After a full week and a half on the Daniel Fast, I have to say that it's been a very enlightening experience. It is nothing like I expected, physically or spiritually. I thought that perhaps it might be more difficult to give up the food I love and adhere to an extremely strict "diet" but it really hasn't been.
Do I want a huge piece of chocolate cake?
Actually, no. For whatever reason, now that the sugar is out of my body, I'm not craving it at all. I saw a candy cane on my end table this morning and thought about what it would be like to eat it, and my mind was screaming at me, "Why on earth would you just put pure sugar in your body like that?" The thought disgusted me, and I didn't crave or want anything sweet.
Do I want an 8 oz. steak, a grilled chicken breast, or some shrimp linguine from Red Lobster?
Yeah, I kind of do. I find that instead of the sugar, it's the meat and carbs I miss the most. The other night, I told Kris he needed to put the one-pouch fettucine alfredo away so that I couldn't see it. It was really bothering me to have it out in plain sight, tempting me.
But, none of that matters. Disciplining myself to eat only what is healthy for my body, giving up all the fatty, sugar and carb-filled things I love, has been worth the spiritual gain, ten times over! While my body feels hungry at times when I haven't eaten, my heart is so full of God's love, and I can FEEL Him. In me, around me, moving through me.
And such cool things have been happening, with my writing and my relationships with people in general. A lady emailed me yesterday, and we have been emailing back and forth, sharing our stories and it has been awesome. We've never met, and likely never will, unless God draws our paths together. But it has been so uplifting for me, not only to be sought out because she was touched by something I wrote, but also because it has shown me that this woman is already a dear friend to me. I feel like I could tell her anything and she would understand. She would know where I'm coming from, pray for me, and just be there. She shared her heart and life with me, a total stranger. And in turn, I was able to be open and do the same. It was such a cool experience.
So many women are crying out for help. They have been hurt. They're feeling alone, neglected, guilty, ashamed, fearful. So many broken women. And God puts in my path another woman, one who wants to start a support group for women whose lives have been affected by sexual addiction. And I am so grateful to be a part of this group starting on Tuesday, January 22nd. I've known God was calling me to reach out to other women, share my story, share in their pain and I have been trying to do that through my Loving When It Hurts blog. And now, He is moving me forward.
He has also placed a heavy calling on my heart to pray for marriages. In the last week alone He has shown me no fewer than TEN couples that are crying out for help in one way or another. Marriages already torn apart, those on the brink of divorce, those caught in the middle not knowing what to do, and those healing. And I find myself excited about this. I'm excited about prayer for...well...the first time ever.
It isn't that my eyes haven't been open since Good Friday. It's that God is showing me, through depriving myself of the food that I love so much, that I can open my eyes wider. I can see more, and do so much more to be a light to this world that is shrouded in darkness.
I can't even fully express all that God has done in my heart these last 12 days, but it has been amazing and I'm grateful to be a part of such an amazing church. God definitely had a plan in leading us to The Outpost and I can't wait to see what each new day brings.
Do I want a huge piece of chocolate cake?
Actually, no. For whatever reason, now that the sugar is out of my body, I'm not craving it at all. I saw a candy cane on my end table this morning and thought about what it would be like to eat it, and my mind was screaming at me, "Why on earth would you just put pure sugar in your body like that?" The thought disgusted me, and I didn't crave or want anything sweet.
Do I want an 8 oz. steak, a grilled chicken breast, or some shrimp linguine from Red Lobster?
Yeah, I kind of do. I find that instead of the sugar, it's the meat and carbs I miss the most. The other night, I told Kris he needed to put the one-pouch fettucine alfredo away so that I couldn't see it. It was really bothering me to have it out in plain sight, tempting me.
But, none of that matters. Disciplining myself to eat only what is healthy for my body, giving up all the fatty, sugar and carb-filled things I love, has been worth the spiritual gain, ten times over! While my body feels hungry at times when I haven't eaten, my heart is so full of God's love, and I can FEEL Him. In me, around me, moving through me.
And such cool things have been happening, with my writing and my relationships with people in general. A lady emailed me yesterday, and we have been emailing back and forth, sharing our stories and it has been awesome. We've never met, and likely never will, unless God draws our paths together. But it has been so uplifting for me, not only to be sought out because she was touched by something I wrote, but also because it has shown me that this woman is already a dear friend to me. I feel like I could tell her anything and she would understand. She would know where I'm coming from, pray for me, and just be there. She shared her heart and life with me, a total stranger. And in turn, I was able to be open and do the same. It was such a cool experience.
So many women are crying out for help. They have been hurt. They're feeling alone, neglected, guilty, ashamed, fearful. So many broken women. And God puts in my path another woman, one who wants to start a support group for women whose lives have been affected by sexual addiction. And I am so grateful to be a part of this group starting on Tuesday, January 22nd. I've known God was calling me to reach out to other women, share my story, share in their pain and I have been trying to do that through my Loving When It Hurts blog. And now, He is moving me forward.
He has also placed a heavy calling on my heart to pray for marriages. In the last week alone He has shown me no fewer than TEN couples that are crying out for help in one way or another. Marriages already torn apart, those on the brink of divorce, those caught in the middle not knowing what to do, and those healing. And I find myself excited about this. I'm excited about prayer for...well...the first time ever.
It isn't that my eyes haven't been open since Good Friday. It's that God is showing me, through depriving myself of the food that I love so much, that I can open my eyes wider. I can see more, and do so much more to be a light to this world that is shrouded in darkness.
I can't even fully express all that God has done in my heart these last 12 days, but it has been amazing and I'm grateful to be a part of such an amazing church. God definitely had a plan in leading us to The Outpost and I can't wait to see what each new day brings.
Matthew 6:16-18?
ReplyDeleteI apologize I forgot the difference between a public fast, done amongst a group of believers, and a private fast. If this fast was not meant to be private you are in the right by sharing your thoughts. Again, I apologize.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to apologize. Before the fast began, I wondered how much I should share, if any. But because our church was doing it, and I felt like it was on my heart to share what God was teaching me, I did. If I was doing it all by myself, I don't think I would go around complaining about and also bragging about it, which I think is the real point in that passage, instead of just focusing on personal, private fasting. The point is to not earn the praise of man, and that is the farthest thing from my mind. I appreciate you taking the time to write the second comment.
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