Week One: Simplifying FOOD

Simplifying Life is never easy. To hear why I chose this journey, Refer to the Beginning.

Well, I can honestly say that this week has been a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. Let me give you some examples:

Monday:  In-laws came over for dinner and didn't arrive until later than we normally have dinner. "Rule: NO Eating After 7 p.m" broken first night out of the gate. Lovely. But I cooked one of our 7 Meals for the week, so at least we were on track there.

Tuesday:  I seriously struggled with whether or not the Nutella in my cupboard was, indeed, considered "chocolate". I mean, it's hazelnut spread really. It shouldn't violate my Rule of "NO Chocolate", right? Yea. . .I didn't think I could justify it either. So I convinced the hubby to eat it as fast as he possibly could so it would stop being a temptation.  The things he does for me. . .:)

Wednesday:  All I wanted to do was grab a quick pizza for dinner. There's always so much rushing in between school and getting the kids to church and then to our couple's bible study.  A cheap "hot and ready" would really hit the spot right now, but that goes against the Rule "NO Fast Food", so I came home and made our cheeseburger macaroni meal that was planned. And wouldn't you know, we were still on time for everything.

Thursday:  I ran out of bread. This is not something that should be allowed during this whole 7 experiment since all I can have for lunches is sandwiches or protein shakes. In order to avoid breaking my Rule "ONLY ONE shopping trip per week", I improvised and made us turkey wraps with tortillas instead of turkey sandwiches. Same diff.

As you can see, I'm struggling a bit with the boundaries that I've set up for myself.  I've also had to answer a bunch of questions as to why I can't have this or that or why I've made up these rules for myself. Most of my answers include the phrase, "As a means of fasting. . .and just to see if I can pull it off".  Really, it's causing me to do the one thing that I set out for it to do.  This whole process is making me extremely aware of the fact that I'm very used to food being readily available and at my disposal.  I realize how often I eat without really putting a lot of thought into what I'm eating.  I'm coming to grips with the fact that food is a means of security for me.  It's my comfort.  In turn, I'm really learning how to cope with the stresses of daily life without using food as a crutch.  As something I can reach out to when I'm bored or vulnerable.  I'm learning that I've seen food as a hobby, something that I do socially, and something that is meant to be enjoyed and not what it really is--nutrition.  I've removed the convenience of food by doing this experiment. It's no longer something that I can do without thinking. At least for the duration of these three more weeks.

I will say that I have focused so much on myself this week and what I could not have because of the rules that I have set for myself. This was not my intention and I really hope as this fast continues, my focus will move from food to inner change.  I pray it will bring me more to a place of thankfulness for what I have.  And I pray it will bring me closer to God. I feel like this turning point is just around the corner. I so want for this time of surrender will bring me to a place of hunger for God that I've not known for some time. I know Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days. Even HE fasted, in order to get closer to the Father, to get closer to God. I want that hunger. I want to turn every stomach growl into a reminder to pray.  I want for every craving to remind me that I need to physically crave Jesus more and more as well. I want to leave this four weeks of fasting in the food department  full of God.  After Jesus' fast, He then began healing, rescuing, and redeeming.  The Spirit filled up the emptiness Jesus created, launching Him into ministry.  In some supernatural way the abstinence from food was the catalyst that Jesus needed.  Never again would Jesus fly under the radar.  His powerful ministry was activated after His fast from food. After thirty years on earth, His story truly began.

"He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry." (Luke 4:2)

I want to be that hungry.

Here's to three more weeks!

Want to hear what I learned in Week Two? 

 Simplifying Life: Food (Week Two)

Simplifying

We've all felt the clutter of life at one time or another. I think that it comforts us to a certain degree. Having more "stuff" makes us feel secure, distracted, and accomplished.  I've truthfully never been very materialistic. Stuff doesn't mean very much to me. Just ask my husband in the way that I take care of my mess of a car, continuously pile clutter in every corner of my house, and resolve to the fact that we will never have super nice furniture because we have kids. I'm okay with it. To a certain extent, I've been a horrible steward of my stuff. I should take better care of what I'm given/what we afford. I've just always had a very "disposable" mentality about stuff. It's here today, it's helpful, if it breaks/is stolen/goes through the ringer, it's okay. It's all disposable and we will just get something else. I trick myself into thinking that my stuff does not own me.  Maybe it doesn't. But my perspective on my stuff does. Just because I don't cling to my stuff, doesn't mean I don't take it for granted. I'm not concerned with it being gone, because "out with the old, in with the new". Do you struggle with this? Or do you hold on to your possessions as if they define you? 

Enter the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker and my life is wrecked. 

Well, great. 

I was scrambling to find interesting books to read on our vacation to South Padre Island last week.  Remember, it was a grueling 13 hour car ride one way and I needed something to distract me in the car as well as on the beach. Boy, did I find something worthwhile! Well, little did I know at the time (God sure knew at the time!  He’s so sneaky) that this simple-looking book carried a BIG message.  A message that would stick with me all vacation.   

I wonder how many people have sat at a beautiful ocean condo pool and read a book about EXCESS?  It sounds awfully ironic – doesn’t it?  Well…for me, it just didn't set right. And since I've started it (and many months leading up to this as well) things didn't seem right for us as a family. Don't get me wrong, we were enjoying a beautiful week on the beach, thanks to a gift from my parents and were oh, so thankful for this time. We have been blessed more than just about anybody, but our souls have been unsettled for some time about the lifestyle/world we live in. 

