Challenge #217 - Anything Goes

Welcome to our first challenge of 2016!  We're so glad you're here, and we are SUPER excited to have you join us and share your art with us as we delve into the new year.  We are doing things just a little bit differently this year.  We will be having bi-weekly challenges this year, rather than weekly challenges.  We have Simon Says Stamp as our Primary Sponsor this year!! They will be our sole sponsor for one challenge each month; and are offering a $25 Gift Certificate to their AWESOME store for those challenges.  That's a BIG blessing, and we're so grateful for their generous support.  On the other weeks, there will be a physical sponsor and a digital sponsor.  You can see the complete list of our 2016 sponsors on the right-hand sidebar of our blog (they've been recently updated), and we encourage you to click on those links as they will take you directly to these WONDERFUL stores so that you can see all the amazing products they carry, and perhaps even do some shopping.  We are SUPER excited about all the ways God is blessing our challenge blog, and we are so grateful to have you be a part of it.  Thanks for joining us.  Let's get started!

PLEASE NOTE:  Just so everyone is clear, we ALWAYS use the King James Version of the Bible on this challenge blog.  While I realize that some of you may think you're trying to be "helpful" in telling us about spelling errors, THEY ARE NOT ERRORS.  They are God's Word.  We do not critique your blogs and let you know when there's a misspelled word, and we'd appreciate if you respect the same on our blog.  Marvellous does have two l's in this case.  Let's try to keep our comments to ourselves (especially when they are incorrect).

This week's word art is from a beautiful scripture, Psalm 139:14, which says "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:  marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well".  This verse is commonly used on baby cards, etc. because we know that God has fearfully and wonderfully created each of us.  Every person (past, present and future) is a unique and beautiful creation of God from the very moment of their conception.  He knows us individually.  Marvelous are the works of God, and "that my soul knoweths right well" refers to the fact that God's Word assures repeatedly of our importance to Him.  There is not one single soul, in Heaven or on earth (or even in Hell) that God does not know.  He created us.  His desire is for us to have fellowship with Him and spend eternity with HIm.  Many people struggle with the thought of their own self-worth and importance.  Whether it's a trauma from your childhood, a divorce, abuse, or something you have suffered in your life; let me assure you that GOD KNOWS YOU AND CARES ABOUT YOU.  God created you in your mother's womb.  He knew you before you ever took your first breath.  He desires for you to trust your soul to Him, and to call on Him for your every need. Yet, He won't force this on anyone.  We each have the choice (free will) to accept or reject Him.  But as we've mentioned before, that DOES NOT and CANNOT change absolute truth.  Let this verse (and all of God's precious Word) be a blessing to your heart.  He created you, He knows and cares about you, His works are marvelous (including the work of YOU and your existence), and His Word is filled with reassurances of this.  Praise the name of Jesus!

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 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 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 our guidelines.  Please know that this doesn't mean we are judging anyone.  We're simply atempting 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.

Our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge is:

Simon Says Stamp is our sponsor for this challenge!
One lucky person will win a generous
$25 Gift Certificate to spend at this WONDERFUL
store.  Here's a little about them:

In business since 2002, Simon Says Stamp is striving to offer you the best selection of Rubber Stamps, Altered Art, Scrapbooking, Artist Trading Cards, and Paper Crafting Supplies in the world.

     

We stock over 100,000 items in our warehouses so that we can offer you quick service and one stop shopping at a great price! We are located in Ohio, the heart of it all. Our team works hard to give you a fulfilled shopping experience and is always open to your ideas and suggestions!

     

We work hard to find and deliver to you the latest in stamping and paper crafting supplies! Attending classes, workshops, and sales meetings around the world, our goal is to keep our product offerings fresh and current. Make us your one stop easy shop - and we'll deliver right to your door!

AND NOW......Our Lucky Winners

Verses Rubber Stamps is a WONDERFUL
stamp store, and this lucky person
has won $20 in wood or cling stamps
It's Entry #153 Cheryl Quilts
AND

Fresh Brewed Designs is an ADORABLE
digital shop, and this lucky person has
won three (3) images of choice from this
WONDERFUL digital shop.
It's Entry #9 - Andreja

AND, Our Top Three Are:
Entry #152 - Desire Fourie
Entry #160 - Dorothy
Entry #130 - Ela

Please email Karen or leave a comment
if you'd like a Top 3 Badge for your blog.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

Here's Some Inspiration to Get You Started

January Guest Designer, Shaz In Oz

Carole Robb Bisson

Ginny Maxam

JoAnn Atterbury

Lori Ulrich

Natalie Houston

Cassandra Cushman

Stephanie Wright

Using a Sponsor Stamp Set

Texting by Simon Says Stamp

Karen Letchworth

An InLinkz Link-up