Thank You

Hello everyone! Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there, and to all those men who have been like Dads to special kids in their lives! I thank God for the Godly man He gave me for a Dad. I have missed him for the past 38 years! I also am thankful for my husband who is a great dad and grandpa too... speaking of which... today is the last day of our family vacation. We have had so much fun together and I apologize that I have not been able to visit most of you this past week or so but I will be back on track this coming week! :)

Anyhoo... it's time for another Stampin Sisters in Christ challenge. Today our hostess is the wonderful MariLynn! MariLynn has chosen Hebrews 11:1 for this week's Scripture.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things unseen.

Her challenge is to make a card or project that you doodle on

Faith is at the heart of our very being if we are Christians. In fact... any belief is based on faith in someone or something. However, NO other faith rests on a risen Savior. Sin has always required a blood sacrifice, and now that price has been paid once for all in the perfect sacrifice of Christ's shed blood. Hebrews is a book that reminds us that in the Old Testament, people looked forward to God's promise of a coming Messiah in faith. Through the ages, faith has carried God's people through whatever difficulties they faced. Today, with the knowledge that Jesus was the fulfillment of those promises, and with the gift of salvation offered to all who would receive it.... how much more should we today be able to believe God's promises are true, and to cling to them!

We are living in difficult times and it seems the news every day is filled with stories of pain and suffering all over the world. Sometimes it feels like the very earth is crying out to God! In our personal lives, many are struggling with serious health issues, pain, failed relationships, financial devastation, uncertain futures, and the list goes on. Uncertainty, fear, anxiety and despair are the burden of so many hearts today. However, we are NOT without hope! God has given us the ultimate gift in His one and only Son, and we can rest in His promises for each of us. His Word is true, for He Himself is truth. Living in these days after Christ's life, death and resurrection we have so much advantage over those who looked forward to the Messiah's coming, having not yet seen it. We have God's Word, we have a hope and a future because not only did He die, but He arose, victorious over death, and left us the promise that He is preparing a place for us! We know that He loves us, because His Word says so! We know that all things (yes, even the bad things) can be worked for our good if we love Him and are called to His purposes, because He said so! We know that we can cast our burdens on Him, because He cares for us! His Word says so! We know that His grace is sufficient for us no matter what our circumstances.... His Word says so! So why are we anxious? I think it's when we take our eyes off of the object of our faith that we start to doubt, start to fear, start to be anxious and maybe even angry with our circumstances. If Christ has become your Savior... His promises are yours. I encourage you to bathe yourself in them and let them comfort you, surround you and carry you, for truly, there is nothing in this life we hold on to so dearly that will surpass all time and last for eternity. Our eternity with Him will so far exceed what we can even imagine today, and our earthly trials will seem so small compared to the greatness of His riches in glory! We're told in God's Word that without faith it is impossible to please God. I have placed my faith in Him! I rest in full assurance of what I have not yet seen (eternity in heaven).... and that faith rests on so much I have already seen and experienced, that I KNOW that I can trust every word He has spoken! Some may ask... how can I know for sure that I am His child? He tells us that His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are His children. We feel it in our hearts and even that experience alone helps us KNOW. If you'd like to know more about how you can know.... email me. I'd love to help you be sure!

To meet this week's challenge, I have doodled on my card by faux stitching the vertical panel, and I doodled white poster paint on my flower. I have used this month's release from Our Daily Bread designs Serve The Lord along with the custom die cut made for it, and the Crocheted Background stamp, which I LOVE! I stamped with Memento London Fog on Cryogen White. I colored my image with Copics and doodled on the white pen marks as highlights. For my horizontal panel I cut the lace out at the bottom of the panel. I used Spellbinders Floral Doily Accents to frame the image. All the dies can be cut at once with the Spellbinders Grand Calibur! LOVE that!!! The dp is Prima Madeline, the ribbon is Martha Stewart, the little rose is ZVA Creative.

Our sponsor this week is Our Daily Bread designs
The prize is a Fifteen Dollar Gift Certificate toward ODBD stamps!
We want to thank Kelley for her continued support!

For more inspiration on today's challenge, please visit my DT Sisters:
Chris, Linda, Peggysue, Miesje, Rebecca, Lisa , Kris, Sabrina, & MariLynn
Randi (on leave)

Thank you so much for stopping by, and may the fullness of God's riches and blessings be yours!

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge - Use embellishments starting with "R"(ribbon),Fun with Shapes & More - must include die cut/punch - Tag / bookmark, Inspire Me Fridays - Always anything goes, Poodles Parlour - Anything goes, Stamp Something - Pretty papers, Totally Papercrafts - Die cuts & punches, Delightful Challenges - Anything goes, Just For Fun - Doodle, Card and Scrap - Lace and Ribbon, Paper Creations Ink -ribbons and lace, Corrosive Challenges - ribbon and bows, Creative Inspirations - stitching (faux), ODBD Shining the Light - thank you, Southern Girls - Anything goes, Paper Shelter Challenge -punches and dies, Challenge Up Your Life - Circles
Creations by Gill M - Use Circle Shapes