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

 

 

scattered

 

Whenever I get back from a trip I usually wake up the next morning and impulsively decide to quit everything.  The piles of laundry...smelly fridge...dusty surfaces and overwhelming stuff everywhere feeling about does me in.  That's where I'm at today, but yet here I am sitting at my computer editing pictures...sorting through memories.  Capturing and documenting my life.  It's what I do.  It's weird.  As much as I want to walk away sometimes and not have more to do... I just can't. 

 

 

 

Traveling home was exhausting.  It always is, especially at this time of year with everything else.  But in the end I'm always glad we took the time and made the effort.  Being with my people at the holidays is important to me.  We all lead such different scattered lives.  My brothers are a bit like strangers.  I hate to say that, but it's true.  The age difference doesn't help and living so far away has made it hard. 

I can't help but think about the future.  I think about when our folks are gone and wonder how often we'll come back.  I know this bubble...this time right now is precious.  I want to freeze it.  I love the ages of our girls, my parents...honey and I.  It scares me to think of how all that will change. 

 

We've moved away.  We've set up shop in a state far away, so I think about things.  I'm praying that friends will morph into family.  That church will become our second home.  That our girls will stay close and we'll have that unit...that core.  I know none of that is for certain...and so I have to just close my eyes and whisper a little prayer and trust that God will take care of the details.  See...going home makes me sappy. 

This week we revisited the past a bit.  We drove the girls by our old apartments and the church we got married in.  That house in the middle is a blog post on it's own.  May have one brewing.  We zoomed all over my hometown...no traffic jams.  No hustle and bustle.  That's one of my favorite things of all. No traffic, and all the ties I have with every area of town.  Good times...sweet sweet memories.  


And can I add that I had a list of goodies I was looking for and literally every single one of them miraculously ended up in my car...and for practically nothing.  It was an antique shopping high!!!  Yep God was smiling on me:) So I guess if He cares about those little things (and I really believe he does) on my want list...maybe just maybe He's got the big things like the future and our family situation covered.  I'm thinking I need to stop thinking;)

OH AND THE WINNER of the Trader Joe's give-away is: 

Michele at Hello Lovely Inc.!! 

Congrats girlie. 

Thanks everyone for your awesome beauty tips. 

Can't wait to try some of them:)

Be a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

930. my bed

931.  my shower

932.  my sweet birds...who missed me 

933.  Virginia sunshine that greeted me this morning

 

Trader Joe's give-away!

 

Picmonkey posterize effect...the back of our Christmas card

 

Good Morning peeps!  We're getting ready to take off for Illinois and I thought I'd leave you with a fun little giveaway. 

 

 

The inspiration just came to me. I love Trader Joe's...maybe you do too.  So I went and gathered up some of my favorite things and put a little something something together for one of you:)



BTW see that coconut oil up there??  I am officially addicted.  I've been using it on my face at night to remove my makeup.  It works amazing and smells SO good.  The smell motivates me to wash my face!!  Just this morning I mixed it in my coffee instead of creamer.  You can use it as a moisturizer, deep hair conditioner, lip balm, mixed with chia seeds for an energizer...the list is a mile long for uses.  I'll include a list in the goody bag.  It really is a cool thing. 


Oh and the chocolate covered pomegranate seeds and roasted plantain chips are my kryptonite.  I only buy them on special occasions because they seem to disappear the second they enter the house.  The cookie butter I've never tried, but I've heard it's the bomb, so I threw a jar in there and then there's the new jute Trader Joe's bag.  It's just the cutest thing...I had to give-away one of those too. 

To enter just leave me a comment telling me your favorite beauty tip/product.  I'm always up for trying something new:)

 

 

 {our Christmas card 2012}

I'll announce the winner when I get home.  I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas. 

Love you girls!!!

**If you want follow along with us on Instagram...farmgirlpaints:)  See you soon.

Be a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

923.  Trader Joe's;)

924.  the smell of coconut

925.  my little chick's school party

 

926.  rag roller curls for my baby...she said "momma do you ever feel so pretty you get nervous?" right before she bounced onto the bus!  sweetest words ever!!!

927.  basement projects coming together

928.  time with my family

929.  happy mail that came from a sweet friend at just the right time...