…Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you. – Joshua 3:5

Our church had its annual Seven Days of Prayer and Fasting on the 2nd week of January. But I decided to do it in my own time — from January 25-31. The day after my birthday. I’m doing it for the first time and I know that suppressing my dear appetite won’t be easy, but I know I can make it. God’s grace is more than sufficient for me!

And yes, I’m going to do this every year from now on — with delight!

So why am I fasting?

It is my heart’s desire to have a personal encounter with God.
I want God to reveal Himself to me, so I can give Him all the glory.
I want to sharpen my spiritual antenna, so I could hear His Voice.
I want to seek His will for me.
I want to be transformed.
I want God to replace my rotten heart with a brand-new one.
I want to build a stronger relationship with Him.
I want God to rule in my heart wherever I go. ALWAYS.
I want to intercede for my family, friends, church, and country.

During this week of consecration, it is my heart’s desire to focus on God alone and be filled with His Word. I am believing God for victories and breakthroughs in every area of my life this year.

Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, your determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation.

-Wesley Duewel

NOTE: I was supposed to publish this before the year 2010 ended, but was not able to. Hehe.

During the post-Christmas service at church, we were asked to write down the Top 10 things that we were thankful for before we bid goodbye to 2010. So without further ado, allow me to share with you what I had written down on that piece of paper. Thank you Lord for these blessings!

1. The arrival of our new baby…Ayesha Kirsten. God gave her to us on January 12, 2010. A very special day for our family.

2. Ayesha was saved from CAH. Okay, allow me to give you a little background on this…On our way home from the hospital, the doctor called to inform us that Ayesha’s newborn screening results had been released. I felt that my heart skipped a beat when she broke the bad news – my baby girl was positive of CAH (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia) and needed to undergo a confirmatory test. Needless to say, I was in a state of shock. Every ounce of strength I had in my body seemed to have vanished into thin air as the doctor tried to explain to me what this rare disease was. I looked at Ayesha, who was then sleeping like an angel in the car, and was almost sure that she’s perfectly fine. She had to be taken back to the hospital the next day for another test. We all waited fearfully for the results. And after a month of praying and crying out to God, we got the results that brought tears to my eyes – it’s negative!
3. Greggy’s nursery graduation.

4. The monthly amortization of our house finally ended.
5. Our church. Our small group. Our spiritual family.

6. The three-day EN2010 Conference at SMX. What a life-changing event! Can’t wait for EN2013!

7. Trip to Caramoan Islands, Camarines Sur.

8. Ayesha’s dedication day.

9. On September 25, 2010, I surrendered my life to Jesus – officially. Need I say more?

10. We finally bought a car. We got it after participating in the Race for Life 2010. Talk about God opening the floodgates of heaven! Leo and I ran 5K to support the scholars of the Real Life Foundation, and we got a car in return! Isn’t that cool?!

I’m looking forward to a fruitful and God-centered 2011! Let’s all start the year right.