Yesterday, my husband and pastor, preached a message that can change lives if put into action. He talked about the poisonous fruit of bitterness and what it does to us.

There have been times in my life where I didn’t realize I had unforgiveness or bitterness in my heart. Bryan gave us ways we can know if we have bitterness.

Bitter People:

• Justify their bitterness- “I’m different, if you had been through what I had been through then you would understand”
• Become overly critical
• Secretly celebrate the misfortunes of others
• Write off entire groups of people- Example: Teenagers are lazy and disrespectful
• Struggle to see bitterness in the mirror

To kill bitterness I must forgive. There are times when I have to forgive each moment of every day. I don’t want bitterness to kill me and divert me from the purpose God has for me.

Ephesians 4:30-32

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Go to Rockwilmington.com to listen to the entire message “Redemption Week 2″.

You may have heard the story before but the facts may have been twisted, and Jesus death and resurrection are just another event that supposedly happened in the story book called the Bible. Don’t believe the lies others have told you and deny yourself the peace and joy that only God can bring. Jesus’ love is so powerful that it can heal your hurt and drive away fear.

Going through the motions does not make you a Christ follower. Reading your Bible does not make you a Christ follower. The only thing that makes you a Christ follower is acknowledging your need for a Saviour, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, confessing your sins to Christ and giving your life fully to him.

If someone you know hasn’t given their life completely to Jesus Christ, then they need an invitation to church for Easter. Don’t wait for someone else to invite them. It’s not easy to invite people, but each empty seat represents a person who needs Jesus.

Who do you know that needs to hear the story that will change their life forever?

Matthew Ray, youth pastor at ROCK Church, is the talented photographer who shot pictures of Bryan and I. Carolyn Mejia, Media Director, another talented creative at ROCK Church, made sure the shots were what was needed. It was great seeing Carolyn and Matthew work together to get the product they were looking for. Carolyn would see a wall with  texture she knew would work in a graphic and Matthew would line up the shot.

It was fun hanging out with people I love.

A glimpse of what we did:

My duct tape art piece

Bunnies, chicks and eggs are what you might think of when you hear about Easter. Bunnies and chicks are cute and eggs taste great, but there is more to Easter than a hide and seek game in the grass.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, died on a cross, and came alive after being dead three days. He rescued the world from sin and death and gives us the opportunity to make him the lord of our of lives. He let’s us choose to trust him, worship him, follow him and give everything to him.

This year ROCK Church is expressing what Jesus did through art. Using words SACRIFICE / RESURRECTION / FORGIVENESS / REDEMPTION / LOVE / THE CROSS we will create art pieces, film, and photography. I have started working on my piece, and can’t wait to submit.

March 14th is the last day to enter. There are details at ROCK Church of the festival. Take the time to enter a piece and show your creative gift.

Monday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Bean Curry and Rice:
2 tbls. Olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
½ c. dry lentils
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbls. Curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1 8 oz. can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
½ c. raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
8 c. cooked brown rice

Prepare the brown rice according to package directions so you have enough for 8 servings. Heat
the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the lentils and
garlic, and season with curry powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir
in the tomatoes, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and raisins. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Tuesday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Peppers:
1 qt. 100% Vegetable or Tomato Juice
2 c. cooked black beans
1 c. cooked brown rice
2 med. green onions (chopped)
¼ c. fresh cilantro (chopped)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
2-3 large bell peppers (cut in half lengthwise and deseed)

Combine all ingredients except juice and bell peppers in bowl and mix well. Place peppers in
glass dish and stuff with mixture. Pour juice over peppers and plenty of excess in the dish.
Cover and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Wednesday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Leek and Potato Soup:
1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
1 tsp. ground pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 pints vegetable stock
2 lbs. leeks (trimmed, cleaned, sliced)
2 lbs. potatoes (cleaned, cut into cubes)

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pan. Add garlic – heat for a few minutes until golden.
Add fennel seeds and pepper and stir in with garlic. Add leeks and potatoes and mix well with
other ingredients. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir quickly. Cover and cook for 5 minutes
further. Add stock. Bring to boil, then cover, turn heat down and simmer for 40 minutes.

Thursday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Chowder:
1 ½ quart vegetable stock
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 12 oz. bag frozen whole kernel corn
2 large onions diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 chopped carrots
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
1 red pepper diced
1 green bell pepper
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano leaves
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2. tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. liquid smoke

Boil black beans with a little kosher salt until tender (do not over cook). Rinse cooked beans
with cool water and set aside.

In soup pot, heat olive oil and sauté onion, celery, carrot and bell peppers until tender and
slightly brown.

Add water and broth and bring to boil. Add all remaining ingredients except cilantro. Simmer
for 10 minutes and then add cilantro. Simmer for additional 10 minutes, uncovered.

