MMMMM…..coffee cake. Yesterday I whipped up butter and flour and sugar and watched it turn into magical goodness in the oven, alongside some Homemade Heath Bars. I’m cooking a flank steak tonight with mashed potatoes and a spinach salad. MMMMMM. Food is good. I thought so before, but I appreciate it now in a life-changing way. The Five Day Challenge did that to me.

Fullness is good. After I ate some fruit yesterday, I did a workout video and went sledding with my son. Food equals energy, both of which were in short supply last week. I being healthy before, but I appreciate it now for the ways it effects body, mind and spirit. The Five Day Challenge did that to me.

Gluttony is everywhere. From the cereal aisle to my sock drawer, abundance is real. It literally spills out of my drawers and closets and toy bins. I used to think I was pretty disciplined. But after struggling through the challenge, I see myself with more clarity. Mostly, I’m just a self-indulged American who has no real concept of discipline or restraint. But now, maybe, I can be more aware. I can pass up the fifth box of cereal or skip on that third pair of black flats I just need. The Five Day Challenge did that to me.

Poverty may always exist, but as Christians, we are always called to do something about it. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis talks about our role in giving as Christians. He says that for the income and station of life you are in, it should be apparent that you live differently. He says charity should hurt. I wonder, now that I’ve felt hunger for five days, now that I’ve experienced self-restraint and what emptiness does to my mind and soul, if I’ve ever let charity hurt. If I’ve lived differently. For the first time, I really want to take this call seriously. The Five Day Challenge did that to me.

It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But like most lessons in life, the harder ones stick with you. Here’s to learning something that makes a difference. ‘Til next year….

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:7-8

Today was a struggle. I am hungry when I go to bed, hungry when I rock my toddler three times in the night, hungry in the morning. I eat my oatmeal but it doesn’t really fill that space in my tummy that wants a latte and a scone. But I think to myself. This is good. This is something I won’t forget. I don’t want to forget, this tiny slice of hunger that is so far from my normal existance. Something made me smile right after my oatmeal, though.

I got a call from a very generous John Worden who wanted to offer a free ChickfilA meal for every one who completes the Five Day Challenge. Since Anne Gaskill told me it was harder to give up Chick-fil-A then it was to give up coffee, it seems like an appropriate incentive!

So, if you have hung in there so far, stick with it! And tomorrow, email me at nicoleunice@gmail.com the following information:
1. Yes, you made it!

2. Yes, you contributed to Feed My Starving Children the difference in your grocery budget this week.

3. Let me know the amount you pledged. If you feel squeamish about sharing, too bad. I won’t tell anyone. Since I’m a counselor, I’m really good at keeping secrets, ha ha. Just kidding, but seriously, it would be really cool to see what we’ve been able to do together as a community, and I’d love to share that number with everyone who’s done the challenged or cheered us on.

4. If you live in the Richmond Area, I will contact you to get you a coupon for everyone in your family to enjoy a meal out! Woop woop!

You are almost there! Stay the course, and enjoy your celebration tomorrow. Remember:
Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. Isaiah 58:10, NLT

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:6-7

My hungry friends, we’ve made it halfway.

I thought today I’d include some encouraging words I’ve received from those participating in the challenge, and then include an additional challenge of my own for all of us!

“As my daughter and I were sitting down last night eating, she had rice and I was eating rice and beans, I asked her “Do you know why we are eating this?” She replied. “So we will think about the little kids who only have this to eat.”… I even noticed this morning and felt bad getting rid of any left over oatmeal. It seems so easy for us to just say “forget it” and then just go back to our regular diets, but then I think of the adults and children we are doing this for have no choice. No choice at all. So when my stomach is hungry, I have made a packed to just say a prayer. For the starving adults and children in other countries but ours as well. May we continue to help them.” –Amy

“First day was pretty good. My kids didn’t know you can make oatmeal in a pot on the stove…honestly it does make it taste so much better than the microwave. Beans and tortillas went over okay for lunch and pea soup (now affectionately known as “lizzard soup”) went over very well for dinner. Today has been tougher…starting to hear the whines “why can’t I have Panda Puffs, or syrup and waffles”? But I am doing okay. I have to admit I like my sweets so plain oatmeal and coffee has been rough…Thanks for blessing us with this great gift of learning to serve Him in other ways and appreciate what we have and so many others don’t.” –Maria

Nancy comments on my thoughts about water from yesterday’s post:

Nicole, these were our thoughts too, as we began to envision how Hope could make an impact in Africa. By providing a well in a village in Tanzania, that would otherwise have no water, or only dirty water, we are freeing people up from slavery to the search for water. At the same time, installing a well opens hearts and minds to hear about the Living Water, and to sit at His feet and drink! It is so wonderful how the 2 go hand in hand!

