All fruits. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Fruits include but are not limited to apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, figs, grapefruit, grapes, guava, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangelos, tangerines, watermelon. All vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned. Vegetables include but are not limited to artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, ginger root, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, zucchini. Veggie burgers are an acceptable option. All whole grains including but not limited to whole wheat, brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn. Ezekiel Bread is acceptable. All nuts and seeds including but not limited to sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, sesame. Also nut butters including peanut butter. All legumes. These can be canned or dried. Legumes include but are not limited to dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, white beans. All quality oils including but not limited to olive, canola, grape seed, peanut, and sesame. Beverages: spring water, distilled water or other pure Waters, black coffee, unsweetened tea. Other: tofu, soy products, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.

Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish. All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs. Sweeteners such as sugar, raw sugar, syrups, molasses, and cane juice. Pure honey and agave are acceptable. All refined and processed foods including But not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, Chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that Contain artificial preservatives. All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato Chips, French fries, corn chips. All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and Foods high in fat. When you shop for food remember to READ THE LABELS to make sure the only ingredients in Packaged foods are suitable for the Daniel Fast. You Will want to be especially aware of chemicals, dairy Products and sweeteners - all of which are not Allowed on the Daniel Fast.

2017 Prayer Focus

1) Vision- That God would make clear every step we should take this New Year.

I remember reading a story years ago about a group of mountain climbers' journey through a difficult mountain range. The author explained the many difficult obstacles the group of hikers would have to overcome in order to achieve each of their goals. The journey for a climber takes much preparation and endurance in order to be victorious during times of pain, fatigue and hunger. One of the greatest obstacles, however, that the climbers would have to overcome would be... the fog! The author went on to explain that during the days that the climbers could see the mountain top and have a tangible view of their goal for the day, then the overall mood and optimism in each of the hikers would be overwhelmingly higher than on the days that the fog was too dense for them to see their goal. In fact, studies show that when we have a clear vision set before us with tangible goals then we experience feelings of confidence and optimism. Proverbs 29:18 tells us, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but happy is the one who keeps God's law." As men and women of God, we desperately need God's vision for each and every step of our lives. In order for us to see God's vision for our life and His vision for our church then we must learn to spend time in His Word. His Word is the lamp unto our feet and light to our path.

Prayer challenge: Begin to ask God for vision and direction for your life in 2017. His vision will ALWAYS include us becoming closer with Him and others. Also, please take some time to pray for the vision and direction of our church. We want to be a church led by Him and guided by our pastors. Please pray that God would speak boldly and clearly to our pastors and they would have ears to hear and eyes to see! Scriptures to meditate on: Proverbs 29:18 Psalm 119:105 Habakkuk 2:2

NOTES:

2) Leadership- Staff, Life Group Leaders, Department Leaders, “KnowShow” Volunteers.

“Good leaders make leaders – not followers.”

Any community, whether family, team, business or church rises and falls on the tides of its leadership. Leaders define the direction, values, culture and goals of the community in which they lead.

Leadership is not defined by authority, position or titles, but ultimately by the RESPONSIBILITY acquired by a felt need. Anyone can be a leader if they have the compassion to care about people and the capacity to meet a felt need.

But the goal of a good leader isn’t simply to lead. Good leaders ultimately empower those that follow them to become leaders themselves.

Ephesians 4:11-12 explains to us the primary role of Church leadership –

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

Our goal in 2017 at Word Up is to develop a culture of leadership that models after this passage of scripture. We want to build up and equip those that are in our church so that they can build up and equip others to do the same. This is our responsibility and privilege as the body of Christ!

Prayer Challenge:

Our enemy knows how influential godly leadership can be and he hates when people are effectively leading others to Jesus and the life He wants us to have. This is why we must always pray for our leaders, honor and encourage them. Take some time today and pray for:

x The Lead Staff of our church. x Life Group Leaders x Know Show Team Leaders. x Also, pray for God to raise up more

leaders for specific ministry roles such as a Kid’s Ministry Pastor, Youth Pastor, KnowShow Volunteer Coordinator, Life Track Coordinator, and other team leader positions.

Take some time to pray for God to reveal leadership opportunities in your own life whether it be at home, work, school or even some needed positions at our church! We want to keep the door open to anyone who feels a call of leadership upon their life to set up a time to meet with us and talk about what that could look like!

Scriptures to meditate on:

Ephesians 4:11-12 Mark 10: 43-45 Hebrews 13:7

NOTES:

3) Building- Where is our new home, how will we get there, how will we afford it?

Our journey as a church has been nothing short of miraculous! Over the past two years we have grown from a living room, to a multi-generational, multi-cultural, fully-sustaining and thriving church filled with SO MANY stories of how God has changed each of our lives and continues to do so each and every day! We are convinced that best is most certainly yet to come!

