Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sabbath, January 30, 2010........Day 14

Day 14 of the Fruit Fast. Sweet, Spirit-filled day today. The Lord blessed as we shared the Word of His True Love. The two meal plan is working out so far. As far as i can see right now, all i would have to do is increase my intake as i get more active. Of course this is an assumption and is subject to change as we continue to progress. i have learned that the journey of going to all Fruitarian is just that, a journey. It is a just path. The Bible says:

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

So many are willing to give suggestions as if people are at the same point in their path. This is unjust. The walk of faith with patience will always secure safe arrival. Last year i went 7 months on Fruit and then went to vegan eating. This year? Who knows. But i do know that its another step in my journey, but with more experience. We just keep moving forward.

Todays fare was:
Breakfast:
4 bananas, 4 oranges, 5 figs.

Dinner:
4 bananas, one-third watermelon, 4 oranges, 5 figs, 1 avocado.

Spiritual Bread: Psalms 110-112; Deut 27; The book of 1 John.

Exercise: Faith.

Grace and peace be multiplied.

todd

Friday, January 29, 2010

Thursday, January 28, 2010.....Day 12

Day 12 of the Fruit Fast. The body temple is definitely cleaning itself out as it was alittle bloated today. i am very happy with this  having been through it before and understand what is going on. We have been able to secure some delicious navel oranges as reasonable prices this week so i stayed on Orange Island for breakfast this morning. The orange is a great blessing indeed. The more i contemplate the depth of the Love of Christ for me, the more i feel like i am so far from where i should be in Christ. i can relate to the Bible when it says:

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Ezekiel 36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

i am finding such thoughts are coming with more clarity and force since the beginning of the Fruit Fast. Yet, i know this is the very beginning of the journey. The Lord has inspired me to preach on the subject of His great Love this Sabbath and what it means to the true believer. Also to record it for distribution (which i made ready to do). i pray its a blessing and an edifying power to all the church of the Firstborn above.

Today's fare was:
Breakfast:
32oz of fresh squeezed OJ. 8 navel oranges cut into quarters (sucked the sweet juice and flesh from the quarters).

Dinner:
Half a watermelon, 5 figs, 3 bananas, 1 avocado.

Spiritual bread: Deut 19-22

Exercise: 200 pushups, 20 tricep presses (took me only 10 minutes). Not a bad little workout.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Wednesday, January 27, 2010.......Day 11

Day 11 of the Fruit Fast. i received some stress today. i came as i had to make certain financial decisions that would affect my family. Financial stress is one the reasons in times past i would tend to overeat or eat at improper times. i felt it heavy upon me, but i can report that by the Grace given me from Heaven, i was able to weather it. The decision i made will cost me several thousand dollars that are badly needed, but its the right thing. i was reminded of the scripture in Romans which says:

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.


Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

After discussing the situation thoroughly with my wife and praying earnestly we agreed on a decision. We went to bed with some consternation but also with the knowledge that we are still on track to "be conformed to the image of His Son,. because we are doing the right thing. Which is most important. As i awoke this morning i was much more assured of the situation and although i know not how it will all work out, i know it will be for my eternal good. Being self-employed and not knowing where the next dollar is coming from is a walk of Faith. It can be alot of fun, but then there are times like this. i always muse that there is no need for me to watch drama on tv or add additional drama to my life as my life as more naturally occurring drama than i want already!

That being said, my food intake was lighter today as the things on my mind outweighed any hunger i may have had. Still, i ate well and also had a descent workout.

Breakfast:
 55oz smoothie made with one mango, 3 bananas, 4 strawberries and about 40oz of watermelon juice. Really good.

Dinner:
Half a watermelon, 2 bananas, 1 avocado.

Spiritual Bread: Deuteronomy 16-18; Luke 23-24

Exercise:
150 pushups, 75 weighted step hops, 75 weighted jumping jacks, 75 weighted one leg squats (each leg)

Grace and Peace be multiplied

todd

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010...........Day 10

Day 10 of the Fruit Fast. Busy day today as i had some outside appointments. Because i am seeking to stay on two meals per day, i sometimes find myself in situations where i am away from home and hungry. This is because the time i would normally eat, i am out and about. Now in times past i would carry food with me to eat in the car, but not this time. The reason is that i discovered something about myself. i am afraid to be hungry. The fear of hunger causes me to worry about what to eat and when. As i reflected over my past (especially over the last 5 years of dealing in the raw world), i realize this has been something that has caused my eventual downfall as far as eating properly. Fear is not from the Lord, but from beneath. As the Scripture says,

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?


1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

This has been of great help to me at this stage of the Fruit fast. i realized that whenever i get hungry i go into a mini-panic mode. That especially on the fruit diet, i have a fear of hunger pains because in my heart i think i may have to starve. This causes me to eat anytime i feel like it, which practice eventually sinks me as my lustful appetite does this with cooked foods as well. Christ ate cooked food and was not a glutton. While i believe scripture is pointing His last day people towards raw food, the point is i still should not be a glutton.

So yesterday when i was out on the road, for the second day in a row, i felt hungry. But i just prayed and relaxed and let the Lord deal with it. He did and i was blessed to wait several hours until i returned home to have my fruit dinner (which i thoroughly enjoyed). In this way i am training my body to eat when my mind chooses to let it and not when my stomach chooses to tell me. In a strange way, it felt like a victory.

Todays fare was:

Breakfast:
5 bananas and 55oz of smoothie with pear-apple juice, strawberries, bananas and molasses.

Dinner:
32oz of watermelon-OJ juice, 4 bananas, 4 oranges, 5 figs, 1 avocado.

Spiritual bread:
Luke 21-22

Exercise:
190 pushups,30 chins, 20 one leg squats with medicine ball.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Monday, January 25, 2010.......Day 9

Day 9 of the Fruit Fast. Busy day today. i only had 2 appointments, but one of them was a bible study. It was with two dear people in the valley of decision on certain spiritual matters. They asked me to visit them and answer certain questions along religious lines. i am happy to report that we were all rejoicing at the end of Bible study (which lasted 5 hours); and we were all of one accord in the Spirit. i had not eaten since morning, but as the Lord Christ replied at the urging of His disciples to eat saying:

John 4:32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Although i was physically hungry, it was overpowered by spiritual satisfaction, having rejoiced with those who have found the Truth. i pray there will be brought more workers for the harvest is ripe but the laborers are few indeed. Most are attempting to bring people to their various church institutions, very few are seeking the glory of Christ by point souls to Him who alone can give eternal life.

Today i ate well, although my two meals were separated by more time than usual.

Breakfast:
3 bananas, 44oz of apple-banana-strawberry-molasses smoothie.

Dinner:
4 bananas, half a small watermelon, 5 figs, 4 oranges.

Spiritual bread:
Deuteronomy 12-15;Luke 19-21

Exercise: Faith

Grace and Peace be multiplied

todd

Monday, January 25, 2010

Sunday, January 24, 2010......Day 8

Day 8 of the Fruit Fast. Leisurely day today. It was rainy outside most of the day so we stayed in. My wife has been my administrative assistant since i became independent (she really is very good). She and i did some office stuff that needed to be done. As i awoke this morning, i was impressed with the idea of purity. There was a verse on my mind and i looked it up, it was 1 Peter 1:22:

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

i began to think 'purification through obedience?'. It almost sounded like a works situation. But then i read the beginning of the narrative that put the proper context to this verse:

1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Realizing that Grace is the Power of Christ to cause us to live according to His Word, the exercise of that Grace causes me to be purifed by obedience to the Truth. That Grace is given me by the Spirit of Christ which i receive by Faith. Its a wonderful thing to know that, however filthy one's life may have been, we can be purified through Grace and obedience to the Truth and this is made possible by the fact that Christ took upon Himself the guilt of not only my sins but also the sins of the whole world. Wonderful Saviour! i am thankful to wake up with such thoughts.

