Seven.

Dallas is currently popping me popcorn, my favorite snack. Oh, how I love his popcorn. This tonight, is considered my "last supper." Here is why...

A while back my friend, Erin, recommended the book "7; An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess," by Jen Hatmaker. I've really enjoyed reading lately (weird, I know!), so picked up the book and haven't quit thinking about it since.

Jen (I feel like we're bff's already) leads us through seven months of a greatly reduced life. The idea of the book is to raise awareness, in your own life, of all the options we have and plenty we live in. It is a spiritual fast, with the idea of going to Jesus to meet our needs, instead of the American dream meeting our needs of comfort foods, cute jeans, and more, more, more.

I live in a beautiful, 4 bedroom home, have all the foods options we love, eat out with a friend every single week, drive a comfortable van, dress my kids in darling clothes, throw food away every single day, and am comfortable. That is the bottom line: I am so comfortable. All these things are great. I love my life and feel the Lord has richly blessed us! None of these things are bad (at all!). It's just that not everybody has these luxuries.

Why it takes something so radical as 7 for me to realize there is life beyond rich America baffles me. While I may say I know how fortunate I am, and how grateful I feel everyday for our choices, do I really? I am doing this "experiment" to see how my thought life really goes. Will wearing only 7 articles of clothes bother me? Will eating only 7 foods annoy the snot out of me? Will not using facebook in month 3 free up a ton of time?

On one hand I feel like our life is at such a great place right now. The kids are so much fun. Dallas is becoming more established and confident in his farming all the time. Life is very do-able lately, finally. On the other hand, we have a lot coming up. Dallas and I want to use the next 7 months to really converse with our Father. When hungry (for popcorn!), I want to spend time with Jesus, talking about farming opportunities, direction with Maleah's schooling, our family goals, and what our family is supposed to be/look like (figuratively speaking).

I think this experiment is going to challenge us big time. I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Eating only seven foods with no condiments, wearing only 7 things, getting rid of the radio, sounds like boot camp. But, I can't wait to see how good we have it. Living a greatly reduced life will increase our need for God, and that is worth it. I am ready for more.

The hardest part of this? It puts us in the category of weird. But if normal is greedy, self-absorbed, a gluten, and disconnected to my family because I'm connected to the rest of the world, I don't care to be normal.

Again: and again: and again: I am not saying things are bad. America is not bad. It's great! I don't desire to live in a cardboard box and eat spinach the rest of my life. But not relying on God fully, not having a perspective of a world out there that has no choice but a cardboard box, and always wanting more, is.

So, along with our great friends who have hearts who desire more of Jesus and less of themselves, here goes. Tomorrow is the day.

Over the next seven months, we will address seven areas of excess: Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress.

Thanks for following along on our journey. This is the craziest experiment I've ever done. I bet it will be the most life-changing one too.

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2011/12/26/an-experimental-mutiny-against-excess