Scripture/CAS Series: Be Brave Be Strong Bird Cards---Join Us for our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, everyone!  Back again for another Scripture Word Art for our bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  As usual, you are invited to link with us your inspirational  (Anything Goes) cards/projects.  Our featured Word Art this Challenge (you can download for free at the WAW site) comes from 1 Corinthians 16:13 which says, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."

Throughout the New Testament Scripture,  we were told to be watchful.  For everything in this world (with all it's fleshly, ungodly desires) could be used by the enemy to entrap/tempt  us.  This world and everything in this world  came under the ruler-ship of Satan  after Adam  (whom God gave authority over His creation) turned over his authority to Satan in an act of disobedience and betrayal (treason) in the Garden of Eden. Since then, all men were under the curse of Sin and Death and are in rebellion with God, helplessly taking the side of the enemy with no hope of freedom/deliverance.  But that changed  when Jesus Christ came to this earth for the sole purpose of redeeming mankind from their hopeless situation and take us back on track to the original plan of God when He created us.  By faith in what Jesus accomplished at the Cross (His death, burial and resurrection), He graciously freed us from our bondage with Satan and brought us back to the Kingdom of our Father in heaven.  Other than what Jesus established, there's no other way any man could be saved. Upon our acceptance of what Jesus accomplished for us (Born-again, John 3:3), we become God's representative here on earth---no longer walking in the ways of this world but following the will of our Father, written in His Word (the Bible) and by carefully following the examples of our Lord Jesus (His ministry) when He came to earth.

So, when the Lord warns us to be watchful, we are to take this instruction seriously.  Every waking moment here in this world, we are engage in a constant battle between God's Truth and the lies of the enemy.  Because we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20-21), we are always at war with the works of the enemy.  The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life have always been there to deter us from moving forward to the things of God.  Deceptive teachers/preachers in sheep's  clothing are constantly looking for those they can easily manipulate (1 John 4:1-6).  Like before,  self centered teachings delivered by false teachers distort God's Truth and aims to take souls to the path of destruction.  It conditions us to think more highly of ourselves and takes us farther away from  Jesus and His Cross.  When we decide to make somebody (other than Jesus Christ and His Word) our spiritual source of Truth and refuse to cross-examine and study their teachings against the standard of God's infallible Word, we are placing ourselves in grave danger with eternal ramifications.  Thus, it is so important that we stick to the Truth of God's Word trusting solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ (the Gospel/Good News).  We need to stand firm on this Gospel of salvation, refusing to back down at any cost.  We are to be brave in dealing with the enemies of our faith, to be strong in addressing Sin (includes all acts of sin) and offer sound solutions with the readiness and boldness that comes from the Holy Spirit, driven by God's love and compassion.  My friends, we have the power of God living inside of us---all of us who are in Christ.  When our foundation, faith and focus is established on the bedrock of the finished work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will remain in His Truth and no power of the enemy can ever take us down.  When the faith of Jesus becomes my faith, I am always victorious.  I would like to share the following Scripture to encourage you to stand firm in each day's spiritual battle:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." (Ephesians 6:10-20)
 
For this Card, I used an image from Ranger Dylusions Stamp and Stencil Set called "Holy Birds" that I colored using my Touch Five/Prismacolor markers.  The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make an A2 card.  One of the cards feature the Scripture Word Art  and the other sentiment was from Stamps Simply Clear Stamps (our sponsor for this Challenge).  I added some washi tapes from Recollections and glitters from Stickles (Diamond).  I also incorporated some stitching on this project.  The sentiment in the envelope is from Illustrated Faith Stamps.

 BE BRAVE BE STRONG BIRD CARDS

 BE BRAVE BE STRONG GREEN BIRD CARD

 BE BRAVE BE STRONG YELLOW BIRD CARD

BE BRAVE BE STRONG BIRD CARDS WITH ENVELOPES

This Project is entered into the following Challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks---Alcohol Inks
Crafting with an Attitude---ATG
Little Miss Muffet---ATG
Crafting by Designs---Encouragement
Crafty Creations---ATG
Creative Moments---ATG
Brown Sugar---All Creatures Great and Small
Colour Crazy---Coloring
Crafting with Friends---ATG
Creative Fingers---ATG
Simply Create Too---Stitching

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 each week.  Our Challenge winner will be awarded a wonderful prize from our awesome sponsor---Stamp Simply Clear Stamps.  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up as we meditate on the name of Jesus today.  There is power in His Name and it's available to everyone that believes.

