Faith Sisters: Faith Discovery Challenge #7

Hope you all are having a wonderful week! The timing seemed kind of off for me considering the long weekend we just had for President’s Day. Having DH home an extra day for the weekend made Tuesday seem like Monday so evidently, I didn’t expect Thursday to come so soon! And on top of that, while Faith Sisters was closed for the server upgrade, it felt like time was slower than usual and waiting for it to re-open seemed like forever! However, the moment could not have been at a better time for me because I was knocked down with the flu while at the same time, both my boys had ear infections! Ha! So, even though it would’ve been the perfect opportunity to catch up on house chores, clean up my computer files, and yep, even do some long awaited scrapping, all I did was lounge and cuddle up with my DH and kids on the couch. Then, I realized what a blessing in disguise that this server upgrade was for me! J Now, I’m wondering…what did everyone else do besides anticipating and waiting for FS to come alive again?

For last week’s challenge {Lover of My Soul}, I really enjoyed the wonderful pages that everyone created about the people they love especially the ones of husbands and wives. There was one outstanding layout that one of our digital CT members, Terrie aka ScrapEvangel came up with that I just had to share with everyone. I just love the three dimensional design of her page! The depth of her layout really draws your eye in!

Check it out!

By ScrapEvangel. See her gallery.

Also, this was another LO that really catches your attention because of the powerful truth it holds when it comes to a LOVE that is beyond our comprehension, the LOVE of a risen Savior who gave His life for us in exchange for our sins that we may have hope of eternal life with Him…

By Helen Parker aka sbg3396. See her gallery.

This week’s challenge is almost similar to last week’s but, I guess it takes it a little bit further into detail. This week is about the sacrifices of love that we or someone has done for another. Sacrificial love is a selfless act that a person is willing to give of themselves even if it costs their time, their energy, and freedom. It isn’t out of obligation but, of true servant hood motivated by genuine love and honesty in order to seek the best interest of that person. It is the act to serve rather than to be served. In John 13, Peter was astonished when the Lord came to wash his feet and was resisting that He would do so, because Peter felt that he should be the one to wash the Lord’s feet. But, after Jesus finished washing all of the disciples’ feet, He told them that they needed to follow His example of being a servant. Jesus taught His disciples the importance of sacrificing their self-will if they wanted to have a true part in Him. Jesus also said in Matthew 16:24 - “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That seems like a huge price to pay but, when we look upon what Jesus did for us, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that if we want to tell someone about Jesus, the best way is to love them the way Jesus loved us—selfless, enduring, and unconditional. Jesus didn’t have to go to Calvary, He didn’t have to take up His cross, and He certainly didn’t have to die for us but, He did. He did it out of a sacrificial heart that was willing to serve and obey our Father’s plans and to demonstrate His great love for those who believe in Him. To Jesus, we were worth the sacrifice and there's no other way to repay Him but, to love Him with all of our hearts...

Challenge #7 – This week’s challenge is to create a layout about the sacrifices of love that you or a person has made in order to honor the Lord and be obedient to His word and His command to love with a love that is selfless, long-suffering, patient, faithful and true. Ideas come to my mind that may be common to most of us is our choice to be a SAHM to our children rather than work outside of home or vice versa where you are working hard to make sure your child is blessed with everything they need. Again, it doesn’t have to be about you but, of someone you know that has had an impact upon your life or others because of their act of sacrificial love. There’s probably many situations where people serve others in various ways to seek their best interest and the sacrifice may have been big or small but, the point is how this sacrifice was done out of sheer steadfast love.

Here is my layout:

This is my DH's grandmother and great grandmother to my children. She is such an amazing woman of God and her life has made an impact upon me in such a huge way. All the sacrifices she has made as a mother, a grandmother, and now great grandmother has surpassed my understanding of what sacrificial love is about. I love her sweet and gentle spirit, yet her strong and enduring faith in the Lord and to those she loves....

The papers in this LO are from the "Sacrificial Love" freebie down below.
Credits here.

Here is this week's free download! Enjoy! Remember, it'll be gone for one week! If you use them in your layouts be sure to upload it into my design gallery! Thank you so much!