7: Day Four

On the way home from LifeGroup Monday night Josh and I were talking about all the things we would love to eat.  He asked for a "mulligan".  I told him he was only allowed one for the month...well, maybe three (said jokingly).  We laughed and went home to apples and peanut butter.  Confession:  I had watermelon this afternoon.  It tasted like Heaven.  It was just a swerve off the road and we are still maintaining the course!  True Fact: This is not about the food.  Yes, we are fasting but fasting is never about the food.

I don't think we realize all the things we think about in one day that have no significance at all.  Narrowing food choices down to ten has forced us to get creative with meals but it also takes the guess work out of, "What am I going to eat?" and it frees up more brain space to meditate on things that matter.  In Jen Hatmaker's book 7 she writes on Day 1 of her journey about her spiritual waters being stagnant and says, "Perhaps this is the philosophy behind the biblical fasts of three days, seven days, and forty days in the Word.  Maybe we need more than one day to push through the inauguration onto the business of communion."  AMEN!

The last few days I've spent more time going in depth with my children about God's Word and prayer.  This is partly due to the amount of time I am focusing on these things.  How can we guide them when our devotion to Father suffers?  The boys have had great revelations this week.  They are loosely fasting and don't entirely understand the purpose of it but that is OK.  They are seeing change in their parents, they are being fed more meat of God's Word and they are reaping the benefits of our sacrifice. 

Our Littlest One Praying

Last night a young 7th grader spoke of his struggles, both personally and within his family.  His cry was loud and piercing straight to the heart of everyone in the room.   Josh and I left feeling humbled.  I'm not sure humbled is even strong enough a word.  You don't realize how selfish you have become until God puts a child is front of you who's life is so broken that only our Redeemer can restore him to life again.

Father, help us to sacrifice more so that we may gain more of You.  Guide our words, thoughts and actions so that WE can cast out every selfish desire the minute it enters our mind and that YOU would take our lives captive for Your glory.

7: an experimental mutiny against excess

If you want an overview of the book "7" , I highly encourage you to check out the trailer.  I'm just going to jump right into why I wanted our family to join this adventure of removing junk in our lives and redirecting our focus.

Last year I went to Peru on a mission trip that God had laid on my heart two years prior.  During that time He spoke volumes to me about waste and the "American Dream" in relation to His dream for us.  His desire for simplicity in our lives has been replaced with so many things other than eternal reward. Nearly a year later, I still haven't figured out how to take hold of this problem.  A problem of expectation, addiction, worldly desire, lust for a menagerie of things.  This problem is seeping into our children and we know our time to impact them is so limited.

For the purpose of this series of fasts, Josh and I will adhere to guidelines we formed from the examples given in "7".  The kids will not abide by the same criteria.  However, we are setting a standard for the family with an expectation that they will loosely participate. 

Month 1 - Food

We LOVE food.  I realize this is only the first of seven months of living with less but I truly believe this could be the most painful for me.  I'm reminded of our two-week Daniel Fast last year and nearly faint.  Not only do I love eating food but I love making food.  I love baking.  I love the smells.  I love the tastes.  I don't like how much my waist has grown in the last year but that's neither here nor there.  

We couldn't settle for 7 foods so we narrowed down to 10.  The 10 foods for the month of May include:

Chicken

Venison

Whole Grains

Spinach

Avocado

Sweet Potatoes

Peanut butter

Eggs

Oranges

Apples

..... as a bonus I included coffee in the 9th hour (of the morning of the 1st day) and declared it "necessary to my quiet time with God".  My mutiny against excess, my rules.  Don't judge.  

Day 1: The kids actually asked that I replace their cereal with eggs because, "they smell sooooooooo yummy!"  I had an avocado and spinach salad for an afternoon snack and I can honestly say that I don't foresee avocado growing on me, even in my desperation.  Once the coffee joined the party, the Holy Spirit was invited and it was good.  I started studying Nehemiah today.  Lord, tear down my walls and build new ones that glorify You!