5 Days off The Diet

I have been a bad blogger as of recent. Part of it is because my hard drive crashed and I just got my super old computer up and running again.

Anyway, it is amazing the change we went through during the 21 days. We were more in tune with what God was leading us to do, we were more diligent to do our quiet times, and much more reliant on Him. 5 Days off, and I am a glutton again, my quiet time has slipped a little, and I have succumb to selfish motivations more.

I pray that we all continue to keep our focus and our prayers on the trip and the kids. You guys are awesome, and I am so proud to be a part of this team.

And the Daniel fast comes to an end!

We made it...I'm so proud of our team! All of the goals we set we all stuck to them and I couldn't be more proud of everyone! As the fast comes to an end, I thought it would be nice if everyone could sum up what God taught them during the fast. Below is what my husband and I learned...

We have learned how important it is to trust God with everything, depend on Him for strength when we don't have any left, and to be very intentional about living a life that glorifies Him.

PS-I cant wait to have cheese and orbitz gum!!!

Day 23...

Today was day 23 for me. This week is starting out rough for some reason. Maybe it's satan's attacking me, maybe i'm just protein deficient...I don't know! Either way, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was pretty mean all day :( And it wasn't until the end of the day that I realized I need to be lifting my attitude to the Lord. Hopefully, I will wake up tomorrow on the better side of the bed! As far as the fast goes, it's totally habit now. However, I and dying for CHEESE!!!! A friend told me today that I may not like it anymore. But, I can't wait to try it and see :)

So, my question is....how does meat, dairy, and preservatives taste??? My team is off the fast as of this past weekend so I wanna hear how thats going!

Love-RW

Final Countdown

Well we only have 2 days to go. That is amazing! John and I have been hanging doing great. We have come up with some very creative recipes! I am so excited because this weekend is my bday and I can have cheese dip! :) I am feeling good and really don't mind the food at all. There will be food that I just can't live without. But over all I think eating healthy will be my goal. This has been a incredible. A bit challenging at times but it has definitely been an amazing journey. I can't wait to catch up with everyone at our meeting Saturday. I want to hear from everyone. Rachel thanks for challenging our team to do this fast. I think you will see it has brought our team closer and definitely made us focus on our trip. Hope all is well and I will see you Saturday! How is everyone doing?

Week 2 completed!

Ok so I have some new favorites I wanted to share :) 

Breakfast:

1/2 cup of plain 100% oats oatmeal

1/4 cup of vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup of water

frozen fruit ( i like blueberries and peaches the best)

Mix it all together and warm in microwave for 1:00.  It is sooooo yummy!

Lunch:

Spinach

Mandarin oranges

Pecans

Cherries

Oil/Vinegar dressing

This is a flavor explosion in your mouth!

Dinner:

Ok there's a tie between the Taco Salad and the Spaghetti Squash :) Either way here are both recipes...

Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash
4 large crushed tomatoes
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preparations:
1. Puncture the squash with a fork and microwave for about 3min. (until it is tender).
2. Place the onion and garlic in a microwave container and cook until tender,stir occasionally (1 to 2 min.)
3. Mix in the crushed tomatoes and cook another 1 to 2 min, stir occasionally.
4. Take the squash and cut in half, scoop the seeds from the middle and use a fork to pull the meat.
5. Pour the sauce over the squash and enjoy.

Taco Salad

Shredded Lettuce

Black Beans (cooked with garlic, olive oil, and finely chopped onion)

Pinto Beans

Guacamole 

Salsa

Black Olives

Blue chips

Thats making me hungry just typing it!

I'm so thankful for this fast.  God has taught me so much and I'm on day 14.  I can't wait to see what the rest of this fast brings :) Hope everyone is doing great!

Love-

RW

Still going strong

Well I have been out of the mix for a bit. I am still on the fast and doing great. I had a really rough patch where I was sick for about 3 days. I actually almost passed out in John's cousin's wedding. But luckily John got me off the stage before I hit the floor. I am back on track now. I thought I would have to quit because of the way I was feeling but I got through it. I think "trusting" in God is what helped me! (and John too) John and I were talking last night about all we have learned through this experience and it is amazing when you really think about what we are doing and how incredible it is. I can't believe it has been 2 weeks total.

Starting week two...

Well, Monday is over and week 2 has begun,  It's hard to believe it's been 9 days since we started this fast.  I've had a pretty bad couple of days.  I'm hoping that was just my body detoxing and starting tomorrow it will be better.  My husband and I have learned a lot so far.  We have decided when this fast is over we will still eat organic foods and we are considering changing to soy milk.  We definitely feel a change in our body as far as clarity goes.  I feel the same as John-during my quiet times the words are jumping off the pages.  Over the weekend, I feel that God taught me to remember He is all I need, my all in all.  That was what I prayed all weekend long! As this week begins, I'm anxious to see what He will reveal to me.  Let's keep praying for Cambodia, the kids, and us!

Much love friends-

Rachael

One Week In. We made it!!!!! from John Slappey

Hello to all. Sorry I haven't had a chance to post anything for a few days. We have had alot going on with my cousin getting married yesterday.

I am very encouraged by all that I have been reading to see that everyone seems to be going through the same transformations that I have experienced. It seems that each day brings new accomplishments and obstacles to overcome. I can say that without my trust in God I could not be here today after one week and say that I made it through the first week of this fast. I am amazed at the clarity of the my mind and body. The words are jumping off the page in my morning devotions.

Julie and I had a great time at the wedding yesterday. My aunt had them make us and Heather a vegetarian meal. It helped alot and was very tasty. The only real struggle I had was not to jump face first into the cake at the end of the night. I was truly tempted.

Gotta run. We are heading to the 11 o'clock service. Take care and God Bless.

John

I want dessert!!! I want to stick my tongue into that jar of nutella. WHY?!!

Wednesday and Thursday

Hey friends,

The last two days have been pretty rough on me.  I'm not sure why but I've felt kinda nauseous and not really hungry at all.  Plus, I'm keeping a small but annoying headache.  I've been trying to eat but nothing really tastes good.  I'm thinking my body is just cleansing and hopefully after tomorrow I will start feeling better.  I made a taco salad tonight.  It had black beans, olives, corn, homemade salsa, and tofu.  But I have to be honest and tell you I did not like the tofu.  Maybe I didn't cook it right-either way it was nasty! My favorite meal so far has been black beans and brown rice with a lil' salsa, yum!

As far as what God is teaching me... the last two days it was trust.  I had lunch appointments both days so it was tough not to cheat.  But I stuck to it and ordered what I could.  I felt like God was reminding me that if I chose to trust Him, I will be rewarded.  I do feel as if my mind is becoming clearer.  My quiet times seem much more meaningful in the morning.  And when I wake up in the morning the first thing I want to do is spend time with Him.  

I am praying for my team, I am praying for the kids in Cambodia... but more than anything I am praising God that He has put us all together to experience all this! 

Good Verse

I was reading Proverbs last night (catching up since I didn't the day before), and found a verse that I think is very helpful with what we are going through:

Proverbs 3:7-8
Do no be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

That came at a perfect time, as I was complaining about wanting more protein and how I didn't think I could work out as hard because of my lack of meat and didn't want to risk hurting myself. What selfishness and lack of faith. I was putting my desire for working out and lack of faith that this diet, which is making me so much stronger in my walk, could strengthen me ahead of the understanding that I am not on earth for me, but rather for service to glorify God and that he will not give me anything I can't handle. He will bring health to my body and nourishment to my bones. I just thought that was so cool. No matter the situation, some guy 3,000 years ago was inspired by God to explain that we would struggle with similar things, and that God is there to make you whole if you trust in Him, fear Him, and shun evil. God is good.

Veggie Chili

Here is the recipe: 

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon salt

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

3 gloves garlic, chopped

2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained

2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles

3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and shimmer 5 minutes.

2. Mix tomatoes into pot. Season chili and chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and shimmer for 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

I wish I could have cake...

Well today I am feeling better. I had a huge headache last night and went to bed at 8pm. John and I are doing great with food. It is hard to come up with interesting things to eat. John says I can't live off of corn chips, guacamole & salsa. :) We made spaghetti last night which was good. Today was very hard because I went to a bridesmaids luncheon. I just wanted a piece of the cake so bad. It looked so good. But I am more worried about the rehearsal dinner with a Mexican Fiesta! I find that I get full but not in this good way. (I think a box of mac and cheese would be better) I am eating all natural peanut butter and an apple right now. My favorite!

Rachael, I am loving the oatmeal with apples and cinnamon. What grits are you eating that are %100 corn? The ones I bought at Whole Foods aren't that great. Also what roll-ups are ok to eat that you were telling me about? 

Craig I loved your blog. I told John that sometimes I feel like I am missing food and totally missing the point to draw closer to the Lord through prayer. I think the first few days were rough. Please continue to tell us about your book. Good luck on the road. 

As for as today I am finishing up work and heading home to a veggie feast!! Also my brother in law gave me a great recipe for Veggie Chili I will post it! They say it is good!!

Day 4 - - From Jon

Holy crap, this was an immediate blog need. I just made a smoothie this morning, and it is amazing. I found it on some website when I Googled "How to cheat on the Daniel Fast". J/K But really, this is very good, so wanted to let you guys know about it. Have a great day, and I will be praying for everyone.

1 1/2 Cups Soy Milk
10 oz. partially thawed frozen stawberries
1 medium banana sliced in chunks
1/3 cup orange juice

Blend for about 1 minute.

This makes enough for two big smoothies. DELICIOUS!!

Day 3--from Rachael

For me, today started out pretty rough.  I got up and was really tired, even though I slept for 9 hours last night.  Then I had to get breakfast for our IT monthly meeting.  And everyone wanted Chick-fil-ay (which sucked for me because it smelled soooooo good!).  So I bought some yummy mango, pineapple, and strawberries... and made smoothies for me, Kyle and Gidget.  So it all worked out.  But after that meeting was over I got back to my desk and was feeling really lightheaded.  I went ahead and ate lunch (broccoli and potatoes) and I was full but not satisfied. I thought that was kinda weird.  When you think about life our flesh always leaves us thinking we are not satisfied. So today, I prayed to be satisfied.  I was reminded that we must keep our eye on the prize and that prize is Jesus.  We must remember that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," Matthew 6:21.  Our treasure is knowing we will get to spend eternity with God.  If we remember that than it makes our time here much easier.  I know everyone is having  tough time with this fast and it's only day 3.  My husband has already lost 8 pounds in 3 days and I have lost 4.  But, we are shifting our eyes to have a heavenly perspective! 

In 3 days, I am already feeling much more prepared for our trip.  Just so you guys know, one thing I am really praying through is missing my husband.  Everyone on our team, besides Michael, has their significant other.  And thats been real tough for me, but I didn't realize it was gonna bother me so bad, until we had the retreat.  I'm really trusting God on this fear.  Greg said he wanted me to do this trip without him so I will completely relay on God.  Then after I have this one trip under my belt we will start doing missions together.  So his reasons for not going are totally valid.  I just thought I would throw this out here so you guys could pray for me.

Thanks again for commenting and wanting to post to the blog.  I think this is awesome for us to have support from one another and anyone else that wants to read :) Have a great evening!

-RW

**Here are a few postings from others on the team**
Jon Vaughan said...
Since I am a day behind everyone, I am still dieing for sugar and meat. I got to the office today and much to my chagrin, there are fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chip sitting out. That was a tough pass. This is the second day I have had the natural peanut butter and Polanar's All Fruit Spread on the whole wheat pita for lunch, and I think that I will continue eating it when this is over. My thought process when I eat, though, has become envisioning my veggies and pieces of steak. Makes it easier to eat, for me.

Really, though, I think about you guys and pray for you all the time, when I am feeling weak or pass cookies. You are a great group, and this is an awesome experience. Thanks for the inspiration and look forward to a great trip.

Julie said...
Things are going better today. Not as tired. I actually got up and worked out and I was a little worried I would pass out but did just fine. I had oatmeal with chopped apples and cinnamon. Then after my workout I had a great smoothie. Now I am heading out shortly for a golf tournament to work and I am about to have a bean burrito and some corn chips. We had a great dinner last night that was a recipe I found online called Cuban Black Beans and Rice.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
recipes/vegetarian/cubanbeansrice.html
(I used the directions on the rice container not this recipe) Not sure what is on the menu for tonight maybe whole wheat pasta. But John and I are doing great. We haven't cheated once. I am worried about this weekend with John's cousin getting married and I am in the wedding. So I have about 3 parties to go to with some great food surrounding me. We have asked for special meals so that will help! It is great to see everyone posting. It gives you extra encouragement to keep going to hear everyone else sticking with it. Good Luck today!I am out!

Day 3--from Craig

Day 3

Headaches went away this morning. I read in my fasting book that this is normal due to the lack of sugar. As I am reading the book Fasting by Jentezen Franklin the pastor of Free Chapel, he continually mentions the following: Without being combined with prayer and the word, it is little more than a diet. He calls it the three cords (giving, praying, fasting). Eccles 4:12. I am really finding strength in Romans 12: 1-2. I memorized this in a small group years ago. Anyway, we went shopping on Sunday for food after trying to figure out what to eat at Golden Corral for lunch following the retreat. It is limited, so I would probably stay clear unless you want to spend $10.00 per person for lettuce and a few vegetables that are soaked in some sort of special sauce. We have found that whole wheat pasta and organic sauce is pretty good. I am really missing my Parmesan cheese though. I did want to mention about something I actually bought about a month ago that turned out to be perfect for this. They have a pretty good vegan section at World Market in the back of the store. It is primarily Indian food which consists of a lot of curry dishes. There is typically little to no sugar in any of the dishes, and you simply pour the pouch over some brown rice and heat. I would eat this stuff off of the fast. Some of it is actually already prepacked with rice and whatever the accompanying dish is. Well, I am in West Palm Beach this week and am looking forward to the challenge of making this work on the road.

Day 2...

Well, my day was pretty good.  I woke up feeling refreshed... got to the all staff meeting where they had a full country breakfast spread-but i was full of s, and s I mean soy and strawberries! Then I got to the Ministry Services meeting and it was a baked potato bar.  So I ate a nice baked potato with nothing on it, yum tasty! Now all that to say, I got home and made a delicious dinner of sauteed broccoli, dill potato wedges, and a grilled portobello mushroom cap. So right now i'm full and happy.  Thanks for all the comments! It was great to hear from you all :) 

We really do have an awesome team! And God is teaching us so much through the preparation for this trip. Today He taught me that spiritual friends are so important to get us through life.  I'm so blessed to have you all and my amazing coworkers! Not only did my Cambodia team members join me in the fast, but several coworkers also at other campuses joined the cause! So all I can say is PRAISE God.  Praise His holy name!!! 

What did God teach you today? 

Daniel Fast starts today!!!

Hey all,

Today is the first day of a 21-30 day fast 6 out of the 10 team members are participating in. We all will have access to blog about different things that we are feeling during the time preparing for our trip.  So enjoy! And if you have any questions you just comment away :)

Much love-

RW