Month 2 & Food Irony

In the book "7", the second month was "Clothes".  I still plan to do that month, but I have dubbed my second month "Pick your poisons".  Maybe I am the only one who struggles with these particular issues, but I am really going to be intentional about fasting from these "poisons" in my life over the next 28 days:

1-Questions.  My teenagers tell me I ask too many questions.  I ask questions because I want to know what is going on with them.  Have you ever met a teenager who just opens up and shares every minute detail of their lives with their parent?  Yeah, me either.  But, hey, I am going to find out what happens if I don't ask them about anything.

2-Perfectionism.   In a message based on Phil. 3:12-16, our pastor recently said we should tell ourselves, "I am not perfect, but I will pursue perfection." Because I struggle with my own ideas of perfection, I had to modify that statement to read, "I am not perfect, but I will pursue HIS perfection."  I want to be more like Jesus this month.  

3-People pleasing.  I have ALWAYS been a people pleaser, but I am going to make every effort to let go of that this month, and focus only on what pleases Him.  

4-Procrastination.  I am going to try to avoid putting things off on every level (household, work, exercise, etc.).

5-Expectations.  I sometimes (okay, often) have unreasonable expectations because I want our home to be this perfectly peaceful refuge for all.  I tend to overreact if things do not go according to my expectations, and my overreacting destroys the whole "peaceful refuge" idea. My goal is to ignore my silly expectations and let our family just BE.

6-Nagging.  I have been told I nag one person to brush their teeth, put on their deodorant, etc.  I nag another about who they are texting, and I nag the big one about schedules, etc.  I think by eliminating questions, the nagging will decrease, but beyond that, I am giving up on reminding people of basic hygiene, phone courtesy, and time commitments.  It's over, Rover.

7-Raising my voice.  I don't want to be a yeller, but I sometimes am.  When I have asked someone to do the same thing 3 (or more) times and it still has not been done, I tend to get a little testy.  I MAY even raise my voice.  I am going to give my vocal cords a rest this month.  We will see how it goes.

So there you have it...my fast for February.  In other news, I ate some cheese today.  You know how I was missing it?  Yeah, well funny thing is, after eating it today, I didn't feel all that great.  I think it was a shock to my system.  So, tonight for dinner, do you know what I had?  Rice, green beans, spinach and garbanzo beans.  Yes, 4 of my 7 from last month.  I don't think God is done with me on the food thing.  The novel I was reading today had a focal verse of John 4:34: "'My food', said Jesus, 'is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.'"  May I be hungry to do His will and work.