Eric's Blog

How Not to Break a Fast

This is a easy one. Don't do what I did. I normally drink a lot of water but since I had only water and juice for 21 days I had my Mountain Dew for lunch and tea for supper. I had nothing else to drink all day. With that in mind here is what happened to me on Monday...

I had a great lunch from Blimpie's with a Mountain Dew. For dinner we were meeting with Shane and Kelly about the launch of our youth ministry. (More on that in later post.) We had already decided to have chinese from Hard Wok in Liberty. We did not know they are closed on Monday's so we decided to order a pizza meal from Domino's which included Cinna Stixs and Buffalo Kickers.

Needless to say that was not the right thing to break a fast with. I was up half the night with a upset stomach which carried over into the morning. So much for not having an upset stomach for three weeks during the fast. With that said here are a few tips on the right way to break a fast...

• Continue to drink plenty of water.
• Don't overeat.
• Continue eating what you were eating during the Daniel Fast and make small food substitutions for one meal.
• Break the fast over several days. I just found that out!
• Introduce other foods slowly by eating small amounts.
• Don't eat chicken kicker's with blue cheese dressing.

Hope this helps. For more information on the Daniel Fast go here.

Day 21

Alisha speaking...

It is hard to put into words all the emotions that I feel after tonight's worship service.  I think that everyone who chose not to come missed out on an important opportunity to hear what God has done in our lives.  It was amazing to hear how many people thought their walk with God was ok only to realize through the fast that it wasn't.  I know that the deeper you get into God's Word and the more you really listen to what He has to say about life the more you understand about who you are and where you are in His kingdom.  It is healthy to reflect on your relationship with God - the unhealthy thing is to just assume everythings ok only to realize too late that it isn't.

This 21 day fast is only the beginning.  God is moving at New Life.  He is changing our hearts and minds and calling us into a deeper, fuller relationship with Him.  It is no longer going to be ok to just "maintain" or to be part of the "status quo" - God wants us to be different to reach out to those who are sick, broken and hurting.  He put us here for a reason and now that this particular fast is over we turn our hearts towards the next adventure....

Alisha

BTW...it's 12:09 and I'm going to have some tea...I've waited 3 weeks for this and I'll thank God for it with every sip!! :)

Day 19

Alisha speaking...

Well by my calculations we have 6 more meals to go until the end of the fast...only 6 more.  I know that I am not the only one excited about that!  Monday morning I will see you at McDonalds!  This really has been an amazing experience mainly because it has taught me so much about myself and my thoughts towards food.  You never know how much you think about certain things until you can't have them.  God brings these sort of things into our lives at the perfect times.  I am finally getting my thyroid under control and I am getting my thoughts about food and what I need/don't need under control.  I am learning more and more to rely on God for everything everyday!!

On a wonderful note - Katie started crawling yesterday!  It was the sweetest thing to see because she has been moving around already - scooting herself backwards, sideways, etc.  She also loves to "walk" holding your hands but she has never actually crawled forward!!  She was sitting in the floor and mom and I walked past her, which made her cry, so we scooted down and held our hands out to her and she just crawled!  We were so excited!!

Have a great weekend!

Alisha

Top 5 Foods I Miss During the Daniel Fast

I can't believe our Daniel Fast is almost over. After it is over I will be writing about some things I have learn through the last 3 weeks. Here is a list of the top 5 foods/drinks I have missed during the Daniel Fast:

1. Cheese: cheese on my salad, cheese on my baked potato, cheese, cheese, cheese,
2. Chocolate: I love chocolate. There is a Hersey's kiss in my drawer in the office and every time I open my draw it stares at me. Monday you are mine.
3. Mountain Dew: I don't drink a lot of soda but when I do I want a Dew.
4. Taco Bell: Need I say more!!!
5. Chicken: I want some chicken wings with some ranch and blue cheese.

Honorable Mention: I am looking forward to going to the new Starbucks in Clemson next week. Anyone want to go with me?

I have to stop. My mouth is starting to water. What foods/drinks have you missed during the fast?

Day 17

Alisha speaking...

Hello everyone...

Only 4 more days and the fast will be complete.  It is kinda hard to believe that we have gone almost 21 days without the foods and drinks (McDonald's Sweet Tea, anyone??) that we think we can't live without.  I know personally, it has been crazy without tea, mainly because I sip on it all day.  The food hasn't been so bad, I don't mind going meatless - but it has been a struggle on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking or when things are so busy that it's 9 before you put food on the table.  Those nights, it would have been nice to drive out to Taco Bell and let them cook us dinner!

