Category: average guy fasting

Today is the feast day for St. Patrick, and would be an interesting day to venture about 10 miles south to a little Irish-Catholic town nearby. Today while praying the afternoon office I added something a little different. I used an Anglican rosary that was made for me by someone from the congregation. Just having this set of beads made for me makes it pretty cool. However, one of the prayers you can pray with the beads – which are set up a bit different than the Catholic rosary I am used to – is the Breastplate of St. Patrick. Patrick lived in the 5th century (the 400’s AD), and was kidnapped around the age of 16 by Irish raiders. He endured 6 years of slavery before he escaped. Eventually he had a dream that called him to go back to the Irish, the very people who had kidnapped and enslaved him, and preach the gospel to them. In 432 AD, Patrick was named the Bishop of Ireland. His life was often in danger. He was captured several times, made many enemies, and counted many people as his converts. There is good reason that Irish folks celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick as a national holiday. As one of my favorite authors, David Bentley Hart writes, “if any man can be said to have converted an entire nation, Patrick would be that person.” Continue reading “Lenten Journey – Day 29”

I’ve obviously gotten into prayer books and things of that nature, but perhaps there are those of you who are concerned about praying in repetition. We aren’t supposed to pray in vain repetition, right? Here’s a couple of paragraphs from Scot McKnight’s book that is helpful in sorting out our thoughts.

[Some may say] “But, surely the recitation of something ancient leads to vain repetitions.”
Yes it can, but it need not. Repetition, like saying “I love you,” to someone dear to us, can become a rhythm for daily renewal just as easily as it can become a mindless routine. But let’s probe this concern about repetition in another way. This question may actually be masking another issue, one that is part of the hesitation to use prayer written by others. Our tendency is to go to the Bible for something new, to read it in the expectation of a fresh discovery of something we did not know or had not heard or had completely forgotten. As a professor who teaches the Bible, I know the experience.
But the discovery of something new is not the sole, or even the main, purpose for reading the Bible. The longer you look at the idea that we read the Bible to find new meanings, the sillier it becomes. We read and return to the Bible not (just) to find something new but to hear something old, not to discover something fresh but to be reminded of something ancient.
pp.50-51

Continue reading “Lenten Journey – Day 28”

I finished Scot McKnight’s book, “Praying with the Church,” yesterday and it was a good read. I recommend it if you are at all curious about keeping the hours of prayer, praying through prayer books – as I’ve mentioned here, or if you’re just a person who enjoys reading about prayer. One of the things McKnight writes about is something that I’ve found true during this time of fasting. It is possible to have your day and faith reordered according to prayer. Here’s what I mean: on the days I am not eating I move from breakfast time – morning prayer, to lunch or midday prayer, then vespers and finally compline (the prayer time) before bed. When you do this a few days, the rhythm of your day is affected. I go from prayer time to prayer time. But there is more. There are feast days in the church when we remember faithful Christians who have gone on before. I’ve written about this before. So this coming Wednesday is the day we remember St. Patrick, a visionary missionary to the people of Ireland. We remember his faithfulness and courage. We celebrate that God used him to bring so many people to know Christ. This year St. Patrick’s Day occurs on the 29th day of the Lenten Season (or 26th day if you do not count Sundays). One could, if one chooses, date a journal or a letter written on that day as being on the Feast Day of St. Patrick, on the 29th day of Lent in the year of our Lord 2010. Continue reading “Lenten Journey – Day 26”

I attended the Bishop’s Day on stewardship and evangelism today, and really enjoyed the things the keynote speaker, Mike Slaughter, was sharing.  He was focused on disciple making and said some challenging things, such as Jesus didn’t come to save church buildings, but to save the lost.  I appreciated his honest in moving from the church growth strategies and towards making disciples and having people be the hands and feet of Christ.  One of the things that I took from the sessions was a reminder of what our focus ought to be as church.  Our mission statement is, We are disciples of Jesus Christ who are loved by God, loving God, loving others, and serving the world.  In other words, our vocation is to make disciples of Jesus Christ through that process of evangelism, worship, small groups, and ministry.  Continue reading “Lenten Journey – Day 25”

I really meant to journal more than this through the fasting process, but it’s been very busy for me lately and this has fallen off.  I do want to write about a couple of different things, so hopefully I can get another post or two up in the next few days.  Today I briefly want to cover the physical aspects of this fast.  I have eaten 3 days out of the last 24, which really sounds crazy, but it’s different than it sounds.  There are still times when hunger is an issue, but not as often as you would think.  I still miss eating, but I’m also used to not eating.  In fact, right now not eating feels normal.  This week, on the day I ate, I could’ve gone without it (but when I get a chance to eat I know I should).  My tastes are changing somewhat.  I had a salad and that tasted wonderful.  Popcorn, which I usually love, just tasted ok.  I write all of this to say that this sort of fast is not the huge battle against hunger that you would think it is.  I’m not sure I could continue if every day were like the second day of my fast – that was the hardest day so far by far.

There are challenges though.  In my job I do not burn a ton of calories.  If I did, I don’t think the fast would be possible.  This past weekend was very busy, and for the first time I got a little worried and thought I might have to eat.  I was getting light headed and drinking juice wasn’t helping.  I finally broke down and bought a half gallon of chocolate milk, and that did the trick.  I guess I needed the calories and the protein.  I can only imagine going on a straight water fast – you must be really limited as to what you can do.  As far as my own fast, I have noticed that by Friday I do drag a bit, especially after a busy week.  There have been positive physical effects as well.  I don’t have that heavy, weighed down feeling after eating a heavy meal.  The weight I’ve dropped feels good, although I’m a little under what would probably be a good weight for me.

These are the physical effects thus far, but you should realize that the physical part is not the part that has made the majority impact on me so far.  It’s the emotional and spiritual effects that are more prevalent.  The physical stuff isn’t the battle you would think – it’s not as hard as you would think once you reach a certain point.  I want to be clear on that so folks aren’t struck by an “achievement.”  However, the spiritual side (especially prayer) that has been opened up for me has been great and surprising.  I suspect I’ll gain most, if not all, of my weight back.  I hope that my prayer life will be changed forever.

I meant to blog yesterday, it’s been awhile, sorry.  But I did mean to blog yesterday because something cool happened.  I had communion.  Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a surprise communion.  I was at a training for a Christian retreat that I am a part of, and communion is a regular part of those sessions.  It was a busy morning though, getting things around and trying to tie up a few loose ends prior to entering the devotion time that we had before worship.  The pastor leading the communion time did a nice meditation and then all of a sudden it was time to head up for communion, and it hit me.  You see, I hadn’t eaten in 6 days by that point.  That’s the longest I’ve gone fasting, and going that long without food is strange in and of itself, but this chunk of communion bread dipped in juice would be the only thing I was going to eat in over 6 days.  The flavors burst in my mouth, the grape juice actually stung a little, and I made my way back to my pew to pray.  As I got there I was overwhelmed by gratitude towards God for the ways he’s provided for me.  I know that may sound weird, to eat one morsel and be overcome by gratitude for what’s been provided, but that was the distinctly strong feeling I had.  And so I prayed, “Thank you.”  There have been a few of these sorts of “surprises” during this fast so far.  Lest you think I’m super spiritual, I’ve really enjoyed eating today (Sunday) and I still miss food.  But this experience is quite a journey so far.  I’ll leave you with the prayer for the week from “The Divine Hours” last week.  It was of great comfort for me.

Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who cares for us: Preserve me from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from me the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.