What I've Learned in 3 days of ONE-THREE

While the point of a fast is to - obviously - fast, i.e. withhold from various foods and beverages, in the Daniel Fast I am also working on other habits.  For instance, I'm withholding from Facebook and from my games on my phone, such as Words With Friends.  And it isn't some crazy idea I've had in my head, but instead, it is an attempt to understand how I spend my time.  So by taking that activity away I can assess what I will do with this time come February 2013 when I am done with the fast and ready to move forward.

Another point of the fast is to - in a sense - be so hungry and tempted that we rely on God to get us through rather than given into the temptation.  It is an opportunity for me to take the time that I would spend maybe on Facebook or playing my phone games, to focus on God and my relationship with Him.

So what has it been like?  Well, the food fast hardly phases me.  I mean, I LOVE to eat - cheese, especially.  I LOVE myself a drink - beer, wine, you name it.  But on the other hand, I can very simply ignore hunger pains.  And that was pretty much working well until today when I had BANGING (literally) headache all day.  But I persisted.  This teaches me that I have a very strong will power. 

WHEN.I.WANT.TO.

I have also learned that I CAN take the time out to cook and I CAN cook pretty well.  I have pushed myself beyond my cooking boundaries (up to now, rather non-existent when your husband prefers to cook). I have made fried tofu and I even made my own 16 baked bean recipe.  More importantly than the substance, is that I've experienced success in the process.  Tim and I might have to pass Mackenzie back and forth, and we might have to trade off who is reading a book or playing Old MacDonald with Samara, but in the end, we get dinner on the table together, even though we have different meals.  I can cook. 

WHEN.I.WANT.TO.

So this brings me to the larger purpose I have for this fast - what do I do with my time?  And more importantly, why can't / haven't I used the time I have to finish this dissertation?  Well, there have been a few tasks for me to tackle on my list of "when I' not working on my dissertation."  But in the past few days, I've not even had the energy to finish those tasks...  So when I wake up and my to-do list from the day before is not tackled, I'm tempted to say, I just don't have the time.  At this point, maybe what I'm learning is that, I have the time. 

WHEN.I.WANT.TO.