One week ago today, I sat at a table with a group of friends having a great time, feasting, and celebrating the coming new year which was only a few hours away.

I knew the very next morning what I would be embarking upon.  What I didn't know was the deep effect this would begin to have on me.

Most of my day today was productive.  I was full of energy.  My cup runneth over with energy!  I was filled with some stresses.  A sick child, a very sick wife, and a near collision in my car.  Bad drivers!  As a former pastor of mine use to say... They just give you a chance to love Jesus even more.  Just your average Monday.

My body feels great.  I have had a slight headache throughout the evening, but overall I feel great.  The stiffness in my joints is completely gone.  I've not had back pain for several days now.  I've dropped nearly 20 pounds this week!  These are definitely the physical benefits of a fast.  At one point I felt like I could take off and run a marathon, but I know that would not be the smart thing to do.  In time.

I have such a sense of calm that I seem to have moved into.  My mind seems alert and my heart prepared to receive.  I am enjoying this place that I am in.  I prayed incessantly throughout the day.  Every little moment I was thinking of something, I was praying.  I was eager to get into the Word more.    I had a moment of struggle, when I cried out "Father walk beside me!"  I felt Him clearly speak to my spirit as He said, "I am here."

Such peace.

My reading tonight in Luke took me, again, to Jesus as he fasted.  The enemy did all he could to persuade Christ to give into the suggestions of appeasing the flesh.  To no avail!  Many may not realize, but it was a the end of his fast when this took place.  Precisely at the ultimate point of weakness.

Exactly how the devil likes to work.  We move into a great time of discipline and strength in our lives, yet he waits until our most weakest and vulnerable times to attack.  Brilliant on his part!  Cowardly as well.

I'm thankful to serve a God of great might and power, who sustains us and enables us, and gives us the power indeed to overcome the ignorance and cowardice of the enemy!

Comment below.  What have you overcome in your life as the enemy tried to lure you in?

I had a couple of friends ask about a statement I made in yesterday's blog.  I want to clarify what I wrote by saying this today.  Yes, I am fully expecting an encounter with God.  Maybe not in the "Third Kind" sense.  More so in a deep spiritual sense.

Day six was 85% a pleasant experience.  My body is close to fully accepting the fast.  There are some unpleasant things I wish would go away.  For one, there is a persistent bad taste in my mouth and my breath is foul.  I just brush multiple times a day and use mouthwash even more.  I hope that helps, but beware those who come close!

The battle today seems to be switching from a physical one, to a mental one.  While my hunger has subsided, turning at every corner and seeing people put food into their mouths was very difficult today. My body requires food to survive, and my brain keeps telling me to shove something down!  I have to firmly remind myself of where I am and what I am doing.  At one point I turned to my wife and said, "I don't want to do this anymore."

This is affecting my relationships as well.  Not in a bad way, but in a realistic way.  My friends realize I am fasting, and so they want to avoid conversations of food and any fellowships that involve food.  I am so grateful for the respect, and I have the best friends a man could ever ask for, but I suddenly felt in a very lonely place today.  This is part of the journey.  And again, this is my opportunity to draw near to the Father.  He is truly becoming my strength in all this.

Late into the evening I came to realize how important it is to bring my flesh and mind under control.  Once I can get past this phase, I believe the deep spiritual things I am expecting will begin.  While I am already experiencing a depth in my walk that I never have before, the excitement of what lies ahead keeps my anticipation high!

I have found a lot of support throughout this past week.  I greatly appreciate the prayers of my friends and family.  It is carrying me through each day.

Today has been quite calm.  I worked around my house, getting all the necessary chores done.  I even cooked a meal for my family with dessert.  It wasn't difficult at all, I just had to watch myself as I am so used to tasting as I cook.  No tasting today... and the family said the meal was delicious!

My body seems as though it is becoming accustomed to the fast.  I've not had any hunger pangs today.  My energy was up.  I slept quite well the night before.  I've been working on keeping myself hydrated. If anyone decides to take on any length of extended fasting, I can't emphasis enough how important it is to drink lots of water!

I've had a few people ask if I am expecting some kind of awe-inspiring supernatural event to take place.

No, I don't.

That's not to say it won't happen, but living this life as a child of God is amazing as it is!  I didn't decide to take this journey to have some sort of new age experience.  I've done this to create a level of discipline in my life, to draw closer to God in a greater capacity than ever before in my life, and to become more dependent upon Him.

Just five days in, and I can say I have most assuredly experienced that.

Today is a landmark for me.  I have completed three 5-day fasts in my life in years past.  Today marks my fourth, and I am moving into new territory as I see day six and beyond.  I am eager to experience the days ahead and to see what God has in store!

I cannot express enough what a challenge this truly is.  While I see this as a true call at this point in my life, there is no denying the sacrifice involved.

Today was a bottom to top day.  I did not sleep well at all.  I had crazy dreams the entire night.  I was up and down, and tossed and turned.

Physically, I woke up very thirsty, and very hungry.  I kept myself busy throughout the day to keep my mind off the discomfort.  My wife was a bit worried about me, but I assured her if I felt like I was hurting myself, I would end the fast immediately.

By lunchtime, I felt better.  I even sat at the table as my family had their meal.  I had a bottled water, and we had some great conversation.

Later in the day I took my kids to watch a movie.  As I entered the theater, the smell of hot buttered popcorn was almost enough to send me over the edge!  I thought perhaps I had made a mistake by walking through those doors.  It was a bit discouraging.

Later, as we watched the movie, a little animated fish (in the movie of course) reminded me as she sang, "Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming, swimming swimming!"

And so I swim.

My day was topped off with nearly three hours of reading God's Word and prayer.  My prayer time was amazing this night.  As if any time isn't, but I really did have a great time communing with God tonight.  I feel confident that He will guide me to the end of this.  I was moved as I sat for a time and listened and could feel Him speak to my spirit.  I feel so honored to be able to sit in His presence.

God is good!

By the end of the day my body feels comfortable, and my spirit feels renewed.  I am looking forward to the days ahead.

My day seemed destined to be challenged from the moment I awoke.

Physically, I felt fine.  My hunger seems to have subsided quite a bit, although my senses are fully aware of just how much food plays a part in our lives.  I smell it, I see it on the counter, I read posts about it, I hear about the last great meal.

I took some time during my day to try and understand what it really means to be hungry.  Even though I am not feeling it at this moment, I know I am, and my body tells me I need nourishment.  I can't imagine a child or any person being forced to live this way.  Living in a place where they fight for scraps or hunt for rodents.  It's literally survival.

And what do we do in our country of abundance?  We complain because the potatoes were over-salted.  We grimace at frozen lasagna or dry turkey.  I feel ashamed for my lack of gratitude.

Today was a ride!  I felt tossed around from top to bottom.  I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible headache, fell back asleep and woke up feeling great, continuing with a great morning and afternoon.

And then the evening came.

I struggled most of the evening.  Physically, not feeling hungry, but I am definitely feeling lethargic.  I tried my hardest not to "appear to be fasting" at church last night, but I was dragging.  It took a great deal of mental energy just to remain focused on getting work done.

I ended my late day for quite sometime in prayer.  The reality of what I have decided to do seemed to set in.  I was feeling it, and I was praying "God walk beside me over the next few weeks."  This is something I want to bring to Him, and for Him.

Father, help me through this time.  Walk beside me.  Let my focus be on you.

I've made it through the first day of my 40-day fast.  I can't help but wonder if it's okay to start counting down days or not?  If it is, then I've got 39 days to go!

Day one was a good day.  It was a low-key day.  Didn't go in to the office.  The kids laid around watching movies.  I spent some time working from home.  Not too much stress.

Physically I feel good.  Not too hungry.  My stomach did growl a couple of times as my wife prepared dinner for the kids, but nothing too serious.  No headaches or other physical complaints.

I spent a good amount of time in the Word this afternoon.  It was refreshing to read with a renewed purpose in my heart!  Something I feel convicted about and immediately plan to continue.

It was appropriate that our church reading tonight from Matthew 1-7 took me to the 40-day fast Jesus himself went through.  I became somewhat burdened as I realized the spiritual battle that was happening with him during this time.  In the same breath, great peace came to me with the words of Jesus in the same passage, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

I've always thought of that as Jesus saying, "I don't need food, I've got God."  Today it leapt out at me that the point really is, yes, we do need food.  We can't survive too terribly long without it.  So, what then is greater than our physical dependence upon food?  Our spiritual dependence upon God!

If we don't have food to eat, we die.  If we die without God, we live in eternity without God.

And so, then, every word that comes from the mouth of God is far more important than any morsel of bread that could go into mine.