Laurie Ishii

Wow. Another year! It flew by – especially the last few months. I am looking forward for this year. The Lord has really been “tightening the screws” if you know what I mean…

Yesterday at church our Pastor, Tim – spoke about the book of Daniel – about walking in integrity and purity and how we are called to live for Jesus – not for ourselves. I’m paraphrasing a lot but it was a really good message and many times what God speaks to us as individuals may not exactly have to do with the message spoken…

For example, Tim spoke about the book of Daniel, but the Lord has been really convicting me about my prayer life, and my diet. Because Daryl and I both have liver disease and we both are in poor health physically…fatigued most of the time, getting sick often and lately, we are pretty sure that Daryl has become to have allergic reactions from eating red meat. He ate red meat the night before he broke out in hives all over during Christmas time, and the other night we ate red meat and about 12 hours later he broke out in hives again.

Having liver disease it seems that one is more sensitive to food, chemicals, medicine etc. The liver has a harder time processing toxins, and ‘dead’ food (vs. live food, like vegetables) anything that has a face. (Chicken, pork, beef etc.)

About a month or so ago, a friend of mine that I hadn’t spoken with in at least a year – Martin is his name, he lives in Montana. He called me to tell me that God put it on his heart to send me this book he’s been reading, called the “Hallelujah Diet” by George Malkmus. He’d been on a meat fast, only eating fruit and vegetables – for seven weeks and said he’d never felt better! Of course I was apprehensive – I didn’t doubt that he was feeling better – just doubting myself. I could not believe that it would be possible for me to become a vegatarian, much less a vegan!

Well anyway, he sent me the book, and I just started reading it last night. Wow. The testimonials are amazing. Everything is biblically based – and although I am not ready to DIVE into a vegan diet – I am definitely prayerfully considering it.

I won’t go into any details about it yet, but what I was saying before about how God can speak to you about something that doesn’t necessarily have to do with the message spoken – He still spoke to me about my eating. Tim did not speak about diet or becoming a vegan! But he did speak on vs.8 of the first chapter of Daniel: “But Daniel purposed in his heart (italics mine) that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings delacacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

Tim spoke on how Daniel purposed in his heart not to eat the kings food – how we need to purpose in our hearts to do or not to do certain things, putting God first and a lot of other stuff but I’ll mess up Tim’s sermon if I try to repeat what he said so I won’t.

God had been speaking to me about the time I spend with him and also about my health…I know that it was not a coincident that Martin sent that book…the Lord is such a gentleman, He doesn’t force us into anything, but He surely allows circumstances to arise to gently prod one in the direction He wants us to go…

The situation ith Daryl – it’s horrible, but I asked him if the doctor told Daryl that he needed to change his diet, would he do it? And he hesitated – and said maybe!!! But the fact that he’s had hives for almost two weeks off and on now and he is so uncomfortable and itchy – when we came to the conclusion that the red meat caused him to break out – he said he’ll never eat red meat again! Last night I read Daryl some of the “Hallelujah Diet” and today he ate a big salad. (He never eats salad, or even vegetables unless I put a bunch on his plate) He even said that he would be willing to slowly ease into the diet with me! Priase God! Weeks ago, I asked him about it and he said “No way!”

So this is good. I also got confirmation when I started reading the “Hallelujah Diet” book because the second chapter talked about the same verse Daniel 1:8 – but talked about how Daniel and his friends only ate vegetables and drank water. The diet itself is based on Genesis 1:29 “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be food.’” Originally, man and even the animals were to eat only raw food – it wasn’t until after the fall that man and many animals became carnivores.

Anyway, the Lord also told me not to worry about making an exercise schedule or starting a strict diet tomorrow, but to be concerned about my relationship with Him first, and He will work out the rest. I think that I’ve gotten quite slack on my prayer time since we left the Dream Center and aren’t doing outreach practically 24/7 anymore.

But now it’s time to get moving – I am so excited for this new year. We have relationships with other sold out believers that want to pray together and do regular outreaches with us. On Saturday at our friend Brandon’s going away party we met a woman who is a hard core intercessory prayer warrior. She asked me to send her pictures of the pimps we minister to and write their names and prayer needs down and she and her group of women that pray every Tuesday together will pray for us and the ministry!

One of the pimps called me Saturday. I love this guy, I know God has such a calling on his life! He shared that his car had broke down on Christmas so he’s been on foot. We were getting ready to go to Brandon’s party so I had to cut our phone call short. We went to pick up our friend Bobby in Hollywood and we started talking about this particular pimp and how we know that God is doing soemthing in his life, and lo and behold – I spotted him on the corner waiting for the light to turn green!

I called out his name and we gave him a ride a few blocks down the street. What a trip! But for us we just felt such an encouragement – this guy is on ‘borrowed time’!!! He’s got so many people praying for him – God is going to save him soon.

Anyway, I have ‘purposed in my heart’ to do certain things, to grow in my relationship with Jesus this year…I want to move to the next level, to have a much deeper, more intimate relationship with my Lord. As He leads, I will follow…and if He leads (which I can see He already is) me to become a vegan, DENYING MY FLESH (always) then so be it! I want to be everything God has called me to be and to function the best that I possibly can for God’s purpose, to be used to bring as many people into the Kingdom as possible!

One day at a time, of course…