7: A Book Review

Recently I read the book 7 an experimental mutiny against excess. I had never read anything by Jen Hatmaker and didn’t quite know what to expect from her. I honestly thought it would be mostly deep jabber about a spiritual journey. Boy, did it take me by surprise. This book was inspiring, hilarious, embarrassing, and God-filled. I loved every moment of it and was sad when it ended. 

It is about a woman and her family’s 7 month sabbatical journey. Each month was devoted to something different. By the end of it, I was left wanting to do something similar but it takes a lot of guts and planning to do a sabbatical that intense. 

The seven categories were: clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress. I understood immediately what the clothes and food were about because they sounded like the hardest. Basically, during the food month she could only eat 7 food items. She picked chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, and apples. Which is very close to what I would choose if I were going to do it. Same concept with clothes. The other months were set up a little differently but still very important. 

Each month came with its own difficulties and set-backs. I recommend reading this book because if you give it a chance, it will change you. It doesn’t even matter if you are a Christian reading it or not, it will make you look at your life in a different light. 

Side note: 

Funny story, at one point in the book she started talking about her appearance and I decided to Google her and see what she looked like. I realized that the first picture that popped up looked very familiar. I grabbed my women’s bulletin from church and sure enough, it was her on the cover. Jen is going to be coming to my church early in 2014 to do some kind of woman’s conference! I’m definitely going. 

Ruts and Stuff

Being a woman or I guess a human, I am definitely prone to depression once in a while. I’ll go probably a whole month or more feeling ecstatic and happy with life but then it will all come crashing down. 

Lately, I have been completely absorbed in the world of Netflix. My emotions are up and down and left and right. I watch shows like Revenge and The New girl, wondering when my life is going to get interesting. Same thing when I read blogs and watch YouTube videos. It seems like everyone is busy living their lives and I am over here wasting my time watching a screen. 

I know there isn’t a specific point when life begins (except when you are born/conceived) so I can’t say what I am waiting for. I feel like at this age I should have a ton of things going on and should be spending time with people but I am actually just spending the majority of my time alone. 

There is mental block in my way that I can’t see through or get around. All I know is what I do, and I do what I know. I need a change. 

I didn’t realize that being a newlywed would completely change my social life. (I did to some degree, though.) Not just being married but maturing over the last few years has caused me to be completely irritated at spending time with a room full of college students. 

I have two classes to finish before I graduate in December and I will finally be free. I am hoping that, that is the point where life begins for me and it will become a lot more interesting. School makes me feel extremely tied down. 

I’ve made small efforts in trying to get out of my life rut, but they are things that will take time to progress in the right direction. At this point, I am in the downhill slope looking up at something that seems completely impossible. But I know it’s just an optical illusion from where I am standing and soon I will be on top of the next hill.