Word Art Wednesday

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Anything Goes - Weeks #579-580

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Word Art Wednesday for another FUN and fabulous challenge. We're always delighted to have you stop by to play along with us. We've got a beautiful new scripture file for you, a brief encouraging devotional, a winner, a wonderful sponsor/prize, some inspiration, and lots of FUN awaiting. Let's get started with our new challenge.

The scripture used to create our word art is Psalm 139:23-24 and it says, "Search me, o God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting". This is a great verse to SAY out loud to God on a regular basis. I try to do it often because it reminds me (and humbles me) that no matter how "good" I think I'm doing, that my heart is still sinful, and that I still need to remember that God sees straight through to my sinful heart. Even though we may be doing well by the world's measure, and we may be doing well in comparison to (some) others; it's never good enough. There's always something on which we can improve, and it's a good thing to remind ourselves that we need to always be striving to become more like God. The more we repeat this verse to God, the more He will help us to recognize the specific things in our lives that we can work on and do even better. It's sometimes easy to become complacent in our Christian walk and to start thinking that we're "doing good enough". That's simply NOT the case. We can't measure our obedience by the world's standards. We must measure ourselves by God's standards; which are perfect. We can always keep growing in our faith, improving in our behaviors, and always keep striving to become more like Christ. When we ask God to truly "search our hearts and show us any wicked way in us", He will always help us to keep growing in our faith and helping us to become more like Him. This will allow us to be a better example to others and to help point others to Him. It will also bring us great joy and peace. I hope you will try saying this verse out loud to God often. It also reminds the enemy (Satan) that we want to be more like Jesus. And that, my friends, is ALWAYS a good thing.

As always, you are welcome to save the word art to your computer; but you are never required to use it in order to play along or to win in our challenges. We welcome you to share all of your art with us; remembering that Anything Goes as long as it's family friendly. 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 an encouragement to you as we share it. If you have any questions about the rules, be sure to read the complete list of rules found under our Page tab marked "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 not. We are simply attempting to honor God and follow His rules. Please let us know if you have any questions about anything; and thank you for your understanding and participation.

Check out our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

The WONDERFUL, popular and much-loved

Avery Elle Designs is our sponsor for this challenge.

This FAB store is filled with creative stamps, dies,

watercolors, storage options, inks and SO much more.

One lucky participant will WIN a generous

$15 gift certificate to spend at Avery Elle.

And Now....Another Lucky Winner:

The awesome, unique, groovy and AMAZING

Seth Apter Designs sponsored our last challenge.

This crafty store is filled with cool crafting mediums

such as stamps, stencils, paints, rub-ons, adhesives,

washi tapes, various inks and many other unique

products. One lucky person has won a generous

$25 gift certificate to spend at Seth Apter Designs.

It's Lucky Entry #57 - Esther Asbury

Our Top 3 Honors Go to Our Friends:

Entry #30 - Becca Sadler

Entry #91 - Priya

Entry #126 - Wilma

Please email Karen if you'd like a

Top 3 or Winner's Badge for your blog.

All winners must also email Karen

to claim prize (per the Rules Page). Thanks!

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much. We

pray for them, and for God's hand of blessing

upon their businesses. We're SO grateful.

Here's Some Inspiration to get You Started:

Our January Guest Designer, Kathy Asper

Kathy has THREE gorgeous card samples

to share. You can see them all on her blog.

Cynthia Olheiser

Jo Ann Atterbury

Natalie Houston

Using Floral Frames Stamp and

Diagonal Stripes Die from Avery Elle

Christine Miller

Using Holiday Skates from Avery Elle

Ginny Maxam

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Anything Goes - Weeks #577-578

Welcome to Word Art Wednesday for our first challenge of 2023. God has, once again, blessed us with a full calendar of AWESOME generous sponsors. You can see the complete sponsor calendar on the Sponsor Page so that you'll be sure to join us for a chance to win these amazing prizes. We praise God for all His amazing provisions for our challenge blog, and that includes all of YOU who play along and share your art with us. It's always a treat to see your lovely cards and projects linked in our gallery. We do hope that our devotionals will bless and encourage you and that you'll have FUN creating and sharing your art with us again this year.

Our word art scripture for this challenge is found in Titus 3:5 and it says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." The Bible clearly tells us that there is absolutely NOTHING we could ever do that would allow us to "earn" our way into Heaven. Good works, no matter how good or how many, can EVER get us into Heaven. It's only by the mercy of our loving God that we can be "saved". What does it mean to be "saved"? Saved from what? Well, we (each and every one of us) are all born sinful. It's in our nature and our sin is unavoidable. We are inherently sinful people. That earns us a place in Hades (Hell) separated from God for all eternity. No matter how many good things we do, we simply cannot ever do enough to work our way into Heaven. Even "works of righteousness" that are done in accordance with the perfect laws of God cannot get us into Heaven. The next part says, "but according to His mercy He saved us". This tells us that even though we are, by nature, sinful; He was merciful towards us. God sent a part of Himself...His Son, Jesus Christ, to come and pay the price for our sins. Because He is sinless, only He could pay our sin debt and provide a way for us to reach God. That's His beautiful act of mercy towards us. The final part says, "by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost". This reminds us that we become a new creature once God has saved us and we've committed our life to Him. That's regeneration, which is a gift of the Holy Ghost. God left a part of Himself (the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit Comforter) when He ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for us. We become a new (different/better) person and, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we become a new creature who desires and strives to be more like Him with every passing day. As we grow spiritually, we learn that His laws (rules/commands and statutes/way of life) are perfect, helpful and good. The Holy Ghost fills us, and we begin to grow closer to Him by understanding Him and His ways more clearly. As we become more like God over time by drawing closer to Him, we grow in our spiritual maturity. In doing this, He blesses and strengthens us, and....PRAISE GOD, He's preparing a place for us to spend all eternity with Him. I encourage you, if you're not 100% sure that you're on your way to Heave, this is the perfect day to get it settled. Don't count on getting to Heaven by "being a good person". It won't work. Call on Jesus today and simply tell Him, "I know that you are God, I know I am sinful, I know YOU died to make a way for me, and I desire to lay my sins at your feet and to follow you and trust in You alone the rest of my life and for my eternal security". He would LOVE to hear from you today; and let me tell you....the rewards are ETERNAL.

