Reflection
"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a straight and right way for us, our little ones, and all our possessions." Ezra 8:23
I love this translation because it really hits home that our actions (including our prayers) have effect on everything around us - including our children.
Fasting has been heavy on my heart for a while. Our church body is called to fast from food on Thursdays because that is the night we have healing services and intercessory prayer. For a while I was doing really good at this, but I really slacked off this year. Stress, worry, etc - I've just given in. Additionally, our pastor has called our church into a 40-day fast from negative words for this Lent season.
Wow. It really hit me hard because although I'm usually really good about not being negative at work, and socially - I am without a doubt HORRIBLE in this area with my poor husband! Mind you, it's often give-and-take, but I can sure be a pill. I am a bottler - I hold everything inside until it bubbles over, and Mike usually gets wet. Acknowledging the problem is the first step, right? :)
For Lent (and hopefully forever) I am making a covenant to fast from negative words in all areas of my life. I will start back up with fasting from food on Thursdays (from Wednesday after dinner until Friday morning). AND I will be more diligent in my abstinence from caffeine. I started that a bit over a year ago and have done quite well, but every now and then I slip.
The purpose of fasting is to give up something and when the thoughts about and desires for the things come up, you should turn to prayer instead.
I'm going to be one prayed-up gal.
Oh, and I'm ALSO going to be doing the New Testament in 40-days. Faith Comes by Hearing is an organization trying to get audio copies of the Bible into the hands of everyone around the world. Check out their website to download a FREE copy of the audio New Testament in any one of over 200 languages! You can also purchase a Bible stick (an MP3 player pre-loaded) for the Old Testament, or the Kids version. The New Testaments audio is formatted so that you can listen to each track (28 minutes long) one per day, for 40 days and you will have heard the entire New Testaments. How awesome is that?! I'm going to buy the kids version for my kiddos (not a 40-day format - but it's Bible stories and songs).
So - what about you? Are you fasting from something? Are there any areas of your life that need change? Come on, honestly we ALL have some mopping up to do! :)
I'm going to update on here every Saturday with how I'm doing with my fasting. Feel free to join me - leave your comments every Saturday evening and we can be prayed-up together.
I love this translation because it really hits home that our actions (including our prayers) have effect on everything around us - including our children.
Fasting has been heavy on my heart for a while. Our church body is called to fast from food on Thursdays because that is the night we have healing services and intercessory prayer. For a while I was doing really good at this, but I really slacked off this year. Stress, worry, etc - I've just given in. Additionally, our pastor has called our church into a 40-day fast from negative words for this Lent season.
Wow. It really hit me hard because although I'm usually really good about not being negative at work, and socially - I am without a doubt HORRIBLE in this area with my poor husband! Mind you, it's often give-and-take, but I can sure be a pill. I am a bottler - I hold everything inside until it bubbles over, and Mike usually gets wet. Acknowledging the problem is the first step, right? :)
For Lent (and hopefully forever) I am making a covenant to fast from negative words in all areas of my life. I will start back up with fasting from food on Thursdays (from Wednesday after dinner until Friday morning). AND I will be more diligent in my abstinence from caffeine. I started that a bit over a year ago and have done quite well, but every now and then I slip.
The purpose of fasting is to give up something and when the thoughts about and desires for the things come up, you should turn to prayer instead.
I'm going to be one prayed-up gal.
Oh, and I'm ALSO going to be doing the New Testament in 40-days. Faith Comes by Hearing is an organization trying to get audio copies of the Bible into the hands of everyone around the world. Check out their website to download a FREE copy of the audio New Testament in any one of over 200 languages! You can also purchase a Bible stick (an MP3 player pre-loaded) for the Old Testament, or the Kids version. The New Testaments audio is formatted so that you can listen to each track (28 minutes long) one per day, for 40 days and you will have heard the entire New Testaments. How awesome is that?! I'm going to buy the kids version for my kiddos (not a 40-day format - but it's Bible stories and songs).
So - what about you? Are you fasting from something? Are there any areas of your life that need change? Come on, honestly we ALL have some mopping up to do! :)
I'm going to update on here every Saturday with how I'm doing with my fasting. Feel free to join me - leave your comments every Saturday evening and we can be prayed-up together.
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