Word Art Wednesday

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Anything Goes - Weeks #657-658

Welcome back to Word Art Wednesday! Thanks for joining us for another FUN and fantastic challenge. We are blessed to have another great sponsor, some inspirational art and a brief devotional to encourage you. This wouldn't be the same challenge without YOU, so please know that you are greatly valued and appreciated. So is the art you so graciously share with us week after week. We're grateful beyond measure for you all, for our awesome sponsors, and for all the blessings God has given us here.

Our scripture of focus for this challenge is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 and it says, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us all in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God". That's a lot of fancy (King James Version) words to simply say that we PRAISE GOD and His son, Jesus, for always giving us comfort and shelter when we go through life's valleys and to also remember to comfort others the way God comforts us. You see...we can talk all we want about how great God is (because He is truly amazing). But by actually SHOWING others that you care and lending comfort through their difficult times, we are able to show them that same love and comfort we feel from God. In turn, this will draw others closer to Him. When they see with their own eyes and feel it in their own hearts how God lends comfort when we call upon Him, He will ultimately give that same comfort to anyone who asks it of Him. Until that time when your loved ones come to know completely the comfort of God, remember to show them His love and comfort through your actions. This brings honor, praise and glory to God.

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:

Penguin Palace is a fun stamp store

located in Canada. They carry cute

stamps, dies, stencils and more. They

even have a fun monthly challenge.

Please be sure to stop by and check out

this awesome shop, look around, leave

some love, and maybe even play along

in their challenges or even buy yourself

some cute new stamps. They are offering

one lucky participant, by random draw,

a generous $25 (CA) gift certificate.

Special thanks to our friends at

Penguin Palace for this support.

We're SO grateful for you.

Here's Another Happy WINNER:

My Favorite Things is a long-time favorite

among stampers and crafters. We're so blessed

having their support this year. They offered a

one lucky participant a gift certificate to their

awesome store. They carry so many adorable

stamps, dies and crafting products. You can get

lost for hours in their amazing on-line store and

on the MFT Blog seeing all the fabulous cards

from their talented Design Team. Be sure to

stop by My Favorite Things to look around, and

perhaps even treat yourself to something new.

Special thanks to everyone at My Favorite Things

for their support of our previous challenge and

throughout the crafting community. #blessed

That lucky winner is our creative friend

Entry #72 - Wanda Cullen

Our Top 3 Honors Go to Our Friends:

Entry #71 - Debi Owens/Indy

Entry #88 - Jackie C/The JC Look

Entry #120 - Tee

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 July Guest Designer, Helen Nile

Cynthia Olheiser

Using Hang Gliding Digital Stamp

from Penguin Palace

Christine Miller

Natalie Houston

Ginny Maxam

Karen Letchworth

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Anything Goes - Weeks #655-656

Welcome back to our challenge blog, everyone. As always, we're so grateful to have you play along and share your creativity with us. We couldn't be any more excited than we already are to have you here sharing your amazing art with us week after week. You're all SO super talented, and it makes us so happy to know that you're enjoying our challenges, and that you're always so willing to show us your wonderful cards and creations. Life is busy, so it's always great fun to be able to sit down and make something pretty. Thank you for sharing your wonderful cards here at Word Art Wednesday.

Our scripture of focus is Psalm 31:24. I'll keep our devotional today rather brief by simply sharing a bit of my life with you. As I read this verse, "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord", it spoke to me. Without oversharing my burdens, I'll just say that I've had a pretty difficult week (month, etc.) and that I've had a lot on my emotional plate so to speak. As I saw myself starting to get more and more stressed, I was quickly reminded that this is NOT what God wants for me (or for us/His children). This verse, and so much of God's precious Word, tells us to "be of good courage" and that "He will strengthen our heart". You see.....we often get so caught up in the struggles we're facing that we forget to give it ALL to God. When I began to follow His words and "be of good courage" and lean on Him for everything; He really did strengthen my heart. And when I completely surrendered it all to Him, God really did show me His strength and love. It's simply because my hope IS in Him. I (and we) cannot "fix" our problems alone. We need God. So, let me just tell you this, my friends....the next time you're going through something, don't try to handle it yourself. Surrender it completely to Him. Be of good courage (meaning.....don't doubt God's ability to handle it) and God really will be at work and help you to get through your struggle with peace as He strengthens your heart and makes your way clear. I praise God for these wonderful truths, and I truly hope that you will allow Him to do the same for you.

