Ramadan one-week fasting trial - Day 4

Hello again. Day 4 was particularly challenging. I did have an illuminating time reading the Book of Mormon, the Holy Bible and the Holy Qur'an. I know that one of the requirements for Muslims is to read the entire Qur'an during Ramadan. 

So, my Muslim friends, how is it going? and how far have you got?

I'm a sufferer of severe headaches, as you may remember I wrote about in this article. I wrote in my fasting journal how I was quite surprised I hadn't come down with a headache so far this week. Unfortunately this afternoon it came and at 4pm I broke my fast. I have a family to take care of so I have to look after my health first. I was disappointed I had to stop early but sometimes we have to make such decisions for the better good.

Then I received a comment which was rather negative and sarcastic concerning my Day 3 fasting efforts, so I decided against publishing it. 

I have received so many positive and encouraging comments so far which have helped me to continue past a tough Day 1. However, this comment kind of knocked me back a bit, telling me that their 6-year-old could do better than me! Then they told me to, impossibly, not be offended! 

"It matters not if you try and fail, and try and fail, and try again. It matters if you try and fail and fail to try again."

I'm a non-Muslim giving this fasting a good try. I tried real hard. I gave every effort I could. But I realised today that I'm not really doing this to please the Muslim community or for anyone else for that matter. I did it for myself, to get closer to God, spend a little more time 'away' from the world, and for the purposes I mentioned earlier. Those purposes were to develop a greater level of patience so that we could enjoy improved harmony and love at home.

Those purposes have been fulfilled. I feel very calm and at peace with everything.

There are many good people of whatever faith they may be who repeatedly try and fail, and try and fail, and keep on trying again. This includes a number of Christian friends who try their best and fall and struggle, and then dust themselves down and try again. We don't condemn them, or criticise them, we just offer the helping hand again, and again, and again, as long as it remains necessary.

Thank you to all who have commented so positively regarding my Ramadan fasting trial, who have given me a lot of encouragement. I'm pleased to announce the fasting trial has been completed, a little earlier than planned but having fulfilled it's purpose.

I've enjoyed it a lot and I'm glad I gave it a go. I'm definitely better because of it.

All my best wishes are with the Muslims who are fasting faithfully this month.

Once again, I'd be interested to know how my Muslim friends are progressing with their reading of the Qur'an . . .

Ramadan one-week fasting trial - Day 1

DAY 1

The first day of my one-week fasting trial went generally fine. I woke up before the sun and had a very early breakfast. The hunger feeling didn't arrive until around 2pm when my stomach felt distinctly empty. I had a small nap but was awoken by screaming children outside! Anyway, I felt much better afterwards and was able to complete my day's fast, although I did get very thirsty in the last few hours.

But I'm pleased to say that I resisted any urge to eat or drink, and that felt good. The most difficult part of the day, funnily enough, was after eating at the end of the day's fast. I felt bloated and uncomfortable for a good hour before things settled down again. I think a smaller meal would be better!

Instead, I have been concentrating on the purpose of my fast, and reading some Holy Scriptures to supplement it.

Over the course of this week I'll be reading the following books:

The Holy Bible. Recently we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the King James version of the Bible.

The Book of Mormon. A fantastic page explaining the Book of Mormon. Feel free to check this out if you are not familiar with it.

The Holy Qur'an. Simply click on a chapter and away you go. In both Arabic and English.

I'm hoping that by studying these good books, I'll get more knowledge and understanding in helping me reach my goals of my fast.

Ramadan - One-week fasting trial

Ramadan time is here again. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is the month of fasting in the Islamic faith. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day for a month, this year running from 1st-29th August.

Unfortunately, Ramadan for us means a lot of Malay youths wandering the neighbourhood streets at night setting off fireworks and firecrackers until midnight, disturbing us and our children's sleep, and being a general nuisance to all.

However, yesterday as I was shopping, I noticed all the restaurants pretty much empty, as Muslims refrained from food and drink during the daylight hours.

As a Christian I also participate in fasting, though at different times to Muslims. We fast on the first Sunday of every month, for 24 hours, or by skipping two meals. We have the opportunity to donate the money saved on our meals to help the poor and hungry wherever in the world they may be. However one fasts, the reasons remain the same.

There is a distinctly spiritual element to fasting. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights. The Bible states: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loosen the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"

And from the English translation of the Holy Qur'an: "Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may learn self-restraint - Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear Signs for guidance and judgement between right and wrong. So every one of you who is present at his home during that month should spend it in fasting...Allah...wants you to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance you shall be grateful."

For more information on Ramadan and fasting from a Muslim perspective, follow these two links:

Wikipedia explains

About.com - Ramadan

So as I was walking home yesterday evening with my shopping and each-a-cup drinks, I decided right then that I would give this  sunrise to sunset fasting a go. I wanted to experience what the Muslims are experiencing this month. I've decided that I will be fasting for one week, beginning Monday 8th August, until Sunday 14th August, 2011. Of course, I'll be blogging about it each day. 

I hope you'll follow me over the course of those 7 days. While fasting I will spend more time trying to establish my relationship with God through prayer and the study of God's words as found in the Holy Scriptures of Christianity and Islam.

So I'll strive to tolerate the noise of firecrackers and all that negative side of the month, and focus on the fast. Let's see how it goes!

Would you be willing to give the one-week fasting trial a try?

Abraham and Isaac

Abraham once attempted to offer up his son Isaac in a human sacrifice...

...Gaz and I did a re-enactment. Our faces tell the story

Scripture Power

It was Theodore Roosevelt who once quipped: "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education." Considering my college education, this quote is quite correct. I have started re-reading the Bible where I left off in 2Kings of the Old Testament sometime last year.

