Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge 7o . . . think small

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. You can find the main page here where you will find the lovely creations by the other design team sisters. This week I have the good fortune to be the hostess, and Our Daily Bread Designs is our sponsor. They are awarding a $15 gift card to one lucky, randomly selected winner on our blog so although it is a busy week, we hope you can play along.

The verse I selected for this week is from Micah 5:2 {NKJV} "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

Here are my thoughts on the verse I selected:
My husband loves adventures; he loves to explore. A few years ago at Christmas the kids got him a book entitled, 1,ooo Places to See Before You Die.

Two thousand years ago if there had been such a book, Bethlehem would not have been included on the list. And of all the places included in that thousand, my guess is that very few of us live in one of them. The world is dotted with small towns, villages, out of the way corners and even random streets within large cities where millions live and go about their business every day. We live ordinary lives in ordinary places completing ordinary tasks.

And that very ordinary life might cause you to feel a sense of defeat, of hopelessness, especially at this time of year. What significance do I have, what contribution am I making, in this very ordinary life of mine?

God's message to you from this verse is that there is no insignificant member of his family. He doesn't make mistakes. God has placed you in that ordinary place in your specific situation for a reason, for a purpose that fits into his eternal plan.

Feel the tenderness in that verse . . . 'though you are little among the thousands of Judah'. . . and let that tenderness wash over your soul. God feel the same way about you, He has his loving eyes upon you. Out of the thousands and millions of people on this earth, He notices you from among all of them. And just as God chose the small town of Bethlehem to bring forth the Savior of this world, He can use you for kingdom work, right where you are.

That's why this week's challenge is to use an inchie or inchies in your stamped creation, to remind us that no matter how small we might feel we have great beauty in God's eyes and a purpose in his plan.

There are many ways to incorporate the inchie concept in your creations. Some stamps are specifically designed as inchies, some images are small enough to fit inside an inch sized space, or you can do what I did with my card and punch out an inch worth of image to highlight. And though you can't see it, I stamped white on white on the back panel and then stamped a swirl of snowflakes and embossed them with irridescent ice embossing powder, so there is a lot of depth in the white, it just doesn't photograph well. Thank you for looking, we hope you can play along this week.

Stamps: Gina K, PTI, Inkadinkadoo, Verve

Paper: black and white

Ink: black, white craft

Other: pencils, gamsol, glitter, ribbon, impression plates, crystal effects, silver whatchamacallits, irridescent ice embossing powder, vintage corner die

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