Scripture Series: I Will Betroth Thee and Dream Love Laugh Cards---Join the Fun at Word Art Wednesday for our Anything/Inspirational Goes Challenge!

 A wonderful day, everyone!  A week ago, we started another Anything Goes/Inspirational Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) and as always  I featured a card with our Scripture Word Art.  It comes from Hosea 2:19 which says, "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies." 

GOD SURELY LOVES US!  He thought of us even before He made time.  He created everything in this world in six days and from day one to the fifth day, He declared each day "good."  But He created something very special on the sixth day that He had to say "it was very good."  He considered us the crowning glory of His creation.  Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "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."  God plan is for us to live a loving relationship with Him for all eternity.  But Man fell into Sin and ushered Death into the perfect world God made.  The earth and everything in it was cursed by Man's act of disobedience and our spirits darkened when our spiritual connection with God was severed.  Since then, we lived lawless lives---constantly devising evil for our own selfish gain.  We were hopeless, unable to unchain ourselves from Satan and the wrath of God's judgment to sinful mankind.  Though we betrayed God, He reached out to His people to preserve and teach us His ways.  The Law was given to Moses to teach people of the Holy ways of God that no man can ever satisfy.  But oh, how they tried!  And though they've witnessed the great and miraculous power of the living God in their midst, they turned away from Him by worshiping pagan idols, practiced graved immorality and have sacrificed their children to false gods.   Such was our condition---totally depraved! How could a righteous God make mankind when He knew they would be these evil?

The answer is found in His foreknowledge (Omniscience).  God is timeless! He exist even before and after time.  His love for mankind didn't end though He knew we would betray Him.  God's redemptive plan was already in place way before creation began.  Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God would pay our ransom with His blood on the Cross. It was the once and for all sacrifice of an innocent God/Man and a perfect demonstration of God's love for humankind.  John 3:16 declared, "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."  Jesus is God's perfect and only plan for salvation and He calls everyone to receive what He has done on our behalf.  Once you acknowledge your iniquities,  place your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the Cross and claim His victory over your life.  Invite Him to be your personal Lord and Savior and allow His Holy Spirit to lead you to His plan and purpose for your life.  Study the Scripture every chance you get and be a part of a Church that will help you grow in your faith.  You are now Born-again (John 3:3) in the family of God and your mission is to share the Good News of salvation to your sphere of influence.  It is truly comforting that even though we go through the process of sanctification (set apart, running the race with different conditions) daily, God already see us victorious (justified, righteous in Christ) in the finished line of life.  Very soon,  God's original plan for Man in Genesis 1:26  to rule over His creation (which was interrupted by the enemy) will finally happen to everyone that repented of their sins and entrusted their lives to Jesus Christ now and forever!  That is why in righteousness, in judgment, in loving kindness and His mercies, we are truly God's people through Jesus, our Lord!

I would like to share what My Life Application Bible shared pertaining to our Scripture Word Art for it blessed me.  It says, "The time will come when unfaithfulness will be impossible---God will bind us to Himself in His perfect righteousness, justice, love, compassion, and faithfulness. Betrothal in Hosea's time was more than a simple agreement to marry.  It was a binding engagement, a deep commitment between two families for a future, permanent relationship.  God was promising a fresh new beginning, not just a temporary rewriting of a tired old agreement (See Jeremiah 31:31-34).  God's wedding gift to His people, both in Hosea's day and in our own, is his compassion.  Though no merit of our own, God forgives us and makes us right with Him.  There is no way for us by our own efforts to reach God's high standard for moral and spiritual life, but He graciously accepts us, forgives us, and draws us into a relationship with Himself. In that relationship we have personal and intimate communion with Him."

 

For this Card, I used an image and sentiment from Stamp Simply Stamps called "Pretty Poppies" that I colored using The Creative Expert Markers.  The base is white CS in size A2.  Aside from fuzzy cutting the image, I added some stitching for added dimension to this project.  

