PRAISE GOD for Lobster and butter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I had a conversation with my friend Robby, via Skype, the other day.  He is the one who did this fast before I did and really encouraged me to do it.  So we had this great conversation about what I had learned.  Then he wrote about it for his blog and I am stealing what he said because his words are so much better than mine.  So here is what he wrote:

"My friend Emily did the beans and rice diet like I did last year, and she learned brilliant truths from it just like I did. This is what she told me:

I used to feel guilty for eating and taking pleasure in a fine meal because of my awareness of other people’s dire hunger. I almost felt like I wasn’t worthy to be indulging in nice food, like I needed to share in their suffering.

But now I see it differently. Not eating, or not enjoying what I do eat, isn’t helping to solve the problem. There’s enough food in the world. If that were the problem, then denying myself for others might be helpful. But that’s not the problem. The problem is criminal mismanagement.

Right now, I am sitting at a dinner table with six chairs. Now, if there were a meal set in the middle, but only enough food for five people, then the right thing for me to do would be to eat less than my share, and to make sure there was enough food go around.

But that’s not the problem we face.

The problem looks more like this: there’s a large meal set in the middle- there’s enough food to feed nine people. The problem is that our world food system has mismanaged in such a way that there’s something of a wall set up in the middle of the table. Only one side gets to eat, and eat a lot. They get to eat so much that they have obesity in literally epidemic proportions. The other side gets to starve.

In this situation, eating less isn’t going to help those people on the other side.

Taking down the wall will. "

I also have a few things to add.  God is GOOD and he is a loving God.  He did not want anyone to suffer in the world.  He allows it to happen, but He doesn't like it.  So He wants us to enjoy ourselves, and enjoy the resources that He has created.  We shouldn't take advantage of them nor should we not be grateful, but He wants us to enjoy them because He LOVES us.  He doesn't want starvation, but it does exist.  And He wants us (His children) to do something about it.  But like Robby said, well actually I said but he wrote, we should be able to take pleasure in a good meal because that is what God created!  We shouldn't feel guilty when we have the ability to eat something that is delicious even when there is starvation in the world.  We should enjoy the amazing things that God has created!  The crazy thing is that He created it for US.  For US.  That rocks my mind sometimes!!!! 

So be grateful that we live in a place where we are able to go to the grocery story every day if we wanted to.  We have access to resources all around us, and we should be so thankful!  So all I am saying is don't feel guilty when you have something nice, but be joyful and thankful that God created it for us, that He has blessed us!  God is Good all the time and I am so thankful for what He has given me and it cause me to praise His name!!!!  I hope it makes you praise his name too!

P.S. thanks Robby for putting my words into writing!  And this is my Favorite pic of Robby and I in Philly, he looks like a creeper, but he really isn't!

20 days of fasting finished!

Hello all,
First of all, in no way do I want this to sound glorifying to myself.  My decision to fast was not to loose weight or to make myself seem like a "better" Christian or any ridiculous thing like that.  And the only reason I am blogging about it is to share my experiences and what I have learned about who food.  So please take it for what it is and don't throw me a little party now that I am done. 

Wow, where do I begin.  So as you know I have only been eating beans, rice, potatoes, green beans, broccoli, bananas, oranges, coffee and milk for the past 20 days.  Well actually it wasn't 20 consecutive days, I decided to eat over Easter weekend what my family was eating and then there was one other day where I ate "normal" food.  But it was 20 complete days over the span of about 24 days. 

The first week was definitely the hardest.  About Day 3 I was not having a good day.  And all I wanted to do was eat chocolate. Kind of funny, but seriously.  As a woman, we always joke that chocolate makes us feel better and makes us feel comforted.  But that was only a joke right?  No it wasn't only a joke, at least not for me.  For about an hour that day, I could only think about either eating chocolate or calling a long distance friend.  But it probably literally took me a good 30 minutes to actually say "Oh yeah I should turn to God instead of these other things".  I was disappointed in myself that I thought about chocolate before I thought about God.  And that is when I started to actually see my dependence on food.  I put it up on a pedestal in a place where it shouldn't belong. 

