What did I make it through, you ask?
My "Marathon Starbucks Coffee Date" with my dear friend, Melissa
(Hi, Melissa!)
What is this date I speak of?
Melissa and I and two other friends (who couldn't make it today because one of them went to the beach with her family, and the other has been in preterm labor with twins and is now on bed rest. And, if you're a pray-er, please lift my friend, Bethany, and her twin boys up! She is 24 weeks) all drive roughly 2 hours to "meet in the middle" for coffee roughly once a year.
It's what we do.
Don't judge.
We meet at Starbucks.
For the record, I passed at LEAST six Starbucks (Starbuxes?) on the way to my destination Starbucks of choice. I did not stop. I only teared up once. I stayed strong.
Breakfast for me was this:
...Okay, hold that thought. I have a confession to make. I have been eating...dum, dum, dum....HONEY. The verdict has been out on this one, and this is why. I know it's "RAW" honey that I'm eating. Au naturale. Nothing added. Not processed either.
Here's the bad part:
I have been eating honey to get my sugar fix. Man. I'm disappointed. I've been cheating slightly. I know. You grace givers out there are just waiting to build me up and encourage me, and please, feel free to, but here's the deal: My intentions are not right. So, from here on out, HONEY is also on my "black list." To my defense, I bought it Friday when I went to the Organic Market, so I've only been cheating for one day. I'm just trying to be transparent here. It's what I do.
Okay, back to breakfast. My "not-so famous" tea. A couple spoonfuls of Natural Peanut Butter and honey.
What did I get at my destination Starbucks (my own personal purgatory for the day)? A bottle of Ethos water, and a Bottle of Odwalla berry juice. I sat in Starbucks for a good hour and a half. No coffee.
LUNCH? We went to Ruby Tuesday, where I ordered the three veggie and salad bar "vegan" girl's dream lunch: Snap peas, green beans, a plain baked potato and this fantastic salad. I will now quote myself at lunch: "You know, when you strip veggies down to their singular form, they actually have a lot of flavor!" Who knew that potatoes were tasty WITHOUT butter, sour cream, chives, more butter, and a sprinkling of bacon (if you're into bacon, which I'm not)?!
THEN, guess what! We went BACK TO STARBUCKS! We sat there for another hour and a half. I had: Odwalla Orange Juice!
On the two hour drive home, I was seriously tired. I was trying to convince myself that I was so tired that I needed to stop at one of the two more Starbucks I passed, but YOU, dear blog family, helped me stay focused! I just didn't want to disappoint you twice in one day.
DINNER: One can of black beans topped with my new FAV, corn salad (Pioneer Woman recipe below), and some of that organic salsa I bought the other day. It was FAB!
So, overall, it was a great day! I had some great conversations with God in the car, spent some time in worship and repentance, and found out that I actually DO have self control! (wink, wink) And, now for another test, tomorrow we are grilling out burgers and dogs for our small group cookout (sidenote: Did you know they sell antibiotic and hormone free frozen burger patties? Well, they DO! I bought them! Because I CARE about our small group! And, if I could taste one, I would definitely let you know if they rock or not!)
Pioneer Woman's CORN SALAD:
8 ears of corn (grilled)
1 red onion (grilled-do not let get mushy...just blacken the sides)
1 red bell pepper (same directions as the onion)
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/2c olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
12 chopped basil leaves
1 tsp kosher salt
While you're grilling the veggies, stir the other ingredients together.
cut corn off the cob.
chop onion and pepper.
Stir veggies together in large bowl
Add dressing, stir and eat the entire bowl in one sitting if you please.
8 ears of corn (grilled)
1 red onion (grilled-do not let get mushy...just blacken the sides)
1 red bell pepper (same directions as the onion)
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/2c olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
12 chopped basil leaves
1 tsp kosher salt
While you're grilling the veggies, stir the other ingredients together.
cut corn off the cob.
chop onion and pepper.
Stir veggies together in large bowl
Add dressing, stir and eat the entire bowl in one sitting if you please.
So, here's the deal. Today was tough. Real tough. I man-powered my way through it, but I really didn't go to God with my food struggles. I need to remember to do that! For cryin' out loud! I'm giving up food groups to remind me to go to HIM for what I need!
So I googled Daniel Fast and came across this link, which says that whilr all foods on the fast are whole, not all all whole foods are on the fast. It specifies no honey. I've been reading the blog but I'm not educated enough on how you are deviating or what source you are using to guide you to know if this answers the honey question. once my medical issue is over and I can concentrate on nourishing my spirit without health concerns, I plan to follow your lead. http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/
ReplyDeleteHey, Jen! First of all, let me THANK YOU for doing your homework on the Daniel fast!!! Way to go! Yes, OUR fast is a "souped up" version of the Daniel fast. When you research "Daniel Fast," you will find that Daniel probably DID eat things like unleavened breads and rices and grains. The reason "all foods on the fast are whole, not all whole foods are on the fast" is because Daniel (and his boys) were convicted not to eat the foods that the Babylonian king had prepared. The foods that were prepared for the king would have been "unclean" foods according the the strict dietary guidlines that God set up for His people in Leviticus, therefore, Daniel (and friends) decided to only eat the foods that they knew would be "clean" so they would not defile themselves. WE have also decided to omit grains, wheat etc because I personally needed to do something to really challenge myself. I knew that I would just replace meats and dairy with breads galore, and that would defeat the purpose of my fast. Jesus is the Bread of Life, after all! I don't even need bread when I cling to that hope! So, to answer your question, we did not really go into this with a lot of research under our belts about the Daniel fast, but more in the attitude of worship and trying to follow God's call. We're glad we seem to have helped motivate you to eat healthier!!! Grace and Peace, Kelly
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