What would die. {Fasting series}
Day 2 and 3 were the hardest physically. While I was tired and cranky on day 1, I still felt kind of full from the previous day’s feast, but during days 2 and 3 I was just plain HUNGRY. I would have my shake around 8am, but be hungry by 10. I’d have my smoothie at noon, but feel hungry by 2pm. This just wasn’t going to work. On the afternoon of day 3 I told the Lord I was so hungry I felt like I was going to die. So I started praying about whether He’d maybe let me add a “snack” in around 3 or 4pm. Just like carrots. Anything. I didn’t need steak, just something to chew. Oh friends how I wanted a CARROT! Just a carrot! I prayed for a snack, hopeful that He’d hear my plea and respond with His ever lovingkindness.
He said no.
*sigh*
Ok, then, we were going to have to figure this out. And of course, we did. I learned in the days that followed that I could wait on having breakfast until 9 or 10am. It was easier to be hungry from 7-10am then it was from 2-5pm. I learned that if I waited to have my afternoon smoothie until 2pm or so, I could stretch to dinner a lot easier. Again, it was easier to be hungry earlier in the day than later.
But most of what helped was this simple assurance. When I was pouring out my complaint to the Lord, and telling Him I felt so hungry I was going to die, I heard so clearly:
“Your body isn’t going to die, your will is.”
Yes. Of course. Of course this was the truth. My body would be fine. People live on much much less than this, every single day, all around the world. I was far from starving. I even checked my weight to be sure, and interestingly enough, I wasn’t even losing weight, so clearly I was fine.
I felt really hungry, but–hello!–that was a very natural consequence of fasting. Did I expect fasting wouldn’t include hunger?
It was just that I’d never before felt this hungry. This was a whole different type than I’d felt before.
And it was good. I needed this. I needed to hear, “No.” I needed to learn to “make ends meet” with food, the same way people have to do when they don’t have enough money. I needed to learn to stretch out my meals and maybe rest a little more and pray a little more and make due with less. All of these lessons were good. I needed them.
And, thankfully, I even found that after the first three days, I actually felt great. No headaches. No stomachaches. No digestive issues. I slept great. My skin started looking clearer. Whoa! This was a surprise, you mean this fasting thing we were doing was actually good for my body too?!!
You mean God actually wanted to bless me when He called me to go without?!
You mean God loves me so much He wanted me to abstain from things in order to help me feel better?!
You mean when the flesh dies our spirit comes to life?!
You mean I’m going to enjoy this whole crazy ordeal?!
Wonders never cease.
The worst day. {Fasting series}
Perhaps you’re thinking what I’m thinking at this point: Um, we haven’t even begun the actual fast yet!
Right. I actually feel like most of the “heavy lifting” spiritually speaking, happened before the fast. As you’ll see, the actual fast itself was rather enjoyable!
Well, not quite. Maybe not the first few days. Of course, the first three days are the hardest. With anything new. There’s just no way to get around it. Day 1 was the worst. It was my birthday, and I woke in a sour mood because I was sort of dreading doing this first day at all. Plus, we’d had a feast the night before, a sort of “last supper” if you will, so I had a bit of a headache from the chocolate cake and sangria.
Of course I wanted coffee.
No coffee.
(I should add, I actually did have tea on my fast. I prayed and felt freedom to do this, so I had two cups a day. But can I just say, tea is not coffee. That’s all, thanks.)
I confess: I was so grumpy that first morning and I don’t remember what happened but I’m pretty sure the kids and I were both in tears by 11am. Awesome birthday. Awesome first day seeking God’s presence and letting Him fill me with His glorious love and all these other sweet-sounding spiritual things that were NOT happening this day.
Thankfully, we got out of the house and visited my parents. My dad got me a chocolate cake, pizza, and a Coke. *blink blink* Of course I could have none of this so I watched my kids and parents celebrate my birthday, and I choked down some green slimy smoothie and wondered how on earth I was going to do this for 40 days without killing anyone.
That night, we took the kids to a play, and as we drove by the store, I suggested we could just swing by and I could get a kombucha. Kombucha’s ok, right? I mean, I was having tea and kombucha’s just basically tea that’s rotten.
Rotten tea should be fine, right?
Silence.
Jeff said fine, but I’ll tell you what, it happened again, that thing where God doesn’t let the world satisfy. I went into the Fred Meyer, ignoring the nagging lack of peace that kept hovering over my heart, and marched straight to the kombucha display.
I hoped it was on sale. It wasn’t. I hoped my favorite flavor was there. It wasn’t.
