A Seven Day Reset To Get Still, Get Back To The Basics,& Make Space For God, Healing, & Transformation

We have officially kicked off our 10th annual End of Summer Fast & Detox! Are you ready for a time of transformation? Are you ready to get still and silence everything around you?

I hope you are, because I definitely am.

I don’t know what it is, but September just feels like a shift in energy. I’ve honestly been praying a lot lately, and I can feel some of my prayers being answered in the smallest ways.

One of my biggest fears with moving back to Detroit was that I was going to hate the cold. I had been in Atlanta for so long that I was used to loving 90 degree weather in September. But for some odd reason, with the brisk mornings and nights we’ve been experiencing here, I’ve actually been loving them. And I know that’s nothing but God because I hate being cold. For me to be able to see the beauty in this chilly season is crazy and honestly, not like me. But I think that’s part of the shift I’ve been feeling.

Sometimes transformation starts in the smallest things.

I’m so glad that you chose to join me for this End Of Summer Fast & Detox. I really believe this can be such a good time for us, but I want you to take it seriously. Put the time into it. Be intentional. Give yourself the space to actually feel the shift.

What Are You Giving Up?

By now, you’ve probably already thought about the things you want to give up during these seven days.

Whether you’re fasting, detoxing, or doing both, you don’t necessarily need six completely different things. Your fast and detox can overlap. If you’re struggling to come up with three things for each, look back at your life over the last month and ask yourself, what have I been spending the most time doing? That’s what I did.

When I sat down and wrote out the three things I wanted to give up for the fast and the three habits I wanted to release for the detox, it actually took some time. I had to be honest about what I had naturally been doing and where my time was going.

For the next seven days, here’s what I’m doing.

For my fast:

* No TV, except YouTube for sermons

* No scrolling social media, except posting the content for the fast and detox

* No eating from sunup to sundown

For my detox:

* No TV

* No fried foods

* Waking up before the sun rises

Now, you don’t have to come up with six completely different things if you’re doing both the fast and detox. Your fast may include habits that you also want to work on during your detox.

I just wanted to be really intentional about what I chose and make sure my list was tailored to me.

I hope you did the same.

If You’re Fasting, Get in the Word

For those of you who are spiritual and participating in the fast, I really want you to take this time to dig into the Word during this quiet season. It’s not enough to simply give something up if you’re not replacing that time with prayer and seeking God.

Every day, I’ll be sharing different scriptures and worship songs that I love, and I definitely want you to follow along. But I also want you to find what works for you and what actually brings you closer to God.

Maybe it’s watching one sermon a day.

Maybe it’s reading one Bible story a day.

Maybe it’s sitting with one verse and memorizing it.

Maybe it’s meditating on one scripture and allowing God to reveal something to you through it.

Whatever it looks like, these seven days are a chance for you to sit with God and sit with yourself. Figure out how you want to approach this fast and detox and how you want to make the Word the center of it all.

So many times when we pray, we’re asking God for things. We’re asking for blessings, answers, opportunities, healing, breakthroughs, and doors to open. But I want you to use this time to ask for something different, too.

Ask for intimacy with God.

Ask to learn more about who He is and His character.

Ask to feel His presence throughout your life.

Ask Him to show you who you are in Him.

Total transformation doesn’t only come when God blesses you with the things you’ve been asking for. Sometimes the transformation comes when you truly know who God is and develop the childlike faith that comes from sitting in His Word and sitting at His feet.

This isn’t a time for you to walk around moping because you had to give things up.

This is a time to rejoice. This is a time to share the good news with other people, and honestly, that’s something we should already be doing.

Be Mindful of What You’re Feeding Yourself

At the end of the day, even when you’re fasting and detoxing, you’re still human. You still have a regular life to live.

So live your life.

But be mindful of the sacred time you’ve committed to.

Be mindful of how you talk to other people.

Be mindful of how you treat yourself.

Be mindful of how you show up in different rooms.

Be mindful of the things you say.

One thing I know I’ll personally be mindful of during this fast and detox is how much I’m talking on the phone.

I can spend hours talking on the phone with friends and family, catching up, laughing, talking about life, and before I know it, hours have passed that I could have spent with God.

Talking on the phone isn’t something I gave up for this fast, but it’s something I want to be mindful of.

The same thing goes for secular music. I don’t want to be filling my ears with certain things during a time when I’m intentionally trying to focus on the Father.

So if you’re fasting, I want you to think beyond just the things you physically gave up.

What are you feeding yourself with your eyes?

What are you feeding yourself with your ears?

What are you feeding yourself with your mouth?

What are you feeding yourself with what you touch?

This is a time to become mindful of all of it.

If You’re Detoxing, Get Back to You

For those of you who are detoxing, I want this to be a time for you to reconnect with yourself.

I really want you to reconnect with the little boy or little girl inside of you who sometimes gets lost in all the noise of the world.

What were their dreams?

What did they want?

What kind of life did they imagine for themselves?

Who did they want to be when they grew up?

I think we lose sight of ourselves because we live in a world that is constantly telling us who we should be, what we should do, what we should want, and what our lives should look like.

This is your opportunity to get back to the basics.

My prayer is that this time helps you cleanse off the things that no longer serve you. The things that have become old. The things that don’t make you better. The things that you’ve been carrying simply because you’ve carried them for so long.

It’s time to purge.

And I don’t just mean our physical bodies.

I’m talking about our environments.

Our thoughts.

Our habits.

Our relationships with ourselves.

The things we consume.

The things and people we allow into our space.

Sometimes we need to detox more than just our bodies.

Set Your Intentions

Whether you’re detoxing, fasting, or doing both, I hope you enjoy this time. But remember: it’s only going to be as good as what you put into it.

If you don’t go into this with the right mindset, you may not get what you could out of it.

So today, I need you to set your intentions.

What do you want from these seven days?

Are there questions you need answers to?

Are there dreams you want to get back to?

Is there a version of yourself that you feel like you lost?

Is there a breakthrough you need in your finances or your health?

Is there healing that you from God?

Is there a decision you have to make that you’ve been confused about?

Or maybe you simply need to break some habits that have been holding you back.

Whatever the thing is for you, I pray that these seven days become a time of transformation, healing, growth, enlightenment, and cleansing.

I pray that you are renewed during this fast. I pray that you come out of these seven days different than you walked in.

Put God at the Center

It’s time to start this special time together.

I pray that you feel the sweetness of the Holy Spirit during these next seven days. I pray that you feel God all over your life. I pray that you feel Him holding you, not just during this fast, but every single day.

I thank you for taking the time to be honest with yourself.

I thank you for trusting me to guide you through this fast.

Ultimately, I pray that you remove me from the center and put God at the center.

Remove me from the head of this fast and put God at the head of it.

If there is anything that I say during these seven days, I pray that you take it to Jesus in prayer.

Let’s kick this thing off right, together.

Today’s focus is all about setting your intentions and being honest about what you want out of these seven days.

Come back here tomorrow at 6 PM for the Day 1 daily update. I’ll also be sending the daily update link to those of you who are subscribed to the newsletter, so make sure you’re checking your email.

Take what you need, and leave the rest. If it doesn’t apply to you, you can definitely let it fly.

We’ll chat tomorrow.