Did you miss me? Have you been longing, pining for my return to Blogdom? (I made up Blogdom just now. It's a pretend country where blogging is the primary form of communication. AKA the future)
I'm not going to dish out a long list of excuses for why it's been over a month since my last post. I have been well aware of how ridiculous it is that I had not posted one thing during this time. The only reason I have to give is this: During the month of February I was doing a Daniel Fast. I felt called to do this fast for the entire month, and to not only do the eating part, but to also evaluate parts of my life where I was being distracted from righteousness. Blogging was one of those things where I was trying too hard and needed to re-evaluate my heart toward it.
So I took off for the month. I decided that it would be okay since it was for a good cause. As of yesterday, I am back on! I still have so many things to write about, pictures to take, video tutorials to make I couldn't just give up now!
As for this post, I don't have a specific purpose for it. But I will write a few things that I got out of a month of fasting and praying. Also some funny things. Come on, I can't be serious all the time. (Boooooring)
So here it is, my advice for doing a Daniel Fast:
1. Before deciding to start a Daniel Fast, seriously consider the cost. And by cost I mean your grocery bill will easily double each week. And it makes you want to cry a little.
2. Choose the areas where you are going to be extremely strict, and those areas where you're okay to bend a little. I knew from the beginning I was cutting out all caffeine, sugar and meat. I knew that those were the main areas where I would struggle, thus making the fast worth it if I could successfully avoid them. I also allowed Sundays to be my (sort of) cheat day. On Sundays I allowed myself some dairy, and wasn't entirely focused on whether the bread was whole grain.
3. Be prepared to eat a lot of mexican food. I wasn't ready for this one. The last time I did a Daniel Fast I was in Master's Commission and I ate my version of fried rice (what felt like) 24/7. This go around, I had bean burritos coming out of my ears.
4. Choose a book or two to read. I enjoy reading. In fact, I have stacks of books that I want to read. I normally read fiction. I enjoy dystopia stories such as George Orwell's 1984. When it comes to reading books about faith or righteousness, I struggle. It feels like I'm reading a textbook and I rarely finish books under that category. I chose to read AW Tozer's The Pursuit of God and I'm glad I did. This book has given me so much strength and so much to ponder. I am also taking suggestions for the next Tozer book I should read. (Leave a comment of your favorite!)
5. Get ready for an onslaught of chocolate to be thrown at you. Quite literally. People were trying to give me chocolate left and right. Why is it that the moment you decide you're not going to do something the opportunity presents itself twenty times a day? The devil is a poophead in that regard. PTL* for grace and the strength He gives us to overcome temptations!
5.1. Plan your fast according to a schedule that doesn't coincide with any holiday where chocolate is commonplace. People will use any holiday they can as an excuse to eat chocolate, of this I am sure (just like men use the 4th of July as an excuse to eat a hamburger, a steak, and a bratworst). My fast occurred during Valentine's Day. Not only am I single, but I couldn't drown my feelings in a reese's cup for the occasion. En Français le boo!
6. Be prepared for everyone to ask you "Are you still fasting?" I heard this question quite often. There was also "Are you still Danieling?" and "Let's go get some ice cream...oh wait you can't have any" and "Oh you can totally eat this, it's made with [such and such an ingredient that is not Daniel fast appropriate]". Next time can I just hide under a rock? Never leave my bedroom? Dislocate myself from society altogether? Seriously, if I could have just been in a cabin by myself for 29 days reading Tozer and worshipping I would have been one happy girl.
7. Get acquainted with your toilet, you're gonna be seeing it a lot. Without going into the details, just know that this fast will get you on a regular schedule to...do...doo...
8. Get fancy with the spices. I would not have made it through this fast without the knowledge of how to make boring food taste like a party in my mouth through the use of herbs and spices. I created some pretty fantastic hummus and a wonderful sauce to compliment my tomato and cucumber sandwiches.
9. You will get annoyed with eating, on those days just don't eat. On many occasions trying to find something to eat or having to prepare food to bring to work just became a chore, on those days I just drank some juice and left it at that. It's a fast, it's okay to not eat.
10. Be well aware of the real reason you're fasting. If you're doing a fast but your gaze isn't on the Father, then you're not fasting for the right reason. Before this fast I knew the Lord was calling me to work on a lot of problems in my life. From thoughts, worries, bad habits and a poor use of my time, He was calling me to fast to refine me. I feel so much change in my heart coming out of the other end of this fast.
And now that this fast is over, I am overjoyed to drink coffee again. That was probably the hardest part!
I leave you with a couple of excerpts from The Pursuit of God that really grabbed hold of my heart:
"All our loves long we might talk of Jesus, and yet we should never come to an end of the sweet things that might be said of Him. Eternity will not be long enough to learn all He is, or to praise Him for all He has done, but then, that matters not; for we shall always be with Him, and we desire nothing more."
"A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine age methods to our relations with God. We read our :' chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit: these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul."
" We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures" (an introduction to something more substantial)
"I would emphasize this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes the heart's intention to gaze forever upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances He must for the thousand distractions which beset us in this evil world. He knows that we have set the direction of our hearts toward Jesus, and we can know it too, and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit of soul is forming which will become after a while a sort of spiritual reflex requiring no more conscious effort on our part."
*PTL = Praise The Lord. You can also add a BTD (Bind the devil) in front of your PTL if you should so desire.
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