Fasting for Families 101

My beehive is fasting 24 hours for the first time today. From the time she was 8 until now, she has only had to fast for one meal. She is a little emotional about it and neither one of us are thinking this is fun. So I’ve done a little research to see how to make the whole process a little easier on her stomach and my heart. As it turns out, fasting is extremely good for the body, mind and spirit. It is a natural way to cleanse body and soul. It shrinks the stomach and gets us back to eating healthy portions. The spiritual benefits are endless and if you don’t have any stories yourself then there are a whole lot of them in the scriptures that we can all relate to. The standard is, once a month and in time of need we fast (no food or liquids) for 2 meals or in other words 24 hours. Children under 8 are not required to fast, 8-12 one meal and 12 and up 2 meals. Here are some helpful hints:

1. Prepare the day before – Make sure your family drinks plenty of liquids, decide on a purpose and discuss it with the family, and make a good healthy meal for your last meal before the fast.
2. Start your fast with a prayer. We usually start our fast after dinner Sat night and fast breakfast and lunch and have a nice Sunday dinner in the evening. This works best because it takes a while for half of our stomachs to wake up anyway and my children don’t have to go to bed hungry.
3. On fast day, stay busy. Go to church, enjoy nature, take a long bath, write in your journal, focus on keeping busy.
4. Find an activity that really ups the ante. Not your normal Sunday approved activity, something special to keep the younger minds off their stomachs.
5. Make a note-card for their church bags to remind them of the purpose of their fast, add pictures from church magazines or photos of people you may be fasting for.
6. Spend time looking extra special. Put your girls hair in curls the night before or try a new updo or style it differently. Use refreshing bath products especially for Fast Sunday.
7. Do something that boosts your spirit like smiling at everyone you see, doing a small family service project, care for a loved one, listen to uplifting music, watch an uplifting, motivating movie or create something special or read a good book together as a family.
8. Spend extra time together as a family playing games and enjoying each other’s company. Let everyone know that you are all in it together working toward a common goal.
9. At the end of your fast enjoy a cleansing drink of water and lemon, diluted cranberry juice, or peppermint tea at least 30 minutes before you eat.
10. Start Small – Include fresh veggies, fruit and grains. We usually have a big meal before our fast and a light meal after, followed by snacks later on in the evening.

Next month, I will make a better effort at being prepared and let you know if the fast went better. My goal is to help my children to feel loved by their parents, both earthly and heavenly and to enjoy their fast as much as possible, so that it will instill in the a desire to fast as adults. And of course, from a substantially more selfish perspective, to keep my mind off their hungry little  tummies.