Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Challenge #148 - Anything Goes!

Welcome to Word Art Wednesday - the best challenge blog ever!  OK, that wasn't very humble....LOL  But in all sincerity, we really do believe that we have an amazing thing here (to God's glory); and we really hope that our challenges, fellowship, devotionals, art and friendships are a blessing to you.  Each one of you has blessed us just by sharing your art with us, and we truly desire to be an encouragement to every person who stops by to play along.

We have some exciting news for you all.  It's a new month, and that means we have a new Guest Designer.  This month, it's the fabulous Penny O'Dell of Penny's Krafts, and we hope you will stop by to welcome her.  We also have a new full-time designer, and that's the very sweet and talented Heather Dennis.  Some of you may already know Heather, as she is the Owner and Designer of Fresh Brewed Designs.  We're so blessed to have Heather with us full-time.  Some of you may have entered Heather's Blog Candy give-away.  Here are the winners of her prizes:
Emily D. - You have won the grand prize (DVD of God's Not Dead)
Kathy R. - You have won an assortment of crafting goodies
So Emily and Kathy, please reach out to Heather to claim your prizes.  She is also trying to reach you.  Enjoy your prizes, and thanks for playing along and commenting.

Be sure to stop by the blogs of our amazing Design Team Members now and then.  You never know when there might be more blog candy or give-aways, and.....to be perfectly honest, they really appreciate your love and encouragement.

Here is this week's devotional.  It was written by DT Member, Diane Noble of Daydream Designs.  We hope that it will be a tremendous blessing to you.
Each of us needs a substantial foundation upon which to base our lives, to give us purpose and bring meaning to our existence.  I recently read an interesting story of an elderly twin who had been separated from her sibling at a young age.  She spent most of her adult life in pursuit of her sister.  It wasn't until the women were in their 80s that they were reunited.    Due to the circumstances of their separation, there wasn't a paper trail documenting their whereabouts.  Names had been changed, and geographically, there was no chance of one being in proximity to the other.  When interviewed, both described their passionate attempts to find the other; each had been driven with unrelenting determination to find her sister.  One stated that it became her purpose for living.  She sacrificed marriage and children to be free to pursue her "other half".  She described how empty her life had been because she had not been able to share it with her sister.  As it turned out, it was the other sibling's efforts that paid off.  She discovered the missing link that finally lead to her sister's identity and whereabouts.

As powerful as this story was to read, I found it sad that one of the women had been so driven to find her sister that she relinquished all other joys in her life.  She focused on what she didn't have.....the search itself was what gave her life purpose.  What a weak foundation!  There are countless stories of people who base their lives on emptiness; on that which doesn't satisfy, and doesn't bring meaning or purpose.

What a contrast to the believer's foundation.  When we base our lives on the truths of God's Word, on His precepts and His plans, our lives are rich in purpose and meaning.  Our foundation is rock solid and eternal.  God Himself is our foundation.  In an age where any "truth" but God's Truth is acceptable, where no "truth" is absolute, life has to be lived on a very slippery slope, on sinking sand.  God's Truth, the foundation of the believer' life, keeps us stable and focused on that which is certain and will last forever.  No earthly pursuit can make us whole; or can fill the empty voids in our hearts.  There was no indication in the story of the twins that either was a believer.  But I know that if they were not believers, their happy reunion still did not fill up all they desired in life.  Only Christ can make us complete and offer us a purpose for existence.  No greater purpose exists than to glorify the God of our salvation.  When that becomes our reason for living, God graces us with indescribable joy, and we immediately know we are whole and complete....forever!        - Diane Noble
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 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 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 (dark images, etc.).  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 hope that it will be a blessing to you!

Here are this week's OUTSTANDING sponsors:
The lovely Docerela Stamps is offering
a stamp set of choice from their fun
store to one lucky winner.  Click here
to shop Docerela Stamps.
AND
The Cutting Cafe
How fun!  The Cutting Café is
offering one lucky person their choice
of three (3) sets from their ADORABLE
shop.  Click here to browse and shop

AND NOW......Our LUCKY WINNERS!!!
Get ready to have a GREAT TIME
spending your $25 Gift Certificate to
The Flying Unicorn - you're in for a treat,
Entry #173 - Deepti
AND
The lucky winner of three (3) sets
of her choice to the lovely
Entry #183 - DeAnne 
 
 WINNERS:  Please email Karen THIS WEEK
to claim your prize!  Thanks.
May God bless all our amazing sponsors.
We appreciate them all SO very much!
Here's Some Inspiration From Our Design Team
Using All About Girls Printable Stamp Set
From Sponsor, Cutting Cafe
 Front View of Card
Inside View With Scripture/Word Art
 Second Card Using the All About Girls Printable Stamp Set
 Clothing Accessories from Sponsor, The Cutting Café
 

19 comments:

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

Great inspiration ladies
blessed another week
Tamara
congrats to the winners

Marsha said...

Awesome cards, DT. And love the verse this week.

Kathy said...

Beautiful projects ladies!!! Welcome Penny and Heather to the best challenge blog ever! Blessings! Kathy

Kathy said...

Beautiful projects ladies!!! Welcome Penny and Heather to the best
challenge blog ever! Blessings! Kathy

Gail said...

Super DT creations - congrats to the winners -thank you for another challenge - be blessed this week!

SarahGeorge said...

What a wonderful devotion! Thanks for sharing. All the DT cards are very beautiful and inspiring as always. Due to some circumstances, couldn't participate much often. But the scriptures and devotion every week are really wonderful. Thanks for hosting Karen :)

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

I thought last week's scripture was a great message to send my daughters off to college with. Blessings!

Heather D. ~ Fresh Brewed Designs said...

Thank you all for having me on your team. I am so blessed to design along with you ladies as well as share these wonderful scriptures with everyone! God bless and have a lovely week!
Heather

Beebeebabs said...

Very nice work DT

HeARTworks said...

Great cards and the devotional is right on! So sad how many people focus on what they don't have more than on God's blessings upon our lives!!! patsy

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Great work by the DT.. thanks too for the great verse shared with us .. well done, Shaz in oz.x

Granmargaret said...

Thank you for another challenge and verse. Lovely cards by the design team.
thank you to Diane for the devotional

Karen said...

Beautiful words and lovely projects by the entire team! Thank you for sharing your heart and creativity every week. :o) You are such a blessing!

Hugs and blessings,
Karen

Bunny said...

Thank you for the challenge and the lovely creations by the DT.

Unknown said...

Wonderful DT creations! I absolutely love Diane's! That is just stunning! Thanks for another fun challenge!

- Susan
{Scrap A Thousand Words}
Open-Minded Crafting Fun Challenges

scrappymo! said...

Beautiful inspiration ladies! So many lovely card!

Thanks for the chance to win.

New Creations said...

All the DT's creations are awesome and always inspirational projects!!!

Tina H said...

Such beautiful project ladies! Congrats to last weeks winners! I really enjoy these challenges, thank you!

Diana Lynn Martin said...

Awesome & inspiring projects as usual, ladies! Thank you so much for another super fun & thought-provoking challenge! God bless!

Diana ♥
Leelee Card Designs