I am on a quest. I don't know if it's spring, and I always get the urge to purge in the spring...or if it's the fact that there have been 4 sizes worth of clothes overwhelming my closet and I just can't stand it anymore....or if I just need something "new" in my world...but I am ready.
I am waging a war on excess. I blame it on my friend, Tanya. She posted a link on Facebook to the blog of Jen Hatmaker. ( http://jenhatmaker.com/blog.htm) don't know why it's not linking- but that's me and computers for you.
I blame her too. So there was this wee link to Jen's book "7"- and I was intrigued. So I purchased it for my Kindle and well, there you have it. The war has begun. I am only 3 chapters in and I am inspired, convicted...a wreck, really. She took 7 months to tackle these various issues- I am doing a mini-version- and I'm going to take 7 weeks. 7 weeks to simplify, de-stress and make room for God in my world. This might have been a great thing to do for Lent...but I'm a bit slow on the uptake- and I don't know that God particularly pays attention to our calendar anyway. What is up with all the "NEW WORDS" that come perfectly coinciding with every new year? Does anyone else think that's weird?
I think it's just a reflection of some of the things that I struggle with in the "Church"- I really liked what A.W. Tozer said:
Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully on the whims of men....to persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show.
I suppose it could be comforting that there is nothing new under the sun....but I digress.
Meanwhile, back to making war on excess.....
So, in the land of the 99% and blah, blah, blah. Imagine my surprise to find that I- who work in non-profit theatre in extremely spendy Seattle- happen to be in the 1% of richest people in the world! Yep. I am affluent beyond what I can imagine. We don't own a house- can't afford it. We do have a nice apartment, a car (paid for, a magnificent gift of grace from me mum), running water, more clothes than we know what to do with (more on that later) and we can pretty much eat whatever we want and pay our bills. More than enough. But we live in a culture that tries to convince us that we NEED MORE. And I buy it. True story. The other day I bought a fabulous pair of sunglasses (Because the 6 pair I already own apparently aren't enough, but I do have a tendency to misplace them all the time, hence, I am justified...) And a pair of super-cute vintagey 1940's-esque platform sandals because I had been watching them at DSW for over a month and now they were only $23! Marked down from $100! And, they aren't "high heels" but are super cute! My justification? My fat little feet can no longer handle high-heels (stupid middle-aged falling arches) and I NEED cute shoes...nevermind I wear tennis shoes most days. Sigh. I am part of the machine.
What to do? I still blame you, Jen Hatmaker. But you make me laugh, you make me cry, you make me want to walk out my faith in a truly tangible way. So here I go...gonna fight excess for the next couple of months, and see what happens. Gonna blog about it so that I have some accountability.
Tomorrow- we start with the first issue...
FOOD. For 7 days, I will eat 7 foods...I am going to eat the foods Jen ate- chicken, apples, avacados, spinach, whole grain bread, eggs, sweet potatoes- with only olive oil and salt and pepper to compliment. Water to drink. Bob's your uncle.
I am doing it during tech so that I don't torture Marty too much. It actually sounds pretty good to me, we'll see how it goes by the end of the week.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the ginormous mountain of clothes heaped on our couch that will make my husband roll his eyes and shake his head when he gets home today....TTFN.
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