Scripture Series: That I May Know Thy Testimonies Card---You Still Have Time to Join Us at our Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, friends!  It's time for another bi-weekly Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  There is still a few days to join this Challenge so, please visit our WAW site and get a chance to win some goodies from our featured sponsor---Stamp Simply Stamps.  This time, we are using a Scripture Word Art that comes from Psalm 119:125,129 which tells us, "I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.  Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them."

Nothing that is known today comes from man's own knowledge.  Whatever science and innovations we claim to know was simply discovered and these discoveries happened because God allowed man the access.  I'm sure we can all remember how we were trained in school during our science (lab) classes to make a hypothesis (intelligent guess) through observation before we begin our experiments. We have to test our theories by going through the necessary steps till we arrive to a factual conclusion. In the end, we would have proven one of these realities.  That our hypothesis is 1) totally true, 2) somewhat true or 3) totally false.  Without embarking on a thorough and deeper study, all we have are opinions, suggestions or even hearsays. 

So, imagine a world without the Word of God. There's no basis for right and wrong and everyone's doing what is pleasing to his/her own liking.  Someone could easily fool us to believing that nothing created everything and that the orderly pattern of all creation came by chance.  We know that this is utterly baseless because just examining how our own bodies function and the uniqueness of everyone's DNA, it would be hard to refute the existence of a Great Designer and an Exceptional Creator---God Almighty!  But sadly, many were and are still consumed by such craziness. The truth of the matter is, there is no way our finite minds could ever fathom God's infinite fullness unless the Creator reveals Himself to His creation.  When Adam betrayed God through disobedience, the Sin Nature that was innately in Satan resided and dominated the hearts of humankind.  We turned into rebels---always seeking our own pleasure instead of seeking and serving God.  It needed a supernatural act of God to rescue us from the eternal wrath that was sure to befall us.  Because of our Father's great love for us, He had to reveal Himself (His Truth, His Ways) to His creation in time.  Ephesians 1:7-8 tells us, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ."

Jesus Christ is the complete and perfect revelation and embodiment of God's promise to mankind.  The ultimate redemptive plan of God  rested upon Him.  For by His blood, God delivered the one and only valid payment that would free everyone (willingly placing their trust in His finished work at the Cross) from eternal damnation.   No other man in history will ever qualify or duplicate what Christ has done for us no matter how rich, powerful and intelligent they are.  Apostle Peter attested to this truth in Acts 4:8-12 which tells us, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole.  This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."  The Psalmist that wrote our highlighted verses in the beginning of this post was a humble servant of God asking his Master to grant him wisdom and understanding of His ways so that he would be able to serve Him accordingly and effectively.  My Life Application Bible shared this commentary which says, "The writer asked God for discernment.  Faith comes alive when we apply Scripture to our daily tasks and concerns.  We need discernment so we can understand, and we need the desire to apply Scripture where we need help.  The Bible is like medicine---it goes to work only when we apply it to the affected areas.  As you read the Bible, be alert for lessons. commands or examples that you can put into practice."  This is very true.  As a servant of God (Born-again, John 3:3) under the New Covenant, I can no longer justify a lack of knowledge and understanding about the God I serve.  Why?  Because He gave me Jesus! 

For this Card, I used an image from Bugaboo Stamps called "Fashion Girls 001" that I colored using The Creative Art markers and Chromatix markers.  The base is white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card.  I used a Recollection stencil to lay the cloud border panel and inked all the sides with Distress Ink.  I finished with wonky stitching and adding white nail head gems from Imaginisce.  I think it looked great!

