Scripture Series: Work of Thy Hand Card---Join the Fun in our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello friends!  I'm here to highlight another wonderful Scripture Word Art for our bi-weekly Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  We are re-using a Scripture Word Art that we originally shared on October, 2014 and you can download it for free at WAW in case you don't have it in your collection.  It comes from Isaiah 64:8 which says, "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."

In today's world, we can see the evidence of ungodliness in everything we are exposed to---in every facet/aspect of our society.  With media and entertainment playing a central role in shaping the minds of our generation, anyone who are adept to the Word of God and are spiritually discerning would agree that there's a systematic attack happening around us to turn the minds of many towards total rebellion and ungodliness.  I tell you, though there are hundreds of movies and programs to choose from our TV subscription, I couldn't find any clean, inspirational,  wholesome entertainment for my family to enjoy.  Almost everything emphasizes  on profanity, violence and sex.  When I go online for local and global news, the ones front and center are from liberal and fake news stations that no longer engaged in actual facts but are devoted to a demonic agenda that divides, rebels and destroy the very things that made this country great.  Why is this so?  Because many of the powers, businesses and corporations had been bought by the puppets of Satan aiming to deceive those who are unsuspecting.  Let us remember that Satan is the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and in these last days, he is working overtime to deceive those who are not grounded in the Word of God.  

Friends, what is presented to us daily (global or local scenario) does not usually reflect the true evil agenda these people have for our country and the world.  Nations without borders/walls, gender confusion, racial tension/division, rebellion from authority/God, destruction of life in the womb are just few examples of issues we engaged with passionately these days.  But many of those out there (some even profess to be Christians) are oblivious to the real agenda in the core of all of them.  These satanic worshipers wants total control of this world to set it up for the reign of the anti-Christ.  Why do you think "America First" and Nationalism/Patriotism is radically hated nowadays?  Why is there an all-out condemnation for the traditional structure of the family?   Folks, ask God to open your spiritual eyes and ears!  Those of the world will continue to be deceived where we can no longer rationalize their behavior.  But if you are a child of God, you need to repent and acknowledge the degree of deception you are in and go back to the firm foundation of the Word of God!  Truth be told, God does not respond to our emotions---He responds to His Word.  Like Isaiah did in our highlighted verse along with the entire chapter of Isaiah 64, he acknowledged the power and glory of God and that our sins made us so unclean that we couldn't approach Him.  He pleaded for God's mercy and compassion for His people reminding Him of the humanity He created (as Potter molds the clay) and the favor He showed to them in the past.  I am so grateful to live in this dispensation of time called the "Age of Grace" when anyone who humbly comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (placing their trust in His finished work at the Cross) are no longer bound by the Sin of Adam but are set free and washed clean by the blood of the Lamb/Christ.  Therefore, I can come to the throne of my Father in heaven and ask for anything in accordance to His Word and receive favor in His sight. 

For this Card, I used an image from Stampin' Up.  I stamped the image several times. colored them with my Touch Five/Prismacolor markers and fuzzy-cut each one of them.  I used a coordinating Distress Ink color to provide the background for each butterfly using a stencil from Dylusions.  I added a bit of glitters (Stickles-Crystal) for sparkle in each butterfly.  Lastly, I ran it through my sewing machine for some fancy stitching.  I love it!

 WORK OF THY HAND CARD

 WORK OF THY HAND CARD LAYERS

 WORK OF THY HAND CARD SIDE VIEW

WORK OF THY HAND CARD INSIDE

WORK OF THY HAND CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Aud Sentiments---ATG with Sentiment
Cardz 4 Galz---Summer Sunny Days
CRAFT---Summer
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Country View---The Written Word
Crafteezee---Summer
Craft Galore Encore---ATG
Crafty Animals---ATG with Critters
Crafty Girls---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG/Flowers
Create and Inspire---ATG
Creative Craft Cottage---ATG
Creative Sketchy Girls---Summer Card
Digistamps4Joy---ATG/Men in your life
DL Art---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Fabrika Fantasy---Animals
HLS---CAS
Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Punch It
Lost Coast---Round and Round
Love to Craft---ATG
Morgan's---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Papercraft Business---ATG/Use Oldest Paper
Scribbles Designs---ATG
Sweet Stampers---Animals
Creative Crafters---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---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 sponsors for this week are Stamp Simply Store (item from their store) and Imagine That (digi images). So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the wisdom of the Lord guide you daily.   

