The Daniel Fast

The church that I attend for the past few years has encouraged the Daniel Fast for 3 weeks in January. I have never participated. I actually have never fasted before unless it was for a surgery or blood test. I didn't quite understand why we should do one ~ other than it says to in the bible. But this year I decided I would. I wanted my New Years resolutions to be guided by God and I really want to grow this year, spiritually. The first week I found out I must be WAY addicted to my caffeine! Lordy Lordy the headaches were intense on days 2 and 3. I kinda went through a lull in energy at that time as well. But I kept at it. When I started the fast I committed to spend a certain time each day with the Lord, reading his work and praying. That was going well. I must have expected a lot that first week because I was pretty disappointed. I didn't think I was necessarily hearing more from God. I did see a few evidences of his work that were direct answers to prayer, but I really must have expected more. Then I began to wonder, "Am I doing this right?", "Could I somehow be screwing this up". So I got out my papers about the fast and went over them again, even read a little bit in Daniel looking for something. I got nothing. The only thing I could figure is that I was being strict enough. So I focused a little harder.

During the latter part of that first week I did notice my energy was coming back. Good. I noticed that I was getting full quicker - even with the seemingly limited food items we can eat. I also noticed I was actually feeling hunger. Not anything that would cause me to cave ~ just a hunger to let me know it was getting close to the next meal time. But that hunger did and does prompt me to pray or to take a minute to read a bit of scripture. That's a real good thing. There are other things too ~ I have noticed I am not craving food NEAR like I usually do. I am feeling much more calm and a lot LESS stressed. Okay are you ready for the LIGHT BULB MOMENT? God had to show me rather than speak to me ~ why because I have reached a point that I don't listen very well. One of my focuses (resolutions) this year is on Health. He is showing me that I am not feeding my body as He intended and that there is a lot I am giving it thinking I "need" it and I really don't. These things cause me to be tense and increase stress. He showed me that I was feeding my body emptiness. When I feed it the right kind of food there is more satisfaction, less cravings, and ultimately less eating. I have lost 10 pounds so far. I totally did not expect this. When I go off of this Daniel fast my "normal" way of eating will be changed. It won't be the Daniel Fast but it will be more wholesome, more thoughtful.

With the ease that I am going about my day I have noticed I am nicer, less grumpy. This significantly helps my interactions with people, especially my family. Another one of my focuses this year is on relationships.

Additionally, I am not spending money on eating out. I am not missing it all. In fact my husband and I have even had a few conversations about our finances that have not ended in arguments. January is normally a hard month for us financially as we recoup from Christmas. We seem to be handling it very well and needing for nothing. Through our conversations we may even be making some progress in this area which by the way is another focus. Our finances.

So I am spending more time with God. I am praying more and praising more. When I have a concern I am really "giving" it to Him. This is all from the Fast.

He hasn't told me a darn thing - but boy has He SHOWN me a lot! As always I get excited when I know I am getting what God is trying to give me. I love knowing I am on the right track, His track.

Let me know what you think!

Lots of love,

D. J.

Happy New Year 2012!

Well the break from work was great! Time with family was great as well. Now we are 4 days into the new year, I am back at work, and life is pretty much back to normal.

So, did you make any New Year's Resolutions? I always do! I love making resolutions or a list of things I would like to accomplish for the new year. Last year I had 10 items. I totally succeeded at two of them and made GREAT strides in 6 others and two just didn't pan out. But I can assure you had I not made those goals to begin with I would not have had nearly the success in any area! This year I only made 5 hoping I would be more successful at 5 focuses rather than 10. Let me tell you what they are: 1) Health/Weight Loss, 2) Spiritual Growth 3) Financial Growth, 4)Relationships - starting with my hubby 5)Hmmmm, it seems I can't recall what this one it. Actually at this point, for this post it does not matter. I will check it tonight and update you on it in the next blog. What I want to state in this post was that as I work on all 5 of the goals....Wait - I remember #5! DeClutter and Organize!! Okay - now as I work on all 5 though I am not necessarily attacking each one of them individually. I am going to God first and foremost for all of these areas. That's the ULTIMATE change this year. I am NOT going to worry, I am NOT going to fear, I am NOT going to get emotional or stressed - - I am going to put all my trust in the Lord, I am going to seek him for correct actions, for direction, for assistance. I am doing this in journal - I am seeking him and also thanking him for his answers along the way. I am shocked by how active I already see God in my life. I am amazed at how people are acting differently around me! God is at work! I am so excited for this year. I hope you have made some resolutions - and I hope you will consider putting God at the head of each resolution. If you haven't made any, it's not too late. I hope to expand on my resolutions one by one as I continue to blog. The more we write about them and type about them and talk about them - the more successful we will be in achieving them!

Again, Happy New Year!

D. J.

Wishing God could just "comment" His response to me.