 

THAT I MAY KNOW THY TESTIMONIES CARD

 

 

THAT I MAY KNOW THY TESTIMONIES CARD LAYERS

 

THAT I MAY KNOW THY TESTIMONIES CARD INSIDE

 

 

THAT I MAY KNOW THY TESTIMONIES CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

 

 

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Creative Moments---ATG

Paper Shelter---Digital Image

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG

Classic Design---ATG

Clever Dexter---Hello Autumn

Country View---Autumnal Colors

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG

Createful Heart---ATG/Black and Purple

Creative Craft Cottage---Autumn

CCC---Autumn

Creative Crafting Uncles---Males Go Feminine

Daisy Chain---Autumn

Digi Doodle Studios---Fall

LeAnn's World---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Things with Wings

Love to Craft---ATG

Mirtillamente---ATG

Mix It Up---ATG/Paper Piecing

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

Pearly Sparkles---Autumn

QKR Stampede---ATG

Sognando---ATG with Autumn Colors

Crafting Challenge---ATG with Autumn Colors

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 sponsor for this week is Stamp Simply Stamps giving away two stamp sets or one die-cut and one stamp set of your choice at their store. So excited to see what you come up with.  Remembering that serving God is not without rewards.  We will have all eternity to rejoice and enjoy the harvest of our faithfulness to God's calling.  

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Friendship Series: Hugs My Friend Camera Embossed Card---Join us at Word Art Wednesday for Inspirational/Anything Goes Challenge!

Hi Crafty peeps!  Here's the other card I made for our bi-weekly challenge that started  a week ago.  You can make an Inspirational/Anything Goes projects that you can link to our Challenge site, Word Art Wednesday (WAW).  You can also choose to incorporate the Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site) or save it for future use. Check out my card that highlights the Scripture Word in my other post HERE.  I made this card exclusively to highlight images/sentiments from our sponsor this Challenge---Stamp Simply.

A good friendship is the foundation of all healthy relationships.  It needs one's utmost trust, respect, time and effort to stand the tests of time.  Anyone who spent years and staying strong in their relationships can attest to that. This also means that no matter what situations you encounter (because no relationship is perfect), you are to be fully committed to not easily give up and let go.

Jesus spent a good 3 years of His life and ministry by gathering, building and training His disciples.  As a perfect Man, He had to experience physical challenges and the limitations that time and distance had put us all through.  And as a Holy God, He had the knowledge of what He must do and go through and what His future entailed.  Though He didn't explain in great detail to His disciples what He must endure and give up to set mankind free from their bondage to Sin because of their limited understanding prior to His death on the Cross, He made perfect use of His time, strength and ability to demonstrate the love and ways of the Father for mankind. He ate, slept, walked , talked and suffered with them.  They marveled at the miracles they witnessed as Jesus showed them what "faith" and "obedience" to the will of His Father could do.  In His brief ministry on earth,  He showed us what the true ingredient of a perfect and loving relationship was all about---SELFLESSNESS!  1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."  And because Jesus only did what His Father told Him to do, we can be assured of our Heavenly Father's great love for us.  John 5:19 clearly reveals, "Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you,the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." We have this blessed assurance that when we place our trust in the Person of Jesus Christ, we entrust our lives to the One who loves us perfectly---the Father!  John 3:16 is the ultimate proof of the Father's love for us revealing this, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Nowadays, I find it alarming to see all  this promotion pertaining to "SELF LOVE." Many of the messages the entertainment industry, social and mainstream media is pushing to the masses has nothing to do with the truth of "loving your neighbor as yourself" which is next to the greatest commandment of all, "loving the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind." (Matthew 22:37).  Loving oneself can only find its true meaning not in the world, but seeing our worth in the eyes of God, our Creator.  Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  It is imperative that we value ourselves according to how God value and sees us (His masterpiece) so we can understand our purpose and reason for being.  Every time someone/something tries to destroy us, we have a strong core and reason for self worth.  And when we have a Godly perspective of ourselves, we will value our existence and treat others the same way.  But the dangers of worldly self-love is that it takes God out of the equation.  It's always materialistic and self-serving.  It centers on pleasing oneself and gets its validation from the world.  Jesus knows the love of the Father.  It is rooted in selflessness that He had to send Him (His One and Only Son) to this world to save the world.  Jesus embodied that same selflessness by obeying His Father and ultimately fulfilling His purpose to die on the Cross to redeem mankind.  If we truly value our worth and the people in our relationships, we should start by placing our faith and embracing the finished work (His death, burial and resurrection) of Jesus Christ at the Cross.  Once we are in Christ (Born-again, John 3:3), we can show our love for others by leading them to Jesus.  He is the true gift that keeps on giving.   

