Faith Discovery Challenge #10 – {Stay Focused}

Wow, 2 weeks flew by really fast! Now it’s time for another challenge but, before I do that, let me first start by picking the featured layout for our previous challenge, “Time Is Precious”. Even though there were only a few, it was still a challenge for me to pick just one. But, I couldn’t help but pick this layout by one of our talented Creative Team members, Tammy McClain. The photo is really dramatic and most of all I strongly understood her words of wisdom and her message really spoke the truth about how precious time is. So, be sure to give her some love and check out her layout and more of her awesome designs in the gallery! Thanks Tammy for your inspiring work!

Featured Layout by Tammy

Go to her gallery here.

{Stay Focused}

Focus. I tend to think of a camera when it comes to that term. If you’re like me, trying to hold a camera still, zooming in and out to bring the object into clear view, getting the right lighting, etc. can be such a chore just to take a picture. But, we still take it anyways and find that more or less, the picture comes out perfectly fine. We love capturing moments on photos because one day we know we will want to look back at this time in our life and remember the special people, places, and events that took place. And when we’re gone, those photos will hopefully be kept in someone’s loving care to share with the next generation and the next. Focus. What important things do we focus on? For me, I’m a SAHM which means my focus right now is to take care of my sweet little boys and hubby, to be the best mother and wife that I possibly can be. Like a camera, it takes discipline and practice but, basically I know what my priorities are and believe that the love I put into this family will eventually reap an abundance of blessings through my children. There are days that I feel overwhelmed, weary, frustrated, and tired but, I know that God is my helper and His grace is sufficient for me. The Lord helps me to focus on the things that glorify Him rather than glorifying things that are worldly and temporary and I praise the Lord for that.

Staying focused. Why can it be so hard sometimes to keep our focus on the Lord and His promises? So many times, I find myself sidetracked by all the chaos that occurs in life. Not to mention, I often forget that He is control. He knows my days from the moment I wake up to the moment I lay down to sleep. He will do what He promised to do in His time, not mine. But, when disappointments and setbacks come my way or prayers are left unanswered, people I love get hurt and mistreated, stories of innocent people dying, violence, and war on the news, couples getting divorced, children abandoned and abused…so on and so on. These things fill my mind and my heart with so much grief, I can hardly bear it sometimes. Doubt and fear is the enemy’s tactic to cause us to lose sight of this race, to lose trust, to lose hope in God. There’s a battlefield in our mind that constantly tests our faith. Yet, when we read His word, pray, and spend time with Him, He gives us the right perspective and shows us how to stay or get back on track. We are all running a race and sometimes the trials in life can make you stumble but, just keep going and don’t let the enemy stop you from reaching your goal to serve the Lord. Finish your race and in the end, God will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt 25:21) So, stay focused!

Challenge #10 - We all have a potential to lose focus on the visions and plans that God has revealed to us. Setbacks, disappointments, confusion, stress, disbelief, sickness, strife, etc are some of the things that create obstacles in our paths. Yet God wants us to keep running this race, He wants us to reach our destinations that lead to His Kingdom, He believes we can keep going if we keep our eyes on Jesus. But, we have to have faith if we want to finish this race despite all the hurdles that causes us to stumble and fall. Share your story about this race you're running and what is it that keeps you from giving up? What are some things that have thrown you off track? What are things that you can share with others that will help them finish their race?

Faith Verses:

1 Cor 9:24 - "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Phil 3:12-14 - "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But, one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

John 16:33 - "...In this world, you will have trouble. But, take heart, I have overcome the world!"

By Dahlia Co

By Tammy

By Jackie Ann



By Terrie L.

Looking forward to your designs and learning from you! Upload your layouts to the FDC gallery and you could be our next featured scrap artist for this challenge! You can also check in our forums for discussions or updates. Be creative and be blessed!