And then I continued to fast...as days went on I started to get really sick of that stuff.  Yeah it all that food doesn't sound bad, but when you eat it day in and day out, you really get sick of it.  So after just a few days I had already started to hate my food.    And then God taught me that I was being ridiculous.  I cannot hate the food that is in front of me.  It is nutritious, tastes decently good, and is filling.  In no way do I have a right to hate my food.  It is such a blessing that I even get food in the first place.  There are so many people all over the world who don't get food regularly.  They live their lives not knowing the next time they will be able to eat, but I do.  Everyday around 9 am, 1 pm, and 6 pm.  I am so incredibly blessed to never have to worry about it.  So after hating my food for about 2 days, I decided that I needed to love it!  I had to do a little pep talk to myself for a few days about how this food does actually taste pretty good and how it is satisfying.  So, praise God, I started to enjoy it again.

I have learned so much but I feel like I need to take a little breather, so more to come later!  

The whole point of this blog is to inform you all what I am learning about as I venture into my year of learning about the world.  I don't really feel like I have done a great job with that. 

This past month I have been reading books about hunger, trying to feel what it is like to be hungry in some way, and letting God to continue building on this passion I have.  So here are some thing that I think are important to share.

(I hate statistics, but I think these ones are powerful)
~Everyday almost 16,000 children die from hunger related causes- one child every 5 seconds. 
~ 1.02 BILLION people across the world are hungry today
~Asia and the Pacific region is home to over half the worlds population and nearly 2/3 of the world's hungry people.
~ More than 60% of chronically hungry people are women (Chronically hungry meaning that they have been hungry for a majority of their life)
~ It is estimated that 684,000 child deaths world wide could be prevented by increasing access to Vitamin A and zinc

None of these statistics are okay.  But they are real and don't really seem to be getting any better.  But here are two more statements that are even more shocking to me...
~ "Oxford economist Donald Hay has pointed out that  a mere 2 percent of the world's grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problem of hunger and malnutrition around the world."  That is 2% people, 2%. 
~ "In 1996, The World Health Organization reported  than an annual increase in preventative care of 75 cents  per person in the Third World  could save 5 million lives every year.  That would take less than $3 billion.  Surely the people of the wealthier nations could find $3 billion  to save 5 million people.  The National Center for Health Statistics reported that people in the United States spend between $30 and $50 billion each year on diets and related expenditures to reduce their calorie intake." 
WHAT....now that is crazy.  If we in the US are spending so much on dieting (aka not eating as much food) yet we can't "afford" 1/10 of that on getting food to people who actually need it.  What if we dieted in a way where we gave the food we weren't eating to those who need it.  Or what if instead of buying diet books or diet videos we looked up everything online, or what if instead of buying a gym membership, we spend time exercising outdoors, and used the money that we would have spent and put it into the pockets of the 1.4 billion people in the world who live on less than $1.25 a day.  Or even easier, what if we all pitched in our part of roughly 75 cents a year to feed those who cannot feed themselves.  75 cents a year.  I know I could scrounge up a lot more than that and hardly notice that it would be gone. 

So think about it...what are some things that you could do? 

Waste is better than gluttony.

These next couple months I will be focusing on hunger in our world.  Currently I am reading 2 books, Rich Christians in an age of hunger and Changing the face of hunger.  These two books so far have taught me so much about this growing passion of mine, but they have also challenged me to look at my own life.

I have come to the realization in the past few days that I am addicted to sugar.  I crave chocolate.  I think about the next time I can eat a girl scout cookie constantly.  And some how I always seem to have the munchies.  Example: Last night I brought some cookies over to my friends apartment where we watched a movie.  The entire time I was thinking about those cookies.  I literally ate like 7 cookies in one sitting.  That disgusts me, not only because it was bad for my body but because I wasn't actually thinking about the cookie I was eating at that moment, instead I was focused on the next cookie and the next cookie.   That is just one example of one way that I have noticed my addiction.  This is a problem. 

