Sacrifice

The heroes of Flight 93 won the first battle in the War on Terror, and they should never be forgotten.

Jim Ramstad

http://www.brainyquote.com

With Memorial Day here in the States just a few days away it seems only fitting to transition my talk today in this direction. After all it is in the same vein as the last several posts and appropriate in every way. Memorial Day is a day of remembering of all of those who gave their lives in service to those of us that remain behind. It is also for the living who have sacrificed so much to insure the continuation of the freedom we take so much for granted. That includes the military, police and fire personnel who are daily putting their lives on the line for all of us. At times even the ordinary citizen steps forward to do the unexpected and puts others before themselves for the greater good of all. Flight 93 is a prime example of that unprecedented valor when they realized what was happening and chose death rather than allowing that flight to reach its target. There are many heroes out there that are never recognized as such because they are still alive. They are without question heroes since they chose to take the path that put them in a position of being or potentially being in harms way for the health and benefit of others with no thought to their own safety. Just because they were not tested does not make them any less the hero. No matter how they are serving or if they are private citizens I salute you. You are the unsung heroes to all of us.

"Put yourselves to the test to make sure you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Do you not recognize yourselves as people in whom Jesus Christ is present?—unless, that is, you fail the test. But we, as I hope you will come to recognize, do not fail the test."

The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (2 Co 13:5–6). New York: Doubleday. 

Remember that all of the disciples and apostles were true to the calling and the ethic that all the teachings and examples of Christ are that we should forsake ourselves and be aware of the need of others. Just about all of them died in one way or other and all for the sake of others.
 
It is time once again to say thank you to those that follow me and that I am  following even if they are not following me. If it were not for all of you I would not be doing this blog. Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us.


Tammy is a military wife with a young boy that loves baseball. She has her hands full with this bundle of energy. She makes some awesome cards for us to enjoy and her talents are easy to see in her craftiness. Be sure to stop by and leave her a comment which I guarantee she will appreciate.

Janeen is a prolific card maker. It always surprises me that someone can do that many cards and not repeat or run out of ideas. Visit her and leave a bit of love by commenting on some of her crafty creations.


Janis is a cat lover. If you like thinking out of the box or are a cat lover you will love this crafter. I like her crafty style and humor too. she always includes a cute cat image and saying in her blog. If you visit, leave behind a b it of love with a comment.


I have a duo of cards for you that were done with the peacock image from last post. I know, I know there was only one peacock. I did a second one and turned both of them into cards. They are both done in step cards, one side and one center. First the center step card.

Both of the step cards a my design since they needed to be adjusted for the image and how I wanted to use them. My thanks once again to Em Fairley of Creative Em for this image. Love Detailed images. The papers are from Once Upon A Time Stack Mat and Old World Stack Mat. The peacock was colored with Copics: RV02, RV11, RV17, Y08, YG07, YG23, YG41, G03, G16, B02, B06, B29, E34, E59, E70, T0, W2.  The sticker embellishment on either side of the image is from Stamp on it stickers.

The Next card gave me fits since it is a side step card. Again the design is mine and that is for me to drive myself crazy trying to get the effect I wanted. It was only partially successful. The side image was actually an image from Digital Tuesday that had to be duplicated and colored with Copics twice as closely as possible so they matched.They were then cut to look like one image when the card is lying flat and unopened. (Should have taken a photo of it in that position but didn't.) That mostly worked but not completely.

 

Not sure where the tag is from. The side sticker trim is from Peel Offs And the sentiment is from Momenta.

Peacock Copics are RV02, RV09, R27, R35, R39, B0000, B02, B04, BG07, G16, G17, G46, YR23, YG99, E93, W0.

Side step image is: RV02, RV09, R27, G46, YG17, B32, E07, E49, E57, C1 and C2.

Here is an elevated photo so yo can see the rear image actually goes into the valley.

 
My photography is not the best with this card but hopefully you get the idea. It does look much better in person.



Thank you one and all for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will join me on my next post. Remember to always LOVE THE DETAILS.

The Action

Making the decisions in life means now we must take action.

