I am going to start my fast on Ash Wednesday. The first three days will be just fruit and veggie smoothies. Then after that I plan on eating Daniel Diet food only. Years ago in my teens and twenties I was a vegetarian turned veagan and then back to vegetarian. So this challenge should be easy, but over the years things change. I have gotten lazy and now eat all meats and more junk than ever. A few weeks ago I started reading a book called "Raising The Dead". Written by Chauncey W. Crandall,MD. This book in some amazing unexplained way has drawn me clser to God and made me look at the power of prayer in a much deeper way. For this has givin me much more desire to do this Daniel challenge. I am looking foreward to the weeks ahead.

Two weeks are almost up and I feel great. Week one was a week of cleansing, hunger (and withdrawel effects from rich foods!), and only by the second week did I feel like I was beginning to reap the benefits of the diet. The change was far from gradual! Every day this week I have felt very energized, focused and I don't fatigue as the day passes, no matter how busy I might be that day. I'm used to getting groggy in the evening and sometimes I get backaches, but none of that now! God has graciously helped me concentrate in school and excell in many tasks throughout the week. There's no way I can simply attribute that through the rational effects of my diet - from the extent to which I have been feeling such apparent differences there's just no way it can't be God at work.

Giving up meat is easy even for a meat-lover like myself. Giving up meat AND dairy is very hard! But I've discovered many great vegan dishes that I really enjoy that I know I will choose to eat instead of less healthy ones each week.

I will admit that in this second week I have failed a few times to pray the second of the three times a day on expecially busy days. Nonetheless it's been doing wonderful things for my prayer life. In fact, this is exactly what it has needed for a long time! I will go back to eating meat and dairy in a little over a week, but I never want to go back to NOT being a prayer warrior. I want to make this a regular part of my life. The same thing for being more bold in speaking up for what is right and/or walking away from things I don't want to have a part in. As ridiculous as it is, it's hard to learn to fear God more than the people we interact every day with. But my now increased interaction with God is surely helping.

Yay! Made it through the sugar minefield of Valentine's Day. Beautiful, luscious strawberries were treat enough! I find myself very much looking forward to each of the three quiet times with God everyday. Before the Daniel Challenge, my quiet times were pretty haphazard, except for in the early morning before getting out of bed (unless I overslept!). I've realized that, just like I need regular meals throughout the day to keep my body functioning efficiently & energy level up, I also need regular prayer & alone-time with my Father & in the Word to shore up my spirit & keep a godly perspective. It also strengthens the relationship...which is built both through dedicated time & incidental encounters. I can't imagine going back to *not* having these regular little meetings with Jesus throughout the day. Also, as a direct result of this Challenge, I've been convicted about an area of weakness in my life, and it was both painful and sweet to have God point it out to me and then reassure me that He has already instilled in me the power I need to get stronger.

One of the recipes Linda and I really like is, Bombay-style Butternut Bisque With Fresh Ginger, Cilantro and Tomato. I added 8 drops of hot sauce, 2 tsp garlic and I also added directly to my soup at the end, about 1 Tbsp of lime juice and the cilanro. You can find the recipe at: http//soup.betterrecipes.com/bombay-style-butternut-bisque-bisque-with-fresh-ginger-cilantro-and-Tomato, (be sure to copy & paste to Google search).

Thanks Pastor, We love the smoothy.

PS I'm a meat and potatoes guy but I'm finding I really don't mind meals W/O meat. I'm not willing to give up meat totally, after the Challenge, but we will have more meatless meals in the future.

OK. Today is the end of 7 days for Don & I. Started the day with our first ever Pastor Tom's smoothie (good stuff!). After church our main meal was a Butternut Bisque made with coconut milk by Don (really good stuff!) and a salad. Don's even saying he's not missing his meat so we are forging ahead for the remaining 14 days believing God has plans not only for us physically, but spiritually. Common church - WE CAN DO IT WITH HIM

While grocery shopping I was able to share about the Daniel challenge with the check out lady to whom I have never met before. Awesome!

Day 1 - a day of preparing and exploring, praying and readjusting. I also included no face book to get me prepared for praying and speaking with God more.

Day 2- Was the day my eyes opened and was very difficult, kinda down and blah to start the day. By afternoon my eyes opened to see things a little more different. very emotional but uplifting and clearer day.

