A Recipe for 2021

Our Pastor at Genesis East Covenant Church has challenged us to write a Recipe for the New Year. To leave the past behind, one needs to remove something in order to move forward. It as if we crossed the river… never to return to the other side.

This is what our Pastor said was the beginning of recipe:

The first thing he told us is to remember. In Joshua 4:1-9 they set up a memorial of twelve stones, so they could remember where they been, what they overcame and where they are headed next.

The next thing he told is to be still. From Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."

The following thing he told us… to be filled with courage. Joshua 1:9, "because God is with you."

Let go of your burden. "Come to me when you are weary and I will give you rest," Matthew 11:8-20. You are not to carry any weight into 2021!

According to Mark 10:27, "All things are possible with God." Sprinkle some hope in this New Year.

I've added these to my recipe:

The thing I want to remove is sin. I have a compulsion for online shopping. It must stop in the New Year. Psalm 103:12, says "The Lord has removed our as sins as far as the east is from the west." I need to trust God in this…

I have Primary Progressive Aphasia. I need to challenge my mind. With word games, French skills, and memory games. I picked this verse in Colossians 4:2, "Devote yourself to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." I love this verse because it says a thankful heart. I need to be thankful for PPA. I know that God is with me on this journey.

Colossians 2:7, "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." I love this verse because it reminds me of a tree, withstanding whatever storms come its way. Some trees ride out the storm, others do not. I want my roots go down into Jesus… so I can withstand whatever storm comes my way.

I love Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, watch over your heart, diligently guard it because from a sincere and pure heart come the good and noble things of life." When I was in Carcassonne, France, it was a fortified city. It sits on the top of hill. We traveled to visit it with my hubby. I felt like I could hear the hoofbeats of the knights in shining armor plodding along. We stood where the guards stood with their bow and arrows. I understood now how you must guard your heart. Those pesky arrows of our enemy, he wants to trip us up along the way and cause doubt in his love.

I also love 2 Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat learns there is war on his doorstep. It was announced to every person in Judah that they should fast and pray. Jehoshaphat cries out, "We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don't know that to do, so we look to you for help." The Lord said to Jehoshaphat, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God's." Jehoshaphat bowed facedown on the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed before the Lord and worshiped him. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they began to sing, and praise God, and the Lord set ambushes… I love this because they fasted and prayed and the Lord said, this battle is not, your battle, it is God's. I know it will be a battle ahead as I struggle with PPA, but it is God's battle, not mine.