Becca weighs in on my weeklong headache:

Do you know that extreme caffeine withdrawal (and if i know you correct, you count in this) is equal to, or worse than, cocaine withdrawal? A criminology professor told me this once. I believe him.

As lunch approaches, we are at the halfway point. All this hunger and headache has awakened my awareness of the plight of the poor in the world. And honestly, five days feels very hard, but at the same time, like not enough. My week’s worth of grocery bill is a good start, but I wonder how I can do more.

So I had an idea this morning that I’m considering. What if, in addition to the week of groceries, I pledged to serve beans and rice once a week for the rest of the year, and to send that money in pledge to Feed My Starving Children this week? And how much money would you suppose that would save?

I’ve always found dwelling on poverty to be depressing and confusing. It is hard not to be emotionally struck by the disparity that exists in our world–from the mounds of fruits to the dozens of different types of just one product, like cereal, that exist in my zip code, to the abject hunger and lack of drinking water that exists in much of the world.

I also find poverty confusing. I’ve thought, even in preparing for this 5 Day Challenge, about what good, really, does it do. Even our money put together, given to this organization. It feeds hungry mouths, yes. But then what? So they stay alive longer, only to die of some treatable illness or watch their own children die in hunger? There is so much more needed to break the cycle of poverty. How do we keep from despairing, from throwing up our hands and burying our heads and just going back to our own lives? Unchanged?

But when I read this excerpt from the Five Day Challenge about women and water, some things began to make sense:

Many women spend 15-20 hours per week collecting water, often walking up to 7 miles in the dry season. It is typically women who collect water, often waiting for long periods, and having to get up very early or go out late at night to get their water; they carry heavy water containers for long distances over uneven terrain. It is women who have to buy, scrounge, or beg for water, particularly when their usual sources run dry. The tragedy is that the water they work so hard to collect is often dirty, polluted, and unsafe to drink.

Women trapped in this situation have little time for other activities such as childcare, rest, or productive work. The time spent collecting water disempowers women by reinforcing time-poverty and lowering income.

“Research in Uganda found households spending on average 660 hours a year
collecting water. This represents two full months of labor, with attendant opportunity costs for education, income generation, and female leisure time.” (Source: United Nations Development Program, 2006)

The amount of time I’ve thought about food and water this last two days is much more than I usually would. And if this was my life, every day? I can’t even imagine the
energy that goes into feeding one’s family when trapped in hunger and thirst.

If these women had access to clean water and food, they would have time to imagine a different life. That same survival instinct, the determination they use to provide water for their children, would be free to dream about creating a better life for generations to come.

So that is why we continue to try. To do what we can, where we are, to make a difference.

Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. Proverbs 28:27, NLT

“I could just donate money and not do this thing.” That tantalising thought bubbled up in my head this morning, and I considered it, longer than necessary. I was in my pajamas, sipping hot water from a coffee mug. I glanced at the clock above the stove. 6:48 AM. Less than seven hours since the 5 Day Challenge began, plus I had only been awake for about 30 minutes of it. Pathetic, really.

But you, my blogging friends, kept me going. Plus my pride, and will, and the fact that my hungry babysitter would be showing up in an hour or so, and I don’t have the mental fortitude to lie straight into her face while she complains about the plain oatmeal we both ate.

So I kicked that thought to the curb, sipped some more hot water, and choked down my plain oatmeal.

Since 6:48, I’ve had some other thoughts that are a little more helpful. Like when I noticed how thankful I am that I can heat my house. Take a hot shower, and afford pretty makeup. I noticed how much food we usually waste in a meal or snack or day.

And, by the time lunch came around, I was hungry enough to truly appreciate the rustic goodness of beans and rice.

So how about you? How have you fared on Day One of the Five Day Challenge? Shoot me an email or leave a comment, and I’ll post your thoughts so we can be in this together.

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deut. 15:11

Tomorrow begins the 5 Day Challenge! It’s never too late to join in! Anything you do that saves on your grocery budget will be the funds you can donate on Friday to Feed My Starving Children. I just love how ingenious you all are about making this challenge work for you. Here’s a few more ideas:

1. Preggo variation: Amy writes:

“I do want to participate next week. What I am going to do is cook the beans and rice at night and the oatmeal in the morning for us to eat and then take out eating out and Starbucks as well. I am going to try to stick with it as close to it as I can being pregnant. I usually have to eat every two hours with my blood sugar but I am going to modify it to a simple cracker or something like that to make it more like what is happening in the rest of the world. I guess I figure that those women are pregnant too and they do not have anything to eat so I can do it too.”

