Somewhere along the way I lost my blog audience. Southern Baptists in the US who pray for missionaries and fellow missionaries around the world have gone elsewhere.
In the meantime, my readership has tripled. Why? Because this Daniel fasting is hot stuff. People from all over the western hemisphere are starting their new year with a Daniel fast and need recipes now! Individuals, churches, TV preachers, everyone seems to be into fasting right now. This spiritual discipline that was lost for many years is now being found by the church today.
Kool.
I did have a few scattered thoughts from all I've heard and read and experienced lately.
I heard a TV preacher yesterday give a very elegant (simple and usable) definition of the Daniel Fast: "No meat, No sweets, No grains." I liked it for it's ease of use.
I heard of another public figure who fasts one day of each week, one week of each month, and one month of each year. Interesting, especially if you can look at it in a "first fruits" kind-of-way.
A very inspiring and yet practical booklet on fasting is The Miracle Results of Fasting by Dave Williams.
Bill Bright has a booklet on fasting that is posted here. It's also very practical.
Some things I particularly enjoyed during my recent fast:
1. Fruit juice concentrate made in the blender with a little less water than called for (don't defrost it). Throw in a banana. I used various amazonian fruits that I can get because I'm a missionary (na na na na naaaa na).
2. Grilled mushrooms. Can also be fixed in a hot frying pan and can be just about any kind of mushroom, although larger ones are easier to fix.
3. Baked sweet potatoes. Sold in my neighborhood grocery already baked. Microwaved baked white potatoes are good, too. So is boiled mandioc, if you're in a country that eats that tuber. After extensive deliberation with my husband, we have concluded that Burger King french fries are probably a "rich dainty."
One final thought before I stop talking about fasting in hopes of getting my SBC audience back:
Remember your purpose. It's not to follow a strict set of rules, and be more spiritual than the person in the pew beside you. It's not to lose weight. It's not to go on a hunger strike against God. It's to humble yourself before Him and spend more time with Him. In order to do this you'll need to turn off the TV, and most likely the computer also. (Probably the biggest mistake on my recent fast was not turning off the computer).
If you have experiences or ideas, please post them in the comments sections. Others from all over the US and Europe may benefit greatly.
2 comments:
Burger King french fries are more than a rich dainty, they're a rare delicacy! ;) Thanks for the great post, the "first-fruits" fasting idea is especially intriguing to me. Something I will have to mull over for a while.
Thanks also for all the encouragement over in our neck of the woods.
And don't worry about the change in readership (although you should know that some of us are still reading when we get the chance!), as the obscure psalmist wrote...
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of wondering if my friends, family, support team or peers ever even read my posts I will fear no loneliness, for the blogosphere art with me. Thy comments and thy backlinks they comfort me.
Thou preparest a domain name before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with post ideas; my readership runneth over."
I did come upon your blog while searching for recipes to use during the Daniel Fast.
I am glad I found your blog and will be adding it to my list of blogs to read.
God be with you as you continue to great works in His name.
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