Daniel Fast Day 7

Today's menu was pretty much leftovers, things I've had earlier in the week. I did get to have some natural corn tortilla chips with organic salsa. That was pretty tasty! My blood sugar has been hovering kinda low, so it's been hard. When it's low, that's when I get really hungry, almost ravenous. and it's hard to stay with the fast, but I've done it. It's also very hard to stay with it if I'm not prepared ahead of time. I have to be ready to face the temptations by already having my meals planned. This can also be applied in the spiritual realm. I have to be ready for daily temptations to sin, and plan my response ahead of time. I prepare myself to battle temptation by being in God's word and spending time with Him every day.

Daniel Fast Day 6

I'm telling you, I'm getting more and more anxious to be done with this fast. So I guess this is going to be the hardest part, because I know Saturday night at 6 is coming! And I can't wait for it to get here! I'm still learning that there are things deep in my heart surfacing that shouldn't be there in the first place...negative attitudes, complaining, anxiety, frustration. Oh Jesus, search me and know me. Clean my heart!

Breakfast

banana walnut muffins (surprisingly moist and delish!)

soy milk

Lunch

stir fry veggies over brown rice

natural potato chips (mmmmm)

Snack

2 rice cakes with natural peanut butter and honey

Dinner

corn and potato chowder (soooo good!)

a little bit of granola that Nina gave me

I always struggle with keeping a healthy balance when I fast. My mind seems to think in all-or-nothing terms, black-and-white. So I have difficulty wrapping my mind around giving something up only for a period of time. I almost feel guilty when I break the fast, as if I'm going back to "life as usual". Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you keep that balance?

Daniel Fast Day 5

Halfway through....

Breakfast

homemade breakfast bars - TERRIBLE! sooo dry

green tea sweetened with apple juice

Lunch

veggie stir-fry with brown rice

potatoes and green beans

Snack

homemade popcorn with sea salt

Dinner

celery with natural peanut butter and raisins

whole wheat pasta with steamed broccoli and cauliflower

asparagus with garlic

apple cinnamon raisin almond salad with natural peanut butter and honey

We had lifegroup tonight, so Sarah made a smorgasbord of food! Dessert was especially tasty once I added peanut butter and honey! :) I also made some banana muffins to try for breakfast in the morning. They will probably be super bland, but it was worth a shot! I found out today that the Daniel fast can be a great opportunity to tell others about my faith. A teacher asked me today, "So...exactly why are you doing this to yourself?" I told her that this is a way of denying my flesh or my appetite to focus on God, and a way for our church to unite and pray for each other. I'm really having to watch my attitude, though, and not complain. If I am constantly being negative about it, I'll defeat the purpose of the fast, which is relying on the Spirit's strength. God is showing me that I have a warped view of Him. I tend to base what I know about God on my feelings/emotions. I need to remember to base my feelings on the truth, which is God's word. "I believe; help my unbelief!"

Daniel Fast Day 4

Breakfast

Ezekiel cereal with bananas and unsweetened soy milk

Lunch

whole wheat spaghetti with roasted garlic spaghetti sauce

Snack

potato chips! I found some natural ones that are made with sunflower oil! woo hoo!

Dinner

vegetable soup and oven roasted potatoes

sweet potato chips with cinnamon and honey

Laura was so gracious to cook dinner for a few of us! I'm glad that I'm done with the whole wheat pasta, cause the consistency/texture freaks me out. It's kinda like licorice. Ew. I'm beyond excited about finding potato chips that are allowable on the Daniel Fast. Aahhh, they were so tasty. The Ezekiel cereal....eh. It was very similar to a raisin bran, but it just has very little flavor. The raisins in it and the bananas I added helped with the dryness. I found myself thinking, "It's already Day 4? Wow, this isn't as long as I thought it would be." I'm sure that I'll be ready to eat normal food again by Day 10, though. Some of the girls in my lifegroup have mentioned how they may continue a lot of the habits even after the fast is over. They have found new things that they like that they didn't realize were available before. I'm not so sure I'll carry on with many things...maybe a few, here and there. But I am definitely much more grateful for the foods that I normally eat!

Daniel Fast Day 3

Here's the menu from today:

Breakfast

natural peanut butter and bananas on Ezekiel bread

unsweetened soy milk

Snack

2 rice cakes with peanut butter and honey

Lunch (Rotelli's)

cup of 15 bean soup

peppers stuffed with brown rice, yellow raisins, onions, celery, and TOFU (what?!)

an extra side of brown rice (cause I still wasn't full)

Dinner

stir-fry veggies (broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, onions, tomatoes, red peppers, squash, carrots) with brown rice, seasoned with sea salt, curry, and thyme

Today's food has been pretty good. For those of you who don't know about Rotelli's, the owner goes to our church and was there the day that Pastor Rick called us to the fast. So he decided to offer a Daniel Fast Menu of about 7 or 8 items for members of our church! WOOO! It was so nice to go and have a meal already prepared for me.

