We’re getting close to the end

3 more days! Unfortunately for me, 2 of those are weekend days. And one of those weekend days is my son’s 4th birthday party. SHESSH! Talk about a challenge! But, I am raising the bar for these last few days. I have been trying to do a 30 minute (Shakeology, The 30) workout 3-4 times a week during the fast. I am not sure I made my goal – I didn’t keep very good track of my workouts. Having said that, I would bet I didn’t! :) I intended to do it yesterday, but it was a snow day for the schools, so my schedule was messed up. I did shovel the front porch, the front sidewalk, and about ¼ of the driveway, plus played outside in the snow with the kiddos for an hour! And, I have already loaded up the DVD and pressed play for today - even did ALL of the push ups! So, I am challenging myself to do Shakeology The 50 (a 50 minute workout) for the next two days. Saturday and Sunday. Plus, sticking to the fast. I know it can be done. I just have to pray, and be committed. So – Hold me to it! I’m going to finish strong!

Momma said there’d be days like this…

Remember those tests I mentioned in the last post? Well, God threw a good one my way the last 24 hours. Luckily, nervous energy and excitement kept hunger at bay – I didn’t really eat much of anything the last 24 hours so the fasting was easy. But I prayed! BOY! Did I pray! And late last night, I listened. And early this morning, I listened harder and longer than I have in a long time. God showed me his answer a couple of hours ago.

Dreams are a funny thing. I used to tell my husband that I didn’t really dream about bigger and better and more because I would never have it anyway, so why bother. My husband is a dreamer. In the best way! He always has plans and dream and schemes to share with me! I love his outlook and his energy. Me? I’m more “practical.” But, over the past 5 years of our relationship, I have learned the value, and the FUN in dreaming – big bold dreams. I read Steven Furtick’s book “Sun Stand Still” and he calls it audacious faith. Finding that thing God leads you to that gives you a spark, then going for it! Craig Groeschel said in his message last week “You do what you can do. And trust God w/ the rest.” I did what I could do. Now it’s up to God.

And my dreams…

One week to go :/

I remember reading a post somewhere (Facebook, I think – on the OKC LifeChurch page, maybe) on the first day of the fast where someone new to the Daniel fast asked what the hardest day was.  A few people said day 3 (which was a good day for me) and some said the last few.  I even had a dear friend text me on day 3 and tell me day 3 was always her hardest.  My husband shared this with me this morning from his 21 day reading plan at youversion.com that corresponds with the fast: Even though you may feel like you're in a groove now, for many this final week will be harder than the others. Ask God to search you and begin to shine a light on all the dark corners of your heart. Ask Him to use this last week to refine you and cleanse you.  I’m almost frustrated that he shared that with me.  Power of suggestion seems to go a long way with me.  Now that I’ve read that, I already have it in my head that this week is going to be tough. 

But, if someone asked ME what my hardest day was, I would have to say WEEKENDS!  When I am at work during the week, there is no food around (typically) besides what I bring with me and I have a cold water dispenser in my office.  So, my work environment is easy to control.  All 3 of my kids eat breakfast and lunch at their respective schools, so I don’t even have to prepare other food in the mornings.  I have my Shakeology for breakfast, and come home for lunch with my Daniel fasting husband.  So, it’s just dinner that we have to really put a lot of thought into.  We have been making 2 dinner meals, one for us and one for the kids.  Again, not too much of a struggle.  But on the weekends, it’s all kids all the time and all food all the time.  And it's not just about the food.  They demand (and require, and I fully want to give) more of my time and attention - and PATIENCE!  We have a 3 year old boy that is a bottomless pit and his favorite foods are pizza, Doritos, Cheetos and Cheez-its.  And twin 8 year old girls who eat much better than our son does, but still love to have candy and snacks around all the time.  While they have been very good and very supportive of our time, we have tried to make their food lives comfortable for them as well.  We usually eat “out” after church on Sundays – for a many reasons; most of which relate to speed or convenience. Yesterday, that turned into a trip to Little Caesars for a $5 pizza, and they wanted “Silly Bread (Crazy Bread) and sauce too.  I smelled that all the way home.  And was SO JEALOUS!  Add to that the Donuts served at church at the 8:30 service, the granola bars, oatmeal to go bars and blueberry muffins at the 10:00 and 11:30, and yesterday was a HARD day for me!  (We were Host Team leaders for all 3 services, so we were at church all morning.)  There was still left-over pizza at dinner time, and I was ready to quit.  But, I prayed, turned to my fabulous husband for support, and persevered.  ONE MORE WEEKEND TO GO!

Reflecting on that, I realize that I really do need to turn it all over to God.  This is His design and His plan, I’m just enjoying the journey.  There will be times in my life when I am tested for many reasons, and passing this test just goes to show me that I CAN DO IT!  I’m not alone.  I have God on my side, Jesus to pray to, my husband to keep me grounded, and my blog world to pour it all out to!  AMEN!