Scripture Series: Blessed is the Man Adventure Card---Join Us for Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, friends!  It's time for another bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  Today, we are re-using a Scripture Word Art we originally shared on March, 2015 and you can download it for free at WAW in case you don't have it in your collection.  It comes from Psalm 1:1 which says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

Psalm 1 is a very short Bible chapter comprising of just six verses but it will help us understand where true blessedness (condition or state of being in God's grace or favor) comes from.  Psalm 1:2 tells us, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night." Our obedience to the will and purpose of God which He revealed to us in the Scripture is what brings true happiness not only in this world but in the eternal life ahead.  Let us remember that our earthly life is just a temporary/training ground for the true life God prepared for us in His presence.  If we lived selfishly like Godless people here on earth, we would go into eternity without the presence and goodness of God.  Where God is not present, there's torment and evil continuously.  I would like to impart what my Life Application Bible shared regarding Psalm 1:1-2  that truly blessed me.  It says, "The writer begins his psalm with extolling the joys of obeying God and refusing to listen to those who discredit or ridicule Him.  Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us often in very subtle ways.  If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God's will.  This attitude is the same as mocking.  Do your friends build up your faith, or do they tear it down? True friends should help you draw closer to God, not hinder your relationship with Him.  God doesn't judge people on the basis of race, sex or national origin.  He judges them on the basis of their faith in Him and their response to His revealed will.  Those who diligently try to obey God's will are blessed.  Their happy condition is like healthy, fruit bearing trees with strong roots (Jeremiah 17:5-8), and God promises to watch over them. God's wisdom guides their lives.  In contrast, those who don't trust and obey God  have meaningless lives that blow away like dust.  Only two paths of life lay before us---God's way of obedience or the way of rebellion and destruction.  Be sure to choose God's path because the path you choose determines how you will spend  eternity.  You can learn how to follow God by meditating on His Word.  Meditating means spending time reading and thinking about what you have read.  It means asking yourself how you should change so you will live as God wants.  Knowing and meditating on God's Word are the first steps toward applying it to your everyday life.  If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what He says.  The "law of the Lord" means all Scripture: the first five books of Moses, the Prophets and the other writings.  The more we know of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions.  

I hope you are aware of the daily dose of poison being administered to us by way of media and entertainment.  I may not spend a whole lot of time browsing the web than an average person nowadays but every time I'm on it, I am shocked/saddened by the dominance of fake news and negativity that aims to pervert and twist our minds farther away from the Truth of God.  Though the world is full of God's wonderful goodness manifested by those who fear and trust Him, they don't make it to the mainstream news for many to watch nor hear.  Instead,  popular headlines are geared towards dividing people, destruction of lives and endless mockery of God made possible and paid for by the ungodly.  These days, movies, TV shows and even commercials make it cool to be an irresponsible individual by destroying the Godly father image and replacing it with perverted images of fatherhood/manhood.  They make homosexuality and gender dysphoria a normal part of our society, making them more and more exposed in movies and entertainment programs.  They have mocked God and called evil good and good evil.  Honestly, as a follower of Jesus Christ (Born-again, John 3:3),  I cannot put my (spiritual) guard down when it comes to issues I come across with daily.  I have to purposely shut the world down and make a decision to learn God's Word in order to flush all the spiritual poison forced upon us every minute of everyday.  As believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot find happiness/blessedness in the things this world offers.  Whether we are rich in material blessings or lacking thereof, true blessedness can only be experienced when we are obedient to God's will and purpose.  In our obedience, we are at peace with God and are  living a life led by the Holy Spirit.  True happiness is only possible when we have Almighty God living inside of us.  Though storms may come in different directions, our blessedness is not defined by our condition (ups and downs of life) but is rooted in the position of righteousness His very presence in us secured.  Oh the goodness of God through Jesus Christ and the Cross! In Him, I am eternally grateful and blessed!

