Challenge Weeks #332-#333 Anything Goes

Welcome back to Word Art Wednesday, everyone.  We're so glad you're here, and we hope that you're having a blessed week.  It's time for a brand new challenge with another awesome sponsor, lots of great inspiration, a beautiful piece of word art with a lovely devotional, and just a whole lot of fun.  Please know that we are very grateful to have you play along with us and share your amazing art.  It's always a treat to see what you've created, and we hope you know how much it means to us that you take the time to link up with us.  We wish we could give everyone a prize, and we really do wish you all the best of luck in the random draw for this week's amazing prize.  Here's a brief devotional for you based on the scripture from our new word art.  We hope it is a blessing to you.

This week we're focusing on a verse from the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 15:7, "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hand be weak: for your work shall be rewarded." A little history lesson for this one (you can read it for yourself in 2 Chronicles 14 & 15). Israel's king at this time was Asa. He was a good king that sought the Lord and wanted to please Him. He put away the idols and altars made to false gods. When he was in battle, he prayed to the Lord and asked (and received) His help. A prophet, Azariah, came to Asa and told him that if he would continue to seek the Lord, the Lord would continue to help him. Azariah told King Asa that for a long time the people of Israel had neglected to serve the Lord and that because of this they had suffered adversity. But that when they sought the Lord, they found Him there to help them. He encouraged Asa in verse 7 to be strong and continue to do what was right and that the Lord would reward him. Asa took courage from Azariah's encouragement and continued to remove the altars, idols and other places where false gods were worshiped. He was such a good example to his people that they also worshiped the Lord. As a result, the Lord gave him a long period of rest from battle and blessed him. 

So what does this have to do with us? It's a reminder to us that encouraging others is vitally important. If you see someone trying to serve the Lord, encourage them to keep on being faithful. Your pastor, Sunday School or Bible Study teacher, choir director or other church leader carries burdens you don't see. Encourage them to remain faithful and that the Lord notices what others do not. Encourage fellow Christians to hold the line and remain true to the Lord. As card makers, we have a perfect opportunity to turn our hobby into a ministry of blessing others. How about a note to a shut-in, a mom who has missed church due to sick children, or a missionary that your church supports? Let them know that they are not forgotten. Let's try to be like Azariah and encourage our Christian leaders and fellow Christians. Let's also try to be like King Asa and remain faithful in serving the Lord, and be a good example to our fellow Christians.   - Devotional by Stephanie Wright

As always, you are welcome to save the free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are never required to use it in order to play along in our challenges.   We welcome you share your all your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of altered or digital art (not just limited to cards).  You may link up to five (5) projects each week, for a total of ten (10) entries per two-week challenge. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning.  It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you as we share it. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules".  Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to our guidelines.  Please know that this doesn't mean we are judging anyone.  We're simply attempting to honor God and follow His rules.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here is this week's word art.  We hope
that it will be a blessing to you.

Here's our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

For this challenge, our dear friends at
Winnie & Walter are offering one lucky
person a generous $25 Gift Certificate.
If you're not yet familiar with this AWESOME
store, I hope you will stop by to do some
window shopping.  They carry the sweetest
stamps, dies, and more.  Check it out here
at Winnie & Walter

AND NOW.....Our Very Lucky Winner:

Stamp Simply Clear Stamps was our

generous sponsor for the last challenge.  One

lucky person has won their choice of either

TWO stamp sets, or ONE stamp set and ONE

die-cut set of choice.  How awesome is that?

The lucky winner of this awesome prize

is Entry #249 - Helen Gullett

And Our Top 3 Honors Go To:
Entry #9 - Lil Artsy Woman

Entry #243 - Diane Hover
Entry #245 - DanielalaArt

Please email Karen if you'd like a
Top 3 Badge for your blog.  All winners
must also email us per the Rules Page.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

AND NOW.....Here's some inspiration to get you started:

Our April Guest Designer, Esther Asbury

Dottie Seubert 

Natalie Houston

Terri Trotter-Earley 

Ginny Maxam

JoAnn Atterbury

Coming Soon

Stephanie Wright

Karen Letchworth

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge Weeks #330-331 Anything Goes

Hello, friends!  Today's post is going to be a bit brief.  I'm just getting over an awful stomach flu.  I apologize that I don't have a card to share, and I hope to get it up later this week.  What a blessing to have such an AMAZING Design Team to count on.  Their samples are amazing. I'm also going to be late with this week's devotional.   I do apologize, but I realize that "the show must go on".  I wanted to make sure that the challenge starts on time.

The scripture file for this challenge is from James 1:5 which says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him".  The most important thing we can learn from this verse is that God gives us wisdom, and that it's quite alright to ask Him for it.  Any time you are troubled or uncertain about what to do in a situation, you are free to go directly to God for the widsom you need.  Nothings is ever too big or too small for Him.  

As always, you are welcome to save the free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are never required to use it in order to play along in our challenges.   We welcome you share your all your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of altered or digital art (not just limited to cards).  You may link up to five (5) projects each week for a total of ten (10) per two-week challenge. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning.  It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you as we share it. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules".  Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to our guidelines.  Please know that this doesn't mean we are judging anyone.  We're simply attempting to honor God and follow His rules.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here is this week's word art.  We hope
that it will be a blessing to you.

