love (Agape) doesn't rejoice in anyone dwelling in Sin for Sin eternally separates us from God's very presence.  This is why Jesus died on the Cross.  That in His sacrifice, we can be free to be with Him forever.  

I guess my question is:  How many times did somebody (really deceived) intimidate you from sharing the Truth of God's Word using (in their defense) Matthew 7:1 which says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."?  Did they succeed?  I hope not!  But if so, you have to go back to your study table, wipe the dust off your Bible, and seek the Truth of God's Word.  Why?  Because you need to know the basics of your faith in order to effectively share with others their need for salvation.  Our response to their false argument?  Because when we came to know the Lord, we acknowledged all of our sins.  We asked for forgiveness and confessed Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  His finished work at the Cross (death, burial and resurrection) washed us clean, justified (made us right in His Sight) and sanctified us (set us apart for His purpose) and gave us the power to proclaim the Gospel to people who are without hope.  Remembering that we were once slaves to the Sin Nature but are now in Christ.  Sure none of us is perfect (yet) but we are no longer slaves to the will of the enemy.  We now have a choice to say "No" to Sin and "Yes" to God.  Jesus told us in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  By acknowledging our sins and surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ,  we essentially removed the plank in our own eyes first which enabled us to see the speck of sawdust in our brother's eye.  We obeyed God's Word by virtue of our relationship with Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit inside of us.  Hence, we are qualified Ambassadors of God to this dying world.  

You see, God brought us out from our slavery to Sin to be a part of the Church (Ekklesia---The Called Out Ones).  Many of us came from horrible backgrounds and have committed heinous crimes.  Whatever God saved us from the past along with our daily battles and victories, we are to use our individual testimony to proclaim the hope we have in Christ.  No believer is exempted from this.  Someone out there will benefit from our redemptive story.  I am truly grateful to the Lord for using me in His ministry (service) in big and small ways.  I would like to share something I read in my Life Application Bible that would encourage us to be grateful and faithful to the ministry God entrusted to us.  It says, "Paul was not nearly as interested in creating an image as he was in being an example.  He did not hesitate to share his past, because he knew his failures would allow others to have hope.  At times we hesitate to share our past struggles with others because we are afraid it will tarnish our image.  Paul demonstrated that lowering our guard can be an important step in communicating the gospel.  People will not believe the gospel is important if they can't see that it is crucial in their life.  How has Christ shown patience with you?  Did He stayed with you when you doubted and rebelled?  Did He remain faithful when you ignored His prior claim on your life?  Did He love you when you disregarded His Word and His Church?  Remember that His patience is unlimited for those who love Him.  Don't be afraid to let others know what God has done for you."

For this Card, I used an image from Tiddly Inks called "Lily Bean - Cup of Love" which I colored using my Touch Five/Prismacolor markers and paper -pieced with DP's from my scraps.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5  inches square card.  I created the border using an MS Punch, added some glitters (Stickles-Crystal) as well as white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  And finally, I stitched all over this card.  Simply beautiful.

HE COUNTED ME FAITHFUL CARD

 HE COUNTED ME FAITHFUL CARD LAYERS

HE COUNTED ME FAITHFUL CARD INSIDE

HE COUNTED ME FAITHFUL CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafty Creations---ATG
Crafty Gals---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG
House that Stamps Built---ATG
Inspiration Destination---ATG
Pause Dream Enjoy---ATG
Simon Says---ATG
Sisterhood of Crafters---Spots
Wonderful Wednesday---ATG
4 Crafty Chicks---Polka Dots
As You Like It---People or Animal (I prefer people as they give more life to my Scripture Cards)
Little Miss Muffet---ATG
Artistic Inspirations---ATG
Color Inspiration Monthly---ATG
Crafting from the Heart---ATG
Pammie's Inky---ATG
Scrapbook Stamp Society---ATG
Paper Nest Dolls---ATG
Snowflakes Promise---ATG
Crafty Sentiments---ATG
Creates and Makes---ATG
Digi Choosday---ATG
Lemon Shortbread---ATG
Retarte---ATG
TTCRD---ATG

Hope you enjoyed my featured project today at WAW...I am looking forward to see your projects linked to our Challenge.  You can include the free Word Art in your projects to link,  but not a requirement.  You can submit any inspirational, uplifting, family friendly creations (up to 5 each week) for more chances to win our prize from our sponsors this week---Craftin' Desert Divas (Sequins) and All Dressed Up Stamps (Digi Stamps). Everything we hear and see should always be brought to the approval and/or correction of the infallible Word of God.  This is the only way we can be sane in this insane world. 

