Faith Discovery Challenge #1- {Opening the Door to A New Day!}

Hello everyone! Are you ready to get started on this journey of faith? I know I am! Thank you all for being so patient and I hope that this first challenge will have been worth the wait. Like one of my Faith Sisters said, “Good things come to those who wait!” (You know who you are!) Well, the wait is over because it’s time to get started on discovering the faith that is already inside of you. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing shall be impossible for you.” Imagine how small a mustard seed is but, it holds so much power to do the impossible. In order for any seed to grow, it needs good soil, water and sunlight. The soil is the Word of God which feeds our spirit and strengthens our faith, the water is the cleansing of our mind, body, and soul through the Holy Spirit, and the sunlight is the guidance that lights are path and gives us wisdom and direction in every circumstance we face. My only role in this is to plant the seeds and God will do the rest. It’s my hope that these challenges will serve its purpose in nurturing your faith and increasing your hunger and thirst for His Truth. I pray that it will also reveal the power that is within you regardless of how big or small your faith may be. Remember, even the littlest seed of faith can move mountains…

The New Year is already in gear and before we know it, time will have passed so quickly. Many of you have probably either set goals or made resolutions to your lifestyle, your habits, or attitudes. Some of you may be seeking a change or some sort of transformation in your heart and life. As for me, I just want to be renewed and start this year out fresh. I’m determined to leave behind all the unnecessary baggage behind and move forward to a new beginning. I believe God wants us to be free from all the drama that occurs in every day life and let go of the burdens that we easily overload ourselves with. He tells us to cast our cares upon Him for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Sometimes I find it hard to get over things that have upset me or difficult to let go of situations that I know I have no control of. When I keep it inside, I’m only making myself suffer more and what I really want is to live my life in peace and just let God be in control. Yes, it’s hard but, can you do it? With God, anything is possible! Just open that door to your heart and let Him in so He can help you overcome the past and start anew. Let Him open your eyes to see those challenges in a new light that it may give you wisdom and understanding to what His Word says and help you stand upon the promises that He gave us. I believe there’s a reason for everything but, only He knows what they are. All things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). I believe the Lord knows our every thought (Ps 139:2) and every desire of our heart (Ps 20:4). And if we delight in Him and seek His Kingdom first, all these things shall be added unto us. Most of the time, I find myself realizing that I’m totally dependent upon Him and without Him I’m completely lost. So, what does this have to do with the challenge?

Challenge #1 – Create a layout about the things that challenged your faith in 2007 or even in previous years that the Lord has used to build your character and/or faith. You don’t have to give specific details if it’s too personal but, you can document your feelings you struggled with and how the Lord was able to keep you holding on to your faith. Then if you could, please share the lessons of faith that you learned from those experiences like what you should or shouldn’t do the next time the same challenges come around or what verses helped keep you from giving up.

There it is! The first Faith Discovery Challenge of the year 2008… I hope that as years go by, you can gain a true perspective of how important it is to have faith if we want to live a victorious life. I find that when we look back and see the purposes of all the trials we had to go through, I gain insight to God’s plan for my life. What we go through is all part of His master plan to become more like His Son and to have a deep relationship with Him. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) because He created us and ordained every day of our life before it came to be (Ps 139:16). God bless and I am anxious to see what you’ve done! Please post any comments, questions, or ideas in the forum and post your layouts in the Faith Sisters gallery so that we can all be inspired and encouraged! Thank you!!

Here is my layout:

Perspective

All items used from my "Gift of Faith" Kit except used "Boho Flourishes" by Michelle Coleman.

I also created a freebie for this challenge as a gift from me to you. It will only be free for one week until the next challenge, and then will go on sale after that! So grab it while you can! Click here to go to the shop and download it for free… **sorry, link expired.**