Eat, Fast, Feast


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling author and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute blends science and religion in this thoughtful guide that teaches modern believers how to use the leading wellness trend today—intermittent fasting—as a means of spiritual awakening, adopting the traditions our Christians ancestors practiced for centuries into daily life. Wellness minded people today are increasingly turning to intermittent fasting to bolster their health. But we aren’t the first people to abstain from eating for a purpose. This routine was a common part of our spiritual ancestors’ lives for 1,500 years. Jay Richards argues that Christians should recover the fasting lifestyle, not only to improve our bodies, but to bolster our spiritual health as well. In Eat, Fast, Feast, he combines forgotten spiritual wisdom on fasting and feasting with the burgeoning literature on ketogenic diets and fasting for improved physical and mental health. Based on his popular series “Fasting, Body and Soul” in The Stream, Eat, Fast, Feast explores what it means to substitute our hunger for God for our hunger for food, and what both modern science and the ancient monastics can teach us about this practice. Richards argues that our modern diet—heavy in sugar and refined carbohydrates—locks us into a metabolic trap that makes fasting unfruitful and our feasts devoid of meaning. The good news, he reveals, is that we are beginning to resist the tyranny of processed foods, with millions of people pursuing low carb, ketogenic, paleo, and primal diets. This growing body of experts argue that eating natural fat and fasting is not only safe, but far better than how we eat today. Richards provides a 40-day plan which combines a long-term “nutritional ketosis” with spiritual disciplines. The plan can be used any time of the year or be adapted to a penitential season on the Christian calendar, such as Advent or Lent. Synthesizing recent science with ancient wisdom, Eat, Fast, Feast brings together the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of intermittent fasting to help Christians improve their lives and their health, and bring them closer to God.




The Intermittent Fasting Revolution


Book Description

How intermittent fasting can enhance resilience, improve mental and physical performance, and protect against aging and disease. Most of us eat three meals a day with a smattering of snacks because we think that’s the normal, healthy way to eat. This book shows why that’s not the case. The human body and brain evolved to function well in environments where food could be obtained only intermittently. When we look at the eating patterns of our distant ancestors, we can see that an intermittent fasting eating pattern is normal—and eating three meals a day is not. In The Intermittent Fasting Revolution, prominent neuroscientist Mark Mattson shows that intermittent fasting is not only normal but also good for us; it can enhance our ability to cope with stress by making cells more resilient. It also improves mental and physical performance and protects against aging and disease. Intermittent fasting is not the latest fad diet; it doesn’t dictate food choice or quantity. It doesn’t make money for the pharmaceutical, processed food, or health care industries. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that includes frequent periods of time with little or negligible amounts of food. It is often accompanied by weight loss, but, Mattson says, studies show that its remarkable beneficial effects cannot be accounted for by weight loss alone. Mattson—whose pioneering research uncovered the ways that the brain responds to fasting and exercise—explains how thriving while fasting became an evolutionary adaptation. He describes the specific ways that intermittent fasting slows aging; reduces the risk of diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; and improves both brain and body performance. He also offers practical advice on adopting an intermittent fasting eating pattern as well as information for parents and physicians.




The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast


Book Description

With 21 devotionals and 100+ recipes, this book is your ultimate plan of action and toolbox as you commit to the Daniel Fast. You'll not only embrace healthier eating habits, you'll also discover a greater awareness of God's presence. Divided into three parts--fast, focus, and food--this book is your inspirational resource for pursuing a more intimate relationship with God as you eliminate certain foods such as sugars, processed ingredients, and solid fats from your diet for 21 days. Author Kristen Feola explains the Daniel Fast in easy-to-understand language, provides thought-provoking devotions for each day of the fast, and shares more than 100 tasty, easy-to-make recipes that follow fasting guidelines. In a conversational style, Feola helps you structure the fast so you can spend less time thinking about what to eat and more time focusing on God. As Feola writes, "When you want ideas on what to cook for dinner, you can quickly and easily find a recipe. When you feel weary, you can be refreshed through Bible verses and devotions. When you are struggling with staying committed, you can refer to the information and tools in this book to motivate you."




Fasting and Feasting


Book Description

For more than 30 years, Patience Gray—author of the celebrated cookbook Honey from a Weed—lived in a remote area of Puglia in southernmost Italy. She lived without electricity, modern plumbing, or a telephone; grew much of her own food; and gathered and ate wild plants alongside her neighbors in this economically impoverished region. She was fond of saying that she wrote only for herself and her friends, yet her growing reputation brought a steady stream of international visitors to her door. This simple and isolated life she chose for herself may help explain her relative obscurity when compared to the other great food writers of her time: M. F. K. Fisher, Elizabeth David, and Julia Child. So it is not surprising that when Gray died in 2005 the BBC described her as an “almost forgotten culinary star.” Yet her influence, particularly among chefs and other food writers, has had a lasting and profound effect on the way we view and celebrate good food and regional cuisines. Gray’s prescience was unrivaled: She wrote about what today we would call the Mediterranean diet and Slow Food—from foraging to eating locally—long before they became part of the cultural mainstream. Imagine if Michael Pollan or Barbara Kingsolver had spent several decades living among Italian, Greek, and Catalan peasants, recording their recipes and the significance of food and food gathering to their way of life. In Fasting and Feasting, biographer Adam Federman tells the remarkable—and until now untold—life story of Patience Gray: from her privileged and intellectual upbringing in England, to her trials as a single mother during World War II, to her career working as a designer, editor, translator, and author, and describing her travels and culinary adventures in later years. A fascinating and spirited woman, Patience Gray was very much a part of her times but very clearly ahead of them.