Scripture Series: Remembering Without Ceasing Card---Join Us for Another Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, friends!  Just want to invite you to join us at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) for another Inspirational Challenge.  As always, we are featuring a Scripture Word Art that you can download for free at the WAW site and while there, view all the wonderful cards/projects the DT's made using the featured Scripture.  Our highlighted Word today comes from  1 Thessalonians 1:3 which tells us, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."  

Like the Thessalonians who encountered persecution because of their new found faith in the Lord, Christians in today's generation find ourselves under intense persecution daily.  Apostle Paul had great concerns for the new believers in Thessalonica.  After all,  the first Christian church was established in that city on Paul's first missionary journey.  Paul could have stayed longer but he didn't get the chance to disciple them because his/their lives were in danger (Acts 17:1-10).  In his mind, these vulnerable new believers were left to face the pressure of having to defend what they now believe without adequate understanding against those who seek to destroy them. So at his earliest opportunity, he sent Timothy to check on the spiritual status of the new believers in Thessalonica.  I can just feel the joy in the heart of Apostle Paul when he heard from Timothy how these new believers remained firm and united in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of their difficult and dangerous situation.  Not having the chance to visit them personally, Paul wrote letters (epistles) to the Thessalonians to commend, encourage, strengthen their faith and to answer many other questions they had.  And we find his first and second letter to them in the Bible under 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.  

So, back to our featured Scripture Word Art where Apostle Paul expressed his gratefulness to God and eagerness to pray for these new believers,  he spoke highly and mentioned three things pertaining to them in his opening statement.  First, he commended their work of faith.  You see, faith is our only connection to God in this world.  The Bible clearly states in Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  Without faith, man depend solely on his five senses which makes him blind to the things of God.  John 4:23-24 says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."  It could have been hard for these baby Christians to explain their new found faith with such limited understanding of the meaning of the Gospel.  But with the little they had, they saw far more than what their physical eyes could see. They connected with God through faith.  

Secondly,  Paul acknowledged their labor of love.  In times of trial and persecution, it would have been easy to mind our own business---away from trouble by being silent and going with the flow.  The less people know about our faith in Jesus Christ, the less aggression, insult and name calling we'd have to endure.  But the Thessalonian believers found in Christ a treasure that is worth more than gold in this present life.  It's a life changing Truth where they experienced the presence of God like no other.  1 John 4:16 tells us, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."  We also learned God's kind of love in John 15:12-13 which says, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."  I believe many of these 1st century Born-again (John 3:3) believers had to share the Truth, even risking their lives, out of love for those that would otherwise perish without knowing Jesus Christ.  I could see them carrying each other's burden and helping one another not just physically/materially but also spiritually.  

Thirdly,  Paul spoke highly of their patience of hope in Jesus Christ. Here, I would like to share what I read from my Life Application Bible about the hope of our faith in Jesus Christ.  Here's what it says:  "All of us should respond to the Good News (Gospel) as the Thessalonians did: turn to God, serve God, and wait for His Son, Christ to return from heaven.  We should turn from sin to God because Christ is coming to judge the earth.  We should be fervent in our service because we have little time before Christ returns.  We should be prepared for Christ to return because we don't know when he will come.  Paul emphasized Christ's second coming throughout the Book of Thessalonians.  Because the Thessalonian church was being persecuted, Paul encouraged them to look forward to the deliverance that Christ would bring.  A believer's hope is in the return or Jesus, our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13).  Our perspective on life remains incomplete without this hope.  Just as surely as Christ was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, He will return (Acts 1:11).  

What a blessing to know how the early Christians held on to their faith and hope in Jesus Christ and didn't use persecution as an excuse to spread the love of God to others.  I submit to you that we are to live our lives today with the inspiration, passion and encouragement that the early believers demonstrated.  What a glorious day it would be to meet our Lord and our forefathers in the faith as we celebrate the righteous reign of Christ and rule with Him in the very near future.  Are you ready?

For this Card, I used an image from Stamping Bella called "Forever my Always" which I colored with my Touch Five/Prismacolor markers with some paper-piecing.  I stamped the cute heart in the image from Stampin' Up.  The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from Paper Studio.  I utilized my new Lawn Fawn Dies (Stitched Hillside Borders) to create the background.   I included some butterflies from Recollections that I glittered with Stickles (Gold) and added some Liquid Pearls (Platinum Pearl) from Ranger.  Finally, I did a fancy stitch all over the Card with my sewing machine.

REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING CARD

 REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING CARD LAYERS

REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING CARD SIDE VIEW

 REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING CARD INSIDE

REMEMBERING WITHOUT CEASING CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Inky Mess---ATG
Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Create with TLC---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Connie Can Crop---To Die For
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Girls Creations---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Create and Inspire---ATG
Creative Ladybirds---ATG
Cute as a Button---ATG
DL Art---ATG
HLS---ATG with Dies
Let's Craft and Create---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
YSP---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 submit up to 5 entries per week.  Our wonderful sponsor for this week Simon Says Stamp ($25 GC). 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.

Fun Tag Birthday Invitations---Join Us for our Monthly Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello everybody!  I'm here to feature the project I highlighted for our Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  Anyway, I've been away for some much needed vacation for the entire month of September.  We had a great time celebrating my boy and mine's Birthdays.  Today. I am still catching up with all the things I needed done in those days.  That is why this post is coming out so late and I truly apologize.  So grateful to the Lord Jesus for another year of blessings in all aspects of my life. 

God had been so good and gracious to us, Americans!  Despite the disrespect for God and country that we've seen more evidently the past few years, He still hears the cry of those who call and trust in His Name.  We are not exempted from natural disasters and devastation but those who rely upon Him could attest to the faithfulness of the Lord in the midst of trials.  Those who have Jesus Christ in their hearts (Born-again, John 3:3) find light even in the blackest of night.  We call this HOPE!  To know that there is a God who love and care for us; that has a plan for every moment of our lives (even through impossibilities); gives us peace and joy even in the midst of pain and suffering.  But those who trust in themselves or other men would soon learn the hard lesson that they are limited and powerless to produce peace and joy in very bad situations.  Because they don't want to admit they are wrong in trusting in their own abilities, they resort to blaming others and make up this web of lies to not only exempt themselves from accountability but to also poison those who are weak in spirit to participate in their rebellious agenda.

Everyday here in our country, we see a systematic attack on our government and our leader.  They (Media, Entertainment, Politicians) cannot do anything to rid of him so quickly so they device a plan to create scenarios, lie about facts and get the wealthy and famous to represent their demonic agenda to influence uninformed masses.  They use causes that caters to people's emotions and add their toxic poison (twisted Truth) to make it appear like it's the real deal.  Current examples of this is Racism (claiming Police Brutality to Blacks)  vs. The Flag, the Anthem (Patriotism/Love for God and country) and the POTUS.  Underneath the surface of all the terrible acting of the participants, what the true demonic agenda is to use Race (something many are sensitive about citing the Civil rights movement) to rid us of Reverence for our Country which gives birth to disrespect of our Laws and the men and women who carry out the law.  If we don't have respect for our country, we will not care who comes in and out of it---hence, open borders for their One World Agenda.  Another example is the use of catastrophic events (hurricanes, floodings, etc) capitalizing on  people's suffering vs. The POTUS.  They make people think/believe they have Superman or a God for President.  But the Truth is, the perpetrators hates our President so much that they discredit all of his efforts by purposely sabotaging, not telling everyone about it or deliberately lying about it. You see, I lived my life for 31 years in the Philippines and catastrophic events are not foreign to me.  I lived in a home that floods with hard (during typhoons) to very little rain (when they released water from the Dam).  This happens all year long with as many as once or twice a month.  We don't have the luxury of having hot or canned meals/food rationed by local/national government. No relocation sites nor financial help to rebuild our homes.  Most of the time, it's people helping other people there.  We don't really know how blessed we are in this country that we keep complaining about things we suffer from momentarily instead of being thankful for all the blessings we received all of our lives.  Instead of calling unto the Lord, we call on men to answer our every needs.  It's hard to ignore the examples of the Israelites while in the wilderness when they were freed by God from captivity in Egypt.  With all the injustice they endured and seeing the hand of God preserved them (cloud by day and fire by night), they complained about the littlest thing they can find to mock the Almighty who brought them out of slavery.  End result, they all died in the wilderness without seeing the Promised Land.  Read HERE for more.