All I know is that when this fast is over, I will have accomplished several things.  I think that  I will have overcome the thought that I "had to have" tea, I will be able to cook a little healthier now that I have several new recipes, and I know that I will be closer to God.  I'll explain more after Sunday.  This has been a great adventure, as I've been calling it, one where I am being forced to confront myself and separate the needs from the wants. 

How has the fast affected you? your family?  I pray that this has been more than just not eating certain things to you, if it hasn't though, you will have at least gained discipline over your thoughts and body, if it is more, then I don't have to tell you all that you've gained. 

Alisha

Day 16

Alisha speaking...

What a game!  Did anyone see Clemson pull out an overtime win vs. Wake Forest tonight?  How exciting!  I didn't get to see the final few minutes because I was at the grocery store but I was thrilled to hear they won!  Go Tigers!!

Now that I have that out of my system, Eric found a fantastic website for fasting last night.  I spent some time on it today and it had a lot of great tips and suggestions for making sure the fast is a success.  With only 5 days left, it will be easy to go ahead and sneak some 'no-no' food, but this will give you some added motivation!  They have recipes and cookbook for sale - downloadable for $9.  The website is http://danielfast.wordpress.com/   Spend some time reading the blog - Susan Gregory has a lot of good stuff to say! 

Hope it helps!  Alisha

Daniel Fast: Day 15

Alisha speaking...

Today started the week of prayer focused on ourselves and I'll be honest it was a hard day.  I think that too often we start asking God for things without taking the time to come clean before Him, repent for not doing the things He's told us, or simply just not taking the time to get closer to Him.  Today, before I prayed for God's favor on my life, I repented for past mistakes and took time to just talk to God.  It is so amazing how a God who created the universe, loves me so much that He would want to take the time to talk to me.  This is going to be a powerful week.  I am so excited about this journey that we have been on together.  What has God spoken to you about these last 15 days?  What assignment has He given you?  How is your life going to be changed? 

Today we prayed for favor.  When the favor of God truly rests on you, people will be drawn to you, and drawn to Him.  What will our answer be when they ask why we're different?  Let God speak to you these final days of the fast.  Let Him share His vision for your life.  I promise it is so much more than you could ever imagine....

Alisha

Day 14

Alisha speaking...

Hello everyone!  What a Sunday!  Great service this morning and a great GroupLink tonight!  Can't believe how fast the day went by.  We had that 15 bean soup for dinner tonight.  It is really good but I think I put too many potatoes in it this time!!  This is going to be great soup after the fast when we can have it with cornbread!!  I definitely have some new ideas about cooking now.  It will be great having the soups, spaghetti, salads later when we can put stuff on them!  If you haven't tried fasting with us, I challenge you to do it.  Give me a call and I'll give you some of the best recipes I've found - you could easily live this week on them!

I did find some tortilla chips and salsa we're eating as snack food now.  The chips are organic corn, sunflower oil and sea salt, the salsa is all natural.  There is also some great veggie chips out there - 3 different kinds - same bag - potato, tomato, and spinach.  Don't knock'um till you try them!  Seth really likes them and he don't like "matos!"

This week is big breakthrough week for all of us.  We've prayed for the church, for others and now we turn the focus on ourselves.  What is it that God wants to say to you?  Are you ready to listen? 

Alisha

Day 12

Alisha speaking...

Hello everyone!  What a great day today has been.  I know that we are getting kinda tired of baked potatoes and salads but I was thinking today as I was eating lunch.  When was the last time I was really thankful for everything that I have to eat?  We say our prayers before we eat (Thank you for our food Amen) but sometimes it's done out of habit more than actually thinking about it. Right now, when I'm not able to eat certain things, it brought to my attention just how blessed I am to be able to have something to eat everyday that I either fix or run somewhere to pick up.  It made me realize too that all those times I have "nothing" to eat, there is always something in the fridge, I just need to take the time to fix it. 

I had dinner tonight with one of my best friends from high school.  She always makes me laugh and we laughed so hard we cried tonight.  One of the greatest things about having friends like that is when life gets crazy, you have someone to call.  I thought about that coming home tonight too - I am so thankful for my family, my friends, my church....God has blessed me beyond measure in so many ways. 

We are heading into the third and final week of the fast...which is a good thing...but I want to make sure I make this last week count.  After all this is said and done, I don't want to forget how grateful I am for all God has blessed me with.

Alisha

Day 11

Alisha speaking...

Hello all...not too much to say today.  I am very excited that we are over the halfway point of the fast.  Not that I'm not enjoying everything, but I am making plans when the fast is over to meet at the new Starbucks in Clemson for some coffee...or even better...McDonald's - nothing beats their sweet tea!! Any new recipes for the fast?

Alisha