Today completes week number one. So far God has not done anything miraculously life changing to me in this experiment, and He doesn't have to. It's in the little things that I am noticing His hands molding my heart, as I try to be intentional about pressing into Him. Perhaps all of these little things will eventually snowball into something bigger.
It seems as if I have been studying the fruit of the Spirit forever. This morning I was studying joy. I happened upon a definition and this is how I sum it up: joy is what happens to us when we find God in any and every circumstance where we are seeking Him. This is what I want in my life. I want the joy that comes from finding God everywhere in everything - the glorious in the mundane and in the not-so-mundane. I want joy in the midst of this 7 experiment, and I can obtain joy when I seek God and find Him right here in this fast. Not very earth shattering on the surface, but for me this little nugget of truth seeped into my heart and burrowed itself snug inside today.
Only hours after my study on joy, I read this quote; feast with thanksgiving to show that God is good to give us such gifts. Fast with joy to say God is better than his gifts. ~John Piper
And He indeed is better than His gifts! For 32 years I have been given the amazing gift of choices and endless options when it comes to food - with honestly little thought to what a grace gift it is and little authentic thanksgiving over the blessings poured out on me. But today, with only 7 choices before me, it is easier to see what a gift I have been given. And truly, God is so much better, so much sweeter, so much more satisfying than His gifts. Today I am hungry for God.
And that brings JOY!
I am continuing to press into Jesus, and I am begging God for joy in this fast.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
I am praying this tonight. Praying about what it really means to seek my Savior with all of my heart.
Addis Ababa Time
1 comments:
I've been following along with your 7 challenge, and you amaze me. I would not have the self control to do what ya'll are doing. I did have a few questions if you felt up to answering sometime.
1) are your kids doing this challenge also? If so, do they understand why and are they feeling God speak to them also? (I mean this honestly truthfully sincere, I feel like it's coming across as me making fun of you and I promise I'm not)
2) are spices off limits? I was thinking even some of the poorest area of the world still utilize herbs and spices to their advantage.
3) how did you decide on the foods you chose? They're quite brilliant, but I'm wondering what your thought process was.
That's it for now. I'm continuing to follow, and love hearing what God reveals to you while I'm stuck at home with sick sick kiddos.
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