It is easy enough to sit back and get the training needed to do the things close to our hearts. It is also very easy to sit back and do nothing but train and not use what was learned. There are those that literally school their whole life away and never practice what was learned. What use is a life that is spent gathering knowledge that never is shared or passed on? What use is a life that does not allow life itself to become a part of the other lives around it? That is what we might call being a hermit. They often do not get past the personal stage of a journey in Christ. Last post was the next step, becoming a Disciple. Now we are going to become Apostles. Within that there are the teachers, leaders, organizers, prophets, prayer warriors, healers and so on. You have learned much from all of your studies and have begun to put all of it together. What now? Now it is time to become the messenger and in many cases the witness. That can take a whole host of forms. They all mean getting the word/message out in whatever way is suited to you. Most important of all is your daily life and walk. How you live, what you say and what you do will be a beacon to what you think. I have said it before and believe it completely. Your life will reveal your heart and your walk with Jesus, Holy Spirit and God. What does your life, public and private, say about your walk with Christ? If the bible and scriptures are your guide you are based in good practice. Being a good witness and messenger means when someone observes you, you are the image of Christ. Christ was perfect and we are not but every effort should be made to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that are placed on the path during our journey. There are always decisions but they are worthless without positive action. Living as we should is the beginning. We are the example of what we share and tell others about. Anything that is opposed to that will turn others away. "Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were described in writing to be a lesson for us, to whom it has fallen to live in the last days of the ages. Everyone, no matter how firmly he thinks he is standing, must be careful he does not fall. None of the trials which have come upon you is more than a human being can stand. You can trust that God will not let you be put to the test beyond your strength, but with any trial will also provide a way out by enabling you to put up with it."
The New Jerusalem Bible. (1985). (1 Co 10:11–13). New York: Doubleday.    

It is time to say thank you once again to those that Are following me and to those that I follow. Not all follow me but I do follow all who are mentioned here. Thank you for sharing. Don't forget to leave behind some love in the form of a comment or maybe even become a follower.

Linda has a very unusual and entertaining site. She is from Montreal, Canada. If you like humor, neat vids and pictures that will give you a pleasant break from the work-a-day happenings, drop by her blog and you will be pleasantly surprised. Sorry! She is not a card maker and does not post awards or any of that sort of thing. I like her blog anyway.

Kristi is a very talented card crafter. I just came from her blog and She has posted several cards for mother's day and all are exceptional. She is a sweetheart and appreciates each and every visitor to her site. Love all of her crafty cards. Stop by, say hi and leave some love.

Jill is a Seahawk fan and lives in Oregon. I have been following her and her card making for some time now and enjoy her card creations tremendously. She is a down to earth sweetheart in every way. It is always a pleasure and a treat every time I visit her blog. Drop by and see for yourself. 

Angela is one card maker you must visit. Her cards are clean and always a pleasure to behold. I have never visited her site and come away not liking what was created. I highly recommend stopping by and checking it out. You might even want to join her following. Do leave a comment.

This post will be a sharing of two cards and an image I got in the package Jill got for mother's Day. Yeah, yeah! It was Mother's Day not doofus Day. These were included for me. I guess they wanted to avoid the kicking and having a fit because I didn't get anything. It worked didn't it? LOL

The first image is of a card sent by Em of Creative EM. Em is a pastor and also a Stampin' Up! representative in England. The card she sent for me is a very good example of her talent and creative eye. I just love the pastels in this card. I think you will agree.

The image she gave me is of a peacock. I colored it with copics and made it as close as possible to the real thing. It is a Stampin' Up! image. Loved doing this image. It will be made into a card. 

The last images are an envelope and card created by our good friend in France, Jacqueline of My Grid Projects and Jacqueline's Craft Nest.  This is extraordinary work as all of her cards are.

 The card

  

The Envelope

 

Both of these ladies are extraordinary in their talents and  generosity. Thank you both for your gifts and willingness to share.

That is it for this post. I hope you have enjoyed your visit and thank you for stopping by. I will be spending the next day or two trying to catch up with as many of you as possible. Remember to always LOVE THE DETAILS. May the Good Lord Bless and Keep you all Safe and Healthy until the next post.