Friday

Dinner
Pinto Beans
Spanish Rice

Since most of you seem to be coming here for the dinner recipes,I am going to post the dinner menu & recipes only. I hope these have been a help to  you. Hopefully these recipes spark ideas for you to add on. If you need other ideas for breakfast or lunch feel free to leave a comment and I will add them

Sunday

• Hummus recipe
• whole wheat or corn tortillas
• salad

Monday

• Chili
• Blue corn chips
• They make tofutti sour cream-not too bad
• salad

Tuesday

• Potato soup
• piece of sesame seed Ezekiel bread

Wednesday

• “Cheesy” pasta primavera whole wheat pasta ( this is amazing)

Thursday

• Tomato basil soup
• Ezekiel bread peanut butter and jelly

Friday

• Baked portabella (drizzle olive and a little sea salt over bake for 10-15 minutes) mushrooms over polenta
• salad

You could also saute the mushrooms in some olive oil on the stove and then serve over polenta. Yummy too!

Saturday

• Bean burrito
• Spanish rice
  4 cups of rice
  2 cans of diced tomatoes
  sea salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste
  several fresh sprigs of cilantro
  4 cups of water.

  Add all ingredients into rice cooker and stir. Turn on and rice cooker will turn off when done.

In a period of fasting and prayer, I can choose if it will be just a sacrifice of the food I am fasting from or a sacrifice of my will. I want to lay everything at the feet of my Father and say,”It’s all yours, every part of me, everything I have, accomplish in me what you want.”

Whether you are giving up sugar, drinking fruit juices only, giving up meats and processed foods, or going on a media fast ask God “What do you want to wake up in me?” Maybe, he wants to wake up a dream or bring you closer to him. I don’t know what he wants to wake up in me, but I am preparing for it to happen.

Last Sunday, Bryan preached a great message. He gave 7 keys to fasting. I have been pondering them all week. I hope they will be a help to you through this journey.

1. Set an objective

• Declare complete dependence on God
• Asking forgiveness
• Completion of the Great Commission
• Inviting the presence of the Lord
• Believe God for specific needs

2. Make a commitment- if you are fasting caffeine stick with it

3. Prepare yourself spiritually

4. Prepare yourself physically

5. Put yourself on a schedule

6. End gradually

7. Expect results

In Ezra 8:21 Ezra proclaimed the people fasted and humbled themselves before God. Today, I come and humble myself before the God who created the universe. Thank you God for loving me even when I am unlovely. I lay aside my desires and ask you to use me how you choose. Awake in me your plans for me.

Please don’t get overwhelmed by these recipes. Please email me if you are not sure about an ingredient or a technique.

Tuesday

• Oatmeal with honey and blueberries (see previous post)

• Tomato Basil Soup and a slice of Ezekiel Bread (found in the freezer section) with Smuckers all natural peanut butter

Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
* 3 pounds tomatoes – cored, peeled, and quartered ( you can use canned)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* sea salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1 quart vegetable broth
* 1 cup rice milk, soy milk or almond milk
* 8 sprigs fresh basil for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Mix in tomatoes and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the vegetable broth, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 15 minutes.
2. Transfer soup to a blender (or use an immersible hand blender), and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and gradually mix in the your choice of milk. Pour soup through a strainer before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of basil.

• Corn chowder (this is Yummy) and a salad

Wednesday

• Banana muffins
• Curried vegetables with brown rice
• Tomato sauce w/ mushrooms and peppers over Polenta (make a double batch of tomato sauce for “lasagna”)

Add portabella and button mushrooms along with red, yellow and green peppers to tomato sauce.

Polenta

1 cup polenta
1 quart water
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, water and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, and use a fork or a spatula to stir the polenta well, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir again. Carefully taste a little bit of the polenta; if the grains are not completely soft, return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Thursday

• Breakfast tortilla- Chop up some extra veggies the night before. Saute mushrooms, broccoli, green beans and with olive oil. Roll up in a tortilla. You could add some soy cheese or some soft tofu.
• Leftover Tomato sauce over polenta
• Chili and Garden of Eatin corn chips (My 9 yr old son asks for this even when we are not on a Daniel Fast)

Chili (make sure you make enough because you will use this on your Baked potatoes tomorrow night)

Vegetarian Chili
2 medium-sized green peppers, chopped
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground red peppers
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
2 16 oz. cans tomatoes (juice and all)
2 16 oz. cans pinto beans (juice and all)
2 16 oz. cans black beans (juice and all)
1 4 oz. can mild green chilies
1 4 oz. can of tomato paste
Chop and sauté in oil the peppers and onions. Add the chili powder, salt, ground red
peppers, and corn. When all the vegetables are soft but still firm, add the tomatoes, all the beans, the
green chilies and the tomato paste. Stir until just blended. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Let
simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Friday

