2021 \u2013 a new beginning. We know several \u201cin the beginnings\u201d. \u201cIn the beginning \u2013 God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d (Genesis 1:1) \u201cIn the beginning was the Word\u201d (John 1:1) A song from “The Sound of Music” says, \u201cLet\u2019s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, here we are \u201cin the beginning\u201d of this \u201cbrand spanking\u201d new year. Okay. Let\u2019s stop right there. What does \u201cbrand-spanking new\u201d mean anyway? Inquiring mind that I have — I had to look it up. It could have come by way of the doctors who traditionally spanked babies immediately after delivery to start them crying and breathing \u201cin their beginning\u201d of life outside the womb. Another alternative \u201cbrand new\u201d comes from cowboys branding cattle. Actually, \u201cbrand\u201d has been used since 950 AD and means \u201cto make an indelible mark of ownership’ with a hot stake or iron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This blog is dedicated to the brand spanking new year that we hope will be indelibly imprinted with \u201call things brand new with brand new thinking and living\u201d. We made it through last year and we are still here to tell the story of the survival of the fittest. Right now, all around the world, people are in the mindset of \u201ca new beginning\u201d. A clean slate. At the starting gate. Brand spanking new. All around the world, people are taking in the fresh, clean air that 2021 emits. Oh, the potential that this new year holds for us! It\u2019s like \u201cin the beginning\u201d of a blank canvas with so much potential for an artist\u2019s greatest work of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wouldn\u2019t it be fasinating to get a glimpse into what God has in mind for us in this new year? I\u2019m one of those people who prays for a \u201cword of the year\u201d. It\u2019s a single word or phrase that Holy Spirit brings to our minds while we\u2019re praying or reading Scriptures. It\u2019s a word that hints at God\u2019s plans and His desires for us in the coming year. Words like peace or joy or patience which are real words that people sense is their aim or goal. Those words are just small glimpses, a splash of color, so to speak, for that blank canvas of the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I said at the beginning of 2020 that my word would be PLENTY in 2020. I usually have a rhyming word. What I meant was PLENTY of God\u2019s grace, peace and love. And, that\u2019s what I received. I prayed about this year\u2019s word. I received SON. I desire more of the SON in 2021. I\u2019m sensing an even more intimate and tight relationship with my Savior, best friend and companion, the Son of God. You know \u2013 the more we live with someone like our spouse, we take on their characteristics, behaviors and we even start looking like each other. That\u2019s what I pray for this year \u2013 becoming more like Him, the Son, every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back to the \u201cin the beginning\u201d words that I started with \u201cin the beginning\u201d of this blog today. What are you purposing for this year? What are your hopes and dreams? What are your best wishes for your family? In God\u2019s \u201cin the beginning\u201d, He started creating the world and looked over all He had made and He saw it was very good!\u201d (Genesis 1:31). I know that \u201cin the beginning\u201d of this year, I want to follow God\u2019s lead. The atmosphere I create, the things I do, the way I love and encourage others — when I see it and when God sees it \u2013 I want to see it VERY GOOD! What will your \u201cin the beginning\u201d year and painting look like? Will it be \u201cvery good\u201d?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2021 \u2013 a new beginning. We know several \u201cin the beginnings\u201d. \u201cIn the beginning \u2013 God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d (Genesis 1:1) \u201cIn the beginning was the Word\u201d (John 1:1) A song from “The Sound of Music” says, \u201cLet\u2019s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.\u201d And, here we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19520,15998,17253],"tags":[1210,182,19513,19514,1769,6689,13827,4798,19515,40,4128,19517,19518,6956,7337,17308,17381,19519,19516],"class_list":["post-13680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-beginning","category-new-year","category-sound-of-music","tag-blog","tag-brand","tag-brand-spanking","tag-branding-cattle","tag-christian","tag-cowboys","tag-god-created","tag-in-the-beginning","tag-indelible-mark","tag-inspiration","tag-new-year","tag-rhyming-word","tag-saw-that-it-was-good","tag-sound-of-music","tag-start","tag-survival","tag-survival-of-the-fittest","tag-very-good","tag-word-of-the-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13680"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13683,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13680\/revisions\/13683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}