Comfort, Strength, and Courage

I keep needing cards for people I care about who are fighting cancer or other difficult battles. I used a set of sentiments about courage and strength that can apply to a lot of serious trials someone might face. What I'm wondering about this card is whether it sounds final, like they're facing death. My feeling is that it's for the health battle someone is facing, but someone else might think it sounds like I believe they're dying. What do you think?

 I stippled the white panel with Sweet Leaf ink, then stamped the parsley with Juniper. For the Retro Rubber challenge, I've had the stamp set "Good Thymes" since December 2016.) The first part of the PTI sentiment was stamped with New England Ivy. I die cut three of the word "courage" with black cardstock and adhered them together.   I used CTMH Fresh Air papers plus this sketch from Sketch-Tanten (The Sketch-Aunts):

Inside:

On the left side I used the stipple brush again with Sweet Leaf ink to help set off the white scripture die cut: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13" I think it was from Word Art Wednesday a couple of years ago.

 I used scraps to enhance the inside sentiment: "When you don't have the strength, may you find the courage."

Thank you for visiting! May you, too, have courage and strength for the battles you face!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge #220 - use three of something (3 papers, 3 black enamel dots)

Crafting from the Heart challenge #209 - anything goes

Crafty Calendar June Challenge - three of something (3 papers, 3 black enamel dots)

heARTful Stamping challenge - anything goes 

Retro Rubber challenge #88 - anything goes (CTMH Good Thymes purchased 12/16)

Sketch-Tanten #44 sketch

Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #336-337 - anything uplifting

"You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Psalm 145:16 (WEB)

365 Promises (of God) - Promise #155:  When I open My hand, I provide for all that I have created.

Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound

We all need a little encouragement from time to time, some of us more than others. I usually like to be the one to encourage others, but yesterday I had a small shock that left me feeling quite down. I have a rare disease, systemic mastocytosis, that requires me to drink a liquid medicine 4 times a day or I can't eat. For the last year and a half I've been down to only two foods (that didn't make me sick or give me rash) and they've given me trouble the last month. Nausea is not my friend. But when I found they had raised my medication cost by 82% and I'll be paying over $800 a month for just this one generic med for most of the year I went into shock! I knew I needed to turn this burden over to God. I went back and forth between worry and prayer. Today I was comforted by 1 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." So here's the card I made maybe for myself, but eventually to give someone else. I was inspired by the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and the colors at Color Throwdown this week.

 

Challenge Up Your Life today encouraged us to make our own backgrounds so I embossed the back panel with Cuttlebug's older Allegro embossing folder. I stamped the Honey panel with Saffron ink using Our Daily Bread Design's "Amazing Grace Hymn" stamp and stamped and cut the "Amazing," "Grace," and "how sweet the sound" with PTI's "Inspired - Grace" stamp and die set. The inside used the same stamp set and blue washii tape like the front.

I also wanted a sympathy card for a dear friend who just lost her husband to cancer. We were reading teachers in the same program and district who also loved scrapbooking. Before her teaching days she worked for the National Park Service, so I chose the trees and a Cricut Flower Market cut of a Maidenhair fern like I'd seen in Zion National Park.

I decided to make more of these with a slightly varied design using the Sizzix embossed birch trees and the Sea Glass tree pattern from the CTMH "Oh, Deer" papers.

I'm also sharing this card with Word Art Wednesday #264-265.

Thank you for visiting. When you encounter your need for encouragement, I hope you'll also find strength in the knowledge that God's grace IS sufficient to see us through any trial.