Safety is of the Lord

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another great challenge at Word Art Wednesday. Our focus verse this week is Proverbs 21:31, “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.”  When an army is preparing for battle, they go to great preparations.  They get a plan of attack ready, outfit their troops, pack ammunition and provisions, scout out the terrain, clean their weapons, prepare their armor (in ancient times) or uniforms, prepare their transportation (horses, camels, tanks, trucks, ships, etc.), and study the typical weather conditions.  However, even with these elaborate preparations, the outcome of the battle is still in the hand of the Lord.  Many times during the Old Testament time period, the children of Israel were outnumbered and/or had lesser equipment, but God intervened and they won the battle/war.  During WWII, the Germans planned to invade England via the English Channel.  On at least four different occasions, unusual and never seen in recorded history weather conditions prevented their attack.  God alone controls the weather. The Germans had made their preparations and timed the attack perfectly according to human reasoning, but truly “safety is of the Lord.”

Making preparations during a time of war or even for daily life is admirable and right.  In Luke 14:28, the question is asked, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” As we look around our world today, we see so many things that can alarm and dishearten us.  We may feel that there is no way Truth and Right can prevail.  However, we must remember that whether we are acting as an individual or a nation, it is God that determines the outcome of all things. As John Phillips states in Exploring Proverbs Volume 2, “A nation’s best line of defense is an active trust in God.”  

When I saw the WORDart for this verse, I thought it would be perfect for a bookmark.  I really like the papers in this BoBunny paper pad and decided to use some favorite techniques with them:  inking and dry embossing.  I inked the edges of all the papers in Chestnut Roan chalk ink.  After dry embossing the patterned paper layer, I used the direct to paper technique with Walnut Stain distress ink. 

After stamping the compass image with the same Distress Ink, I die cut it and double matted it on two more circles.  After adhering all the layers, a metal eyelet and some rough twine finish it off.  Since I wanted it to stay flat, I resisted the urge to put some bling in the middle of the compass.  :) I love to read so this bookmark will be put to use pretty soon.

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Recollections
Patterned Paper:  Bo Bunny (Weekend Market 6x6 pad)
Stamps:  WORDart by Karen (Proverbs 21:31), Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (Across the Miles clear stamp set) 
Ink:  ColorBox Chalk Ink (Chestnut Roan), Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)
Tools/Embellishments: Jillibean Soup Bean Stalks (Multi-Stripe), Spellbinders Dies (Circles Large and Small, Petite Scalloped Circles), My Favorite Things Die-namics (Fish Tail Stax), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Basketweave), eyelet from stash

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Digi Choosday Week 11 - Make Anything but a square card
Crafting When We Can Challenge 90 - Favorite hobby or activity (reading)

Thanks for stopping by for a visit today.  I hope you'll be able to come back soon.  Please take some time to visit the Word Art Wednesday blog to see the projects made by the rest of the Design Team and to pick up your free digi.  Have a good week!!