Daniel Fast: Week 1

My church is doing the Daniel Fast for the Month of January. The Daniel Fast is a fast similar to the fast that Daniel took in the Bible (Daniel 1: 8-17 )

"But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.  Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel... Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.  “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”...At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king...God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom."- Daniel 1: 8-9, 12-13, 17

My Pastor added additional things to fast from like from secular music, television shows, books etc. Basically she wants us to focus on spiritual things,  and read and watch spiritual material. I've chosen to fast from my Facebook and Twitter because I've noticed I've picked up an unhealthy addiction. I have a tendency to wake up and check my facebook/twitter before I do anything else (and that is a serious problem, I basically worship the internet over God!)

Anyway, I've learned a lot during this first week.

1. I don't talk to people enough! This week I've spent way more time calling or texting my friends instead of just sending them a facebook message. I have been missing out on some many great conversations and I have been seriously neglecting my friends! I think that after my fast, I will definitely continue to limit how much I'm online. 
2. I've learned that I have a serious issue with my mouth. By that I mean that I use a lot of sarcasm and bad jokes. God has really been showing me that I don't show love by the words that come out of my mouth. While I was visiting my best friend Nikki over New Years, we took time to pray and have a bible study. The book God lead us to was James 3, which basically talks about how dangerous the tongue is

James 3: 5-10 (Message Version) "A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can't go on."

God really got on my case about this, already can see how my mouth has gotten me into a crap load of trouble over the past few months, and I hope I can make amends in all the areas I have messed up.  I studied a lot of verses on the tongue. I am making an effort to really monitor what I say.  I have taken James 1:19 to heart, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.".

I am excited about what more I will learn this month. I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the new year and sticking to all the goals and resolutions they made this year!

~K~