Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 48 . . . by design

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ and this week's lovely and super talented hostess is Grace, who selected this verse, Psalm 127:1a "Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it."

And her challenge this week is for you to use an image of something that is "built" using a set of plans ... a house, church, school, automobiles, even a bird house...anything that would be built according to a set of plans.

You can see the rest of the design team's wonderful creations on our home page and read more about our sponsor this week, Wink, Wink Ink, you can find their web site here http://www.e-junkie.com/winkwinkink.

I chose to show a quilt under construction. That's usually the state of being of any quilts I have attempted--under construction--I've actually only finished one in my life! Quilts are certainly designed according to a set of plans or design and quilts are one of those beautiful handmade items that can make a home warm and cheerful.

I know Grace is going to have some great thoughts about her chosen verse, here are mine. No matter how many lovely quilts you might have, what sort of interior decorating, the size or type of the home, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. That means to me the verse isn't talking about a physical structure, but the heart of the home. What sort of foundation is your home built upon?

When my son came home from college, before he set out to work at church camp this summer, he brought home a stack of black and white classic films from the library. One was Citizen Kane. The character in the movie built an enormous empire, palatial homes, had every type of possession a person could materially desire, but died alone, misunderstood, sad and miserable. Contrast that with King David, who started out a humble shepherd and ended up king of Israel. When you read his life story, there is a lot of drama, a lot of sad times for David. But he built his life, his foundation, upon following the Lord, upon his love for God. And the bible tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.

Wow! That statement is overwhelming in a sense. Who wouldn't want that said of them?

Building your 'house,' your life, according to God's principles doesn't guarantee happiness in an earthly sense, but it does provide you with inner peace and the assurance that when the Lord is in charge, it will all turn out right in the end.

This card also fits the current Papertrey Peeps challenge #11 to force yourself outside of your comfort zone. I love the color yellow, it is so cheerful but I struggle to use it well. I also almost never use Ocean Tides, (pssst! don't tell anyone but I think its rather ugly . . . so I combined them! Sooooo not in my comfort zone, but I think it turned out all right. I followed the past Mojo Monday sketch 147 and it was a great way to use the PTI quilt blocks. Thanks for looking. Hope you can play along this week with Stampin' Sisters in Christ.

Stamps: PTI Quilter's Sampler
Ink: black, yoyo yellow for sponging
Paper: Cosmo cricket DeLovely, ocean tides, spring moss, hawaiian shores, white
Other: 3/4 inch punch, ocean tides dotted ribbon, petite scalloped nestability circles, white brads, fiskars corner embossing punch