I have blogged before about the pointlessness of face cream adverts – and indeed of face cream itself. (Lard is cheaper. Although gives a slightly higher chance of acne and slightly lower chance of a second date.) I have not yet vented my spleen on the “small print statistics” helpfully provided at the bottom of the screen during such adverts.

One we caught a few weeks ago, proudly announced that 64% of 119 women agreed that their skin looked ever-so-slightly-less-rubbish after 5 days of use, or some such nonsense.

That was an ‘off day’ for the researcher then!

It costs thousands of pounds to make an advert. Surely they could invest just a teensy bit more in actually checking the product does anything AT ALL?!

I have been conducting some research of my own in the last couple of days entitled,
“What happens to the Hancock family when Mummy fasts?”
I have been interested in the statistics.
In no particular order:

1. 100% of our washing machines break, pouring water all over the inside of the garage and the decking.
2. 50% of our freezers refuse to open without ten strong men and a couple of huskies being pressed into service. They then refuse to keep things cold. Which is kind of all I ask from them.
3. Jon and I have a major misunderstanding about minor issues -needing the second Hancock summit in less than a week. (Percentages are hard to work out on this. But I’d say that 100% of storm occurred in 40% of teacup.)
4. I cancel seeing my prayer partner due to the above and heavy snow.
5. I miss an important meeting I had been very much praying about due to children’s illness, and above, and above that.
6. I have a strange prophecy for a friend’s church at 1.13am that is, in their words, ‘spot on’
7. I lose three pounds in weight.

Now, I am fully aware that much of this may not have a spiritual connection at all. And it does my head in when people say, “i read my Bible today and my house fell down!”
But when you are talking about when and how you are going to teach your children Bible stories, and how your marriage is going, there has got to be something going down in the spirit realm.

I am standing this side of my not quite 48 hour fast, looking at my marriage and my family with new eyes. I need a new washing machine and a new freezer (not to mention a new pair of jeans.) So, all in all an expensive two days. But is that all that has been going on? NOPE.

Tom asked me at breakfast today if I was still not eating. “No darling,” I said, “I’m not fasting again this week. Why?”

“I like it when you fast because you’re my best Mummy.”

I am not sure what he meant. Perhaps it was that statistically speaking Mummies that fast and pray have more cuddles with their husbands, more fun with their children and less clean washing or entirely frozen food?

So from a purely anecdotal perspective with almost a !00% lack of statistical evidence, fasting is quite an extraordinary way to shake things up.

(I have just turned around having just finished this blog to see Esther is, quite literally, playing with matches. Sheesh!!)