7.

so.  clint and i started something yesterday.

october one.

it's a book by jen hatmaker.  called 7.  a mutiny against excess.

let me start at the beginning.  a while back during the whole chick-a-lay (as pratt calls it) debacle, i was introduced to jen.  via her blog.  about the situation.  a guy i went to college with posted the blog link and i fell in love.  i had never heard of her before.  so i looked her up.  and loved what i saw.  (and then i read her quote about how she was trying to be more like francis chan...live like him.  and well, then i knew she was my soulmate because he is my all time favorite christian author/speaker).

well, then last week my friend katie had this book on her instagram account.  i googled it.  and felt TOTALLY called to do this.

those of you who know me, know that it doesn't take much to "call me" to something.  i'm usually always in.  diet fad?  sure.  new workout?  i'm there.  etc, etc.

but this felt different.

then sunday in church our pastor talked about giving more.  giving more than we think we can give.  making Him bigger...more. and making me smaller...less.

and i knew it was a sign.

clint told me that he didn't think this was something we should like, openly discuss.  like i shouldn't be telling people about it.

okay.  yes.  i know.  me too.  did you wonder if he knew me at all?  like maybe his brain has been sucked out by aliens or something.

asking me not to talk about something is like asking me not to breathe.  or eat.  whaaaaaat?  i don't know.  i really don't know.  i'm just ignoring it.  because obviously he was on the d.rugs.  (in fairness to him maybe he meant that i'm not supposed to be bragging about it.  so i'm not doing that.  who brags about this stuff anyway?  it's gonna break me.  i won't brag about being broken.  things are gonna get ugly up in here.)

so.  here we are.  me talking about it.  probably him rolling his eyes.  but he's on board.  because that's another awesome thing about him.  he's always willing to do whatever he can to help me out.  he's great like that.  it makes up for him holding his breath when i start to talk in sunday school.  like he's nervous of what i'm gonna say.  the boy knows me.  knows me well.

here is the website's overview of the book.  it's wayyyy better than anything i could explain...

American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born.

7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

sounds pretty cool, huh?  and scary.  

scary because i'm going to realize just how weak i am.  just how over-indulged i am.  just how much money we spend on foods per week that WE THROW AWAY.  the majority of the world's population lives on 2 dollars a day.  we live on something like 200.  ridic.  embarrassing.  

we started yesterday with food.  we each chose 7 foods.  mine are chicken, whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, eggs and lettuce/spinach/greens.  we can use salt and pepper and olive oil.  and that's that.  that's it.  that's all.  30 days.  one month.  

yes, i've thought about it.  it will end on halloween.  and yes, i wondered if eating halloween candy would cause my intestines (ie: colon) to burst.  yes, it probably will. and yes, i'll die trying.  because i CANNOT wait to eat a reese's peanut butter pumpkin, y'all.  

yesterday when i got hungry/frustrated/mad, i prayed for clint.  he got lots of prayers.  today it's someone different.  

i have been looking for a way to teach pratt that we have too much.  what better way than for him to see us go through this.  for him to take one whole month where he gives away 7 things EACH DAY.  

if you feel called to find out more, let me know. i'll forward you the information/videos/etc that i have been given/found.  i'll keep you updated on how it turns out.  i think we finish around easter of next year.  

maybe then i'll be a better person.  a person more able to communion with Jesus.  a person not so worried about pinning outfits on pinterest.  a person who can give away my material possessions and not immediately go buy something else because i'm so proud of myself.  

i just want to be better.  much better.  

happy tuesday!