My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 5 (Waste)

The fifth chapter of Jen Hatmaker's book, "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess", looked at the environmental impacts of our wasteful American lifestyle.  For one month, she made seven changes to the way she lived that would decrease waste, from recycling everything possible to planting a garden and only driving one vehicle as a family.

Some of this chapter made me rather envious: Austin, TX in the summertime seems to be a haven for farmer's markets and local foodie joints, both of which do not exist in Gallup, NM during the winter.  Jen Hatmaker might be able to shop and eat local for a month in Austin, but these options were simply not available for me (and even if they were, think of the expense!)  However, as I thought about steps that I could take to be more environmentally conscious, seven ideas quickly came to mind:

• Pick up trash when I'm outside with Benji
• Take shorter showers (taking 15 min. showers in the desert is a crime, and I am guilty...)
• Turn off lights when I leave a room
• Visit the local co-op and see what's available
• Hang the diapers out on the line instead of using the dryer
• Look into possibilities of composting
• Recycle everything I can 

Most of these changes were so small, it really just required me to look around and be a bit more conscious of my surroundings: to recognize the trash I see on my daily walks with Benji, realize that I left a light on in the other room (and take half a second to turn it off!), keep track of the time I was wasting in the shower, etc.  These are tiny changes, but they could have big impacts over time.

Benji loved the picking up trash part; it's one of his favorite games!

My favorite thing about this week was finally going into our little co-op downtown, which I had never gotten around to for two reasons:

1. I thought the prices would be prohibitively expensive
2. It looked so small from the outside, I thought it would never sell the groceries that I actually need

Both of these assumptions proved untrue!  While some of the items in the store were quite expensive, I walked out with an organic avocado for just $0.79 (better than Safeway!) and a block of the most lovely, delicious feta cheese for less than $5 (plus it was produced "locally", in Tucumcari, NM!)  I also discovered that the co-op has bulk bins of rice, oats, gluten-free flour, spices, and more, all at good prices.  I will be going back again!

My main take-away this week was that, as a consumer, I generally make decisions based on price and health.  If something is very expensive, I don't buy it; if something is very unhealthy, I don't buy it.  If something is healthy and cheap, I buy it without a second thought!  The factor that never plays into my decisions is the environmental impact of the product.  Local, organic, and responsibly-produced goods tend to be quite expensive, and so I pass them right by.  Jen makes a case for considering these options more, and I think she is on to something. 

1. God created the Earth and so He clearly cares about how we steward its resources
2. Environmentalism is not just for "earthy crunchy people" (as Jen puts it)--normal, non-hippie Christians should care about the Earth, too.  And there are plenty of small lifestyle changes I can make to do so!

My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 4 (Media)

I have to admit, I was really dreading this week.  I knew that Jen was going to crack down on internet and media use, cutting her family off of seven devices (TV, video games, the internet--with exceptions for basic communication and work--etc.)

And I didn't need to read this chapter to already know that I am seriously addicted to media!  All day I look forward to sitting on the couch, knitting and watching Netflix while Benji takes a nap.  I break up long stretches of "baby time" by checking Facebook or reading Time magazine.  I listen to podcasts while I run...and the list goes on.  My life is constantly filled with this background "noise".  My theory is that I am craving adult input in my life because most of my daily social interaction comes from one-year-olds--but this is no good excuse.  The truth is, I chose to be home with my baby and I am so thankful that I can be!  Shouldn't I be giving him (and the other babies I watch) my full attention?

Since I don't think we even own seven devices as a family, this week I decided to turn off seven specific websites/types of media that are problematic for me:

• Netflix (or Hulu, or PBS.com...couldn't even watch Downton Abbey this week)  :-(
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Podcasts
• Distractions at the table (phone, magazines...)
• Pinterest
• TV, other than the news that's always on in the gym

 So, this week was indeed difficult.  Every time I turned on my computer, I reflexively started navigating to Facebook; at nap time, I found myself craving Netflix much as I craved sugar in week 1.  But as the week went on, I began to find my new, quieter rhythm rather refreshing--not to mention productive!

I got so much done that I had been putting off: I updated Benji's baby book and our photo album, deep-cleaned rooms of our house that I'd hardly touched in weeks, organized Benji's closet and my desk, wrote five blog posts, and finally cut Jonathan's hair (yay, we can see his ears again!)  Jonathan and I played board games in the evening and got to bed at a reasonable hour.

I wish I had a "before" picture to go with this "after" picture of our clean bathtub...but believe me, it was really dirty!  As I was helping Benji get into the tub that night, he looked down and said "Yucky all gone!"  If my one-year-old notice how dirty the tub was, I guess I put off cleaning it WAY too long!