• Ezekiel bread w/ honey
• Thai carrot soup w/ salad (Make enough at the beginning of the week)
• Baked potatoes with leftover chili (Bake large potatoes in oven and use leftover chili from Thursday)

Saturday

• Blueberry Banana muffins
• Portabella wrap – in a grill pan or a saute pan drizzle a sliced portabella mushroom with olive oil. Saute turning in the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Roll up in a tortilla with lettuce, shredded carrots, and balsamic vinegarette dressing.
• “Lasagna”

Lasagana

• 1/2 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 pound soft tofu
• 1 pound firm tofu
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp minced fresh basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 32-ounce jar of tomato sauce (or homemade sauce) If using jar sauce check ingredients for sugar.

Prepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain carefully and set aside on a towel.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible and set aside. Place the tofu,  soymilk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.Cover the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles. Follow that with a layer of half the tofu and half the spinach. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles and the rest of the tofu mixture and spinach. End with the remaining noodles covered by the remaining tomato sauce.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tomato sauce bubbles.

Enjoy these recipes! Please come back and share.

The recipes are fairly easy and a lot of them can be made ahead and frozen in individual containers. This may be helpful for you if you are single or work outside the home. I find it to be helpful to me because when it is time for dinner, there is not prep or waiting.

Sunday

• Oatmeal with blueberries and honey- this can be made easily in the microwave. Follow the instructions on quick oats for a serving of oatmeal, add a teaspoon of honey and a handful of blueberries. Delicious!
• Thai Carrot Soup-I found this recipe a month ago and love it. Very easy to make and delicious. I didn’t have a bay leaf and I didn’t even miss it. Make a big pot of this and freeze away.
• Bean Burrito- I buy tortillas without yeast. Reading the ingredients is the best bet.

First you have to make the refried beans: soak the pinto beans overnight, then cook the pintos in a crockpot with a bottle   of  salsa. Fill water within 1 inch of top. Cook on high for 1 hr and then low for 4 hours. Fill the tortillas with cooked beans.

For Tofu sour cream: I buy Tofutti sour cream I tried making it last year and it was horrible.

Chips- I buy the Garden of Eatin chips because they don’t have anything but blue corn in them my kids eat them and they are right tasty.

Monday

• Blueberry Banana muffin – I made these last year and I was so glad to have something different than oatmeal or Ezekiel bread for breakfast. These freeze well too.
• Hummus  & serve with Garden of Eatin Blue Corn Chips and Veggies
  1 can Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans
  3 cloves Garlic
  3 Tblsp Lemon juice
  ¼ liquid saved from drained chickpeas
  3 Tblsp Tahini
  ½ – 1 tsp Cumin
  ½ tsp Paprika
  Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree, don’t add all liquid at the same time, just enough until hummus is a nice “dip” consistency!

• Pesto with 100% whole wheat pasta   serve a salad with veggies, apples and Annie’s Natural Organic Balsamic Vinegarette and there is no sugar in it which is very hard to find.

Enjoy the recipes and come back tomorrow for the rest of the week!

Today, I will be sharing with you the first week of my menu for the Awakening Daniel Fast that I have developed. Please understand this is my version of the recipes and is a plan to be a guide. I in no way am an authority on nutrition or give medical advice. With each menu I share there is breakfast, lunch and dinner. I hope you find this helpful.

Menu Week 1
January 10th-January 16th

Sunday
Breakfast-Oatmeal with blueberries and honey
Lunch- Thai Carrot soup and salad with balsamic dressing
Dinner-Bean burrito w/ tofu sour cream and Garden of Eatin blue corn chips

Monday
Breakfast- Blueberry muffins
Lunch-Hummus with Garden of Eatin blue corn chips and cut up veggies
Dinner- Pesto w/ 100% whole wheat pasta (check ingredients) salad w/ balsamic dressing

Tuesday
Breakfast- Toasted cinnamon Ezekiel bread w/ all natural Smuckers Peanut butter (the kind you have to stir)
Lunch-Tomato basil soup
Dinner- Corn and potato chowder w/ salad

Wednesday
Breakfast-Banana muffins
Lunch-Basmati brown rice w/ curried vegetables
Dinner-Tomato sauce w/ mushrooms and peppers over polenta

Thursday
Breakfast-Breakfast tortilla
Lunch-Leftover Tomato sauce over polenta
Dinner-Chili and corn chips

Friday
Breakfast- Ezekiel bread w/ honey
Lunch- Thai carrot soup w/ salad
Dinner- Baked potatoes with leftover chili

Saturday
Breakfast- Blueberry muffins
Lunch-Portabella wrap
Dinner-”Lasagna”

Tomorrow, I will start posting the recipes to these menus with detailed instructions.