I am all about being real, being open...but sometimes it's just to raw, it's too revealing...it hurts, its an admission of imperfection and the lack of a perfect life. It's admitting that I am not all I wish I were at this point in my life. Why does it take so little sometimes to shake me. To shake my confidence in who God created me to be, to shake my confidence in the truth that God will take care of me in ALL WAYS for always. Today I really wish I could post on this blog a prayer to God and then read his response in the comments section. I need it to be that easy today.

Last night I was emotional - I tend to be more so at times than others. Last night was a more so. My hubby was doing something that really irritates me - nothing awful, just irritating. My little girl was being rather demanding and I decided I was tired of being the one to tell her no...and hubby didn't catch the hint so he didn't say no either. Long story short - she spilled her dinner and I had to get the shampooer out and clean up the mess...all while hubby kept doing his irritating thing. I yelled at Brandy. I yelled at her not because of the mess, but because I was mad at my husband for not helping out. As if that wasn't bad enough - it escalated between my husband and I from there. He said things I hope he didn't mean, I tried to communicate my frustrations which I think were not comprehended...ugh! I apologized to Brandy for yelling at her this morning. I told my husband that no matter how mad I got at him I would always love him and I would always fight for us. I hate it when we have arguments like that...hate it. They totally shake me to the core and I just can't grasp it all, I can't take it all in and figure it all out. I doubt myself, any confidence I had is shaky at best, and so I find myself struggling today to focus on anything. I would really like God to comment and say - "I am doing this (specifics here) and you need to do this (specifics) for today", "you don't need to worry about this (specific), I have got it taken care of", "Yes, I do love you, Yes, I do approve of the woman you are trying to become, Yes I am proud of you" Wouldn't that be nice? Thinking about it makes me smile.

But that's not how easy it is. I do have to focus on God's truth today. I do know that. His truths - He will never leave me or forsake me, His plans are to prosper me not to harm me, He blesses me with peace, He cares for me - He has brought me through rougher journeys than this day, journeys that lasted a LONG time, He is right here with me, I can trust Him with my heart, my hopes and my dreams. These are all his truths. I still wish it were a little easier, but for today I must do what I know to do and that is to ponder His truths. Today I must pray a little more, spend a little more time talking to God and a LOT more time listening for His response.

I love music. I love how it can express my feelings in a song someone else wrote. It's proof someone else has felt similar to how I feel. I am not alone. I also love quotes. My 17 year old daughter does too. So I tell her I am down today and need some quotes from her. She recommends that I listen to a song by Addison Road. It is a good song - good for me today...but I listen to their other songs - amazing! I love that my 17 year old can plug into music that grounds her in the Lord and His promises and she can recommend it to me. It's a blessing.

I choose to believe today that God is at work for my benefit because I love him. I believe He is blessing my husband, I believe He is speaking to me about my areas that need improvement - NEWS FLASH here - In marriage there is never only 1 person at fault, there is room for improvement on both sides. I believe God is bringing forgiveness and healing to both of us and to Brandy today. He is THAT GREAT!

I hope this helps you as you read this today!

Lots of love,

D. J.

God's Focus for the Holidays and New Year

My goodness I love the holidays. I can honestly say this year I am seeking to see, do and act as God would have me to in regard to the holidays. Thanksgiving is a no brainer! He has blessed us GREATLY this year and I have so much to be thankful for. Funny thing is I don't know if God has necessarily done more for me this year than in years past or if I have just been more aware this year of God's miraculous movements. I do believe I am just more aware. For whatever reason I know I am thankful because God has blessed us with healing, with survival, with comfort, with provision - in so many areas, with hope, with encouragement, with answers to prayers. I could write all day long on what God has done for me this year. I am sure you could too if you really sat down and pondered it. I am more aware this year of how active God is all around me - not just in my life and my family's life, but in the lives of those around me. It is just so cool!

My focus this Christmas is also changing. My source of joy is shifting. My joy used to be in the buying and giving of gifts. While I am still enjoying this the shift is in the quality of gifts rather than the quantity or dollar amount spent. More of my joy comes from the fact that the birth of Jesus gave us HOPE to last our entire time while here on earth. The birth saved us from a wretched future. The birth provided us with unselfish, unconditional and undeserved love for eternity! In years very recent past I have been very upset at the lack of funds to spend on Christmas. This year is probably our biggest year of lack of Christmas funds ever - but I have never been more content and more excited.

Then there is the new year! God has been planting the seeds, the glimpses of what my focuses are for this next year. I am excited. I am excited to be seeking Gods complete direction for my goals. Last year I chose my goals and then prayed Gods guidance and direction. This year taking it up a notch and letting God choose my goals - liberating!

Hope this causes you to ponder God today and His very real presence in your life and His very real desire to be a part of your planning.

Lots of love!

D. J.

Wow - it's been a while!

Wow has it been a while since I have blogged or what? Well this won't be too long but I do hope to get back into the habit of blogging weekly again starting now.

