Want to know something? I have been avoiding this. My computer has been staring me down for a week now telling me to just write it already! But I shoved it under the couch and dodged the bossy glares. (Yes at times I feel as though inanimate objects judge me...like the time a pile of dirty laundry was mocking me, mocking me I tell you!) =) Anyway, back on subject. I am not really sure what my reason for delay was. Jeremy and I started an adventure on July 1st. (Hang in there for the back story, we might get there eventually). I bought myself some time by deciding to wait and just "recap" week one, but alas here we are on July 7th and my procrastination window is at an end. To be honest I wasn't even sure I was going to blog about this, until I was chatting with a friend about said adventure and she exclaimed something along the lines of "You are going to blog about this, right?!?!"
Sigh.....I think I mumbled something like "yeah, ummm maybe, I wasn't sure, uh probably..." Or something equally as eloquent. There is so much to be said about those conversations you have at exactly the right moment that push you to dig deeper. This was definitely one of those. Jeremy and I have been talking/praying/dreaming for a while now about life. What we want it to look like, what direction we feel like God is taking us, how we want to structure our family, what our priorities were going to be, etc. From the big things, all the way down to the little things. There were some things we changed immediately, some that are in process and some we haven't even tackled yet. The bottom line was that we wanted something more. Different. Deeper. Real. To be incredibly honest here we wanted our lives to look like Christ in a way that they hadn't before. When we looked at our actions, thoughts, patterns - even (read: especially) our "religious" ones - through the lens of the person of Christ we saw a divide. They didn't match up as well as we thought they would.
And please hear my heart on this next part! We are both incredibly thankful to have been raised in church and it is such a blessing to have that foundation. But for the lack of better wording in can also really mess you up at times. There are instances where I see such a difference in the way that Christ treated people and how "the church" treats people that it makes my heart hurt. (And before you freak out, here are a few things I feel I should mention at this point. 1. I don't pretend to have any brilliant answers, nor am I looking to debate anything. I am simply being honest. 2. I used quotation marks around the church because I am well aware that the church is vast and diverse in practice and belief structure. I realize that I only have personal experience with a fraction of it and I hate to lump it all into one box like that.) What I do know is that people are hurting for every possible reason outside of our church walls and there are people hurting for those exact same reasons inside our buildings as well. If we cannot figure out a way to truly connect with people, to sit with the hurting and broken wherever we may find them, then we are missing the point. And that authentic connection rarely looks like we think it should. It isn't wrapped in orderly steps, or in a neat black and white box. It is messy, uncomfortable, raw, costly. And if we approach it with anything less than the absolute love of Christ we will strike out every time! Whew.....ok, taking a breath and dialing back the intensity a bit.
If you are still with me then congratulations! You are finally going to figure out what the heck I started this post about!!! ;)
Cue back story:
Around the beginning of June Jeremy started reading Jen Hatmaker's book "Seven: an experimental mutiny against excess" and was immediately intrigued by the premise. "Food, clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste, stress. Spend thirty days on each topic boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe 'seven sacred pauses.'" After only reading the introduction he turned to me and said that we needed to do this. I started reading it along with him and could not agree more. It is all about simplifying and stripping down life which we have been in the process of for a while now, but it takes it a step further. Not only recognizing the excess, but also how it affects or in many cases hinders God in our lives. Not just getting rid of stuff for the sake of minimalistic living, but to intentionally create room in our hearts and lives for God to move.
Sigh.....I think I mumbled something like "yeah, ummm maybe, I wasn't sure, uh probably..." Or something equally as eloquent. There is so much to be said about those conversations you have at exactly the right moment that push you to dig deeper. This was definitely one of those. Jeremy and I have been talking/praying/dreaming for a while now about life. What we want it to look like, what direction we feel like God is taking us, how we want to structure our family, what our priorities were going to be, etc. From the big things, all the way down to the little things. There were some things we changed immediately, some that are in process and some we haven't even tackled yet. The bottom line was that we wanted something more. Different. Deeper. Real. To be incredibly honest here we wanted our lives to look like Christ in a way that they hadn't before. When we looked at our actions, thoughts, patterns - even (read: especially) our "religious" ones - through the lens of the person of Christ we saw a divide. They didn't match up as well as we thought they would.
