Easily motivated...

By: Heather Brown on 9:37 AM

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Only a few things within life can drastically change my life... the Lord, my family and many times books.  It doesn't take a lot to motivate me.  I am a 110% in kind of person, I read it... I like it... I change something to become that.  This last month has been an exciting, scary, crazy, RADICAL one.  Many things stirring in my heart.  I know that many times the timing has to be just right for things to completely impact you.  Some books that I have read that have altered my life were...
Crazy Love
1000 Gifts
and NOW 7 by Jen Hatmaker

Yep that's right the title is just one simple number 7.

She journals and documents her journey on "An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess".

At first this just seemed like an interesting read and I am always up for reading someones journey to be radical for Jesus.  Something that always appeals to my (easily motivated to sell my first born child and move to some tribe in the jungle and live off the land) heart.  But Jens experiment began to really move something deeper within me and draw me to scripture on what is Gods complete heart for us and the world that we live in.  

Their is something within our natural tendency to live a simple life free from the bondage of things, schedule, and appearance.  That is why I believe that Jesus spoke so much about freedom.  That deep natural tendency drew me to do something radical... I am selling my first born off for money to move the rest of our family off to a tribe and live off the land... pray for us.  

Not really but we did consider every possible thing for our lives... selling our house, having friends move in with us, selling all our "stuff".  Through wise counsel we decided that so many things were stirring in our hearts and we knew we were called to do something but we were so unsure of what that was we decided to do the 7.  So here is what our journey will look like.

Over the next 7 months (starting on May 15th) and each month I will be "fasting" a certain area that we live in excess.  

Month 1- Food (only eating 7 foods for an entire month)

Month 2- Clothes (wearing only 7 clothes items for an entire month)

Month 3- Possessions (Giving away 7 items a day for an entire month)

Month 4- Media (ridding of all media except for email/blogging and phone, but no apps or social media)

Month 5- Waste (we will recycle, compost, try to eat completely organic and take better care of the earth)

Month 6- Spending (we will only spend money at 7 establishments Gas, grocery ect.)

Month 7- Stess (I will stop pause and pray 7 times a day with reading of scripture and a moment of reflection)

WOW... I am excited and scared all at the same time.  

So this brings me to today I am in Day 3 of the food... of course I started with the hardest one for me first.  The Lord has already revealed some cool things that I can't wait to share here.  The things that we are learning and have learned are changing the way we do ministry, the way we relate with others, the way we lead people, the way we give, the way we parent.  I don't think anything like this has ever changed us like this journey we are walking through today.  Welcome to our journey.