I took a deep breath. I reached for a bottle, then pulled my hand back. I reached again, then pulled my hand back. Oh good grief, Kari! You look like an idiot standing in front of the kombucha cooler, shifting back and forth on your feet like some moron stuck in indecision.
Finally, I sighed. Ok, Lord. I turned around, empty-handed, and walked back to the car.
And I sulked just a little. See, the truth is, I’m not used to hearing ‘no.’ Most things I ask of the Lord are within His will, I’m honestly used to hearing a lot of “yeses”! And, quite frankly, I’m also quite accustomed to doing my own thing. I don’t like being told I can’t get a kombucha. I don’t like hearing no. I don’t like having no options.
I don’t like surrendering control. Here I was, on day ONE, already testing the boundaries of this fast, already asking for allowances and exceptions, already privately pouting that God had told me no. BUT, I knew His goodness, deep down, down deeper than my own desire for a tasty drink.
So I sipped my water and silently prayed that God would satisfy my soul with Himself.
Wooing {Fasting series}
So yeah, pretty much everything felt like dying at this point.
I was trying to finalize the details of women’s Bible studies for the summer, figure out last minute details for our church’s Women’s Retreat retreat that was the weekend before the fast, prepare for a conference, help Jeff with some administrative details, serve meals for some single moms in our area–oh, homeschool our kids and make meals and like keep our house running–yeah, just lots going on and then there was this whole upcoming thing about eating almost nothing for 40 days. Grrr.
I felt so stressed. On top of that, several people close to me had had visions that seemed like warnings, that seemed alarming, that were very troubling to me. I started feeling anxious and fearful, but there was no time to entertain these emotions, there was too much to do.
Just. Keep. Moving. Keep checking off items and keep serving and keep helping.
To be fair, I honestly didn’t realize I was exhausted and anxious. I tend to be very focused on tasks, what needs to be done, moving forward. I don’t sit around and think about my feelings very much. So I went into the women’s retreat weekend feeling just fine and looking forward to being with the ladies.
Actually, no. That’s not true. The real deep-down truth is I was willing to go because that was my responsibility and that was my thing to do, but I would’ve given anything to stay home and curl up in bed instead.
But that wasn’t an option.
So I went to the retreat, and it was great. Truth was taught, people prayed for, it was fabulous. But then Saturday night I started feeling that anxiety and fear and fatigue creep up, I could feel it hovering just beneath the surface, I could feel that I was about to cry, but wasn’t sure what the appropriate setting was. I couldn’t just blab about everything to everybody, I needed to be wise.
I crept into my room, into bed, in the dark, and everything gushed out in tears. I couldn’t make sense of what I was feeling, it was just overwhelm and sadness. I knew I should share with someone and have them pray over me, I wanted to, especially since this was a prime opportunity to be vulnerable and receive prayer, but I didn’t want to make a scene and honestly didn’t know who to talk to. So I crept up quietly and prayed that if one of the elders’ wives was available, not engaged in a conversation, that I’d ask them. But I went up and they were all busy talking, so I went back downstairs and tried to fall asleep.
But to my amazement, then someone opened the door and silently crawled into the bed on the other side of the room, and I realized it was my dear friend, one of our elders’ wives, someone I knew I could completely bare my heart to.
“Elisha? Is that you?”
“Yeah.”
And then I literally just crawled over on her bed and collapsed in her arms and sobbed on her for at least a half hour. Ha! Poor girl! I seriously don’t think I’ve ever cried that hard. It just all gushed out–anxiety and fear and overwhelm and fatigue and stuff I hadn’t even known that I was feeling. She listened for forever, prayed over me, shared some good and hard words of encouragement too, and I eventually went to sleep.
But I realized the next morning, as I reflected on the scriptures, that I had been one-sided in my relating with the Lord. I was serving. Serving, serving, serving. All I could think about was dying to self, dying the world, giving up my rights, giving up my food, serving and giving and doing and pouring out, out, out, out.
But in a glorious shift of perspective, I realized the Lord was wanting to FILL ME. I realized He was WOOING me. He was calling me away from things, not because I was in trouble, but because He wanted me. He wanted all of me. He wanted to call me away from all the busyness of cooking and eating and working and serving, and He wanted to drastically simplify my life for 40-days so that I could be with Him.
This fast was Him wooing me. It was His love that was leading me here.