For this Card, I used an image and sentiments from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps called "Stick Family" and colored the image using my The Creative Expert markers.  The embossed camera image and other background elements are all from  Sizzix A2 Impresslits.  I added a bit of DP, some nail head gems from Imaginisce and some regular and fancy stitching.  Love it!

 

 

 HUGS MY FRIEND CAMERA EMBOSSED CARD

 

 

HUGS MY FRIEND CAMERA EMBOSSED CARD CLOSE-UP

 

 

 

HUGS MY FRIEND CAMERA EMBOSSED CARD INSIDE

 

 

HUGS MY FRIEND CAMERA EMBOSSED CARD WITH ENVELOPE

 

 

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Paper Shelter---Digital Image

A Bit More Time to Craft---ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft---ATG

Classic Design---ATG

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG

Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper

Createful Heart---ATG/Black and Purple

Die-Cut Divas---ATG

Happy Little Stampers---ATG with Dies

LeAnn's World---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Things with Wings

Love to Craft---ATG

Mirtillamente---ATG

Mix It Up---ATG/Paper Piecing

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

QKR Stampede---ATG

Creative Crafters---ATG

Worldwide Open DT---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.  Our sponsor this week is Stamp Simply Clear Stamps giving away 2 Stamp sets or a Stamp set and a Die-cut from their store.  I can't wait to see your projects  and leave you some encouragement on your Blogs.  Pray without ceasing and let God's promises inspire you to share the hope you have with others. 

 

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Scripture Series: Before the Eyes of the Lord Card---Another Bi-Weekly Challenge Happening at Word Art Wednesday!

Hi there, everyone!  Here to share the card I made for our Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) featuring the Scripture Word Art (you can download for free at the WAW site) found in Proverbs 5:21 which says, "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings."

 

The context of the entire chapter of  Proverbs 5  deals with the importance of marriage and the madness of defiling that covenant we made not only with our spouse but with God. Studylight.org provided a good explanation to this chapter including our highlighted scripture in Proverbs 5:21.  It says,  "Strong warning is given to beware of the prostitute and the temptations she offers. (The frequency of this warning in Proverbs indicates that prostitution must have been a widespread social evil at the time.) The pleasure that the prostitute brings is shortlived, but the bitterness that follows is lasting. It leads eventually to death (5:1-6). A man must flee the temptations offered by such immoral company, otherwise he may finish a physical and moral ruin. Moreover, he could find that he loses his possessions to those who have mercilessly deceived him (7-10). In addition to being disgraced by his own conduct, he will be overcome by despair as he thinks back on his stupidity in refusing to heed advice (11-14). The married man should be faithful to his wife and seek his sexual pleasures in her alone. He should seek no pleasures from the immoral women who move around the streets and market places trying to seduce people (15-20). Married or single, a man must bear in mind that God sees everything. He must remember also that if he lacks self-discipline he will fall to temptation and eventually bring suffering upon himself (21-23)."

