7: An Experiemental Mutiny Against Excess

The name kind of says it all.  Now, I am going to tell you the background of my story about the above mentioned book.

For Christmas I received a gift card to Barnes and Noble.  The day after Christmas I sent an email out to some peeps to get good book recommendations so I could spend my gift card.  I got a lot of really great book recommendations.  All of which I am going to read at some point in my life.

One book recommended kind of stuck out.  It is, in a nutshell, a woman's diary about her journey against our mindset of excess in America.  What started her journey was that she and her family took in some refugees from a hurricane in their area.  One of the children walked into her home an exclaimed "Dad, this white dude is rich."  And so it started.

She has taken seven areas of her life and assessed them in the context that we, as Americans, are a country that lives in excess.  It is a mind set.  According to her research our nation is in the top 1% of wealth in the world. (According to my pastor, who preached on something similar this past weekend it is 20%.)  Regardless, most Americans are so wealthy that we don't really know what a true need is.  It is what we do, who we are as Americans.  We have throw away everything.  If something breaks, we don't fix it, we throw it away and buy a new one.  Sorry, I digress.  We will get to that subject on a later post I am sure.

Anyway, her book is set up in seven areas that she feels she has excess in her own personal life.  She is not laying guilt on anyone, she is just assessing her life and writing about it.  With her end goal being "Less of me and my junk and more of Him."  Him being Jesus.  The seven areas are: food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending and stress.

So, for example, I have read through her first chapter and it is all about food. The author loves food and loves to cook.  And she feels this is an area of excess for her.  I think she kind of lives for it, simply speaking.  So, she decided to eat seven foods for one whole month.  Just seven foods.  No condiments, no sauces, no extras.  Chicken, avocado, eggs, apples, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread and spinach.  And just water to drink.  And only salt and pepper as additives for flavor.  No mayo or butter or dressings.

In her book she journals her feelings and struggles in a very humorous way.  She really is, I believe, just trying to figure out, when enough is enough.  And I am reading her journey.  She has a counsel that encourages her and lets her know what is acceptable on a sweet potatoes and what isn't.  The counsel is also doing some type of food reductions, assessments as well.  But, with different specifics.

So, back to my story, so far, about the book.  Anytime I get a good book recommendation, I share it with a couple friends who I feel might be interested in it.  I knew eventually I would read the book but I felt it was going to be one of those books that was going to make me get out of my comfort zone.  So, I was putting it off.  For now.

My friend bought it and started to read it.  Then she and I discuss it and it was really making her think.  So, a couple days later when she was over, she gave me my birthday present.  And it was the book 7.  With a cute little note that said if she was going to be "wrecked" over the book (meaning thought provoked and moved to do some thing in a big way) I needed to be wrecked with her.  Gotta love good friends!!

So, now about 5 of us are going through the book together and we have set up our own little book club on the Internet.  We each are approaching the book in different ways.  My friend is doing almost exactly as the author did.  Seven foods, only, for four weeks.  The rest of us have variations to some degree.

So, that is the background for now.  My next post will be what I think of 7, Chapter 1 and how it has affected us this far and what we have been doing with the information.  Because no matter what, the book makes me think.  I am good at thinking.

Stay tuned for more on our family's experimental mutiny against excess . . .