During the retreat, each person had a chance to receive prayer, to have every other person lay hands on them and pray over them. During my turn, at the very end, people had visions of me sitting on my deck just basking in the sunshine. They kept saying God was wooing me, calling me away from all the busyness to just be with Him and be filled.
I was so overwhelmed with joy and relief. I could physically feel the change in my body. I came home restful, filled, at peace. From that moment on, everything felt restful. Everything changed. The anxiety left. The fear vanished. I actually got excited for the fast! Yes, there would be an emptying, but there was a “filling” in store that I couldn’t even fathom.
He was going to fill my life with His love.
{Until next time, thanks for reading…}
Tasteless {Fasting series}
Have you ever had a long cold or sinus infection, and it made everything tasteless? Isn’t it frustrating? Especially if you feel decent otherwise, but you bite into what should be a delicious cookie or burrito or sandwich, and you can feel texture but the whole thing’s just plain tasteless.
It’s disappointing. You want to enjoy it, but you can’t because your senses hindered. Your taste, your ability to fully enjoy that certain flavor, has been deadened.
Once I finally stopped “researching” and just agreed that God probably knew best, once I set my mind and heart to do this fast for 40 days, exactly as prescribed, come what may, then I began involuntarily going through a process. I didn’t like it.
It began with three simple things. I had sensed God leading me to obey Him in 3 simple areas for the 3 weeks leading up to the fast. I had already sliced bananas and stocked the pantry, now it was time to prepare my heart. The three things were:
- Stay home.
- Don’t shop.
- Get up early to pray.
This simply meant that whenever possible, I was to stay at home, and begin simplifying my schedule to carve out more time to seek Him. This meant I didn’t need to research things or shop for kids’ summer clothes or keep my eye out for deals. This meant unsubscribing from all “deal” emails. This meant getting up early to pray, to begin preparing my heart for this time.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but these things began to create a sharp separation from the world. I remember so clearly, just a week before the fast, I had really wanted to go into town to take advantage of a coupon that was about to expire. I wasn’t buying anything for myself, but there was something attractive about going and “getting something” nonetheless. It’s hard to explain, but maybe you get it, that subtle thrill of acquiring something new, when it feels like so much is being stripped away.
It was the worst day. I’ll spare you the details, but it was as if God made every attempt to buy or “enjoy the world” that day completely futile. Everything went wrong. Even Starbucks was a flop! Nothing was satisfying or enjoyable about my trip into town, and I came home frustrated and exhausted. I sat down with my journal and cried out to God and so clearly I heard:
“I’m making the world tasteless to you.”
*sigh*
That was exactly it. I kept trying to taste the world, and it was so frustrating because it wasn’t satisfying. But like we sometimes do with food, I just kept trying to taste it again and again that day, hoping somewhere I’d find a bite that tasted sweet.
Nope. It was all bland. All disappointing.
Tasteless.
As the week went on, the process continued. It was uncanny, how time after time after time, God would make the world tasteless. I even noticed that if ate a heavy meal, or something that was a “treat” I’d immediately get a stomachache.
It was as if He was preparing my body and my spirit to be weaned off the world.
I knew deep down, this was good, but it felt like death. I cried a lot and felt really sad, like I was grieving the loss of a loved one, but that loved one was me. It was self that I loved so much, and self had to die. I kept feeling Him saying,
“I want you to completely relinquish your claim on your life.”
I really don’t mean to sound dramatic. I know we’re just talking about a simple fast. But what was happening inside was so deep, so profound, it was disturbing and jarring. And so good. The fast hadn’t even begun yet and already He was cutting the strings that tied me so tightly to this world, to myself.
He wanted all of me.
{For now, thanks for reading.}
Where were the women??? {Fasting series}
Honest answer: Have you ever “researched” a million different options, even though you already knew, deep down, what you were supposed to do?
Ok, if you said no then you’re lying.
For me, it was researching exactly what we should or shouldn’t eat/fast for 40 days so that we wouldn’t shrivel up and die, or get angry, or pass out. Those sorts of things.
Of course, He’d already told us what to do. But I kept waiting for God to give me “the rest of the plan.” Sure, he’d said Shake, Smoothie, Rice/Spinach. I got that down. But, wasn’t there more? Perhaps that was just the rough draft and maybe we’d add a few things in later?
Right? Lord, isn’t there more?
Silence.
So, I started “researching.” (Ha!)
