This week goes more smoothly

Today is certainly going much more smoothly than last week in regards to my fasting. A week ago Wednesday was a difficult fast...

It began by exposing my self-centeredness. As i was dishing up my breakfast -the final meal before my 24-hr fast- I found myself thinking, "I should load it on, really make a BIG breakfast so I can get through the day." Almost as quickly as the thought arrived, I realized how I was trying to manipulate my fast. Here I am one my second day of fasting and I am trying to figure out how to make it easier... Before my fast even began my selfishness and manipulating was exposed. It does not feel good being exposed. thankfully God was gentle with me.

The day progressed and sometime mid-afternoon I began to feel my head pound. It wasn't a migraine or anything that bad but it was there constantly. For a while every pound seemed to shout, "A little food would take care of this Bill. Go ahead, you don't feel well. Surely that would be ok?"

I did drink extra water and fruit juice to make sure I was hydrated. It didn't stop until I went to sleep... I never did figure out what caused my headache, maybe it was just a touch by God reminding me I was sacrificing something?

I did find myself wondering at times how people do it who are undernourished or who do not have access to enough clean drinking water? Certainly they experience headaches and other maladies, and they are not going to each 3 square meals the next day!

Keep teaching me, Lord.

Eyes in the wrong direction...

I woke this morning and immediately recognized it as a fasting Wednesday. My internal reactions were surprising. Almost immediately I began thinking about not eating for 24-hrs. I mean I could have thought about the 2 special times of prayer I would have with sisters and brothers in my church. I could have thought about extra time I have to spend with the Lord, but no I thought about not eating...

I thought about what I was thinking about and I realized that I had my eyes focused in the wrong direction, but I couldn't will myself to change. The harder I tried the more I seemed to focus on the fasting... not a great start to the day.

Food as habit 2...

So last night I got home late again and walked in the door about 5 minutes before my wife. After doing a little of this and a little of that (reading mail, responding to texts, listening to voicemails we opted to watch a little TV before bed.

Susan grabbed a later dinner and since I ate dinner at church I grabbed a little ice cream as dessert.

Now Friday morning it hit me, I immediately fell back into my pattern of eating while watching TV! Wasn't it just yesterday I blogged about how much of my eating is programmed...

Yup it is, last night confirms my suspicions.

Seem like you are teaching things already, Lord...

Where is the energy???

Thursday morning I woke as usual and broke my 24-hour fast with my simple breakfast of fruit and yogurt. It was nice to eat. I didn't feel overly hungry, but I didn't have my usual zip either.

I felt it immediately at the gym. Cardio came first and I had very little to give. I had no reservoir to draw from.

I thought how can people who are malnourished do it? How do they get up day after day and work to feed themselves and their families? If after 24 hours I feel it? How does a malnourished mother or father provide for the children? How does a malnourished child survive.

This was another of those 'hmmmm' moments...

Food as habit...

I got home about 8:00pm after a long day and had some bills I needed to pay. About 9ish I sat down on the couch to connect with my wife and maybe watch a dvr TV show together. No sooner had I plopped down and I thought, what shall I munch on?

How much of my eating is 'programmed?!' ... sit in front of the TV and get out some munchies.

I am only 14 hours into my first fast and I am seeing how much control food has in my life. Hmmmm...

Helps for fasting

One of our church elders compiled some helpful tips on fasting. Her primary references were two websites. If you ever want to fast, these websites offer some helpful hints, both spiritual and practical.

7 Basic Steps to Successful Fasting and Prayer by Bill Bright and Bible.com article, “What does the Bible say About ...Fasting?” I found them helpful.

Richard Foster has excellent material on fasting in his classic best seller, Celebration of Discipline (Harper and Row, 1978). And another helpful book is John Piper, A Hunger for God (Crossways Books. 1997). The subtitle is: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer.

Driving from the gym...

The drive from my gym to my office is maybe 8 minutes, less than 2 miles. I generally pop on the local ESPN radio station to catch up on my sports. March Madness, Spring training updates and the Peyton Manning watch are all things I want to keep up to date on...

Bummer, my drive time was during a commercial break! I couldn't believe how many vividly described food commercials there were...

I caught myself picturing the melted cheese something-or-other sandwich Mike Golic was hawking...

Thoughts tumbled around my head like clothes in a dryer... Would I have even noticed this add if I weren't fasting today? It is amazing how many commercials are for food. We live in a society enamored by food...

I still haven't fasted one morsel, and I am already seeing things about myself and my world I would normally miss. This should be an interesting 6 weeks.