Scripture Series: Thy Mother Shall Be Glad Card---Join us in our Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi Crafty peeps!  So sorry for the  late posting.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, EVERYONE!  As always. we have an Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge that started a few days ago at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) featuring a great Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site).  Our highlighted verse is an encouragement to all mothers out there.  It comes from Proverbs 23:25 which says, "Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice."

God purposely placed us under the care of our parents in order to guide us to the right path.  Our parents also experienced childhood and the things they learned along the way became the basis on how they train their kids when they go through similar circumstances.  But we know that parenting is not as easy especially when we find ourselves in situations we haven't even encountered in life.  We may have wonderful parents but turn out rebellious in our ways.  Or we may have grown in a dysfunctional and abusive family that twisted and perverted our minds to the truth which impacted our lives in the worst way.  That kind of upbringing will be detrimental when passed on to our children.  And what if  we don't grow up in the ways of God or had never been exposed to the knowledge and fear of the Lord?  We are aware of many stories of children brought up in a Godly household but end up going their own ways, mocking and despising God with their words and actions.  But we also heard of the stories of those who came to Jesus, after they exposed themselves to destruction, and found new hope in the Lord.  They are the ones that opened their hearts to Jesus Christ and under the loving guidance of their parents or even other people (who took them under their care) made a complete turn to a Godly, productive and meaningful way of life.

As I am writing this post, God emphasized to me five words when it comes to parenting. These are acceptance, repentance, discipline, patience and love.  Whether we grew up from a Godly or dysfunctional family, we need to accept that our upbringing has profound effect on our choices and the direction of our lives  that can easily be passed on to our children.  Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." God wants us to bring up our children in accordance to His Word.  But even when we brought up our kids using Godly principles, they still have a mind of their own that they have to contend with.  They too have to decide between right from wrong and harvest the fruit of their choices. We are to identify our wrong doings based on the Word of God and repent from them.  Repentance is when we look back at the mistakes we made and confess them to the Lord Jesus.  The most common perversion today is believing that God loves you so much that He's okay with whatever you want to do with your life.  Yes, Jesus defied the status quo of His time by hanging out with the "sinners" but by no means approved of their Sin (Sin Nature and all its by-products).  Instead, He forgave them (after they acknowledge their transgressions) and told them to SIN NO MORE. That meant a 180 degrees turn from their old way of life.  Jesus paid all of mankind's Sin at the Cross of Calvary but in order for us to benefit from what He accomplished on our behalf, we have to put our complete faith (trust) in Him.  When we do that, we are acknowledging that we are in Him when He went to the Cross and died. We are in Him when He was buried and also in Him when He resurrected---defeating Sin and Death forever.  We acknowledge that where Jesus is right now (in the right side of the Father), that's where we are also!  Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "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." Now,  just because we are redeemed, it does not mean we are free from the challenges of life.  In fact, the biggest challenges of my life came after I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior (Born again, John 3:3). This time, I had to go through God's spiritual discipline (with the help of the Holy Spirit) in order to overcome what my body (five senses) and soul (mind, will and emotions) had known all my life that made me God's enemy.  Although my spirit (communion, conscience, intuition) was brought to life by my faith in Christ, my body and my soul needed to be renewed.  Romans 12:1-2 clearly tells us, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  When we encounter all sorts of trials (pressures), acknowledge that God is always with us (inside of us) to see us through even when we don't see or feel Him working at times.  Whatever the outcome, God always have our best interest.  Trials are like weights that we need to conquer in order to develop our spiritual muscles.  Hebrews 12:2-10 says, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness."  This same scripture also expressed to us what patience meant when it said "endure hardship."  Patience is simply defined as, "the quality of waiting calmly without complaining."  Maybe we are not seeing the fruit of our labor and prayers in the life of our children.  I tell you that nothing saddens me more than seeing my boy wrapped up in the things of the world.  Sometimes, I felt like a broken record that no one listens to.  But Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." When we speak the Word of God to our children and to whomever God directs us to, Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."  And last but not the least, the over-all intent for all of the first four words is "love."  John 3:16 says, "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."  God loves us all---whether we are kids, parents or both!  God's kind of love is sacrificial, never ever selfish!  If we love our children, we would teach and lead them to seek God and His perfect ways.  And if we truly love our parents, we would love and respect the authority that God bestowed upon them to guide and light our way.  One day, the kids will become parents and the same cycle continues till the Lord calls us all home to His eternity.

 
For this Card, I used an image from Stamping Bella called "Uptown Girl Bailey Has a Baby" that I colored using my Prismacolor/Hobby Colour markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I rounded the sides using my Crop-a-dile.  The DP is from American Crafts and the die-cut from Spellbinders (Wreath Set).  I included some nail head gems from Imaginisce, glitters from Stickles (Crystal) and ran it through my sewing machine for some fancy stitching.  I'm very happy with the result.

 THY MOTHER SHALL BE GLAD CARD

 THY MOTHER SHALL BE GLAD CARD LAYERS

 THY MOTHER SHALL BE GLAD CARD INSIDE

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Artsystamper---Mum
Coloring in Scrapland---ATG/Splashes
Crafting Happiness---ATG/Nature
Get Creative---Make it Sparkly
Jan's Digi---ATG
Pammie's---ATG
Use Your Stuff---Flower and/or Butterflies (I chose flowers)
Colour Crazy---ATG
Creative Fusion----ATG
Creative Fingers---ATG
Pattie's---ATG
Simply Create Too---Use Flowers
Gem of a Craft---ATG
Allsorts---ATG
Crafter's Castle---ATG
Crafty Friends---Flowers
Angie's---ATG
Lil' Patch---ATG
Stamping Sensations---Say it with Flowers
Corrosive---ATG
A Perfect Time---ATG
Classic Design---ATG
Craft-Dee-BowZ---ATG
Craft Galore---ATG
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Creatalicious---ATG/Sparkle
HLS---ATG with Dies
LeAnns---ATG
Let's Craft and Create---ATG
Love to Craft---ATG
Love to Scrap---ATG
Mix It Up---ATG/Masking
Morgan's Artworld---ATG
Not Just Cards---ATG
Papercraft Business---ATG
YSP---ATG


I hope you'd take the time to join us at our WAW Challenge.  It's Anything Goes as long as it's family friendly with uplifting and inspirational messages, you can link up to 5 projects per week.  Our sponsor this challenge is Pink & Main giving away a $25 prize package from their shop.  I can't wait to see your projects  and leave you some encouragement on your Blogs.  Pray without ceasing and believe that God has a wonderful plan for our children!

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