Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Challenge #114 - Anything Goes

Isn't God good?  We say it all the time, but it's just SO true.  He is SO incredibly good to us, and we are incredibly blessed people.  But do we thank Him enough for all our blessings?  We encourage you to take time every single day to THANK HIM for all He has given you, and to pray for those who are less fortunate.  I heard a quote a while back that said, "If you woke up tomorrow morning, and the ONLY things you had left were those things for which you THANKED GOD yesterday......what would you have?"  It really made me think, and reminded me that I CANNOT and MUST NOT let a day go by without thanking Him for all He has done.  Just take time each day to say "THANK YOU, LORD for all the blessings in my life"; because after all, everything we have comes from Him (James 1:17), and it can all disappear just as quickly as it arrived.  And next time you're feeling down in the dumps about something that didn't go quite the way you had anticipated, DON'T complain.  But rather, just THANK HIM for what He HAS DONE, and don't worry about what hasn't happened, or what you don't have.  It's just SO important to be thankful for what we have; because if we're not thanking and praising Him for what we already have, and being good stewards of our blessings, He won't give us more.  Sometimes we don't get the things we request simply because He knows things that we don't know, and He can see into the future as to how it may pull us away from Him.  Trust Him!  God wants to pour out blessings on us; but first, we have to show Him that we're being faithful with what we already have, and grateful for how He protects us with the decisions on what He does (or doesn't) give us.  We encourage "an attitude of gratitude"!

Our word art/scripture for this week is Matthew 6:33, and it tells us that the first thing we need to do is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  This goes along with the previous paragraph.  We need to keep our focus on Jesus Christ and His will for our lives.  When we're faithful with what we have, and trust God with the circumstances of our lives, He will add unto us all the things we need in our lives to make us comfortable in our journey.  We may not have every material thing we ever dreamed of, but living for Him and honoring His commands/seeking His will for our lives will bring us a peace that the world will never understand.  We just need to strive to live for Him, trust Him, and follow His commands as we walk through life.  In return, He will continue to bless us and provide for all our needs and desires.  We don't need to worry about tomorrow when we have faith.  We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we certainly do know WHO holds tomorrow.   What a blessing!

As always, you are welcome to save this week's free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are not required to use it in order to play along in our challenges.   We welcome you share 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 art (not just limited to cards).  You may link up to 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 each week. 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 these guidelines.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here's this week's beautiful scripture/word art file.
We really hope that you will enjoy it!
This week's awesome sponsors are:
Check this out!  One very lucky person
will get a $15 Gift Certificate to spend at
the amazing Kraft Outlet.  SO many great
products - check them out here at Kraft Outlet
AND
Eureka Stamps is a favorite for everyone,
and one lucky person gets to choose
five (5) images of their choice
from the FUN Eureka Stamps store!
 
And next, here are last week's winners!
We know Entry #65 - Patti J. will be thrilled
to learn that she has won a $10 Gift Certificate
to the awesome Loves Rubber Stamps store!
AND
The lucky winner of five (5) images of their
choice from the ADORABLE Milk Coffee Stamps
is the very blessed Entry #2 - Jess
 
May God bless all our amazing sponsors.
We appreciate them all SO very much!
Here's some inspiration from our Design Team
 Our January Guest Designer, Jill Tiffany Dien
Our Fill-In Designer, Monica Taylor
Diane Noble

10 comments:

DIANA L. said...

Thanks for the fun challenge

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Hullo there, thanks so much for skilfully crafted verse and Dt work. And the devotion reminded me of the oft quoted:
In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
If only we had that constant attitude of heart then we would know true peace and evrrlasting joy. I think a thankful heart is the key to reall joy.
Every blessing dear sisters in the Lord. Shaz in Oz.x

Natalie said...

Beautiful inspiration, thanks ladies!! Happy New Year!

Jess S said...

Thanks for another inspiring post! And, for picking out my project as the winner for last weeks challenge! God bless!

D- said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful artwork everyone.
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your sweet blog comments. I appreciate them and the time it takes to leave them so very much.
Crafty hugs,
D~
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot

KT Fit Kitty said...

Your word art is beautiful - such a great scripture! Thank you. And I would also like to thank you for the sweet and thoughtful comments your DT members leave on my blog - it's always so uplifting to read them. Wishing you a joy-filled and blessed day!

Patti J said...

I'm so excited! Thanks for the challenge win! I can't wait to go shopping :-) thanks to your DT for some beautiful inspiration this week!

Ann said...

Lovely creations by the Design Team, thanks for the chance to play along.

Bunny said...

Beautiful cards and projects. Thank you for the challenge.

SarahGeorge said...

The DT inspirations are fantastic!:)