There was a surprising moment in the middle of my recent fast:
I began to actually ADJUST to the vegan diet!
My new staple: AVOCADOS!
My new feast: VEGETARIAN JAPANESE BR RICE BOWL, PEI WEI
My new dessert: rice cake + sunbutter (peanut butter, with sunflower seeds, not nuts) + raisins!
This made my PRIMARY SPIRITUAL TASK that much harder!
I had to focus even more on my main thrust: ‘God, take me through a journey – you have the wheel!’
This was an unusual surprise for me, and ended up developing more spiritual muscles than i would have imagined.
(it also made me healthier in the process… more on that later!)
During the 21-day DANIEL FAST, I journaled and prayed unlike recent memory.
In a way, it kick-started a new energy for these relational disciplines.
I remember one prayer time in particular. I closed my eyes, engaged my mind, and I was immediately filled with the presence of God. Usually, I have to detox from my day, the calendar, my stressors, etc.
This experience convinced me of the spiritual power of fasting. Every time I felt the pang of hunger or the emotional tug of ‘wants,’ I would go to God with it. He became my ‘filet mignon’… he became my ‘ben & jerry’s cherry garcia!’
When it came to journaling, I would often fill the pages and force myself to stop. Again, I completely owe this renewed vigor to the fast.
REMEMBER: The ‘fast’ is not magical… It is the power of sacrifice, the relational effort on my part to open my heart even more completely to God. It was awesome.
I recently finished a DANIEL FAST. Basically, I was a VEGAN for 21 days, giving my hunger and my preferences to prayer.
This was primarily a SPIRITUAL JOURNEY. It also disciplined me PHYSICALLY.
Over the next several posts, I will explore many of the large lessons God taught me on this journey.
SURPRISE #1:
I have learned as much OR MORE on the BACK END of this journey as I did during the actual fast.
It feels as though I’ve had a spiritual TUNE UP…
Ideas are flashing and flowing… vision has been jumping from seemingly out of NOWHERE…
I love this journey of following Christ!
This summer will mark my 30th year with Jesus, and I’m always experiencing him in new and surprising ways!
I love the smell of FRESHLY BAKED BREAD, the perfect pizza, pipe tobacco, and east Tennessee mornings at my Grandparent’s house.
None of those beautiful aromas can compare to the smell of LIFE CHANGE that’s in the air at Keystone Church!!!
This past weekend we held a sold-out Marriage Weekend… The response has been unbelievable:
Some memorable LIFE CHANGE quotes:
“Our marriage will never be the same”
“We had the most honest conversation in our marriage during the date night”
“He took steps toward leading me spiritually that blew me away”
I’M NOT DONE YET!!! We also launched our new series, HIGH FIDELITY this weekend.
We saw 64 people find new life in Christ and we experienced a new non-holiday attendance record!!!!
I AM SO PUMPED to see Keystone wearing their ‘ask me’ t-shirts Christmas season!!! Here is an example: one Keystoner wore her shirt while shopping & THIS COUPLE came up and asked her about KEYSTONE on Christmas Eve!
How cool that she wore her shirt – how on earth did she get them to take the pic?!? So cool.
Pic up your shirt this weekend & join a small army of PASSIONATE PEOPLE inviting others to experience LIFE IN CHRIST!
A friend recently gave me the latest ‘Rolling Stone’ mag that highlighted U2’s historic tour. Knowing I was going to the concert, he thought I would think it was cool to know some of the ‘back story’ behind their budget-busting, record-breaking tour. He was right.
Surprising to me, one of the quotes I read that stuck with me the most was not from U2, but their opening act: Muse. Regarding the honor of opening to such massive crowds and such a large opportunity, they said, “It’s a grounding experience… It reminds you you’re doing well, but not quite as well as them.”
As I shared with Keystone this past weekend (LAUNCH TALK #4), that quote sums up my heart for each and every weekend our church. While Muse was playing to more people than ever, with the greatest technology and toys that money could buy… they still knew that they were not the biggest name in the room. Everyone was there to see U2, and MUSE was but the opening act.
So are we at Keystone Church. JESUS IS THE BIGGEST NAME IN THE ROOM!!! Everything we bring on a given weekend is designed to LEAD EVERYONE to experience a PASSIONATE life in CHRIST! We stand on HIS stage. We lead people to HIM. This fires me up!!!
As we LAUNCH together as a church, let’s remember that it is all fueled by the unwavering vision to share JESUS with EVERYONE. As he increases our influence & opportunity, it MUST ALWAYS be ‘jet fuel’ FOR JESUS!
I am convinced that the church Jesus died for should be LOUD in its good works and STRONG in its INFLUENCE in our culture.
There is an incredible history of the men of God standing up to influence the thoughts and opinions of the world toward God’s magnificent plan of making ALL THINGS NEW, ultimately through Jesus Christ. You see this in the lives of Daniel, Nehemiah, Athenagoras, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa… just to name a few.
I have been so pleased to see some great leaders in our nation speak into the culture with confidence and conviction. They have insight and humor. Rick Warren, Ed Young, and Mark Driscoll are three unique, different leaders of great churches. I have had the great opportunity to meet and speak with all three. I’ll be the first to tell you that THESE GUYS are the REAL DEAL. In person they are genuine and engaging. It’s a personal thrill to see them using their INFLUENCE to spread the name of Jesus & help people fall in love with God’s design for NEW LIFE!
ALSO, thanks to the incredible volunteer heart of Keystone Church, we were able to have INCREDIBLE INFLUENCE in our city! If you missed it, check it out here.