I WILL BETROTH THEE and DREAM LOVE LAUGH  CARDS

 

DREAM LOVE LAUGH  CARD

I WILL BETROTH THEE CARD

I WILL BETROTH THEE and DREAM LOVE LAUGH  CARDS WITH ENVELOPES

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

CAS on Friday---Spring Flowers

Colour Crazy---ATG with Coloring

Crafty Catz---ATG/Add Flower/s

Creative Fingers---ATG

Pattie's Creations---ATG

Aud Sentiments---Love Sentiment

MAWTT---Love/Anniversary/Wedding

Creative Moments---Love it or Hate it

Ellibelle's Corner---Heart or Flowers

Little Red Wagon---Make it Stitched

The Paper Shelter---Fave Past Challenge (#462 Add Flowers Challenge)

Simon Says Stamp---ATG

Paper Funday---ATG/Hugs and Kisses

Digi Choosday---ATG

Ike's World---ATG/Valentine/Love

TTCRD---ATG

Colouring in Scrapland---ATG/Add a Heart

Crafting Happiness---ATG

Cupcake Inspirations---ATG

Jan's Digi Stamp---ATG

PIP---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.  Our Challenge winner will be awarded a wonderful prize from our awesome sponsor---Stamp Simply Clear Stamps (2 stamps or Stamp and Die-cuts).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, live every minute of your life fully trusting in the Lord, both physically and spiritually.  We are His and we are to show forth His glory always.

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Especially Made: Warmest Birthday Card---Join Our Anything Goes Monthly Challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Advance Happy Heart's day, Crafty Peeps!  Last Sunday, we started our February Anything Goes Challenge at 613 Avenue Create with the optional theme, "My Whimsical Valentine." Go to our Challenge site and you will find many DT inspirations featuring the theme.  However, I decided to make  a very simple Birthday card and like me, you can opt out of the theme for an Anything Goes project.  What's important is to have fun with your creation.

Nowadays, I can't help but watch what's going on with the Freedom Convoy (in its third week now) originated by Truckers in our neighboring country of Canada.  If you are following my Blog post, you know that I am not only sharing Biblical Truths here but most especially in discussing the relevance of God's Word to what's happening to our country and the world as a whole.  Generally, many people don't get themselves involved in current events primarily politics and government unless it directly and personally affect their lives.  Draconian mandates that happen in other states or countries does not worry us much because we don't have to comply as of yet.  But you wake up one day and it's right up your alley. You're threatened with  fines, suspension, subjected to frequent testing to the extent of losing your job and be segregated for something you don't trust to be inserted to your body;  jabs that have proven to offer nothing for your health and protection. But even with that, many end up complying because let's face it, it demands great effort, strength and resources to fight back.  I've known several people who didn't like to take the jab but were afraid to lose their job and benefits.  As a Born-again (John 3:3) believer, God clearly told us that our real fight is not physical in nature. Ephesians 6:12 clearly states, "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." The Body of Christ (Church, Ekklesia) is here on earth not as bystanders  but to affect and lead the world with the rule of God.  And because Satan is the god of this world, he has in his disposal human beings that are bent to serve him which he placed in leadership to disguise themselves as champion of human rights and representatives of the people.  But in time, they'll show their true colors as they clamor for power and control.  The very people they claim to protect will suffer under their tyrannical rule by abandoning their promises and strangling the rights of the people.

When Adam sinned against God, all of humanity was plunged into Sin and Death under the bloodline of Adam.  We don't have any choice and are destined to suffer the wrath of God's judgment.  There's nothing we can do as human beings to change that until God sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ to redeem us from our bondage with Satan and free us from the claws of Sin and Death.  Though the penalty of Sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Jesus at the Cross, only those who  placed their faith in the Cross of Christ will benefit from it.  Freedom comes from God and in that freedom is the right to choose! To choose to put our faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for our eternal salvation or to reject and mock the Only Way provided by God resulting to eternal death.  As a child of God, we have to keep in mind that our spiritual freedom didn't come cheap.  