Besides productivity, I found that I had more space inside of my head...without the constant noise, my thoughts could flow and wander and take in new ideas at a natural pace.  I felt more at rest and more at peace than I have in a long time.

What will this week mean for me and my family long-term?  Well, I'm back on Facebook, but with a browser extension that limits my time on the site to 15 minutes per day (and I haven't even hit that limit yet; turns out I can live with much less Facebook than previously believed!)  I am back to watching Netflix, but with a greater appreciation for watching it one episode at a time and turning it off before 10 PM (and a realization that binge watching Grey's Anatomy really intensifies my hypochondriasis!)

Media has a place in our lives, but can easily distract us from what is most important: time with God, time with our family, face-to-face time with a friend, and time just to sit and think.  I believe that much of the modern-day stress that we feel would melt away if we simply created more noise-free space in our lives.

My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 3 (Possessions)

In the third chapter of her book ("7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess"), Jen addresses our consumer culture and the way that endless possessions fill every  nook and cranny of our homes.  Sometimes it seems that we are at war with our own tendency to accumulate: we clean, donate, and organize only to find the drifts piling up again.  Why can't we seem to tame the beast within us constantly clamoring for more, more, more?

The challenge for us this week was to donate 7 possessions every day.  And Jen encouraged us not to just drop off a bag at Goodwill--not that there is anything wrong with Goodwill.  It's just that this is a very impersonal way to donate the things we no longer use.  Jen wanted us to find people and local organizations that we could get to know in a more personal way, and she wanted us to really think through our donations: who would be most blessed by each article?  How can giving become part of our lives, rather than just a check-off on our to-do lists?

This week was my favorite so far.  It was challenging, but also very freeing.  Part of my personality tends to be a pack-rat; I have a hard time letting go of things, particularly those with any sentimental value.  But another part of my nature abhors build-up and clutter, and rejoices in letting it go.  This week, that second part of my nature won out.

My seven days roughly broke down as follows:

• Seven pieces of clothing from my wardrobe
• Fourteen articles of baby clothes that were beyond what Benji ever needed
• Seven pieces of jewelry
• Seven books
• Seven baby toys
• Seven miscellaneous household items

One day, I went through all of Benji's old clothes and (after stroking his first little onesies and reminiscing at length about how tiny and cute he was as a newborn) I weeded out, reorganized, and re-packed them into boxes.  I eliminated the use of one entire box between the donations and smarter organization.  That day felt very productive!

It was also good to donate some of my own clothing and jewelry, especially after my realizations after the clothing fast last week!  I found that the more I set aside to donate, the more I items I saw that I wanted to donate.  As I slowly opened up my clenched fists, I wanted to give away more and more and more!

So my donations are ready...Now what?

But putting the items aside was the easiest part of the challenge.  Now I had to figure out where to take it all--where it was really needed.  The baby and maternity items were pretty easy: our local crisis pregnancy center always needs items like these.  My clothes, books, and household items were trickier.  After making some inquiries by phone and Facebook, I discovered that our local battered families shelter needs donations of just about everything.  Now I know where their headquarters are and how to donate there.

But my favorite "donations" were the things I could think to give to people that I know personally: one of my favorite high school dresses found a new home with a friend's lovely teenage daughter; a necklace that I never wore went to a woman from church who I knew would appreciate it more; some pretty stationery went into a care package for a college friend who is going through a hard time. I hope that I can improve at matching my excess possessions to specific people in this way.

My takeaways from this week were:
1. Giving away possessions is much more freeing and joy-bringing than accumulating them.
2. Matching specific items to specific needs is challenging, but rewarding.
3. Giving away my unneeded possessions makes me more hesitant to purchase new things at the risk of simply re-cluttering my closets.  I am more conscious of advertising and our culture's pressure to be constant consumers

(Here's a statistic for you: "In a typical year, the United States spends about $16 billion in foreign aid and $276 billion on advertising." — Jen Hatmaker in Seven.)

[And if you are looking for a fun way to match items you don't need with a new home that needs them, take a look at Yerdle--it's like an online yard sale where people post things they no longer need and "purchase" (with fake Yerdle dollars) things that they do need.  Before I buy anything at a store, I check and see if I can find it on Yerdle.  You only pay shipping costs and you help eliminate a little bit of consumer waste!  You just have to be careful to buy only the things you really need...]

My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 2 (Clothing)

In the next chapter of her book ("7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess") Jen tackles our obsession with clothing.  She counted up the number of garments in her closets and found it was well in the hundreds range.  Do we really need so many clothes?  To prove that we don't, Jen encouraged a clothing fast by wearing only 7 articles of clothing (not counting underwear) for one month.

Our Bible Study group took on the challenge for just one week.  And I have to say, this week was easy for me...too easy.  Maybe I don't care enough about clothes and I look like a perpetual slob.  But I actually found this week quite enjoyable because I didn't have to decide what to wear each day.  There just weren't many choices!

