Month 1 is a wrap

Month 1 of Fasting from Excess is a wrap.  We broke our food fast with a family dinner out at Biaggi’s.  Biaggi’s was the choice because it has something for all of us – gluten free, kid’s menu, nice salads and entrees.  It was a real treat to enjoy some family time and be grateful for the blessing of a full tummy and laughter.  The big hits tonight were bread and salad.  Interestingly, each of us brought home a doggy bag (except for Tasha who cleaned up her bowl of pasta).   At the end of the meal, Cate said, “I am so full my stomach feels like it’s going to explode.  But I still want chocolate cake.”  In the end, she took a rain check on the dessert.

What a way to start FFE!  I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few weeks about the order of the monthly fasts that we are doing.  Starting with the food month, and then following with the clothing month seems like such a natural transition.  The beauty of starting with food is that it sets up the dynamic of focusing our fasting from the inside out.  There is little more personal than how we choose to nourish our bodies.  It’s given me a chance to consider deeply Paul’s question to the Corinthian church: 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.  (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

I’m realizing that FFE, for me at least, is unfolding a path before me that leads towards shedding excess and using our surplus for His kingdom, and it is a path that starts from the core of my being and works its way out.  By relearning eating habits that are moderate, balanced, simple and healthy, I treated my body better than I have in a long time.  Treating myself well as a way of glorifying God shouldn’t feel like a revelation to me…but it does. 

And, yet, as we end our food fast, I realize that I still have a long way to go with regards to living in way that befits the Holy Spirit living in the {chubby} temple of me.  I need more exercise.  I need to continue my moderated eating habits.  I need to focus on enjoying the outcomes of eating healthy, moderate amounts and savoring the pure, wonderful assortment of deliciousness that God created for us to enjoy.  Overindulging me and my tastes underindulges the Spirit dwelling in me.  Overindulging is instant gratification for me, not glorification of God.

So, this month long lesson in treating my body as a temple is really just a baby step towards bringing glory to the One who made me and His Son who bought me with a price.  Moving into clothing month is a great bridge from the interior work that is now started to the external me -- my presentation of myself to the world.  Tomorrow I will post about the first day of our clothing fast and how we’ve planned our Fasting from Excess month focused on clothing.

To those of you who are following us regularly, we are blessed to have you joining us in our journey.  May God bless you as he moves you in deeply personal ways to grow closer to Him.