THE BLESSINGS OF CREATIVITY...

I thank the LORD JESUS for each day that is given me to create wonderful projects...As always, I give Him all the glory.


Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Scripture Series: Consider the Lilies Scripture Note Cards---Join our Ongoing Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday...

 Hi there, friends!  It's time for another bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW)This time, we are highlighting  a Scripture Word Art that comes from Psalm 147:3 which tells us, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." You can download this for free at WAW site and you can see how the other DT's used it for their featured cards.  I chose to make a project that highlighted Stamp Simply who happens to be our sponsor for this Challenge.

In this earthly life, we will never run out of things that could break our hearts and wound us. We could be basking from joy and victory one day and suddenly, bad news come to ruin the next day.  Just when we thought we have everything mapped out and have learned to navigate life based on previous experiences, we come face to face with situations and trials that's beyond our control. Some may have been caused by others while some we've inflicted upon ourselves.  And there are those that come to test our faith like what happened to Job. Even people that have all the riches in the world can face trials that no amount of money can solve.  We  just think they are invincible because most of the trials we encounter in this world are pretty much tied up with finances.  But come to think of it, no matter how rich one is, he cannot stop death (physical) from knocking on his door.  Only the Creator of heaven and earth has the power and the authority over His creation---both seen and unseen.  He already predetermined our beginning to our ending. And none of us can buy a minute or a second more once He says it is time.  Yet a true believer of Christ (Born-again, John 3:3) has nothing to fear because God's Word tells us of a life that is beyond this earthly life. The true value of this temporary existence is in knowing our Savior Jesus Christ whose death, burial and resurrection  freed us from the ultimate penalty of Sin that we inherited from Adam from the time we were born in this world.  That ultimate penalty is "Eternal Death" for everyone who chooses to  reject Christ and His gift of salvation. Their eternal dwelling place is the "Lake of Fire (Hell)" with Satan and his minions.  But for us that fully surrendered our lives to our Savior, we become ambassadors of Jesus Christ in this world---His Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16), to proclaim the Gospel of Truth and declare His glory to this darkened world.  At the end of our journey, we will see and live in the presence of our Lord for all eternity in a place where all good things abide.

But while we're still in this world, God gave us the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit to comfort us in times of need.  Many of us suffer physically yet many other's are broken and wounded in their spirit but refuse to admit it or ask for help.  Let me tell you that God is still interested in healing anyone who is wounded and brokenhearted be it physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He is still the Great Physician and anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus Christ will find comfort and healing and will never be turned away.   Jesus spoke in Matthew 11:28-30 saying, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  In conclusion, I would like to share this commentary from biblestudytools.com regarding our highlighted verse for it truly blessed me.  It says, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. This the Holy Spirit mentions as a part of the glory of God, and a reason for our declaring his praise: the Lord is not only a Builder, but a Healer; he restores broken hearts as well as broken walls. The kings of the earth think to be great through their loftiness; but Jehovah becomes really so by his condescension. Behold, the Most High has to do with the sick and the sorry, with the wretched and the wounded! He walks the hospitals as the good Physician! His deep sympathy with mourners is a special mark of his goodness. Few will associate with the despondent, but Jehovah chooses their company, and abides with them till he has healed them by his comforts. He deigns to handle and heal broken hearts: he himself lays on the ointment of grace, and the soft bandages of love, and thus binds up the bleeding wounds of those convinced of sin. This is compassion like a God. Well may those praise him to whom he has acted o gracious a part. The Lord is always healing and binding: this is no new work to him, he has done it of old; and it is not a thing of the past of which he is now weary, for he is still healing and still binding, as the original hath it. Come, broken hearts, come to the Physician who never fails to heal: uncover your wounds to him who so tenderly binds them up!"

For this Card Set, I used a layering flower image from American Crafts using inks from  Stampabilities and Memento.  The wonderful Scripture sentiments are from Stamp Simply from two of their wonderful sets namely Farmhouse Scriptural Thoughts and Farmhouse Scriptural Quotes.  I bought a few stamp sets for layering but I've never really tried to make something out of them.  It's a bit of a challenge to line up the images but I love the result.   Like anything else, I know I will need to practice to get the hang of it. 