CAS Series: Hugs XOXO Card Set---Join 613 Avenue Create for our Monthly Anything Goes Challenge...

Hello everyone!  I'm featuring this Card Set for this month's Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  So sorry for posting late as I've been super busy the past few days.  We would love to have you link with us your wonderful projects and share the fun of crafting the entire month of September.  As always, it's Anything Goes with an optional twist of Clean and Simple (CAS).

Yesterday, my family and I went to Six Flags (Amusement Park) to swim, eat and have fun.  Though there were some attractions that were closed, we managed to make the most of our time and enjoyed the partially cloudy weather which saved us from the usual scorching Texas heat.  Then we went for dinner in one of the park's restaurants.  We noticed the clouds turned dark and before we could even start our meal, a heavy rain started to pour. Then came thunder and lightning.  Despite all of that, we took our time to finish our meal believing that it was just a passing cloud.  That it would soon be over and we could go to the final attraction of the night---the Fireworks Show!

But it never lit up.  The rain poured heavy with no end in sight.  Convinced that the final show was canceled, we prepared ourselves to go through the severe rain to make it to my vehicle in the parking lot.  Without any umbrella, we asked the restaurant for some trash bags which we converted into ponchos and off we went.  My head, feet and legs were drenched but the rest of me stayed dry.  We walked through puddles and flooded surfaces laughing at ourselves (how we looked like with the makeshift ponchos) while surprisingly enjoying the experience.  And then, I told my hubby, "Out of all the things we did that day, the time we go through that rain was the most memorable and fun of all because it was different and out of the ordinary."  And he agreed.

So why am I sharing this?  It's because when the rain began to pour, I started praying and believing that the rain would stop in time so as not to go through it.  There were similar situations in the past when God answered my prayers---He calmed the storm, the thunder and lightning (literally) showing His faithfulness to us.  But there were also situations such as this that though He didn't stop the heavy rain from pouring, He provided us the means to go through it.  Come to think of it, He supplied the makeshift ponchos and the right spirit to tackle the situation.  It reminded me of a famous saying, "If life gives you lemons, make some lemonade."  It's evident that  I can only make wonderful lemonade out of the lemons of life when Jesus Christ is there to encourage and empower me to take the necessary steps towards faith in Him through the leading of the Holy Spirit.  That no matter what life brings, good or bad, expected or unexpected, He is my one and only Source!  So whether I'm faced with physical storms or the endless storms of life, I keep a positive attitude and gain wonderful experiences because God is always with me.  When we acknowledge the move of God in every situation, we find the joy that surpasses all understanding after every/any storm.  I would like to share this verse to encourage you in your walk with the Lord.

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.  He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.  They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind." (Psalm 107:28-31)

For this Card set, I used an image from Stampendous and colored it with my Prismacolor markers.  The sentiments are also from the same stamp set. The sentiment on the envelope is from another set of Stampedous stamps.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make an A2 size cards (4.25 x 5.5 inches).  I also made the coordinating envelopes using my Envelope Punch Board from We R Memory Keepers.  I love the result since our Challenge optional twist is Clean and Simple (CAS).  It's as simple as it can be.

 HUGS XOXO CARD SET

 HUGS XOXO CARD SET 1

HUGS XOXO CARD SET 2

This Card Set is entered into the following Challenges:

Time-out---Inspired by Words
2 Crafty Critter---Add a Critter
A2Z---CAS
A Bit More Time---ATG
A Perfect Time---ATG
Classic DT---ATG
Craft Galore---ATG
Crafty Animals---ATG with Animal
Crafty Girls---ATG
Color It---ATG
Digistamps4Joy---ATG/Flower Frenzy
DL Art---ATG
Eclectic Ellapu---ATG
HLS---CAS
Love to Craft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Morgan's ArtWorld---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Papercraft Business---ATG/Thankful
Paru's Cardmaking---ATG
Sunny Day Crafting---ATG with Animal
Creative Crafters---ATG
Worldwide Open DT---ATG
YSP---ATG


There you have it, folks!  Don't miss the opportunity to join our Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create.  Can't wait to see what fabulous projects you're going to link with us.  I hope you have a great week and know that through faith in what Jesus accomplished at the Cross, we have complete victory over the works and schemes of the enemy!  Let us share this hope to countless others in the world.