Challenge #117 - Matthew 6:25-34

A blessed first Sunday in Advent to you! Welcome to Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where our challenges are inspired by scripture. We pray you will be blessed by your fellowship with us, as we are blessed by yours!

We welcome back one of our favorite sponsors, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, offering a $10 gift card to spend in their store to one lucky player this week!!!

Please be sure to stop by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and show them some Stampin' Sisters in Christ love!

Our challenge sponsor this week is Linda Lucas!

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34 ".... Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?...."

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Mat 6:25-34

One thing in life is clear - there is plenty to worry about, Jesus tells us clearly in v25 (above), that we are not to worry; in fact He specifically lists things we are not to worry about - He knows us so well!

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (v25)

There are many areas we tend to worry about and Jesus answers them. It seems to be the most natural thing to do, worry about where we will live, what we will eat, what job we will have. In fact, we worry about what we don't have, and if we have any wealth we worry about losing it. Each of us could add our own list of concerns...aging, accidents, approval of friends and peers, war, terrorism, death, and in some cases even life.  There’s no end to the list of things we can worry about.

Worrying pulls us in many different directions; it causes us to fear.  How can we have hope when our hearts are full of fear? No matter in what direction we turn, it confronts us.  Our minds become consumed and we are pulled in every direction, literally worrying ourselves sick!  Worry has never solved a problem!  The truth is that worrying doesn’t ADD to our lives, it takes away from our lives, eating into hours, but can also consume us for weeks, months and in some case years.  Can you think of one good thing worry has added to your life?  Worry is futile.

Worry stops us from trusting God.  In reality there is no point worrying about those things that are out of our hands; there is nothing we can do can change them and we need to trust God with them.  Although worrying has physical effects, Jesus is dwelling on the spiritual side of the issue.  As Christians we should be living a life of trusting God, not like those people who are not in relationship with God who carry around the weight of the world on their shoulders.

The rest of God’s creation does not worry, but God provides for them. Will he not do the same for us?

Look at the birds of the air...they sing regardless of circumstances. Have you ever seen a bird worry? God provides their every need.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Trust God to provide for you as He has promised. By seeking first His kingdom you eliminate the need to worry. The only place you will find security, peace, love and joy in this world is when you are seeking FIRST God’s Kingdom! 

Challenge:  Make a card/project that features a bird, such as in the patterned paper, a stamped image, a charm, etc. 

To inspire you, here are some creations by our Design Team!

  

Linda Lucas: Lovely Linda's Craft Central

MariLynn DeGroot: Mississippi McGyver

 Miesje Flach – Craft Room with a View

 Rebekka Reed – Diamond in the Rough

Traci Major – Major Moments

We can't wait to see all of YOUR creations! You may enter as many times as you'd like! **PLEASE NO BACKLINKING (any cards linked here that are dated before our post goes live are subject to being removed by us--sorry!  Just gotta be fair)... and **Please link us to your actual card/project post(s), not just to your blog or gallery, by 11:59 pm PDT (GMT -8) on Saturday, December 3rd. The prize winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Tuesday, December 6th.  Plus, three of you will be awarded the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Shining Star blinkie!

**If you are entering more than one card for this challenge, please leave a link for each card/project.

Have a blessed day!

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