The Daniel's Fast
Doubt is such a terrible thing. When did I become that person? The person who doubts the Lord's promises?
I think I'm going to do the Daniel's Fast with my brother's church after the New Year. They do it corporately from January 7-28. That's 21 days of only fruits and veggies.
As I'm reading about the fast, I am learning the "right" way to fast.
Number one is to be specific about what you are fasting from and why you are doing it.
So, here goes. These are the things I am CONSIDERING fasting from and the reasons I am CONSIDERING for doing it.
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First, I might fast from all television.
The reason: To repent from giving the TV control of my time. Right now, I wake up in the morning with a "to-do" list in my head of things that I COULD get done before I go to work (including spending time with the Lord). But I usually sit down for "just one show, while I eat breakfast." Two hours, and three bowls of cereal later, I realize that I need to bust my tale to be ready for work on time. I use my food as an excuse to watch more television. How lazy is that?! I plan my Thursday nights around Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. And if my hubby interrupts my show, I'm less than cordial to him, for sure.
It is even beginning to affect my little girl. This morning, I left her in the room, with her back to the TV and with a book and a light-up Pooh Bear in front of her. When I came back into the room a few minutes later, she had completely turned herself around so that she could see the TV. (Keep in mind that she is barely three months old and isn't even able to sit up on her own). While I would like to blame my husband's "football Saturdays" for her new addiction, I realize that it is far more likely to be my fault.
I realize now that I cannot even be in the house alone without the TV on in the background. I am constantly bombarding myself with pointless "noise" just so I don't have to think. Perhaps a better use of the silence would be to give all my cares to Christ so that I wouldn't have anything complicated to think about. hmmm...
The exception I might consider making to this part of the fast is "movie nights" with B. That is our time to wind down, cuddle, whisper, and enjoy some "grown-up time" after CJ is in bed. Those times I do not consider to be detrimental to my life, and I actually think they provide a good bonding time. However, I might limit those nights to only one or two nights a week. The rest of the time, perhaps we could find a game to play or something.
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The second thing I am giving up is my Sunday mornings.
The Reason: To repent of breaking the fourth commandment - remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy.
I am ashamed to say that the last time I went to church was when CJ was seven weeks old. Our excuse was that B works 6 days a week and Sundays were his only day to sleep in. Well, that MIGHT be an okay excuse for him. But what was my excuse? I sleep in every day of the week! So I'm going to try to attend my brother's church (the one that is sponsoring the fast) during those 21 days.
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Finally, I am going to fast from all food except fruits and veggies.
The Purpose: To consecrate my body to the Lord as a "Temple of the Holy Spirit" and to repent from using food as a crutch.
This will probably be the most difficult for me, since it is absolutely the strongest hold on my life right now. Particularly sweets are my downfall.
I was sitting at a family gathering over the holidays, watching the people out the back door lighting up cigarrette after cigarrette. I shook my head in dismay and thought "they just have to get their 'fix' suppose. The don't even think about it killing them - one smoke at a time." The irony of that comment was that I was thinking it as I took the last bite out of my second piece of chocolate cake. I was just getting my "fix" for the night, not even thinking about how it is killing me - one bite at a time.
I use food as comfort. It is my excuse for not doing the work I need to do. I eat because I'm bored or lonely. I eat for any reason I can come up with.
And for every one of those problems, I should be turning to the Lord.
Now I am realizing that the purpose of food is to sustain me and keep me healthy. And if food is no longer doing that, then I have robbed it of its purpose. It's hurting me, rather than healing me.
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As I said before, this is to be a year of "action and movement" for me. And I feel like, if by the end of next year I am in the same place that I am right now, the Lord will say "Why did you just stand there and look at the sky?" I don't want that to happen.
So I think I am going to do this Daniel's Fast.
I will really be praying over the next several days that the Lord will continue to reveal other strongholds in my life that I can be praying about during those 21 days. Although, it might be that all I have listed is quite enough to handle.
Okay. So that's it.
How did everyone's Christmas go?