Friday, June 1, 2012

Some scripture and some 7 and some Lord, help me

Holy cow!!!! It is June people! JUNE!!!! And school is out! And we sing songs and praise God and dance that all the kiddos passed and are movin' on up in the fall. Whoooooo hoooooooo!!! June also means that those of us memorizing scripture are at the halfway point in this journey. I feel like we get to this point and we are energized and excited and fired up to finish strong!

When I go through my spiral I absolutely love reading through each verse and remembering why I chose that verse and how that verse has spoken volumes in my life and maybe even someone else's life. Just so cool, huh? I say it all the time, but it's true....the word of God is alive and active. ALIVE AND ACTIVE!!! And that's a scriptural fact, too. (Hebrews 4:12)

Ok, let me tell you about a little something that a couple of friends and I are about to embark on and hope to high heavens that people don't think we are flat out crazy..... Ever hear of Jen Hatmaker? She also has this book out called "7" that you may have heard of. If you know anything about this book I think I just heard you mumble something under your breath or gasp or say "no way Jose'." And, I get it. I really do. And if I'm going to be fully honest with you, let's just blame all this on David Platt and Radical a few years ago because in all reality....the problem started there. Did I say problem? I meant journey.

You see....that is what God does....He starts off with a teeny tiny seed planted in your heart and then with beautiful patience and time and a bunch of Jesus and church...BAM! He has somehow threaded a lot of events and people together and before you know it, you find yourself doing something crazy that He planted inside you way back in the day. And because of this great thing called "community" that He throws us into we actually have other crazy people He has been working on and they want to walk this road with you....and HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE!!! He's a clever fella. Oh, and there's obedience. I really am learning this...failed more than succeed, but time is ticking and I don't want to miss a thing with Him, so let's just suck it up and GO!

 And, everyone pray now because it's real.

This is what Barnes and Noble says about "7." American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born. 7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, 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. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. 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 one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

So....we are crazy, right? 7 starts June 1st with food. I'm eating the same 7 foods for 30 days and praying that I don't die or cuss someone out because I NEED CHOCOLATE PEOPLE or a Diet Dr. pepper. I know it will be rough and uncomfortable, but surely to goodness I can handle this. Don't  talk to Jesus about rough and uncomfortable, right? I mean...seriously....I know my family has more than enough food and has never known hunger or want. Food is always there. I'm learning to say less of me and my junk and more of Him and His Kingdom.

God has been working on this path for quite some time and honestly...I'm just so happy that He lets me, little ole me, walk alongside the Him, the creator of the universe. How cool is that? I think we'll be ok.

I know you are curious so here are my 7 foods for June: chicken, turkey, bread, tomatoes, corn, apples, and eggs. Sounds divine, huh? ;) I will update quite often on twitter how I'm doing...the good, the bad, the heavenly. Jesus already confirmed to me today in the most random way that me and my friends are exactly where He wants us. I cried after that tender moment. I then said to Him in my car..."I'm in, Lord. I'm in. Whatever you want to do, I'm in."

So...all this to say...He is indeed doing a new thing in my life for the remainder of the year and I couldn't think of a more appropriate verse, that I happen to love, as we kick of this journey....  

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

I'm so anxious to hear your verses!!  Ready, set, go!!

Love y'all! 





10 comments:

Christy Treadway said...

What started as a small comment at a table in Panera about wanting to "scale back" on some things, turned into a radical step for 3 crazy girls seeking to have less of us and more of God! I am locking arms with my sweet sisters Fran and Robyn over the next 7 months, YIKES!!! We are claiming this verse as a group, gonna need something to cling to as I eat zucchini and apples for 30 days!! (I hate them already and haven't even taken my first bites of my 7 foods yet this am)

So here we go!!

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

Pray for us girls, it's gonna be a wild ride!

bornagain1230 said...

For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 1 Thessalonians 3:8-9

I am looking forward to the day when my 2 grown children give up this world and follow JESUS!

Krystal said...

Ok I can not believe I am reading this. I have not heard of "7" but had the random thought this am of the excess in my life. I pushed the random thought aside and kept goin and now here it is again. God is up to something because I am back to traveling for work weekly and had an unsettling experience at a hotel this week at 3:30 am. Someone trying to get in my room. I froze and just prayed. I said to God is my "stuff" and keeping my stuff worth all this? The answer is no; however right now obligations to meet. I rest in HIM knowing HE is working and molding my heart. Love you Fran! MISS YOU

Shelly E said...

I am so excited to hear all about your journey on this amazing path. My experience with "7" hasn't been quite as radical and dramatic but it's definitely kept me moving on the path of reducing the clutter in my life...you know, STUFF, media, wasteful projects, and even some people. It's been freeing, for sure.

My verse is Hebrews 4:16 out of The NET Bible:

"Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help."

Here's to June 1st! Be HUGE in our memory work, Lord.
Love you, Fran!

Rebecca Roode said...

Can I just say...including bread - GENIUS! :) I will remember that when it comes my time.
Love you, sister!

Kelly S. said...

Job 9:8 & 10 NIV84
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

Mary R Snyder said...

Thrilled for you Fran! Cannot wait to hear what the Lord reveals to you on this journey. Personally, 7 scares the SNOT right outta me!

My verse (which is funny that I say it scares me)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
Eph 3:20

Susan Hood said...

Good morning, girls! Here is mine for the first half of June ( hoping to learn the one from May 15 over the course of the summer!Mercy!) Anyway, love this from James!
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Hugs!
Susan

lavonda said...

Psalm 91:9-10
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

Unknown said...

All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.

James 1:17 (NET)


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