fasting – Page 2 – 300 words a day

relationship rewards

“Store up treasure in heaven.” That’s what Jesus tells us. Don’t spend your energy on stuff that gets eaten up by financial declines so that you panic about how much less you are worth this week than last week. Because, of course, if your measure of your worth is in your portfolio and your portfolio […]

by Jon Swanson

maybe it is not about me

Okay. Here’s the deal. I want to talk about fasting. I want to talk about what the reward is. I want to talk about this incredibly cool image that God paints in Isaiah about fasting not being about being selfish and simply not eating the food you have, but it’s about sharing a meal with […]

by Jon Swanson

fasting looks like fun

What an odd title. Fasting isn’t supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be difficult. It’s supposed to be challenged. Intentionally refraining from something that is important to you, that is essential to your well-being, is a difficult thing. The longer the fast, the harder it is supposed to be. Spending 40 days fasting, as […]

by Jon Swanson

when you fast

Don’t you love the difference the choice between two words can make? One word makes things optional. One word makes them expected. One word makes you think about the perhaps. One word makes you think about the procedure. One word is about whether. One word is about how. One word is “if”. One word is […]

by Jon Swanson

giving up and heads up (weekend)

This year, February 25 in the church calendar is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of the season of Lent, a period that ends with Easter. Lent is an old word that means spring. If you had to pick a phrase that best captures what people think of Lent it’s this: giving up. Not as […]