Stampin' Sisters in Christ first challenge of 2012 . . . Others

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, wehre all of our challenges are based upon scripture. This week our sponsor is The Craft's Meow, you can find more information about TCM on the main page, and see the other creations by the design team.

This week I am the hostess. The verse I have selected is from Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." My challenge is for you to create a card to let someone else know you are thinking about them. It can be a bible verse, a real thinking of you sentiment, sympathy, or hello.

I have some thoughts to share about this verse, if you care to red them.

Welcome to a new year. I don’t know about you, but 2011 was a tough one for our household and for many of my friends. When my husband and I sat down to look at the year in retrospect we realized we’re both tired.

But what you put into your mind and heart influences your outlook on life. This past week two of my children attended Passion 2012 in Atlanta, a gathering of more than 40,000 college aged people who worshipped the Lord and pledged to try to end human trafficking in their lifetime. Due to one person’s generosity, a live video feed enabled us to watch the sessions too and we were brought to tears by the stories of the individuals through film or narrative, representing the 27 million people around the globe who are enslaved or in human bondage.

I had a rough year? By my standards I did, yes. But I wasn’t sold into slave labor. I didn’t watch one of my friends get killed by a pimp. I don’t work all day for a crust of bread, a cup of tea and a beating at the end of it all.

I have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast there fore as it continues in Ephesians Chapter 2, verse 10, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I have work to do this year. Yes, we might be tired but I need to pick myself up and continue in the work the Lord has prepared for me to do, because my tiredness is nothing compared to 99% of the rest of the world. And before I ever watched that conference or heard those speakers I had selected this motto for myself for this year, to think of others before myself. To remember that reaching out to others, that remembering their needs and their wants above my own is the surest cure for the blues or the self-centered thinking that pulls me down in a whirlpool of self-pity.

So this week’s challenge is based on Philippians 2:3-4 and the goal is for you to make a card to send to someone who needs a lift. The general thought is a thinking of you card, but it can contain a scripture verse or any sentiment that conveys that your thoughts or your prayers are with that other person. That’s my biggest new year’s ambition, what is yours?

At the Passion 2012 conference the organizers challenged the college students there to raise $1 million to help end human trafficking. These poor students (very few college students I know have any money) raised more than $3 million in three days. If they can do that what can we do in the name of Jesus Christ this year?

I made two different types of cards for this challenge, one with my favorite duck stamp from Hambo and another with a wonderful bible verse I recently received off off a blog win from Our Daily Bread Designs, Scripture verse #3 collection. I like each and every verse in the set. I haven't stamped since last year prior to Christmas, it took a sketch to help me at least get started, so I found one at Mojo Monday, number 222.

We do hope you can find time to play along this week. Thanks for looking.