For this Card, I used images called "Country Walk" and "Adventure Dad" from Make It Crafty Digital Stamps.  I colored both with my Prismacolor/Touch Five markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I added a bit of Glossy accents (from Inkssentials) on the binoculars and three brads from Recollections.  The sentiment inside is by Momenta Clear Stamps.  Lastly, I stitched all over this project.  The simple lay-out highlighted the beauty of the digi stamps along with our Scripture Word Art today.  I love it!

 BLESSED IS THE MAN ADVENTURE CARD

 BLESSED IS THE MAN ADVENTURE CARD LAYERS

 BLESSED IS THE MAN ADVENTURE CARD INSIDE

BLESSED IS THE MAN ADVENTURE CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafty Gals---Summer Colors
House that Stamps Built---Summer Vacation
Ellibelle's---Masculine
Inspiration Destination---ATG/Use Real Stamp
Crafty Addicts---ATG/Flowers
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Country View---The Written Word
Crafts Galore---ATG
Crafty Girls---ATG
Creatalicious---ATG/Photo Inspiration
Daisy Chain---For Boys/Men
Digistamps4Joy---For the Man in your Life
Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Punch It
Love to Craft---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
MIUCB---ATG/Smooshing
Morgan's---ATG
Color It---ATG/Guys
Paru's---Masculine
Scribbles---Masculine
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 is  Lawn Fawn, giving away a $25 GC.  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the joy of the Lord overtake you today.  If you are trusting in Jesus, you are blessed beyond measure.

Fun/Humor Series: Go Together Double Slider Card---Join us for our June Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create...

Hello there, Crafty Peeps!  It's been a while since my last post.  I kept myself busy with Crochet (Yay, finished several projects!) and reviewing for my Bible class finals that went very well several days ago. Anyway, we started our Monthly (Anything Goes) Challenge at 613 Avenue Create with an optional twist, "Use Buttons and Bows." yesterday.  For my card  inspiration today,  I went for Anything Goes. 

The past several months, I've studied Homiletics which is the science and art of preparing sermons and preaching it.  Some people think that this study only benefits those who are called to be preachers.  While it is essential for preachers, I find the course very useful for anyone who shares the Word of God.  Every believer whom Jesus entrusted with the Great Commission, that is to preach the Gospel (death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ), will find this course beneficial.  I would like to highlight  what Gotquestions.org shared regarding Homiletics.  It says, "The term homiletics comes from the word homily, which basically means “a sermon.” Those who study homiletics seek to improve their skill at communicating the gospel and other biblical topics. The discipline of homiletics falls under the umbrella of pastoral or practical theology.  Preaching and, therefore, homiletics have always been associated with the pastor of a church. A pastor is sometimes referred to as the “preaching elder,” based on 1 Timothy 5:17. However, a study of homiletics can be beneficial to anyone who teaches the Word of God. Historically, homiletics has integrated biblical teaching and rhetoric (the art of speaking persuasively or for effect). However, theologian Karl Barth insisted that preaching has a different purpose from rhetoric; preaching does not rely on stylistic devices or tools of persuasion, so homiletic and rhetorical studies must be separate.  Paul described his preaching as “not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). Many take this to be Paul’s preference for plain, non-rhetorical discourse. However, there is no command against rhetoric in preaching.  Paul himself waxed eloquent when it seemed the best way to communicate the truth, especially when he spoke at the Areopagus, the center of intellectual discussion in Athens, Greece (Acts 17). And Paul used rhetorical questions, asking, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14). Apollos was known for his excellence in speaking and persuasive words (Acts 18:24, 28).   Applying the tools of rhetoric and a deep knowledge of the Bible are helpful to biblical preaching. Someone called to preach would do well “to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6), and homiletics is useful in that pursuit. It is a worthy study, but, at the same time, we must not forget that God can work through anyone, with or without formal training, to communicate Christ in everyday situations.

