Anything Goes - Challenge Weeks #304-305

Welcome back, everyone!  It's time for our first challenge of October, and we have a sweet and talented new Guest Designer this month, Maxine Diffey.  Maxine is quite a blessing to Word Art Wednesday, and has been playing along with us for many years.  Maxine is also a blessing and encouragement to the Christian crafting community.  Whether you know Maxine already or not, I'm certain that she'd love to have you stop by her blog to say hello, and get to know her a little better.  Here's a little about her:

Hi, I am Maxine D from New Zealand - I have been crafting for most of my life.  I can remember starting with embroidering 'pictures' on my doll's blanket with wool and a darning needle whilst my mother sat and did needlework.  I think that was when I was about six years old! That was the start, and I have dabbled in many crafts since then, and still do to a lesser extent since being seduced by card-making some 15 or more years ago.

I have followed Jesus for over 47 years, and this year my faith has been really tested with the illness and death of my husband. I can say, without a doubt, that Jesus has been my strength and my portion through this time.

Blessings,

Maxine

Our word art for this challenge is from a verse found in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 which says, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father".  That's a mouthful!  Let's look at it more closely.  The first item of note is that the "eternal trinity of virtues" appears in this verse (faith, hope and love).  Second, note that the word "patience" in this verse (as translated) refers to endurance or perseverance.  It's telling us that our hope, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ, is to be "patient" so that it endures (lasts and overpowers) any fear or doubt that might enter in.  The third item of note is that the way in which this sentence was grammatically written, when translated, makes Jesus the noun in this verse.  That means that He is the object of our faith, hope and love - the promises are not.  The person of Christ is our faith, hope and love.  Our words, our faith and our trust are all in the person of Jesus Christ.  Our love is because of Him and toward Him, and we patiently persevere in hope toward Him.  This "eternal trinity of virtues" (faith, hope and love) exist in us and bless us because of Him (the object of our hope and praise).  Our Christian relationship is with a PERSON (a "Being"); not with the Bible, not with church or its people, rituals, not with the idea of Christianity.  Our faith is in a real being.....(God who came to earth in human flesh - Jesus Christ). Our FAITH is in Him for what He IS DOING, our HOPE is in what He HAS DONE for us on the cross; and our LOVE for Him is because of what He WILL DO for us in the future (provide us with eternal life with Him in the glory of Heaven and in His immediate presence) forever.  We are SO blessed to have God's precious words to comfort us and guide us in our lives; but never forget that your relationship is with the person of God. He wants us to know Him as well as He knows us.  #makeitpersonalwithJesus 

As always, you are welcome to save the free scripture/word art file to your computer, but are never 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 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 our 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!

Here is this week's word art.  We hope
that it will be a blessing to you.

Here's our AWESOME SPONSOR for This Challenge:

Simon Says Stamp is  your one-stop place for ALL
the latest and greatest scrapbook and card-making
supplies.  They have everything you could ever want
for scrapbooking, card-making, and SO much more.
One very lucky person will win a generous $25 Gift
Certificate to spend at this WONDERFUL store.

One VERY lucky randomly-selected person will win
 a $25 Gift Certificate from our friends, and
primary sponsor this year, Simon Says Stamp.

One lucky person will get to spend $25 at

Simon Says Stamp HOWEVER they choose!

AND NOW......Our TWO VERY Lucky Winners:

Stix 2 Anything is a FABULOUS shop!
They carry adhesives, glues, papers,
and SO many cool crafting items.  They
have prepared an AWESOME gift pack
of adhesives for our lucky winner!
It's Entry #56 - Maxine Diffey

AND

Gracielle Design is a LOVELY shop carrying

the sweetest digital images.  They can be used

to create scrapbook layouts, cards and SO much

more.  Gracie's images emboss so nicely.  Take a

peek at Gracielle Design here.  The winner of

some sweet new Gracielle Design images of

choice goes to.......
Lucky Entry #77 - Lisa D.

And Our Top 3 Honors Go To:
Entry #94 - Rosette

Entry #156 - Jana K.
Entry #198 - Sanja

Please email Karen if you'd like a
Top 3 Badge for your blog.  All winners
must also email us per the Rules Page.

May God bless all our AWESOME sponsors.

We appreciate them all SO very much!

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

Maxine Diffey, Our October Guest Designer

Natalie Houston

JoAnn Atterbury

Ginny Maxam

Misty Delgado

Stephanie Wright

Using Sponsor Product, Fine Detail Embossing

Powder from Simon Says Stamp

Karen Letchworth

An InLinkz Link-up