Grace Challenge

Left layout by Creative Team Member, Tammy

Grace is a gift that God gives us when we trust by faith alone in the sacrifice of God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NIV).

Create a page about what Grace means to you.




The Bible says:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ" (1 Timothy 2:5).
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15).
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6).

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Become a possible featured artist by participating in this challenge and posting your "Grace" Challenge projects here

Layout by Jaz




























Layout By Krystal - Bonus download below!





























Layout by JackieAnn




























Layout By Anne





























Layout by Eva






























Layout by Charrie





























Download this Desktop Wallpaper Template by Krystal Hartley, in our shop.
Grace Wallpaper 1024x768
Grace Wallpaper 1280x800

Just Another Year Older Challenge Winner

The week we would like to feature one of our newer Faith Sisters members!

About Valerie: I'm Valerie, from Missouri. 26, wife to one, mother to one.

I enjoy genealogy, history, videography, photography, and my newest addiction: digital scrapbooking!

Visit Valerie's blog here!

Her winning layout reads: When I grow up... I am currently 26 and a half years old. In just a few short months I'll be 27 and then it's on to 30.
What would I like to accomplish before I turn 30? There's really a lot that I'd ideally like to do. It may not all happen, but that doesn't really matter because I'm still happy right where I am.

1. have another baby, or two
2. considerably lower our debt
3. move to a new house
4. finish a novel, or two
3. get healthier weight & eating
6. quit caffeine permanently

Click here to see all of the other amazing layouts from this challenge!

Scripture Challenge {Week 4}

As I was trying to see what word God wanted me to use this week, I looked at a verse that I have had in my signature on Scrapjazz for a long time. The scripture is from Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." The word “wait” popped out at me. How many times I have looked at that scripture? How many times have I glanced over it? How many times have I forgotten that I even had it in my signature? Then moments later, I opened my e-mail box to check my e-mail only to find a devotional from Zondervan titled “Wait.” Three days passed and I then saw this post on a site “Ah....waiting. Shhh don't say it too loudly or Patter will pick that for next week's word. Waiting is always sooooo hard for me.” So, I guess God was clearly speaking to me and confirming our word to me. I literally did all of the study for this week’s work three days before I saw that post!!! God is so good to confirm that this is what we are supposed to be doing this week! So, you guessed it! Our word for this week is:

Week 4 Challenge Word: Wait Waiting could be a lot of things. Waiting to speak, waiting by not speaking at all if inappropriate, waiting to do something until you know clearly God's will for you, waiting to let others go before you, waiting for God’s perfect plan in a situation, we wait for the return of our precious Lord, etc. When I looked up “wait” on Bible Gateway, 135 scripture references came up. Who would have known there were that many scriptures concerning this word. The Psalms are filled with scriptures on waiting, and I sat in tears reading them all. God was telling me personally that I need to wait for the healing of my daughter who has been out of school all year with a head injury. I need to wait for his perfect timing. What is God telling you? Is there a situation where you just need to wait?

Be sure to follow the discussion threads on Create My Keepsake, Scrapjazz, and Faith Sisters. Have fun looking and researching! And have a joyous week!

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Footnote from Faith Sisters:
Other scripture help at Faith Sisters here.
Download FREE Word Art of Psalm 27:4 here.
Digi Scrappers, download a template card by Nikki Painter here.
You can post your "Wait" projects here.

Faith Discovery Challenge #3 - {Your Family Legacy}

Wow, I can’t believe January is almost over! Since the start of this year, I’ve been incredibly filled with so much joy and excitement to see so much growth and inspiration in our community. The more I see, the more I get blessed and encouraged by what God is doing. There’s so much to praise Him for! The gallery has been overflowing with so much creativity and talent that I can hardly contain myself! In the forums, we’ve built friendships and gained so much support from people all over the world. With all of our challenges in gear, I’m sure God is working in your heart to have a deeper relationship with Him. You may find that you’re reading His word more, learning to trust in Him more, seeking His face in prayer more or whatever changes have occurred because of these challenges, we thank the Lord for them because that is exactly our desire for our all our sisters here. We hope that what you get out from our challenges will open doors to your faith and help you to boldly share them with others. After all, we can’t keep these pages all to ourselves but, to share it with those that are important to us and to future generations. I truly believe that the gifts and talents we have are to be used for His glory in bringing everyone to know His love through His son Jesus. And that is the purpose of our ministry, so be reminded that your layouts are God’s way of planting seeds. Seeds that will produce a harvest, so be prepared! Let’s continue to praise Him and give Him all the glory as we continue to create, inspire, and bless each other through faithbooking!