The fact that we launched Word Up Ministries publicly in a bar in downtown Lakeland should prove to anyone that God can do anything in any space that He is worshiped and celebrated! We now have another opportunity to see God’s faithfulness once again! As you may know, the space where we are currently meeting at is getting sold, giving us until July of 2017 to be fully transitioned into another location.

Are we worried? NO! We are excited to dream again and prayerfully consider where God might have us planted in this next season. We are boldly declaring and believing that our next building will be the best location yet, and equipped to serve all of our needs as a growing community! We are looking for a bigger sanctuary, more room for our babies and toddlers, a fun space for our kiddos to worship Jesus, and a cool and safe place to launch a student ministry for our teens! What an exciting time to be at Word Up!

We believe that this next phase in our journey is going to take a HUGE step of FAITH from YOU! We are going to begin a capitol campaign in 2017 and are asking you to prayerfully give your BEST financial gift in faith that God will take what we give and do the miraculous once again!

Prayer Challenge:

Take some time to pray and ask God to lay upon your heart an amount to give towards our next location! Also, pray for God’s supernatural wisdom, guidance and direction in where we should go and for Him to miraculously open up doors that otherwise would never be opened without Him.

Scriptures to meditate on:

Proverbs 3:5 Psalm 23:1 Jeremiah 10:23

NOTES:

4) Finances- To make a greater impact in the world around us.

Money and finances have become a great source of confusion and frustration for many Christians and the church. Some people lean on the understanding that money is the root of all evil, however they leave out one key word in that scripture.

1 Timothy 6:10 tells us, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

God never condemned money in the Bible, in fact, He speaks a great deal on the blessings and resourcefulness of finances in the hands of a godly person who understands proper stewardship.

My view was forever changed a few years ago when reading a book called, “God’s Plan for Prosperity”.

The author explains many of us have the mindset to “only desire enough to take care of my needs” and we have this mindset because we don’t want to be greedy or money-hungry. However, to this mindset he explains, “You might not be greedy if you only desire for your basic needs to be met, but are you aware of your own selfishness?” He goes on to explain that if we are only concerned about OUR bills getting paid and OUR household taken care of, then we will never be in a position to help others. Talk about convicting!

Here is an honest question for us all to ponder, “How many of us could PRACTICALLY play the role of the Good Samaritan in the Bible without the use of a credit card?” If your answer is no, then you do not have victory in your finances. But that can change! Let 2017 be the year that you reclaim victory over your finances.

The only way to achieve victory in this area of your life is to willfully submit it over to God and consciously allow God to shape your perspective on His plan for how we should structure our finances in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer Challenge:

This is a journey that will not be won overnight, but a great place to begin is to PRAYERFULLY create your budget and allow God to have His say over what you spend your money on. Try to create some space in your budget exclusively to bless others, even if it’s only a very small percentage each month. This is not in replacement of your tithe, but in addition to it. Challenge yourself to increase that percentage periodically from semester to semester or year to year.

If you are not currently tithing (setting aside 10% of your income to give to God through the Church) pray for the strength to trust God in this specific area of you and your family’s life. This is the FOUNDATION for building healthy finances, not the solution. Tithing will not make you rich, but it will transform your mindset on finances and allow God to bring healing to this area of your life!

Also, take some time to pray over the finances of our church. Pray that God would bring increase to our church, allowing us soar to new heights and to do more, help more and serve more in 2017!

Scriptures to meditate on:

Mathew 6:31-33 Malachi 3:10 Proverbs 3:9-10 NOTES:

5) Families- Marriages & children.

Families are the building block of our society. A community will always be as strong as it families are. If our families in our church are hurting, then our whole church is hurting. The enemy know this and fights HARD to destroy the fabric of our marriages, knowing that if the marriage is hurting then the children are hurting.

This is critical area of our prayer focus of 2017. We must be a church that fights hard to submit our marriages and parenting over to the rule and reign of Christ. God designed our family structure to be the foundation of healthy community, and with His help, it can be!

No matter how broken your family is, there is hope! He knows best how a family should function and operate. Men, we must learn the roles and responsibilities of godly husbands and fathers. Women, you must embrace the roles and responsibilities of godly mothers and wives. Without Christ, our families will continue to suffer, but when we have Him as the foundation and center, our families and our church will be an oasis of hope to the hurting and broken.

Make 2017 the year that you reclaim victory in your family through Christ! Stop pushing blame to your husband or wife or your children. Take responsibility for YOUR role and PRAY for your family daily. Seek out guidance and counsel on how to create a healthy environment for family time and ways to improve your relationships. Show your family how important Jesus is by your actions, not just words.

