Okay let me cut to the chase. There isn't a lot of good tasting food while doing the Daniel fast. However you're fasting, so you're not really suppose to be enjoying yourself with fancy vegan foods anyway! You're suppose to be denying yourself these small luxuries in order to get deeper with God. Still, when I'm really on the verge of quitting the fast, this guacamole recipe is one of the things that gets me through the day and even sometimes causes me to forget that I'm in the middle of a fast. Hopefully it can do something lovely for you in your heart and stomach too.
fast friendly guacamole recipe.
two avocados mushed
half a tomato diced
two green onion sticks chopped
small handful of fresh cilantro chopped finely
a tablespoon of olive oil
juice from one lime
sprinkle of cayenne spice
dash of salt
black pepper (amount dependant on preference)
I like to mush up the avocado then chop everything up and put it all in a bowl with the mushed avocado then mix it up and eat it up. Sorry there's no pictures but I definitely gobbled that up almost instantly. Also, feel free to play with the recipe because I'm personally not a huge fan of oregano but other people also like to add that to it.
Happy fasting!
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Monday, 7 January 2013
The Challenge: Day 7
It's day 7 of the fast! We're about 1/3 of the way done and although it's only been 7 days, I've already wanted to quit the fast at least once every day since it began. However, I think if I didn't have those feelings of quitting then I obviously wouldn't be fasting something I cared about giving up. So although those feelings are difficult to overcome they're also encouraging that there is a denial of self with the hope of finding something more worthwhile.
A few days ago during the fast I accidentally came across a passage in Isaiah that has ripped apart many ideas I may have had about false fasting.
Every time I read this passage I'm challenged by it in a new way. It’s a passage about fasting. But it’s not a passage about
fasting from food, sleep, or even facebook. It’s a fast from our earthly
desires. It’s literally a fast from the self, a denial of the self. When we fast from food, sleep, or facebook we're merely using these clutches as physical representations of the denial of self we're trying to achieve. However, although it is good that we don't have any earthly clutches in our lives, whether they're sweets when we're sad or cyber peer-acceptance when we're insecure, the fasting that we're striving for is an ongoing denial of the self.
A few days ago during the fast I accidentally came across a passage in Isaiah that has ripped apart many ideas I may have had about false fasting.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help and he will say: Here I am."
Isaiah 58:6-9 (NIV)
When we learn to love people the way we love ourselves, when we learn to lay down our lives for each other, when we learn to put the needs of others before the needs of ourselves; this is the kind of fasting that we must choose. This fasting is a denial of the self that will "loose the chains of injustice, untie the cords of the yoke, [and] set the oppressed free" (verse 6). This is a kind of fasting that can change our hearts, our lives, and our cities.
I have to remind myself of this reason for fasting on a daily basis during The Challenge. This fast is not about the denial
of things to my body but learning about the denial of my body to my soul. C.S. Lewis said,
“you don’t have a soul you are a soul, you have a body.” And at this time it
may seem as though we're fasting in our bodies, but in reality we're feasting in our souls. As we seek God in this time, as we pray during this time, as we learn to turn to God and depend on Him in this time, we will begin to see him more clearly. We will see His light break forth like the dawn, we will experience His healing and righteousness, and we will hear Him with such a clarity that when we call on Him we will have no doubt that He answers us and says, "Here I am" (verse 8&9).
Thursday, 3 January 2013
The Challenge: Day 3
Two years ago Adore began its annual 21 day fast, also known as "The 21 Day Challenge" or "The Challenge". This is a time when we our church has a corporate fast for 21 days at the beginning of January to prepare interdependently for the year we have ahead of us. By "prepare" I mean not in a physical I-just-ate-my-body-weight-in-chocolate-over-the-month-of-December-and-need-to-recuperate sort of way but in a God-has-things-planned-for-this-year-and-I-want-to-take-part-in-them sort of way. It's less of a physical preparation and more of a spiritual one. On Sunday night Pastor Andy gave a powerful message about what fasting "is" and what fasting "isn't" and here is my re-cap of the message for all my friends who were still out of town at the end of December.