CONSIDER THE LILIES SCRIPTURE NOTE CARDS
 

CONSIDER THE LILIES SCRIPTURE NOTE CARDS SET 1
 

CONSIDER THE LILIES SCRIPTURE NOTE CARDS SET 2

This Project is entered in the following Challenges: 

Double D---Colors of Summer
Simon Says Stamp---ATG/Slimline
Paper Funday---ATG/Summer
Everybody-Art---Summer
TTCRD---ATG
Unicorn---Summer
Coloring in Scrapland---ATG/Blue/Stripes
Get Creative---ATG/Show Water
TayloredMadeCards4U---ATG/Holidays in July
Angie's Digital Stamps---ATG/Use a Flag
Corrosive---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 Stamp Simply (Stamps and/or Dies). So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the Word of God comfort you today.  


Ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find out how on the sidebar...

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Scripture Series: The Lord is a Strong Tower Card---Join our Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, Crafty friends! We have a new Challenge happening at Word Art Wednesday (WAW). As always, we feature a Scripture Word Art that you can download for free at the WAW site.  So, our inspiration Scripture for this Challenge that I featured in my card below comes from Proverbs 18:10 which says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." 

Why so many of us today are living under the state of fear and uncertainties?  Many of our younger generation have fully embraced secular humanism, moral relativism, socialism, communism and even their newest addition which is the critical race theory--- all of which takes God outside of the affairs of man, boasting about what humanity can do for each other as if man's life does not depend on the very grace of their Creator minute by minute.  God's absolute truths are trampled on and replaced by every lie that are deceitfully coated with some truth using every outlet possible (social media, news media, advertising, entertainment and even education).  Many, if not all pillars of our society are held hostage by a demonic agenda to rid us of our faith in the One True God and His established truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by me." So, what is Truth?  Truth is the highest form of reality in God's perspective.  Everything God says and do is based upon His pure and ultimate truth which originates from Him.  Jesus is the physical embodiment of God's Truth when He came to this world in the flesh.  No sin nor darkness was found in Him.  Instead, He radiated God's holiness and endless glory.  Acts 4:12 backs the claim of Jesus saying, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." There's no one like Jesus Christ for He's the Only One who can do what He did to change the fate of mankind.  1 Timothy 2:5-6 further emphasized, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.  This has now been witnessed to at the proper time."  It is because of this that we are seeing a total attack on Jesus and God's Truth.  Nowadays, you cannot watch a movie that does not use the name of Jesus as a mindless expression or a cuss word. Have you heard gods of other religions being attacked so systematically?  Not at all!  It just goes to show that there's something in Jesus Christ that the demonic minions are so hateful about.

So this needs to be asked---what is the significance of the name of God?  I would like to share some of the things I read from MacLaren's expositions of Proverbs 18:10.  It says, 'The name of the Lord.' of course is the Biblical expression for the whole character of God.  His name proclaims Him to be self-existent, eternal; and as eternal, changeless, infinite in all the qualities by which He makes Himself known. This boundless Being, all full of wisdom, power and tenderness, with whom we can enter into relations of amity and concord, surely He is "a strong tower into which  we may run and be safe.  But far beyond even the sweep of that great name, Jehovah, is the knowledge of God's deepest heart and character which we learn in Him who said, "I have declared Thy name unto My brethren, and will declare it."  Christ in His life and death, in His meekness, sweetness, gentleness, calm wisdom, infinite patience, attractiveness; yearning over sinful hearts, weeping over rebels, in the graciousness of His life, in the sacredness and the power of His Cross, is the Revealer to our hearts of the heart of God.  If I may so say, He has builded 'the strong tower' broader, has expanded its area and widened its gate, and lifted its summit yet nearer the heavens, and made the name of God a wider name and a mightier name, and a name of surer defense and blessing than ever it was before." Everyone redeemed by the blood of Christ and have experienced the miraculous works of our Lord when we call upon His name are extremely blessed to be living in this great period of grace under the New Covenant.  Though we haven't seen Jesus personally and lived in His time, we have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us (since we became Born-again---John 3:3) to remind us of His great love  as we navigate the rest of our journey in this world.  And while we are still here, let us complete our mission to preach the Gospel (His death, burial and resurrection) to everyone who is willing to listen.  When we call upon the name of our Lord, we will not be turned away.

