7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

I read a book not too long ago called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  Not only was this book inspiring and hilarious - I found myself clutching my sides with laughter more often then not - this book also motivated me to action. Here's a synopsis of the 7 story:

"American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born.

7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would 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.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence."

I'm tired of living life in slavery to masters like greed, possessions, the internet, stress, cravings, clothes, and money.

So without further ado, welcome to Lynley's version of the 7 fast.

Goal for month 1? Give up 7 things a day.

Day 1 

You would think with all the stuff I own, that finding seven items to give away would be easy. It wasn't. I found plenty of junk, though. Does that count? I wasn't sure, so I sent a quick email to the council (a.k.a my accountability and encouragement team).

"Do 5 packs of unopened gum (of a flavor I don't like) count as something I can give away? I was just going to count all 5 packs as one 'item.'"

Item #1? The unopened lip balm I keep saying I'll use. That is, I'll use it after I finish my other 25 already-started lip balms. I don't know what it is about girls and cylindrical tubes of cherry-scented-paraffin, but I certainly have plenty of it.

Item #2 was a glasses cleaning cloth. I just bought a new one - a problem in and of itself since I apparently already owned one - so I figured I should give my old one away. I rarely wear my glasses, so I highly doubt I need two of them.

Item #3 was an undershirt. I now have five instead of six. I also have a suspicion I will need to revisit the decision to only give up one. We'll see. I'm too selfish to give away more for now. The rationalization process for keeping five of them went about like this:

Of course I need 2 work out shirts...what if one is dirty? And yes, these may look like the same top, but that one is strapless and that one goes well under t-shirts. Oh, and that other one? My best friend and I bought matching ones my senior year of high school. I can't get rid of that!

 True story. This is what went through my brain.

Item #4? The 5 packs of unopened gum - council voted yes! (Mwahaha!)

A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent became item #5. To be quite honest, I'm not sure why I even own this book or how it got into my library. Needless to say, I go to Cedarville. I might as well bless some other less Christian-culture-immersed soul who might actually read it.

Item #6 was a pair of shoes. Alright, confession time - I am a shoe horse. When I moved to college, my shoes got their own suitcase. When I counted my shoes this evening, I discovered I own 31 pairs NOT counting the summer shoes that are back at my house. If this isn't excess, I don't know what is. Lord, why am I so attached to my stuff? Again, I will definitely be revisiting the shoe closet for future purging efforts.

And last but not least, a t-shirt for item #7. We may need more education, more healthcare, more love, and more compassion, but there's one thing in this world I can confidently say we do not need more of: t-shirts. My stack of t-shirts has grown from 6 to 16 in my first two years of college. I don't think I even bought most of them...where do they all come from?!