Fasting is not:
1. an attempt at obligating God
2. an attempt at losing weight
3. a hunger strike (this is politically driven)
4. an opportunity to make gourmet vegan food
5. a way to gain self-righteousness
6. just the denial of something (it's always paired with prayer, worship, and service)
Fasting is:
1. a spiritual exercise
2. drawing away from our clutches and turning to God for our comfort
"the response to a sacred moment, serious or grievous, to the desperate need we feel from God" (that last beauty was a direct quote was from Pastor Andy on Sunday night. If you weren't there, bet you're sad you missed it now!)
If you go to Adore and haven't started The Challenge yet I want to tell you that it's not too late to start! There are still 18 days left and although God won't love you any more or any less regardless on your participation in the fast I believe it is a good way to start the year. Also, if you're unsure of what may come with the fast I want to encourage you and tell you that I've had both bad and good experiences with fasting. My bad experiences have often been paired up with little prayer and even smaller amounts of seeking God in any way or form. These experiences have caused me to spend most of my days being grumpy and making the people around me grumpy too (bad). My good experiences, however, have been paired up with prayer and intentionally seeking God's face. Not so surprisingly, the good experiences have catapulted my faith into a depth that I've had difficulty reproducing with other experiences and a clarity to see God's face and His callings for the next steps for my life. Regardless of the experiences you may have encountered or fears/worries you may have for fasting keep in mind that fasting is a discipline, meaning it takes practice and patience! When I find myself coming up short, this encouragement helps me as well.
Happy fasting & till next time.
xx
Fasting is not:
1. an attempt at obligating God
2. an attempt at losing weight
3. a hunger strike (this is politically driven)
4. an opportunity to make gourmet vegan food
5. a way to gain self-righteousness
6. just the denial of something (it's always paired with prayer, worship, and service)
Fasting is:
1. a spiritual exercise
2. drawing away from our clutches and turning to God for our comfort
"the response to a sacred moment, serious or grievous, to the desperate need we feel from God" (that last beauty was a direct quote was from Pastor Andy on Sunday night. If you weren't there, bet you're sad you missed it now!)
If you go to Adore and haven't started The Challenge yet I want to tell you that it's not too late to start! There are still 18 days left and although God won't love you any more or any less regardless on your participation in the fast I believe it is a good way to start the year. Also, if you're unsure of what may come with the fast I want to encourage you and tell you that I've had both bad and good experiences with fasting. My bad experiences have often been paired up with little prayer and even smaller amounts of seeking God in any way or form. These experiences have caused me to spend most of my days being grumpy and making the people around me grumpy too (bad). My good experiences, however, have been paired up with prayer and intentionally seeking God's face. Not so surprisingly, the good experiences have catapulted my faith into a depth that I've had difficulty reproducing with other experiences and a clarity to see God's face and His callings for the next steps for my life. Regardless of the experiences you may have encountered or fears/worries you may have for fasting keep in mind that fasting is a discipline, meaning it takes practice and patience! When I find myself coming up short, this encouragement helps me as well.
Happy fasting & till next time.
xx
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
On the Drive Home.
I just got home from a friend's house and something oddly familiar happened to me on the drive home. I was driving down MacKenzie, which is usually a busy street but was quite empty at this time of night, and a car sped up beside me, cut me off, and continued to speed on ahead of me. I don't really get bothered when people cut me off and then speed away (it's when they cut me off and slow down that really bugs me) so I didn't really think twice about the occurrence. Also, I was singing and listening to music so I was obviously in my own little world. But, a few minutes down the road, I stopped at a red light and you know who was beside me? That's right: Señor Speedracer.
I thought this situation was quite funny because it honestly happens to me all the time. Drivers who are running late or maybe just have the need for speed will often exceed the speed limit excessively and then end up getting caught at a red light right beside the turtle driver they passed minutes ago. I've been on both ends of this scenario and let me tell you when you're the speedracer it is awkward and embarrassing to be stuck beside a car you cut off two minutes ago and obnoxiously sped away from. However, in this occurrence, I couldn't help but think how funny the situation was because it is such a good metaphor for life.
Frankly, how often does this same scenario happen in life? We try to speed up our plans, try to get to our destination/goal faster, and sometimes even cut off other people thinking we will race ahead of them and be in the lead. However, no matter how much we can control our speed and no matter how many road options we can to take, we can't control the traffic, traffic lights, or other drivers. Furthermore, if we disobey the traffic rules we run the risk of getting into a nasty accident and sometimes not even hurting ourselves but also hurting other people. The signs in our lives, like the ones on the roads, are there for a reason. The signs are there to help us stay safe and be aware of our surroundings, even when we can't see them. The traffic lights are there to help us get to our destination maybe not on our time but at the right time. And the traffic? Well, maybe the traffic is just there to remind us that even though we might be alone in our car, we're not alone on the road. So, take a few minutes to slow down and pay attention to the signs, people, and surroundings around you. Don't worry too much about speeding things up, you'll get to where you're suppose to be, and you'll get there when you're suppose to be there.
