My New Year

I recently read this book:

The author's humor and transparency really resonated with me.  If you haven't read the book, it chronicles the author's seven-month journey to rid her life of excess in the areas mentioned on the cover.  The premise behind the different "fasts" is to get rid of the excess in order to make more room for Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in her life.  The book and her shared experience were so meaningful to me; I decided to embark on my own "Seven" experiment.  The first month mentioned in the book dealt with food, so I prepared to begin my food "fast" on January 1, 2014.  I picked my seven whole foods, and brainstormed several different ways I could prepare the items to make the month just one big culinary treat.  I am in the middle of day 7 here, and have stayed pretty close to the plan, with the exception of charro beans at the Mexican restaurant on Saturday night (they didn't have black beans), a Jolly Rancher at church Sunday because I could just tell I had stink-o breath, and a few Hot Tamales yesterday.  I have difficulty turning down cinnamon chewy goodness, especially when the three-year-old swipes the box from his sister and says (with a sweet grin on his face), “We will share these, Mama, and Sissy will not know.  It will be secret.”  Other than those three misdemeanor infractions, I have feasted upon rice, green beans, spinach, potatoes, apples, garbanzo beans, or black beans at EVERY meal for the last 6.5 days.  Before I began, I asked God to remind me of our sponsored child in Kenya each time I desired to eat "forbidden" food.  So far, Denis has come to mind quite a bit, but especially when the rest of my family was devouring the 14-year-old's birthday cookie cake.  For all I know, Denis may have only eaten seven foods his ENTIRE life.  I am so spoiled…it really is ridiculous.  Praying God will work in me through this, give me a hunger for His word (not cheese, bread, chocolate, chips, salsa, and the list goes on...), and also make me more aware of the real hunger others experience in our community and around the world.

Because I am an optimist (read: stupid dreamer), I also determined January 1st would be the perfect time to re-establish my exercise routine.  So, on New Year's Day, I set out on a 2.5 mile walk around the 'hood.  I felt invigorated, and I came back to check my mirror for the instantaneous loss of back fat I was sure had occurred.  Lost in my exuberance (over the exercise, because shockingly, the back fat was still present and accounted for), I attempted a "bridge", which is a quasi-backbend from the floor.  Years ago, I could do a full backbend, but I thought I shouldn't expect too much from this 42-year-old body, right?  So there I lay on the floor, poised and ready to push myself up into this position.  I could imagine how great it was going to feel to stretch my back and my abdominal muscles all with this one move.  Lo and behold, I could not lift my noggin off the floor.  Good grief, Charlie Brown. Who knew my head accounted for 95% of my body weight?! [Disclaimer:  I am an accountant; therefore, there is NO scientific proof of that statement, but it did seem that way in my personal experience].  I thought my first try must have been a fluke, so I tried again.  Nope, I was still stuck on the floor with this crazy-big, gargantuan head.  Tried it a third time, and finally, lifted my cranium off the floor...for a millisecond.  Needless to say, this was a humbling experience, and it served to remind me of my age (I.am.old), but also, of spiritual discipline.  If we stop participating in a particular discipline designed to help us stretch and grow (i.e. individual/group Bible study, daily prayer time, etc.), it may be very difficult to get back into the habit later.  It may be painful, and even embarrassing.  

Thankfully, He is faithful.  His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  Lord, make me consistent in my "fast", but even more so, in my daily walk with You.

If you are interested in the book mentioned above: here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/An-Experimental-Mutiny-Against-Excess/dp/1433672960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389132602&sr=8-1&keywords=jen+hatmaker+7