Lenting...

During this time of year many people begin giving up things, chocolate, soda (fizzy drink), tv, facebook, movies, spending money on useless things, ice cream, junk food, and any other variety of things people give up for lent...

This year I have decided to proceed with the Daniel Fast for my lent journey. No, I am not Catholic and I do not believe that Lent is something that should be only for religious reasons. I am partaking in Lent this year because I desire further clarity in my life. Recently, I have noticed the quantity of junk or unnecessary items I place within my body by way of food consumption.

Why you ask am I choosing to give up dairy, proceed foods, white bread, meat and anything else I would usually eat on a daily basis? Simple...

Daniel 1:1-21

¹ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹²“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Now I am not necessarily asking that God provide dreams and wisdom that he gave to Daniel but I am on a journey of discovery. I want to seek God's will for my life and give Him space to work in me. There are several things in my life that I need help with, things I need clarity on, things that only God may give me an answer to, and things I hope to be challenged with.

So, for the next 46 days I will be on a fruits, vegetables, and water fast. Throughout my fasting time I hope to look at how this fast will affect me mentally, physically, spiritually, socially, and financially. I am going to try and update this on a regular basis throughout Lent to keep track on my own progress but also to be able to have a record of the peaks or valleys or both. Plus, I can post really fun recipes on here for the things I have created. The link at the end of this post is a link to a Daniel Fast website, so if you would like to take a look, feel free and enjoy! :)

THE JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP OR IN MY CASE A TUMMY FULL OF PANCAKES, It has been a wonderful "PANCAKE DAY" in the Republic of Ireland.

http://www.daniel-fast.com/