Good morning and I pray that you are having a very blessed Sunday so far. Today's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 54 is based off of Proverbs 27:17, which reads, "Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." Translation: Choose your friends wisely. If your friend doesn't lift you up in the Lord or slap your hand when you need it in the Lord, then they are not a friend. A friend will maintain this balance. Sometimes they'll let you fall, sometimes they'll pick you up, but the main point is you have to determine whether a friend is a blessing or a curse in your life. I have a ton of people whom I am acquainted with, but there's only a handful of people on the face of this earth who I know I can go to if there's trouble or I need some help or prayer or just some good old-fashioned guidance on something, and they will keep it confidential and pray for me. I take it to one person only, not the entire gamut of my circle. You have to be very discerning. I live in a small town, like Mayberry small, and the gossip around this place is absolutely horrible. I've never seen anything like it in my life, so I keep a distance from a lot of people, and this includes those I go to church with! That's what's really pathetic! I have very close friends at church, praise God, but I also know who to keep my distance from as well. Be discerning and pick and choose your friends wisely, because whoever you hang out with, they will also rub off on you too.
For our challenge today, we are to use metal on our cards. I chose a library clip to use on my masculine card. Digital Delights is graciously sponsoring us today. Be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team to see what they made for this challenge! Thank you for stopping by and may the Lord bless your day.
All products used to make this card are Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Motorcycle, Occasional Quotes (Hostess)
Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, textured Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Going Gray, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, sponge, Library Clip, Hemp Twine
Technique: Tearing, sponging
Size: 5-1/2 x 4-1/4
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 54
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
BIRTHDAY BLOG HOP WINNER IS JANARIA! Congratulations girlfriend! Send me an e-mail (you know where to find me), so that I can get your stamp sets out to you! Thank you all so very much who participated and for your very kind comments too. I am so blessed to be amongst ALL of you!
For today's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenges, I'm the hostess and this is the first time that I've done this. Instead of reading what I wrote here, I'd like you to go to Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenges 53 and the verse we're focusing on today is Psalm 56:3. That verse has been on my heart lately, a lot lately, like thinking about it all the time lately; "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." We have to do our write-ups a few weeks in advance to give the design team time to pray on what they're going to do for the challenge. Since I've done my write-up, Pete's contract has ended and he's now working and living halfway across the United States. I'm glad that contract is up, but there's a few more in the works. There's one here or a chance to go back to New York in 11 months. Do you know how excited I am and get just thinking about that?! It can't come soon enough. Then again, I love my house and the weather here. I know those are small things, but they're important to me. I don't know what to do or think. I'm all over the place. So I still need to trust in the Lord to see where he will take us, if he takes us anywhere, and it will be for a reason. He knows how I feel about dropping my kids off all over the country. My daughter will be 19 by the time New York rolls around and she's been mandated to come with us. She told me, "I'm ready to go home, mom." BUT, what we're thinking about is that New York is the same home. Things have changed, people have moved elsewhere, the school scaled back to K-5, a lot has changed, yet we're expecting time to have stood still for us. That hit me the most the first 1-2 times I went back and I didn't like it at all. If I adapted once, I can adapt again. Familiar faces are so important to me too seeing them and having a history with my friends that I don't have here at all. Please keep this in prayer for me. Confusion is not of the Lord and I need direction. Also with Pete's contract ending, we got hit with a $32,000 cut in pay annually. Ouch. I won't be purchasing anything whatsoever and am really cracking down on funds and doing a lot of eBaying. I don't need the newest, latest, and greatest of something that's going to be popular for a month. If you truly think about it, it's a bit on the insane side. God will stretch our budget and increase my gift to glorify him. I'm not so afraid anymore. It's just changed to confused and a lack of direction, so I'm redirecting my prayers asking for clear direction and I also covet your prayers as well.
For today's challenge, you can either just focus on the verse of Psalm 56:3 or recall a "Jesus and me" moment when he revealed himself to you. It's more of a personal challenge that maybe only you can understand, but my purpose for this is for you not to forget what the Lord has done for you in your life and how you've drawn closer to him.
As expected, my card is about moving. It's very clean and simple, and that's the way that I wanted it for today. We all thank you for participating in our challenges and would also like to thank Sassy Studio Designs for sponsoring us today. God bless you and I'll see you next Sunday with another awesome challenge to use our gift to glorify the Lord and spread the gospel. Be sure to check out what my design sisters did for this challenge too! They'd love to hear your comments. God bless.
Stamps: Gina K. Designs Oh Boy!
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream
Designer Paper: October Afternoon Road Map
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Accessories: Stampin' Up! silver brads, Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon
Size: 5-1/2 x 4-1/4
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 53 (SSCC53), Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge 86 (MTSC86)
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
PSALM 95:3
The Lord is a Great God,
and a Great King above all gods.
