Peace on Earth

Some of the greatest freedoms we have in this amazing country of ours were given to us by our Founding Fathers, great men of God. Through the First Amendment to the Constitution, we were given the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of Religion (among other liberties we possess).  I praise God that I live in, what I truly believe is, the greatest country in the world.  Many men and women have fought and given their lives to defend our rights and freedoms, and I remain eternally grateful for those who serve and have served.  I praise God for the freedoms we have.  I respect every person's right to speak what they believe.  It's a beautiful gift.  But I find it ignorant and rude to insult any group of people - whether we agree with them or not.  I have more class than that.  I also feel blessed to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that although people disagree on many issues, absolute truth DOES exist.  I believe that the absolute truths are given to us by God through His holy and precious Word, the Bible.  It was God-breathed, written by God Himself, and that He used men to translate these words into what we now know as the Holy Bible.  With that said, you can disagree all you like.  But the absolute truth is still the absolute truth.  The Bible tells us "not to throw our pearls to the dogs or swine, for they would not know how to value it".  That simply means that we can write all the nice things from God's Word that we want, but that the foolish with reprobate hearts won't understand or accept it.  I can only feel sorry for this deep ignorance.  Just for the record, I DON'T judge people.  I have no right to judge people.  Only God can look into someone's heart, including my own, and see our sin - and call it sin.  I ask God every day to forgive me of my sins and to help mold me into the person He wants me to be.  That's all I can do.  I can only work on me.  I also want you all to know that as the Administrator of Word Art Wednesday Challenge Blog I can assure you that we have never said anything negative or judgmental about anyone or any group of people, and we never would.  All we have ever done is to honor and uphold God's Word (and we simply delete entries that don't meet our very clearly-outlined Challenge Rules).  If you have a problem with God's Word, take it up with it's author, Jesus Christ - God Himself!  I didn't write it, but I WILL obey it.  We respect our participants, our Design Team, and our awesome sponsors, and we would never disgrace any of them.  God has continued to bless us exceeding abundantly, so we know we're doing right in His eyes and that's what really matters.  We treat people with love and respect, and would appreciate the same in return.  So, just for the record - those who the Bible calls "fools" can spout off all they like.  It doesn't change absolute truth - it only shows your hatred and ignorance.  Take it up with God!

The card I made for this week's challenge uses Simple Stories Handmade Holiday patterned papers, a Papertrey Ink angel die-cut and stamp, her wings (which I painted and glittered), the star border, peace die-cut, and the vellum window die-cut are also all from Papertrey Ink.  I just LOVE creating with die-cuts by using paper, wool felt, and other materials to give my projects texture and personality.  Die-cuts are so much fun to use.  I also used this week's free word art/scripture file from Word Art Wednesday, some seam binding, a glittered button tied with May Arts jute, some machine stitching, and Tim Holtz ink.

Twist of Faith Card Challenges - Challenge #67 - Traditional Christmas

City Crafter Challenges - Challenge #189 - Christmas Colors - Kraft, Red and White

Flourishes Stamps Challenge  - Challenge #250 - Christmas/Words to Inspire -My words to inspire for the coming year are "Peace on Earth".  We may not all see eye to eye on everything, but we need to be kind to one another and live in peace with one another.  It's possible, but it starts with each of us doing our part to love one another.

Mark's Finest Papers Sketch With a Twist - Challenge #76 - Use Stitching Real or Faux - I used real machine stitching, and lots of stamps (non-MFP this time)
 

Have a wonderful week, and please stop by Word Art Wednesday to play along.  Our sponsors/prizes this week are the amazing Nice Crane Designs.  Their owner, Ignacio, has been a supporter of our challenge blog for several years, and we are SO grateful for their support.  They are offering one lucky winner some of their amazing shabby vintage images/collage sheets.  Our second sponsor this week is the wonderful Verve Rubber Stamps and they are offering another lucky winner a $25 gift certificate to their amazing store.  They have the most wonderful stamps and die-cuts.  If you've never shopped Verve Stamps, you're in for a real treat.  So, I encourage you to check out both of these wonderful shops.  Special thanks to all our amazing sponsors.  We praise God for you, and pray for His continued blessings on your business!

 

Thanks for stopping by, friends!

My Cup Runneth Over,

Karen