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As I blogged on before, I set a goal fasting one day a week throughout 2009. I hate fasting, but I need what this discipline teaches me. Today was one of the hardest days so far, with all the wonderful food people have brought us and the meeting I had at Austins.

One of the many things fasting teaches us is what we depend upon. Fasting exposes those things in our life we turn to for self-medication. Fasting also makes us more attentive to the voice of God. Both of those realities came to mind while watching my 4 day old son try to soothe himself while waiting for mom to prepare a syringe full of milk.

When Dawson gets hungry (every couple of hours) he'll latch onto anything that comes near his mouth, hoping it will satisfy him. This morning, he was trying to suck on the corner of his sleeve. It was quite funny but also a little sad. He was crying pretty loudly and desperately wanting some food but he was pursuing something that could never give him what he wants. But he couldn't stop, because his rooting reflex prompts him to do exactly what he was doing; latch onto whatever approaches his mouth. Of course, as parents we have the responsibility of making sure his mouth is connected to that which will nourish him.

Dawson sucking on his sleeve is exactly what we do all the time. In fact, our society has conditioned us to pursue things that promise satisfaction but never deliver.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared "I AM the bread of life" and "I AM living water." Those who drink and eat from Jesus find true satisfaction.

Are you settling for something false or finding true fulfillment from Jesus?