God is very much at work all around me right now. For the past few months He has been having me clean off my plate. I had a lot of good things on my plate...but you know what they say - Too much of a good thing can be bad. I was so over committed in so many good areas I have had to cut way back on things. It's hard. I try not to be deceived into thinking I have failed since I have had to pull back. The only mistake I made was trying to do too much. The cleaning of the plate has not been fun. It has been humbling and eye opening. I am finding now that I eager to see just how far and where God is going to take me on this journey. He is opening my eyes to what the future holds and it is quite exciting.

Let me tell you as well that God is STILL the master physician! Praise Him! Brandy is doing exceptionally well and this has been confirmed by tests. We are in shock and awe. Again, we are humbled as her parents. She has started school and so far it is going relatively well. No new breaks since February and only a couple of scares that have taken us to the ER. God is Good my friends - all the time!

So this is my ever so quick and brief update. There is more to come!

One more thing - as we enter this season of gratitude I encourage you to ponder the idea of making it a year of gratitude. Instead of focusing on what we don't have focus on what we do have! Thank those face to face if you can that take good care of you...send a card if you can't do it face to face. As you pray before meals - encourage everyone to express one thing they are grateful for - no repeats though - something new every day!

Until next week all!

D. J.

Let's just be random today shall we?

You know I think God gives gentle nudges and sometimes He just has to grab us by the neck and shake us silly to get us to listen. Today I am thankful for little nudges. You know how you have somethings in life that you know there is something wrong with, but yet, you have put your time and energy into those somethings so you think you have done your part and would rather not put any more time and effort into it. Sometimes it seems as if it would do no good to put another ounce of anything into it. But yet you know something needs to give. I have one of the somethings this week, and God just ever so quietly and gently nudges me with a word - pray. Once I hear and listen to this word - pray - another nudge - trust Me not what you see. So now I pray and have a different attitude because I choose to trust in God and not what I see on the surface of things. Last night I saw something different in my something - hope perhaps - a confirmation from God that He is at work.

Do you get frustrated when things are out of your control? Even things that can directly affect you? I do. I get to the point where I just want to stop moving forward because I can't control what is going to happen next. This, my friend, not a good thing. So, if here is something we can't control....I bet there are still MANY things that we can control, if we can then we should and we should do so to the best of our ability. Doing so allows us to handle and deal with the uncontrollable that much more effectively. Think about that one for a bit.

I don't get people who choose to be bitter about another person or persons. I really don't. How can you go through life holding a grudge? How exactly does that affect the other person? It really doesn't. Forgive.

Okay, that's my randomness for today. I think God is in the process of unsettling me so that I will consider different approaches in life. It's neat, a little out of my comfort zone, and that's a good things.

Please feel free to comment!

Oh - I must share a wonderful quote I recently heard - "You must want it more than you are afraid of it" My daughters tumbling coach used this with her, it stuck with her and now it sticks with me. It is so applicable in so many areas.

D. J.

Cancer - such an ugly word

So yesterday we found out my mother in law has cancer. I haven't ever known anyone really close to me that has been diagnosed with this. My first response was to cry and to be afraid. Isn't that exactly what the world would have us to do? Why should we be afraid? Last time I checked God was still in the healing business. Last time I checked God was still in charge and in control. Still, to get control of the emotions, HARD. To reign in the wild thoughts going through our heads - CRAZY HARD. Once they are reigned in, to keep them reigned in - EXHAUSTING. But all of this is necessary.

God is so good. This morning the devotion on www.proverbs31.org was specifically about this. After reading this it became clear to me that while this is pretty hard to take and get a grip on, I am actually at an advantage over a non believer. Through our faith, our studying of Gods word, and our daily living as God would like us to live we have been "practicing" for handling life's big stuff. As I think about those non believers my heart aches. They are going to be totally sucked into the way the world reacts with no thought that there is another way. They are stuck in a state of despair! How awful is this. This pushed my thinking further. I have to be an example of the alternative! God has given us hope! Why not grasp onto it and act and think accordingly! This will help those they are non believers, this will help those believers that are not as far along in their faith, plus it just helps me!

I had to tell my husband that they have found cancer in his mom. We had to tell our girls their grandma has cancer. I had to be strong and demonstrate my faith. It was not my strength, it was God's strength. We are all still concerned about her, but we have hope. We are showering her in prayers and will be showering her in God's word as we write to her and talk to her on the phone. Have I mentioned, she isn't exactly a believer?

Again, I am very concerned about her. But I am putting her and this whole situation in God's hands. I know God can work MANY good things from this, and that is what I am excited about! I am going to do all that God has called me to and trained me to do for HIS glory in this. I choose to be a part of God's miracles!

I hope this is making sense. This information plus the emotions have been very overwhelming and deep. Bottom line, I know my call in this situation is to do all I have been practicing and all I have been trained to do. God has prepared me for this moment in time. My faith and thoughts are in Him.

Please feel free to leave comments! I do love to hear what you have to say.

Lots of love to all!

D. J.