March Scripture Writing Plan 2021: The Armor of God

Happy almost March sweet friends!

The scripture writing plan topic this month is all about

THE ARMOR OF GOD

I think it's easy to forget that this world is not our home and is truly a spiritual battlefield. Every single hour of every single day we face a spiritual war and an enemy who is real and evil and who wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10). This enemy is ruthless and cunning and evil and super crazy determined. Thankfully God has given us His Word and His Spirit so that we will have the wisdom and protection we need to stand up against the enemy. No matter how cruel or vicious or cunning the enemy is, he can never chain our spirits that have been set free by Christ. Praise the Lord!

In Ephesians Paul gives us a blueprint for how to win this battle, telling us to be strong in the Lord by first clothing ourselves with God's specially-filled and supernaturally strengthened protective armor and then secondly, to stand firm in it. He tells us to put on the full armor of God and then goes on to describe what each piece is. (It's important to remember that at the time that Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians he was under house arrest and was guarded 24 hours a day by Roman soldiers!)

In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul writes: 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

In these verses Paul describes six pieces of apparel that can help Christians in their spiritual battle: 

• Belt of Truth
• Breastplate of Righteousness
• Helmet of Salvation
• Shoes of Readiness/Peace
• Shield of Faith
• Sword of the Spirit

The plan this month takes each of these six pieces and includes verses that help us understand what that piece of armor means and how we can use it in our lives today. God has a plan for our lives but unfortunately the enemy does too. We are so blessed to have specific instructions in God's word to follow that includes everything we need to stand strong. The battle is real sweet friends, and we must be ready!

My prayer is that this month we will be reminded that God alone holds victory over sin and death and our hope is in HIM. I pray that we will spend time this month learning about these tools God has given us so that we can put on His armor, stay alert and stand strong. That we are able to hold His Word as a weapon against the enemy's nasty schemes and have the wisdom and discernment to recognize his traps and snares and stand strong against his evil plans. I pray that we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit as we learn about these great pieces of armor and reminded that with the Lord Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed victory! 

(Note: You'll notice that six of the days have only the verse that the piece of armor is mentioned in as the verse for that day. My hope is that you will write that verse several times and then spend time trying to memorize it!)

FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be 
done any month-not just the month I write them for.

TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.

Vegetable Gratin

I served this recently at a family dinner and it was a HUGE hit! I served it with lasagna but it would go well with just about anything and it super easy to put together. I love that it can be done ahead of time! 

Topping:

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/3-1/2  cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme 

Gratin:

Try to find the three items below similar in size:

• 2 medium zucchini squash 
• 2 medium yellow zucchini 
• 3 to 4 plum or Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, thinly sliced or diced

1/2 medium bell pepper, halved and thinly sliced (I used orange bell pepper)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions: 

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8x8-inch baking dish with oil; set aside.

Make the topping:

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix until combined and set aside.

Make the gratin:

• Cut the zucchini, squash, and tomatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Place in a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute more.
• Transfer the onion mixture to the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Place the zucchini, squash, and tomato slices on the onions, arranging them on their sides and alternating the slices as you go. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the vegetables are tender and the edges and topping are browned, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Make ahead: I made my advance and refrigerated it, but didn't add the topping on until I was ready to bake it.