If You Have a Need, Plant a Seed!

I get emails from one of The Daniel Fast websites that I follow. I thought this one was good enough to share.


If You Have a Need, Plant a Seed!
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Galatians 6:7
Yesterday I was talking with a new believer who is under some heavy financial pressures. He was filled with worry and fear and just kept shaking his head saying, "This is so hard. It's just so hard." We had a good conversation and I was able to encourage him . . . but when I asked him about tithing, his immediate response was, "Oh, I don't even want to go there. I am too broke. I can't even think about that right now."
He was so emphatic, that I didn't press it. Plus, he was in conversations with his pastor about his new found faith and his giving. I didn't want to get in the way of any of that . . .
But I did give him one picture for him to think about, "Imagine Farmer Bill standing at the edge of his 30 acre field. He's looking up to the sky and once again lamenting to God, "Why don't you make this crop grow. I have been waiting and waiting. I have been pleading with you. But the only thing growing in this field is weeds!"
Suddenly the clouds begin to rumble and Bill knows it's the voice of the Lord, "Hey Bill, I've been patient, too. When are you going to plant the seed?"
Planting seed isn't just about money . . . although God's commandments are very clear about tithing. But we also need to look at every area of need and see if we're like Farmer Bill. Maybe you're frustrated with your spouse because you're not getting the kind of attention you want . . . check out your seed. Perhaps you feel lonely and don't' want to sit at home another weekend with nothing to do . . . check out your seed. Or possibly you are wondering why you don't have the kind of deep and intimate spiritual life you want . . . check out your seed.
God is clear on this subject, and He says He will not be mocked. Whatever we sow, we will also reap. That works both ways. We can be planting seeds of love and kindness. Or we can plant seeds of strife and contention. We can plant seeds of trust and faith or we can plant seeds of worry and fear.
The next time you get ready to present a request to the Lord, first make sure you have good seed in the ground. Don't be like Farmer Bill . . . but instead be like the farmers who have such abundance that they have to sell it, store it and give it away!
Susan Gregory
The Daniel Fast Blogger
http://DanielFast.wordpress.com
http://www.daniel-fast.com

Fast and on sparkpeople.com! I'm so proud of all of my friends who are joining me on this weight loss journey! We're going to be healthier and hopefully skinnier!! YAY!

I have had several people ask me to help them come up with menus or food plans. One of the great things about this site is that sparkpeople will do that for you. If you'd like an even more personal food plan though, email me and I'll be happy to get you started off. Once you find things that you like and that work for you, it becomes easier to eat healthy! Trust me, I'm a walking advertisement! :) I know what I need to be eating and have known what I need to be eating, I just chose not to. Hopefully that's your issue also!

As this new year progresses, hopefully we'll all see a change physically, mentally and spiritually! I can't wait to see our results!!!!

Get Started Guide

If you join SparkPeople.com (it's free) and request me as a friend, you can actually see EVERYTHING that I've eaten since beginning the fast. I'll also send you some websites and recipes :)

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=CKINNEER
http://danielsfastcookbook.com/
http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/

One of the best places to get food from is Kroger. Publix also has quite a bit of organic foods that will work on the fast.

I found only one actual bread that doesn't have any added sugar in the ingredients. It's really good but kind of expensive. http://www.foodforlife.com/ We've been using organic butter and sugar free organic jelly and the cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast with either fruit or a banana. Oatmeal is also a great breakfast item. Get the whole grain (no sugar in ingredients) oatmeal. I like to mix it with vanilla almond milk (it's not milk...it's made out of almonds so it's not soy either) and raisins and cinnamon. That's normally what I have for breakfast.

Buy a bunch of frozen veggies (they are easier to cook and cheaper than buying cans) and a bunch of frozen fruits. Make sure that your fruits are not perserved in sugar. These are good snacks. Nuts are good snacks too. I also found these veggie stixs that are all natural and are YUMMY! They are in the potato chip isle. For lunch a salad or soup (Amy's Organics has a lot of veggie soups without added sugar). Or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (using natural ingredients).

For dinner we do ALOT of brown rice. You can get some ideas from my page. One of my faves so far was brown rice, okra, squash and diced tomatoes. Oh and onions. You can get whole wheat tortillas and make bean burritos. I made this yesterday and I think the recipe is on my page, if not, just email me. It's really easy. Red beans and rice is good. Black eyed peas and rice. I also found some rice spaghetti with no sugar. Publix probably has it. You can buy the cans of just tomato sauce (no sugar added) and add spices for a sauce. I made a really yummy mushroom and orzo soup.

You just really have to plan and look for these things but I'm posting stuff as I'm making it. When you go out, you can go to Wendys and get a baked potato (no toppings) and a side salad. Be careful about your dressings also though...ALOT have sugar added. Balslamic (sp?) is normally okay.

I hope this helps so far. And I'll be happy to keep sending you stuff if you want me to!

Charity

The Daniel Fast

Because I have had so many people asking me for ideas for The Daniel Fast, I've decided to start keeping a blog. I hope this helps those of you participating in The Fast and those of you who just want to start eating healthier!!! Have fun!