After a long conversation with a good friend of mine today (Robby), he talked me into (well it wasn't that hard) going on a fast.  Not just a fast from sugar but a fast from variety.  You see he did this last year for lent and told me so much about his experiences and all the things he had learned about himself, God and all the blessings we are surrounded with.  The stories he has told me trully have shaped the way I think about food and what a blessing it is, but it wasn't enough obviously because otherwise I wouldn't be in this predicament.  So I decided to do it for myself. 

As of today I will only be eating rice, beans, vegetables, milk, and fruit.  For every meal, every day, for a number of days I haven't decided yet.  And the major dilemma with this is coffee...I need my coffee in the morning to get me going.  So what I have decided thus far is that black coffee will be fine, no sugar no cream. 

One thing that Robby said to me that I will try to remember is that Waste is better than Gluttony. Because if people were not gluttonous in our world there would be not such thing as starvation.  There wouldn't be people who were eating rocks to trick their stomachs.  Thus waste wouldn't be an issue because every person would get enough.
 
So this may be difficult, but I am ready to do it.  I am ready to let God change my life through actually doing something rather than just reading about someone else doing something.  I will definitely be filling all you in on the lessons I will learn as well as my frustrations. 
 
(Also the picture has nothing to do with what I am writing about but I just felt like I needed something pretty and fun!  And it is a good reminder of how beautiful God's creation is!)

Fasting?

"Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustic

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-

when you see the naked, to clothe him

and not to turn away from your own flesh & blood."

~ Isaiah 58:6,7

In the midst of thinking about all this AIDS stuff I am constantly reminded of this verse.  Especially the very last line.  How can we turn away from our own flesh and blood?  We do it all the time.  This really saddens my heart. 

When I normally think of fasting, the first thing I think of is giving up some food, normally to loose weight or because we rely on it too much.  But when Jesus is talking about fasting, He isn't talking about a diet, he is talking about a way of life.  He is talking about fasting from the things that make us too comfortable, He is calling us to step out of what we know and be there for someone else instead of only providing for ourselves.  To constantly be turning to your neighbor to see what they need instead of turning to your neighbor only when you need something.  To be vulnerable to someone else.  To let yourself be there when you are needed and when you are not, when you are bored or completely entertained.  To step out of everything we know to love someone that might be "hard" to love.  This quote comes from a book I was reading a month ago and is something that has stuck with me every since

"Feeding the poor, caring for the oppressed...that's messy stuff. But what if what God wants is messy? What if, like the Isrealites, my spiritual service is too tidy? A bit too contained in the white walls of religion? A bit too focussed on me? What if all this time I've been polishing myself up to exhibit spritiual excellence when God wanted something wholly different? No to stay home perfecting myself, but to go out into the world. But to transform it through action, in service and love."


This is amazing.  How many "self help" books have I read?  How many times have I sat there trying to perfect myself, when really I should be out in the world?  I know for a fact that I have learned a ton more from my own personal expriences than when reading someone elses.  God uses us every day and reveals Himself to us through other people and the things that happen around us.  I don't need to perfect myself before I go out, He works on my heart when I work with others.  This is so beautiful!
 
So how are you fasting?  And go out there and do something....

A Prayer for Africa

I stole this prayer from a book I was reading. It really moved me and it can move you too. So feel free to pray these things for our bro's and sis's of Africa as well.

"We pray that you lay your hands on our brothers and sisters of Africa: the mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. We pray that you touch their lives with your presence, your love, and your grace. We pray that you heal their hearts and minds with the gift of Life.

We pray that you heal the church. We pray that you touch the hearts, minds and souls of all religious communicates with your compelling hand of truth. We pray that you heal our fear, our anxiety and our prejudices that we might live lives of faith, hope and love to touch those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

We pray that you lift up our brothers and sisters of Africa from the mire of pain, horror and disease. We pray that you offer a gift of salvation for those who are dying, for those already dead. We pray for the living, that you bless them with Hope of the Light of Love.

We pray for doctors, nurses, caregivers and researchers. We pray that you offer them wisdom, compassion and faith. We pray that you bless them with an intellect to boldly imagine a world without AIDS, a vision for a new generation of medical care, and an unconditional love for those who are dying without a hope for treatment.

We pray that you will provide for our brothers and sisters of Africa. We pray that you will comfort them in their time of need. We pray that you will provide food for the hungry, clothes for the naked, a home for the homeless, and medical treatment for those who cannot afford such a luxury. We pray that you will provide your orphans with good families that will raise them in love.

We pray for our governments, our pharmaceutical companies, our corporations, and our religious communities. We pray that each institution finds it in their hearts and minds to offer monetary support by way of funding, medical treatments, and community-oriented aid. We pray that these institutions advance in bringing "the kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven" by dropping the dept, providing aid and promoting trade in Africa.

We pray that you rain compassion on our brothers and sisters of Africa. We pray that you instill in the hearts of complacent Americans a vicarious understanding of the suffering: mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally of those dying with AIDS in Africa. We pray compassion on the cold hearts of those who cling to ignorance and indifference. We pray for compassion on those who are compelled to combat the virus, the suffering and the Death. We pray for compassion for the world as we attempt to wage a war against a deadly disease that is killing our brothers and sisters. We pray for compassion for life itself.

O God, Hear our prayers."

From the book "The aWAKE PROJECT"

AMEN. What an amazing prayer! Honestly, if we pray expectantly that God would give us a world without AIDS He will answer. That is the prayer of my heart. But until this virus is destroyed I pray for those affected and effected. For compassion, comfort, hope and life!

Lord Jesus provide.

January & February...AIDS

I realize that I am writing late but give me a break I started this blog 2 months after I had started becoming informed.

...AIDS... A mega huge killer that has spread to every continent, every race, every age, every gender, every sexual orientation. It is huge. And it is not alright. It is devastating our world and will forever have an impact. It is known as the largest humanitarian crisis of our time.

Here are some statistics:
38 million people in the world are infected, 25 million in Africa (Africa only makes up 10% of the world's population).
Currently there are 12 million orphans in Africa that are orphaned due to AIDS.
It is predicted that by the end of 2010 there will be 20 million orphans in Africa because of AIDS. ( I am not ok with that)

AIDS/HIV is a virus that is spread through blood, typically through sexual contact, needles, or from mother to child during birth or through breastfeeding. So basically these mothers who do not know that they have the virus, by breastfeeding their child are basically writing a death sentence for their child. They are basically doing the motherly thing, but instead are killing their child.

With AIDS being spread through sexual contact, most people, at least in America, associate it with gay men. Which is so sad. And the truth is that many other people have the virus. And what is even sadder is that in many places in Africa, the stigma of the virus is so harsh that many people don't want to know if they have it or get treated for it because of how others will treat them. It looks to others as if they are promiscuous, which yes sometimes is the case, but sometimes that is not the case. What about those who were raped? Those who married someone who had the virus? What about those who were born with it because their mother had it? Those people aren't being promiscuous, but are they treated fairly? No. And even if they were, what would the chances be that they would be able to afford the antiretroviral vaccine to treat their symptoms? The chances are slim to none. What would you choose, pay a lot of money for a vaccine and medical treatment or put food on the table for your kids? I think I would decide food. It just isn't fair. I can't even imagine.

All these things are awful. And if we don't do something about this, what will happen? I really don't know.

However there is a little bit of good news in all of this. Over the past decade the spread of AIDS in Uganda alone has decreased 10 percent. That is huge! And do you know the reason why? Because of the promotion of abstinence, safe sex and staying true in your marriage. A program was implemented there called the ABC program, standing for Abstinence, Being Faithful in marriage, and Contraceptives. Teaching this to people and teaching them about the virus has reduced this countries death rate by a huge amount. Wow, doesn't that sound simple enough? (Simple as ABC, literally). This program has been implemented in other countries as well and has also been very effective. But not effective enough, the spread of AIDS is still growing faster than the prevention programs.

Ok I get it, that is a lot of information. You might need to take a minute to digest all of that. There is much more to come about this in further days I promise.

But before I write more, let these things sink in a little bit. Statistics are hard to relate to, but try to think about them a little bit and let it resonate, don't just let them slip away because these are real people, whether we actually know them or not.