markmanry

Day seven. God is always faithful to his promise. Always. I stand on the other side of victory, humbled and joyful to have witnessed God’s presence. Unexpected opposition, but my friend she stood weak and let the strength of God consume her. She didn’t just survive. She was victorious! And the glory goes to the One who carried her through. I am amazed how God numbered these days of my fast. And timed them to perfectly meet my friend at the battle line. His plan was different than mine. I had intended to fast for eight days, praying one day […]

Day six: I love when my fast takes a detour. When God impresses upon my heart someone to pray for, someone different than those I intended to. It reminds me that God is ever present. Listening. Prompting. Interceding. It’s been a hard day. My body is weak. But my spirit persists in prayer for a friend in battle. The enemy is strong. And the friend feels unprepared to face it. Not yet. When I’m stronger. When there aren’t so many things working against me. I agree. I would never send her into battle unprepared. But…“As the heavens are higher than […]

Day Five. I’ve learned to embrace the physical benefits of fasting. After the first few days, I usually feel amazing. Strong, clean and empowered. I’ve been making a distinction between flesh and spirit as I share this journey. God makes this distinction in his word, and it’s wise to understand how the flesh works against the spirit. However, I believe our God created beings are whole. The body and spirit as one. Our spiritual beings are physical, mental and emotional. And though we speak of them separately, they are really one. They are all a part of the spiritual. Our […]

Day four. The hunger is leaving me. From this point on the not eating gets easier. The body is adjusting to the lack of intake and it starts being okay with it. But oh the cravings! You see it’s not your stomach that craves, it’s your mind. And definitely your eyes. As you deny your flesh fulfillment, your spiritual being becomes more alive. This is the hardest part. Confronting our spiritual beings is scary – all the emotional, relational, mental experiences that we’re not sure how to deal with. Often, we numb the spirit by feeding the flesh. So when […]

Day three. The breath is almost unbearable! The odors are strong. The body begins to flush itself. And like the day when I was buried in water at eleven years old, I step into the shower and let the water wash away that which is toxic to my body. Clean and forgiven. Thank you, Jesus. My hungry mind keeps thinking of Bravo’s cheesecake. I haven’t eaten in three days and that’s what I want? Why do I seek false satisfaction? What I consume matters. Why don’t I live by that truth? In a culture of consumerism we have anything and […]

Day two is hard. Growling stomach, growling mother. For the first time in the six years I have doubts that I won’t endure the week. Maybe it’s the recent illness and my body is weaker than normal. I am flesh and bones. But I’m mostly spirit. So I reach back on fasts of the past and cling to truths given me by the One Who Sustains me. I recall the Israelites. An entire people group delivered by God and led into the desert. It’s not mere geography that determines the place of freedom for this holy people. God takes them […]

[bl]A[/bl] new year begins, and with it we promise and hope.  We dream and discern. We begin fresh. Anything can happen! Yet as the days push us forward we sill work, we still school, we still clean our houses. And like the previous year, our children grow quicker than we’d like and time seems to slow and speed at intervals we can’t explain. And in these normal days, we still endure hours of sadness and rejoice in moments of triumph. And it’s the little everyday things that sustain us. Truly, not a whole lot changes about the days of a […]