For this Card, I used an image from Mo Manning called "Alisa with Roses" that I colored using my Promarker and Prismacolor markers.  The base is an A7 pre-cut card with envelope from Paper Studio.  I used a border punch from Martha Stewart and an embossing folder from Paper Studio. I added the white nail head gems from Imaginisce and some glitters from Stickles (Crystal) for some added dimension.  It turned out great. 

 

THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER CARD


THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER CARD LAYERS
 

 THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER CARD INSIDE


THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER CARD WITH ENVELOPE

 

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

2 Sisters---Vacation
Academy---Mood Board
Clever Dexter---Hello Summer
Ching-Chou Kuik---Embossing (Wet and/or Dry)
Mix It Up---ATG/Aperture
Sognando---ATG
Sweet Stampers---Summer Fun
Crafting Challenge---Summertime
YSP---ATG
Corrosive---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 each week.  Great prize package to be won from our wonderful sponsor--- Heartfelt Creations ($20 GC).  Enjoy the rest of the week and remember to call upon the Lord 24/7 whatever situation you are in---happy or sad---good or bad!  Because He truly cares for you.

Ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find out how on the sidebar...

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Fun/Humor Series: Being This Fabulous Summer Card---Join Our July Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Hello everyone...I'm here to feature my card for our 613 Avenue Create Anything Goes, July Challenge that started several days ago.  While the other DT's took on the Optional Twist which is "Watercolor, " I settled with Anything Goes.  I've had this fun stamp for quite sometime but it's only now that I'm able to use it. I hope you join us and have some fun crafting and creating. I also trust that you are enjoying your summer with your family and friends, perhaps some swimming like the image featured in my card.  However, I want to share God's Word with you which is always a source of wisdom and knowledge needed at this time.  Hope this blesses you.

Isaiah 12:2  says, "Surely God is my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation."  My Life Application Bible shared this explanation about Isaiah 12 which says, "This chapter is a hymn of praise---another graphic description of the people's joy when Jesus Christ comes to reign over the earth.  Even now we need to express our gratitude to God---thanking Him, praising Him, and telling others about Him.  From the depths of our gratitude, we must praise Him. And we should share the Good News (Gospel) with others." The time will come when a remnant of God's chosen nation will acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ and will experience true peace and security promised by God as He comes to rule and reign on this earth,  Presently, it is sad that many of the Israelites are lost in their own religion and remained blind to the salvation found only in Jesus Christ.  

Yet in their spiritual blindness, God opened the doors of salvation to all the people of this world.  We were the uninvited guest (Gentiles) in the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14.  Because those that were originally invited (Jews) refused to come to honor the King's Son (Jesus Christ) and have mistreated and even killed many of the King's servants (prophets) who brought the joyous invitation to them. So the  King was enraged and sent an army to avenge their death (God's wrath).  He then asked His other servants to invite anyone they can find (both good and bad) from outside the wedding hall (God's kingdom)  and the banquet was filled with guests.  And these people were provided with beautiful wedding garments that reflects the occasion.  And yet, the King noticed somebody who refused to wear the  garment provided to the guests. That in spite of the generosity of the King and His Son, this person chose to cling to his old ways.  Therefore, He was thrown outside of the banquet---where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Gotquestions.org shared a great explanation to this Parable of the Wedding Feast.  It says, "This was Jesus' way of teaching the inadequacy of self-righteousness.  From the very beginning, God has provided a "covering" for our sin.  To insist on covering ourselves is to be clad in "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame, but they found their fig leaves to be woefully scant.  God took away their handmade clothes and replaced them with skins of (sacrificed) animals (Genesis 3:7, 21).  In the book of Revelation, we see those in heaven wearing "white robes" (Revelation 7:9) and we learn that the whiteness of the robes is due to their being washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). We trust in God's righteousness, not our own (Philippians 3:9).  Just as King provided wedding garments for His guests, God provides salvation for mankind.  Our wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, and unless we have it, we will miss the wedding feast. When the religions of the world are stripped down to their basic tenets, we either find man working his way toward God, or we find the cross of Christ.  The Cross is the only way to salvation (John 14:6)."

