The 7 Experiment
We've been dealing with the issue of 'stuff' lately. Too much stuff. Stuff everywhere. More on that to come later though. We've needed a way to deal with it. So when a friend of mine suggested we do The 7 Experiment, I was all in. We started the next day before even buying the study. Disclaimer I did read her book so I knew what we were actually doing. The next day we bought the study and Terrell and I have started.
A quick synopsis: Jen Hatmaker and her family started a 'mutiny against excess'. For 7 months they focused on 7 areas of their lives where they just had too much. Too much stress, time, money and some ugly emotions were showing through these areas. So they stopped these things in their tracks. Please listen to Jen explain it so well here.This started as a personal experience for the Hatmakers, then became a book about their experience. Then other people wanted to get on board. So now its a workbook/Bible study.The first week is food. We have chosen 7 foods that we are only eating this week. Ours foods:
Chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, bagels, potatoes, couscous, pineapple
'This is not about legalism.' -Jen Hatmaker
That is the greatest disclaimer I've ever read. Yes, I add cream cheese to my bagel. Yes, Ive sprinkled some cheese on my potatoes. So take your little beady judgemental eyes elsewhere.
This is about changing our mindset and our impulses about food. We are cutting costs when it comes to a huge grocery bill of food that gets thrown away. We are saving a ton of time meal planning: no more deciding what to eat. We are stopping our greedy thoughts of: there's nothing to eat in this fridge full of food. We are controlling our impulses to just swing through the drive through and pick up something unhealthy. We are taking time to make dinner together every night. We are not letting our thoughts be consumed with images of food porn (I honest to goodness suffer from this disease). We are practicing being content.
As I've been working through the Bible Study portion it has amazed me to truly evaluate my thoughts on fasting. I don't think I had ever truly looked at the examples in the Bible of where someone fasted and God made something clear to them or protected them or whatever the awesomeness was that ensued. Where was I during these lessons in Bible Drill?? Fasting is not about a 'challenge' or your own strength, but it's about your heart being after your God. My prayer through this week and possibly through this entire study is:
'God, let my thoughts be on you and your will and not my fleeting desires and useless thoughts.'
Were in the middle of week 1 of food. Next week is clothing. I'll be back with an update on how its going. If you've ever done The 7 Experiment, please speak up! I need to hear how it went. If it really challenged you to look to the Lord instead of to your stuff? If it changed your views on stuff? If it showed you you really could live without all the excess? These are the things I am hoping for. I want to hear your experience!
This post is a part of the National Blog Posting Month Challenge. You can see a list of more blogs participating in this challenge here and see a full list of my posts here.