So it is under the same principle that we have to fight for our freedom in this world. We cannot allow government dictators to erode our rights under the guise of health and safety.  It is no coincidence that many demonic leaderships have used what they called "pandemic" to slowly condition their citizens to comply and then strip them of their right to choose what's best for them and their families.  They start by buying and recruiting people and trolls to propagate their lies (fake social media) while simultaneously using their power and influence to silence and cancel everyone who speaks the truth.  With the coordinated propagation of lies hour by the hour, many are easily deceived because they just accept whatever is in front of them instead of engaging in research to find out what's the truth behind the headlines.  People are waking up to this kind of suppression not only here in the States but in many countries around the world.  With ninety percent jab rate, Canada would be the last country I would think the Freedom Convoy would originate.  For two years, they took everything that their leaders shoved down their throats.  Aside from a few reports of people crying foul to the mandates, I've never heard or saw a significant outcry by it's citizen.  Many of them were duped to believing that there's a scientific support to the draconian measures passed on to them.  But beginning this year, as many countries have announced an end to their Rona mandates, many Canadians realized how abusive their leader is for it showed no desire to hear their concerns to end the mandates. They declared "enough is enough" and are willing to give everything (through peaceful means) to take back their freedom.  The demonic leaders all over the world are scrambling to do damage control. Canada encouraged many other countries in similar predicament to bond together that no amount of lies and threats could stop them from pursuing their goal which is freedom from Rona mandates.

And what can I say?  When we unite to push back the darkness and enforce the light, nothing is impossible with God.  While the Body of Christ is here, our responsibility is to be Salt and Light of this world.  For there will come a time when God takes us away from this world (Rapture of the Church) and all hell breaks loose (Tribulation Period).  The Bible is clear that it's going to happen because a just God will pour out His judgment to the ungodly who willfully rejected Christ and pledged their souls to serve Satan.  Be wise in your choices.  God's Word reveals to us the difference between righteousness and iniquity.  Spending the time to study the Scripture gives us wisdom to see through the disguise that leads to deception.  Freedom is always worth fighting for!

For this Card, I used an image from Art Impressions called "Birthday Wishes" and colored it using my Prismacolor markers and stamped the sentiments from the same set.  The base is a white, A7 card base with envelope from Paper Studio.  The DP is from my scraps and the fence border was die-cut using an MS Punch.  I added a couple of brads to complete my design.  

 

WARMEST BIRTHDAY CARD 

WARMEST BIRTHDAY CARD  WITH ENVELOPE

 This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

A Perfect Time---ATG

Ching-Chou Kuik---ATG/All You Need Is Love

Classic Design---ATG 

Clever Dexter---Fave Technique (CAS Cards)

Crafts Galore---ATG

LeAnn's World---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/From the Heart

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

Pearly Sparkles---ATG

River of Creativity---ATG

Sognando---ATG/Love

Crafting Challenge---Love

This is it for now, guys.  Make sure to join us at our neighborhood---613 Avenue Create---for an Anything Goes Challenge with an optional theme.  Can't wait to see what you create. The Lord is with you every step of the way so, don't compromise God's Word nor be afraid of the what the future holds based on your faithfulness to His Word.  Great is our eternal reward in heaven for us whose trust in not of the world but in Christ!

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

Scripture Series: Because He First Loved Us Card—Join the Fun of our Anything/Inspirational Goes Challenge at Word Art Wednesday!

Hello there, guys!  So, we began another Challenge at Word Art Wednesday (WAW) a couple of days ago featuring another Scripture Word Art which you can download for free at the WAW site.  It comes from 1 John 4:19 which says, "We love him, because he first loved us."

It is written that when God made Man into His own image and likeness, He breathe unto them life.  And with that life comes the ability to love as God is love and the true Source of love. We lived in a pure and loving relationship with our Father in heaven and enjoying everything He provided us.  But Adam disobeyed God that ushered Sin and Death to come into this world. It severed our spiritual connection with God, corrupted/perverted our relationship with Him and changed our view of God and His love as a whole.  We've tainted God's Agape (selfless) love and adapted a more self-centered lifestyle to satisfy the cravings of our fallen human nature.  And throughout history, we remained that way---tearing each other apart to get our piece of world dominance. And we can't help it because the very nature of the enemy that seeks to kill, steal and destroy have taken over to darken our minds and made our hearts cold and calloused. We were utterly hopeless, destined for wrath if left on our own. 

