Today is the official day 1 of my 21 day Daniel Fast! I wanted to share a yummy recipe with you and what I'm learning so far!
Breakfast was a simple yummy smoothie!
1c water
1/2c blueberries
1/2c strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
Yum! My kids even had smoothies with milk added in! (no they are not on the fast dont freak out! they just LOVE smoothies)
Lunch was delish! Tomato & Avocado Salad drizzled with homemade (clean, paleo & daniel fast approved) Italian dressing!
Clean-Paleo & Daniel Fast Approved Italian Dressing
1/2 cup of Olive Oil
3 tbs of Lemon Juice
1 tsp of Basil
1 tsp of Oregano
1/2 tsp of garlic
I put in a container, shake it up and store in fridge since this obviously makes several servings!
Dinner is in the crock pot! Veggie Chili! (recipe coming tomorrow)
Today James 1 is continuing to unfold to me in new ways... and strangely enough it was the verse focus of today's Made to Crave Devotion called 'Consider It'
James 1:2-4 msg Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
another version says 'Consider it a pure joy whenever you face trials...'
5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.
12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
In the devotion it said (my paraphrase) you may not feel like its a gift or feel like what you are dealing with is something you should be joyful about and when we are in the middle of facing temptations we have to stop and take time to consider it!
Think about it, dwell on the end result not just the right now good feeling that the big fat Dr. Pepper or cookie or whatever it is will bring but look past that to the end of the test!
Its refreshing to know that I can stand in the middle of my trial and stop and consider it a gift and a joy, not because the moment is joyful because certainly in the middle of a stressful bad day it doesn't feel like a joyous gift but not giving in comes with reward - Putting my faith to the test is painful but is also what builds my faith and makes me stronger. Not giving in, not trying to get out of it early allows faith to grow, allows self control to become stronger, allows me to be come mature and well developed in my faith and reliance in Jesus. I can't conquer this crappy eating cycle alone and I definitely can't make it through this 21 days alone! There are going to be a lot of times that it is anything but joyful but learning to rely on Jesus, growing my faith and letting the Holy Spirit guide me and help me can be a very joyous special gift! I can not wait to see my faith grow over this next 3 weeks and to see my negative eating patterns defeated and to grow closer to Jesus as he helps me through this challenge!
One of the best quotes from today's devotional said this
'There are no quick fixes. There will be good days and bad days. But most importantly, I've realized this isn't as much about losing the weight as it is gaining truth - through of who I am in Christ and how I am made for more than this constant self-defeating struggle'
Source: Made To Crave 60 day Devotional by Lysa Terkeurst Pg 25
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That salad looks delicious!! I'm glad that this is going so well for you and you have such a positive mentality! (:
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