Mustard Seed Challenges

Welcome back to Mustard Seed Faith challenges! We were so thrilled to have our first group of participants in our new challenge blog these past two weeks, with our challenge then, to use the color yellow! We are going to look through your contributions as a design team and award some blog buttons you can display on the sidebar of your own blog if you wish.

This week's challenge is to make an Easter card, layout or altered art/mixed media piece.

Easter...a little early for that, isn't that in two weeks? Yes, you'd be right, but we wanted to put that out as a challenge so you could create something and have time to mail it if is a card, or have it ready for photos if it is a scrapbook page.

Easter, or the celebration of what it means, is for me a year-round event. The gift Jesus gave to me, paying for my sins on the cross, has an impact on my life every day.

There are certain songs that bring me to tears whenever we sing them in church. I visited my daughter in Los Angeles last week, my first visit to her in three years since she moved there. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend church with her (Reality in Hollywood) and there we sang "Stronger" by Hillsong. Here are the lyrics:

Stronger

There is love that came for us

Humbled to a sinner's cross 

You broke my shame and sinfulness,

You rose again victorious.

Faithfulness none can deny 

Through the storm and through the fire

There is truth that sets me free

Jesus Christ who lives in me!

Chorus:

You are stronger, you are stronger

Sin is broken, you have saved me

It is written, Christ is risen!

Jesus you are Lord of all! 

No beginning and no end

You're my hope and my defense

You came to seek and save the lost

You paid it all upon the cross.

So let your name be lifted higher

Be lifted higher, be lifted higher...

I generally lose it by the time we get to the chorus, "you have saved me..." Those people who cry at church? Yup, that's me and every tear is genuine. I am overwhelmed at the realization that the God of the universe loved me enough to take my sins upon him and pay them on the cross. Me, a sinner. I have nothing to bring on my own. No amount of good deeds, good thoughts, church attendance, family background, nothing can erase the fact that I am a sinner and all those efforts are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) compared to the perfection and wonder of God himself.

You can read the resurrection story for yourself in Luke 24, John 20 or Matthew 28, to name a few places. But if you accept the fact that you are a sinner, that only Jesus' death and resurrection can save you, then you can celebrate that story in your life every day. Such good news! That's why we are here, to share the good news of what Jesus has done in our own lives and to spread that good news to others.

My words feel so inadequate to describe the joy that fills my heart when I think of Jesus. I guess the only way to truly understand is to invite Him into your own heart, to have your own story of redemption, to have your own soul filled with the joy that only Jesus can provide. We hope you do. And we hope you join us in sharing your own Easter creations. We will enjoy seeing them pop up on this blog. Thank you and God bless.

Traci

MariLynn

PeggySue

Tracey

Diane

 Nancy

Please use the InLinkz tool to add your own creations below, card, scrapbook layout, altered art,/mixed media, or bible journaling.