Monday, March 4, 2013

An experiment in excess

So, once again I am using this blog for something other than it's intended purpose of chronicling our adoption story. Eh. I kinda figure since right now God is leading us to just BE STILL and wait on the adoption front, I may as well blog about what we do have going on. If you don't care, that's totally fine. And if you are still reading this, THANK YOU!

Last week a friend of mine invited me to join a book club. And not just any book club, this is the long distance book club {for awesome people}. Love it! How can you turn down an invitation like that?!? Anyway, I said yes right away, ordered my book, and now I'm beginning to wonder what I have gotten myself into this time. Heehee...

 So this book isn't just any old book. And this isn't any regular book club either. There are 36 (yes! 36!!!) amazing women from all walks of life that are in this thing together. The book that we are reading right now is 7 by Jen Hatmaker.


The idea is pretty simple - she examines seven areas where we tend to be excessive in an attempt to appreciate simplicity and grow in our faith. Sounds pretty harmless, right? Well, the first challenge involves food. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to eat. Seriously. And that when it comes to food I really enjoy a good meal. But, for this week Ben and I have committed to eating just seven different foods.  Hunter gets a pass since it would be pretty horrible to make him participate in this fast, plus I don't want to deal with the whining. I'm pretty sure Ben and I will be whiny enough. 

Here's the list of foods that we decided on:
chicken
apples
broccoli
pasta
sweet potatoes
bread
eggs

Today is the first day of the "fast" and it hasn't been too bad. Yet. (Disclaimer: it's only 9 am) Along with those seven foods we are allowing small amounts of butter, salt and pepper. Oh, and coffee. Really, it would get pretty ugly around here if we didn't have any coffee. It's going to be a long week. But I am so anxious to see what God has in store for us as we struggle against the excess that we have come to accept as "normal."


One of the ladies in the group shared this and I thought it was pretty cool. Honestly, I'm not sure if this fast is  a fast of repentance for the fact that we are so blessed and need to pass on more blessings to others, cut the excess and be mindful that everything we have is God's and His alone. Or if it's a fast of worship, letting God know that we recognize His provision and His hand over our lives. Or if it's a fast of preparation - not sure what we are preparing for, but preparation is always good, right? Or maybe it's a fast of inquiry, wondering about what we are supposed to do next both concerning adoption or just in general. No matter what it ends up being, I'm excited to be in this awesome group and taking this journey.


1 comment:

  1. I love this! I feel the same way when thinking about the "why" behind our fast - so many applicable categories. I trust God will reveal exactly what we need from Him through this.

    When I was discussing the "coffee" bit with my mom - about whether or not I could give it up - she said, "you need to think about everyone else in the family." Meaning it would be unfair to put them through my coffee-withdrawal. ;)

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