Fasting Tips

This will probably be my last blog on fasting. But since a lot of people are fasting this time of the year I thought I’d give you some creative fasting ideas that I’ve picked-up over the years. I mean, if people can produce “Daniel Fast Cookbooks” and “Guides to Fasting”, why can’t I just give you some helpful fasting tips here on the blog? Today I’ll be giving you some helpful tips for The One Day Fast and The Daniel Fast. So, here you go:

One Day Fasting Tips
If you’re doing a One Day Fast you can follow these 3 easy steps to make your fast more enjoyable and more do-able:
Step 1- Eat as much as you can right-up until midnight the night before. Even to the point of gluttony (you can ask for forgiveness later). That way your stomach will be as full as possible the next day.
Step 2- Sleep as long as humanly possible the day of your fast. The more time your not awake, the better.
Step 3- Carefully schedule your day. Whenever you wake up (hopefully around 4-5pm) you can start getting prepared for dinner (which can be eaten at 12:01am). Go to the grocery store and purchase whatever it is that you’ll be dining on as soon as this thing is over. Choose a grocery store far from your house. Just remember, you’re trying to waste as much time as possible and a long drive will eat-up (pardon the pun) time for you. Choosing a scenic route, where you don’t pass 100 fast food restaurants, is suggested. You don’t want to backslide and pull into one of them in your weakened state. When you arrive at the grocery store park as far as possible from the store. That way you’ll waste more time by walking (pretty smart, huh?) all the way to the entrance. Walk slowly through the store as you shop. Remember, you’re trying to make it til midnight, so there’s no hurry. Then when you get home (hopefully around 9-10pm) you can start getting everything ready by marinating, chopping, prepping, etc. for your feast. You can start cooking around 11:15-11:30 and then at 12:01, bam! Bon Appetite, you made it baby! : )

See, that’s pretty easy, huh? Hopefully this will help you endure the 1 Day Fast. Now we’ll be discussing the Daniel Fast and great menu ideas for that particular fast.

Daniel Fast Tips
If you’re doing the Daniel Fast fast you’ll find this very helpful. I know people say that the Daniel Fast is suppose to be fruits and vegetables so if that’s the case, then here are some of my favorite things to eat on this particular fast:

- French Fries (they’re potatoes, which last time I checked are a vegetable)
-Ketchup for the Fries (although most people think tomatoes are a vegetable they’re actually in the fruit family... see how informative this blog is?!)
-Fried Okra
-Fried Zucchini
-Fried Mushrooms
-Fried Rice (vegetable fried rice, of course)
-Egg Rolls (they’re basically all cabbage and what goes better with fried rice than an egg roll?)
-Popcorn (they’re made from corn and corn is like the king of the vegetable world)
-Veggie Burgers (because you could always eat a burger... fasting or not)
-Veggie Dogs (warning... these are pretty new on the market and haven’t been fully perfected in the “area of taste” so they’re pretty nasty. But if you just have to have something that’s shaped like a hotdog then there ya go)
-Apple Pie (Apples are definitely a fruit but depending on how strict you are this may

or may not be allowed. But, if you rationalize it in your mind long enough, you can

pretty much justify eating anything.)

There. I hope all those ideas help you out. I mean, fasting needs to be made as easy as possible so that we can all make it through, right?

Obviously this particular blog is meant to be a joke. The sad thing is that I’ve pretty much done all that stuff when I was fasting (in the early years of trying to fast, that is). It’s like I would get so weak (mentally) and then I’d rationalize each particular food item in my mind and then I’d go ahead and eat it. Man, food (or lack of it) will definitely mess with your mind. And, when you’ve never fasted before, even going one day is a huge undertaking. But, as I’ve matured (haha), I’ve been able to look past all of the legalistic stuff that goes along with fasting and look at the main thing instead... Jesus. He’s the real reason for this whole fasting thing anyway, right? I need more of Him in my life, in my marriage, in my home, in my ministry and in my city. So, rather than focusing on all the stuff I can or can’t eat, I try to focus on Him. Yeah, sometimes it’s still difficult, but rather than letting my mind meditate on food items (like BBQ ribs, cheeseburgers with mushrooms and bacon, chocolate cake, fried shrimp, a thick juicy steak, fresh yeast rolls... you know, stuff like that) I try meditating on Jesus and His word in those times. I know that sounds obvious but as obvious as it is it’s easy to lose focus. So, as you’re fasting this year, hang tough and keep your eyes on Jesus and you’ll make it through to the other side. He has great things that He wants to do through us this year and our fasting is just preparing the road for it. But french fries are definitely made from potatoes, so what’s the big deal?

Just Trying to Help,
Jim