7.

if i've had any kind of conversation with you recently, you've probably heard me rave about this book. i finished it a couple weeks ago, and i still can't stop thinking and talking about it.

so, the author is jen hatmaker, who i wish i could be friends with in real life. she and her husband are church planters (yep), and they've adopted 2 kids (win) from ethiopia (hello!!). on top of that, she's hilarious... and a texan. i mean, come on, y'all.

7 is a book about her "experimental mutiny against excess." she spent seven months examining seven different areas of life in which most of us live in ridiculous excess, and she reduced each area down to seven simple choices. so here's the rundown:

1. FOOD: she only ate 7 foods for a whole month. (nightmare.)
2. CLOTHES: she only wore 7 articles of clothing for a whole month. (not including underwear. that would be gross.)
3. POSSESSIONS: she gave away 7 things each day for a whole month. (wow.)
4. MEDIA: she shut off 7 different media outlets for a whole month. (which is essentially all of them.) 
5. WASTE: she picked up 7 green habits for a whole month (gardening, composting, recycling, etc... you know, all those things i wish i did or even knew how to do...)
6. SPENDING: she only spent money at 7 places for a whole month. (no eating out. yikes.)
7. STRESS: she practiced seven sacred pauses each day for a whole month. (yeah for our monastic brothers and sisters!)

so why in the world would she do this?! to purge the junk and find the necessary. much like a fast, it was "an exercise in simplicity with one goal: to create space for God's kingdom to break through... a deliberate abstinence to summon God's movement in my life." yes please.

when i was describing this book to a friend and trying to get her to read it, her response was, "no thanks, that sounds too extreme for me." here's the deal -- it's totally extreme and i have absolutely zero intention of ever only eating seven foods for a whole month (especially since there weren't any sweets on the list!). that's the thing about this book though -- it's not a guilt trip at all. i never felt like she was talking down to me or trying to make me feel like a terrible person -- but she did make me think and she did challenge me to reconsider these areas of life in light of who jesus is and what he's called us to. and the best part?? she made me laugh... a lot. always a win.

if i could read it again (which i might), i would move through it much more slowly and actually try to consider one area of life at a time before moving on to the next. by the end, i felt a little overwhelmed by all the things i wanted to add/change in my life -- and unfortunately, i'm often the queen of good intentions but have terrible follow through. so if when you read it, try not to take it in big chunks like i did. all that to say, i really, really think you should read it... and i'm fairly certain you'll love it.