This morning when I got to church, I was really dragging. I felt discouraged, hungry, and was just in an overall bad mood. But being around other people who are going through the same thing really helped me to change my outlook. I talked with friends who had a positive attitude, and it was contagious! God used that to remind me of the power of community. We weren't meant to live life and go through struggles alone. I am constantly worried that people don't want to hear about my difficulties or problems, but God created us to share each other's burdens. And just the simple act of having a cheerful attitude can help someone who is facing a hard time.

Also, I heard something very enlightening this morning during Rick's sermon. It's a quote from Richard Foster:

"More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us....We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface...Anger, bitterness, strife, fear - if they are within us, they will surface during fasting. At first, we will rationalize that our anger is due to hunger, then we know that we are angry because the spirit of anger is within us."

Whoa. Talk about a smack to the head. It's so crazy what is surfacing in my heart during this fast...pride, anger, selfishness, laziness, negativity. And it's only Day 3!

Daniel Fast Day 2

So here's what I've eaten today:

Breakfast

natural peanut butter and bananas on Ezekiel bread

unsweetened applesauce

unsweetened soy milk (actually not that bad)

Lunch

natural peanut butter and applesauce sandwich using Ezekiel bread

peanuts/brazil nuts/raisins

Dinner

pinto beans, green beans with onion, and potatoes with seasonings

V8 Fruit Juice

Snack

2 rice cakes with natural peanut butter and honey

I made some chips using whole wheat tortillas, olive oil, sea salt, and fiesta seasoning. I can eat them as a snack with some organic salsa. I'll try that tomorrow or Monday. I spent the majority of my evening making some breakfast granola bars and dang it, they are disgusting. But I'm GOING to eat them because I spent so much time on them! I feel like all I do is get food prepared and cooked, and it's soooo much work. But while I was on my way to Lowe's Foods today, I realized that there is an important lesson for me to glean from this: waiting. Just as I have to take time to prepare my food - clean it, cut it up, cook it, cool it, etc. - God takes time to prepare us for seasons in our lives. What we may view as "waiting" or "wasted time", God views as an opportunity to mold us, shape us, make us holier. Without that time of preparation, my food would be nasty and not taste as good. And without some times of waiting, we can't really know God's grace and blessings when they are in front of us. I read an article by Candice Watters that served as a great reminder:

"...when we wait patiently for what we long for — and what we're longing for conforms to God's design — God uses the waiting to align our desires with His and refine us in the process."

Please, let me be honest with you. I by no means have understood this truth with my heart. Right now, I am choosing to believe it with my mind until my heart can grasp it. And while I'm on the honesty kick, I'm already struggling with this fast. It's hard. So if you think about it, please pray for God's strength for me. I want to do this!

Daniel Fast Day 1

My church is doing a 10-day Daniel Fast to pray for our church and to unify as a community. Today was the first day, and it's going well so far. I have to admit, I'm nervous about lasting the whole ten days, but I am trusting in the Lord for strength! Here's what I had today:

Breakfast

Oatmeal with chopped apples, cinnamon, and honey

Lunch

whole wheat tortilla with natural peanut butter and spreadable fruit (strawberry), peanuts/brazil nuts/raisins

Snack

rice cakes with natural peanut butter and honey

Dinner

whole wheat spaghetti with roasted garlic tomato sauce

Today, I've learned just how much we as Americans depend on convenience foods. Everything is prepared for us and stored in neat little jars or containers. We don't have to work for anything! Getting all of my food prepared has already been time-consuming. I am going to try and cook some meals tomorrow so I can have them ready for the week ahead. Pray for me, please! Pray that I will have the discipline and the commitment to stick with this!

5 People You Should Know

I just got home a couple days ago from Catalyst 2009 and yet again, it was AMAZING. I'm still kinda emotionally and mentally drained from all the incredible speakers and musicians we heard, and especially from all that God is saying to me. I decided to share with you 5 people you should know, and coincidentally, they were all at the conference!

Tripp Crosby - HUH-larious

Aaron Keyes - incredible worship leader, focuses more on leading people than singing

Chrystina Fincher - used to get on my nerves, but now I kinda like the way she punches and chews gum while singing

Matt Chandler - pastor at Village Church, funny, but lays it down!

Kari Jobe - crazy amazing voice, the ORIGINAL singer of Revelation Song, not those silly PhillipsCraigDean people