American Psalms


Book Description

More than a devotional, "American Psalms: Prayers for the Christian Patriot" offers a worship-based approach to becoming a Praying Patriot. Filled with Scripture-focused prayer, tips for spiritual formation and tools to fulfill God's command to pray for those in authority over us, this book will renew your heart for the nation that gives personal liberty and the God who gives eternal freedom. Steeped in American history with a strong biblical foundation, "American Psalms" takes the reader on a one-year journey of spiritual growth with weekly prayers for the nation, psalms for special days of prayers, relevant teachings to enhance your perspective and worksheets designed to promote prayer for America's leaders. With prayers spanning subjects from our troops to the presidency, from NASA to the fishing industry, and from the economy to our children's teachers, Masters has covered nearly every aspect of American society with scripture-based prayer while teaching the reader how to regularly pray for our nation without political bias. What People Are Saying About American Psalms: ""American Psalms" challenges Christian patriots to put aside personal agendas, prejudices and partisanship, and pray for our leaders as God commands." -Mike Huckabee, author of "A Simple Government" .."."American Psalms," is tremendous! It is an uplifting, faith-filled treasury of inspiring prayers, solidly based in Scripture-'an answer to prayer' for our country at this critical time." -William J. Federer, nationally known speaker, best selling author of "America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations" "American Psalms is a concise prayer guide for those who are new to intercession as well as those who are seasoned prayer leaders. In addition to motivating readers to pray for all aspects of our nation, this resource provides strategic prayer points and handy worksheets. This is a useful tool for all prayer leaders." -Mary Bruce, National Day of Prayer Northeast National Area Leader




The Transformational Power of Fasting


Book Description

Fasting practices to reconnect with the sacred, regain a sense of your life’s purpose, and heal physically and emotionally • Details what to expect during your fast physically, emotionally, and spiritually • Provides step-by-step guidelines on preparing for the fast, how long you should fast, what you can and can’t do during the fast, and how to end your fast • Explains how fasting can help or heal many chronic conditions, such as type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, psoriasis, and insomnia For millennia humans have fasted for spiritual, emotional, and physical reasons--as a way to heal their bodies, reconnect to the sacred, regain a sense of life’s purpose, and allow their souls to detoxify. We are evolutionarily designed to fast, and the body knows how to do it very well. Fasting allows the body and all its systems to rest, purify, and heal. During a fast, the body enters the same cleansing and healing cycle it normally enters during sleep. As a fast progresses, the body consumes everything that is not essential to bodily functioning--including bacteria, viruses, fibroid tumors, waste products in the blood, buildup around the joints, and stored fat--and the mind and heart release their toxic buildup as well. As Stephen Harrod Buhner reveals, in order to be truly transformed, you must first empty yourself. Offering step-by-step guidelines to fully prepare yourself for a deep fast, Buhner explores what to expect during and after spiritual, emotional, and physical fasting and detoxification. He details the necessary dietary and mental preparations leading up to your fast, what you can and can’t do during a fast, and how to end your fast. He also explains how to plan the length of your fast and how to choose between a water fast, a juice fast, or a mono-diet fast. Revealing how fasting can help or heal many chronic conditions, such as type II diabetes, childhood seizures, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, psoriasis, insomnia, and fibromyalgia, Buhner shows fasting as a way to truly inhabit the body, to experience its sacredness, and to activate its deep capabilities for self-healing.




Food, Fasting and Faith


Book Description

Now, my friend, if we do not know what to eat or what to drink, how can we do all to the glory of God? God has seen to it that the best of things in life are free and simple. Sunshine and fresh air are free and easily accessible and yet, absolutely necessary to life. Love and friendship cost nothing, but are essential to joy and happiness. The other reason I write this book is because for ten years, its truth has worked in my own life and ministry. After thirty-five years of sickness, two operations, treatment for ulcers and many lost days, weeks, and months, it is a sin for me to get sick when there is a way to stay well. We've just gone through an epidemic and scourge of flu, second to that of World War I. With all the doctors and hospitals and miracle drugs, there still seems to be no cure for the common cold and flu and pneumonia. Think of the loss of time of pupils and parents and also the expense for medicine and hospital bills! As I begin the first chapter in this book, I ask you to grant me two requests. First, give me an open mind, and second, give me credit for sincerely trying to write a book that will be practical and helpful to you and your whole family. Someone has said that success is learning to do what you don't like to do. Well, after this book is written, I'm bound to be a success!




Celebration of Discipline


Book Description

Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth is hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality with millions of copies sold since its original publication in 1978. In Celebration of Discipline, Foster explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith to show how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. Foster, the bestselling author of several books (Prayer and Streams of Living Water) and intrachurch movement founder of Renovaré, helps motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.




Rich Wounds


Book Description

Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.




Food, Faith and Fasting


Book Description

Orthodox Christians fast approximately half the days of the year. But in our food-obsessed society, how do we determine our approach to eating in general? Nutritional expert Rita Madden expands on her popular podcast to help us eat in a way that is healthful for both our bodies and our souls--in times of fasting, feasting, and the ordinary days in between. Includes recipes.