Day 21: Fasting

I pray that these past 21 days have been encouraging for you and you have become more focused on God and His direction for your life.

I have to admit, that initially I was ready for some seafood or a nice juicy steak from somewhere, but now I'm not even hungry for anything. I guess that is good because we will be pressing on for another 21 days. Yes, that's right, if you didn't read my last post, our 21 day fast has been doubled. We are going to shake the foundations so that God can rain down on us.

I'm not sure about you, but it actually hasn't been that bad for me. My trick is to eat fruits and vegetables in the morning all morning and then by lunch time, I'm not hungry for anything. I'll just eat later when it's dinner time. And if you are finding it hard to find something to eat for dinner, I would recommend Green Giant's Simply Steam or Healthy Weight frozen vegetables. They are prepackaged and all you do is throw them in the microwave and viola, you have dinner. My favorites are the garden vegetable medley and the healthy weight. You have that with a sweet potato or maybe some beans and you are good to go. They are very inexpensive and easy to use.

Well, I pray that you are ready for the next 21 days, because God is going to do something big, expect it!

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today! God bless!

Day 19: Fasting

WOW! What an awesome service today! The presence of God was so real, it was awesome. I pray for those who attend a dry, dead church where they go in on Sundays and leave the same way they came in, unchanged. I can't imagine going anywhere else but Gateway because God is so real to me there and that's not just hype. Come join us one Sunday and you will know what I mean.

So are you ready to press in and press on for a double portion from God? If you missed it, Pastor is calling for us to continue the fast past the 21 days. We are going to go after God and continue to seek Him during this time. If you were late getting started or if you didn't start yet, then I pray that you will jump in and go after God. It has been an awesome 19 days and I'm quite sure that in the next weeks God will show up and show off even more than before.

Well keep your head up and tighten your belt, we are in it for the long run! I pray that you will join us.

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today. God bless! :o)

Day 17: Fasting

It's the home stretch, can't you see the glory clouds? :o)

Is it just me or is eating fruits, vegetables and water getting easier to do? Don't get me wrong, I could still chomp down on a piece of chicken or a nice burger, but it's gotten easier to stay away from it now. I think I could make this a lifestyle change, but still indulge from time to time.

I have a lot of vegetarians where I work and even though I can understand the appeal, I know that God gave us dominion over animals, so it's okay to eat them, in the right way. The Bible says that the smell of animals cooking was pleasing to Him, so if it pleased God it's okay for us to enjoy it too!

Sorry, now that I've got you thinking about meat, just try to stay focused and continue the journey. If you are looking for a good worship CD, I would recommend Jentezen Franklin's worship leader, Ricardo Sanchez, and his new CD from Free Chapel in Gainsville, Georgia- Moving Forward. It's a great CD, it was recorded after they went through their 21-day fast last year. You can listen to it on his MySpace page or see the videos on Jentezen Franklin's Fasting page.

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today. Be of good cheer, we only have 4 more days to go! God bless!

Day 15: Fasting

We are less than a week away from the end of our journey! I pray that this time of fasting has brought change and blessings into your life.

This has been an awesome time and I've been encouraged; I am expectantly waiting for the good things that God has planned for my life and the lives of those around me.

During this time, one scripture that has been in my head for the past couple of weeks has been from Psalm 91. I've been reading it just about every day. It says that "He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways"; "because He loves me" says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him because he acknowledges my name." It's one of my favorite scriptures, because it lets us know that God is always with us, even during the struggles He's there, sending His angels to watch over us.

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today. Be of good cheer, we only have 6 days left! :o) God bless you!

Day 13: Fasting

What an awesome service this past Sunday! God is definitely moving in this fast and what's even more important, you can see that people are truly seeking Him in this fast.

Now that we are almost finished, I can honestly say that it's gone by very quickly. I'm almost starting to like eating fruits and vegetables more than before. I guess as a lifestyle change, it would be good for me to continue to eat more healthier than what I was before. I still like all the "junk" food, but now I know that given a reason, I can stay away from it more so than what I did before. I never had a good reason to do it, but this fast has motivated me and God has made me see the error in my ways.

I hope that your fasting journey has brought you some insight as to what God wants for you. I was speaking to my brother and he has a passion to serve God but has run into road blocks and is frustrated. I suggested he too do a 21 day fast so that he could get clear direction about what God wants for his life. Please agree with me in prayer that God would give him that direction.

It's evident throughout scripture that every time someone had a problem, they fasted and prayed and sought the Lord's direction. I pray that if there is some need in your life if you have never fasted before, that this would be the time to start. Even if it's only for a day or two, sacrifice your flesh to God and seek to find His will for your life. It will change your outlook on life!

