A Place at the Table

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In his new book, A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor, Chris Seay invites us to join him on a journey of denying some of our most basic desires and instead open ourselves to what God has to teach us.

Would you consider adopting a very simple diet for 40 days as a way to connect with the poor?

With the season of Lent soon approaching, would you consider giving up some of your daily indulgences and use money you save to help the poor in a sustainable way?

Could you adopt the diet of your sponsored child for 40 days?

In the first four chapters of this book, Chris lays out the hows and whys of fasting, gives practical tips and tools for making this feasible and talks about the importance of feast days. The rest of the book contains daily readings for the 40 days of fasting and 6 feasting days. There are even daily videos to go along with the fast.

Take a couple minutes to watch one or both of the following videos...to hear Chris speak to Compassion employees about this idea at a recent chapel service, go HERE.

I've been brainstorming what this could look like for my family and here are some ideas I've had that I'd like to share.

• drink only water and tea for 40 days (donate money saved on other drinks to provide Safe Water)
• eat all meals at home for 40 days
• eat one simple meal as a family each week (think beans and rice)
• forgo desserts/chocolate/sweets for 40 days

I think the thing that most appeals to me about this is that I can tailor this to my needs. There is no right way or wrong way to do this, yet by denying some of my daily indulgences for 40 days, I am opening myself up to connecting with a large majority of the world's population. I also love the concept of feast days - delighting in the goodness of the Lord and relishing His love.

I would love to hear your thoughts or ideas about this. And I would love to know if you plan to participate in some way. Since the season of Lent is right around the corner, a 40 day fast (with 6 extra feast days) means this would start on February 22nd (which also happens to be the next 58: global fast day).

So let me know your thoughts......