(Mar1/18). Hi everyone! I know I’m late on getting this blog out to you but I wanted to do it just the same..:) so if you read my last blog you would’ve seen that I was planning to be a part of 21 days of prayer and fasting which included staying away from social media so that’s why you haven’t seen me on Facebook in a while. So I have to say that it really was a powerful time for me. It Really gave me the self awareness I have been needing…Showing me just how often the worldly things around me have control of my life.
I’ll start with the food part of things. We call it a fast but really it’s not a fast because I ate lots of food! I did something called the Daniel fast which meant eliminating meats, processed sugar, dairy, bread and alcohol. I close to include fish and eggs because I didn’t feel like I would get enough protein otherwise. So I ate a lot of fruit and vegetables, sweet potatoes, spinach, some whole-grain pasta And olive oil was definitely my best friend throughout this time!!
One of my comfort things is to snack at night before bed..chips or some cookies or cereal. Of course I couldn’t have any of that stuff but yet I still went to the cupboards looking for stuff I COULD have which I realized was defeating the purpose of the fast. I was supposed to be eliminating the things in my life that were escapes/false fill ups And turning to God/scripture in those times instead. And I wasn’t doing that. I was just switching one habit for another. So I ended up adding a ‘no eating after 8pm’ rule. This was a hard one!
But overall I felt really great! I felt very clean and lighter on my feet. I think I may have lost a few pounds too, although that wasn’t the purpose of this, but a nice perk just the same :-)
Now onto the social media part…
I eliminated all Facebook use, Twitter, Instagram but I was still using my phone for texting emails and a little surfing on the net. But about one week in, Paul my husband and I both agreed we would shut our phones off completely after 5 PM each day for one week. So no emails, texting, social media or anything. And also no TV unless Ivy was watching one of her shows, then we could watch with her. It was awesome! No negative news channels seeping their negativity into my living room! I really hate watching the news…argh...
This was a tough one for Paul who really enjoys politics and keeping up on the news..?
We discovered that our phone habits are off the charts these days! The amount of times we would unconsciously reach for that phone out of habit to check it was ridiculous!!! We are so attached to these phones!!
So they’re definitely was some withdrawal moments with that but we also had more conversation and actual human eye contact… Ha! Go figure!
Although I did catch Paul one night practically begging Ivy to watch one of her shows so he could watch too..?. Nice, Daddy..?
And then we come to the prayer part of this. Our church gathered every morning, Monday through Friday at 6 AM to pray together for one hour. Everyone would show up in their ball caps and sweats, or sometimes pajamas I confess, and pray individually and as a group. So so powerful to be a part of something like that! I am not a morning person so getting up at 5:30 to be there by six was not an easy task for me, and I must admit I didn’t make it to every prayer meeting. Some mornings I would watch the app from our sister church that was streaming their prayer services online.
We would start with a small talk/message from one of our leaders, Then we would scatter in the room and pray individually and then for the last few minutes we would come together as a group and pray corporately which means for things like our city, our schools, teachers, leaders. , students, etc.
The message throughout this time that came to me most clearly was about surrender and trust. I would like some change in certain areas of my life but was I truly believing it was possible? No I wasn’t. I was asking for things but not completely trusting that it was possible. Trying to control from my end. (I’m such a control freak!) So I’m working on truly letting go and letting God, trusting in the process and allowing God to do what He needs to. And getting out of the way so He CAN do it!
Overall it was an extremely powerful experience and I have learned so much about myself and have come further in my walk with God. I highly recommend doing something like this. It can be any time of the year for any length of time. I’m hoping to continue some of these practices in the rest of my year and not get too far off the track! Not easy, thats for sure!
But I’m grateful to have the tools. The ups and downs of life will come no matter what but it’s comforting to know I have these tools to deal with them..:)
And onward we go!!!