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today. Be of good cheer, only 8 days left! God bless! :o)

Day 9: Fasting

Wow! We've almost made it to the halfway point. It seems to have gone by so quickly. Yesterday I had nothing but water, it was a great day! For as many times as I was tempted to eat something, I was even more compelled to go after God because I knew that depriving myself was like telling God that I wanted more of Him than what I did of my flesh. I even decided to continue that this morning and afternoon before going back to the Daniel fast.

It's funny, I couldn't eat as much as I thought when I did finally eat, sometimes you deprive yourself and think that eating again will be good and then you end up eating a small amount and then you're stuffed. I never thought that steamed potatoes and green beans would taste so good, but boy were they good! :o)

Well I hope that you are doing well on your fast and if you haven't started, it's never too late to start. God rewards those who diligently seek Him, so why not start today! Be of good cheer, we've made it this far and we only have 12 more days to go!

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today!

Day 8: Fasting

Today I did a normal fast, nothing but water. It's almost 6 pm and I can honestly say that I don't feel real hungry. I spent the day listening to the Bible, which if you are still struggling to read the bible all the way through, listening to it may help you to get motivated. I listen through Biblegateway.com the narrator sounds so profound when he speaks, it really grabs my attention.

One thing that I can say about reading the Bible through is that I learned that the children of Israel were, for lack of a better term, a "bunch of knuckleheads". It was like over and over, they disobeyed God and just did there own thing. But the thing that I learned was that despite their failures, God loved them and continues to love them. He's the God of second chances, actually more than seconds, he's given them chances over and over again because He never forsakes anyone, His love is everlasting.

Well, I'm getting ready for service, so be of good cheer, it's going on day 9, that means there are only 13 days to go. Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today!

Day 7: Fasting

It's been a great start to fasting, the first 7 days have gone by very quickly! I'm looking forward to the next 14 days and all that God has planned for all of us who have taken the challenge to sacrifice ourselves and go after God.

I'm going to go for a total fast tomorrow. I've been fasting through lunch and just going for a light dinner or sometimes no dinner at all. I usually feel kind of bloated sometimes eating all the fruits and vegetables, so I really can't eat much by the end of the day. Now that I'm older, I'm one of those people who likes vegetables, they just don't seem to like me! :o)

I'm also going to get my blood level checked tomorrow. I'm sure with all of the vegetables I've been eating my levels are probably too low, but oh well, I'm going after God and He's holding me in His hand and regardless of what the numbers say, I'm feeling better than I've felt in a long time. I really struggle with this up and down blood level thing, they told me before that it's almost impossible to eat healthy on blood thinners because of the limitations you have to adhere to with vegetables. I don't think that they know that "nothing is impossible with God"!

When my blood levels are high, or "within range", I'm fine, when they are low, I feel fine, but when they are really high, I feel really bad. It's crazy because I have to live with this "for the rest of my life". But, it's like my "thorn in the side" that keeps me close to God and I'm okay with that, but I'm still believing God to turn it around.

So, we made it through the first 7 days and we only have 14 more to go, so be of good cheer and continue to press on! Be blessed and be a blessing to someone! :o)

Day 6: Fasting

Sorry, I didn't get on the blog yesterday, this is my post for Day 6.

Now that it's the start of another work week, I find that fasting is easier when I'm at work. I'm feeling better each day and surprising I'm not hungry for non-fasting type foods.

It's been relatively easy to do with God's help. My trick is to eat fruits and vegetables in the morning, about every hour and then by noon, I'm so stuffed, I can fast through lunch and not eat again until dinner time.

It seems like the 21 days will be over before I know it. It's been a good experience so far. I can honestly say that some of the physical alignments that I had before I started seemed to have disappeared with God's help, praise God! I think my focus has been more toward God and less toward the problem because I've already been healed by His stripes, I just have better eyesight to know that "greater is He that is in me that He that is in the world."

Be blessed and remember, that there are only 15 days to go! :o)

Day 4/5: Fasting

Sorry I missed updating Day 4 this is day 4/5 combined.

I find that it gets easier as the days go by to fast. I don't wake up hungry or craving caffeine. But I do like to drink hot beverages, so I end up drinking hot work in place of coffee. It's a little strange, but it satisfies my need.

My times in the morning with God have been good and if I can make a suggestion if you don't already do this, make this the first thing you say before your feet touch the floor, "thank you Lord, for another day". It's giving thanks for the "little" things. It's like putting God first when you start your day and along with praying and reading the Bible, it will help get your day on the right start. Remember, we are to give thanks in all things!