Here's our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

Stamp Simply Clear Stamps is our

generous sponsor for this challenge.  One

lucky person will win their choice of either

TWO stamp sets, or ONE stamp set and ONE

die-cut set of choice.  How awesome is that?

Some of our designers have used Stamp Simply

Clear Stamps products on their samples today.

Our new friends at The Project Bin

proudly sponsored our last challenge.

This sweet shop carries unique high-quality

clear stamps to help you create the

sweetest cards.  This lucky person has

won a $15 Gift Certificate to spend

at The Project Bin.......

Entry #339 -Angie B.

AND

Bugaboo Stamps was our digital sponsor

for the last challenge.  If you're not yet

familiar with this ADORABLE digi shop,

you will most definitely want to do some

browsing.  They have oodles and oodles

of adorable digital stamps.  Let's hear it for

the winner of the prize from

Bugaboo Stamps.

It's Entry #87 - Julie O.

And Our Top 3 Honors Go To:
Entry #3 - Julie Gearinger

Entry #265 - Melissa
Entry #341 -Valerija

Please email Karen if you'd like a
Top 3 Badge for your blog.  All winners
must also email us per the Rules Page.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

AND NOW.....Here's some inspiration to get you started:

Our April Guest Designer, Esther Asbury

Dottie Seubert

Dottie also created a card using Coffee Or Tea

Stamp Set and coordinating Coffee or Tea Dies

from our sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Natalie Houston

Using Thinking of You Rose Stamp

Set and Coffee or Tea Die Cut from

Sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Terri Trotter-Earley

Ginny Maxam

Ginny used Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

sweet Words Of Encouragement Stamp Set

JoAnn Atterbury

JoAnn's sweet collection uses the

Fear Not Stamp Set from Stamp Simply

Clear Stamps.

Stephanie Wright

Stephanie Used Thinking of You Rose

Stamp Set from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Interior View of Stephanie's Card featuring

the lovely Thinking of You Rose Stamp Set

 from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge #328 - #329 - Anything Goes

Welcome back to Word Art Wednesday.  We're so glad you're here, and we hope you are ready for another FABULOUS challenge.  We have two AWESOME sponsors, a quick devotional, and our word art/scripture file.  Feel free to right click and save the scripture art (if you want to do so).  It's always a blessing to have you stop by.  We hope this post will be an encouragement to you this week.

The word "yoke" in this verse refers to servitude....the "rules" of serving God.  While the teachings of the Pharisees in early times carried a yoke (burden) too difficult for mankind to bear.  Yet, the yoke of Jesus Christ (His rules for life) are further explained in the words "learn of me" that follow in this passage.  As we read here, being a follower of Jesus Christ is not really difficult, and it's not full of made-up rules like the Pharisees might have professed were necessary.  When we read "for I am meek and lowly in heart, this simply means that He has sympathy and understanding of all classes and conditions, and that He can completely relate to what we are feeling in every situation.  What a joy to know that our precious Savior knows (and cares) how we feel.  And finally, "you shall find rest for your souls".  Doesn't that really say it all?  Where else, but in the arms (or presence) of God can we find true rest for our souls?  All is well when we place our lives, our faith, our eternity, our everything in Him.

As always, you are welcome to save the free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are never required to use it in order to play along in our challenges.   We welcome you share your all your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of altered or digital art (not just limited to cards).  You may link up to five (5) projects each week. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning.  It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you as we share it. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules".  Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to our guidelines.  Please know that this doesn't mean we are judging anyone.  We're simply attempting to honor God and follow His rules.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here is this week's word art.  We hope
that it will be a blessing to you.

Here's our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

Our new friends at The Project Bin

are sponsoring us again for this challenge.

This sweet shop carries unique high-quality

clear stamps to help you create the

sweetest cards.  One lucky person will

win a $15 Gift Certificate to spend

at The Project Bin.  Karen used one

of their stamp sets on her sample

for this challenge.  We hope you will

stop by to get acquainted with The

Project Bin.

AND

Bugaboo Stamps is our digital sponsor

for this challenge.  If you're not yet

familiar with this ADORABLE digi shop,

you will most definitely want to do some

browsing.  They have oodles and oodles

of adorable digital stamps.  Some of our

designers have used Bugaboo images on

their samples today.  We hope you

will visit Bugaboo Stamps.