It is therefore through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we, Born-again believers (John 3:3) can rejoice exceedingly in the grace that was extended to us by our great Father in heaven..  On our own, we cannot do anything to change the Sin Nature that kept us in bondage from the day we were born in this world.  We were hopeless!  But Jesus paid the debt that humanity owed since Adam and Eve fell into Sin,  He paid it with His own blood.  It is the ONLY valid payment.  He died, was buried and resurrected back to life so that He can invite all of us to His wedding feast dressed up in the wedding garments of righteousness He provided for us.  God did all the work---our part is to come!  One day, we will sing of all the marvelous things Jesus has done along with the great multitude of people from all walks of life who trusted in the Word of the King and the redemptive work of His One and Only Son.  Whatever situation we are in right now, always remember that things are already settled in heaven and victory is already given to us who believed.  If you know exactly what that means, fear will not rule your heart.  

For this Card, I used an image from Art Impressions from their "Girlfriends Collection" and colored it with my Prismacolor markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP's are from American Crafts and Paper Studio, the washi tapes are from Tape Works and Recollections and the layered flowers are from Prima.  I also added a brad from Recollections and some glitters from Stickles (Crystal).  Lastly, I did some regular and fancy stitching all over this card. 

 

 BEING THIS FABULOUS SUMMER CARD


 BEING THIS FABULOUS SUMMER CARD LAYERS


BEING THIS FABULOUS SUMMER CARD INSIDE
 

 BEING THIS FABULOUS SUMMER CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX
 

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Clever Dexter---Hello Summer
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Mix It Up---ATG/Aperture
Sognando---ATG
Sweet Stampers---Summer Fun
Crafting Challenge---Summertime
YSP---ATG


This is it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge.  If you want to be challenged, take on the Optional Twist.  But there's really no reason for you to miss it. Can't wait to see what you create. Think about your relationship with Jesus Christ.  If you don't have a personal relationship with Him, today is the day.  He will not turn anyone who calls on His name.

Ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find out how on the sidebar...

Friday, July 2, 2021

Scripture Series: Together in Unity Card---Join Our Bi-Weekly Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, friends!  It's time for another bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW)This time, we are using a Scripture Word Art that comes from Psalm 133:1 which says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" 
 
Unity is the coming together of people and can only be possible when we share a common goal or interest in pursuit of an endeavor that will benefit us, others or both.  It is easier to unite with a small group of people as the larger the group, the more ideas and arguments arise especially when it has to cross different cultures and traditions.  But for believers of Jesus Christ (Born-again, John 3:16), we belong to a kingdom that never ends and governed solely by God's eternal Truth.  He created everything and only through Him will all His creation continue to exist.  Before the Fall of Man, everything worked in perfect unity based on the perfect system and principles placed by God.  There was no Sin and Death and the highest form of reality which is God's Truth was the order of each day.   But we know what happened when Man fell into Sin.  The Sin Nature (that comes from Satan) infected every human being and our own human nature darkened our hearts to the Truth.  We began to rebel from the Truth and live based on the dictates of our own flesh.  God's Truth is perverted and twisted to promote lies and deceive the gullible.