I know the Old Testament doesn't sound particularly smooth sailing for the virgin reader or the seasoned professional alike, but I have begun to discover many hidden treasures that enhance my day and strengthen my testimony. So today I would like to share with you a few things I learned recently about an extremely rare king who ruled in righteousness - this king was called Josiah.

Josiah ordered a group of people to work on re-furbishing the temple. Whilst repairing the temple, Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law (the writings of Moses, containing the Law of Moses), which seemingly had been neglected over hundreds of years of wickedness. A succession of wicked kings had seen the scriptures buried away gathering dust in some forgotten corner whilst they practised idolatry and human sacrifice.

Do we sometimes stumble across our scriptures after weeks or months of being left on the shelf, to realise that our lives have been way out of line with what the Lord expects of us in his scriptures?

I like this message.

When Josiah heard all that was written in the book of the law, he "rent his clothes", an act that demonstrated sorrow, regret, a beginning of repentance. He knew the people of Judah were living in wickedness, which seemed to be magnified all the more horribly when compared to the Lord's written standards. Josiah cried,

"for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us."

The scriptures are the yardstick against which we may judge our performance. 

The people of Judah under the reign of unrighteous kings, had lost sight of the Lord's standard, so much so that they had forgotten the commandments of the Lord. Josiah must have been extremely disappointed when he read Joshua's words about the scriptures which they had just found in a corner of a crumbling temple:

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

When Josiah reflected on all the wars and destruction when they could so easily have had prosperity and success, it must have hurt.

Those who rarely study the scriptures will not be familiar with the Lord's standards until they eventually forget the commandments and do things in opposition to God's desire for us.

Instead, we are counselled numerous times in the Book of Mormon, to remember the words of God, and Christ and his atonement. The way we remember is through daily scripture study. This way, we are constantly keeping ourselves updated with the Lord's standards, familiar with the yardstick of obedience, and are therefore more easily able to keep and live them.

Joseph Smith remarked:

"He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God's own handwriting in the sacred volume (of scripture): and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it; and when once discovered, it will not only receive an acknowledgement, but an obedience to all its heavenly precepts."

{For reading concerning Josiah and the discovery of the book of the law, refer to 2 Kings 22.}

Reading In Between The Lines

A well-read person would appreciate such a sight of a stack of books inviting themselves to be pored over. In today's world it is vital to gain knowledge, and the way we gain knowledge is by reading. The English language is the medium of all knowledge, the language which has been instituted for these times. It is therefore necessary to become acquainted with good English, and to educate oneself in languages, history, geography, science, the arts, and religion to name a few.

I have enjoyed firstly, many books on religion, those which inspire tolerance, understanding and faith. In my possession is a Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, Religions of the World, a copy of the Holy Qu'ran translated to English, alongside many other Christian writings of today. Of all the books I have, these have been the most inspiring and faith-promoting reads.

Then we come to the greatest magazine on earth. Allow me to introduce...

...the National Geographic magazine. My affiliation with this magazine began 2 or 3 years ago whilst regularly watching the National Geographic channel on television which always aired many interesting topics. When an unclaimed copy of Smart Investor was left on the post boxes downstairs at the beginning of this year, I took it home and enjoyed browsing through a few articles of note. It was then that I decided it would be nice to buy a certain magazine every month from which I could experience an education about some subject or another.

I was immediately struck by the distinctive yellow border around National Geographic's magazine, and coupled with my existing interest in Geography and the World, it was an easy choice. And so, since February, I have been thoroughly perplexed and engulfed in this remarkable magazine containing some incredible accounts of people, countries, nature and scenery. The photographs are no less stunning. I have proved to myself that it is still possible, and just as rewarding, to educate yourself even after school days are long gone. "Education is" truly "the best provision for old age" or any age, I would remark. (Not that I'm getting old just yet! Although with my 27th birthday recently come and gone, I am now closer to 30 than 20, which all of a sudden seems a little scary.)

Finally, I love a good novel, a good story. I am a great admirer of Dan Brown for his all-action, adventure epics including The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. They are in every way, page-turners, nigh impossible to put down, except when the chores of looking after a toddler rise to urgent levels.

The plot, the storyline, the description, the haziness between fact and fiction, are all fine faculties of Dan Brown which he expertly manipulates to grab and reel his audiences in. He leaves one to ponder deeply and come to one's own conclusions to the secrets, conspiracies and suggestions he has put forth in his work.

I have read The Da Vinci Code three times and still find myself absorbed by every single line, transfixed to the character development, glued to each page as the plot thickens, twists and somersaults over itself. I have loved feasting on accounts of history, paintings, scientific explorations and breakthroughs, unknown cults which may or may not still be functioning today. Perhaps what I love best about Dan Brown's books is precisely the fact that it's hard to draw the line between where his facts end and where the fiction begins. It therefore, persuades me to pursue additional study to discover for myself the concepts and arguments that he raises in his books. The educational banquet continues long after the back cover is closed.

I am an aspiring writer and author myself. I find inspiration in reading a wide range of work from various authors and on differing topics. Reading and writing, for me, is the greatest passion in life, my panacea, the place where all of my feelings are best expressed.

I hope you've enjoyed my book collection, of which I'm extremely proud.

Classical literature is another interest of mine, particularly as I have advanced in years. Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and William Shakespeare are all authors whom I have studied. Obviously they are much more difficult to stomach, but just the fact that they have gone through me appears to make me a little better. Sometimes we don't understand everything we read, but we become more knowledgeable in the process.