Last week’s challenge was about CHANGE. This topic was something God laid in my heart not only for you but, for me as well. To my surprise & to God’s divine purpose, many of you shared the same thoughts and feelings I had which was very encouraging to know that I’m definitely not alone. And as human as we are, God’s grace is definitely sufficient for us in time of weakness. I know we can never be perfect but, we can always try out best to strive for excellence as we learn more about the life and character of Jesus. Like Paul, we are all pressing toward the mark of perfection, but none of us has arrived. {Philippians 3:13-14 – “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”}. Such a wonderful reminder to me that even though we may make mistakes or fall short of what God expects of us, He encourages us to keep pressing on and not give up. After all, He is the potter and we are the clay and if we yield to His spirit daily, He will work out all those changes in our heart and life as we persevere.

Okay, for this week I decided that since one of our talented CT members, Anne, is having a publishing call for her faithbooking column in Scrapbook News + Review, I thought it would be a great opportunity to incorporate it into this week’s challenge and also get Faith Sisters’ name out there if you layouts get selected! The theme for this call is based on layouts about family and your faith. The deadline for the pub call is set for Jan. 31st but, you can submit the layouts for this challenge at anytime. For more details about this call, you can check Anne’s blog and over in our forums.

Challenge #3 – Scrap a layout about how important your faith is to you and your family and anything that showcases why you faithbook. Basically, it may even be a layout that you’ve already created in your faith albums or for previous challenges we’ve had here in the past. But, if you feel like creating another layout to add on to those albums, this gives you another chance to do that. Family memories are always being built and I’m sure we can never run out of ideas to scrap about our families and our faith. Also, I thought if I were to have a limited number of days left on earth, what would my last thoughts, hopes, and dreams be for my family? Something to think about….


Here is my layout:

Credits here.

This week's freebie is a little element that coordinates with my upcoming kit "Tender Heart" soon to be released in the shop! Enjoy!

Download freebie here.

Just Another Year Older Challenge

They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing. – Psalm 92:14


Age is more a matter of how you feel, how you think, and what’s going on in your head than what new wrinkles are showing on your face.


Create a layout that tells how you feel about growing older, lessons you’ve learned, how you are embracing your next birthday, or your goals you want to accomplish before your next BIG birthday.


Proverbs 31:30 NKJV
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

Proverbs 9:11 LB
“Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.”

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Other scripture help at Faith Sisters here.
Download FREE digital elements featured below here.
You can post your "Just Another Year Older" Challenge projects here.

Layout by Co-Owner, Sunny





























Layout By Creative Team member, Anne






























Layout By Creative Team member, Tammy




























Layout By Creative Team member, Eva






























Layout By Creative Team member, Krystal






























Download this free set of elements by Krystal in our shop!

Nikki's Template/Sketch Challenge Winners

This week we have two layouts that we would love to feature. Some amazing renditions of Nikki's template were created this week!

Kim's Just Chillin' layout just stood out with it's cuteness! Love the pink and white together and look at that baby! How can you resist a baby! Click here to learn more about Kim, one of our original FS members and here to see more of her layouts!

Laura's layout stood out immediately to us. It was so touching that we had to feature it here for everyone to see.

"I debated with myself as to whether or not I should upload this layout. After completing it, I came to the gallery and all those uploaded to date are so happy and fun. I have been working on an album of my cousin who was killed last May in Baghdad. It has brought many tears as I work to create it. This is a bit on the heavy side, but it is what Niki's sketch prompted me to come up with. I hope you can appreciate it just the same."

To learn more about Laura, visit our forum here... and to see more of her creations, click here.

Scripture Challenge {Week 3}

Wow, another awesome week of cards and pages! I am enjoying seeing the differences as I look at everyone's work. I see different scriptures, thoughts, album sizes, etc. The designs are so beautiful as I look through various galleries and blogs. This week, I noticed Marilyn is including definitions on her pages. She included the definition on both her Faith page and her Kindness page. I thought it was a fun idea. Here is Marilyn's page from this past week:


Week 3 Challenge Word: Beauty

I must tell you that when God first gave me the word for our challenge this week, I immediately thought of physical beauty. I think that is probably one of the first things most of us think about. It’s our culture. It’s everywhere—TV, billboards, magazines, etc. But then the more I read His word and worked on this challenge, I realized many things. First, one of my favorite things on this earth is God’s beautiful creation all around me. I always comment to my girls when I see the rays of sun coming through the clouds or a low morning fog over a field or even the tall thunderstorm clouds as they build. His creation is beautiful and all around us. It is evident everywhere!

Second, He reminded me that He wants us to look at our beauty. The way our Father sees us is not as we see it—you know gorgeous hair, beautiful skin, fun clothes (even though I am sure we all love to have fun shopping). Our precious Father looks at our inward beauty; at the beauty of our heart. What does the beauty of your heart look like? What a thought for this week.

