Less

Things have been pretty quiet around here the past week or so, as I've
been trying to get over this blasted cold.  I haven't had much energy to
do anything except...read.  Which isn't all that bad :)

Since the beginning of the year, I've finished a number of books, and
they've left me feeling burdened.  I'm not sure if that's the right word
or not, but it's been some heavy reading.  And I've realized that all
of the books, have dealt with hunger in one way or another.

The one on top, I'm just getting into and it's more calming and that one in
the middle there - Seven- well, I'm going to tell you all about it in minute, but
One Second After, A Fine Balance, The Kitchen Boy, A Place at the Table
and Hunger Games (which didn't make this stack, because I've been reading
it on my Kindle) all have this underlying or blatantly obvious (as in the
Hunger Games) theme of hunger.  No wonder I'm feeling down.  It's
depressing. Don't get me wrong, I like a serious book that makes me think,
but I'm about ready for something that just makes me laugh!  I'm taking
recommendations.

Now, for Seven.  I whipped through this little gem in a day and I loved
it!  I love Jen Hatmaker!  Even though she is dealing with some serious
social issues in this book, she did it in a way that made me laugh, out
loud, a lot.  I found myself underlining paragraphs and commenting in
the margins with phrases like, "Yes!!",  "totally agree", "I love this
too", "so true".  This book resonated with me in so many ways.
This is what I read on the back of the book that piqued my interest
and convinced me to purchase it in the first place.

"Do you feel trapped in the machine of excess?  Jen Hatmaker was.
Her friends were. And some might say that our culture is.  Jen 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 journey
was born.  7 is the true story of how Jen took seven months, identified
seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back 
against modern day diseases of greed, materialism and overindulgence."


If this kind of thing interests you, you should just read the book.  It's
thought provoking and highly entertaining.  But here's a  few snippets to
whet your appetite.  #1 was Food.

Jen picked seven foods to eat for a month.  Just seven (well she strayed
a little).  It sounds like Jen loves food as much as I do, so this was a hard
one for her.  Why would one feel compelled to limit their food intake
voluntarily?  We live in a country of opulent food choices, while half of
the global population lives on $2 a day.  Can you imagine?  No, I can't
imagine having to wake up each day and worry about getting enough food.
But here in the US, most of us have so much available food that we open
our refrigerator and cabinets and even though they are full, we say things
like, "there's nothing to eat in this house."   When Jen simplified her
food choices down to seven items , she began to understand what it's
like to eat like a poor person.  This food fast was to help her be more aware
of the lack of others while also opening herself up to exchange the needs
of the physical body for those of the spirit.  It wasn't easy for her and she's
completely honest about the struggles she faced.  And in case your wondering,
her seven foods were : chicken, eggs, whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes,
spinach, avocados and apples.

Yes, she did.  She wore seven items of clothing for a month and gave

away many things to those in need.  I know I would get tired of only 

wearing seven items of clothing for a month, but I could easily choose

twice that many and be ok.  When I walk into my closet and look at all

the clothes hanging there, including the ones in the dresser and armoire

it's too much!  I don't wear all of it and it takes up space and I have to take

care of it.  Less is more when it comes to clothes for me and I'm going to

do something about that closet soon.

"About three times a year, I rant around the house, screaming at our

stuff; What is all this?  How did this get here?  Why do we have so much

junk?  How am I supposed to keep up with all this?  Where did this all

come from?  And then I remember:  I bought it all."  So begins the chapter

on Possessions.  And what did she do about it?  For one month, she gave

seven things away that they owned, every day!

I find myself walking through my house feeling the same way.  I don't like

clutter and I've found that if I have less of something, I appreciate it way 

more than if I have a number of those same things. If it's not something

that I really love, that brings happiness and beauty to my life, then why

do I have it?  I think this is why I'm always trying to organize things

around here.  That process lends itself to asking those kinds of questions

and then I can act on the answers.  This must be one of those signs of 

aging that I've noticed in others, and now in myself.   As we get older, we

realize we don't need or want so many things.  That saying, "we spend the

first part of our lives acquiring things, and the second part of our lives

getting rid of things" is so true.

