Day 31 of Month 1

One more meal of my "7" experiment, and then I will enjoy some of the things I have been craving (don't need to give specifics...quite enough of those in recent posts).  However, when I think about those things, I realize, yes, I am looking forward to having them again, but now I know I can do without them, too.  I guess that is one more thing this month has proven to me:  I can do without things I think I cannot do without.  I have been reminded He supplies all my NEEDS...not my WANTS, not my DESIRES, but my NEEDS.

And now, this is on my mind...

"After Jesus' fast, He began healing, rescuing, redeeming.  The Spirit filled up the emptiness Jesus created, launching Him into ministry.  In some supernatural way the abstinence from food was the catalyst for Jesus' unveiling; the real fireworks were next.  Never again would Jesus fly under the radar.  His powerful ministry was activated, inviting worship and opposition, salvation, and death.  After thirty years on earth, His story truly began.  'He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry.' (Luke 4:2)  I am hungry."-J. Hatmaker, 7: an experimental mutiny against excess

Good news/Bad News

Good:  I have NOT given in to temptation since my "Finish Strong" post.
Bad: It is a sad state of affairs when a chewable vitamin counts as your "sweet" for the day. 

Finish strong?

Day 24 of my "7" food fast.  Let's face it:  I have very little self control.  I have avoided some of my biggies (still no cheese or bread), but I have eaten 2 or 3 granola bars in the last week, 3 cookies, some sour straws (courtesy of the 3-year-old), most of a bag of cherry sours, and some goldfish crackers.  Oh, and oranges, but only because I ran out of apples on a couple of days, and needed something sweet.  Do you hear me trying to rationalize AGAIN?  Anyway, I am hoping I will be able to finish strong over this last week.
Some things I am learning about myself during this process:
1-I typically think about food far too much, and not nearly enough about the hunger of others.
2-I now question the sensitivity of Facebook posts about food.  I do not want to judge, but it seems a little insensitive to post pictures and recipes of delicious (and sometimes gluttonous) entrees/desserts.  I am choosing to do this "fast", so I try to just ignore the posts, but can those posts be edifying for someone who really struggles with eating or even an eating disorder?  I don't know if this would have even crossed my mind had I not started this experiment.  I post recipes on my Pinterest boards, but I almost feel that is different because I consider it a sort of online storage box.  I am not really posting for others to see there, but more for me to be able to find something later.  Maybe it is the same though.  What do you think?
3-I can rationalize any food in a moment of weakness, and instead of taking the time to pray about it, I impulsively stuff my face.  This does not reflect well on my faith.  Each time this has happened, I have been reminded of Denis (see earlier post), yet, I have still been able to rationalize by saying, "This is voluntary, not required.  You are still pretty much following the "fast", so how is this one _____ going to really affect the "fast"?"  Grr...
4-I think I would do better if someone else was doing this with me.  Accountability always helps!  I don't think I will struggle as much in the upcoming months, but we shall see.  This one has been tough!

Lord, please be my strength in weakness.  Remind me of my purpose in You, not just in this experience, but in daily life.

Temptation, pure and simple

Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese:

I do not know if you can understand the magnitude of this temptation for me, but let me lay it out here for you.  I had a cheese sandwich EVERY day for lunch during my four years of high school.  I still have a cheese sandwich MANY days for lunch. I believe almost all foods are better with cheese, but some of my favorites are cheese enchiladas with queso, cheese manicotti, and cheesy grits.  

Are you noticing a theme here?  

I resisted, and had this instead:

Fresh, sauteed spinach on a bed of basmati rice.  It was tasty, but would have been better with cheese on top.  Kidding, kidding.  For once, a cheesy option does not sound very appetizing to me.  

Someone posted a quote from First Place on FB last night:

"Food is for fuel, not for worship!"

Hmmm....it made me think.

Day 14 of my "7" Experiment (Month 1)

I was tempted by NERDS yesterday. So there. I said it. To be honest, I was also tempted by cheese, bread, goldfish, tortilla chips, and the coup de grace, Thin Mints.  I only succumbed to the lure of the NERDS.  You may ask, “Who in their right mind would choose to partake in some artificially flavored pebbles over delicious Girl Scout cookies?”  I think the key words there are “in their right mind.”  Obviously, I am out of my head because that is pure idiocy.  However, in my small brain, the thought of eating just a few bites of candy is ALMOST not cheating.  After all, I don’t know if I consider my Jolly Rancher from last week (yes, it is still fresh on my mind) to be cheating because it was acting as a breath mint in a desperate situation.  So, along those same lines, is candy really technically eating or…?  Oh, never mind, I am totally rationalizing this.  I cheated.  I am a cheater.  And I really don’t like this about myself.  I mean, I became a vegetarian 12 years ago, and I have never bought a Slim Jim and said it was okay because it wasn’t really meat.  But here’s the thing:  I REALLY enjoy snacking…like really enjoy it!  I usually even try to eat somewhat healthy snacks.  I do not, however, enjoy snacking on only garbanzo beans and apples.  Yes, I know Dr. Mercola said garbanzos are good for your brain or for making you smarter or yada, yada, yada, but for today, give me some cool ranch Dorito’s and call me stupid.