But God knew that from the very beginning!  His omniscience (all knowing) saw that coming before the foundations of the earth were even set in place.   He wanted mankind to be an integral part of His creation and He would stop at nothing to save and restore them back to the divine nature they had before Sin happened.  The merciful and loving heart of God was revealed for all the world to see as we watched John 3:16-17 came into fulfillment in the pages of our history that says, "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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."  The Father showed us through His Son Jesus Christ the meaning of pure and true love!  For Jesus (Who knew no Sin) left His heavenly throne to sacrifice Himself to the ruthless punishment of death on the Cross so that anyone who receives His gift of salvation would be reconciled, justified and sanctified in the presence of the Father through the shedding of His blood.  And because every Born-again believer (John 3:3) received God's mercy and love by way of the Cross, we are to demonstrate that same love to our fellow believers in the Body of Christ and allow the "selfless" love of Christ in us to permeate the world.  If we truly see our brethren in the faith as loved by God, we will avoid many of the petty issues we have against each other.  That's because we need to understand that we're in different levels of growth.  When admonishing one another, we still have to do it in love.  But no matter how hard we try (at times) to help our brethren understand the Biblical implications of their actions, we would encounter hostile reactions.  Sometimes, we just need to pray for them from a distance while striving for peace. Always remembering Romans 5:6-8 in our daily encounters in life which says, "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."  So very true!  We were once sinners that are saved by grace by our loving Father whose love knew no boundaries.  If we have love for our brethren and mankind as a whole, that's only because we have received the greatest love of all first---God's pure and selfless love in Jesus Christ!

I would like to add what My Life Application shared about our highlighted verse today as it sure blessed me. It says, "God's love is the source of all human love and it spreads like fire.  In loving His children, God kindles a flame in their hearts.  In turn, they love others, who are warmed by God's love through them.  If we ever are afraid of the future, eternity, or God's judgment, we can remind ourselves of God's love.  We know that He loves us perfectly (Romans 8:38-39).  We can resolve our fears first by focusing on His immeasurable love for us, and then by allowing Him to love others through us.  His love will quiet your fears and give you confidence.  It is easy to say we love God when that love doesn't cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services.  But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us---our family members and fellow believers.  We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image."

For this Card, I used a die-cut flower image from Sizzix and colored it with Distress Inks. The base is a white CS, cut and scored to make a 5.5 inches square card. The DP is from Paper Studio.  I also die-cut the oblong and the lacy oblong using Nestabilities.  I used Distress Inks on the background frame of the flower and added a script stamp from Hip Stamp Hooray.  Instead of my usual stitching, I chose a lacy stamp from Fiskars to create the borders on my card.  I printed the WAW Scripture Word Art on the side and included three dew drops to complete my design.  I think it came out pretty good!

 

 

BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US CARD

BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US CARD LAYERS

BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US CARD INSIDE

BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US CARD WITH ENVELOPE-BOX

This Card is entered into the following Challenges:

 

A Bit More Time---ATG 

A Perfect Time---ATG

Ching-Chou Kuik---ATG/All You Need Is Love

Classic Design---ATG 

Clever Dexter---Fave Technique (I love layered cards)

Crafts Galore---ATG

Craftyhazelnut's---Patterned Paper

Creatalicious---ATG/Love

Daisy Chain---For the Girls

Dies R Us---Valentine's/Love

Digi Doodle Studios---Love and/or Friendship

LeAnn's World---ATG

Let's Craft and Create---ATG/From the Heart

Love to Craft---ATG

Love to Scrap---ATG

Mirtillamente---ATG

Morgan's Artworld---ATG

Pearly Sparkles---ATG

QKR---ATG

River of Creativity---ATG

Sognando---ATG/Love

Crafting Challenge---Love

Worldwide Open DT---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 this week.  Great prize to be won from our wonderful sponsor---Pretty Pink Posh ($30 GC).  So excited to see what you come up with.  Anyway, cheer up and let the love of the Lord overtake you today.  In Christ, we literally have the greatest love of all from our Father in heaven.

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