Sunrise & Sunset

Submitted by Erin on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 16:05
 It was a lovely sunrise and this is how it looked from my front door.  Muslim people all over the world right now are carefully watching the sunrise and sunset.  It is Ramadan.  They will be able to have breakfast before sunrise and then fast until sunset.  They will pray 5 times each day.  Ramadan started on August 21st  this year and will end September 19th.  A trend I see is people trying things for 30 days.  There have been several blog posts where people have documented eating raw food, or vegan, or giving up coffee or beer for 30 days. People have eaten "mindfully" for 30 days or exercised.  Many of us do want to improve and develop our lives to the fullest. So back to Ramadan. What would my life be like if I prayed 5 times a day for 30 days while fasting from sunrise to sunset?  It might be good to try, even for a day or 2 (just dip my toe in the water).  I believe it would make a person feel quite close to God.  It might be a worthwhile undertaking.

Comments

Submitted by deborah mori on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 23:57.
Erin, Fabulous post. I wonder how it would look to pray 5 times a day for 30 days. Not sure about the fasting part but, wow, you are onto something. My husband and I were talking a few days ago about going for the month of Sept. without eating out one time. 30 days of eating from home only. I became nervous and was looking for excuses to eat out. But reading your post today, I am going to be strong and stick to it. In fact I just may need to be praying 5 times a day as well as I won't be able to visit Starbucks. Just wanted to say thank you for all your insightful comments on my blog. I really appreciate you! Kindly, Deborah
Submitted by Erin on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 12:22.
Thanks Deborah, We can be strong if we lean on God. God will meet us where we are for 1 day or for 30, whatever we commit to do. Be blessed.
Submitted by Mush on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 13:13.
I liked your post, Erin! Me and family have been fasting now for almost two weeks. It's not as difficult as it seems. After the first couple of days, we get used to it. I wrote about the health benefits of fasting here: http://mushpanjwani.com/2009/08/23/11-health-benefits-of-fasting/ This might inspire you to try it for a few days :) Best wishes!
Submitted by Erin Slusher on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 15:45.
Thanks for sharing about the fasting with your family. It is such a powerful experience to fast and pray with someone else. I bet it brings a wonderful new dimension to your family relationship during a fast. I appreciate you visiting the site and commenting. Be blessed.
Submitted by Usman on Thu, 09/03/2009 - 11:40.
Thanks for the post. I am a muslim and I think what you are doing abolutely amazing. Basically, the idea behind ramadan is that one tries to get him/herself closer to God, get rid of their bad habits and try to lead their lives according to what He wants. Praying 5 times a day amongst other things is something that needs to be done throughout ones life. But in ramadan, people who are not doing these things try to mend themselves by doing them. Not eating from sunrise to sunset might seem easy to people but islam is simply giving us a taste of what a poor person feels like when he hasn't and CAN't eat. It is a very spiritual time. I suggest you visit a muslim country during ramadan :).

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