I have decided to Follow Jesus

This week's WAW - Word Art Wednesday, was a paraphrase of Ruth 1:16 "Where you lead I will follow." My first thoughts were to the old song

"I have decided to Follow Jesus."

"Though I may wonder, still I will follow.

The world behind me the cross before me.

Though none go with me, still I will follow.

No turning back, no turning back"

I also really like the words to the hymn that I have as the second panel. It is called "I will follow thee" by James L. Elginburg. It was written in 1886. It says

" I will follow thee, my savior, whersoe'er my lot may be; where thou goest I will follow, yes my Lord, I'll follow thee.

Though the road be rough and stormy, trackless as the foaming sea; thou hast trod this way before me, and I gladly follow thee.

Though 'tis lone and dark and dreary, cheerless though my path may be, if thy voice I hear before me, fearlessly I'll follow thee.

Though I meet with tribulation, sorely tempted though I be; I remember thou wast tempted and rejoice to follow thee.

Though thou leadest through afflictions, poor, forsaken though I be; thou wast destitute, afflicted and I only follow thee.

I will follow thee my Savior, thou didst shed thy blood for me;

and though all men should forsake thee, by thy grace I'll follow thee.

God has set up a specific path for each one of us to follow. My path isn't the same as yours. But one thing I have learned is that each path has smooth areas, and difficult areas. I have friends this week who are going through one of the roughest areas on their path. They lost their 6 month old granddaughter in an apartment fire. The aunt of the little baby was saying yesterday how no one knows how she feels. My first thought was that she is right. We each have our own problems. We can sympathize with eachother, and we may go through similar things, but when it comes down to it, each of us has our own cross to pick up and follow Jesus. The comforting thought to me is that while no one knows what I am feeling or going through, God does. I thought of the old poem about the footprints. Where there were two sets of footprints and then one set of footprints, and it was during the one set of footprints that God was carrying them. I am thankful that God goes with me down my path and that He carrys me when I am too weak to make it on my own. My last thought was that each of our paths may be different but for Christians our paths all have the same destination... heaven.

My card uses this weeks scs sketch challenge, and scs ways to use it challenge. If you look at the paper behind the hymn, you will see something new for me. It is the digital paper that I won from last week's WAW sponsor Gail from Shabby Cottage Studio. It was a black and white cream background, but I made it green with my ink spray smash technique. I had so much fun making these coffee filter flowers. I also had fun using a stamp in a different way. I used the icicle stamp from Mark's Finest Papers set called Ice and snow. I turned the icicles upside down and stamped them on the top panel with light green ink. I then ink spray smashed the panel. I think it kinda looks like grass.