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.
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 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.
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
Using Fun Flowers Stamp Set
from Sponsor, My Favorite Things
Beautiful cards.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me as your Guest Designer this month.
Helen x
Congrats everyone and thanks for picking my card as one of your favourites. Hugz
ReplyDeleteVery nice work DT
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted to be chosen as one of your Top Three for this fun challenge. Thank you so much and congrats to all. I would love a winners badge for my blog. xx Nancy
ReplyDeleteThanks for picking my card as one of the favourites. Hugz
ReplyDeleteBeautiful design team samples and inspirations. Thank you for the challenge.
ReplyDelete