I have felt led to keep a journal through this time and thought it would be good to share excerpts of that with you-a Sabbatical is one of thee most precious gifts a church can give it's pastor and hopefully thru this unfurling digital scroll you can also be blessed too... the scroll begins at the bottom...
Day 91 (July 24)
Took in my last sabbatical worship today at The House of the Lord where my preaching mentor Bishop Joey keeps watch over the flock. But on this day there was a special treat-his wife of 49 years preached her story of walking thru a tremendous trama... on top of tramas... for those who question a woman's ability to preach-let this message put those questions to rest...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbbIOXzQWOI
What a blessing-if you have been thru something, especially if it was with your spouse, this message is for you-it made me think of my own dear wife caring for me after I broke my back-thank you Jesus!
Day 85 (July 18)
MY 40 DAY FAST ENDED TODAY AT NOON :) Thanks to all who prayed me thru-and even those who joined me in these last days-what a blessing! I enjoyed CRUNCHY honeydew and watermelon and some TASTEY veggy barley beef soup...
...it was WONDERFUL-now the most dangerous part-coming out of it! I had some salad tonight and not sure that was the best move-I need to do more cooked than raw I think. Tomorrow I'll meet with the elders to discuss several things I believe God revealed to me over this time. I look forward to testing these ideas and seeing how they may be used with SMC.
Day 83 (July 16)
2 days to go on my fast-wow! I can't believe it! It has been one of the greatest spiritual adventures of my life and here's...
30 things I learned about fasting for 40 days
1. You save a lot of money on food and toilet paper
2. You need to drink half of your body weight in ounces of
water everyday
3. You will have weird dreams about food (I'm thinking of the cheese
covered peanut butter filled hot dog samples a lady was giving me-that I ate... bad dream)
4. You will get cold very easily and often
5. You will have less energy to use and sleep like a rock
6. There is an amazing array of fruit and vegetable juices that
are excellent they will make things physically sustainable
7. The connection to God and the clarity with which you hear
his voice is astounding
8. Family and friends support is essential and negative
encouragement (some one told me 2 days in "you will never be able to do this") is a powerful motivator
9. Having a visible countdown is a great inspiration
10. Consult your doctor before you start and halfway through to
make sure you are okay
11. Appetite is an illusion
12. I really missed crunchy stuff
13. I didn't miss cheese and ice cream as much as I thought I
would
14. You will smell everything that tastes good
15. God can take away desires and override impulses when you
fast
16. Eating food is more about lust than hunger
17. I only need God and about 500 calories to function properly
18. Weight loss is a delightful byproduct but should not be the
primary motivator to fast for 40 days
19. Some people will think you're crazy, doing great harm to your
health or possibly die but you won't
20. You will think you're crazy, harming your health or you'll die but
you won't
21. The devil will say you're crazy you're harming your health and you'll die but he's a liar
22. DISCLAIMER: My Doctors said I was good to go (see #10)-I have heard that people do die from fasting but NOT FROM HUNGER-they come out of it too fast, eat the wrong stuff and their innards bust-so pray I come out of this WISELY
23. For me 50% of a 40-day fast is spiritual (God will fill me) 40% is
mental (my brain wants food more than my belly) 10% is physical (after day 14 my
body had adjusted/submitted).
24. The first 7 days are hard-the next 14 are better and after
day 21 my body has fully adjusted but my brain still wants to eat
25. The true measure of Love is sacrifice-what would you give up
for love-how about food?
26. I know why Jesus went to the desert to fast-no restaurants, potlucks,
or grocery stores.
27. You can experience the peace that passes understanding and
it is very good
28. All earthly struggles are temporary
29. All earthly struggles are tolerable if you keep the end
reward in mind
30. Delayed gratification is an essential Christian
discipline-it is what waiting for eternity is all about-THE BEST IS YET TO COME
Day 73 (July 6)
12 days to go on the fast and I've actually started working out again after playing frizbee on Saturday night-it felt great to run around again-and I didn't pass out! God is so good to me!
I feel inspired to add more picture-drawn and photographed from our time at the pastors retreat in Florida-what a gift it was!... enjoy!
Day 69 (July 2)
I would say in the last day or 2 I've had actual hunger pains and headaches but drinking water takes then away quickly-hydration is key-but also and probably the greater key is the Holy Spirit. I feel so much more connected to Him. He simply must keep me filled up or I feel very empty. Reading the Word (finished the NIV 2011 New Testament today-now going back to read Genesis) and being in prayer has been a vital part of the filling.
3 big wild turkeys in our back yard the a.m. :) I gave chase, they were fast!
Day 66 (June 29)
A cool crisp morning-the sun is shining and the Manda villas are blooming vigorously as the birds are singing all around. I’m over the hump-19 days to go on the 40 day fast. At 3pm I’ll go to the Dr. and get checked out-blood work was done on Monday so we’ll see.
Later that day... Back from the Dr's office (saw nurse pract. Erin) I dare say she marveled at my levels-asking if I really hadn’t eaten for 21 days “everything looks good, kidney, liver functions, electrolytes… just stay hydrated and keep going” we also talked about me seeing a dietician so I can keep the weight off-which I’m glad to do after the work of getting it off-let’s keep it off :)
Also went to Hobby Lobby and got this frame for the sand dollars. The 19 in the middle are the ones I found the first day-then the rest I found total 52 which is how old I am!