This verse, Psalm 95:3, probably doesn't mean too much to you, but it means my life to me. On everything I'm involved in within the crafting industry, this verse is out there, such as on this blog at the very top. God (note capital 'G') who is a Great God and Great King, and who is also ABOVE all 'g' (note the little 'g') gods. There is only ONE GOD, ONE FAITH, and ONE TRUTH, which is in Christ Jesus and His Salvation. Bottom line. Period. End of story. That's it. I've had so many little 'g' gods in my life and still do, but there's one god that had me in a bondage that I never thought that I could get out of, and I couldn't get out of it, at least not by myself. God revealed to me how great he was on May 8, 2004. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit on that day and was delivered from my bondage god, much like Egypt was delivered from slavery, because I was a slave to this god as well. It dictated my life. It doesn't dictate my life anymore. Jesus dictates my life. I was in full rebellion like the Hebrews were when it took them 40 years to make an 11 day journey on foot to their promised land. I took about 7 or so years in my rebellion. God in his mercy and love for me softened my heart so he could show me who he was and when he asked me what I wanted more, I chose him and I was delivered in an instant. Just like that. No turning back. You can see what my god was in my image. I'm not a recovering alcoholic or have that secular label slapped on me that keeps me in yet another type of bondage. I don't spend hours a week in meetings either chain smoking and drinking massive amounts of coffee. I am free. I am delivered. And there's no label attached to that but God's love for me and the power of the Holy Spirit. All of Jesus' children have this power with the Holy Spirit indwelling within their hearts.
If you want to talk to me about a type of bondage that you feel that you're in or are serving the wrong god, it's easy to contact me, and I pray that you do. I am not judgmental whatsoever. I'm the poster child for rebellion! Chances are, I've been where you're at, but I've been redeemed by the blood and I want to share that with you too! That is my testimony to you about what the blood of Christ can and will do for you. Ask. Believe. Have faith. Surrender it to him. He's only too glad to take it from you and he WANTS to take it from you.
The Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge Birthday Blog Hop starts at the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge Blog. You can also find the blog hop order there too. If you arrived here from Ceal Prtichett's blog, you're in the right place. We have so much to offer you in prizes and fun with our birthday blog hop, but most importantly, we want to share Jesus with you. That is our prayer and heart's desire. After visiting me, please hop on over to see what Laurie Gatton's Ministering Hands has created for you. Thank you so much for participating with us on our special day and God bless.
Here's the products used in my card, which are all Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Studio Sketches
Card Stock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, textured Rich Razzelberry, textured Old Olive
Designer Paper: Taste of Textiles
Ink: Tea Stain Distressing Ink, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Marina Mist, More Mustard
Accessories: School Days Rub-Ons, Mini Vintage Tags, Sizzix Distressed Texturz Plate, Victoria Lace ribbon, Vintage Trinkets, die-cuts
Technique: Distressing, die-cutting, dry embossing, tearing
Size: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
Now I have some blog candy for you. Leave a comment by Saturday, August 21, midnight, Central Time. I'll draw your a name left from the comments and will announce it on next Sunday's Stampin' Sisters in Christ post here on my blog. I have Verve Notes of Prayer stamp set and Stampin' Up! God's Beauty. I also ask that you follow my blog too.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
Good morning everybody and I pray that your Sunday is going well before, during, and after church; and also when you participate in today's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 52. Tomorrow is our very first birthday and we'd love for you to join in our Birthday Blog Hop. ALL of the Stampin' Sisters Design Team members, past and current, are participating and I think that's such a treat and so will you!
Our sponsor today is DeeDee Anderson, who is the owner of DeeDee's Digis,whom we would like to thank for her generosity to support us. Today our verse is Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." I think the verse is pretty self-explanatory. We've all also heard that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. Have you ever seen facial wrinkles point upwards? No. They always point downwards. In our daily busyness, we don't take the time to smell the roses anymore. I even have to schedule in pool time where I multitask there too and pray, if I don't fall asleep because I don't go to bed until 1-2 a.m. because I'm working all of the time on this, on card making that started as a hobby and now I feel like I'm in bondage to it and I am frankly. You get caught up in having the latest of everything that is changing daily of what's hot and what's not, It's insane really. Not to mention expensive! Do I really need to be on 7 different design teams? When and if I finally do make it to the pool, I call it my "prayer pool." That's not good enough though. That's squeezing God into my schedule. That means somewhere I need to lighten up my load, and I'm working on it, and make God THE priority in my life again. Without the Lord as number one, your spirit breaks because you are not communing with him. While your spirit dries up, everything else has a tendency to follow suit. You get sick, you get depressed, you don't want to get out of bed in the morning, every day is the same, and on and on and on. We all need to slow down and find our joy in Jesus again who will give us a merry heart. This has also interrupted my study time and spending time at church with my brothers and sisters in Christ because I have a deadline to meet somewhere. This is not the way that God wants any of us to live. Glorifying God through your work shouldn't be a job. It should come from a merry heart. I invite you to spend some time this week asking God for direction in your life of what can go, what needs to stay, how to manage time better, and most importantly, make the time for Jesus this week and let him fill your spirit afresh and new daily. Spend time with him and in the Word, and you'll get your joy back and your merry heart.
Today's challenge to you is to make something with some humor in it; something on the lighter side. This should be very easy because I'm praying we'll all have lighter hearts today.