My main concern, which seemed completely legitimate, was that I’m a woman, and I had never talked to another woman who engaged in a 40-day fast of this kind. I’d read great fasting books–by John Piper, Richard Foster, Lou Engle, Bill Bright–but I’d never been able to find a book on fasting by a woman. Not trying to be a wimp, but women in general are a bit more delicate physically. I know Jeff can “forget” to eat all day and be absolutely fine. I’ve never forgotten to eat. He can go on 5 hours of sleep, I need at least 8. I get lightheaded and tired much more easily than Jeff.
So sure, I love John and Bill’s perspective, but they’re dudes.
Where were the women??
So, embarrassing confession: I startled googling: “Fasting for women” and “Women fasting 40 days” and “40-day fast made for moms.” Of course there were plenty of things out there about fasting for weight-management and diet reasons. But spiritual fasting? Biblical fasting?
Nothing.
Finally, I hit a jackpot. I found this great blog by a Christian woman, who looked about my age. She had an article called “How to Fast For 40 Days.” Yes!!! I jumped right in. I was amazed. It was fabulous.
For one, it was super in-depth on all the Scripture references for fasting, giving a thorough foundation for the importance of this discipline. Then it went into a very detailed description of this 40-day juice fast, how much activity is ok to exert, what it was like, the symptoms experienced, and then the glorious results. There were quotes from doctors, practical considerations, and helpful tips and tricks.
But then, something caught my attention that didn’t seem right. I read something about how fasting had been the most impacting thing, “since our Savior changed my life in 1944.”
Umm… Say, what?! I looked at the lady’s picture at the top of the blog. Even if the Savior changed her life at the age of 5, there ain’t no way Donna was seventy-seven years old.
And if she WAS then I needed to fast more often! 🙂
I quickly scrolled down the rest of the article to the very bottom.
Yep. Wouldn’t you know:
Copyright Campus Crusade for Christ.
Written by Bill Bright.
Argh!!!!
The entire article was just cut and pasted from Bill Bright’s fasting booklet. I was thankful for the information, but this even further reinforced my frustration at not finding other women who had done this themselves.
Thankfully, I knew that in the Bible Esther fasted and Anna fasted. These may not have been 40-days, but I also wasn’t doing an absolute fast, so I needed to quit looking for comparisons or examples, and just humbly submit to the plan God had given me. Clearly, He knew my body better than anyone else.
I didn’t need a prescription from another female, I already had a prescription from my Father.
In fact, one day I was mentally figuring out whether I’d be getting “enough” protein and fiber, etc. and very clearly, the Holy Spirit interrupted my calculations with a gentle rebuke: “This is not a diet, this is a fast.”
Meaning, it didn’t matter if I had “enough.” It didn’t matter if the protein-to-carb ratio was just right. It didn’t matter if the amount wasn’t sufficient to satisfy me all day. The whole point was that this was a sacrifice. The whole point was that this would create hunger.
Fasting makes us desperate. The problem was, if I was honest, I was scared of desperation. I didn’t want to be desperate for that long. I didn’t want to be weak.
Then I’d have to really rely on God.
{More to come… Thanks so much for reading.}
*If you’re interested in the article written by Bill Bright 😉 … here it is: http://www.donnapartow.com/how-to-fast-for-forty-days/)
The Plan {fasting series}
Just when panic was about to set in, at the thought of not eating food for 40 days and therefore dying, I heard a gentle comforting whisper in my heart,
“You will have something at each meal.”
Ahhh…sigh of relief. So I probably wouldn’t die. I had no idea what “something” meant (I hoped maybe something along the lines of ice cream or coffee but figured that was doubtful) but figured I could trust God to give me The Plan, since He was the One who created my body and knew how best to lead me. Plus, this adventure was clearly initiated by Him, so I could rest in knowing He’d figure out the details.
As I finished the book, I set out to spend the next few days praying over the details. What exactly did He want me to fast? When would I begin? How would I navigate social situations? Were others going to join me?
Thankfully, I felt like God gave incredibly clear directions on exactly what my/our fast would look like. Many things things are vague or unclear, but in this situation it was almost like an audible voice in my head. I was to begin on my birthday, June 9th, and I was to have:
Protein shake for breakfast, smoothie for lunch, brown rice & spinach for dinner.
Okay. That seemed doable. At least calorically speaking, it wasn’t very restrictive. But it was restrictive in one very specific way:
No choices.
There were exactly zero options in this fast. Usually I had thought of fasts as focusing on what we can’t have (no sugar, no animal products, no alcohol, etc.), but that still left lots and lots of things to choose from. This wasn’t so much about not having certain things, but about limiting our daily intake to a very simplified and restricted regimen that would be exactly the same each day.