I thought this situation was quite funny because it honestly happens to me all the time. Drivers who are running late or maybe just have the need for speed will often exceed the speed limit excessively and then end up getting caught at a red light right beside the turtle driver they passed minutes ago. I've been on both ends of this scenario and let me tell you when you're the speedracer it is awkward and embarrassing to be stuck beside a car you cut off two minutes ago and obnoxiously sped away from. However, in this occurrence, I couldn't help but think how funny the situation was because it is such a good metaphor for life.
Frankly, how often does this same scenario happen in life? We try to speed up our plans, try to get to our destination/goal faster, and sometimes even cut off other people thinking we will race ahead of them and be in the lead. However, no matter how much we can control our speed and no matter how many road options we can to take, we can't control the traffic, traffic lights, or other drivers. Furthermore, if we disobey the traffic rules we run the risk of getting into a nasty accident and sometimes not even hurting ourselves but also hurting other people. The signs in our lives, like the ones on the roads, are there for a reason. The signs are there to help us stay safe and be aware of our surroundings, even when we can't see them. The traffic lights are there to help us get to our destination maybe not on our time but at the right time. And the traffic? Well, maybe the traffic is just there to remind us that even though we might be alone in our car, we're not alone on the road. So, take a few minutes to slow down and pay attention to the signs, people, and surroundings around you. Don't worry too much about speeding things up, you'll get to where you're suppose to be, and you'll get there when you're suppose to be there.
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
The First.
It's the first day of the year!
Because it's the first of the year I'm reminded of a story in the Bible that occurs in the first book of the Bible with the first sons in the Bible and their first offerings to God. The story is about Cain and Abel, who were two brothers, and while Cain tended to the fields of their family, his brother, Abel, tended to the flocks. One day both brothers gave an offering to God and the following explains the events occurred.
I've honestly read over this passage tens of times throughout my life and for so long I wondered why God preferred Abel's offering over Cain's. I've also heard many people preach about how God preferred Abel's offering because it was from an animal versus fruit but this conclusion never felt complete to me. When thinking about this piece of text today I came to the conclusion that it's not because the sacrifice was meat versus fruit that God preferred Abel's offering over Cain's but because Abel sacrificed, "the firstborn of his flock" while Cain sacrificed the "____fruit of the ground" (verses 3 & 4, underline added). Although it may seem obvious, when it comes to flocks, the firstborns are the animals that are born prior to their younger siblings. I know this concept seems simple but when we look at Abel's sacrifice in this context, by sacrificing the firstborn, Abel trusted that God would continue to produce more flock. Abel showed God that He wanted to honour Him higher than he did himself or his family and also that he trusted that God would continue to provide animals for their own personal needs. Abel's offering was pleasing to God because it was of the first and it was his very best. Cain's offering, contrarily, was not pleasing to God because it wasn't of his first and, therefore, wasn't his very best.
So what does for us to sacrifice our first to God? Because most of us don't raise flocks and grow fruits nowadays bringing our first could mean a number of things. In your case, it could be your dreams, time, family, friends, schooling, money, abilities, talents, and so much more. It doesn't just have to be money, which is usually what is assumed to be sacrificed in the New Testament; and it doesn't have to be animals, which is usually what is assumed to be sacrificed in the Old Testament. First is first is first is first. You know what your first is, and if you don't, ask God, because He for sure knows what your first is.
Therefore, let us let go of every second-prize offering we've sacrificed to God in the years before.
Let us reject any fearful thought that is telling us to hold onto our first-fruits for ourselves just until we feel "secure."
Let us stop giving God our leftovers. (I remember one time in high school trying to give my un-touched left to someone that asked me for change on the street and they did not want my leftovers! If my leftovers aren't good enough for a homeless person how could they ever be good enough for God?)