All products used are Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Morning Cup, Favorite Thoughts
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Naturals Ivory
Designer Paper: Elegant Soiree
Ink: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Neutral brads, Metallic brads, Ticket punch, Chantilly Lace, Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Big XL Die, Blender Pen
Technique: Die-cutting
Size: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 52
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
Good morning and a very happy Sunday to you. Today at Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenges, our verse is Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Just as I was typing that verse, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The world says to "forgive and forget," but I don't think that's what the above verses mean. They speak on a spiritual level, as does the rest of the Bible, which is way, way above worldly ways that always get us into trouble. If you fall down spiritually, you repent, and get yourself back up and right with God again and MOVE ON. If you don't truly repent, you'll be like a dog that eats its own vomit. Gross. But that is what we have a tendency to do. Only when you truly repent 100%, you will be able by God's power and strength to press toward the high calling. If we were to be honest with ourselves, most of the time we're only sorry for ourselves for getting caught with our hand in the cookie jar rather than having remorse for grieving the Holy Spirit. Some sins get us and get us good and hold us in bondage as well. You don't want to do something but do it anyway, and I do know what I'm talking about here. Only when I decided to be obedient, and trust me, it wasn't because of me, but of the Holy Spirit working in me and on me, that is when I was able to forget that what was now behind me and reach out and towards my calling. Jesus took away the sins of the world on the cross. His last words on the cross were, "It is finished." If you were to read the events leading up to his death on the cross in his human form, Jesus did not want to do this. He asked the Father in prayer not to have to die on the cross, but he did it out of obedience and his suffering is something we'll never even begin to comprehend. That was Jesus' high calling; to take away my sin and your sin. We all have our own calling in Christ. Do you know what yours is? We are all called to be like Jesus and let our light shine. While we go through different seasons in life and are called to do certain things during those seasons, our main calling is to be like Jesus, the light of the world.
Today's challenge is to make a project that will encourage another or offer an apology to another. I made an encouragement card. My design team sisters and I thank our faithful monthly sponsor of Simon Says Stamp, who is sponsoring our challenge today.
Please share with us what you make for today's challenge and link it back to the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 51. We also encourage you to share with others your work and our challenge. If you upload your project to another online gallery, please use keyword SSCC51 so that we may find it as well and leave you some encouragement.
I also would like to invite you to our First Birthday Party Blog Hop on August 16. Please join us in celebrating! God bless you and have a wonderful day in the Lord.
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! Pacific Point, Whisper White
Designer Paper: October Afternoon Detours
Ink: Stampin' Up! Old Olive, Pacific Point, Memento Tuxedo Black, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Recollections rhinestones and faux pearls, Stampin' Up! Old Olive Library Clip, Stampin' Up! Pacific Point ribbon, Stampin' Up! scallop punch, 1-1/4” circle punch, 1-3/8” circle punch; Stampin' Up! Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad, Stampin' Up! Old Olive Flower Brad, Stampin' Up! Old Olive Brad
Size: 5-1/2 x 4-1/4
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 51, Christian Paper Crafts Sketch Tuesday 68
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
Good morning everybody! I can't believe that it's already August and the kids will be starting school again in a few short days. Where does the time go?
Today for our Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge, our verse is Isaiah 40:31, which reads, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." To me, this verse tells me two things: patience and strength, both of which are obtained from the Lord, as He can only give them. His Word is His covenant to us, something we believe in and trust in. We don't always understand God's ways because God is out of our league, but He will reveal to you what He wants to reveal to you, and reveal to you when He wants to reveal to you. Patience comes with spiritual maturity, and this verse speaks to me on a spiritual level rather than physical. It tells me that during any season, I must wait upon Him and while I am waiting upon Him, He will give me the strength that I need to endure.
By nature, I'm not too much of a patient person. I have found out that the less I have on my plate, the more patient I am, but no matter how much I have on my plate, I need to wait upon the Lord and His direction for my life rather than me sitting in the driver's seat. That's always a recipe for disaster.
I don't know about you, but I want that strength that only the Master can give. Let's ask God to renew our spirit today and fill it with His presence.
Your challenge today is to make something with a bird(s). We also would like to thank Digi Doodle Shop for her generously sponsoring our challenge this week. As always, the design team has given you plenty of eye candy to look at. Please stop by their blogs and offer your encouragement.
Thank you so much for stopping by to visit me today and I pray that you have a very blessed day and let the Lord renew you. I'm going to. Here is my card that I'd like to share with you. All products used are Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Notably Ornate, Rough Type
Card Stock: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Designer Paper: Newsprint
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic and Craft, Versamark
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Bigz Top Note die-cut, Antique Brad, silver brads, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Victoria ribbon, Basic Pearls, Glassy Glaze Enamel
Technique: Dry embossing, heat embossing, cracked glass
Size: 5-1/2 x 4-1/4
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 50
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Please become my friend through Google Friend Connect. I am always blessed by your support and comments!
To purchase Stampin' Up! products, please visit Stampin' Up! With Cindy.
