7 - A Story of Excess

Just finished reading the book titled "7...An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess". 7 is the true story of how Jen Hatmaker took seven months, identified seven areas of excess in her life, 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. Jen and her family would spend thirty days on each topic.

Everything I'm about to share is applicable to EVERYONE'S life...if we all made efforts to adopt at least half of these concepts, the world would be a healthier, happier place to live.

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 a month, adopt seven green habits, and observe "seven sacred pauses". What was the purpose of living a deeply reduced life? Jen took me on a discovery of a greatly increased God - a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends a social experiment...Here's the irony (which I didn't realize until I finished the book) - I started this book on the first day of lent. According to Wikipedia: The traditional purpose of lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence.

So...here I was reading a book about reducing excess in someones life to ultimately grow closer to God and consider what Jesus' version of rich, blessed and generous might look like RIGHT around the time when others around me would be doing the same thing. Devine intervention?

Month One: Food. For 30 days Jen ate these seven foods ONLY: chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, apples. Kinda sounds like Paleo (minus the bread, right?). No delicious seasonings on her chicken, no cinnamon on her sweet potatoes, no dressing on her spinach salad. Bland, bland, bland food for 30 days. This meant giving up her beloved coffee. What did Chelsey give up for lent you may ask?? Coffee.

Jen's addiction to coffee sounds all too familiar...she writes:
"I escaped a Starbucks at the airport today by chewing gym like a quitting smoker. I should tell you that every time I've been to Sprouts, I've put my nose directly on the glass cases of bulk coffee and inhaled like a deranged weirdo. I mean, deeply inhaled. For at least ten seconds. Nose to the glass. The only possible way I could act more disturbing is if I ground up some beans, made a line with a razor blade, and snorted it in the middle of aisle 9."

I feel ya sister!! I cried that day - literally. I wanted coffee so badly that I was driving down 280 and cried when I passed Starbucks. That was day 5 into lent - I'm happy to report on day 15 I'm doing much better with the addiction cravings.

Could I adhere to the rules of month one...absolutely.

Month Two: Clothes. This month, Jen only wore 7 articles of clothing (not including socks and under garments). They were: a pair of jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, two short-sleeved t-shirts, pair of drawstring knit capri pants, one long silk dress shirt, and shoes (boots, tennis shoes).

We had a contest in highschool...it was "The Clothes Game". Every senior year, the contest was open to all seniors who wished to participate. At the beginning of the school year you put $50 into a jar, showed up to school in one outfit. Then wore that outfit to school as many days in a row as you could. (Of course you were allowed to wash your clothes every day.) Here was the caveat - you could not add more layers as you approached winter. So...whatever you started with, you had to have on your person from the beginning. The winner that year wore her clothes EVERY single day of school - even under her cap/gown at graduation. And she was also a few hundred dollars richer - as she got the pot of cash in the end! Did Chelsey participate - hell no.

It's just ironic because my job before ITF and Lululemon was SO heavily focused on appearance - did I fit the "look" of a sales rep in a big city. I spent WAY too much money on clothes, shoes, accessories. Since I've lived in Birmingham, I've cleaned my closet out three times and gotten rid of nearly a 1/3 of everything I own. I don't need it anymore. It's just so, SO sinful how much we spend on clothes we really do NOT need. This chapter was a friendly reminder to put my money somewhere else and to know that I have PLENTY!

Could I adhere to the rules of month two...yes (if I got a washer/dryer in my apartment). :)

Month Three: Possessions. This month Jen gave away 7 things every day. The first day alone she found 210 things in her home to give away. As I sit here typing this, I look around my apartment and see so many things collecting dust. So many things that are RARELY used. So many things that someone else would LOVE to have. When you start to clean out your home, you find more things you didn't realize you had - what a concept. You downsize, but still find something that's "new" because it hasn't been used/worn/looked at in so long.

Jen didn't just arbitrarily give to Goodwill, she sought our organizations that had specific needs and gave to those. She felt it was important to see the faces of those you were directly effecting. Jen was deeply disturbed by how many things were cluttering her life. She writes: "Do not be fooled by the luxuries of this world; they cripple our faith. As Jesus explained, the right things have to die so the right things can live - we die to selfishness, greed, power, accumulation, prestige, and self-preservation, giving life to community, generosity, compassion, mercy, brotherhood, kindness, and love."

Could I adhere to the rules of month three...Spring cleaning - here I come.

Month Four: Media. Jen's family shutdown tv, gaming, facebook/twitter, iPhone apps, radio, texting*, internet*. Their texting rule: if it is a time-savor and/or necessary, then text away. If it's to be sarcastic, silly or inappropriate, then pass. Their internet rule: internet was only to be used when necessary for work purposes. Goodbye to YouTube, ESPN, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc.

Their family spent more time together than ever. What a concept - social interaction vs social media...If anyone has ever read the 5 Love Languages, they would know one of the languages in quality time. I love and truly value quality time. I have lunch/coffee/brunch/dinner dates 2-3x weekly with friends. We've become a culture so absorbed with social media we've lost some of the personal touch of a handwritten letter, a long, leisurely phone conversation, the fun in reading the news paper and getting black fingertips, and sending the children outside to create games in their own backyards. (I was an extreme fort builder, if I do say so myself.)

