Matthew 11:28

I created this card a few days ago for a U.S. soldier who was wounded recently overseas. Although I don't know him very well, and haven't seen him in a year-and-a-half, his sister is a dear friend of mine whom I've known since high school. When my friend shared that her brother had been hurt and undergone several surgeries, I knew instantly that I wanted to make a get well/thinking of you/thank you card for him. This Matthew 11:28 stamp--which I purchased from Verve Stamps a couple of weeks ago--has been propped up on my desk waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to make its debut...BINGO!

For those of you stamping nuts out there (like me), here's a little bit about how the sentiment piece of the card came together. First, I stamped the biblical quotation using Versamark ink, then covered it in clear embossing powder and heated it up with an embossing heat tool. (And for those of you who are sitting there thinking, "Huh?!"...basically, I stamped the quote using a clear, watermark ink, then dumped a bunch of white powder on top of the ink. Next, I cleared off the excess powder, and finally, heated it up using what amounts to a miniature blow dryer.) This was my first official attempt at heat embossing and I'm pleased with the results. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be! And the raised, shiny look of the letters really grabs the viewer's attention, placing it on the focal point of the card.

While the card itself was produced rather quickly, composing the sentences inside proved to be more difficult. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to say, but as I ran over the sentences in my head, I started to question whether my words were 'cliched' and 'trite.' (One of my high school English teacher's favorite words was 'trite,' and his image flashed into my mind as I thought about the word...he was saying it over and over again with a squished up face and disapproving look.) And believe me, as a notorious procrastinator, I was tempted to set the card aside for a few days to think it over, but I knew that it wouldn't be any easier to compose the letter 72 hours later. (And as Victor Kiam said, "Procrastination is opportunity's assassin.") So, I jumped in head first and wrote exactly what I was thinking. I felt like a number of thank yous were in order because soldiers make such great sacrifices and are often underpaid and unappreciated. For one, I thanked him for all that he and the other soldiers do to keep us safe and protect our freedom. There's no way I would have the courage to fight on the front lines, so I'm especially grateful to those brave men in our Armed Forces who are willing to face danger with such valiancy. I also wished him a speedy recovery and assured him that I would be praying for him over the course of the next few months.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to share with you a few non-profit organizations who support our Armed Forces. You may not personally know a soldier deployed overseas, but if you're interested in adopting a soldier and sending them letters or care packages, surf on over to: http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/. Or if you're a card maker like me, you can donate handmade cards to http://cardsforheroes.org/. Cards for Heroes sends the cards overseas, so deployed troops can use them to write home to family and friends. Twice now, I've donated small bundles of cards to this worthy effort and hope to do so again in the future!