Thirdly and the most recent is the use of the heinous Mass Murders  vs.  the 2nd Amendment Right (The Right to Bear Arms).  I unite with many in this nation in condemning the senseless killings that  happened in Las Vegas.  I'm praying for the Holy Spirit of God to comfort all that lost their love ones in this despicable display of  evil.  On the other hand, is it ironic that every time somebody goes crazy and kills innocent people, the guns are always under attack?  According to them, it's the guns that is responsible for the killings with very little emphasis on the lunacy of them that fired them.  The last time I checked, I haven't heard of a gun that took the elevator, positioned itself on a window and fired itself without anyone pulling the trigger.  On its own,  it didn't have eyes to target people nor the feet and hand to move itself.  A man who lived a pretty normal life suddenly snapped (for reason he only knew) and used the guns to commit a heinous crime.  What's so curious to me is that these people opposing the 2nd Amendment never cite the great things that those who carry guns responsibly has done to stop many crimes that would have easily turned into a massacre. Read HERE for many examples.  Weighing all the facts and the lies, I conclude that it is a demonic agenda.  How easy would it be to take over a country when the citizens don't have a way of defending themselves?  Remember their goal?---ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT which the Bible warned us to be governed by no other than the ANTI-CHRIST.  My point in all of these is that the guns or any weapon does not load themselves and kill people. It is the people that somehow snaps and take weapons with the intent of using them to destroy others. If we disarm everyone and leave the weapons to the authorities, how sure are we that they will not snap and go crazy at one point? My friends, as long as there are human beings in this world without reverence for God and view themselves as their own gods, problems will persist. Even Cain killed Abel with a stone. Take away every weapon that can be used by man, the evil intent in a man's heart can still find a way to harm others. So, for me, instead of taking weapons which can also do good in the hands of God-fearing, responsible individuals, I pray that people would find God and have a change of heart and mind by taking in Godly thoughts (renewing of the mind). Accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and upholding God's Truth. That is the core solution to all of man's madness.

These are just some of the things we are facing in our country today.  Daily, I pray for our President, our government, our country and the people of God (Church/The Body of Christ) to rise up and fight for what is right and true.  I pray that we search/study the Scripture and refuse to act solely based on our emotions.  I have one person unfriend me at FB recently just because I (politely) said something contradicting what she believes in the Puerto Rico hurricane response. Her insulting response caught me by surprise for I thought this individual has a deep understanding of God's Word, meek and slow to anger based on past observation/conversation.  I had so much respect for her and she may still have all of that in her but she allowed her emotion to take over and decided she don't want to hear more after just a couple of comments/response from me.  It truly saddened me but I also understand that in the last days, things like this are bound to happen as many would not care to hear anything that would offend them.  You have to be perfectly on their side of the argument/rhetoric otherwise, you are not their friend.  I follow a simple rule in friendship---"We may disagree  on many things but as long as both of us can engage in a respectful conversation and not resorting to name calling or cursing each other, we can continue to be friends."  I don't think it's too much to ask.  Anyway, in these days where wisdom (knowing the right thing to do at a given time/situation) and discernment (the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong) is uncommon, we have to rely on the Scripture to guide us in pursuing wisdom before we act on situations.  I would like to share some of these verses to you...

"Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin."  (Proverbs 13:3) 

"Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." (Proverbs 18:2)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."  (James 1:5)

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17)

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."  (Matthew 7:24-25)

For this Birthday invites, I used an image from Mo Manning Digi Stamps called "Summer Boy."  I attached the details to the panel adhered to the envelope and used my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Notcher to seal the envelopes.   I used several colored 12 x 12 CS, each divided into four squares to produce the envelopes that measures 3.25 x 4.25 inches when closed.   The envelopes were created using my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board on a 3 x 4 card size setting.  I absolutely love it as it made it fun to make each of the envelopes.  I also incorporated some washi tape and stapler to decorate the tag.  The tag sentiment is from Inkadinkado and the envelope sentiment is from Recollections.

FUN TAG INSERT

FUN TAG BIRTHDAY INVITATIONS

FUN TAG BIRTHDAY INVITATION ENVELOPES

This Project is entered into the following Challenges:

Inky Mess---ATG
Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Crafts Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Girls Creations---ATG
Creative Ladybirds---ATG
Cute as a Button---ATG
DL Art---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG
YSP---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 all our  lovely sponsors.  Can't wait to see what fabulous projects you're going to highlight.  I hope you have a wonderful week filled with the divine inspiration of God's Word and be able to share the Hope you have in you to bring light to the dark places in your sphere of influence.  Would love to hear your comments too.   Hugs!