 

Ephesians 5:22-33  showed us how God patterned the relationship between a husband and a wife to the relationship between Jesus and the Church. As the Body of Christ focuses  on Jesus alone, the relationship between husband and wife should be one of love, trust, respect and commitment.  We are not to think or do anything that would defile the sanctity of that union as it is sacred unto the Lord. Likewise in my personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, I have given myself to Him as my Father, my Lord and my Savior.  I'm committed to serve Him and Him alone. His Word is true and His faithfulness to His creation is immeasurable.  From the beginning, God provided us with every good thing but mankind betrayed Him by taking the side of the enemy and inherited  Satan's Sin (rebellious, depraved) nature.  But even in our wicked condition, He chose to save us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the ransom for our freedom with His blood. Romans 5:6-8 clearly tells us, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." But the sad thing is that many have chosen/will choose to reject this gift of salvation.  They come up with senseless excuses all the while trying to hide the truth that they love the things of this world---depravity and all!  Gone were the days when people are actually ashamed of their sins. Not only are they proud of their sinful lifestyle choices nowadays but they encourage and empower the weak, the gullible, the young and the confused of our society (including the children)  to partake and support their demonic confusion/delusion. In exchange for worldly wealth, fame and power, they sell their souls to Satanic cults/groups to lie, steal, kill and destroy not only themselves but others as representatives of Satan to the world.  They conspire with each other to hold everyone hostage to their globalists plan by calling God's Truth false and their lies as truth using education, mainstream/social media, entertainment, dirty/ungodly politicians as their representatives while censoring and eliminating  facts that destroys their demonic agenda.  

All of these things were already revealed to us in the Scriptures so that we, the Body of Christ (Born-Again, John 3:3), would be wise in discerning the times so as not to fall for their deception.  The ungodly thinks that they can hide their evil plots from the Lord and mock God's omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence.  They are fools!  For everyone that rejected God's Only Way of salvation will suffer the wrath of God's justice for motives and actions done in this world---out in the open or in utter secrecy. They are society's modern day prostitutes that's trying to destroy the family unit.  God reserved a horrendous place of eternal torment for them with their father, Satan.  But while they're still on earth, make sure you don't drink of their poison. You can only do so by saturating yourself with the Word of God, pray without ceasing and be sensitive to the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit.  In thought and in deed, stay true to the calling made possible by our New Covenant in Christ Jesus!

 

For this Card, I used a rose cutting die from Momenta and a DP from My Mind's Eye.  I found a great design on the paper I chose that would compliment my die-cut and where I could print the Scripture Word Art.  It turned out great and I was happy with the lay-out. I chose to keep it simple but adding the brads and the fancy stitching elevated the vintage feel to this project.  I'm truly satisfied with the result.

 

BEFORE THE EYES OF THE LORD CARD 

BEFORE THE EYES OF THE LORD CARD CLOSE-UP

BEFORE THE EYES OF THE LORD CARD INSIDE

 

BEFORE THE EYES OF THE LORD CARD WITH ENVELOPE

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

Crafty Creations---ATG

Crafty Gals Corner---Hello Fall

TTCRD---ATG

Inspiration Station---Autumn Countryside

PIP---ATG

Stamps & Fun---Color of Fun

A Bit More Time---ATG

A Perfect Time---ATG

Classic Design---ATG

Clever Dexter---Hello Autumn

Country View Crafts---Autumnal Colors

Crafts Galore Encore---ATG

Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper

Die Cut Divas---ATG with Die-cuts

CCC---Autumn

Daisy Chain---Autumn

HLS---ATG with Dies

LeAnns World---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/Things with Wings

Love to Craft---ATG

MIUCB---ATG/Paper Piecing

Morgan's ArtWorld---ATG

Papercraft Challenges---Sentiment as Focus

Pearly Sparkles---Autumn

QKR Stampede---ATG

Dreaming of Scrap---ATG with Autumn

Sparkles---Autumn Colors

Crafting Challenge---Autumn Colors

Four Seasons---ATG Fall

Worldwide Open DT---ATG

YSP---ATG

 

Time for me to go!  Please make sure to visit us at WAW and link up the projects you make out of our free Word Art although not mandatory.  You can link up any inspiring, uplifting, family-friendly projects, up to 5.  Our wonderful sponsor this week is Studio Katia ($30 GC). So, head over to WAW and show us your wonderful projects.  Enjoy your week.  Always remember to trust in God alone and the power of His Word. Stay faithful as He is faithful!

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