Day 55 (June 18) It's day 10 of my fast and I'm really missing crunchy food-popcorn, chips, rice crispy treats-if it crunches I miss it! Remind me to tell you why I bought my first snorkel set but it is now my favorite beach time activity-yesterday came on a bed of sand dollars...
...yep more than I've ever collected in my life-19 dove for and retrieved in like 1/2 an hour-I love the beach...
...also just finished up Hebrews-8 more books to go till NIV 2011 is done :)
Day 51 (June 14)
I'm now in my seventh day of the fast and I'm feeling
surprisingly well! As expected the first few days were rough. By day four of water only I was
extremely tired and basically wanted to go to bed around 8:00 in the evening
and then it was hard to get out of bed by 8:00 in the morning. This is very
abnormal for me (I’m usually an 11pm to 6am sleeper) so I felt led to drink some fruit
and vegetable juices to the water I drink. Basically I'm drinking a glass of
fruit or vegetable juice around meal times and it's given me enough energy that
I'm going to bed at regular times again. I also discovered a wonderful “water
recipe” that I will share at the end of the article that is also been a good
addition.
But the deeper learning here is that food is more about
comfort and pleasure than it is about actually fueling my body I'm discovering
that I eat too much for the wrong reasons. My wife observes but I am a
social eater. I suppose much in the same way people are social drinkers. The
bottom line is I was finding too much pleasure and comfort in what I eat and
that's what led to my obesity (and yes my doctor said I crossed that line a year or so ago) so my journey continues. The happy byproduct has been that I’ve
lost 14 pounds and hope I never find them again ;) I have come to realize that I
must find my greatest comfort and pleasure in Jesus and that is not only the Holiest
place but the healthiest place to find it.
I’m also trying to attend as many Camp Luz worship times as
I can. This takes me back to my roots as a pastor. I was (or so I was told) the
youngest person to ever pastor a camp at age 18. Then I did that for many years
after and truly, it was where I learned to preach, twice a day for 5 days to wiggly
little kids! I walk now to the campfire or chapel and it still feels so
familiar, so freeing and Jesus is there among us-this gives me such comfort and
pleasure!
Here's the refreshing "water recipe" I'm enjoying from Donna Partow (I think she got it from Dr. Bill Bright),
1 gallon of distilled water
1 1/2 cups of fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Her website is also helpful for those who may want to do a 40 day fast:
https://donnapartow.com/how-to-fast-for-forty-days/
It's day 45! (June 8) My Sabbatical is half over! Today I begin my 40 day fast. This text inspires me:
1 Corinthians 8:8 "But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do."
I've also recovered from the jet lag of 2 days ago as we returned from our family vacation. It was epic. Here are some photos from Portugal...
and Spain...
and France...
I met 2 different families from Ukraine (one was a pastor's wife!) who told me powerfully moving stories of their home and families. Click the link here to see a young, incredibly talented Ukrainian man play an instrument HE MADE beautifully:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HEK4GEuLjTTXMV2i8
KEEP PRAYING FOR PEACE IN UKRAINE!
Now it's day 25 (May 19), I'm doing a 3 day fast that will end tomorrow and as always it's a challenge but also incredibly refreshing to my soul and body-my mind still rebels and says you gotta eat! I'm moving thru 1 Corinthians at a good pace and taking many good notes.
I just finished one of thee greatest books of sermons I've ever read-MLK's Strength to Love-his sermons still speak with clarity and passion. Speaking of sermons-I went to Smithville Brethern for all 3 services and yes I heard the same sermon 3 times and it was excellent! Art did a grat job bringing the Word!
Also did some drawings today-digital of course-here are the stages of orchid 1,2,3:
I'm on day 15 (May 9) of my 92 day journey and it has been a bit of a whirlwind beginning-having taken off on Monday the 25th of April, we headed to The Cove. This is the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville NC and a blessed place like no other. We enjoyed fellowship with other pastors and teaching from master pastor Jim Cymbala (of the Brooklyn Tabernacle which he has served for 50 years). Prayer was his primary focus with side bars of dealing with the pressure and sadness of pastoring especially over the last 2 years.-it was powerful. If you'd like to get a sample of his teaching go here:
https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/grow-2/the-calling/
Then after a few days with Jim we got more teaching from the legendary Ron Hutchcraft. He is a man who you probably have heard on the radio thru his "A Word with you" spots or maybe his many books or speaking engagements. You can check him out right here:
While Jim spoke to my head, Ron spoke to my heart. His teaching was on grief and recovery. His wife passed away recently and he gave us teaching on what God has taught him thru this loss. As he put it "The best day of her life was the worst day of mine." This time was open to anyone who has experienced loss and will be offered again. I would highly recommend attending if at all possible. I'll post more info here when it's available-for now check out his book on the topic:
https://store.hutchcraft.com/collections/featured/products/hope-when-your-heart-is-breaking
We also enjoyed excellent worship times the fed our souls as much as the dining hall fed our bodies-here is a little video of the singing:
https://photos.google.com/u/2/photo/AF1QipN1jSconZe0CTbYxvdhULx8h-VT4Z8UYL5STGMy
So that was the first week at the Cove and here is a photo of us in front of the chapel...
The next week we celebrated our 25th anniversary (a month early)-and I'll just say it was wonderful ;)
I try to do some drawing in my journals as well and so I've tried drawing digitally and it's definatly a work in progress-here are some samples...
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