I also noticed that during the day there was only liquid. Yikes. I like to chew.
Although I felt settled in this plan, it also struck me that this was very restrictive, and that 40 days is a long time.
I also looked over the calendar and noticed all the dates that fell within these 40 days. My birthday, Jeff’s birthday, our anniversary, a church-planting conference for Jeff, the 4th of July, several dinner-dates, a 5-day camping trip with family, and the CBNW women’s camp where I was speaking.
Me: Umm... this doesn’t seem like the best time to fast, Lord.
Response: This is exactly the best time to fast, Kari.
Okay, then. Thankfully, we had almost three weeks between hearing this “plan” and when we would begin. There was time to mentally prepare, stock up on straws (!), and seek to simplify our schedule to make extra time for prayer (and maybe napping).
As the days and weeks went on, it became even more clear that God was preparing us for this. I researched and settled on a simple smoothie recipe that was low in sugar and supplied a decent amount of fiber and protein, and wouldn’t you know it?? The next week both of the main ingredients (bananas and mango) were on sale at our local produce stand for mere pennies per pound. We bought 40 lbs. and cut them all up into chunks in freezer bags. I bought a case of rice milk, 12 lbs. of brown rice, and three tubs of vegan protein powder. This plan was completely vegan, with no sugar, coffee, or gluten. It was just fruits/veggies, seeds, and rice. Although it sounded healthy, I still felt panicky inside. How could we do this for 40 days straight???
{Has God ever called you to something so physically challenging you didn’t think you could do it? How did He meet you in the midst of it? More to come … thanks for reading.}
Pushing forward. {Fasting series}
{Finally continuing the series! I shared here about fasting, about this oft-neglected weapon that works wonders in the heavenly realm, like a spiritual Vitamix. So now, a bit more about our 40-day fasting journey…}
Strangely enough, I kept sensing that the very thing I most wanted to avoid (fasting) was the thing that would yield the most significant spiritual results in my own life, the lives of those around me, and even in our nation and our world. But I felt lost. I had engaged in a very simple fast (9am-5pm on Thursdays) for the past 2 years, but even that felt discouraging. I honestly felt like most Thursdays I was just trudging through the afternoons, so hungry, waiting for 5pm so I could finally eat and quit being a grump. Thursdays are the only day where we always stay home and never make plans, and I felt like the one day I had to just savor being home and tackle projects, ended up being the day I was most tired, cranky, and just plan hangry. After we moved to our new house, I suggested to the Lord (ha!) that maybe I could be done with this whole fasting-once-a-week thing…?
Wouldn’t you know it, quitting fasting was not exactly what He had in mind. Increasing fasting was more along the lines of what He wanted.
Isn’t that just it, though? So often, when we’re trying to learn something new, or master some new skill or habit, we try a little bit of it, and then when it gets hard (and it always does), we pull back and want to quit rather than push forward and go even harder into that thing. If we attempting something godly, and it’s difficult, rarely is the answer that we’re supposed to quit.
If things are always hard on Sunday mornings, the answer isn’t to stop going to church.
If morning prayer is difficult, the answer isn’t to sleep in.
If diligent parenting is hard, the answer isn’t to give up.
So, instead of quitting, I kept sensing God actually intended for me (us) to press in even harder to fasting and prayer. But, I had no idea what that would look like. If fasting 8 hours felt nearly impossible to me, how on earth would I take on something longer? Besides, I had so many legitimate excuses:
- I’m just not good at fasting. Some people can not eat and be fine. Not me. I need food.
- When I’m hungry I get really grumpy. It wouldn’t be good for my kids if I was grumpy all the time.
- I need protein. When I don’t have enough protein I get a headache.
- I’m a mom! I have to make meals every day, three times a day. I have to cook and clean and do lots of physical activity during the day. I’m not a monk who can go out in the wilderness and not eat. I’ve got life to do!
In the midst of my defeatist inner monologue, God sovereignly placed a book in my path. A good friend of ours was over, doing some painting in our house. We were talking about the Lord, and I shared that I was struggling with feeling called to fasting, but also feeling like a failure in that area. He shared that he’d just finished reading The Jesus Fast and highly recommended it. I got it from his wife a few days later, and devoured the book in three days flat. It felt like Lou Engle had written it just for me, at this exact time.
Reading this powerful book convinced me that corporate fasts, especially 40-day fasts, were the weapon needed to wage war in the heavenlies and effect change in the spiritual realm. Engle uses Scripture, showing how in times of great crisis, battle, desperation, or change, God’s people have always called out to Him with corporate prayer and fasting, and God always showed up and brought deliverance and salvation in response to His people’s pleas.
