www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Oh No, Not That!

I was just reading a post or two and noticed a couple of disturbing terms being thrown around - "Lent." "Great Fast." I am not ready for this. It's too early! Oh well, I guess I will just have to lay in more supplies of chocolate. What else can I do?

Party at your house!

I'll bring my 27 pounds of $0.35 per bag "Holiday M&M's."

LOL!!!

Didn't we just get over the Nativity Fast?!?!?

Alice

They marked the M&M's down 90% before True Calendar Christmas. I couldn't resist buying enough for the entire Byzantine Village. I think that the amount that I bought was about 35, 14 ounce bags at $0.35 each.

Are these the mint variety?

I have bags of dark chocolate that I somehow forgot to put in Christmas presents to add to the pot.

Charles - it's no good - you are going to have to accept it - the Great Fast is just round the corner

- stock up on the dark choccie

And the PB

And the mixed nuts

And the dried apricots

And all the things to see us safely through it as we look towards the end and that wonderful Feast

St. Lindt preserve us!

Actually, I'm looking forward to Great Lent.

When I decided to join the Orthodox Church last Autumn (2006), my pastor told that I would be expected to try (seriously) to keep the upcoming Advent Fast. So, by the grace of God, I did. This past Advent Fast was the first that I tried to fast seriously for 40 days: no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fish (although I did eat shell-fish: shrimp), no junk food, and no snacking. At the end of the 40 days, here were the results:
-- I had adopted a new diet of healthy, natural foods that taste good.
-- I had lost 13 pounds.
-- I felt healthier and with more energy than I had in years.
-- My spiritual life was stronger because it was only through prayer (especially the Jesus Prayer and making fasting "a sacrifice of praise") that I was able to succeed.
-- Most of all, I had proven to myself that I could make a major lifestyle change: successfully, happily and feeling much better as a result.

So, by the grace of God, I decided to make another major lifestyle change. I decided to give up smoking. I used to smoke 1 - 1 1/2 packs of full strength cigarettes a day (about 20 - 30 cigarettes per day), as I had for the last 20 years. But, based upon my success with the Advent Fast, I started quitting smoking on 2 January 2007. I haven't been perfect, but by the grace of God I have mostly succeeded. After a month, here are the results:
-- In the last month, I have only smoked 2 1/2 packs.
-- I have not smoked any tobacco in the last week.
-- I have not used any nicotine in the last five days (not from the patch nor any other source).
-- I have saved a lot of money: about $150, so far.
-- I can smell a lot better than before.
-- I can taste a lot better than before.
-- My chest is not wheezing anymore.
-- I can sing better because I�m not constantly clearing my throat anymore.
-- I am breathing a lot better than before.
-- I feel more and more liberated from a drug addiction and the shame that goes with being a drug addict. Who knows, maybe I�m a dead man anyway from 20 years of smoking. Then again, we�re all dead eventually; and for now, I enjoy this taste of freedom.

The process is still ongoing, and I would appreciate your prayers, but it looks like I will quit smoking by the grace of God. My two greatest spiritual tools have been the Jesus Prayer and making this a "sacrifice of praise" (especially when I feel a craving for nicotine).

Now, here is why I am looking forward to Great Lent. I want to lose the weight (20 pounds) that I have put on during the last month of quitting smoking. I tried keeping a healthy diet when I began to quit smoking. That lasted for two days. The cravings for nicotine were so strong that I wanted to satisfy them somehow, so I decided to eat. I figured I can lose the weight later, but I can't "lose" death from smoking. So, I have had fun with it; I gave myself permission to eat whatever junk I wanted to, and enjoy it, as the ongoing "reward" for quitting smoking. And, psychologically and physically, it worked. Now it is four weeks later. My cravings for nicotine are growing less and less. My waistline is growing more and more. And, frankly, I have eaten so much junk food over the last month (to curb my nicotine cravings) that I have become sick of the taste of junkfood. So, I am looking forward to Great Lent as an opportunity to lose the weight that I have put on while quitting smoking. I also plan, during Lent, to start some moderate physical exercises in the morning. That is something else that I have not done in over 20 years.

So by Easter of this year, and by God's grace, I intend to be smoke free, trim (or, at least, trimmer), eating a healthy diet, and performing daily physical exercise. This will result in a much stronger spiritual life, because it is only through prayer (especially the Jesus Prayer) and the grace of Jesus Christ that I am making these lifestyle changes; I couldn't do this without Him.

It will also result, hopefully, in staying alive and in much better health. I was a heart-attack waiting to happen this Autumn: middle-aged, smoking 25 cigarettes per day for 20 years, sedentary lifestyle, and about 40 pounds overweight. Hopefully by Easter, I will be smoke-free, eating right, and doing physical exercise, and my life will be saved.

And all of this began when I decided, by the grace of God (and by the insistence of my pastor), to take fasting seriously. I didn�t plan on this, but it has turned into the mechanism for saving my life. The Advent Fast gave me the confidence to make a major lifestyle change. I continued by quitting smoking after the holidays. I will complete that during Great Lent by diet and exercise.

Throughout it all, I am praying more, and I am actually living a little deeper those words about trust in Christ -- because He is the only one who can get me through this.

So, yes, I am looking forward to Great Lent this year.

God be praised; and please keep me in your prayers.

-- John

May God bless all your efforts, John! Thank you for sharing your heart and soul with us....

With love in Christ,
Alice

Remember: kissing a smoker is like licking an ash tray!

I quit smoking in 1986, right after my father died from lung cancer. I was a 3-pack-a-day smoker who had smoked for 20 years. My doctor told me not to worry about the weight I would gain, it wouldn't kill me. Smoking would. I did gain around 25 pounds, but lost it later. So hang in there, you can quit. It's hard, but keep praying as you try to quit, since it does help.

I think of a joke about a guy who missed his ex-girlfriend who was a smoker, so he kissed an ash tray!

I had a suggestion instead of eating when cravings come on, how about drinking a 23oz. glass of cold water?

It may or may not work, it works for me...

Prayers.