And please hear my heart on this next part! We are both incredibly thankful to have been raised in church and it is such a blessing to have that foundation. But for the lack of better wording in can also really mess you up at times. There are instances where I see such a difference in the way that Christ treated people and how "the church" treats people that it makes my heart hurt. (And before you freak out, here are a few things I feel I should mention at this point. 1. I don't pretend to have any brilliant answers, nor am I looking to debate anything. I am simply being honest. 2. I used quotation marks around the church because I am well aware that the church is vast and diverse in practice and belief structure. I realize that I only have personal experience with a fraction of it and I hate to lump it all into one box like that.) What I do know is that people are hurting for every possible reason outside of our church walls and there are people hurting for those exact same reasons inside our buildings as well. If we cannot figure out a way to truly connect with people, to sit with the hurting and broken wherever we may find them, then we are missing the point. And that authentic connection rarely looks like we think it should. It isn't wrapped in orderly steps, or in a neat black and white box. It is messy, uncomfortable, raw, costly. And if we approach it with anything less than the absolute love of Christ we will strike out every time! Whew.....ok, taking a breath and dialing back the intensity a bit.
If you are still with me then congratulations! You are finally going to figure out what the heck I started this post about!!! ;)
Cue back story:
Around the beginning of June Jeremy started reading Jen Hatmaker's book "Seven: an experimental mutiny against excess" and was immediately intrigued by the premise. "Food, clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste, stress. Spend thirty days on each topic boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe 'seven sacred pauses.'" After only reading the introduction he turned to me and said that we needed to do this. I started reading it along with him and could not agree more. It is all about simplifying and stripping down life which we have been in the process of for a while now, but it takes it a step further. Not only recognizing the excess, but also how it affects or in many cases hinders God in our lives. Not just getting rid of stuff for the sake of minimalistic living, but to intentionally create room in our hearts and lives for God to move.
"Jesus, may there be less of me and my junk and more of You and Your kingdom."
So we took the month of June to continue reading and start praying about this step. As a friend of ours said, this doesn't seem to be a book that you can read and then continue living the same life you were before. We both feel like this process is going to radically change our perspective and bring us to some "put up or shut up" moments. Those moments where you have to make a conscious choice to either stay as you are or say yes to God and go deeper. It wasn't something we wanted to take lightly or jump into unprepared.
We started our food month on July 1st, so we are officially one week in! Our food items to eat for the month are: eggs, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, chicken, avocados, apples and bread. Only water to drink and the "free items" are salt, pepper and olive oil in moderation. To give you some insight into how this week has been I will share some excerpts from our journal.
Day 1
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....yep that about sums it up. A few quick notes - I attempted dehydrating sweet potatoes...complete fail. Also, going 40 in a 25 mph zone is frowned upon by local law enforcement and might just cost you some $....sigh.
Day 2
Four words: baked sweet potato chips. Amazing. The end.
Day 4
We went to Homes County today! Free food samples everywhere.....need I say more?
Day 5
Today was the day that everything "clicked". That it went from plan to connection. Probably not a coincidence that it was Sunday and it felt like the pastor's message was perfectly for us. God is doing something in our hearts and confirmation is such a wonderful thing!
Side note - I just said I was really hungry and came back into the room moments later to Jeremy cutting up an apple for me. He is kind of the best! I then had the marvelous idea to puree said apple to spread onto a piece of bread. It was a little on the watery side so Jeremy set about to strain it for me with a piece of cheesecloth.....fast forward to him needing a change of clothes and the table and floor needing a deep clean....you get the idea. lol He is still the best ever! =)
Stay tuned for further updates. It is bound to be an interesting ride. =)
We started our food month on July 1st, so we are officially one week in! Our food items to eat for the month are: eggs, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, chicken, avocados, apples and bread. Only water to drink and the "free items" are salt, pepper and olive oil in moderation. To give you some insight into how this week has been I will share some excerpts from our journal.
Day 1
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....yep that about sums it up. A few quick notes - I attempted dehydrating sweet potatoes...complete fail. Also, going 40 in a 25 mph zone is frowned upon by local law enforcement and might just cost you some $....sigh.
Day 2
Four words: baked sweet potato chips. Amazing. The end.
Day 4
We went to Homes County today! Free food samples everywhere.....need I say more?
Day 5
Today was the day that everything "clicked". That it went from plan to connection. Probably not a coincidence that it was Sunday and it felt like the pastor's message was perfectly for us. God is doing something in our hearts and confirmation is such a wonderful thing!
Side note - I just said I was really hungry and came back into the room moments later to Jeremy cutting up an apple for me. He is kind of the best! I then had the marvelous idea to puree said apple to spread onto a piece of bread. It was a little on the watery side so Jeremy set about to strain it for me with a piece of cheesecloth.....fast forward to him needing a change of clothes and the table and floor needing a deep clean....you get the idea. lol He is still the best ever! =)
Stay tuned for further updates. It is bound to be an interesting ride. =)
Keep Dreaming!
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