My 21 day fast starts tomorrow

I am doing a 21 day fast, starting tomorrow, in conjunction with the congregation at my Church. Jesus said not to make it obvious that you are fasting, but to get dressed, brush your hair and get on with your life. The whole point of fasting is to reconnect and revitalise your relationship with God, not to gain some kind of sympathy from your colleagues and friends. So why am I sharing it all here on my blog?

I want you to understand what it's like to fast. I want to share the sacrifices and struggles that go with it. I also want to share the miracles that happen as a result of my fast - I am expecting several! I have fasted before and failed before I reached my planned end date. So, as a strategy to help me make it to the end I have anticipated temptation and made plans to deal with it. Expect a blog entry about that on approximately day 6, if past experience is anything to go by.

There is a group of Church goals that we are believing for,.... but my understanding of the spiritual purpose of fasting is that it breaks strongholds. So, really, we are believing for the breaking down of strongholds that would prevent us from reaching our goals.

My personal stronghold and my lifelong battle that needs divine intervention is an addiction to food. I'm a foodie, a food junkie, a chocaholic, you name it I crave it! Food is my number 1 coping mechanism and boy, doesn't my waistline show it! I've even been counselled for a binge-eating disorder,... but some counsellors say it's not an eating disorder, it's just disordered eating. Either way, it's inappropriate and it puts food before God.

So, God has been leaning on me, as He does and his Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about doing this 21 day fast and laying down my food addiction once and for all. I know that it lies at the root of my struggles with PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). So it is with humility and trepidation that I head off to bed tonight, knowing that from tomorrow morning all I will be eating are fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and wholegrains.

I'll blog daily through this time to explain more about the fast, the food, the rationale and the temptations. I'll tell you a little bit more about what I hope to gain from the experience and what I hope to do at the end of this 21 days. So stay tuned and return often for updates.