Day 4 and routines

Is this really day four of my fast? I feel good. Not too much physical hunger but I really attribute that to having fasted several times before. Mentally I miss the social aspect. I miss going to restaurants with my family or sitting down with them at the dinner table. I usually hide in the bedroom while they eat during a fast. 


I know I didn't blog yesterday. I was very moody. Hard to tell if that was a side effect or momma just needs a break. I still only juiced once but it was a green juice :) And considering on my last juice fast I only juiced once every few days, once a day is a step up! The kids and I all worked on our scrapbooks and had a fun trip to the boy scout store where Corwin bought a model spacecraft to assemble and Faith bought a rock mining kit. They are really all about rocks lately. I think I may spend the summer teaching about rocks and the earth and landforms and maybe weather. We did not hit the pool. It is still just too cold for me and today there is construction on brown right behind my house so I think we will spend time in the front yard on bikes. Oh and I did spend an hour and a half on the recumbent bike yesterday. I have been thinking of getting a gym membership again because I really do love going and so do the kids. We stopped when I started babysitting during the week but that is over at least for the summer and probably the fall while Aryan's mommy has a new baby. 


side effects: 
1. Cleansing: An extended fast can be deeply spiritually cleansing. It is also deeply deeply deeply physically cleansing. Not my favorite side effect and that is all I am going to say about that!
2. Freezing: I am always much colder when I fast. This is a good thing in Texas in the summer. Not so good at the beginning of spring. I almost froze to death during my last extended fast. I am talking serious shaking type freezing that calls for hot baths, fuzzy socks, and extra blankets at night. 


morning routine: I think a physical cleansing from a juice fast can be hampered by the toxins and chemicals in our everyday products. I have switched all of ours over to more natural safer products. I always hear people complain about how expensive these products are or how expensive organic foods are. It is a choice you have to make. You can pay for chemicals, inferior foods and medical bills or go a healthier route. It is a personal decision that effects you and if you have them, your children. I do not mean this in  a judging condescending way. It is my belief and my personal choice. 


1. dry brushing: I have fallen in love with dry brushing. I have a large brush for my body with a removable head and a small brush for my face. This is my absolute favorite part of my morning routine. It is so invigorating and makes my skin incredibly soft. 


2. Cleansing: I use Nature's Gate for shampoo, conditioner and body soap. I tried Avalon Oganics products once and it dried out my hair like crazy but that may have just been the lavender. 


3. Deodorant: I spent a lot of time and money looking for an aluminum free deodorant that worked and finally found Funk Butter by Oyin. It does work but is abrasive so I don't wear it everyday and never on the same day I shave. 


4. Toothpaste: I use Bee Rescued propolis toothpaste but I bought my husband a Nature's Gate brand toothpaste because it is more similar to what he is used to. I also use nature's gate on those days I want to be extra minty fresh. 


5. oil pulling: I don't do this nearly as much as I should. I wish I could incorporate oil pulling into my daily routine but I don't really like to do it. When I do, I use sesame oil for 20 minutes, usually while I am  doing the rest of my daily routine. 


6. Make-up: I have switched all my products to Mineral Fusion which are free of gluten, parabens, SLS, phthalates, artificial colors and synthetic fragrances. They are also 100% Vegetarian, and most are even 100% Vegan


7. Odds and Ends: I use Sonoma shave cream, Aura Cacia lavender foam bath and derma e moisturizer. 


Goals for the day: work on my prayer book, clean my bedroom and bathroom, hit Mardel's education store, go to sprouts for juicing supplies and do some laundry. The spend the evening  working on my repentance study and spend some quality time meditating on my findings. Ready.......break!

Day two and crispifried

I think my body is used to this fasting thing at this point. Normally on day two I would be starving and there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth but I think my digestive system is just like, "Whateves, wake me when you are done. peace out" I did wake up at about 3am this morning with a migraine, probably due in part to no caffeine, but thankfully Scott got me an ice pack and I took some Tylenol and managed to fall back asleep. When you fast, your body is always ready to sleep. Comes in handy sometimes! The point is, the more you fast, the easier it becomes.

I did make a berry juice this morning with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and some golden delicious apples.

And before we all had our juice, we prayed to thank God for the farmers who worked hard to grow our food and especially those who endeavor to grow food in the healthiest way possible.

Then the kids and I spent about two hours this morning and two this evening out in the pool. Two thumbs up for getting to wear my new swimsuit with the layers of ruffles (way cutter than it sounds) but two thumbs down for my shoulders getting a little crispifried. My bad.

I had every intention of making some green juice this evening but it just didn't happen. I really want to drink a lot more juice this time around just to see if I have more energy. I do have one week left of school and really need to finish up my lesson on repentance. I am sad to say that I didn't crack a single book today but I did have some good prayer times. I need to be more productive tomorrow. Right now I feel appreciative of the people God has put in my life. Going to end my night praying for those that I love to be given peace by the Holy Spirit.

It has begun!

My first day of fasting !!!! Woooo Hoooooo

 This morning I went to Dr. Chartrand who is just as amazing as all my crunchy friends have said. He took blood to check my liver functions and run a CBC. I am supposed to go back every ten days of my fast to have blood drawn for the liver test. Then this afternoon I visited my local friendly chiropractor Dr. Reif who popped all 206 bones in my body. It was quite impressive. I am now sitting in my Biblical Communications Seminar and all I have consumed today is two bottles of water. I haven't actually had time to juice and I am not really feeling hunger pains at this point. I will say it has been very nice not to have to worry about food. I didn't have to make sure I had breakfast or run home for lunch or worry about what I will have for dinner. Not eating makes life much easier but it is weird. We eat three or four times a day every single day. It makes up a large part of our day and our social calendar. So really what my body is craving right now is the physical act of sitting down for a meal. My intention today was never to go without juice. That is just how today ended up. I am absolutely exhausted but that is pretty normal for me. I live in a constant state of sleepy when I am not eating clean.

 Fasting for weight loss 

 I have done short water fasts many times but last summer I decided to do an 8 day juice fast and I realized I could go much longer using juice but still get the same spiritual connection and intimacy with the Father. Fasting will bring you closer to God. It will break you, humble you, open you to His healing love. I do not believe, especially after my last 20 day fast, that it should be used as a weight loss program. You can lose a great deal of weight. I lost 27 pounds in 20 days. I gained 20 pounds back in the next six weeks because I went back to eating the way I did before. I know that everyone is in such a hurry to lose weight and they want to do it the fastest way possible but I would highly recommend a clean vegan life change if weightless is your goal. Fasting is one of the greatest spiritual disciplines God gave us so while I will be sharing the physical aspects of this fast, I will also share the spiritual.


 My goals: 

 Ideally, you want the time you would normally spend eating to be replace with prayer and time in God's word. I have wanted to do a prayer scrapbook for years so one of my goals is to get a good amount done on that during this fast. Another goal is to spend more time in God's creation meditating in nature. We spend so much time in our houses or in our cars or in restaurants. We are always inside and it is not healthy. We need sunlight and fresh air. And my last and most important goal is to focus on admitting to, confronting and asking for forgiveness for my sin. Now as far as God's goals for my fast.......we shall see ;p

"The context of fasting is prayer. It should conform to the same conditions as prayer: unostentatious quietness before God, arising out of gratitude, expressing thanksgiving, grounded in faith, as a means of spiritual growth." -CLARENCE B. BASS The first question people ask me is why I am fasting. The answer is ultimately spiritual growth. We live in a time and place where we are surrounded by gross excess. We eat when we aren't even hungry, we rush from activity to activity, and we fill our lives with a disgusting amount of STUFF. Fasting forces you to slow down, seek Him, rely on Him and I guarantee that after an extended fast you will be better able to recognize true hunger! "16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." ESV (Mt 6:16–18). Jesus told us fasting is supposed to be done in secret and I am shouting it from the rooftops. My reason has always been education. Fasting is amazing. There is so much joy to be found in this discipline and it can be a time of rapid growth and cleansing spiritually and physically but no one ever talks about it. We hear that you should fast, God expects you to fast and a couple of days for the average person wont do any harm but an extended fast SHOULD NEVER BE ATTEMPTED WITHOUT A DOCTOR AND A VAST AMOUNT OF EDUCATION. When I was 18 I started attending Dallas Christian College (my second home that I love) and I remember a lecture where a professor talked about fasting and how it was expected. My first fast, shortly after that lesson, was a four day dry fast. I went four days with no food AND NO WATER. I remember on the fourth day crawling to find a cracker in the kitchen. It was a bit scary. I have done several more short four to seven day water only fasts since then and last summer I did my first juice fast. It was only eight days but I realized I had much more energy and could go for a longer period of time with juice. Water only leaves me pretty comatose but juice let me function. Make no mistake though, it is still one of the hardest things I have ever done. And to be honest, I drank about 8 to 16 ounces of juice every 2 or 3 days. If I had a job I would have probably had to drink a whole lot more. So I am writing this blog to educate people about the things your body will go through on an extended fast. Also to hold myself accountable and record my spiritual struggles and hopefully growth.