Though we sinned against God, He never left us without His Truth.  God gave us His natural revelation---the wonderful things we see in nature reveals His glory.  He also gave us His Law through Moses and revealed to us His will and purpose through His prophets.  And then He used men anointed with the Holy Spirit to bring us the Scripture,  But more than that, He gave us His one and only Son to redeem us from our sins and as a testifier to the Truth (John 18:37).  The Body of Christ is made up of people who received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit and God's Word.  If we are true disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to subject ourselves solely to the will and purpose of God as instructed in His Word.  No matter what this world dictates, we are asked to follow the law of the land but only to the point where it does not go directly against the principles of Truth established by God. We are to firmly stand against every entity that would force us to do anything contrary to God's will through peaceful and legal means   The Bible contains God's instructions and no matter what country and culture we came from, we believers can unite for the same purpose and that is to uphold God's Truth.  But why there's so much misunderstanding and division in the Church today?  Could it be that many so-called Christians have been contaminated by the poison of self-centeredness and have exchanged the glory of God's Truth with political correctness, human secularism and moral relativism for the purpose of fame and notoriety.  Sad but true,  For if we truly abide in God's Truth, though we may have differences in minor things, we would all agree in the foundational doctrines of the Scripture.  Abortion would be called "murder,"  Sodomy is not about love but an abomination in the sight of God, Pedophilia is  child abuse and Illegal immigration is in every sense of the word "ILLEGAL. These are just some of the issues we face daily and God's Word are absolutely clear on where believers should stand.  And yet there are many Christians who are ignoring the Word of God and propagating false teachings and lies to appease the world.   That is why we cannot unite our country these days.  I'm not saying it's an impossibility but we cannot wait for everyone to wake up from their deception before the rest of the Body (remnant) unite to push the True agenda of God.  We have to get the Truth out there---boldly, unapologetically with compassion and love as our motive.  Even with the purest intention, we will still be judged as haters because we couldn't agree with their perversion.  But God's Word is clear in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  Let us remember that in telling the Truth, we are giving somebody a chance to repent and get it right with God.  Yes, he/she may take it positively which would eternally benefit that person's soul or---negatively and subject ourselves to their hatred.  Any which way it's taken, the important part is that we obeyed God. 

I would like to share what My Life Application Bible wrote about our highlighted verse in this post.  It says, "King David stated that unity is pleasant and precious.  Unfortunately, unity does not abound in the Church as it should. People disagree and cause division over unimportant issue.  Some delight in causing tension by discrediting others.  Unity is important because (1) it makes the Church a positive example to the world and helps draw others to us; (2) it helps us cooperate as a body of believers as God meant us to, giving us a foretaste of heaven; (3) it renews and revitalizes ministry because there is less tension to sap our energy.  Living in unity does not mean that we will agree on everything; there will be many opinions just as there are many notes in a musical chord.  But we must agree on our purpose in life---to work together for God. Our outward expression of unity will reflect our inward unity of purpose."

For this Card, I used an image from Bugaboo Stamps called "Flower Pot 3" that I colored using my Prismacolor markers and paper piecing.  The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  The DP is from American Crafts, the Washi Tape from Tape Works, the white nail head gems from Imaginisce and the stencil used in the background is from Recollections, inked with Distress Ink.  Lastly, I used some glitters (Stickles-Crystal) and included some regular and fancy stitching for added dimension. 
 
 
 TOGETHER IN UNITY CARD


 TOGETHER IN UNITY CARD LAYERS


 TOGETHER IN UNITY CARD INSIDE
 

 
 TOGETHER IN UNITY CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges: 

Clever Dexter---Hello Summer
Country View---Use a Stencil (or Two)
Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper
Mix It Up---ATG/Aperture
QKR---ATG
Rabisco---ATG
Sognando---ATG
Sparkles---Floral Extravaganza
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  My Scrap Cabin Shopgiving away a Seam Binding Bundle  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the joy of the Lord overtake you today.  Let us unite in doing the will of God and encourage others to do the same no matter what.

Ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Find out how on the sidebar...

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...