Faith Discovery Challenge #9 - {Time is Precious}

It’s so wonderful to be back! I had a very wonderful time being able to take care of some important things over the break and also spending some quality time with hubby and kids. I feel renewed, refreshed, and ready to be inspired and blessed by all of you! I really missed my wonderful faith sisters and never really thought about how precious they are to me until now. The past few weeks, although I did enjoy it, I also had some moments that needed me to request prayers and support. So, of course other than turning to the Lord, I also turned to my sisters and really felt the power of their prayers over me. It’s an awesome feeling and I’m so thankful for being a part of this beautiful family of FAITH SISTERS!

I have some minor changes to make for the Faith Discovery Challenges that I hope will make things a little bit easier for everyone, including myself, to participate in. Anyways, the challenges will no longer be every week. L I have minimized it to every other Thursday, instead of weekly. I think this would give many of you the opportunity to catch up with these challenges and not really miss out on other challenges going on at our site as well. Besides, I feel that many of us would like to take more time to pray and think about these challenges. Some of you have mentioned that the challenges are just that—challenging. And having more time to do them would give you a chance to express what God has put into your heart. I too, believe that with the topics the Lord has given me, require you to have a deeper perspective of life and the lessons that we have gone through that has made Jesus such a reality in our lives. So, hopefully now with more time, I'm praying that more of you will join in! So, stick around and be prepared for another round of Faith Discovery Challenges!

I will also be selecting a winner for the challenges and showcasing their layout in our blog. This will be announced at the next challenge post, 2 weeks from today. I know that this will be a challenge to me because I have witnessed so much talent, creativity, and inspiration for these challenges so far.

Free downloads will from now on be at a minimum. I would love to keep designing freebies each time but, with so much on my plate, it can be pretty overwhelming. Even with the help of my fellow designers, the collaboration kits can also be time consuming to coordinate. So, I will try my best to give you goodies when I can and surprise you every now and then. Deal?

Now on to this week’s challenge….

{Time is Precious}

Living in such a busy world, our time is often taken for granted. We feel that our time is so limited to be able to do all the things we’d like to do so we sometimes forget the things that do matter in life, like our family and loved ones. One day, my son was asking me if we could play with his blocks together. And I was busy with homework so I told him, “Later, okay?” He politely said, “Ok.” but with a disappointed look on his face. Five minutes later, he asked if we could play with his blocks again. And again, I explained that I would be done with my homework soon and that he needs to wait. Well, time flew by and I didn’t realize that I had forgotten my son’s request. I went over to him and said I was sorry for not playing with him like he asked me to. He said, “Mommy, you forgot.” I was crushed just to hear those words. I realized that although it may not have seemed so important to me but, it was definitely important to him. He wanted to have time with me and build memories together. When I thought about it, my homework wasn’t due for another week or so, and I felt so selfish to have let that time we could’ve had slip away. A week ago, a close friend of our family had been had been instantly taken away from us without notice. I can’t imagine how lost and broken I would feel to lose a loved one and recall that I had been too busy to make time to talk or be with them. Life is short. And instead of wishing I had more hours in a day to do everything, I’m praying instead that “God may give me a heart of wisdom that I may know the number of my days.” We all have no clue that maybe tomorrow will be our last or the last moment we’d get to have a loved one with us. I sure hope that we will try our best take some time out of our busy lives, to let someone know that you care and that you remember that even the little moments matter. Most of all, ask the Lord for His grace to help us make time for Him every single day, that we may live a life worthy and pleasing to Him. After all, He is the the Lord and Creator of TIME itself...

Challenge #9– Create a layout of a moment in your life where you discovered the reality of how precious time is or can be. Share your thoughts about the challenges you faced when it came to spending time with family, loved ones, or with God. How has God helped you in the area of appreciating the time we have while we are here on earth? Or what has reminded you that time is a precious gift from God?

Faith verses:

Psalms 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Proverbs 19:21 – “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”

Here is my layout:

Every Little Moment Matters

Credits here.

God bless you and please share your thoughts and comments in our forum here. And once you’ve completed your layout, be sure to upload it into the FDC gallery! I look forward to seeing what you’re going to come up with! Blessings!