Sort of Random But it Applies

So yesterday I had a friend over who stole the remote and had me watching a show on Discovery called "Dining with Death." It basically showcased the most dangerous foods in Southeast Asia. My friend and I got excited when they talked about the tarantulas in CAMBODIA!! So yeah, that 1 hour show got me really excited about the trip again. I think I sort of lost that during the fast, so it's nice to see my enthusiasm return.

Also, I dreamed about meeting the child I sponsor last night. The thing that stuck most with me was just how joyous that moment was. I wanted to cry in the dream.

How is this trip only 3 weeks away? My head is about to explode.

Breaking the Fast

We had a great team meeting on Sunday and we shared our experiences with the fast, including the highs and lows. I am grateful to have gone through the experience. I enjoyed breaking the fast - Will and I broke it Sunday night at Carrabba's -mmmm! Yesterday I went a little overboard with coffee, diet coke, snickers. I'm back on track today as far as not eating junk. Will is still eating nuts and raisins - he's so good!
Now that we're done with the fast, we can really focus on firming up all our plans for the kids. We are all beyond excited to get there! I can't wait for the moment when our bus pulls up to the church that Sunday morning and we see all the sweetie pies running up to us!

We Can Do It!

Only a few more days left! It has been great to hear how all of you are doing on your fast! Like Jon, I felt a little bit guilty the first week because I had done this before and could come up with a plan of how to make it work. I was excited about trying new recipes and the challenge of only including ingredients that were on the list for the fast. I visited the Buford Highway Farmer's Market to figure out new ingredients that I could use and have fun with. It was week two that really was tough for me. All of the recipes seemed to have such similar flavors over time and other food started to look so much better than what I was making. I just really didn't have much of an appetite. I am the type of person that if I commit to something, I am going to do it. With this fast being a commitment to God to follow it for 21 days, I was not going to possibly let Him down. With that, I wasn't going to eat foods that weren't ok. On the other hand, there is the mental part of it all. I have struggled with maintaining a positive attitude at times. It has been a challenge to focus more on this being a time of prayer in my mind vs. a pity party for all the food I can't eat or how tired I am in the morning because I can't have caffeine. This fast has really made me think about how I respond to the circumstances in front of me in general. Do I have enthusiasm and joy like I did the first week when I accepted what was in front of me and made the best of it? Or...do I grumble inside and lose focus like the second week of this fast? I think God wants us to take our circumstances and make the most of them. It says in Thessalonians 5:16-18: ¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. As the final days are here, I am so thankful for the special connection that I feel with God right now and for this time to refocus.

5 more days

I'm very impressed that Jon passed up cake on a stick - that sounds awesome! I was faced with my Achilles' heel in terms of food last night -- Carrabba's bread/oil and red wine. Saying no really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The one part that I've enjoyed most about the fast is the opportunity to mention the trip to people. I have lots of client lunches so it's inevitable that they'll ask me what's going on when I order strange things. I think that talking about mission trips is a great way for God to plant a seed in their heart for His plans for them.
We only have 4 more weeks until our trip!!! I can't wait to scoop those little angels into my arms!

14 Days Down, 7 To Go

We are in the home stretch people. Just wanted to give you some thoughts about my experience so far.

So, this being my third year into it, like I said before, I thought this was going to be a breeze. I even remember thinking on week 1, "This is a little too easy, I am not feeling challenged like I was in the past. God, what can I do to make this tougher so I can be more apt to turn to you?" Be careful what you ask for. I had a ROUGH couple of days last week. Thanks everyone for the prayer, and Carrie, that prayer you sent out was great. So I had a great week. Saturday I went to a sort of rehearsal dinner type thing, and they had Williamson Brothers catered, my favorite food, Sweetwater 420 in a keg, my favorite beer, and cake on a stick that you dip in chocolate icing, luckily I left before they whipped that out. That was tough. Then, Sunday was Father's Day, and all Molly wanted to do was fix me a special breakfast and dinner. We settled for smoothies for the 14th day in a row and dinner was veggie burgers, baked sweet potato chips, and fruit salad. I am now as we speak sitting on a plane going to Philadelphia, where I will be with vendors for two days. This is going to be tough, just because I don't have the comforts of having my fridge close. Ashley, I am sure you can give me some advice on this.

Anyway, last week really did challenge me, and I went to Lord much more in prayer for strength. It was great, I feel much closer in my walk. I pray for you guys every day and hope you are all doing well. They are about to take my computer, we are landing, so I will talk to you guys later. Love you all!!!!

Jon

hmmm

I think it's safe to say that this has been the most unpleasant of my fasting experiences. It's not so much about the limited diet though, but I've just had more things happen to me during a fasting period than ever before - physically and emotionally. However, at the same time I have reached a place of clarity that I probably haven't had in a while because life has had me running left and right. And my appetite has returned (finally) so I won't be shriveling into nothing any time soon.

I'm a blogger

I'm blogging! I'm a blogger! Not that I was given any direction from my fellow team members, even after my cry for help last week -- but I'll let it slide since we're all starving. I must admit, even as a pescatarian (vegetarian that eats fish) I have really been struggling with my energy level, headaches (we're allowed to take medicine, right?) and stomach issues (I'll spare you the details). One meal I have made that was a treat -- and didn't seem like "fast" food -- was whole grain penne pasta -- sauted onions, spinach and tomatoes with olive oil & garlic. Keep the faith!

