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.