When 40 days becomes for-ever

First, a reminder that The God Chronicles is back for the fall! I will post on Friday the 18th, and you have until the 20th to participate by writing your own blog post sharing how you've seen God working in your life and linking up. :)


A few of you have been asking about my fast food/ junk food/ processed food fast. Okay, actually, only people I know IRL (in real life) have asked, but I know you're all wondering. Right?

Day 40 was Saturday the 12th. And I am still fasting. The following are some questions I've made up that you would ask me if you were asking...

Have you lost weight?

Yes, I believe I have. Clothes are fitting differently, the muffin top spill-over effect is lessening, and a couple people have commented. (Although, I was again asked if I was expecting, so I must not have lost too much. Sheesh!)

Have you weighed yourself at all?

No. I felt that God wanted me to stay away from the scale during this fast, so that my only motivation for fasting and praying would be obedience to Him. I cannot tell you how difficult it is to not step on that scale!

Why did you start this fast?

Well, I think it all came down to my lack of self-control and discipline in several areas of my life. God showed me that by willingly sacrificing something I love and enjoy (mmmmm, potato chips, slurpees, McDonald's) - by denying my flesh - I would be giving Him more room to work in my life and to speak to me. He was right!

Why didn't you stop the fast at 40 days like you planned?

There are a few reasons for this. First, I just feel as though God has more for me to learn and He needs more time of me being submitted in this area. Second, my cravings for those foods have not diminished much in 40 days, and I believe that if I don't stay in this state of self-denial I will end up right back where I began - chubby, unhealthy, over-eating, feeding my feelings, and just generally icky. Third, one day I was praying for someone in my life who is struggling with an addiction, and I felt God telling me that I needed to continue to fast and pray on this person's behalf.

How much longer will you go?

Until God says, "okay, you can stop now." I believe that He'll provide a couple of signals for me. One, that I will look at junk food and not be nearly undone by my desire for it. Two, that the person I know will be addiction-free to the point that it no longer feels like a struggle. I think it could be a while....

What do you eat?

I enjoy dairy, meat, veggies, fruit, and whole grains. I still enjoy a small amount of dressing or other sauces, but in moderation. I am trying to eat well from all the food groups, roughly based on the guidelines from the Canada Food Guide. I am no longer eating cookies, cake, white flour, potato chips, slurpees, chocolate bars, sour candies, fast food hamburgers, french fries, and most things I love to gobble down. Until I gave it up, I had no idea how much of this junk I was eating on a daily basis.

Have you "cheated" at all?

There are two answers to this question. Have I cheated by eating things on my "no-no" list? No. Some days the temptation feels unbearable, but I don't feel that I can afford the consequences of not walking in obedience in this. So when it's hard and it hurts and I struggle, I pray like crazy and get busy. I also eat endless raw veggies until I feel so full I'll burst.

Have I cheated in other ways? Sadly, yes. There are some times when I feel the struggle and I know I'm supposed to be praying that I choose to busy myself instead. There are some foods that I've felt uncertain about eating (such as home-made potato salad) that I know I should not eat if I don't hear a clear yes from God, and I eat some without hearing that yes.

Don't you think you're making this food thing a little overly-spiritual?

Maybe. But my thinking is that if the whole of mankind can be messed up by what a woman chooses to put in her mouth, what I eat is most certainly of spiritual consequence. So I'll risk having some people think I'm spiritualizing too much.

I can't believe how many questions y'all had for me! Oh, that's right, those were my pretend questions. Oh well. :) Hopefully you have some answers you were never looking for.

And here's the moral of the story...be careful what you pray for, because He is so faithful to answer us!