7

I've been skim-reading a book that a friend loaned me - 7 by Jen Hatmaker, the author's account of her "experimental mutiny against excess."  Each month for seven months, Jen focused on a different area of her life that she felt was a problem area:  food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress.  She wrote:  "Seven months, seven areas, reduced to seven simple choices.  I'm embarking on a journey of less.  It's time to purge the junk and pare down to what is necessary, what is noble.  7 will be an exercise in simplicity with one goal:  to create space for God's kingdom to break through (p. 4)."   The journey was a deliberate lifestyle change to exchange the needs of the physical body for those of the spirit.  For Jen, it was a time to repent of greed, ungratefulness, missed opportunities, irresponsibility and selfishness.  Along with her repentance, she sought to "adopt Jesus' version of rich, blessed, and generous."  

While I can't fathom only eating seven foods (yes, just seven!) or wearing only seven articles of clothing for an entire month, I have decided to follow Jen's example in paring down our possessions to the tune of seven items each day for a month.  How convenient that it's now February with only twenty-nine days!  Do the math, and that means that our home will be 203 items "lighter" if I reach the goal. Since I'm not much of a hoarder by nature, and I don't have closets or a basement jam-packed with years of accumulation, this might present a challenge to reaching the goal.  But if I get desperate, I'll go through all Joel's tools and "toys". . . I mean, how many screwdrivers do you really need anyway?!  My real desire, though, is to change my ways, so I don't buy something I want just because I can.  So here's to Farewell February!  I'll keep you posted on the purging.