(Click HERE to find out more about the introductory post about the challenge!)
It warms my heart when I see you resonate with the heart of my challenges! I can’t wait to walk with you all over the next 21 days. I mentioned before that I did not post the info about this challenge as early as I would have liked so I want to give you all the info you need in order to prepare for Tuesday June 1st and also give you an idea of what the 21 days will look like.
(Be sure to check the FAQ’s below as I may clarify anything there!)
What to do BEFORE we start June 1st:
Find a friend! This is not mandatory (I mean how will I ever know if you have a partner or two or not?!) but you know as well as I do that your chances of sticking with this will increase if you have someone sharpening and walking with you at the same time
Plan out your 5 walk days: I would encourage you to take some time and consider your week. You’ll note that this is not 7 days, so you have 2 days of wiggle room. I don’t care if the days are back to back or if you go out for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night. (We are shooting for 20 minutes each walk) There are so many benefits to walking and it is very much underestimated by most people.
Pray over what you will fast from: If you aren’t sure what that may be, ask yourself these questions:
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- What/who is holding me back from a closer walk with God?
- What did I “pick up” over the pandemic that needs to go?
- What takes up too much of my physical and mental space
Here are some ideas to inspire you! Sugar, facebook/instagram/snapchat/tiktok, alcohol, exercise, a relationship/friendship, obsessive thoughts, TV, a hobby, online shopping, shopping, spending money lazily (too much door dash, drive through coffee, fast food) You do not have to fast from the same thing every week. It can change or you can add onto it.
Find 1-3 things you want to “take back”: So this will be a little bit different than the other parts to the challenge. Walking and fasting will be the same basic idea every week but this piece to “taking it back” and creating a vision for your future will be a process I take you through over the 21 days so that by the end, you will have a clear vision of where you want to be headed and/or have started already that process of getting there! I’ve actually taken some of you through creating a vision board with “Your Second New Year” but this will be a tiny bit different.
I will likely get into this via a video later on, but part of the confirmation that I needed to move ahead with this challenge was this article I read about “languishing”. In essence, the prevailing emotion we are all dealing with is this feeling of “blah”…not totally depressed but also not motivated. While many of us may be feeling ourselves, I do still think that this emotion is appearing in various ways in our lives. I would encourage you to read this article and comment below with what you think!
Since many of us are not feeling our best, tackling too much at one time may be overwhelming so I want us to focus on a few small things so that we can gain some confidence and momentum. If you are up for doing a full vision board and hitting many areas of life, by all means do so. But if all you can muster up is one area and one small goal, then please, do that! Again, we will get to all that but for Tuesday, I just want you to think about a few areas you want to change!
Here are some examples: your peace, your time, your mind space, your health, your faith walk, your relationships, your community, your faith community, your appearance, your dreams/aspirations, your house
Those may seem very broad to you, and I would agree, but in general, they are categories that will help you as your narrow down further what that may look like. Again, I’ll be sharing mine soon so that you can have a better idea.
What to expect each week:
As we walk through the 3 weeks, I’ll be providing some things to you and I also want you to understand the rhythm of the challenge. Since we started this challenge on a Tuesday, it makes things a little different in regards to other challenges I’ve held which would normally get us going on a Monday but hey, we just survived pandemic time, I think we can handle a small shift right?
Monday: An email with that week’s prayer focus, “homework” for the vision piece, and general encouragement
Tuesday: The “start” of each week
Thursday or Friday: Video touching on your questions and my encouragement/coaching to you!
FAQ'S
Q: Does the walk schedule need to be the same every week?
A: No. I live in the real world too and know that things come up, however I do think there is something to be said for natural rhythms in our lives and scheduling disciplines around them.
Q: Do I have to fast from the same thing every week?
A: No! You can keep the same thing all 21 days. You can swap it out at the top of each week, or you can build and add on. Up to you.
Q: Do I have to have a partner?
A: No, but I highly recommend it as the Bible (and practical life!) speaks to the wisdom and need for living life with others
Q: How much is it to do this challenge?
A: No money but it will “cost” time! An “investment” that will pay many dividends
Q: How do I “sign up”?
A: Much like all my challenges, there is no official “sign up”. (Maybe I should re think this since everyone asks lol) HOWEVER, sign up to get my recent emails/blog posts to your inbox so you can find any new info! You can also just follow me on instagram and facebook (@claresmithofficial)
If you have any other questions, leave them below or add them on instagram or facebook and I’ll get back to you! I’ll be back here one more time before we official start the challenge with final pieces of info you need! Praying for you all!
God bless you thank you
I would like to be added to your email list. I thought I was, but I’m not sure if I am on it or not. I’m looking forward to the challenge!
If you have not been receiving my emails, first check your SPAM and then go to my home page and scroll to the bottom and sign up there! https://www.claresmith.me
Thanks! I’m all in! I’ve been looking for a challenge that is “gentle” for me to begin but something to head me in the right direction. I’m so out of shape from sitting and feeling so stressed over the past 14 months since this era of time hit our world and disrupted everything! I have gained 18 pounds and I’m looking forward to finding myself again!
Yes gentle is an awesome place to be no matter where you are in the journey!
I want to join
I’m in!
Thanks for doing this.
When you do the videos where will these be? In other words if I am fasting from social media, is there a link to a recording I can watch? Thank you!
I will put any videos that would be “worth it” on my youtube channel! Short encouragement from stories I will likely not put up anywhere! Great question tho!! I also may add them to blog posts here!
Clare