The Daniel Fast: Day 6

"It is not good for man to be alone." 

God created us to be relational. He made us for companionship. I find this to be more and more true the longer I am married to Bobby. He encourages me to do my best, and convinces me I am beautiful. 

I believe we need companionship in more than just marriage, though. We need to encourage each other in our faith journeys as well. This need is magnified when going on a fast. 

There are 6 of us all fasting at the same time right now. If I had tried to fast alone, I would have given up in day one. It is nice for Bobby and I, to be fasting together. It makes it easier to make meals, and encourage each other often. The others on the fast, though, do not have spouses fasting with them. So we decided to get together and eat a meal, so we could encourage each other and spend time together. It was a great night.  

Bobby made some delicious sweet potato fries! 

And my friend Karen and I made a big pot of potato/veggie soup!

It made a great night of food, friends and fellowship. 

The Daniel Fast: Day 5

I am so confused. I cannot tell what the pains I feel mean. I will feel hungry, like reall REALLY hungry, then, when I eat, I immediately feel nauseous. After lunch and dinner I needed to just sit for a few minutes without moving. The nausea was so intense. Even when I am not eating or hungry my stomach just hurts. I have been trying to just drink even more water because of this.  

Even with these pains, and a small headache, I am reminded... "This is nothing compared to what Christ went through for me." A quote my mother often said while going through chemo treatments. 

 I am humbled knowing that Good Friday and Easter are coming soon. Days that remind me of the ultimate sacrifice, and the ultimate power of our God. The confidence I have in my faith is sincerely rooted in these two days. First, Good Friday reminds me of the depth of Jesus' love for me. A love that is willing to die for me, even though I sin over and over. And second, Easter. The day that Christ defeated DEATH! Something that means more to me than I can even explain. Having lost my mother to death, experiencing the separation that death brings. I can't imagine dying myself and being separated from my Lord forever. I am beyond amazed that Christ has presented me with the opportunity for eternal LIFE, with him!  Thanking Him today, for all he has done for me, and for the amazing relationship I can have with him. Praying for continued strength to make it through the remaining days if this Fast.  

Because today was the first day of Pring Break, Bobby and I were both home from work. We went to SAMs Club this morning to stock up on large quantities of 'fast foods'. 

For lunch I had an Asian chopped salad with a sesame ginger dressing. I got to spend a good long time doing some devotions. 

For dinner we made some black bean and corn tacos with sautéed onions and peppers. We topped them with diced tomatoes, cilantro and avocado slices, and paired them with some homemade guac and tortilla chips. 

It has been a good day. 

The Daniel Fast: Day 4

Today has been difficult. I am realizing the lack of self-control regarding what I eat I have always had. We had a parent bring in treats for lunch, then there was pizza in the teachers lounge. In the afternoon we had a birthday treat, and there we're brownies in the lounge. If I were not on the Daniel Fast I would have eaten all four of those things- in addition to my own lunch and my own snack.  I am lucky, in that I must have a high metabolism. I do not struggle with my weight. I usually eat over 3000 calories a day, sometimes over 5000. And I have been the same weight since my sophomore year of college. I am 5'9" and 155lbs. I do not think I am overweight.  

But how can I have so little care about what goes into my body? It has been an interesting few days battling with my "flesh". I have had many cravings the past few days. Especially for Starbucks coffee. I would love to drive to Starbucks and order my usual whole milk vanilla late with one pump hazelnut... 

I am feeling very tired today. I have eaten very little. But I don't feel hungry at all. I only ate because it was "time" to eat. It surprises me how little my body actually needs to eat. 

 I am hoping that the energy boost I hear others talk about on day 6-8 comes soon.  

The Daniel Fast: Day 3

I have had less of a headache today. Bobby, on the other hand, just started having a very bad headache.  

I am finding myself less hungry today. I had some whole grain brown rice and sautéed onions and peppers for lunch. I couldn't even finish the whole thing. 

I had praise band practice tonight. It was a great opportunity to cry out to God through worship. It felt good to commune  deeply with him for a time. :-) 

The Daniel Fast: Day 2

Today was just as bad as yesterday. I have had a small headache all day.  But it seems to go away when I eat. 

For breakfast I had a smoothie again, and lunch another helping of the crockpot chili. 

On Tuesday nights we always have high school youth group at church. The leaders always cook the students dinner. Since 4 of us (three leaders and one student) are all doing the Daniel Fast together, we had to come up with an alternative dinner for us. The one student offered to make and bring the separate fast-appropriate dinner for us! It was so nice of her! 

She made black bean and lentil curry and whole grain wheat rice. She also brought homemade Indian flatbread to go with it! 

It's was so good!! 

I am hoping that my headache goes away tomorrow! 

The Daniel Fast: Day 1

Wow! I didn't think it would be this hard. I am not sure if it is from the lack of caffeine, or the lack of sugar, but I have had a headache all day. Perhaps it is the change of not having any chemicals or processed foods.    

I started the day off with a nice breakfast smoothie. 

1 banana

6 strawberries

10 blueberries

10 raspberries

1T all natural peanut butter

1tsp vanilla 

1/2 cup plain almond milk 

This was so yummy! I think I will continue to do breakfast smoothies throughout the fast. 

For lunch I ate some homemade chili. It was difficult to find canned beans and tomatoes that did not have preservatives, chemicals or sweeteners. But after reading every label in the canned food Aisle we found some. I threw them all in the crockpot and added some chili powder. This made a great lunch, especially when I dipped tortilla chips in it! 

 

By the afternoon, I was feeling pretty sluggish. So when I got home from work, I decided to eat some spiritual food along with some physical food. Spiritually, I was feeling very renewed. Peaceful. 

But physically, I was starting to feel even worse. I would feel a bit hungry, but when I went to eat some food, I would start to feel nauseous. I would end up just drinking water. But of course, this meant many trips to the bathroom. 

At the end of the night, my husband made some dinner. I ate a small amount, and am now going to bed with a headache.

I've heard the first few days are the toughest. I am hoping this is true. I'm praying for God's grace to get me through. Every time I felt physically uncomfortable I would talk to the Lord about it. So today has been a long conversation with God, which is never a bad thing.