I haven't messed up. (Unless you count Saturday night: I dreamed I was walking down the hallway at school and someone had left a Starbucks drink on the floor. For some reason, I assumed it was for me and started drinking it only to realize that in doing so I had broken my fast! It was a terrible feeling even as a dream. And it might have been worse if I had acknowledged my sin of theft as well.)
Overall, choosing to only eat from my list of foods has not been as hard as I had anticipated. I struggled with an eating disorder for several years in high school and college, so restricting food is not a new discipline for me.
In fact, it is due to those tendencies that I have never chosen to fast from food for an extended period of time. I kind of gave myself a pass and skipped on to other spiritual disciplines.
I'm discovering, though, that dieting and restricting food is altogether different from fasting. (Or at least it should be.) The distinction is motive.
When I diet, the focus is me: my weight, my body, my self-esteem.
When I fast, the focus is God: His sufficiency, His Word, His power.
In case you are wondering exactly how this has played out, here is what a typical day looks like. (I am assuming if you don't care, you can scroll down or click off my blog. No one is forcing you to be here, right?)
Breakfast is often toast and milk, maybe a banana. I found a whole wheat bread that I really like and plan to continue buying even after this 2 weeks. I have been drinking 2% milk instead of 1% so I don't lose too much weight (a couple of friends were worried about this), and could definitely adjust to that taste.
Almonds or string cheese provide a good grab and go snack. Or sometimes after school, I have an apple.
Lunch usually consists of cheese, a hard boiled egg or chicken, an apple, and sometime a banana, depending if I had one earlier.
Dinner can be eggs or chicken, more fruit and bread or sometimes a smoothie (frozen strawberries, frozen ripe bananas, plain yogurt, frozen orange juice concentrate, and milk.)
Part of me likes the predictability of knowing what I will and won't eat. It saves some energy and brainpower.
I thought the kids might wonder about what I am eating, but we must have been eating a lot of eggs and toast or chicken and sweet potatoes before because they haven't asked about anything. I do fix them other things. So don't worry that they are stuck eating just what I am.
My verdict after week 1: I think this is a good thing. I feel healthy. I am not wasting money on extra snacks or fast food (although I should admit that I was once tempted by Culver's flavor of the day), so that is better stewardship. And I have spent some of my meal times reading the Word and talking to God. Which is the point, right?
Well, that and realizing how much excess I live with and learning to make godly choices regarding that excess. More on that tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, we are meeting tomorrow night to discuss week 2: clothes. Seven clothing items. Or twelve even. I'm not sure how that is going to play out with work...we'll see. Any suggestions?
5 comments:
Loved this post, Jaena. Thanks for sharing with us. Perhaps the Lord will use this to convict some of us and our habits. All we are belongs to Him. As far as clothing, keep the basics and make them interchangeable. 1 black skirt, I pair black pants, two or three simple shirts of different colors and mix and match--adding different necklaces, scarves, and hairdos can make an outfit feel new as well. I look forward to the next installment.
I didn't realize until tonight that you were doing this (just hadn't read your blog for a while). It makes me think of a book I worked on last fall that was published the first of this year: A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor (pretend I had access to italics there) by Chris Seay. I think you'd really connect with it. The book encourages a fast similar to what you're describing, and is set up to be used during Lent, with devotionals and developing-country spotlights to be read during each day. If you use the online version of the book instead, there are actually videos to go along with each day too---many of them shot in the countries that are profiled. Anyway, Chris has some really thought-provoking ways to make us think about (and experience, to a very small degree) how much of the rest of the world lives.
Tracey, thanks for the advice. The other 3 in my group are work-at-home moms (2 homeschool), so I have to admit a few feelings of jealousy since I dress for school everyday. Maybe I can still find a way to make it work without people at work thinking I'm too crazy. Or maybe they will and that's a good thing...
Julie, I would love to read that book. Thanks for the heads up. Lent seems a ways away, but I think it would add to the meaning of the readings and disciplines.
I have a comp copy, Jaena, so if you want to borrow it just let me know. No use buying something you can borrow, right? :)
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