thoughts on fasting

yesterday the staff at tmumc took part in a one-day fast for the upcoming 40 days campaign. we even had a prayer service during the lunch hour to help us remember to pray for the campaign and for the ppl who will be touched by God thru our church.

during the prayer service, i sat next to darian and his stomach was empty b/c it was going nuts! i was hoping it wasn't mine b/c w/o the water that i was drinking by the gallon, my stomach would have been louder than his! anyway, we had a good laugh about it later.

i must say that everytime i fast, i have a different experience. one time i fasted during the time i was studying for finals b/c i wanted to do really well on all my tests - but i was so hungry at the end of finals that i think i undid any of the benefits my brain received through the extra study time. when i fasted yesterday, i tried to think about all the different places in the world where ppl go w/o food on a daily basis and how i was fine w/ my water bottle by my side. each drink took me to thoughts of those who cannot squelch their hunger with water, b/c there is no fresh drinking water around them.

my heart continues to go out to the victims of hurricane katrina. i am not sure what the proper response is for me personally, but i hope that you are praying about what you can do to reach out and help our neighbors during their time of need. remember, throwing $$ at the problem rarely ever makes the problem go away - it generally makes it worse. so be prepared to get out and do something about the devastation.

God
convict us when we are proud
of the things we have
and when we look
down on others for what
they don't

selfishness runs rampant
in america
convict us for using so
much and returning
so
little

help us to be more
like your son
like his example
like what you intended
like what you know we are capable of

amen

grace&peace