The 7 Experiment

I have been a Jen Hatmaker fan for a couple years now, wishing she would come speak to my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. I found her books because I was looking for a women's devotional and came across "Out of the Spin Cycle," then noticed she had written a whole bunch of other stuff. I now order "Spin Cycle" in multiples of 5 from Amazon and I give them out to every mom who wants one. That stuff is hilarious.

When I read "Interrupted," I was hooked. I come from a very churched background and am simply disappointed with what mainstream Christian culture has become, so that book really spoke to me. I read "7" a couple years ago and it started messing with my brain a little in the best way possible. The book is all about reducing one's self and stuff in order for God to move in his or her life. I had a one-year-old at the time and was still feeling all, "Who am I now? What do I want my life to be like?" and the ever so looming, "Holy moly I'll be 30 soon...time to you know...do some significant stuff." Time and time again the lessons that have come to me have been that I need to get myself and family and home together if I want to be able to be a positive force in this world and really help people. What good am I after all if I do all this good stuff but my family or home or friendships are neglected?

So, Jen came to speak at our church a couple weeks ago and now the pastor is preaching for the next few weeks about the themes in the book. I also am co-leading a small discussion group of fierce ladies. The book covers seven different areas of life to focus on reducing. The first week is food. I have decided that I am going to make seven rules for my week. The food fast may go all 7 weeks. We'll just play it by ear.

1. No meat

2. No alcohol

3. No fast food (I have a thing for fries)

4. No gluten

5. No watching TV while eating

6. Donate 10% of grocery bill to local food agency

7. Clear the sink every night

I know I know I know you're not supposed to do a fast and let anyone know about it. I feel like I should document this though. What am I hoping to get out of this? Well...more of Jesus. My prayer last night and today has gone something like, "Dear God. I am a HOT mess. There are relationships and thoughts and habits I have that I know you want to get Your hands on. So...do it. Please."

 

Holding on for a bumpy ride.