Day 4 and Day 9

Well, I thought I'd give you a little update on how things are going with a) my 21 day sugar detox and b) my BRT2014

Firstly, sugar detox.. Day 4 - Surprisingly, I am NOT craving sugar at all! Maybe it's because green tipped bananas are sweet enough and I do love green apples. Two fruits that are allowed on this detox. I made myself some chocolate chia pudding last night and it was a great dessert. I used mashed banana instead of the honey that it called for.

Day 2 wasn't good, though. I felt like I was getting a full blown cold and possibly the flu. I was sneezing a lot, I had a horrible headache, sore neck, and my bones ached. Then I woke up on Day 3 -- didn't feel great, but I decided to push through and carry on with my day's plans. By the end of the day, I was tired, but all other symptoms had mostly dissipated.

Now, I'm wondering was it the Oil of Oregano I ingested, was it the Vitamin C  I popped, or was it really the detox 'flu' that had come and seemingly gone so quickly? They say Day 3 and 4 are the hardest. I haven't found that to be true.

This detox really isn't hard to do... plenty of recipes abound in The 21 Day Detox book and online - paleo focused, with absolutely no sugar and no (or very few) grains.

So, today is Day 4, and I'm feeling pretty good. A little more energy than the last few days. Feeling hopeful that I will be able to do this. I know.. the worst is probably yet to come. I think my downfall will be when I begin to crave or am tempted by, let's say, a new Starbucks drink -- and the opportunity presents itself for me to cave. Must. Stay. Away.

And keep my fridge full of options, without boring myself.

Secondly, BRT2014 - Day 9 That's Bible Read Through 2014 with the facebook community at keithferrin.com. Well, my goal is to set the timer for 45 minutes every morning, first thing, and read/listen to the Bible, jotting down little nuggets and 'aha' moments that may drop into my head. How am I doing? Well, I've missed at least 3 days of my 'early rising' and that throws a wrench into my day. Everything gets pushed back and ..it's just not good. Much less accomplished than I hope.

BUT, there is good news:

•  I'm not far behind in my 'plan'. There's hope. And, anyway, it's really all about the take-away, not the schedule. 
• I have found a friend who lives right down my street who agreed to do this with me! She will be my 'real life' (as opposed to 'online') accountability partner. We are going to meet next week to share what we've been gleaning. 
• I am enjoying reading the Bible this way, as a chronological narrative, rather than in wee little chunks. I've done a lot of short passage reading and inductive study over the years, and there's definitely a time for that. But reading 45 minutes at a time..to really get into the story ... that's new for me. 

It's really easy to think of reading through the Bible in four months as a goal in itself, but what I really am hoping for is a clarity and learning more about God and His people (which means us)  that I didn't notice before. And maybe even a new love for God's Word. So far, there has been a lot of 'I've read this before.. uh.. how many times?', but I also have been able to catch things I didn't notice before. Not sure if they are all significant, but still..

Oh, Keith Ferrin is giving away his little book 10 Tips for Liking the Bible. Grab it here. The BRT shows up in one of the last tips, I think (haven't got that far yet; I heard about the BRT from another source). 

Well, that's it for today. I'll do another update next week (hopefully). 

Hope you are all staying warm and healthy!