Awakening

What a great message to hear to start off a new year.  For some of us, 2010 beat us up, it was a tough year.  Life has a way of doing that sometimes….but, knowing God’s purpose for your life helps you to push through. Yesterday at Lifepoint, Jeff talked about God having a purpose for our lives.  He had us say out loud ” I was created on purpose” and “I was created for a purpose”.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember that, when we get stuck in the routine of life, or comfortable in the world we’ve created for ourselves.  God has such a bigger picture for us, a greater story for us to live.

This Awakening series is about awakening ourselves to, maybe for the first time, realize what God’s purpose is for our lives.  One way to do that is to create space for God.  Some of us, our lives are so jammed packed from once the alarm goes off to when we lay our head on the pillow at night.  Let’s create some space for God to reveal His purpose, and for us to be with God.

The main way we, as a church, are creating space is by fasting for 21 days.  The Daniel Fast is not a total fast.  Here is a list of things:

Foods to Eat:

Whole Grains: Brown Rice, Oats, Barley

Legumes: Dried beans, Pinto Beans, Split Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas

Fruits: Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cantaloupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon

Vegetables: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger, Root, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini

Seeds, Nuts, Sprouts

Liquids: Water (as much as possible), Unsweetened Soy Milk, Herbal Tea, Natural Fruit Juice (no added sugar), Honey, Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Foods to Avoid:

Meat, Poultry, Fish

White Rice

Fried Foods

Carbonated Beverages

Caffeine, Coffee, Tea (even decaf)

Foods containing preservatives or additives

Refined sugar, Sugar Substitutes

White Flour

All Breads

Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products

Dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt)