DAY ONE

Hi! It's Kelly.

This all sort of started back in February, when Lent SHOULD have started for me, but because of our recent trip to Israel, and because I wanted to experience all of the cultural foods etc, I decided not to observe Lent this year. Around Easter week, I decided I needed to do something beginning after Easter...something extreme...something very difficult. Clinging to my Starbucks gift cards and tea cup, I decided to tell my friend, Kristin, that I felt God was calling me to fast for 40 days. Since I recently finished Beth Moore's "Daniel" study, that's kinda been on my mind. Maybe that's how I came up with this fanatical idea, maybe it's not, but regardless, I told Kristin that I would be doing a "Daniel Fast" for 40 days beginning the day after Easter.

After hearing about this, Kristin forced me into reading Jen Hatmaker's "Seven," and "Interrupted", which I obliged since she let me borrow her Kindle. :) I have to say, if you can read, you should read these two books. They will MESS YOU UP!

Kristin decided to join me in this fast (which I am MORE THAN THANKFUL for)! I have to tell you. I am going into this fast reluctantly, obediently. I have some things going on in my life that I need to be in FAITHFUL and persistent prayer about, and THIS is the way God is beckoning me into this kind of prayer life.

So, here's a run-down of my DAY ONE:
~Jump out of bed (yeah, right)
~Go downstairs to make my hot WATER (normally I have TWO cups of tea before the kids even get out of BED).
~Slice up an apple and reheat some pinto beans for breakfast. (Go with it...beans? They're not just for dinner anymore!)
~Remind yourself NOT to snack on all the carbs you're feeding your children for breakfast.
~Shopping trip to my nemesis...WALMART.
~My shopping cart was 3/4 full. I had three things of snack for the kids, orange juice, milk, a chuck roast, a roaster chicken and the REST was VEGGIES.
~My daughter said (on the way home, and with slight disdain in her voice), "Mom? WHY did we buy all this HEALTHY stuff?" (I'm a horrible mom)
~LUNCH. Sauteed (in olive oil) butternut squash, and sliced avocado with salt.
~My usual afternoons have me drinking another cup or two of tea. Hot water with Lemon instead.
~Took a field trip with the kids to the Pet Store. Passed a Starbucks and literally almost cried.
~Dinner. Ratatouille and "Crash Hot Potatoes" from the Pioneer Woman. She is my hero.
~Run.
~In the evenings, I usually enjoy a glass of red wine. I "enjoyed" a glass of water instead, all the while craving that Easter candy that's staring me in the face from the top of the fridge.

It's taunting me.
It's calling to me.
...beckoning my name.

I will not be mastered by you, candy. I will not.

SO!
What are the "rules"?

DANIEL FAST RULES:
NO MEAT.
NO DAIRY (not even butter, folks)
NO BREADS (although, depending on the web searches you do, you CAN eat unleavened breads, but since these breads have so many "extras" in them, and since I have no idea where to FIND unleavened breads and since I'm pretty sure I don't live within an hour radius of the nearest Jewish grocery, I'm just going to stick to "no bread.")
NO SUGAR (artificial or real)

What CAN we eat?
ANY vegetable or fruit
Nuts (assuming they're not plastered with sugar and all that junk that comes on "candied nuts")
Beans.
Water.

That was Day one in the proverbial nutshell for me.