seven foods.

I raved about "7: an experimental mutiny against excess" in my "bookworm" post. The premise of the book is to eliminate excess and combat materialism/over-indulgence. Jen Hatmaker shares the seven areas of her life that she is addressing: food, clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste, and stress. After sharing the book with one of my dear friends, Kirby Green, she proposed that we do the experiment together. The day she called, I had an idea that she may suggest we do the food month of seven together and honestly, I was hoping she would. When I read it myself, I had all these plans of starting each month but without the accountability I kept giving excuses for why I shouldn't or couldn't. So after a week of contemplating and praying about it, we both thought that a month of eating seven foods would be a great journey for us to embark on together. We both have our reasons for starting-- Kirby is going on a mission trip later this summer and this is a great way to prepare and focus on her purpose for serving. I have never really fasted before and I using this as a way to overcome excess and over-indulgence. My pantry/refrigerator/freezer can be overflowing yet I will catch myself complaining of "nothing to eat." Ridiculous. I watched a documentary a few weeks ago that reported if the entire world consumed as much food as Americans do, there would need to be four planets the size of Earth in order to provide enough to feed each person--and this documentary was a few years old so I'm sure that is even more by now!

Before I go any further, I want to say that by no means am I posting this as a way to boast about what we are doing. This is just to share our experience and hopefully encourage you to look at your own life and see ways that you can fight your own battle against excess. We are not trying to come across as holier than thou, seeking praise, or anything of that nature. Just simply sharing. Take it or leave it. Hopefully you can take it, try for yourself, and share with people you know as well!

So our plan is seven foods for four weeks. Kirby knew I would be all over the food lists and menus so I  made suggestions on what we should eat. We need protein, carbs, and fats. Also, I wanted to make sure that we were having foods that we actually enjoy. So our lists are as follows: For Kirby--Fish, Yogurt, Bread, Apples, Avocados, Spinach, and Sweet Potatoes. For me--Beef, Eggs, Avocados, Tomatoes, Peppers, Spinach, and Potatoes. We will use salt, pepper, oil, butter, and lemon juice to season/flavor our foods. Water will be our go-to beverage.

Our poor sweet husbands are being good sports and semi-participating. Dustin doesn't care for tomatoes or avocados so he chose dairy products and carrots to replace them. Also, he considers ranch dressing to be a dairy product, so that made the cut. Kirby told me that Tyler included Oreos in his list! I'm just thankful that they are putting up with us! The next month without coffee, chocolate, sauces, herbs/spices, etc will be interesting to say the least!

So Day 1 is over... We have both sent texts and called with our grocery trip details, menus, food pics, and complaints. I'm so thankful for Kirby's encouragement and for holding me accountable-- especially when I want to break into the spice/sauce cabinet! Our heads are aching from coffee withdrawals and our bellies are still growling from the lack of all day snacking that normally happens. But we know that these small pains are nothing compared to the hunger others experience.  We pray and know that God will reveal more to us about Him and ourselves during this time.

breakfast: potatoes w/ tomatoes

lunch: spinach, tomatoes, bell pepper, avocado w/ olive oil & lemon

supper: tomato marinated steak, mashed potatoes, & tomatoes w/ spinach

We both pray that it is an eye-opening experience that allows us to see how blessed we truly are as well as find more ways to appreciate how God provides for us. So here we go! Four weeks. Seven foods. Countless prayers. Let's do it!