Day 3 - woke in the middle of the night to pain in lower back. Grief, abandonment were the things i was hearing. I need to let my grief and my feelings of abandonment do its process and let it go. When I hang on to it and stuff it,it moves somewhere else and causes it to resurface again.

Great eye opening day.

Day 4 - Oh boy the day my challenge is up. I could smell coffee, it called to me so many times. I told myself I can go to my in-laws have coffee and visit. BUT I did what Tom said pray about the craving and guess what it went away.

So I have now decide to add another 7 days. Along with Daniels; I will continue with no sugars, no coffees, no breads, add lean meats and limited dairy. Is this still sacrificing idols? Will this count and be diligent with God?

I have prayed and understand this to be OK.

I also have learned with sacrificing face book, it has allowed me to understand and see my time on computer use and have a new perspective for this.

Thank you Tom for Challenging the Church Family to do this. It is Awesome and so eye opening, heart warming, it has not been easy however is good. Tammy Worthington.

Byron and I are on day five of our Daniel Challenge and going strong. We didn't include Evie (6 yrs old) in our challenge but we have had discussions with her, she sees our actions and has made comments about what we're doing. We may include her next time, especially if we do a shorter one in the future.

Thankfully, we eat pretty healthy typically so we haven't had any withdrawal symptoms. It has been an adjustment to not eat any meat but we've had fun coming up with new ideas and I cooked tofu for the first time in my life the other day. :) The two biggest temptations we've experienced were when we were by the pool (we live in San Diego) and someone started bbqing...that was just not nice! :) The other was when I had a business meeting in a restaurant. All the smells were amazing but I sat there confidently drinking my water know and loving the reason why I wasn't partaking.

We took this challenge for several reasons but partly looking for direction from the Lord on the next step in our lives and whether and when we should be moving back to Oregon. So far we haven't noticed profound direction from the Lord other than for some reason every night at bed time I have had overwhelmingly strong and almost heavy feeling towards my immediate family and a desire to be closer to all our family. In addition, to a feeling that, the time is short and that's where I need to be. I don't quite know how to describe the feeling but it almost overcomes me. I want to drop every other area in life (obviously I can't) and just surround myself with my family. I don't know what that means regarding our next steps, our careers, our physical location, etc. So, I'm praying through what that message means and asking for clarity. I would appreciate anyone else who is willing to pray with me for clarification on this. It has happened four nights in a row now at the same time. It's very cool and kind of scary at the same time but just goes to show you just how real and relevant God is and that he's actively at work in our lives. Now if he could just hit me over the head with it so I could figure it out. I'm apparently a slow learner. :)

P.s. Total side note, I've lost 5 lbs since Monday as well - loving that result but not nearly as much as growing closer to the Lord!

Hi Becky,
Thought I would comment on your question about the lean meat protein. Of course lean meat protein is better than fatty meat protein! Right? Of course. But, the Daniel diet from the Bible did not contain any meat! Hence, I would challenge you to take a 3, 7, or 10 day period where you would not include any meat in your personal diet as a sacrifice of worship to the Lord. As I am sure you know, a person can get protein through a vegetable/fruit/grains/nuts diet or many of the animals we eat would not be getting the protein they need to build muscle and strong, lean bodies. So, I encourage you to continue the challenge you have given at your gym but that you take a few days without meat protein as a way to give added worship to the Lord.

Blessings,
Pastor Tom

Yes we are alive and doing great! Since our whole family is involved and I have been monitoring everyone :) I am so proud of all of them especially the kids. Wow are they faithful to what is going on here. Not one bit of sugar has touched their lips and they are so greatful when I made the almond cookies on the ultimatedanieldiet website. There is a sort of different appreciation for food. Cameron is having a few cravings, I am being tested in dreams and where I put my value. That is kind of scary, especially when you have no say in your sleep mode. With Valentines day coming up, it should be very challenging as that will be our last day and we are committed to follow this through. So hopefully I can find a way to make veggies special and romantic LOL. Maybe redbell peppers cut into shapes of hearts??? For the first time I think in my life I am doing a eating plan for other reasons than weight loss....Thank God

I own a tax office and with 8 of us all working long hours, there are plenty of plates of candy, cookies, donuts and other goodies around. Everytime I walk by one and DON'T take a piece to eat it reminds me that God is right here beside me every moment of the day. So, I just say, "This one NOT being eaten is for you God. Thank you that I have a choice."