February 19th, 2010

“I was six when I saw that everything was God, and my hair stood up, and all,” Teddy said.  “It was on a Sunday, I remember.  My sister was a tiny child then, and she was drinking her milk, and all of a sudden I saw that she was God and the milk was God. I mean, all she was doing was pouring God into God, if you know what I mean.” — J.D. Salinger (Teddy, 1954)

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• Adam

  Dairy #FAIL: a Lenten Reflection.

• Kim

  So here we are a day away from the “fasting from self pity & complaining” and “praying for God to guide us through a difficult situation” and there I was this morning back to doing just that!!
  “But I ALREADY put cream in my coffee.. and what in the world will I do for dinner when I had ALREADY decided on what to do AND its Friday and I can’t have meat and…..!”
  hhmmm…. well, I managed for the rest of the day not to eat dairy and forgave myself for using the cream in the morning, and became more aware of yesterdays challenge, so I would say that today has been quite a success.
  Thanks again Busted Halo for this guidance and making my Lenten journey a more fulfilling one.

• Tom

  The brief excerpt from J.D. Salinger pulled from his story, “Teddy,” reminds me of the James Joyce line from Ulysses recognizing God as “a shout in the street.” Joyce, who is famous for his literary “epiphanies” and Salinger would not have, had they been contemporaries, likely been mates; as Joyce denounced his Roman Catholicism and organized religion, and Salinger, a twentieth century “dabbler” in all sorts of forms of spiritual and mystical practices — including Chistian Science, Yoga, and Scientology (albeit briefly) — was more of a seeker. Like myself. I’m also lactose intolerant and Vitamin D deficient, as most in the Northern Hemisphere are, since it is a nutrient mainly produced by the body as a result of exposure to sunlight. For me, abstaining from dairy keeps me healthy. Now, if I had to give up tofu for lent, then I’d be in trouble!

• Christy

  MT – my husband did the same thing this morning. He works at a grocery store at 5am, so doesn’t check the challenge before going to work. He gets free stuff from the delivery guys sometimes… today it was chocolate milk! ha ha! Oh well, start fresh from here on.

  On another note, this dairy-product free thing can really get out of hand if you let it. Check out this link for info on what foods contain hidden dairy products. http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/dairyfreebasics/tp/HiddenDairyProducts.htm

  I suppose it all depends on how much of a challenge you need. I think my husband & I will have enough of a time staying away from the usual stuff like cheese (we eat cheese every day), milk, ice cream, sour cream, etc.

• MT

  Wouldn’t you know the day I forget to check the calendar first thing, I manage to have had cheese with my eggs at breakfast. I will just fast from dairy for the next 24 hours.

• neu

  I’m an ovo-vegetarian, so I don’t even have dairy to begin with, and I don’t want to “coast” through this day. I will fast from the juices today.

• Jennifer S.

  @ MS- Technically humans aren’t supposed to be drinking/eating as much dairy as we currently are. Point 1- we are the only species that voluntarily drinks milk past the age of adolescence and the milk we choose comes from another species. Point 2- Calcium can be obtained from other sources, not just dairy. And dark green leafy vegetable can provide you with plenty of calcium along with other vitamins that are beneficial to your body. And in order to really absorb calcium into the bones (which is where you need it) you need to do weight bearing exercise. :) Granted, not having dairy is irksome but abstaining for one day (or a week, or 40 days) will not be detrimental to my health or my body in any significant way. All of this information is available on the interwebs by the way. Have a great Friday!

• Jenn

  Looking forward to reading more throughout the season. Whether or not you agree with the post of the day, there is always more to be learned. I have chosen to focus on the lighter side of things on my blog, SweetDeSignRelief

• Chris G

  @ MS: Perhaps another way to think about today’s “Fast” reminder is to think about God’s role in creation and in the growth of the foods that come to our table. The dairy (cheeses for protein), the grains, the eggs or seafood that we’ll probably eat in place of meat on a day of abstinence. And think about and pray for his people, the laborers who bring those foods to our table from planting to harvest and transporting to our kitchens. This also keeps us from rushing through our meals and mindful of all God’s good gifts.

• MS

  I wanted to make a comment regarding the fasting from dairy today. I personally think that it is a bad idea to fast from dairy – a very important source of good nutrition. I realize that it is only one day of fasting from dairy, but even so, dairy provides a valuable calcium and vitamin D – which is especially important for women. I find that this is in poor taste, particularly on a day in Lent when most Catholics are abstaining from meat. If anything, eating dairy is nourishing the body that God gave me. I would have preferred to see something like, ‘Fast from rushing through your meals today. Think of God and the nourishment He provides when eating dairy products today,’ or something to that effect. Also, please do not post my email address. Thanks.