Fast Time!

EDIT:
Pastor Jeff has postponed the Daniel Fast for our congregation. This has caused me to reconsider doing a Daniel Fast in conjunction with my media fast because I feel like it would be very difficult for me to carry on without accountability. Therefore, I will only pull off my media fast for three weeks starting today. Thus I will be back on November 15th. Thank you.

Still writing as if anyone cares,

Kevin

:ENDEDIT

Well. As the one or two people who actually read my blog know, our church's Daniel Fast is starting on Monday.

I remember my Daniel Fast from last year and I'm dreading it, gripped with an irrational terror that can only stem from understanding the dire situation that awaits me ahead. I never thought one could approach the brink of death from mere hunger. I lost 10 pounds those grueling 21 days (which I gained back within two weeks of ending the fast) and it remains in my memory archives as one of the hardest tasks I've ever put myself through.

Now that much wretchedness without reward hardly seems necessary. So what did I gain?
God revealed a few things to me. He ignited the first inkling of a missions flame within me and gave me the final push I needed to join the praise team. Oh, and Eric apologized to me for the first (and possibly last) time since I've known him.

But I think the greatest thing I gained was the fact that I had the self discipline to stick with this difficult fast and actually devote some of it to God. So this year, in an attempt to give even more of myself to God, I've decided I'm going to try a media fast (effective Monday, October 25th) alongside my Daniel Fast to make this time that I'm dedicating that much more focused on God and nothing else.

I haven't been praying as much lately, even with the bazillion things I need to pray for, and I'm hoping that this "Combination (Combo for short) Fast", as I'm going to refer to it, will give me the discipline I so sorely need at this moment in my life. Here are the details of my Combo Fast:

1. NO FOOD NOT ALLOWED BY DANIEL FAST STANDARDS
2. NO MEDIA

That's about it. I'm going to deactivate my facebook so that I won't notifications in my email, which I will be periodically checking. But even checking email is potentially distracting so please kindly give me a hand by messaging me whenever you see me on Gmail chat with a friendly "GET OFF BEFORE I KILL YOU". Thanks.
I will be chronicling my journey throughout the next 27 days as I struggle through my Combo Fast and hopefully I'll be able to post it here at the end. :)

And lastly... Please pray for me! This is going to be a tough one but I want to stick it through. Pray not only that I will be able to keep the conditions of my fast but also that I will take this time to truly grow in relationship with God. Pray that I will learn what it means to REJOICE IN MY SUFFERINGS!

1 Peter 4:13
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

AMEN.



BE BACK NOVEMBER 21!!
Kevin