7: A Review

While I was at Created for Care, I picked up a copy of this book. It was the last one on the shelf, and I heard it calling my name from across the room. And now, after finishing it in two days, I want to make sure you don't miss out on the goodness that is 7.

This book is about what I suppose is best called an experiment by Jen Hatmaker. Over the period of ten months, Jen (and her family and friends) took part in seven, four-week ventures, each of which focused on cutting back on the excess in our lives and focusing on drawing closer to God.

Her 7 categories?

Clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress.

The last one will be getting its own post later this week, but for now I want to share with you about why I loved this book. Do you ever feel like God sends you certain books at certain times in your life? This book came to me at THE PERFECT TIME, when cutting back on the fluff and focusing on the marrow is already at the fore-front of my mind. This book was great in that it not only encouraged me to cut back on the useless (or at least seemingly useless) excess that sometimes hoards all of our attention and focus on living a more Godly life.

Yes, please.

Some of the sentences I highlighted or underlined:

-Sometimes conviction is mistaken for guilt......

-"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

-I spend more just on clothes in one year than the average Ethiopian family earns in almost five.

-I'm tired of calling the suffering "brothers and sisters" when I'd NEVER allow my biological siblings to suffer likewise.

-There is something so marvelous about women comfortable in their own skin.

-We get one shot at living to expand the kingdom, fighting for justice.

-We like our stuff. We need our things. Usually the things we think we need become the very things we need a break from.

Curious yet? GO GET A COPY. ORDER ONE RIGHT NOW. RUN, DON'T WALK to the local library. The message Jen gives about the ways that LIVING is consuming our LIVES is undeniable; I am desperate for my life to be about more than the latest fashion trends, the popular new TV show, and keeping every restaurant in town in business. While the section on possessions literally had me debating leaving work early to hurry home and clean out every closet in my house, I was surprised by how much I learned from the section on waste. I certainly need to do more to take care the world in which I live. And like I said, the section on stress and my response to it, is getting its own post later this week.

This book confirmed the way I was already feeling. And to be honest, parts of it made me feel ashamed and even disgusted by where our (as a country) and my (as an individual) priorities are sometimes. It was a much-welcomed push in my life to make some much needed changes in my life.

If you read it or have read, please leave a comment letting me know what you thought. I'd love to hear how God used this experiment to broaden your horizon and draw you nearer to Him.

Next on my reading list? Crazy Love by Francis Chan. No, I haven't read it yet. Yes, I realize it's been out for quite a while. Again, I think God waited until NOW to put this book in my hands. We shall see.

Oh, and I officially paid a deposit today for my new blog design. Can't wait to get started on my new look! Any suggestions? What's the best looking blog you've ever seen? I would LOVE your ideas and thoughts on this.

Here's hoping your weekend was way less busy than mine; pretty sure I'll need to sleep until Tuesday to recover from this jam-packed weekend.