Let us stop all that nonsense and bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Because it's the first of the year I'm reminded of a story in the Bible that occurs in the first book of the Bible with the first sons in the Bible and their first offerings to God. The story is about Cain and Abel, who were two brothers, and while Cain tended to the fields of their family, his brother, Abel, tended to the flocks. One day both brothers gave an offering to God and the following explains the events occurred.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
Genesis 4:3-5
I've honestly read over this passage tens of times throughout my life and for so long I wondered why God preferred Abel's offering over Cain's. I've also heard many people preach about how God preferred Abel's offering because it was from an animal versus fruit but this conclusion never felt complete to me. When thinking about this piece of text today I came to the conclusion that it's not because the sacrifice was meat versus fruit that God preferred Abel's offering over Cain's but because Abel sacrificed, "the firstborn of his flock" while Cain sacrificed the "____fruit of the ground" (verses 3 & 4, underline added). Although it may seem obvious, when it comes to flocks, the firstborns are the animals that are born prior to their younger siblings. I know this concept seems simple but when we look at Abel's sacrifice in this context, by sacrificing the firstborn, Abel trusted that God would continue to produce more flock. Abel showed God that He wanted to honour Him higher than he did himself or his family and also that he trusted that God would continue to provide animals for their own personal needs. Abel's offering was pleasing to God because it was of the first and it was his very best. Cain's offering, contrarily, was not pleasing to God because it wasn't of his first and, therefore, wasn't his very best.
So what does for us to sacrifice our first to God? Because most of us don't raise flocks and grow fruits nowadays bringing our first could mean a number of things. In your case, it could be your dreams, time, family, friends, schooling, money, abilities, talents, and so much more. It doesn't just have to be money, which is usually what is assumed to be sacrificed in the New Testament; and it doesn't have to be animals, which is usually what is assumed to be sacrificed in the Old Testament. First is first is first is first. You know what your first is, and if you don't, ask God, because He for sure knows what your first is.
Therefore, let us let go of every second-prize offering we've sacrificed to God in the years before.
Let us reject any fearful thought that is telling us to hold onto our first-fruits for ourselves just until we feel "secure."
Let us stop giving God our leftovers. (I remember one time in high school trying to give my un-touched left to someone that asked me for change on the street and they did not want my leftovers! If my leftovers aren't good enough for a homeless person how could they ever be good enough for God?)
Let us stop all that nonsense and bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Let us bring God our first.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Happy 13th Birthday Century!
The New Year is upon us and I am thrilled with the endless possibilities we have to experience in life and expect in God's greatness. Two years ago I wrote and completed my first resolution and since that year I've been inspired to continue setting and pursuing New Year resolutions/goals. Truth be told, it wasn't the first resolution I wrote but it was the first one I completed and although I won't tell you about it on this post I wanted to share with you my resolutions/goals for the upcoming year.
Before I tell you about my aspirations for he upcoming year I think it's important to note that starting tomorrow our century is officially a teenager! Dear Century, Happy 13th Birthday! And congratulations for everything you've experienced thus far. In the past 13 years I've seen our century experience and overcome the awfulness of the 90's style; the heartbreaking sorrow of 9/11; the confusion of Canada going to war in Afghanistan; the downfall and comeback of Britney Spears; the Da Vinci code; the world's greatest homemaker go to jail (oh Martha); the excitement of the Olympics coming to Vancouver; the Haiti earthquake, and the world's grievous response; the H1N1 virus; the first black president of the United States; the confusing events that lead from "nerdy" to becoming "cool" and eventually leading to the creation of the "hipster"; the death of the king of pop; somehow vampires going from scary to romantic (?); my people getting stuck in a mine for three months; the end of the Harry Potter movies; the Royal Wedding; the many lives lost to the outbreak of Beiber Fever; the Spice Girls reuniting for the London Olympics; and the end of the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale Batman franchise. That is a long list but a lot happened in the past twelve years! Now as a teenager, I predict our century will have a more developed brain but a possibly stupider outlook on life, a whole lot more drama than what we've seen in the past, a new sense of adventure, the ability to take-on more responsibilities, and maybe even a first love. So, good things are yet to come.
As for me and my life, there are a few things I hope for the upcoming year. I made two sets of goals, one of the sets is things I would like to change about my life indefinitely and the other set of goals are things I would like to accomplish in this year. So, for the latter set of goals, I'm okay with letting go of these once the year is over, regardless of whether they were "successful" or not (this depends on how you measure success).
Before I tell you about my aspirations for he upcoming year I think it's important to note that starting tomorrow our century is officially a teenager! Dear Century, Happy 13th Birthday! And congratulations for everything you've experienced thus far. In the past 13 years I've seen our century experience and overcome the awfulness of the 90's style; the heartbreaking sorrow of 9/11; the confusion of Canada going to war in Afghanistan; the downfall and comeback of Britney Spears; the Da Vinci code; the world's greatest homemaker go to jail (oh Martha); the excitement of the Olympics coming to Vancouver; the Haiti earthquake, and the world's grievous response; the H1N1 virus; the first black president of the United States; the confusing events that lead from "nerdy" to becoming "cool" and eventually leading to the creation of the "hipster"; the death of the king of pop; somehow vampires going from scary to romantic (?); my people getting stuck in a mine for three months; the end of the Harry Potter movies; the Royal Wedding; the many lives lost to the outbreak of Beiber Fever; the Spice Girls reuniting for the London Olympics; and the end of the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale Batman franchise. That is a long list but a lot happened in the past twelve years! Now as a teenager, I predict our century will have a more developed brain but a possibly stupider outlook on life, a whole lot more drama than what we've seen in the past, a new sense of adventure, the ability to take-on more responsibilities, and maybe even a first love. So, good things are yet to come.
As for me and my life, there are a few things I hope for the upcoming year. I made two sets of goals, one of the sets is things I would like to change about my life indefinitely and the other set of goals are things I would like to accomplish in this year. So, for the latter set of goals, I'm okay with letting go of these once the year is over, regardless of whether they were "successful" or not (this depends on how you measure success).
1. pass all my classes
2. learn to like apples and carrots
3. Write every single day. At least 250 words
4. start exercising again (either by going to the gym, going to classes, or starting up sports again once I'm over my injury)
5. be more fun with my hair
6. wear more dress/blazer combos
Goals for this Year:
1. Get Mindy Kaling to tweet me.
2. Learn to run again
3. Read "Les Miserables"
4. Do Hot Yoga one time
5. Go to Disneyland
6. complete Tough Mudder
7. Win camp run
8. Make Shawna like Thai food
9. read "My Life in Heels" before the next staff Christmas party
10. do the scorpion pose in yoga
Now that I've shared these goals/aspirations with you I hope you can keep me accountable and encourage me when I want to give up on them. If you send me your goals/aspirations know that I can do these things for you too! Have a Happy New Year and I hope you feel excited for all the possibilities ahead!
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
PET Scan Results
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Psalm 146:2
So I ended up getting my PET scan results a few weeks early! I actually got my results on Friday but wanted to wait till after Christmas to post anything about it. And the results are... drum roll... inconclusive. Quite anti-climactic. There's still a small mass in my chest that's smaller than 2cm in diameter but it's inconclusive as to whether the mass is made up of fully scar tissue or if there are any cancerous cells left in there. So, I have to wait for six weeks and then proceed with a second PET scan to see if I need more treatment or if I will officially be done.
This news has been more frustrating than disappointing or upsetting and after a few days of wondering why frustration has been the main feeling I finally figured it out. I believe that if the results had come back positive for cancer I could get treatment over the next six weeks. Also, if the results had come back negative for cancer I could start to make plans for work and school over the next six weeks. However, because the results were inconclusive I only have the next six weeks of my life free and will potentially be tied up with more treatment after that.
Honestly, I'm quite frustrated. I want to commit to events for work, I want to start my class up again, I want to help out with Illuminate, I want to be able to start running again! Although I don't ever want to have chemotherapy again and I would prefer not to have radiation, I trust that God has something He's still trying to teach me in the middle of this mess. I still don't think He brought this upon me, but I do believe there's something He's using this for and something He's preparing me for.
Sometimes I worry about my health and future but so often when praying, reading my Bible, or singing/listening to praise music at the morning or Adore services there is an indefinite sense of peace that fills my heart. During these times it's easy to believe that I will get better and easy to understand that it will happen in God's timing. A lot of other times it's more difficult to hold onto these truths. However, I am choosing to believe God still has a plan for my life. He still has something to teach me, something to show me, and some depth to reveal to me. Something interesting that I'm learning right now is that when we are placed in these unfortunate situations with uncertain outcomes we always have the choice of how to respond. I've made my choice and I'm sticking to it. "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being" (Psalm 104:33).
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