I am only 36, so I haven’t seen a lot of different decades or eras, but I know enough to know that we are in desperate need as individuals, as a nation, and as a world.
If ever there was a time for God’s people to join together in corporate prayer and fasting, that time is now.
As I bulldozed through the book, the conviction gripped me that yes, a 40-day fast was exactly what God was calling me to embark on. And yet, it seemed absolutely impossible. Hadn’t he heard all my excuses?
He may as well have been calling me to walk on water.
{Have you ever felt like that? If you feel failure and struggle in your grace-driven effort to follow Jesus, PUSH FORWARD don’t pull back. INCREASE, don’t quit. More soon. Thanks for reading.}
Our spiritual Vitamix, the most neglected weapon
When I think of effective weapons, I think of my Vitamix.
I know, sounds crazy, but for the kind of Sacred Mundane battle I face on a daily basis — that of feeding my family healthy foods prepared from scratch — there’s nothing else like this blender that’s basically a countertop lawn-mower.
Without this tool, so many of our favorite foods would be virtually impossible to make. No nut-butter protein shakes. No whole-fruit smoothies. No hummus. No Yumm sauce. No homemade ice cream. No blended fruit-wine. No butternut squash soup. No quinoa cupcakes. No apple-pancakes. So many things would be impossible (or much more difficult) if it weren’t for this one simple weapon that sits on my counter and pulverizes food with ease. What would take hours to accomplish by hand takes just seconds with this awesome tool.
Spiritually speaking, we have a weapon available to us that’s stronger than a million Vitamixes and has the power to push back forces of evil, open our eyes to sin, effect change in the spiritual realm, tear down strongholds and conquer invisible forces of darkness. We can pulverize the toughest situations by utilizing this weapon.
But, this most effective weapon is also the most neglected weapon.
Fasting.
Did your heart sink just a little? Were you hoping for something else? I get it. For years–YEARS–I tried to avoid this topic. Scripture reading? Awesome. Prayer? You bet. Fellowship? Bring it on. Church attendance? Of course. Loving people, tithing, discipleship, let’s do it all. I’m all in.
Give up my food? I’m squirming. Seriously squirming. People, I like my food. Look, I don’t really shop, I don’t watch TV, I don’t have guilty pleasures or things I do to check out or escape. My life is pretty basic. All I want is a good meal, let’s say 3 times a day.
Is that too much to ask? No, it’s not really. Of course God does provide food for us, but there’s no denying the clear pattern in Scripture–in times of great need, crisis, needing discernment, in times of wanting to draw closer to God or see Him move in miraculous, supernatural ways, the people of God pulled out the spiritual Vitamix.
They fasted.
The specifics vary. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all fasted for 40 days. Others fasted for 3. Daniel abstained from only certain foods. Some fasted in order to cry out for protection. Jesus refers to regular fasting, in conjunction with prayer. We see examples of personal private fasting, and corporate non-private fasting. Both are beneficial for different reasons and seasons.
We contemplated buying a Vitamix for years before we actually took the plunge and purchased one. I read dozens of reviews, heard testimonies from friends, and prayed about it a lot before making the investment. Why did it take so long?
Because of the cost.
You can pick up a new blender at Walmart for $19.99 and if it doesn’t work you’re not out a whole lot of cash. A Vitamix is upwards of $300-700. Yikes! That’s a cost. Was it worth it? Would it really work? When I finally found an older model for $300 we were brave enough to make the leap. That was doable. We made the investment. And you know what?
I’m so glad. Because that thing works. I have used it nearly every single day for 3 years. (Yes, the photo above shows that we even take it camping. 😉
There is a significant cost to fasting too, yes? I tried to ignore fasting for years, trying to take an easier route, something that wouldn’t cost me so much. Anyone can pray, even invest a pretty good amount of time to praying. But giving up my food? I just wasn’t sure if there was anything I desired more than my food.
But in His grace and gentle kindness, the Lord kept putting fasting on my mind and heart. Now, hear me: I’m not talking crash dieting. I’m not talking starving yourself to lose weight. We’ll talk more details in days to come, but that is not fasting. I’ve done both of those things in my life, unfortunately, and it’s nothing like fasting.
Fasting is the most effective and neglected spiritual weapon, a lawn-mower kind of blender on the counter of our lives, just waiting for us to employ and pulverize the attacks of the evil one. I’m certainly no expert, but we just emerged from a 40-day glorious journey of fasting, and I’m convinced there is so much power, joy, freedom, effectiveness, VICTORY available to us if we’d embark on this adventure with God.
So, I’m going to write a series called, The 40-Day Fast for the Rest of Us: An Extraordinary Adventure for Ordinary People. It may turn into an ebook, but for now I’m just going to capture my thoughts in this space, and maybe you can help me make sense of it all. Deal?
Now, I’m off to make dinner: Walnut taco-meat made with the Vitamix. 😉
{Thanks for reading!}
The Chore & Cleaning System that’s working for us
Finally! I’ve heard from many of you, asking if I’d share the simple chore and cleaning system that’s been working for us. I’m sorry it’s taken me forever to get to this, here we go:
It’s also taken me forever, it seems, to find a good system that works. When the kids were little I used Chore Cards and a Picture Plan, but now that they’re older I needed something that I could change daily as needed, something where I could incorporate school and chores, along with a sort of schedule so they could see the plan for the day.
On top of that, I desperately needed a Cleaning Schedule that would work for me. I’ve tried the Once a Month cleaning (which is great!) but it was hard for me to carve out an entire day for cleaning, and we host a lot of people and gatherings around here, so once a month just was not enough. Plus, I’m not at all wired for frequent cleaning, unless I force myself to do it regularly, I just won’t. I’m naturally tidy, but I don’t love cleaning. So I needed a system in order to get disciplined in this area.
Plus, our living space is almost double what our old house was (although it’s actually fewer rooms, they are big rooms), plus we now have property to maintain, so I knew I needed a solid system or I would easily get overwhelmed and fall hopelessly behind.
So, I prayed. I prayed that God would lead me a system that worked. A simple something that I could actually keep up with. Normally with prayers I would pray and open my Bible, but this time:
I prayed … and opened Pinterest.
I prayed God would direct me to a editable cleaning schedule that would work for me. This was the one that struck me right away, and I loved how clean and simple the design was, and that I could edit it to make it tailor-made for me.
At the same time, the idea struck me that I needed a sort of focus of theme for each day of the week. As you may know, I love systems that simplify life and decrease decision fatigue (a killer for me, I feel like I’m often exhausted just from leading various spheres and having to make decisions). Basically, the more things I can have as a HABIT, the more things that are simplified into a system, the more I can turn my attention to other areas and devote my brain-space to leadership, parenting, writing, creativity, etc.
What this means for us:
::FOCUS::
For the week, I had the idea to create a sort of theme for each day, basically the overarching focus for the day.
MASTER THE CHOAS MONDAY: (Here I tackle all the messes from the weekend, sort through items, unload or unpack, clean up any particular messes if we’ve had company.)
TASTY TUESDAY: (Here I do my bulk cooking: 3 loaves of bread, granola, Oregon Trail bars, and any roasted veggies or soups that need to be made. I also prep veggies like peel carrots, etc. for the rest of the week.)
WE WORK TOGETHER WEDNESDAY: (This is Jeff’s day off so after I tackle the basic living room chores, we do house or property projects together.)
THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY: (This is my fasting day where we never have company or go anywhere, we stay home and I do laundry and we just enjoy a quiet, calm day of contemplation and regrouping.)
FUN w/ FRIENDS AND FAMILY FRIDAY: (This is the day we schedule play-dates, go see family, or get ready for weekend plans. We don’t do much school these days–or skip it altogether–so it makes for a fun flexible day.)
SABBATH SATURDAY: (Often this is our Sabbath rest day, since Sundays are so busy. But that’s flexible. Mostly we try to have rest and renewal on this day, which might also include outdoor projects since we enjoy those so much.)
SUNDAY SERVE: (Here we focus on serving God and others. Sundays are super busy for us, so they aren’t necessarily a time for rest, but we focus on giving ourselves to serve on this day, and also 
enjoy an occasional afternoon nap. 🙂
::CLEANING::
Here is the printable that I edited, downloaded, and love. It’s been several months now and I’m still loving it. I love that it’s so detailed it keeps me focused and helps keep me from cheating and getting lazy. I’m including a picture of my version so you can see how it works for me.
::FOOD::
I have a simple Weekly Menu Plan (yes, like, where we actually eat roughly the same thing each week. Sounds boring, it isn’t. It’s glorious.) Weekends are usually flexible because we have company, or go to people’s houses, or have our church Community Group. Or, we just eat pancakes or whatever random things are in the fridge. It’s not fancy, but it works!
MONDAY: Mexican (Burritos or taco salads, or just beans and rice)
TUESDAY: Italian (Homemade pizza, or pasta)
WEDNESDAY: American (Alaskan cod, or BBQ chicken in the crock pot)
THURSDAY: Indian (Chickpea curry with jasmine or Basmati rice)
FRIDAY: Leftovers
Nothing earth-shattering, but it simplifies cooking, shopping, budgeting, and makes me smile. The kids love it too.
::KIDS CHORES::
For the kids’ chores, school, and schedule, I decided to try Sarah Mackenzie’s Notebook System. I love it! My handwriting isn’t as pretty, and their notebooks aren’t cute, but the system definitely works. Here’s a sample from one of our days:
So that’s it. Not super impressive, but let me just tell you I am one happy mama to finally feel like we have some sense of order and organization to the details of our days. Plus, it’s their responsibility to complete these tasks, so it eliminates (mostly 😉 nagging and reminding.
For overall organization, I just ordered my dream-come-true paper Planner for next year, and it arrives on Friday, so I’ll share more of my process for planning ahead, after I do it. 😉
Hope this can be helpful! Thanks for reading.
F is for Fasting
There are things about God that I don’t understand. There are things about life that I don’t understand. And when faced with those things, sometimes it’s best to engage in something else I don’t understand: Fasting. A few thoughts about this F-word that’s sadly more taboo than others in our culture.
:: Jesus speaks of fasting in the same manner as prayer and giving. A common question is, “Do Christians have to fast?” Well, no. We don’t. But we readily acknowledge that we are to give and we are to pray, and Jesus speaks of these three things in the same breath in the sermon on the mount (Matt 6). He says,
“When you give …” (6:2)
“When you pray …” (6:5)
“When you fast …” (6:16)
Jesus never tells us exactly how many minutes a day we are supposed to pray. He never tells us exactly how much money we are to give. And He never tells us exactly how much He wants us to fast. But He assumes that we will pray, will give, and will fast.
Then why don’t we? We often think that the “touchiest” subject to address is money and giving, but perhaps in our society addicted to physical comfort, perhaps fasting is even touchier. Richard Foster says,
Why has the giving of money, for example, been unquestionably recognized as an element of Christian devotion and fasting so disputed? Certainly we have as much, if not more evidence from the Bible for fasting as we have for giving. Perhaps in our affluent society fasting involves a far greater sacrifice than the giving of money. (Celebration of Discipline, 66)
Wow. That hit anyone else squarely in the gut? I can attest that that is true of me. It is way easier for me to write a check than go without food. How about you?
:: Biblical fasting must center on spiritual purposes. Fasting or “cleanses” are very popular now, for good reason. Naturally the disciplines that God designed have stood the test of time and proven beneficial for our health. But biblical fasting must center on spiritual purposes. Which is why I personally suggest that anyone who struggles with abusing their body through starvation, that a different form of fasting be observed (from media or people or another everyday habit). However, truth be told very few of us struggle with starving ourselves. And, truth be told, “starving” is a word tossed around in our culture that we know nothing about. Going without food for a meal or a day will starve nothing but our flesh.
But that said, we must be so careful for our motive. Why am I doing this fast? Ultimately the goal of fasting is always intimacy with God. Drawing near. Going without the things satiate our souls so that we can hunger for Him and taste and see that He is good.
:: Fasting is a beautiful way to close the gap between sacred and secular facets of life. What better way to remind ourselves that it is through this earthly body that we are supposed to commune with God. How beautiful that we can dig deep into the spiritual center of our souls through simply pushing aside the plate of food for the day? We don’t have to leave our ordinary duties or buy a new book or go to some conference. A fresh encounter with God is as close as the close of the refrigerator.
I sometimes wonder if God patiently and graciously endures all of our great and grand seeking of Him through contemporary means. As much as I LOVE worship through music, I’m the first to admit that it is a very flesh-satisfying way to seek God. I love the sound, the feel, the experience. It fills me up, gives me energy, gets me going. It’s easy. Fasting is the opposite. There’s nothing about it that satisfies my flesh. It’s hard, makes me tired, and makes me feel humble and dependent.
No wonder God prescribes it.
—
With no guilt, shame, or condemnation, what are your current thoughts about fasting? Scared? Intimidated? Unsure of where to start? Richard Foster has some great words in Celebration of Discipline.
My thoughts? Start small. I began by fasting between meals. You laugh, but it’s true. A step is a step no matter how small. Thanks for reading.