Prayer Focus:

Pray for the salvation for each member of your family, by name. Pray that God would show you ways to be a better husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother or sister. A healthier family starts with you! Also, please take some time to PRAY FERVENTLY for the families in our church. We need one another to pray for our marriages, children and siblings. Healthy families make healthy churches, and healthy churches make healthy families!

Scriptures to meditate on:

1 Timothy 5:8 Joshua 24:15 Proverbs 11:29

NOTES:

6) My Personal Relationship with God Intimacy is defined as:

Adj.-“familiarity or friendship; closeness.”

When you think about your own personal relationship with Jesus, would you use such a word to define its depth? What words would you use to describe your connection with God?

x Acquaintances? x Shallow? x Superficial? x When-needed?

-OR-

x Deep? x Primary? x Essential?

Now ask yourself THIS question: (and answer honestly!) “Do I really KNOW Jesus or do I simply know OF Jesus?” It’s a good thing that regardless of how you may have answered that question, there is hope and excitement in understanding that the Lord knows you better than you know yourself (after all, He did create you, and holds your future in the palm of His Mighty Hand), and that He genuinely wants a relationship with YOU (yes-broken, imperfect, lil’ ol’ you!) God wants you to know Him like He knows you. The Bible tells us that God even knows how many hairs we have on top of our head! I’d say that’s knowing someone intimately. Jesus, the rightful Master of our lives and all of Creation, even goes to the extent of calling us “friends.” “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a Master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are

My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me” (John 15:13-15 NLT) Prayer Focus A New Year is a new opportunity to make new commitments. Above anything else this year, determine to take your relationship with Jesus to another level! What does that even look like? Maybe it means dedicating part of your day to talk (and listen) to God (prayer). Perhaps it means pledging to attend church and a Life Group regularly. Or maybe it consists of giving God your time and treasure by volunteering/leading in the church or beginning to tithe and give monetary offerings to Him. It could even be all of these things (as an intimate and healthy relationship with God would indeed at least eventually include all of these things). Begin to take steps in Jesus’ direction, and you will not be disappointed. Pray that your relationship with God becomes the most important matter in your life. Ask the Lord to draw you closer than you have ever been. Plea that He would establish Godly routines in your life that make yourself available to His leading. Scriptures to meditate on: John 15:12-17 Psalm 65 Isaiah 55 NOTES:

7) My Career and My Calling Tired of your 9-5? Do you have to force yourself to get out of bed for yet another dreadful, mundane day at the office? What if you were able to see your job as more than just a necessary evil? I mean, we all know you have to pay the bills. But what if instead of a dry obligation you saw your occupation as a grand opportunity? Well, the truth be told, as unsatisfied with your career choice as you may be, your job is truly one of the greatest opportunities to make an impact for Jesus that stand in front of you! Where else do you spend 40+ hours each week around the same group of people, surrounding a common cause? Colossians 3:23 and 24 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.” We must realize that our jobs are blessings. Not only is our job a tool that God uses to help provide for the needs (and desires) of our families, but it is also as a vital ingredient to impact His Kingdom by providing financial resources for it. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to build relationships with and influence our co-workers. Remember, you aren’t working for your boss, you’re working for Jesus! Career vs. Calling Maybe you aren’t working where you ultimately would like to work, or even doing what you once dreamed you would. Perhaps you are not even in the field of where you feel God is leading you. Pray that this is the year that begins to change! Regardless of if you currently have your “dream job,” God has placed a special calling on your life! He has a plan and purpose for your life that may or may not even have anything to do with your occupation. Your calling might be defined as this: My ultimate God-given purpose of who I should be and what I ought to do with the gifts He’s given me.

It may ask of you a career change, and it may not. It might demand that you leave your job and go back to school. Whatever it entails, Word Up Ministries hopes to help you discover that calling. Make a commitment this year, if you haven’t already done so, to attend Life Track and see if your church can help you hear from God, and point you in the right direction. Prayer Focus Pray that God would help you find joy in your work, even if it isn’t your ideal occupation, and that He would use you in a powerful way in your profession. Ask that He would build healthy relationships with your co-workers and that you would have a strong impact with your peers. Pray that He would help you keep your sanity in moments where your job seems to drive you crazy. And pray that in 2017, God would lead you into your Ultimate Calling and Career! Scriptures to meditate on: Colossians 3:23-24 Proverbs 14:23 1 Timothy 5:8 NOTES:

