from Jennifer

So I was able to fast yesterday for my family. It was a great experience because I was able to feel like I was with my family all day. It was a great connection! The day was pretty much like any normal day for me as a missionary! It was a great experience to be able to think about my family for the day and focus on us. I gained a testimony of fasting. We are so lucky to know of this knowledge to fast for strength and comfort. Its a power that we receive. I have being learning a lot about Christlike attributes and my favorite one is humility. When we are humble we are opening the door to let Christ into our lives. We are saying that we are willing to do anything the Lord ask us to do. I like fasting because we are humbling ourselves to the Lord. We are abstaining from the things we want and focusing on the things the Lord wants. When we humble our selves and fast we are more open to receive revelation and guidance in our lives. I feel that fasting is a great opportunity to grow spiritually and grow closer to our Heavenly Father. I was able to fast for my family and feel closer to you all. It was a great opportunity and I feel thankful I was able to do it!

Judd Family Fasting

Emmy's day (11 yrs) to fast was Sunday, July 24th. She has been such a good sport about this family fast and has taken it very seriously. Emmy takes on a lot of emotional responsibility and was eager and nervous to be the family representative for this day. Needless to say, she was a little upset when she woke up early Sunday morning throwing up the absolutely nothing that she had in her stomach. She couldn't go to church and felt horrible.

"Does this mean that my fast isn't going to work? Am I letting people down?" Emmy said as she stumbled from the shower and fell limp on her bed, a failed attempt at preparing to go to church.

Dealing with my own pesky anxiety has made my especially sensitive to the anxiety of my children. It seems to be genetic, although experiencing it from a mother's perspective has helped me to respond to her and then to myself with empathy.

"Of course not. Your willingness to fast and your thoughts and prayers that are with the family, even those relatives that you don't know, will be just as effective in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Maybe when you remember how awful you felt today, it can help you understand how awful other people feel other times. This helps us know how to comfort other people that are in hurting in some way."

I was thinking later that day as she lay moaning on the couch, how horribly difficult it is to see your children in pain, not being able to take that pain away. I could sit by her and stroke her head and I hope that just knowing that I was there, loving her, would make her physical load a little lighter.

So whatever loads we are carrying in the Stacey family, be they physical or spiritual, or both......we have felt the power of togetherness, of kneeling together and offering our love through this fast. Miracles can happen.

My day of fasting was Monday, July 25th. I had the benefit of being uplifted the previous day at church by an inspired High Councilman, who spoke of Gideon and his humility, mentioning that by making small efforts to do better, smaller than we can imagine, we will make a huge differences in our lives and our relationship with others. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with how much about myself that I want to change that I let this keep me from feeling the spirit and the love of Heavenly Father. I felt a peace when he spoke. This life shouldn't be as hard as I sometimes make it out to be. I have so much to do, but I can do it a little bit at a time. I felt so happy during my fast and it miraculously left me without my usual fasting migraine.

LOVE,

Vanessa and family