Weeks #501-502 - Anything Goes

Welcome to Word Art Wednesday, and thank you for joining us.  Whether you're new to our challenge blog, or if you've been playing along for years; we want you all to know that we greatly appreciate you and the all the wonderful art you share with us.  It's so fun and inspiring to see all the pretty cards and projects you share with us.  We have another great challenge for you with our awesome sponsor, Stamp Simply Clear Stamps.  We've got lots of great inspiration for you, a brief devotional to encourage you, and loads of fun waiting for everyone, so let's get started.  Thanks again for joining us.

The beautiful word art/scripture was created, as always, by our dear friend Karen Murray.  For those of you who have inquired about her word art/scriptures, you can always find loads of these beautiful designs here on her blog (and the link/logo is always on our left-hand side bar as well).  This scripture is Psalm 147:3 and it reads, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds".  This verse can be interpreted both literally and figuratively.  Let's face it....ALL humans get wounds.  We get physical wounds and we get emotional wounds.  When we get a large cut (through surgery or an accident), the surgeon will use stitches, staples or glue to "bind up our wounds"; but they MUST be bound up and dealt with in order to heal properly.  The same is true of all our (physical and emotional) wounds.  PRAISE GOD that He is always there for us to heal our broken hearts and bind up our wounds because He cares for us ALL so very much.  When we have physical wounds, God uses doctors to help us and then He does the remainder of the healing for us by comforting us, easing our pain, and by pouring Himself on us through the Holy Spirit who comforts us.  The same is true of our emotional wounds.  When we leave these wounds to ourselves and don't include God, we tend to spend a whole lot of time wallowing in our sorrows.  We tend to "vent" to the (sometimes) wrong people, and we complain about our sorrows to others who ultimately lend little support.  By coming to the LORD, Jesus Christ, first and laying our  burdens (physical wounds, emotional wounds, troubles and worries) at His feet and seeking His wise counsel; He gives us the exact comforts we need.  By including Him FIRST, He is able to send the right people into our lives who will give us wise counsel, He can literally heal ANYTHING He wills to heal, He comforts us emotionally and physically, and He will provide precisely what we need to have all our wounds bound up and healed.  Let's face it, friends....we're ALL going to suffer in this life.  But God has told us that He wants us to lay it on Him and let Him do the worrying and the problem-solving.  We suffer because we either don't give it ALL to Him, or because when we ask Him for help, we lack the FAITH that He can and WILL handle it.  God wouldn't tell us things like "cast your burdens on me" or "I will bind your wounds", or "I care for you" if He didn't mean it literally.  There is ONLY ONE GOD and His name is Jesus Christ.  He is the author and creator of everything, and HE LOVES YOU.  He wants to bind up and heal your wounds, to comfort you and provide for you and to heal your broken heart; but we each have to ASK Him to do it.  Let's not stress out any more.  Simply lay it at the feet of Jesus and watch Him as he heals our broken hearts, binds up our wounds, and blesses us beyond imagination.  He is that good....ALL the time.  Praise God.

As always, you are welcome to save the word art to your computers; but you are never required to use it in order to play along in our challenges or to win.   We welcome you to 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 the 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.

Check out our AWESOME sponsor for this challenge:

Our friends at Stamp Simply Clear Stamps are

sponsoring this challenge.  One very lucky entrant

will WIN their choice of either any two (2) stamp sets,

OR any one (1) die-cut set AND any one (1) stamp set

from the Stamp Simply Clear Stamps collection.

How AWESOME is that?  These high-quality stamps

and dies are perfect for creating the most lovely cards

and projects.  You can check out their FABULOUS

collection here at - Stamp Simply Clear Stamps.

Best of luck in the random draw, everyone.

AND NOW.......Another Lucky WINNER:

Our friends over at Heartfelt Creations

generously sponsored our precious challenge.

We LOVE this sweet shop filled with

lovely stamps, dies, flower molds, stamens

and SO much more.  One lucky person has

now won a generous $20 Gift Certificate

to spend at Heartfelt Creations.  How sweet

is that?  We hope you will stop by and see

everything at Heartfelt Creations, and to say

THANKS to EmmaLou and her team.  They

are so wonderful.  Thanks again to our friends

at Heartfelt Creations. The lucky winner of

this AWESOME prize is Lucky Entry

#29 - Jennifrann

The Top 3 Honors Go To Our Friends:

Entry #21 - Swissie

Entry #72 - Yvonne

Entry #173 - Stephanie Serrano

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.

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

From The Stamp Simply Clear Stamps Design Team

Julie Gearinger Using A Godly Man

Esther Asbury Using Christmas Blessings Bundle

And Deb Felts Using Stamp Simply

Christmas Peace Stamp/Die Bundle

AND NOW From Our Design Team.........

Our July Guest Designer, Dottie Seubert

Natalie Houston

Using Seasonal Wreath Spring/Summer

from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

And Pastor/Ministry Appreciation Greetings

(on inside) from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

JoAnn Atterbury

Using Farmhouse Scriptural Quotes and

Farmhouse Scriptural Thoughts

From Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Ginny Maxam

Maxine Diffey

Using Get Well Tulip Stamp Set

From Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Gail Scott

Holly Lau

Using Get Well Tulip Stamp Set

from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

Karen Letchworth

Using Spring/Summer Seasonal Wreath

from Stamp Simply Clear Stamps

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter