Fasting....I have to admit, I have seen these challenges before, but have never felt compelled to participate. I've contemplated fasting caffene (woah, but what about my addiction), Television (wait I can't give up Frasier), Breakfast (but isn't that supposed to be the most important meal of the day), but in all of these I can admit that I obviously was never truly motivated. I have also questioned the idea of participating in a "group fast" because I was convinced that it wasn't something to be announced. I mean, after all isn't the idea of fasting supposed to be that you are seeking something from God and that should be a private matter? I guess I believed that if you announced it you were no better than the priest on the corner who prayed loudly so as to be heard by the passers by. At this stage of my life, I find that I am way more reflective. In recent years, I have come to the conclusion that life is not about the destination, it is about the journey, it is about the roads we take and why we take them, the choices we make and why we choose them. Over the last several weeks, I have come to the conclusion that I am not taking my faith seriously enough. This has been difficult for me to admit as my standard practice has been to ignore the ugly. Finding reasons to do a thing is easy, actually doing it is difficult. But during the next 21 days, I will be fasting lunch. I am already finding this to be physically unpleasant, but nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy. I decided to take to my Bible for a word from the Lord, and frankly I couldn't come up with anything that really sung out. I looked at many familiar passages such as Proverbs 31, Psalm 1 and Psalm 91, and it struck me that the fast was 21 days so I began to just turn through the book of Psalms and decided I would focus on the first chapter that had 21 verses and it turns out to be Psalm 135. Verse 1: Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah) Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him O you servants of the Lord. This verse is so simple, so concise, so the next 21 days should be days of praise!