Saturday I went to the mall and even though I had a hearty breakfast with fruits and vegetables, I thought that I would get something while I was there for lunch, but not surprising, the enemy was still looming. I went to McDonald's for the fruit and walnut salad and they were all out and then I went to the Steak and Potato for a plain potato and a small salad and they were out of potatoes and salad. How crazy is that, the Steak and Potato restaurant didn't have any baked potatoes! They had all the fried potatoes that I could want, but not bake potatoes.

The enemy was determined that I would be forced to eat what was there, so I just opted for OJ and sat and watched my daughter eat chicken nuggets and fries. It wasn't really that bad, I watched other people eat and it made me realize how overindulged we are as an "overweight" nation. Seeing people stuff themselves with fried, over processed salty food made me not want to eat it anymore. From young to old and white, black, Hispanic, you name it, they were all doing the same thing. I'm not saying that I'm perfect because had there not been a fast, I would have been one of them indulging. I guess fasting helps you to see clearer what you couldn't see before. Thank you Lord for better eyesight!

Sunday was an awesome service, the presence of God was so real today. God rewards those that diligently seek Him and there were many who are going after God, myself included.

As a final thought, if you haven't joined the fast, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and join in. God will move if you let Him, but you have to first seek Him. And if you've been on it for a few days and have stumbled, don't beat yourself up about it, just jump back in and try again. God will forgive you because He sees your heart and knows that you try. Remember He rewards those that diligently seek Him!

Be blessed and have an awesome Day 6! Only 16 more days to go!

God bless

Day 3: Fasting

As the days go by it gets easier, but don't you find that the enemy is always lurking trying to tempt you at every corner?

My trip to the grocery store today and they are having their meat special, 20% off all of the meat you can stuff into a bag. It figures, right when I'm fasting, meat would go on sale! I bought some anyway and stuck it in the freezer for later.

Blogging is fun, but sometimes I think it's just me talking to myself and no one is listening. It's just the enemies way of trying to discourage what I do. I know that there are people all over the world that could be reading this and with all of the prayer requests we've received recently, there are "seekers" out there looking for something real and it's a relationship with the living God. So my fast continues and as I draw closer to God I know that somehow my words may uplift someone at just the right time. I'm cleansing myself of all the junk I've filled it with this past year and I'm feeling better and encouraged that I'll make it through...only 18 days to go!

One song that's been on my mind all day is Mercy Me's "Bring the Rain" . The chorus is: Bring me joy, bring me peace bring the chance to be free bring me anything that brings You glory And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain but if that's what it takes to praise You Jesus, bring the rain. It's profound and really encourages me through this fast.

So if I had to leave a final thought, it's to press on and continue to fast even though it may be difficult to stay on track, it's this time that we'll draw closer to Him. And the best part is that God forgives us even when we get off track! Be blessed and continue to praise Him for the little things! :o)

Day 2: Fasting

I woke up earlier than usual today. I didn't realize that I forgot to set my alarm, but the Holy Spirit woke me up anyway.

It's been a good day, the headache is gone and I'm feeling pretty good today! I'm proud of myself because today was our lunch day (every month we go out to celebrate someones birthday) and I skipped it. I spent the quiet time listening to Jentezen Franklin's podcast. If you ever need some spiritual encouragement for fasting, he's got a lot of resources.

One of the challenges that I have had fasting is trying to figure out what to eat. I'd like to eat a big spinach salad, but I'm limited to what I can and can't eat because I have to watch my Vitamin K intake. I know, that sounds crazy, but it's just something that I've come to accept. What foods are high in Vitamin K you ask....oh the good ones: spinach, broccoli, kale, lettuce, cabbage...even mayonnaise is high in Vitamin K! I'm allowed to eat "small portions" but I have to limit them which means that my primary vegetable intake consists of carrots, radishes, celery, beets, potatoes, and green beans. Doesn't exactly sound yummy, but it's about the end result, getting closer to God and I'm beliving God for miracles and wonders so I press on.

I hope that your Day 2 was good and be of good cheer, because we only have 19 days left! :o)

God bless!

Day 1: Fasting

I started today out with prayer and reading Daniel 10. I've been reading through the Bible (Genesis to Revealtion) again and for the past 2 days I've been in Daniel. I guess it's totally God that I ended up in Daniel when I started the fast.

It was a good morning/afternoon but now the enemy is hard at work because the headache started already. I'm not quiting though, I'm determined to make it through with God's help.

I'm encouraged because 2008 seems to be a different kind of year and I'm looking forward to what God has planned for me this year.

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