Week Two of The List With a Side Of Tabouli

Week one of our 21 day fast is done. As I begin week two, I am pleased to report that nothing but good has come from this fast so far. I was expecting it to be difficult and it really hasn’t been. Oh sure, I miss eating certain things and I feel hungry now and then but the benefits have far outweighed any small difficulties.



A few days ago I received this email from my friend Deborah over at Fashion Plate:



Marla - why does the meal have to be vegan? Curious here in MN.


Don't forget your protein! {nag I am}



It was such a good question and had me thinking. I wanted to share my response just in case anyone else was wondering the same thing.



Good morning Deborah!

In scripture, Daniel gave up all wine and fine foods for a 21 day period in order to seek God. I suppose this has translated into vegan in our time. It is definitely a plain and simple diet to say the least. We are so thankful for every dinner we have eaten so far however it is nothing like we normally eat. I never realized how much I think about food and what a central role it plays in my life. The last few days have really helped me to think about and pray for the things that concern me instead of planning my next bite of something delicious. My focus is truly on God and doing business with Him right now.

The other thing is this: Number 1 on The List is to fast for the 2 billion people who live on less than a dollar a day. This fast has really helped me in two ways where they are concerned. I have come to realize how ungrateful I am, how much food I waste and how I have no idea what it means to be hungry or poor. It has really opened my eyes and sent me to my knees for others. It has also put me on my feet and shown me the necessity of volunteering at places like the Food Bank and Rescue Mission in order to help those that have few choices in their lives when it comes to food and most everything else.

Anyway, I didn't mean to write a novel but I am so excited about this, it's hard to not share the journey with anyone willing to listen. This is a link that concisely explains the fast as well. http://www.ultimatedanielfast.com/2009/10/what-is-daniel-fast.html

Have a great day, my friend. I am off to do laundry and later try to come up with something amazing for dinner that has to do with rice and butternut squash. ;-)

Marla



Yesterday, I was thinking about this fast and journey that I am on. I was asking God and myself for the deeper meaning behind this. Was I missing something? I mean, shouldn’t it be harder, have more suffering, cost me more than a meal or two? I suppose what I was really asking was, “Does this really matter in the bigger picture of things?”


Then I read this:


Isaiah 58

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.



That’s it folks. That sums it up for me. I want my life to be spent. I want it to purchase something of value. I want to be someone that stands against injustice and sees people set free from the things that are destroying them. I want to share my food, my home, my personal possessions and myself with those that have lost it all. I am even done wanting. I am ready for the doing.

I don’t care if they believe like me, look like me, or lost it all because they deserved to. I deserve nothing I have. Thankfully, I have not received what I deserve most of my life. I would probably be divorced, alone or dead if I had. If this fast has done nothing else, it has clarified that for me.


So, onto week two of The List.


2. Contact your local crisis pregnancy center and invite a pregnant woman to live with your family.


More on this tomorrow. Until then…..