Jen's media fast consisted of shutting down seven screens and muting

the chatter.  No: TV, Gaming, Facebook/Twitter, iPhone apps, Radio,

Texting or Internet.  There were some exceptional guidelines for the 

texting and internet that were job related, but they seriously cut their

media usage.  The Day 12 entry reads like this:

"This silence is awesome.  Our house feels peaceful- well, as peaceful as

a house with three kids and all their homies can feel.  I like the missing

white noise of media.  I like the silence during the day.   I like the 

alternative rhythms we're discovering.  Like:

*cooking together

*walks after dinner

*porch time with our friends

*Sydney's endless craft projects at the table

*Dinner with neighbors

*Actual phone calls

*Four books read, a fifth in queue

*Caleb's new obsession with fishing

These are emerging out of the black hole of media."

Oh, I could so do this.

Month Five = seven habits for a greener life.  Jen learned a lot of new things

in this month.         *Gardening

                              *Composting

                              *Conserving energy and water

                              *Recycling (everything, all of it)

                              *Driving only one car (for the love of the land)

                              *Shopping thrift and second hand

                              *Buying only local

She learned how to do all of these, because they were currently doing none 

of these.  And she cracked me up when they bought a used Suburban during

green month.  Loved this chapter, because I have a definite "green" side to 

me. I am the recycling police and the "buy local" queen.  I like to shop

second hand, carry my own grocery bags into the store, and garden. I walk

around turning the lights off in each room and cringe when I see the 

refrigerator door left open too long or the water running constantly while

rinsing dishes.  I would like to have a good compost pile and solar energy. 

I'm always telling my husband how I want a smaller car and a smaller house.

This just might be the easiest month for me, because I really don't

like shopping- with the exception of food and books.  Shopping for

those makes me happy.  But the rest?  Not so much. I would be a 

happy girl if I only had to go shopping once a month and I've tried

that...but it took all day and wore me out. 

Jen's challenge included spending money in seven places, and avoiding

all other purchases.  I admit, this would be harder to do with kids.

They spent money on food at the farmer's market, gas, regular monthly

bills, kid's school, limited travel fund, emergency medical and Target.

Don't you love that last one?  But no restaurants, movie theatres, fast

food, books, etc., etc.  Day 30 entry sounded like this:

"This. Month. Was. Hard.  But good.  It's one of those. A good hard.

Vast consumption is so ordinary that it's absence is shocking.  I didn't

realize how casually I "grab lunch" or "run through the bookstore",

or "pick up that little scarf."  I admit; I have a compulsion to buy 

something somewhere.  My craving is nonspecific; it just involves being

in a store or restaurant and handing my debit card over and getting

something back."

This month was about resting and prayer.  The Hatmakers began to

really observe the Sabbath and that was harder than they thought it

would be.  They cleaned off their calendars and spent more time as a family.  

"Originally the Sabbath had to be planned for, food gathered a day

in advance.  It wasn't handed to the Hebrews on a silver platter.  This 

principle remains.  I still have to plan for the Sabbath, tying up loose

ends and gathering what we'll need.  I still have to prepare the 

family for rest, enforcing healthy boundaries and protecting our 

calendar.  I still have to set work aside and trust in the wisdom of 

God's design.  "Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the 

Sabbath" (Exodus 16:29)

Ahh. This is so true.  Especially when many of us find ourselves doing

the Lord's work on the Sabbath,  it may seem like anything but a day of

rest.  But I've found with effort, a true Sabbath can still be experienced and

I plan to use some of the ideas I read in this chapter to make it even better.  

Life can be too busy.  Some things are unavoidable, but others are of our

choosing. It's the ones that fall in that latter group that force me to constantly

examine my priorities.

Well, as you can see, I really liked this book.  If I were a good writer and 

had the quick wit of Jen Hatmaker, maybe I would have written a book 

like this myself,  because I agreed with her content whole heartedly. 

Less.  Less stuff can mean more room for relationships with God and

people I love. More time to share and serve. More money to donate to 

those who really don't have the things they need.  It all begins with less.

Less stuff.  Yes, I agree.

My Year of Fifty is quickly drawing to a close and I'm going to need

something new on which to focus my time and energy. This just might

be it. 

*MYOF Goal # 9 - Read 50 books.