AND NOW......Our very lucky winner:

Our dear friends at Freckled Fawn are
generously sponsoring us again this year.
This fabulously dear store carries the
sweetest collection of wares to adorn all
your crafting, card-making, scrapping,
creative projects.  You want want to miss
out, so stop by and explore what's new
at Freckled Fawn today.   One lucky
winner will win this fabulous prize:
Entry # 189 - Marilyn (Mississippi McGyver)

And Our Top 3 Honors Go To:
Entry #192 - Annushree

Entry #224- Marie Bingaman
Entry #242 - Berina Febin

Please email Karen if you'd like a
Top 3 Badge for your blog.  All winners
must also email us per the Rules Page.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

AND NOW.....Here's some inspiration to get you started:

Migdalia Rodriguez, Our March Guest Designer

Migdalia's Card Using an Image

Called Bug Cherry Girl from

Sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

Dottie Seubert

Natalie Houston

Using image Spring Friends

from Sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

Terri Trotter-Earley

Ginny Maxam

Ginny's Card Using an Image

Called 4-Block Tulip Square 

from Sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

JoAnn Atterbury

Using Image Two Girls

from Sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

Stephanie Wright

Stephanie Used an Image

Called 4-Block Tulip Square 

from Sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

Karen Letchworth

Karen's first card uses a cute stamp

set called Kinda Sorta (4 sentiment set)

from our sponsor, The Project Bin

Karen's second card uses this week's
scripture/word art along with a cute

digital image called

Easter Egg Basket from

our digital sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps

An InLinkz Link-up

Challenge #326 - #327........Anything Goes

Hello, everyone!  Welcome back for another FABULOUS challenge.  We're SO glad that you're here to play along with us.  Our dear friends from Freckled Fawn are back to offer some of their amazing wares to one of our lovelies playing along.  This may be YOUR lucky week, and we're looking forward to seeing what you will link up in this challenge.  We're ready to get started.

The Bible verse used for this beautiful piece of word art is Psalm 93:4, and it says "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea".  For anyone who has ever stood at the edge of a vast body of water (such as Lake Superior (a Great Lake), The Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, or another very large body of water; you are quickly reminded of its great size, how deep and powerful its waters are, and how strong its waves can grow to be.  However, this scripture reminds us that God is bigger, stronger and greater than the mightiest waters and waves because 1) He created them, and so 2) He controls them.  Despite the power of these great bodies of water and their waves, God alone possesses the power to stop the waves, direct the waves, make water change course, disappear, or anything else He chooses.  He is in control of ALL things including, but never limited to, the mighty waves of the sea.  It's important to remember His power and strength.  He is able to use His amazing power to protect His children.  God maintains ALL power, and He gives it freely to His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven who alone gives atonement for our sins.  He can pardon our sins and protect us once we have placed our trust in Him.  It's important to realize His power and strength and His willingness to use His might to protect us even though He is a sovereign and just God, and we are sinners.  In awe of Him, we should thank Him for first forgiving us, and then loving and protecting us with the power of eternity that ONLY He offer.  We are so blessed to be loved by Him.....our mighty and powerful God.

As always, you are welcome to save the free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are never required to use it in order to play along in our challenges.   We welcome you share your all your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family-friendly, and uses an encouraging or uplifting sentiment. This includes any type of altered or digital art (not just limited to cards).  You may link up to five (5) projects each week. The more you enter, the more you increase your odds of winning.  It is our desire that God's Word will be a blessing and encouragement to you as we share it. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules under our page tab for "Challenge Rules".  Because our ultimate goal is to honor God, we have no other choice but to delete any entries that do not adhere to our guidelines.  Please know that this doesn't mean we are judging anyone.  We're simply attempting to honor God and follow His rules.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here is this week's word art.  We hope
that it will be a blessing to you.

Here's our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

Our dear friends at Freckled Fawn are
generously sponsoring us again this year.
This fabulous store carries the
sweetest collection of wares and
all sorts of lovelies to adorn each of
your crafting, card-making, scrapping,
and other creative projects.  You want
want to miss out, so stop by and explore
what's new at Freckled Fawn today. 
One lucky person will win a lovely
$15 Gift Certificate to spend at
Freckled Fawn.

AND NOW......Our lucky winners:

Our friends at Crafty Individuals have generously

agreed to sponsor us again this year.  Located in

the UK, this AMAZING store carries so many of

your favorite stamps, dies, embellishments, and

SO much more.  One lucky person has won a

20 pound prize to spend at this AWESOME

store.  Be sure to stop by Crafty Individuals

to see ALL the FABULOUS products they carry.

Our lucky winner is Entry #37 - Cards By Beckie

AND

For those of you playing along in the US,

Karen is offering this prize to another lucky

winner.  This brand new stamp set is from

Uniko Stamps

and is called I Love Tea Clear Stamp Set

but it comes from Karen's personal stash.

This goes to........

Entry #247 - Gail Scott

AND

Graciellie Design is our digital sponsor

for this challenge.  This AMAZING shop

is filled with rubber stamps, digital stamps,

and more.  Some of our DT Members have

used Graciellie images on their projects

today.  The lucky person who has won

THIS FABULOUS PRIZE is..............

Entry #275 - KT Fit Kitty

And Our Top 3 Honors Go To:

Entry #4 - Mary V Scraps
Entry #281 - Cynthia O.
Entry #300 - Ann Mynyer-Tracy

Please email Karen if you'd like a
Top 3 Badge for your blog.  All winners
must also email us per the Rules Page.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

AND NOW.....Here's some inspiration to get you started:

Migdalia Rodriguez, Our March Guest Designer

Dottie Seubert

  

Natalie Houston

Terri Trotter-Earley

Ginny Maxam

JoAnn Atterbury

Stephanie Wright

An InLinkz Link-up