Check out our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

The awesome, unique, groovy and AMAZING

Seth Apter Designs is the sponsor for this challenge.

This crafty store is filled with cool crafting products

such as stamps, stencils, paints, rub-ons, adhesives,

washi tapes, various inks and many other unique

products. One lucky person will WIN a generous

$25 gift certificate to spend at Seth Apter Designs.

Here's Another Lucky Winner:

Our primary sponsor for the last challenge was

Stamp Simply Clear Stamps. This awesome

store carries the most amazing stamps, sentiments,

images, die-cuts and so much more.

They're all high-quality products and they

cover EVERY occasion you'll ever need.

One lucky person selected by random draw

has won a $25 gift certificate to Stamp Simply.

Thanks to everyone who entered our challenge.

The lucky winner this time is

Entry #104 - Laurie/Stampin' Up North

AND

Tonic Studios was one of our generous

Blog Hop sponsors. We now have eight

lucky winners. Here's the complete list

of all those lucky people who have won.

Their names were randomly drawn from

all those who left comments on each DT

Members' Blog. Thanks to everyone who

hopped along with us. We appreciate you.

BLOG HOP WINNERS:

From Natalie Houston's Blog:

Carrie Sherridan

From JoAnn Atterbury's Blog:

Heather Mills

From Christine Miller's Blog:

Kathy Asper

From Ginny Maxam's Blog:

Pamela Duncan

From Gail Scott's Blog:

Allisa Steinlicht

From Cynthia Olheiser's Blog:

Gloria Shirr

From Esther Asbury's Blog:

Bunny Vance

From Karen Letchworth's Blog:

Denise Bryant

Our Top 3 Honors Go to Our Friends:

Entry #14 - Pauline C.

Entry #67 - Yvonne

Entry #101 - Francesca

Please email Karen if you'd like a

Top 3 or Winner's Badge for your blog.

All winners must also email Karen

to claim prize (per the Rules Page). Thanks!

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much. We

pray for them, and for God's hand of blessing

upon their businesses. We're SO grateful.

Here's Some Inspiration to get You Started:

Our January Guest Designer, Kathy Asper

Cynthia Olheiser

Jo Ann Atterbury

Natalie Houston

Christine Miller

Ginny Maxam

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Anything Goes/Annual BLOG HOP - Weeks #575-576

PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES. Praise God!!!! It's time for our Annual Blog Hop and we're so glad you're here to join in on all the fun. God has certainly blessed us this year, and He has great things in store for us in 2023 as well. There's a total of TEN (10) prizes up for grabs in this Blog Hop. We have our primary sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps offering a $25 prize, eight (8) AWESOME prizes on the hop (from Tonic Studios and other companies) and a special prize for anyone placing an order at Stamp Simply. Enter your cards and projects here for a chance at the $25 Stamp Simply prize and then leave a comment on each blog in the Blog Hop. That way, you'll be entered for the prize packages shown on each DT Member's blog. We praise God for all our awesome sponsors, AND for each of you who play along with us. We're so grateful for you all.

Our scripture of focus for this challenge is Psalm 65:11 and it reads, "Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness". This is a verse that says SO much to us. This world (and the enemy, Satan) would like us to believe that "things" bring us happiness. To some extent, they can. However, the things this world has to offer us are all temporary. God's promises are FOREVER. Over the course of my life as I've grown spiritually, I've learned the TRUTH about living my life according to God's (pure/perfect) laws. I've learned, and personally experienced, that every second of every day with Jesus is SO much sweeter when I draw close to Him. Psalm 65, in its entirety, speaks of God's goodness. When good things happen, it is by God's hand and God's grace...not by accident. The closer we draw to God, the more we will see just how richly He blesses us. When I take the time to see through His eyes, I'm more grateful. I look at the mountains, the trees, the oceans, and all that He created in just six literal days. Then, I remember that He's been preparing a place for me (and for ALL who have called on Him for the salvation of their soul) for thousands of years. If God put together this Earth in just six days (and HE DID!!!), then how much more WONDERFUL is the Home He's preparing for those who love Him? This verse says, "thy paths drop fatness", which simply means that He blesses us and wants good for us. Everything we have comes from Him and belongs to Him. Our lives only get better, sweeter, more abundant, and SO much easier to accept when we fully trust that He is in control. We need to stop trying to figure out everything on our own and simply TRUST that He is God and that He'll always take care of us. Let Him make your paths "fat" with His goodness. God is SO good. He wants for YOU to come to Him, to trust Him, to admit that you are a sinner and that you NEED Him. He's patiently waiting for us to come to Him so that He can crown our year with His goodness and make our paths fat with His blessings. Today is a great day to tell God how much you love Him, need Him and appreciate Him. He longs to hear from you.