The clearness of mind experienced on this fast is given me such benefits and also other benefits, such as more energy, greater fitness and internal cleansing of my digestive system and blood. Needless to say, i am happy with the Fruit fast.

Today's fare was:

Breakfast:
44oz smoothie made from juice of 4 apples & 1 pear, 3 bananas, 4 strawberries, teaspoon of molasses. Delicious. The molasses really went well with the apple juice, much more than the watermelon juice. It was creamy and sort of thick like a milkshake yet very tasty. i also ate 3 bananas.

Dinner:
Half a watermelon, 4 oranges, 1 avocado, 6 bananas, 1 dried fig.

Spiritual bread:
1Peter 1, Deut 10, Ezekiel 34.

Exercise:
250 hops/jumping jacks with the medicine ball, 150 pushups, 24 chins.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sabbath, January 23, 2010..........Day 7

Day 7 of the Fruit Fast. Had a wonderful little fellowship today. About 17 of us gathered in a small home church. It was so warm and the atmosphere seemed to be filled with the Spirit of Love and Joy. We studied and discussed things pertaining to the Kingdom of Christ and made plans as to how we would advance His cause. i know everyone has there own path to take, but i am so very happy to be free from church institutions. They never filled me the way Christ can, but instead, hindered my growth in Christ as i became more about churchianity than Christianity. As i realize the Scripture that tells me,

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

As a believer in Christ, i become a representative of the Body of Christ, His true church. Not a denomination which contradicts itself or a blind follower of charismatic men who create their own religion. But a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, His disciple. Its so simple, but i find it amazing how we allow it to become so complicated.

Today, eating was simple and satisfying. i have found that the molasses (you dear 811 friends of mine back off..LOL), works better in the apple juice than the watermelon juice. It seems to give the smoothie drink a hearty flavor that is sweet at the same time. So today i had my watermelon smoothie with no molasses, it was delicious. Here was the details:

Breakfast:
38oz of smoothie with watermelon juice, 3 bananas, 4 strawberries. i ate 3 bananas besides.

Lunch:
One Pear, 7 dried calymerna figs, 4 navel oranges, 4 bananas, One avocado.

Later:
32oz of OJ

Spiritual Bread:
Acts 1-5; Ezekiel 33; Many verses from all over the Bible in discussion at various points of the day.

Exercise:
Faith.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday, January 22, 2010........Day 6

Day 6 of the Fruit Fast. As i type this blog, it is Friday evening. The sun as set and the rest, peace and quietness of the Sabbath hours are upon us here. It has been an interesting week, filled with fires that had to be put out. But all of that is behind me now. i have just prayed in preparation of tonight's online bible study. i pray that Christ will be uplifted and His Name honored and magnified. Today was a nice day in terms of the Fruit fast. i had a smoothie at about 8:30 this morning of approximately 44oz. Because of how the day went, i didn't end up taking anything else until about 5pm. My wife made me a salad of tomatoes, cukes and apples. i then added a sauce made from avocado, mango and tomato. i added some non-salt seasoning that a sister gave me, with some cayenne and alittle honey (please save the anti-honey comments as i believe i have heard them all).

i did some hops on the steps with a 8lb medicine ball combined with jumping jacks. i would do 25 hops and 25 jumping jacks in succession. i did 5 sets of these. Spiritually, i read Deuteronomy 5-9. Along with the gospels of John & Matthew and the books of Revelation and Ephesians, Deuteronomy is one of my favorite reads. One of my favorite verses there is Deut 8:3

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Here is the detail of today's fare:

Breakfast:
44oz smoothie made from watermelon juice, bananas and strawberries. 3 other bananas and 2 navel oranges.

Dinner:
Large non-sweet fruit salad with cucumber, tomato, apple and avocado-mango-tomato sauce.

Spiritual bread: Deuteronomy 5-9.

Exercise: 250 hops/jumping jacks. 2 sets of 10 one leg squats.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010......Day 5

Day 5 of the Fruit Fast. Today i got to enjoy one of the benefits of being self-employed. i worked out of my home office in my pajamas. i actually got alot done as well. It was a rainy and mildly cold day today so it was a good day to stay in. i didn't have a rigorous type of workout. But i just did about 4 sets of one leg squats and about 5-6 sets of  chins (mostly wide grip), but it was decidedly leisurely. i ate pretty much what i ate yesterday although i feel my body doing some housecleaning today. i believe its to be expected after spending the holidays eating home made unleavened bread, steamed veggies, popcorn and my favorite,  bulgar wheat with avocado. These things sound harmless to most but, when eaten late at night they can do damage. i also ate large amounts of trail mix. Just looking at nuts too long seems to put weight on me. As a matter of fact, last July i broke the fruit fast with an overdose of green olives. Very salty. i was about 170lbs at that time. Now when i weighed myself at the start of this fast i weighed 213lbs. Thats 40lbs without eating any so-called junk foods. No cakes, pies, cookies, sodas. No ice cream, no chocolate or any other candies. Just the things i stated above (oh yes, i ate pretzels once when i was on the road). Needless to say, i have no problem gaining weight on a vegan diet. i wasn't overly concerned as it was the holiday season and i was just coming out of a very hard time, it was like a celebration.

Usually i start every year with some sort of cleanse or fast. Last year i did all fruit. i really liked the results of that and i believe it was Divinely inspired so i am repeating that this year. How long i will do this for, i don't know. i am just taking it one day at a time. So far, so good. As i stated earlier, besides from the spiritual impact i am really looking at this as a training to not eat late or over-eat. Some say that cooked foods don't tell you when to stop eating. Actually that was not my problem. i just ate because i liked the taste of the things i ate, not because i was hungry. Or because i had nervous energy and it was late at night (that was usually popcorn or rice with veggies or rice cakes with avocado). i knew i wasn't hungry and didn't need to eat so i can't use the lack of a biological signal as an excuse.

Today's fare was:

Breakfast:
50oz of smoothie with watermelon, oj, dates, bananas and about a tsp of molasses.

Dinner:
1 pear, 2 apples, 6 bananas, 1 avocado, 5 dried figs.

Spiritual bread: i read Luke 17 & 18.

Exercise:
4 sets of one leg squat and 5 sets of chins.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wednesday, January 20, 2010....Day 4

Day 4 of the Fruit Fast. Felt even better today than yesterday. My energy was up, mind was sharper and i was able to be satisfied with 2 meals. As i am looking at my current fruit foray, i figure that eventually my 2 meal plan will include bigger meals as i am going to be more active. For now though, the intake is sufficient. i was thinking today of something Christ said in
John 8:29

And He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.

No other human that ever lived can make such a statement because the bible says all have sinned. All that is, except the Lord Christ. Because He lived a perfect life, we can receive His Grace and have Him live out His life in us. What a priviledge! So that, even though i have sinned in my past, i can receive forgiveness because of His death for my sins and the power of His Grace to overcome sin going forward. This is why i want to do this diet. i want to please my heavenly Father and my Lord Christ......always. Because my body is the dwelling place of His Spirit and its not my own. i want my mind clear to connect more fully with Him who is my life and i want to do "always those things that please Him".

Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
55oz of smoothie consisting of watermelon juice, OJ, 3 bananas and some molasses. i also ate one banana.

Dinner:
4 bananas, 1 pear, 2 apples, 7 dried figs, 1 avocado.

Exercise:
i did one set of pushups (50) and one set of wide grip chins (7) before i had to rush out. When i returned i did 3 more sets of 7 chins and 3 sets of 50 pushups. The thing about that is, i did those last 3 x 3 in less than 5 minutes. What a workout that was and a challenge!


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

.Tuesday, January 19, 2010...Afternoon

End of Day 3. i usually do not post twice in a day, but that is how today ended up. Interestingly, i ate less today than i did yesterday. i am actually going to seek to eat only 2 solid meals per day. This does not include smoothies and/or juices (even though they are also "meals"). Yesterday i drank two 40oz smoothies and had one solid meal. Today i drank one 55oz smoothie and had one large (for me) solid meal of fruit. The reason i want to try this is because if and when i come off of this fast, i want to remain temperate in my eating habits (even if they are cooked). i noticed a pattern over the six years i have been fasting and going on and off 100% raw. When i eat cooked foods, i begin to overeat and worse yet, to eat late into the night. Especially in times of stress and trial. When people came knocking on my door to take foreclosure pictures of my home, i prayed and ate popcorn late into the night. The praying was good, the popcorn (particularly that late at night) was not. i am seeking this time to use the Fruit fast as a training in proper habits of eating in terms of time by God's grace.


Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
55oz smoothie made from watermelon, bananas, OJ and molasses.

Dinner:
7 dried figs, 6 bananas, one avocado and one large organic Fuji apple.

Exercise:
4 sets of chins (28 reps total); 4 sets of pushups (240 total); 2 sets of 5 one leg squats on each leg.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Day 3 of the Fruit fast. Over the last couple of days, i have been strongly impressed with the subject of Faith. i realized this morning, more than ever, the people that would walk with Christ on this eart must be people of strong faith. This is especially true for us who believe these are the last days of earth's history (as the earth now exists). This i believe is a most essential ingredient in the one who would endeavor to commit to any type of fast. Particularly if its for reasons of the Spirit.

Now we believe the Bible definition of Faith:

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1


The Bible is filled with examples of the exercise of Faith, but one of my favorite is the story of the Deliverance of God's people from Egypt. The scene is this; Moses was told to direct the people (600,000 men plus women and children) towards the Red Sea. The people were hemmed in by mountains on their right and their left, the Red Sea was before them and Pharaoh and the Egyptian army behind them. At this time the Egyptian army was the most powerful in the world and they came bent on the destruction of their former slaves.

The people were distressed and cried out to Moses for doing such a dumb thing as to lead them where they would be surely destroyed. Moses turned to the God of Heaven and here is the response:


And the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward. Exodus 14:15

This is a wonderful story that should be read in its entirety to get the full context. But the point is they were told to step forward into the water; by Faith. There was no science, no logic, no explanation involved. Just Go Forward by Faith. Of course they did and they ended up walking on dry ground. That is what i am feeling regarding this fast. No science, no logic, no worry. Just Go Forward by Faith.

When i feel hungry, i don't worry, i just Go Forward by Faith. When i see things that tempt me, i just pray and Go Forward by Faith. My eyes are not on my immediate circumstances, on the need to check my protein, my sugar or anything else. i just need to Go Forward by Faith. i cannot concern myself with the ups and downs of the scale; No. i just need to look to Christ and go Forward by Faith.

The good thing is, i have walked this road before. Experience indeed does add strength. i have been through storms with the Captain of my soul before, i know He can lead well. This knowledge excites me about the Spiritual growth i will attain in the future as i just Go Forward by Faith.

Today i started with a delicious smoothie. Now i made more than i needed to, but i drank it all. It was about 55oz.

It consisted of the juice of half a medium watermelon, 3 bananas, 8oz of OJ. i ate a banana as it was blending. i added about a teaspoon of blackstrap molassses to it. It was good and it was very filling.

i am planning on eating some fruit later and probably ending the day with another smoothie. i have to go pick up a case of organic bananas and some other fruit during my travels today.

We move forward.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.