Once again, I used the awesome January kit from Create My Keepsake to create my card. And the first scripture I chose was 1Samuel 16:7 "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." I also chose Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

So as you study this week, as you go out, think about your heart attitude? Is it beautiful? Is it showing others true Godly beauty? Is your inward beauty causing others to step back and take notice? Do they want the beauty you have? Dive in! See what God says about beauty. Be sure to follow the discussion thread here on Faith Sisters. Have fun looking and researching! And have a joyous week!

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Footnote from Faith Sisters:
Other scripture help at Faith Sisters here.
Download FREE Word Art of Psalm 27:4 here.
You can post your "Beauty" projects here.

Freebie Friday!

Faith Discovery Challenge #2 - {Time For A Change}

TGIF! Hope you had a great week and after seeing all the beautiful layouts in the gallery, my week has been tremendously blessed. With last week’s challenge [Opening the Door to A New Day], I didn’t expect to have learned so much and be moved by so many amazing testimonies of God’s grace in the lives of His children. I want to thank you all who participated and for sharing those personal moments of your lives. Although, they may have been unpleasant memories of dark moments or struggles in your past, God has really used them to shine some light upon us and give us all hope. He really proved to have moved some mountains, big and small, because of your seed of faith. So, with sincere appreciation I just wanted to say that you have all been an incredible blessing to me and I hope you’ll continue on this journey of faith as we embark to discover the power of faith within you… Don't forget, you can participate in any challenges that you've missed, it's never too late to join!

Now that we’ve acknowledged those challenges in the previous year(s), it’s time to close the door to the past and move forward. With every ending, there is a new beginning. When one door shuts, another door opens. The future may be uncertain and we don’t know what kind of challenges this year will bring but, after learning from our past experiences, it’s time to focus on our goal of living by faith in each and every circumstance that approaches us. But, in order to achieve that goal, there might be some things that need to change in our lives---physically, mentally, financially, emotionally, and/or spiritually. Are you ready for a change? I am.

No matter what occurs in life, the inevitable truth is we will always face change. Change can be good or bad but, with it are important lessons about who we are and the person God called us to be. Many of us fear it and may run away and hide from it, while some of us on the other hand, are ready and willing to commit to making a change and will do whatever it takes to see it through. Regardless, we can never stop change from occurring especially if it’s a change God wants to make in our lives. God will make it known and reveal it to us even if it hurts to know the truth because He cares and wants to help us be more like His son, Jesus. Even as Christians, we still have a lot of things that are difficult to change in our lives but, God is so patient with us and remains faithful in helping us in those areas, even if it will take a long time. In Philippians 1:6 it says, that we are to be “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” However, all of this will require FAITH. We can be determined or we can be half hearted about it but, it will take your sincere faith in Him to actually see a change. Our complete trust and faith has to be not in ourselves but, in Him. Because change isn’t something that takes place over night and can take quite awhile before we see any results. The wait can cause us to want to give up but, as we focus our attention on His strength, power and spirit to help you in making that change a little at a time, then one day you will see the difference. It may not be easy but, He is with you all the way to the end! After all, He wants you to enjoy the life that He intended you to live. But first, you have to acknowledge that need to change and surrender it to Him. You got to have faith in God and believe in yourself! Just like Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

Challenge #2 – Create a layout about the change(s) that are taking place in your life as of today or the need for a change and why you feel the Lord is putting it in your heart to seek it. What are some past experiences that you’ve had that convinces you that the Lord will help you get through making the change. And how will this change affect your life or the lives around you.

Here is my layout to help motivate you in getting started!

Credits in the gallery here.

Remember to visit the forum for updates and to share your thoughts about this week's challenge! Also, visit the Faith Discovery Challenge gallery to see all the inspirational layouts motivated by this challenge. I'm sure we all have something amazing to share since God is doing amazing things in our daily lives!

Last week's Legacy of Faith kit is no longer free but, for those of you who missed it, you can get it in the shop for only $1.00! It's great for those who are just starting out and would like to make a simple page about your faith!

This week, I created my first ever doodle pack called "Delightful Doodles"! I'm not sure if I like them enough to put them in the shop but, I'd appreciate your comments and feedback! I guess I'll find out what to do with them by next week. So, if you play around with these doodles, I'd love to see your work in my gallery 'Using Dahlia Co designs'. Thank you verrrrrry much!

Okay, now for this week's goodie!

Download it in the shop here.

Jesus Illusion

Nikki's Template/Sketch Challenge

This week our challenge is a little different! Our Creative Team used one of our Digital Product Design Team members, (Nikki Painter) template as inspiration of this weeks challenge!

We are using it as a sketch and for the digital scrapbookers as a template here below. Some used it as it was designed and some used it as inspiration for a layout.

How can you use this template and make your own layout with it?

We can't wait to see what you come up with! Post your layouts in the gallery and you could be featured on Tuesday here on the blog!

Krystal Hartley, who is on the Creative Team and the Digital Design Team, took the template and used some of her new papers and made these elements to go with it! They are in our shop and you can download them for free!

Paper crafters can download them and print them off for your scrapbooks too!

See these layout by the Creative Team up close by clicking here.

Gladness Challenge Winner

This week our challenge winner is brand spankin' new to Faith Sisters. Laurette has created an amazing mini album focusing on Gladness.

Laurette says: "This is my first time on the board! Such a joy and inspiration to meet new sisters who love Jesus and love paper arts. What a fun project this was, focusing on the things that make me glad after a very difficult year last year. God is good!"

To learn more about Laurette see her introduction in our forum.
Click image to enlarge or see them in the gallery here.

God's Fingerprints

We are watching the Inspiration Gallery for layouts that have recorded God's Fingerprints in your life. With the new Faith Discovery Challenge, I think we are going to start seeing more and more of His Fingerprints being journaled!

This week the God's Fingerprints Spotlight is shining on JackieAnn. What an inspiring story! Thank you JackieAnn for sharing God's Fingerprints in your life. Your story is sure to touch the lives of many. Please leave some love for JackieAnn in the comments!






JOURNALING:
Growing up in southern California, I spent a LOT of time out in the sun. Sunscreen was not even around…it was more suntan oil. Our family spent every summer at the beach house and some time every winter in Palm Springs. Because of my fair skin I would always go thru the routine of burn…blister…peel. So I ended up with a lot of freckles and moles. My mum always called them angel kisses. She told me that all the little spots on my skin were where the angels had decided to kiss me whenever they wanted me to know that they were watching over me.

When I was 30, one of those angel kisses started growing and changing. A biopsy showed that it was malignant melanoma and I had to have surgery. I was totally thrown for a loop! My grandfather had died of this same thing 10 years prior and I was scared that this was my fate as well. In addition, I had gone back to work full time a few months before, even tho Meg was 3 and Jim was only 18 months old. I was moving up the management ladder at my work. I was totally focused on what the next upward step might be… supervisor… manager? So when I got this news all I could think of was not only would I die and my children never really know me but also how could work survive without me? Wasn’t ~I~ the vital wheel that kept everything moving? How could God do this to me and ruin MY perfect life, MY perfect plan?

Because this angel kiss was located on my leg, I was forced to be bedridden for over 3 months. Meg and Jim went to the baby sitters house during the day when Michael was at work because there was no way for me to get up and take care of them. Family and friends helped, but when we were home alone, the whole burden of cooking, caring for the kids, keeping the house in order was left to Michael. All I could do was lie in bed and watch as the world continued to move around me. And slowly, my focus started to shift. As I lay in bed reading, working on a craft project, calling friends who I had lost touch with, I thought about all that I had been missing while I was so totally focused on work. I started keeping a prayer journal I wrote down all my hopes and prayers for Meg & Jim so they would have a written, tangible record of just how much I loved and cherished them in case all this took a bad turn. I so looked forward to when everyone was home. The kids would crawl into bed me with me and I would tell them stories or we would read books. We would dress up Barbie and play with dinosaurs. We would laugh and sing ~Monkeys jumping on the bed~ and they would fall off in giggles. Precious glimpses of all that I had been missing.

During my recovery time in bed, I got a phone call one morning saying that we had won an all expense paid trip to Hawaii! Several months back I had jokingly filled out a contest form in our supermarket and out of 10,000 entries they picked mine! The trip scheduled to be taken in 4 months time. If all went well, according to the doctor, my stitches would be out, the graft would be healed; I would be off crutches and finally back to walking, and could possibly even go swimming. God’s amazing timing and God’s amazing healing. Off we went to Hawaii to spend an all expense paid week at the Turtle Bay Hilton on Oahu. We swam, snorkeled, rode horses, walked along the shore, hunted for sea shells and spent precious time together as a family. It was just what we all needed to make us whole, physically and spiritually.

When we came back, I put in my notice, switched departments and started working part time. Since then I have turned down many opportunities for advancement in my job. I have absolutely no regrets, I was taught a lesson and I listened and learned most heartily. God literally knocked me flat on my back, so I would have the time and the open heart to stop….focus and regroup on just what my priorities my life are. And I learned, that being the best supervisor at my job, was not the legacy that I wanted my children to remember me for. I wanted them to remember me for being a child of God who listened, followed and was the best wife and mother they would ever know.
Since that first operation, there have been some minor setbacks with my melanoma, but all along I knew that God and his angels were watching over me. After all, it was one of their kisses that brought me back to Him.

Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20