Check out our AWESOME sponsors for this challenge:

My Favorite Things is a long-time favorite

among stampers and crafters. We are lucky to

have their support for this challenge. They are

offering one participant a gift certificate to their

awesome store. They carry so many adorable

stamps, dies and crafting products. You can get

lost for hours in their amazing on-line store and

on the MFT Blog seeing all the fabulous cards

from their talented Design Team. Be sure to

stop by My Favorite Things to look around, and

perhaps even treat yourself to something new.

Special thanks to everyone at My Favorite Things

for their support of our challenge. Best of luck

to everyone in the random draw. Thanks for

joining us, and have fun creating!

Here's Another Lucky WINNER:

Yes! It was the super FUN Doodlebugs

as our sponsor for the last challenge we had.

Now.....one lucky participant, by random

draw, has WON a generous $25 gift card to

spend (how fun) at Doodlebugs. They sell SO

many great stamps, dies, and products from

our favorite companies. There's no doubt that

you'll find loads of great crafting goodies that you

will use and LOVE when shopping Doodlebugs.

We hope you've stopped by Doodlebugs to

look around. The LUCKY WINNER of this

fabulous prize from Doodlebugs is

Entry #107 - Julie Gearinger

Our Top 3 Honors Go to Our Friends:

Entry #16 - Lee Ann Barrett

Entry #80 - Nancy E.

Entry #120 - Gail/Ionabunny

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 July Guest Designer, Helen Nile

Cynthia Olheiser

Using Whole Herd Stamp Set (retired)

from Sponsor, My Favorite Things

Christine Miller

Natalie Houston

Using Fun Flowers Stamp Set

from Sponsor, My Favorite Things

Ginny Maxam

Karen Letchworth

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Anything Goes - Weeks #653-654

HURRAY! We're so glad you're here to play along in our challenge. We've got another amazing challenge waiting for you. God has blessed us with so many amazing sponsors, and we're happy to announce that we have a wonderful prize up for grabs again. Thanks so much for joining us here, and please know that we really appreciate you and all the beautiful art you share with us. Let's get started with our challenge.

The verse of focus for this challenge is absolutely beautiful. It's Colossians 3:12 and it says."Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering:" The verse (11) that comes directly before this verse talks about how Christ and His incredible love always transcends the distinctions of race, class and culture. God doesn't look at us as "white, black, fat, skinny, beautiful, ugly, poor or rich, etc." but rather, what God sees is His beloved children. Each one of us is sinful and in need of a Savior. The only one who could ever fulfill the debt of our sin is God. He became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect sinless life and then went to the cross of Calvary to make a way for us. In this verse, He reminds us that He chose us. Here He calls us "His elect, holy and beloved". Being "God's elect" refers to the entire Church of God. Again, it transcends ALL the worldly differences we see (race, religion, social status, etc.). The word "holy" means that we are to be SEPARATE and DIFFERENT from the world, and that we are to avoid what is unclean and what displeases Him. The verse goes on to say that we should have "bowels of mercies" which tells us that we should always demonstrate compassion and a true desire to see ALL of God's chosen doing well. When another Saint (saved Christian) is suffering, it should matter to us. If we can't physically reach them to help them, we can ALWAYS pray for them. This is our duty when we see others struggling, and we must have a sympathizing spirit towards them. We would want the same when we're going through things. Right? And finally, this verse also describes charity as the bond of perfectness. You see, we serve a perfect, righteous and holy God. The more we learn of Him and draw close to Him, the more we become like Him and the more we demonstrate His deep love for people. Let's face it, friends; we live in a dark and confused world. DON'T be one of the confused. You can KNOW for sure that you are going to Heaven when you die. You can become more like God every day by submitting to Him and by learning of Him. Life is really tough sometimes; but GOD IS TOUGHER. He wants to bless you and help you. Let God's Word speak to you and be the person of God who sees the hurt of others and really cares. Look past the differences. Cry with those who cry. Pray with those who struggle. Feel their sorrow and care deeply for them. Your Heavenly Father offers you all these things and He simply wants for you and I to be that way as well. It's not that difficult to live for Christ and to follow His plan for our lives. Let him BLESS you. Try your best to a blessing to someone this week. We all need that kind of love in our lives. YOU can make a difference for God.

