Day 4 has been rough.  My stomach isn’t dealing well with the drastic change in diet.  Note to self–I totally must have been eating the wrong things, because now that I’m eating the right things, my body is rebelling.  Kind of makes me think of how I battled the Truth of God’s word for years even after I said yes to Jesus.  Even though I knew allowing Jesus to be Lord of my life was the best thing for my life, it was way easier to stick with the comfortable things that made me “feel good.”

Today’s Devotional focused on seeing God as He really is.  That’s kind of my hope for this whole period of prayer and fasting…sometimes I feel we lose sight of who God truly is.  One thing that has spoken to me in my reading through John,  is that Jesus seems to be pretty aggressive.  He seems to have a sense of urgency about who he is and the mission he has.  I’m not sure I picked up on that in past reads.  Thoughts?

So far so good.  I’m not saying it’s easy to following such a stringent eating plan, but I can tell you that I physically feel much better after three days of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (go figure).  Do you realize how many things have sugar or sugar substitutes added–it’s baffling.  Have you ever tried, all natural Peanut Butter?  Someone said, accurately, it taste like you chewed up a handful of peanuts, spit them out, and then ate them again…so true.

Today’s devotional focused on walking in agreement with God–now that’s an awesome concept.  Working on my life agreeing with God’s word on what my life should look like–that’s going to take more than 21 days, probably more like a lifetime, but hey it’s great to be reminded of it.

I’ve also been reading John, love the part where Passion for His Father’s House burns inside Jesus–so much that he constructs a make-shift whip and drives the crooks out of the temple.  That’s no sissy Jesus right there.  That’s the all consuming Savior that I’m unworthy to follow, but so thankful He let’s me.

I’ve already realized something about my leadership.  Sometimes I lean too much on business leadership trends or leadership Guru buzz phrases.  It’s not that there’s anything wrong with these things.  I believe that ALL leadership principles, at least the ones worth following/quoting, are from God.  It’s just that I’m finding myself wishing I quoted the Bible a little more when explaining leadership stuff than, say, the incomparable John Maxwell.  You know what’s funny, I just realized Mr. Maxwell is famous for 21 irrefutable laws of leadership.  Maybe I should post one of those each day of this journey as well–or would that be defeating what I just said????

Lord help me tune into your heartbeat for my life.

I’m going to take a risk.  I’m going to blog my journey over the next 21 days of prayer and fasting.  Some posts may be insightful, others may be simply dull.  At times I may share how tough it is not eating the “choice” foods I’m accustom to, however, I will do my best to post something daily.  If you’re praying with us or even fasting with us, please comment along the way with me.

I’ve fasted before.  It’s been a rewarding experience that has grown me each time.  I usually fast from an activity or specific food I enjoy when I’m seeking clarity on something I feel God is telling me.  This will be the first time I’ve committed to such a long and more stringent fast.  For the next 21 days I will be following a Daniel Fast.  You can check out Leah Rade’s blog for more specifics.

The purpose of this fast is to draw closer to God, to seek more clearly his will for my life, and the direction my leadership should take.  So Please PRAY for me.  Pray that I draw close to him, that i hear God’s voice clearly, that 21 days from now I am fonder of The Word(the bible), and more familiar with Godly Leadership than worldly leadership.

Thanks for taking this journey with me.

It doesn’t have to be.  Don’t wind up in Disturbia, move closer to God this Christmas.  Don’t miss this Sunday 9:30 and 11am at New Horizon Church.  We’ve got some surprises lined up that you’ll kick yourself if you miss.  Trust me your friends will be talking about their Sundays on Monday morning, shouldn’t you?

Christmas is an awesome time to invite a friend to church.  The atmosphere is rich with opportunity–don’t miss out.

…include a McNugget, and on June 23, 2010 (or thereabouts) this McDonald’s Happy Meal will include one too. For you Burger King Fans, what I’m saying is that as scary as it is…I will be a Dad soon. Lauren Lee is 10 weeks pregnant at the time of this post. She’s doing well, though she has mild bouts of queasiness, she has not really experienced true “morning” sickness. We’re excited, humbled, at times anxious, and encouraged. We look forward to interacting with all of you through this journey, especially those of you who have traveled this parenting path before us. I hope this blog will serve as an interactive journey for all of us over the next 7 months and beyond.

Below are a couple of pics from early milestones:

The official announcement                 First Diapers $38 later–thanks Cathy for the great advice!

After becoming a mild fan of the Twilight series after catching the first movie this summer on DVD. With all the hype about New Moon leading up to this weekend, I must say I was again intrigued. After all, I know Twilight fans who would much rather have a root canal than read a book, who have now read through the entire series twice.

I ventured to Northgate 10 to check out New Moon on Sunday night and it was pretty packed. The Twilight crew did not disappoint. Though there was a little drag in the story line, the beginning and end are what you would expect from an action-packed love story. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the movie, including laughing out loud at times.

It does feel like Robert Pattison (Edward) is at times acting beyond the professional maturity of his co-stars Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob). I’m not sure how much actual difference there is in age, but on screen it feels like two different levels of professionalism interacting.

I was surrounded by people of all ages from 6-86 year olds who were enjoying themselves. I don’t recall any inappropriate language. There are a few scenes of innuendo and moments that my be frightening for kids under 12(I think). Otherwise I would say this movie is O.K. for all members of the family.

Bottom Line–I left this movie with a desire to go home and read the books–that doesn’t happen often. I give Twilight–New Moon…Wait For It…For The First Time Ever 5 count them 5 out of 5 Spikey Heads–New Moon does live up to the Hype.

I’ll post the Day 2 Recap shortly, in the meantime, here’s a preview of the BIG CMA DAY.

The day started early with a broadcast of Good Morning America featuring Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.