8) Listening to the Holy Spirit “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” James 1:19 You see, communication is a two-way street. It involves a dual process of both speaking AND listening. For too many of us, the speaking part comes all too easy. It’s the listening aspect of communication that most people struggle with. It is quite humorous that good listeners are often described as great conversationalists. People enjoy having conversations (at Starbucks with a Venti Caramel Macchiato, to be exact) with others who actually hear them out. It’s in our very nature to want to be heard. We want it; no, we need it. Have you ever attempted a conversation with another person who just won’t let you get a complete thought out? Like, you’re midway through every sentence and they interject with what they think is the answer to a question that you’re not even asking? It makes it very difficult to communicate with such a person, and even challenging to be their friend. Unfortunately, many of us treat Holy Spirit the same way. The moment Jesus begins to whisper direction to us, we cut Him off with what WE think is the correct answer. Sadly, if one of us (humans or God) is wrong, it is always and only us. Learning to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is paramount in the life of a Christ-follower. The truth be told, The Spirit of God has something to say in every situation, and it is our privilege to find out what that is exactly. The Bible tells us that Spirit of God, also known as the Counselor and the Advocate (like our Spokesperson) convicts us of wrongdoing (sin), confirms when we are moving in the right direction (righteousness), and offers us wisdom in decision making and leading others (judgment).

Prayer Focus “Lord, I pray that this New Year gives me New Opportunities to hear from You. I understand that communicating with You is a two way street, and to be honest, too many times I have controlled the conversation. Teach me how to listen, and even more so, teach me how act on what You are telling me. Father, I pray that every move I make, every decision I choose, each and every word that I speak would be something that I have heard from Your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for this incredible gift. Amen.” Scriptures to meditate on: John 16:5-15 Psalm 139 Romans 8:14 NOTES:

9) The Lost In Our City Know the Word. Show the World. From the inception of our church, bringing lost sinners back to Christ has been in the DNA of our vision and culture. Everything we desire to do as a church revolves around Learning who God is and His purpose for us, Living that calling out in community, Leading a shared ministry experience and Leaving the four walls of the church to share this Good News with the World. It is our duty and our privilege to not only pray for the lost in our community, but to deliberately seek them out, to extend to them the salvation in Christ that we have so undeservingly received. Pastor Rick Warren once stated the vision for his church, Saddleback Church, in Orange County California like this: A Great Commitment to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. What Pastor Warren was expressing was that at the heart of his church’s mission (and what should be at the core of any church, really) was a grand determination to follow Jesus’ final command (or commission) to make disciples of all nations while loving God with their total being, and loving their neighbors as their self. They have done a great job in fulfilling that vision. In fact, Saddleback Church has officially planted at least one church in every recognized country on the planet! Now THAT’S loving the lost! The truth is, God wants all men to be saved! 1 Timothy 2:1-6 states it quite clearly:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For,

there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.

Therefore, we must make it our obligation to reach the lost in our city, doing all that we can to bring men and women back to their Maker! And that begins with prayer. Prayer Focus Begin by praying for the lost people that you know personally. We all have family members, friends, co-workers, classmates, and acquaintances who do not know Jesus intimately. Then, pray for those who you have not even met yet, strangers and foreigners whose name you may not even know. Let’s pray as a church that everyone that we have contact with and that everyone within our reach will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, and that everyone in Lakeland, Central Florida, and beyond would be saved! Scriptures to meditate on: Luke 15:1-10 James 5:19-20 Matthew 28:18-20 NOTES:

10) Serving Others Servant Leadership is a powerful phrase that is frequently attached to Jesus’ method of guiding and directing others. In fact, in the Gospel of Matthew, He—yes, that’s God incarnate, God in the flesh—came not to BE served but to SERVE OTHERS. Now that’s a pretty powerful illustration. The King of our Universe, who rightfully deserves to be served by everything HE MADE, said that He came not to be waited on, but to LOVE and SERVE others. In fact, there is no greater illustration of true love and adoration than to serve another. We see this clearly in our earthly relationships. Those that we are most fond of, we find ways to honor by taking care of their needs (and sometimes simply their wants and desires), and to serve them in any way we can. Have you adopted this same mentality with God? What about your fellow man, whom He created? Find new ways to serve those around you in 2017, Start by serving God passionately, and allowing that to bleed down into the way you love your family, friends, your church, your neighborhood, and more! Prayer Focus Pray how you can serve the world around you in Jesus’ name. Start with your own family. How can you best serve them in a way that reflects God’s character and reveals His true nature? How can you best provide for them, first and foremost spiritually, but also materially and practically? Next, pray about how you can serve your community. You can take some major steps in this category by getting involved at Word Up Ministries. We provide many opportunities to serve God through the church and the community abroad, and help equip and empower you to be a Servant Leader in every arena of your life! Lastly, pray how you can serve your fellow man in your neighborhood, at work, and any other situation you may find yourself!

Scriptures to meditate on: Matthew 20:20-28 Matthew 25:34-40 1 Peter 4:10-11 NOTES: