Daniel Fast results and a winner!

I'm sitting here with shaky hands.  My Daniel Fast was over as of Tuesday, and I've been reintroducing coffee.  Out of everything I cut the one thing I missed terribly was my morning coffee.  It was almost unbearable the first week because I just couldn't bring myself to drink anything cold in the morning...and then it dawned on me I could have hot water with lemon.  Duh!  That became my go to.  And as I sit here stomach a little in knots and caffeine coursing through my veins that hot water may stay my go-to.  I actually really love it.  Change can be good;)


It's weird how cautious I feel about food.  I've had 21 days to develop new habits...to clean out the garbage and rest my body.  I'm not in any big hurry to start dumping it all back in.  And as much as I missed normal food and was sick to death of eating the same thing meal after meal...I'm going to continue a lot of the same principles.  I really would like to limit dairy.  I would love to stay off bread and sugar.  I can do without these things.  I've done it and I'm amazed at how much better I feel.  I didn't have the constant cravings.  I wasn't that hungry. 

 

If I liked to cook and used the resources that were out there this fast would have been a piece of cake.  Unfortunately I'm LAZY with food prep.  I ate almost the exact same things for 21 days:/  We ate at certain restaurants and I ordered strictly.  It was hard.  This wasn't easy at all, but I did it.  And despite a few minor things...like butter flavoring on my rice crackers, and some hidden sugars that I didn't know about in my restaurant food, I didn't veer. 


I weighed this morning and I've lost between 6-7 pounds.  Which is wonderful if you consider I hardly exercised.  The lack of protein wasn't doing me any favors.  I was pretty weak and didn't have much energy.  Even though I didn't start this fast as a diet I was hoping to have it kick start my weight loss.  I've been up about 15 pounds and it just wasn't coming off.  Now if I can continue to watch what goes in and add some lean protein I think I will feel great and the rest will drop. 

Spiritually I started bible and notebook in hand.  I made a prayer box and vowed to pray over it every single day.  And I did in the beginning, but as the days went on I got lazy and "forgot" to delve in.  My prayers were more arrow like.  Just fleeting and sporadic.  I'm reminded of how weak the flesh is.  How flawed and imperfect I am, but I also know that despite my shortcomings He met with me this month.  He helped me tremendously to get through this fast.  I never had headaches.  I've fasted before and the headaches were almost unbearable.  I get headaches regularly...and this time I don't remember having them.  That was some major grace. 

He also helped me get some things in my house in order.  It's a process.  There's more to go, and I haven't really begun my "project" yet, but I'm on the path.  I'm focused.  I'm willing and wanting to be used.  My heart is lined up with Him and I'm ready to see what's next. 

***Thank you so much for sharing the things that made you happy recently.  Reading good news, grateful things does a body good!  The winner of the Chrissie Grace $25 store credit is:

 

Amy from Blissful Blooms.  Congrats Amy:)

Be a blessing.

 

966.  mashed potatoes
967.  hot water with lemon
968.  tool for my shop that makes cuff making quiet
969. completing this hard thing
970.  a God that loves me despite my shortcomings

 

great expectations...the Daniel fast

Sometimes you get a little peek into the extraordinary. It's rare. It's fleeting...you know it when it happens. The little hairs on your arms raise. The excitement in your spirit man bubbles up and you sit back in awe and marvel. That's what this sunset did to me. It made me marvel. It makes me tear up just thinking about it.  Holy ground...God's creation in all it's splendor. Right there. Over me...around me. Close enough to touch...to breath in.  I did nothing to these pics, but crop and add my watermark.  It was just that breathtaking.

I've been in a fasting place. I'm on my fifth day. The first couple were challenging. I just wanted to crawl into bed and never leave. I had no energy. I still have moments of this, but I feel better. I know what to eat...which really hasn't varied much from day one. I know this is where I'm at right now and I feel myself settling into it. There isn't a struggle. I'm not fighting. I'm loving what's coming. I can feel it. It's called expectancy!

During a fast you are supposed to lean in. Tune in to God. Listen to what He's been telling you, but you've been too distracted to notice. I've been reading in Daniel...since I'm doing the Daniel Fast it seemed like a good place to start. It's not the first time I've read Daniel, but for some reason I've got fresh eyes on it. I'm reading about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace. I'm learning about these great men of God that when challenged to bow before false gods they said no.  

It's like my eyes are being peeled back.  Is this what my God wants?  Am I to have that kind of faith too?  Am I to boldly declare my faith and stand strong against the heat?  Am I to be fearless in the midst of danger??  I don't know, but I feel my skin prick as I think those thoughts.  Would I trust Him enough to be thrown into that fiery furnace?  Oh my...



I have this sense of God wanting to reveal himself to me in a big way.  He doesn't need to prove His power or His might, but regardless He is.  He's giving me glimpses of His splendor and it literally brings me to my knees.  I want to cover my head...hide.  It's almost too much.  I can feel His presence.  I can.

Some of you have asked me about the spiritual component of doing the fast and I've just taken lead from the Daniel Fast book I've been reading.  Susan Gregory suggested reading through Daniel, and maybe reading a chapter of Proverbs and a few chapters of Psalms daily.


I've made a prayer list of things I'd like to see God work out in my life and I've also added the needs of my family and friends.  I've set an alarm on my phone to ring three times a day to remind me to pray...like Daniel.  I haven't been perfect in following this.  I don't want to be ritualistic.  This isn't for God to see...it's for me to draw closer to Him.  I'm not trying to be perfect.  I can't be, but He sees my heart.  It's a heart matter.

 

 

There is a feeling of great expectancy.  I know that He is going to do a work in and through me.  That truth makes me lean into the future...because I know He holds it firmly in His hands.

Be a blessing.

939.  sunsets

940.  silhouettes of my girls in the night

941.  tamara

942.  adventures

943.  birds that twirled and danced just for us...on cue

944.  a God who loves me and wants to delight me with His presence

ready, set...BEGIN

I woke up this morning bright and early.  Scratch that...it wasn't bright...it was pitch black.  Man I hate that.  Getting out of bed is sooooo hard in the winter, never mind the day after the long holiday break.  So here I am...the peeps are all out of the house.  The routine is in motion and I'm collecting my thoughts.  Geesh the house feels quiet.  Feeling a little blue:/

I should feel excited.  I've been waiting for January.  January is the month I'm going to make changes.  Turn my life upside down;)  Instead I feel a little shell shocked.  I have so many goals.  So many things I want to accomplish it's freaking me out. 


I do have my word though.  I always get a word for the year and ironically enough this year the word is...BEGIN.  Last year it was rest, this year begin;)  You know how there are things you want to do, and you just kinda shove them aside until the time is right??  I've been doing that for a long time.  And you know what?  The time is never right.  In order to get to completion you have to start...to begin and that's where I'm at.  Today I will begin to straighten my studio, so tomorrow I might have a clear thought and some inspiration when I sit in there.  See there's a plan.  There's a beginning and the key is to just do it.  The rest will fall into place.

I've also begun something really exciting.  I'm fasting.  Yep another reason I feel a little shell shocked.  My church is doing a Daniel Fast.  It's a veggie, fruit and whole grain partial fast.  Water only.  No meat.  No dairy.  No caffeine.  No fun...nah just kidding.  Yesterday was my first day and let me tell you I struggled.  I had absolutely NO energy!  NONE!!!  But I did it and I feel it lines right up with my January.  I wanted to set it apart.  Seek the Lord...begin a new thing and it's shaping up to be just what I didn't know I needed. 




Here was day one.  Breakfast was oatmeal with natural peanut butter and a banana.  Snack was a grapefruit.  Lunch was a veggie burger, baked lentil chips and salsa.  Dinner was homemade veggie soup, rice crackers and natural applesauce.  All in all it was tasty.  The caffeine and sugar withdrawal is the issue.  I think by day three the energy should return and the headache will be gone.  Looking forward to day three.  If you have any questions click here for more information.

Be a blessing. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

934.  a new year...a clean slate

935.  claritin...seems to be helping my little chick

936.  basement projects coming together

937.  that i have a free day to organize my studio

938.  sunshine pouring into my office right now