Check out our AWESOME sponsors for this challenge:

Yes! Yes! Yes! It's the super FUN Doodlebugs

as our sponsor for this challenge. How exciting

exciting is that? One lucky participant, by random

draw, will WIN a generous $25 gift card to spend

(how fun) at Doodlebugs. They carry SO

many great stamps, dies, and more from so many

of our favorite companies. There's no doubt that

you'll find loads of great crafting goodies that you

will use and LOVE when you shop at Doodlebugs.

Remember, the more you enter, the more

you increase your odds of winning. Be sure to stop

by Doodlebugs to look around. You will

be SO delighted when you do. Good luck, y'all.

Another lucky WINNER is about to be very happy

The WONDERFUL Pink & Main was the

sponsor for our last challenge. Pink & Main

carries fantastic stamps, dies, foils, and SO

much more. There's also lots of great

inspiration on the Pink & Main Blog. One

lucky participant, by random draw, has now

won a $20 gift card to spend at this super

amazing store. Special thanks to Michelle &

our friends at Pink & Main for their support.

The LUCKY WINNER of this $20 prize is

Entry #149 - Kathy S.

Our Top 3 Honors Go to Our Friends:

Entry #15 - Gloria Shirr

Entry #33 - Diny

Entry #135 - Pam

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 June Guest Designer, Friend and Former

WAW DT Member, Maxine Diffey

Cynthia Olheiser

Christine Miller

Natalie Houston

Ginny Maxam

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Anything Goes - Weeks #651-652

Thanks for stopping by today, creative friends. Whether you've been playing along in our challenges for a while now, or if you're brand new to our challenge; we're SO super glad you've chosen to stop by and share your art with us. We have another fantastic challenge for you with a brief devotional to encourage you, some inspirational art from our DT and our Sponsor DT, a wonderful prize to be won, and a FUN challenge where you can share your art and creativity.

Our scripture used to create the word art for this challenge is Psalm 128:3-4 which says, "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord". God's Word and instruction for us (the Bible) tells us time and again that the man (person) who fears the Lord (respects and acknowledges who He is and what He has done) will be blessed. This verse goes on to tell us that the man who fears the Lord will have a wife who is "a fruitful vine by the side of his house". This simply means that his wife will enhance him and make his home (life) even more beautiful and abundant. It also says that the man (person) who fears the Lord will have children who are like olive plants. In these verses, God is assuring us that when we live a righteous life in Him, He will surely bless us. So many people wonder why their spouse is acting a certain way or doing certain (wrong) things, or why their children are wandering away from God. We can't "control" our children, our spouse, etc. However, when we truly submit our lives to God and are rooted in Him in every aspect of our lives; teaching these principles to our children, God promises to bless us. So, next time things are going sideways, just ask yourself - what could I do differently? How can I draw closer to God and submit to Him? God will never leave us or forsake us. He wants only to bless us. This requires us to submit to Him fully in every aspect of our lives. People are quick to blame God or get angry with Him when things go wrong. Trust me, friends, it's not God's "fault" when things go wrong. God allows us to suffer sometimes because He's trying to get our attention and get us to turn our eyes, and our hearts, back to Him. We try to do things our way. When we finally submit our lives completely to God and His plan for us, we WILL BE BLESSED.