tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626692144882402164.post6546157479154219153..comments2011-12-12T02:11:35.198-05:00Comments on Journey East: The Discipline of Not FastingCaleb Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06073030486303531965noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626692144882402164.post-38610671977137163412011-02-18T22:30:22.625-05:002011-02-18T22:30:22.625-05:00I yearned to fast when my boys were nursing and to...I yearned to fast when my boys were nursing and toddlers. I started a strict fast one Lent, and got very sick. I realized I was not a spiritual athlete, but an infant in my faith and prayer. I learned that my spiritual father would give me a less strick, but appropriate for me, discipline.<br /><br />When my boys were vocal at quiet times during the Liturgy, I would whisper lovingly in their ear, "We don't talk when Fr. is talking," and then I'd kiss their sweet little heads. Then remembered after a while...but it was harder to keep them from punching one another later :) Time goes by fast, enjoy them as they are now.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12505517873442278318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626692144882402164.post-27311579417513083162010-12-31T13:34:39.474-05:002010-12-31T13:34:39.474-05:00Your fervor to embrace Orthodoxy is wonderful! Ma...Your fervor to embrace Orthodoxy is wonderful! May I leave you with some thoughts? Can a random person off the street expect to be able to finish a marathon without ever having run even a quarter of a mile before the marathon began? You're entering a marathon and it takes time to build up to "full blown" fasting and attending all the services offered (especially with little ones) - let alone being pregnant also. Talk to your spiritual father for guidance on how and when to add more as you and your family build endurance. Fasting and church attendance are hard for you at this point so choose something you can do as a family at home - prayer before meals or bedtime (they can be very short to start), a jar in the middle of your table to collect your spare change for the poor during fasting and give the money away on the feast days. Start where you're at right now and don't expect to be able to run along side the marathoners immediately. They had to build up endurance too....and when we fall (and we all will), we can lend a helping hand to one another to get back up again through encouragement, help, ideas, and sharing our own stories.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com