Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Challenge #180 - Anything Goes/Family Friendly Challenge

Welcome back, crafty friends!  I hope you're all ready for a great new challenge this week.  We have two AMAZING (and super awesome) sponsors again this week.  It's always a great time to play along; and although we can only have two prize winners, we want you to know that we consider you ALL winners.  Your art is such a blessing to us, and we greatly appreciate ALL the sweet cards and projects you share with us each week. 

What a beautiful scripture we have for this week's word art file.  It's Psalm 1:3, and it says "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not whither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper".  This fist psalm speaks of the two different "ways" a man (person) can choose to live.  He can either choose Godly wisdom, or the way of sinners.  This beautiful verse says that BLESSED is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.  By walking (and living) IN the truth (IN Jesus Christ), we take great DELIGHT (a happy life).  By doing this, God likens us to a tree planted by the "rivers of water".  Picture yourself as that tree.  If your roots are not firmly planted in GOOD SOIL, and if you are not being PROPERLY WATERED and getting SUNSHINE on your face; you will not grow.  By taking ourselves (our tree trunk), and planting us IN the truth (Jesus Christ), we are now able to receive ALL the nutrients and assistance we need to grow into a healthy tree.  Our branches start to sprout (children), and even leaves, buds or flowers begin to grow off our branches (grandchildren), or.......if you don't have children, those things/leaves growing off your branches could be a job, church service, family relationships, etc.  But if our tree trunk (the foundation of our lives) doesn't remain planted firmly in that fertile soil (basing our lives in the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and His teachings), our branches may not grow, or they may be deformed and not bear good fruit, leaves, flowers (which represent the blessings in our lives).  By keeping the roots of the tree firmly and permanently planted in fertile soil, the tree continues to bear good fruit and to prosper.  We are no different at all.  When we remain firmly planted in our foundation (our relationship with God), we will grow and blossom into all He wants us to be.  However, when we start to pull away and do things "our way", our tree and its branches/leaves/flowers WILL start to show signs of weathering.  We don't have to go through seasons of having bare branches.  We can be in full bloom all the time when we keep our roots firmly planted in Jesus Christ.  The verse also tells us that when we delight in the law of the Lord, "whatsoever we do will prosper".  Now, that doesn't mean our pocket books will be bulging with money all the time.  But it does mean that every single thing we do, when we're living in this right manner, WILL benefit us in some way.  This verse also teaches us that any time we step away from God, and our roots are not getting their proper nutrients,; we can expect our leaves to begin to whither and die off.  They YEARN for that water, sunshine and rich soil that only He can provide, and our hearts begin longing for the sweet fellowship of Jesus Christ.  These are our "dark times", and all we need to do to restore our weakened condition is to place our roots back in the rich, fertile soil of Jesus Christ; and we're back to growing our beautiful leaves.  Our branches are always most beautiful when they are rooted in Jesus Christ so that they can reflect ALL that He is through us.  Another thing a good tree will do is to drop seed that sprouts up new trees.  This could be children, grandchildren, a ministry, or simply someone on whom you have had a strong impact.  Again, without the knowledge of where to plant their roots, the seed you have dropped cannot begin to grow.  Just like your roots, the new seedlings (our children, grandchildren, ministries, and loved ones) need to know that their roots must also be firmly planted in the fertile soil of Jesus Christ, and that they will need proper watering and sunshine (Biblical knowledge) in order to grow and prosper.  We have to be good trees with good fruit in order to attract the new trees to want to look like us when they are grown.  Always be VERY SURE that YOUR roots are firmly planted in the rich soil of Jesus Christ, and live your life so that the next generation will WANT to be like you.
 
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 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 these guidelines.  Let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for your understanding and participation!

Here's this week's scripture/word art file.
We hope it will be a blessing to you.

Here are this week's AMAZING sponsors:
Loves Rubber Stamps is SUCH an awesome stamp shop
with LOTS of great choices for everyone.  One
lucky person will win a brand new stamps set!
AND
Sweet-N-Sassy Stamps is our Digital Sponsor this week.
We hope you will browse their ADORABLE images.
One lucky person will win $10 in new digital cuteness
from the ADORABLE Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.
 
AND NOW......Here are this week's HAPPY winners:
The Flying Unicorn is a SUPER SWEET
store filled with ALL the big names in crafting.
The very lucky person who has won the
$25 Gift Certificate to The Flying Unicorn
is Entry #166 - Marsh D.
AND
Fred She Said is our Digital Sponsor this week
and they carry SO many sweet images.
That lucky winner is.....
Entry #69 - Karen Pimblett
 
WINNERS:  Please email Karen THIS WEEK
to claim your prize!  Thanks.
May God bless all our amazing sponsors.
We appreciate them all SO very much!
Here's Some Inspiration to Get You Started
 
Using Sponsor Image, One of a Kind
from Sweet 'n Sassy Digital Stamps

12 comments:

Ginny Maxam said...

Thank you for the beautiful Devotion, this is one of my favorite verses, an the first ones the lord "gave" to me When I gave my life to Him. It has given me Strength, Hope and Peace!
I love the Awesome DT inspiration too!!
Hugs,
Ginny M

Bunny said...

Thank you for the challenge and another beautiful verse.

Karla Yungwirth said...

Thanks for a beautiful scripture word art file! And the inspiring post and amazing DT projects! Looking forward to playing along :)

Marlou McAlees said...

lovely to be able to join in with you all at word art Wednesday, thank you for your encouraging words, blessings ♥

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

Beautiful projects by the DT members as usual. I used a past scripture from a couple of weeks ago to embellish one of my photographs. Blessings!

DIANA L. said...

Great DT inspiration thanks for the fun challenge

D- said...

Beautiful work everyone. Thanks for sharing.
Crafty hugs,
Dawn
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

ah superb devotional as always and lvoely work by the DT.. and well a great verse to use and share... thanks for blessing us week by week, Shaz in Oz.x

Cynthia said...

Thanks for the fun challenge and fabulous DT inspiration!

Lidia R. said...

I really love what the DT's create!! GBYM !!!

Manuela said...

Thanks for the challenge and the information :-) Great cards here!

Debbie Adams said...

Congrat's to the winners. :D What a wonderful scripture this week. I love coming here and reading what you have up next. So uplifting. :D Entering my Clean and Simple card.
Thanks for the fun challenge again.
Wishing you all a great week ahead.