Week 1

WEEK 1:

Opening thoughts:
looking forward to the fast and not too worried about it. I’m pretty good at enduring pain so I kinda look at this like a long workout/training day or a long race. I know it’ll be tough, just got power through it. I do want to go into this with an open mind and an open heart, because I do want to hear and see what god will be saying and showing me during the fast.

Mon:
Wow, our first day and I already had my first insight: clearly God intended for me to have caffeine. Didn’t really eat a lot today, had some snacks but skipped breakfast and lunch mostly just lack of planning… Headaches start in the afternoon. I didn’t think caffeine withdrawal would start on the first day!

Tues/Wed:
Ate better today but headaches are still there and they're pretty bad...

Thurs/Fri:
No headaches. Feeling great now, body is pretty much adjusted, now it’s time for World Cup!

Sat:
I started out thinking today would be pretty tough. Not gonna lie it would be nice to have a cold beer while watching the USA/England game. But it wasn’t bad at all. Went to watch the game with some buddies, they had BBQ, sandwiches, cold beer etc… So of course they gave me some grief when I walked in with a bag of veggies, hummus, and strawberry/kiwi fruit drink. But really wasn’t nearly as tough as I thought it would be.

Sun:
Getting into a pretty good groove now and feelin good.

Closing thoughts:
This was definitely tougher than I thought it would be but now that my body has adapted I feel good. I also think my initial mindset wasn’t right. I don’t think that just powering through the pain and not thinking about it is what God wanted me to experience. What I’ve seen this week is that I think God wants this to be about moment to moment faith for me so I really am trying to look to God every time I feel an urge or pain rather than just ignore it.

1/3 of the way there!

One week down, two more to go! Despite being surrounded by candy, cookies, and coffee each day, I've stuck to the fast! I made some of Laura's "breakfast cookies" and they were pretty good. Maybe too good -- Will and I have eaten almost all of them and I just made them last night.

I got a letter in the mail on Friday from Brightpoint - they sent me a letter that Yon had written me (Yon is the boy I sponsor monthly). It was great encouragement and it's exciting to know that I'll get to see all the kids in just 6 weeks!

I'm really tired of brown rice already. And almonds. And oatmeal. This does not bode well for the next two weeks or so...I've got to start on Laura's recipes quick. Hang in there, you guys!

One Down...

In the past when I've taken part in a personal or corporal fast I fare well the first day, am hit hard the second and third days, and then level off for the remainder of the fast. This one has not started like I had anticipated at all. I got a headache in the morning that refused to leave even with ibuprofen. The first thing I ate was a banana (doubly ironic because I don't like bananas and this particular one was from Guatemala). While I didn't mind the restricted diet, I could never quite get full and everyone around me at work seemed to be particularly demanding. I felt less than half myself and the work load had doubled.

On a positive note, I was able to focus exceptionally well during my prayer / Bible study times. I started reading a book called "God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life" by Ray Comfort, but don't let the title fool you. It's not what you might think.

You can get it for FREE here...

One final thought before bed:  I enjoyed the retreat and the opportunity to hear everyone's testimonies and gain a better grasp of who you all are.  I had fun with you guys. Thank you Jon & Mistye for your leadership.

I feel like a bird....

a really tired bird...full of nuts and berries....

the day was a little more difficult than I'd anticipated. It started out with a bang, a delicious smoothie and then I had to run my kids around to tennis, vbs, and get some errands run. Before I knew it, I hadn't eaten and I was famished! I managed to hold strong.

I bought the Daniel study by Beth Moore. Tried to get into it tonight and realized that I need some sort of CD to go with it? or DVD? soooooo, if anyone has it, I'd love to borrow it!

I'm praying for each one of you. You guys rock!

Daniel Fast off to a good start

I've had more fruit today than I have in the past 3 weeks combined! The Daniel Fast is a fairly easy transition for vegetarians although I'm definitely missing my coffee and sweets. If Starbucks' stock drops in the next 3 weeks then I know why.
Thanks to Mistye and Jon for an amazing team retreat!

First Breakfast

So I went to Trader Joe's last night to get soy yogurt, but couldn't find any without artificial flavoring. So, here is the new recipe I used for my smoothie, and it was delicious. This makes two decent sized smoothies or one big smoothie.

2 cups frozen strawberries
1 banana chopped up
1/3 cup of OJ
1 1/2 cups soy milk

Blend for 1 minute

Yum!!! Praying for you guys.

Retreat Ends, Daniel Fast Begins

So I am sitting in my kitchen, talking to my wife about our awesome retreat, and cooking brown rice and black beans. I am so excited for the weeks ahead, knowing full well the challenge we are facing. I am so excited because I know I have 10 other prayer warriors out there (including my wife and Erin Witcher) in this with me. Thank you guys so much for such an awesome weekend, thanks for being so open and honest and transparent so we could get to know each other so much better. We have such a great team, and God is going to do some much with us, through us, and in us from now until we get back, and beyond.

One quick Milky Way Dark bar, finish cooking, then off to bed to get this thing started. Talk to you guys soon.

Jon