Day 15: Conditioning: physical and spiritual

Without really trying, I have been losing weight. Over the past two weeks, I have consistently lost a pound per week, regardless of the amount I have eaten. I expect by the end of this fast I will have lost three pounds total. It's actually most noticeable in my wrists of all things, which have rid themselves of any flab and now have a toned look to them. Following Franklin's advice, I did not go on this fast to lose weight (but he did mention it would be a side effect), and apparently it is a good thing I did. Who wants to lose weight around their wrists? As I was reading First Timothy today, a verse caught my attention. "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." I was reminded that even though I may train, tone, exercise, and carefully care for my body, eventually I'll step out of it and all that hard work will deteriorate in a coffin. Such training is useful to me now, but spiritually conditioning will last even after I receive my new body. It is for these latter benefits that it is truly worth training.

Day 14: Tasting recipes from Daniel's menu

Today I decided to try a couple of recipes from the Daniel Fast pdf resource on Resurrection Life's website.

The first dish was called White Beans and Sauteed Vegetables, but I substituted black beans for white beans. As I went to gather the ingredients to make this recipe, I could not find any carrots. I could not believe we were out of carrots. We always have carrots on hand. Having scoured the kitchen without luck, I gave up and left them out. In the next step, I fried the vegetables in our cast iron frying pan and, against the better judgement of the recipe's notes, used extra virgin olive oil instead of pure olive oil because we only had the best on hand. The recipe warned that using extra virgin olive oil for frying would make the product slightly bitter and should be reserved for drizzling and other finer tasks. After trying this recipe, I think I agree. Finally, I added the black beans. These dried out easily and didn't warm up much before beginning to shrivel. I think it would have been better to have had white beans to cook instead.

The second dish was Avocado Tomato dressing. I poured the ingredients into the blender and set it to spin. It is better to pulse this mixture because it doesn't blend well in the machine. The recipe called for a teaspoon of herb seasoning, which is not really that specific, so I took a look at the mixture in the blender and then at the spice rack. Italian seasoning seemed like it might be a good fit so I sprinkled it in.

After about a half hour in the kitchen, I set the two plates daintily on the table, said grace, and slowly tasted each dish.

At first, the black bean recipe was only okay. When I sprinkled a little bit of salt over it the dish moved up a notch. The beans were a little dried out from the cooking process, but chewing them they produced a delightful creamy sensation and their most prominent flavor was that of the olive oil.

Next came the salad. The dressing was quite fancy in appearance and was thicker than many other dressings. I pushed my fork through the orange-tan paste with its black flecks and sprinkling of red tomato seeds and listened as it crunched in my mouth. There was a nice slight lemony zest to it, but the most dominant flavor was the seasoning that made it taste like an Italian dressing.

On the whole, I'd say I like the salad better than the black beans, but the whole experience was enjoyable nevertheless.

Day 13: natural sores and cures

Supper tonight served to confirm a suspicion I've always had. As I ate each spoonful of the red gravy, the roof of my mouth began to sting and swell. What was going on? The inside of my mouth already has had a rash in it since I ate a tropical dressing a couple of days ago. One thing was consistent. Tonight's dinner contained coconut oil and the homemade tropical dressing was made with blended fresh coconut. Even when I was little I couln't eat too much coconut or my mouth would feel strange. Because I've been eating a greater variety of fruits more often, I've made the following discovery: I am alergic to coconuts. This is kind of sad, but at least the fast has allowed me to know this for sure.

Usually, whenever it feels like someone has stuffed bubble wrap up inside the roof of my mouth, I eat some wheat germ. The vitamin E in wheat germ reduces for me any mouth sores such as cold sores and allergic oral reactions. However, I won't eat wheat or other grains as I've chosen to go beyond just avoiding leaven prducts (bread) because that would not be a big deal for me; I wanted to do something more. I do miss my wheat germ. On the other hand, I ate an apple and some pomegranate seeds which seems to have helped quite a bit. I never realized just how many facets of my life this fast would affect.

On the positive side , one of the wonderful effects I've noticed is an ability to hear God's voice more clearly. Though far from perfect, I'm discovering a certain clarity that is stronger than usual. As I journey onward, I hope to receive even more blessings while setting aside some of my wants.

Day 12: Past the half-way mark

I'm over half-way through the fast now. Here are some of things I've learned so far:

• There are plenty of delicious options from only vegetation, and one can actually get filled up on them without relying on meats to do this job.
• Physically, I feel better than ever. I can stretch easily and my stamina has increased as well.
• When I draw close to God, he draws close to me. The deeper I dig, the more golden nuggets (of wisdom) I find. I knew this before, but it is worth mentioning.
• Abstaining from media has a liberating nature to it. I feel almost like I'm gaining part of my brain back that I didn't know I had let "turn to mush" as they say. Though at times inconvenient, I am learning to do without.
  
• Media fasting has brought my family together.
• Jesus is stronger than I am. I definitely need his grace, especially to do something like the three (or more) days normal fast again.

I look forward to the second half and pray that it will be even better than the first. I hope to learn even more as I continue in this journey.

Day 11: Trusting God more

Claiming scripture daily has a way of working itself into my heart. For a long time now, I have been quoting Psalm 91 in the morning. However, I have not been consistent lately because the Psalm is long or I just forget to recite it. Recently, I have found that quoting the first part is far more manageable, especially if I need to repeat it multiple times. Whenever doubts about what this psalm affirms arise in my mind, I say of the Lord (as the psalmist does), "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." Doing this whenever contradicting thoughts come up has really helped me to trust God more and push down my fears. The number of times I quote is not as important as how well it roots itself in my heart, and I'm looking forward to seeing my fears get smaller and smaller and faith taking deeper ground in my life.

Day 10: Praying for Sudan

As Pastor Duane says, fasting is not always about praying for oneself. Wanting to pray for something bigger than my own life, I came across a prayer request alert from an organization I support, Samaritan's Purse. The prayer request regarded their Hope For Sudan project. Beginning yesterday, Sudan has been holding peaceful elections which will continue until next week to vote on whether or not the Christian south should secede from the Islamic northern part of the nation. Thus far they have been able to keep politically separate for the past six years under a peace agreement, which has now expired. Before the agreement, twenty years of civil war had ravaged the country. The church leaders in Sudan, together with Samaritan's Purse, organized a week of fasting and prayer across that country to support this referendum to split the nation for reasons of religious freedom. I first became concerned some years ago because of a display at the library about the ravages going on in this area. With these prayers being for such monumental change, I can't help feeling that my prayers are part of something so much bigger than myself. Receiving answers concerning direction from God is absolutely wonderful, but I like how taking my focus away from myself helps me keep life in perspective.

Day 9: suffering from the media fast

Pastor Duane, when first describing this fast to his congregration, urged his listeners to go on a media fast in addition to the Daniel fast in order to help disconnect themselves from the world. I have found this part particularly challenging, more so than I thought it would be. I was listening to worship music on the free internet radio Pandora when the following commercial played: "Want to keep connected to the world through news . . ." Integration with this world is the cry of this society, and it can take an effort to tune it out for a time. This is especially so for me with movies and tv. I didn't realize how I would miss them, for I considered myself to be a person that really doesn't watch tv that much, or netflix in my case. I am a Sci Fi fan, and I usually use it to relax. Now I am focusing away from watching netflix or youtube, reading secular fiction and humorous/interesting articles (you never know what could be in them), and listening to secular instrumental music (there's probably nothing wrong with these, but just in case).

Franklin says that your Christianity will cause you inconveniences. My friends are going to a movie next week and I had to say that I wouldn't be able to come. I am not going to complain though, because this self-denial is nothing compared to what others have given up for Christ. Still, it cost me something, and I know I'll have to continue to give up other things for Christ.

It has been both challenging and exciting to find new ways to relax. I brought out a newsletter from an organization I support but never had found the time to read till now. Christian inspirational stories are easy reads that are amusing and uplifting at the same time. The real struggle came when I was too tired to read. I won't watch tv and music is boring by itself. At the time, no one was available or willing to play a board game or just talk. Now what was I going to do? A friend suggested his favorite hobby, that is, drawing. That was perfect. Plus, I began to think of other possiblilites. I could develop a hobby I normally don't have time for. I like cooking (but that's out of the question for now), jewelry making, beading, candlemaking, photography, and scrapbooking. Any one of these could provide a creative and productive way to put itchy fingers to work. However, it may not be relaxing if my creative juices are dry at the end of the day. My search continues, but today was a little bit better as my whole family was home for once.

When I can find a group of people who want to play some board games or just talk, it is good fun. Even better, it brings people together into community that just otherwise doesn't happen consistently. I have spent this Sunday, this day of rest, catching up with friends and family, playing board games, reading inspirational stories, and filling drawings with color.


As I was thinking about the "tv" I used to watch, admittedly longing for a way to replace it, a somewhat embarrassing idea occured to me. I like to watch Britain's Got Talent. What if I saw a local production? I could, every day of the week if I wanted to, go to a live gymnastics show, play, magic show, ballet, talent show, symphony, orchestra, Christian concert, or other harmless event. I thought back to Medeival and Renaissance history. This is how kings entertained themselves. Much of human history has survived without tv. I need to go back and learn their ways. Besides, if children can find endless fun out of rocks, dirt, and cardboard boxes, I can find a way too.