I am so grateful for the opportunity God gave me to go deeper in the study and communication of His Word.  Gone were the days when I would pick passage/s in the Bible and share them without checking out the context of that passage/s.  It makes a lot of sense when we receive a letter or a document that we read the content of the letter in its entirety.  Reading just parts of it would cause us to miss vital information that could be beneficial to us.  Say for example, we received an invitation to a friend's Birthday party.  Apart from knowing whose birthday and when it's going to be, we also need to know where it would take place plus crucial information (mentioned in the invitation) that would prepare us for the event.  So, why would it be any different when it comes to telling people about the things of God?  Many people perish (spiritually) because they don't bother to study and prove the "so-called truths" that were handed to them.  Countless times I heard people saying, "I'll die for what I believe in."  The question is:  "Are you absolutely sure about the truth you claim to believe?"  It's sad but many of these people could not even explain why they believe what they believe.  You see, we heard of the many believers who were martyred for the sake of the Gospel.  All the apostles of Jesus Christ except for John (died of old age in Patmos) and Judas Iscariot (committed suicide) died violent deaths for the sake of their faith in Jesus Christ.  And today, Christian persecution happens all over the world.   If we are to give our lives to the Truth we hold so dearly, we owe it to ourselves to be absolutely knowledgeable and sure about that Truth.  

What makes me sad nowadays are the Christians who have long been attending Church and heard of many wonderful teachings from sound teachers of the Word yet are acting like those of the world. They may appear perfect in conduct yet they tackle personal and outside circumstances/issues at face value (how they appear) with lack of discernment/understanding on the spiritual origin, objective and goal of the enemy (Satan) hidden and in disguise in the many issues of life.  We need to remember that everything that happens in this world have a spiritual significance.  The Holy Scripture reveals to us God's plan and purpose (past present and future) for His creation.  As members of  the Body of Christ (Born-again, John 3:3), we are to operate in accordance to the prophetic time line of God which He revealed to us in His Word.  Goes does not work things randomly!  He is always working in accordance to His plan.  How are we going to know His plan if we don't intentionally seek His Word?  When are we going to mature spiritually?   For we were once babies in the faith.  But babies grow and turn into adults.  From milk, we are now capable of chewing solids---the meat of the Word of God.  God provides us His full armor  and has equipped us with His power through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to destroy all the works of the enemy.  So my plea to all of my brothers and sisters in the faith, study the Word of God intentionally.  Never ever take any preacher's teaching (no matter how famous they are) without examining their teachings through the infallible Word of God.  With great understanding, we can effectively share the Gospel as the Salt and Light of the world that God intended us to be.  I would like to encourage you with the following passages:

"Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you learned them. From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work."  (2 Timothy 3:12-17)


For this Card, I used an image from Art Impressions Stamp from Golden Oldies Collection called "Bikers."  I watercolored the image using my Stabilo 68 markers.  The base is Kraft CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from Recollections, the white nail head gems from Imaginisce and the Washi tape from Recollections.  I also did some fancy and regular stitching in most of the panels in this card.  This is the second time I made a Double Slider card and though I find it really tricky remembering how I did it the first time, I'm always happy with the result.  Here's the VIDEO tutorial that inspired me.

GO TOGETHER DOUBLE SLIDER CARD

GO TOGETHER DOUBLE SLIDER CARD LAYERS

 GO TOGETHER DOUBLE SLIDER CARD WHEN TAB IS PULLED

 GO TOGETHER DOUBLE SLIDER CARD INSIDE

GO TOGETHER DOUBLE SLIDER CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Art Impressions---Door Openings
A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG
A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Country View---The Written Word
Crafts Galore---ATG
Crafty Girls---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Creatalicious---ATG/Photo Inspiration
Create with TLC---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
MIUCB---ATG/Smooshing
Morgan's---ATG
Color It---ATG/Guys
YSP---ATG


There you have it, folks!  Don't miss the fun by joining our Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.   Can't wait to see what fabulous projects you're going to highlight this week. Realize that when you hunger and thirst for God, He will always fill you up with great understanding that you can effectively communicate with others.