2. I-Hate-Beans Variation:
choose tuna, edamame, peanut butter, or substitute another protein

3. The clean-the-pantry option:
Jeanne writes:

“thanks for the encouragement to participate in this with you. What I’ve decided to do is not go to the grocery store this week…meaning create meals from what we have…realizing already the abundance in our pantry! The money I spend on our usual weekly or every other day trip will be donated and hopefully some habits/mindsets will be adjusted as well.”

Sara writes:

“A few of my friends and I are going to do it here, too! As grad students we don’t have high food budgets to begin, but it’s a good experience to reminder that while we may consider ourselves “broke” in grad school, we are still very wealthy compared to most in the world! I’ve spent $2.97 on groceries- and it’s my goal to only spend that all week!”

4. And, for the very hard-core, dumpster diving.
Sara goes on:

One of my friends is also changing the challenge a bit- in light that many in the world cannot even buy food everyday and often have to scavenge for food- her plan is to live completely off what she can find dumpster-diving! (There is so much good food is thrown away by grocery stores (damaged packaging, overstock, soon to expire), so she’ll actually eat well, but its the experiencing of having to search for food and not be able to depend on money to feed her).

OK, seriously, you bean-haters? Maybe you should consider dumpster-diving. You might find you like beans, after all!

I am sipping my last cup of coffee tonight, at least for the next few days. I’ll be posting your day-by-day thoughts so keep them coming. Here’s some verses of encouragement to take you through our challenge:

MONDAY
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deut. 15:11

TUESDAY
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed. Proverbs 28:27, NLT

WEDNESDAY
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:6-7

THURSDAY
Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. Isaiah 58:10, NLT

FRIDAY
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:7-8

Check out my groceries for the week. The bill was $18. I would figure in another $4 in chicken and a couple of onions. I will update my grocery bill total if I add to it next week. I wonder if any of you can beat my price??

Our 5 Day Challenge starts Feb. 1-5! I continue to be encouraged as more of you jump on board with this idea! Whether you follow it to the letter or modify for your family, the important thing is that you are putting your faith into action. You are realizing that even small changes for a small amount of time–simple compassion–is what we are called to do as followers of Jesus.

On to more questions! Here’s a few more reader questions that have come up:

What about exercising?

Dave and I have started P90X (that’s another story). So it’s a pretty intense workout. We will not be doing it next week. I plan to stick with walking and light yoga, and my normal everyday chores. I want to be realistic about what life is like when you are always a little hungry, and burning tons of extra calories doesn’t seem smart.

I’m not sure I’m doing it for the right reasons. Like, I might want to lose a few pounds.

If you want to check your heart on your motives for fasting, please read these posts:
What Fast? Why Not?

Don’t Fast If…

This is definitely a modified fast. It has a number of purposes, but the main one is a way to open your heart to the plight of the poor and hungry in this world. A secondary result will most likely be an understanding of your own temptations and the true weakness of your own spirit apart from Christ. However, the main purpose is a tangible way to experience and respond to world hunger.

To that end, you can modify the fast in any way you need. Not eating out, not drinking Starbucks, cutting out sodas–all of those things cost money, money you could put toward Feed My Starving Children for this next week.

Yuck, I can’t stand beans….

See the above question. The challenge is designed to replicate the diet of the poor in the world. Obviously, choosing not to do it at all is worse than changing up what you are eating. Consider an alternative protein like edamame or tuna.

But consider what my friend Becky wrote in today:

I was raised on black beans, rice, tortillas. Every Day. Sometimes some chicken or ground beef, but always black beans and rice… No, I did not have a dirt floor in my house, I actually lived in a house, not under a tent or in a hut, but my mom knew that this was an inexpensive and healthy way to feed our family of 5 kids, and we did not have a lot of money… We were happy to have it and considered it a treat when the meal was something different, but I still have cravings for black beans and rice and have tried, unsuccessfully, to make them taste like mom’s and I just can’t do it. The photo on your blog makes my mouth water!

You can cut the cost even more if you purchase a bag of dry beans and cook them yourself ( maybe it says this, I have not clicked through yet). They are easy to prepare and really good, plus you can control the sodium content and fat content. And, it smells wonderful to come into the house on a cold day and smell beans cooking! If you cook enough at once, you can feed your family for several days. . . bean soup the first day, then by the last day, they have thickened and you might mash them and spread on a tortilla. Roll it up and use it to “scoop” your rice. (Good way to further stretch them.)

Thanks Becky! I bought dried beans today.

One final note: this is my 200th post on this blog. I read somewhere in the blogosphere that if you can do 200 posts, you should celebrate! I thought I would post a link to on of my first posts, back in April 2008. It’s when I started to get serious about writing as another venue to share my thoughts on God and modern life. Thank you for caring about my ramblings. It seems appropriate to herald 200 posts with our challenge to make a difference in this world!