Yes, that photo above is me being convicted in South Padre and naturally I posted it on Instagram.  (Yes, I like Instagram…sue me!) The caption should have read, “Not an easy book to read while on vacation.  Try reading it at the pool…in your ocean condo…while your kids argue about cable TV stations.”  It did feel wrong.  I was so spoiled at that moment.  No, it wasn’t wrong to go on vacation.  Actually, it was an amazing free blessing/gift to our family and we are humbled by the love that has been shown to us.  It just wasn’t an ideal place to read about excess. Not at all.  We just have so much stuff and are so selfish.  Don’t you ever get tired of how greedy we have become?  It seems like the more we get  -  the more we THINK we need.  We feel like we DESERVE it all.  It’s a terrible cycle and I am ready to get off.  Something definitely has got to give.  I soaked in each word and let it simmer in my mind and heart.  This stuff isn’t new but Jen Hatmaker did something about it.  She put feet to her words.  I spilled my many thoughts and feelings to Hubs.  He probably thought that this was just “one of those books” and I would be fine in a few days.  But he was wrong.  The earlier simmer has come to a full blown boil.  Well, do you know what is next?  I will not just be another woman who simply reads this book and says that it’s a “life changing” book.  I want to do.  I want to act.  I want to be wrecked to the point of change.  Reading isn’t enough for me.  This has shaken me to the core.  It’s official.  I don’t want to be comfortable anymore.  It’s been coming.  God has been working. And now, more than ever is the time to step out and do something about the culture that we've been living and consuming in as a family. 

I've decided to devote the next seven months to this experiment that Jen Hatmaker outlined in the book.  She focuses on seven areas of excess in a person's life, and dissects each, choosing a way to fast, so to speak, from each area. The 7 areas are: Food, Clothes, Possessions, Media, Waste, Spending, Stress. Everyone is different, every family's needs are not the same, and everyone finds their life "excess" to be different.  I will not be conquering 7 the same way that Jen does. I will be making minor modifications so that this time of reflection and fasting really resonates with us specifically. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm making modifications because Jen is a HERO in the fasting department and there is no way that I could actually pull off some of the stuff she has come up with! So I will improvise. Bare with me. :)

Before you start thinking that I am a radical or that this is just yet another one of my things. This is not just a social experiment.  This is a grasping for the new life God has for us as a family. For that, and two main reasons, I'm pursuing this time of fasting. The first and foremost is repentance.  7 will be a tangible way to bow low and repent of greed, ungratefulness, ruined opportunities, and irresponsibility.  It's time to admit that I'm trapped in the machine, held by my own selfishness. It's time to face our spending and call it what it is: a travesty.  I'm weary of justifying it.  So many areas are out of control, so much need for transformation.  What have we been eating?  What are we doing? What have we been buying?  What are we wasting?  What are we missing?  These questions grieve me, as they should and I'm ready for some deconstruction in my life. 

The second reason is for preparation.  Most of my life is in front of me. I'm only 30 years old and only 5 years into my assignment as a mother.  The bulk of my life-work lies ahead of me. My children are young--still entirely impressionable.  It's not too late to untether them from the lie of "more".  Our new mission as a family is really just beginning.  I'm hungry of the reconstruction of something so much bigger than ourselves. 

This whole thing is so WEIRD. Really, it's okay to think I'm becoming one of those Christians. But in the words of our pastor, "I welcome WEIRD. Normal isn't working anymore." It's not. I'm sure that most of Jesus' ideas werent' so popular either.  I'm convinced that He got the "I-thought-you-were-normal-but-now-I-see-I-was-clearly-wrong" face plenty of times. He seriously knew how to thin out a crowd.  He always gunned for less, reduced, simplified.  He was the most fully and completely unselfish, ungreedy, unpretentious man to ever live, and I just want to be more like Him.  It's as simple as that. If limiting myself of my favorite things for 7 months can help Jesus overcome me, then so be it.  I'm okay with an oddball label. 

This first month, I will focus on food.  I've picked only 7 meals that our family will eat for the entire month. We may get tired of these 7 meals, but we will cling to the fact that this is all we have to eat. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, you are correct. With kids, there are only so many meals that they will eat anyway, so I thought I'd better step this up a knotch, at least for me.  I've also added 7 rules for myself in the food department that may cinch the line in a bit and really make the fast this month more uncomfortable. These 7 extra Food Rules Are: *NO Fast Food.  *NO chocolate.  *NO pop/soda.  *NO alcohol.  *ONLY ONE grocery trip per week.  *NO Pork.  *NO EATING after 7 pm. 

I'm starting this first phase this Monday (TODAY!).  Every Friday, I'll give a summary on the blog as to how it is going and what kind of spiritual/emotional knowledge I am gaining from this time. In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend you go buy/borrow the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker. Eye-opening, I tell ya! And very motivating if you are in a place where you are seeking God to do something NEW in you! Wish me luck, folks!! 

Now excuse me.  I must go have my morning coke, chocolate pop-tart, mimosa, cup of water. :)

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Simplifying My Life HERE! 

 Month One: Simplifying Food