On a more positive note, I have been practicing the bridge (from my post last week), and I am now able to push up into this position for at least 5 seconds…hey, it’s progress.



In summary, I am WEAK…both in willpower and in muscle strength.  But He is STRONG…and I am relying on Him to teach me and change me through this experiment.



The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.  Psalm 28:7



Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

My New Year

I recently read this book:

The author's humor and transparency really resonated with me.  If you haven't read the book, it chronicles the author's seven-month journey to rid her life of excess in the areas mentioned on the cover.  The premise behind the different "fasts" is to get rid of the excess in order to make more room for Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in her life.  The book and her shared experience were so meaningful to me; I decided to embark on my own "Seven" experiment.  The first month mentioned in the book dealt with food, so I prepared to begin my food "fast" on January 1, 2014.  I picked my seven whole foods, and brainstormed several different ways I could prepare the items to make the month just one big culinary treat.  I am in the middle of day 7 here, and have stayed pretty close to the plan, with the exception of charro beans at the Mexican restaurant on Saturday night (they didn't have black beans), a Jolly Rancher at church Sunday because I could just tell I had stink-o breath, and a few Hot Tamales yesterday.  I have difficulty turning down cinnamon chewy goodness, especially when the three-year-old swipes the box from his sister and says (with a sweet grin on his face), “We will share these, Mama, and Sissy will not know.  It will be secret.”  Other than those three misdemeanor infractions, I have feasted upon rice, green beans, spinach, potatoes, apples, garbanzo beans, or black beans at EVERY meal for the last 6.5 days.  Before I began, I asked God to remind me of our sponsored child in Kenya each time I desired to eat "forbidden" food.  So far, Denis has come to mind quite a bit, but especially when the rest of my family was devouring the 14-year-old's birthday cookie cake.  For all I know, Denis may have only eaten seven foods his ENTIRE life.  I am so spoiled…it really is ridiculous.  Praying God will work in me through this, give me a hunger for His word (not cheese, bread, chocolate, chips, salsa, and the list goes on...), and also make me more aware of the real hunger others experience in our community and around the world.

Because I am an optimist (read: stupid dreamer), I also determined January 1st would be the perfect time to re-establish my exercise routine.  So, on New Year's Day, I set out on a 2.5 mile walk around the 'hood.  I felt invigorated, and I came back to check my mirror for the instantaneous loss of back fat I was sure had occurred.  Lost in my exuberance (over the exercise, because shockingly, the back fat was still present and accounted for), I attempted a "bridge", which is a quasi-backbend from the floor.  Years ago, I could do a full backbend, but I thought I shouldn't expect too much from this 42-year-old body, right?  So there I lay on the floor, poised and ready to push myself up into this position.  I could imagine how great it was going to feel to stretch my back and my abdominal muscles all with this one move.  Lo and behold, I could not lift my noggin off the floor.  Good grief, Charlie Brown. Who knew my head accounted for 95% of my body weight?! [Disclaimer:  I am an accountant; therefore, there is NO scientific proof of that statement, but it did seem that way in my personal experience].  I thought my first try must have been a fluke, so I tried again.  Nope, I was still stuck on the floor with this crazy-big, gargantuan head.  Tried it a third time, and finally, lifted my cranium off the floor...for a millisecond.  Needless to say, this was a humbling experience, and it served to remind me of my age (I.am.old), but also, of spiritual discipline.  If we stop participating in a particular discipline designed to help us stretch and grow (i.e. individual/group Bible study, daily prayer time, etc.), it may be very difficult to get back into the habit later.  It may be painful, and even embarrassing.  

Thankfully, He is faithful.  His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  Lord, make me consistent in my "fast", but even more so, in my daily walk with You.

If you are interested in the book mentioned above: here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/An-Experimental-Mutiny-Against-Excess/dp/1433672960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389132602&sr=8-1&keywords=jen+hatmaker+7