For those of you that know me well...you know these things - I have a tv (which took me over a year to finally break down and purchase), but I don't have cable. I don't even own a DVD player...I have a computer for that. The first 5 months of living in Birmingham, I didn't even have the internet at my apartment. I buy and sell books on half.com. I love the smell and feel of worn pages. My mom bought be a Kindle for Christmas and I told her Thanks, but no thanks. I have a Twitter account but I don't know what I'm reading half the time. My iPhone is used for texting and phone calls, rarely the internet; I only have one page worth of apps (most of which I never use). I'm old school and listen to CD's in the car. I don't even have an iTunes account.

Could I adhere to the rules of month four...done.

Month Five: Waste. This month was focused on habits for a greener life: gardening, composting, conserving energy/water, recycling, driving only one car, shopping thrift and second-hand, buying only local. Becoming "earthy crunchy" as Jen called it.

I killed my "lucky" bamboo that was guaranteed to live forever. Gardening just aint happen for this chicka...NO green thumbs (or backyard for that matter). Recycling: check. Driving one car - Uum...it's just me, so I can handle that. BUT I drive an SUV...that drinks gallons and gallons of gasoline. Shopping thrift - refer back to month two. I rarely shop, so I'm just going to avoid this one. Buying local...yeah, about that. Walmart sucks everyone dry because it's easy. As we approach this spring season, I'd like to really focus on farmer's markets and local shops for all my needs.

The biggest issue here is not just on a personal level, but on a generational level. The "green" habits we adopt now will effect those that come after us. When I was a practicing interior designer, I took and passed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Exam. This meant I knew enough to help design a truly "green" building - anything from the efficient mechanical systems, to avoiding drainage run-off during construction, to recycled materials selections, to energy conserving electrical and plumbing fixtures. I like to think that having that LEED certification has helped me to make healthy "green" habits in my normal daily life and then teach others how to pay it forward. We are all searching for a way to reduce our carbon footprint and not leave a destroyed world for our great grandchildren.

Could I adhere to the rules on month five...minus gardening, yes. :)

Month Six: Spending. Jen's family was only allowed to spend money in seven places: Farmer's Market, gas station, online bill pay, kid's school, savings to travel fund, emergency medical and Target (because we know Target has everything you need!!). No restaurants, movie theaters, Chick-Fil-A, drinks from the gas station, no Amazon purchases, no lunch after church, no iTunes.

She writes: "Once upon a time, a girl averaged how many different places per month her little family spent money. She tallied bank statements for the previous year, and they averaged sixty-six vendors a month, not counting repeat expenditures. She wanted to throw up. The end."

Don't we ALL feel like that?!?!?!

This month kind of encompasses a bunch of the other month's concepts. If you aren't spending money in 66 locations...you are eating healthier, purchasing fewer clothes, and saving money on gas from traveling to all of these places. I'm kind of frugal...I hate to spend unwanted money. I have a mental battle every time I have to make a purchase. I don't carry cash for that reason - if I don't have it, I wont spend it. My worst habit is eating out - it's my way to socialize. Quality Time...remember?

Could I adhere to the rules of month six...I suppose. I guess I'd have to start a brunch AND supper club so I can have social time with all my girls.

And finally...Month Seven: Stress. God created the earth in six days and on the 7th day he rested. We work 6 days a week and then rest of the 7th. So, why not work hard at ridding yourself of the excess in your life for six months and then rest on the 7th? Month seven, Jen's family devoted to having time of pause and prayer seven times a day: midnight, dawn, midmorning, noon, midafternoon, early evening, and bedtime. Each pause had a focus with scripture that was read each day. They also observed their own form of a Sabbath - Saturday night would be family time and Sunday's would be dedicated to church and rest. Perfect weekend.

But in most of our typical, crazy, circus lives, it's hard to shut down on the weekends. We are all a bunch of clowns, running around like idiots, cramming into cars, diving in circles and getting nowhere. It's exhausting and everyone, EVERYONE needs time to breathe and pray and learn to be still and rest.

Jen set 7 alarms a day to remind her to pray. She writes: "God is inviting me into this spiritual clout seven times a day - seven times the power, seven times the influence, seven times the effect. I'm frustrated I ruined the first week with legalism, missing the exquisite opportunity to join God in the work of redemption. I knew Jesus was offering something wonderful, but my drift into legalistic entropy is strong, people." Jen's words are a friendly reminder that we often times go searching for God through prayer when we NEED him, not just because. We let life get in the way of our prayers...well, last time I checked, God created our lives - seems pretty important that we recognize that as often as possible.

Could I adhere to the rules of month seven...this will forever be a work in progress.

Now...here is THE MOST IRONIC PART OF ALL OF THIS...which I just realized while blogging today...and of course cried and caught myself saying out loud alone in my apartment: "God. You. Are. Good."

I've lived in Birmingham for 6 months. 6 months I've worked hard at two jobs, had a career change, worn a 1/10 of my clothes, not made a single purchase on "fun" clothes, not had cable/washer,dryer/dishwasher, worked my ass off in my training, driven hundreds of miles up and down 280, prayed and prayed and prayed, invested time with friends, recycled, eaten paleo (as much as possible), hand written cards, and grown amazingly close to God and to really understanding myself.

Guess what happens on month 7? I become a head coach at ITF.

God was not ready for me full-time at ITF until now. He has done His work in me for the past 6 months and now I'm ready. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Let the journey begin. And may God continue to teach me, mold me, use me and guide me. Words cannot express how grateful I am for what I'm learning in my life.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4.