My seven chosen garments were:

• One pair of exercise capris
• One short-sleeved T-shirt
• One pair of jeans
• One nice-looking maternity top
• Coat
• Shoes
• Pajamas

So basically, if I was exercising, I wore one outfit; if I was not exercising I wore the other. If I went outside, I wore my coat.  That's it!  Laundry became a bit more complicated, but choosing my clothes in the morning was a breeze.

Benji would have been happy to participate in this week's fast.  In fact, he is happiest with no clothes on at all!  :)

I started to congratulate myself on how un-obsessed with clothing I am.  'Clothes? No problem, Jen!' I thought.  And then I took a look in my closet and in my drawers.  I may not have as many clothes or shoes as the "typical" American woman, and I may not think about clothing as much; shopping is not my favorite activity, and I hardly ever buy a brand-new outfit.  But if I can go a week with just seven articles of clothing (and even enjoy it!), then why do I still have way more clothes than I need?  Why do I still have two pairs of black dress pants?  Five different sundresses?  Six pairs of jeans?  If I have more clothing than I need, then I am guilty of excess in this area.  Period.

So here are my takeaways from Week 2:
1. Less clothing in my closet = fewer choices = much less time and energy wasted each morning!
2. I really have a lot of clothing that I can (and should) give away.

Which leads quite nicely into our challenge for Week 3...Possessions.

My Experience with "7" by Jen Hatmaker--Week 1 (Food)

In the weeks leading up to Lent, my Bible Study is reading and following the book "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker.  It's a fun book to read, because Jen is hilarious; but it's also given me a lot to think about because it does exactly what the title suggests.  This book led us through seven "fasts" from areas in our lives that can become excessive, crowding out our hunger for God.  Jen's fasts each lasted for a month; ours for just a week.  But even that much time helped me realize a lot about myself, our culture, and areas of my life that can--and probably should--change.

Week 1: Food

Jen kicked off our "experimental mutiny" with a really tough one (for me at least); she focused on how food can become an obsession in our lives.  To work against this, Jen ate only seven foods for the entire month.  And I mean only seven foods: chicken, avocados, apples, spinach, sweet potatoes, whole-grain bread, and eggs (with only salt, pepper, and olive oil allowed as seasonings).

To some in our Bible study, this seemed impractical as we imagined feeding our husbands and kids on a day-to-day basis from only seven foods--and who wants to cook a meal for themselves AND a separate meal for their family!  So instead, many of us eliminated seven foods that we really love, for one week.  Mine were:

• Cold breakfast cereals
• Chocolate
• Butter
• Any beverage other than water, milk, and unsweetened tea
• Desserts
• Granola Bars
• Red and processed meats (beef, bacon, ham...)

The first item on that list may seem trivial, but if you know our family you know how we love our cereal!!  I often eat it three times a day: with breakfast, as an afternoon snack, and right before bed I have a bowl of that delicious stuff.  And if you think I'm bad, you should see how much Jonathan eats!  The problem is that many breakfast cereals, even the "healthy" ones, have a fair amount of sugar in them, and they aren't cheap.  Cereal eats away a significant chunk of our weekly food budget.  If you need more evidence for why I needed to kick the cereal habit, here's a photo of the entire pantry shelf we've devoted to our cereal collection:

So cereal was probably the item on my list that I missed the most during this fast.  But really I found myself craving sugar of any kind.  I didn't think that I ate a ton of sugar: just the occasional glass of juice with breakfast, a square of chocolate after lunch, maybe a cookie after dinner if we had some lying around.  Surely I couldn't be addicted to sugar just like that!  But it turns out that I am!  With all of my usual avenues to sugar cut off, I felt cranky, tired, and overall deprived.  Eating more fruit helped, but didn't quite ease the ache of what is clearly an addiction.

The toughest day of this week was Sunday when we had the youth group over for dinner.  The leader of the discussion that night set up the meal to reflect the disparities of wealth in our world: one small group got to eat pizza and soda, one group had chicken stew, one group had rice and beans, and one group just had rice.  I prepared the rice and beans for the dinner, and so for lunch I served our family some of the rice and beans.  Then, for dinner, I was randomly assigned to--you guessed it--the group that could only eat rice and beans!

By the end of the day, my stomach was full but my sugar withdrawal was in full swing.  I had a splitting headache and was complaining loudly inside about how unfair it was that all I ate that day was rice and beans, and as a pregnant woman I needed more!!  I needed pizza, and cookies, and a bowl of cereal for crying out loud!

Then it hit me: there are thousands of women in the world who are pregnant and only EVER eat rice and beans, if they even have the resources to eat that.  When they have morning sickness, they can't run to the store to buy a case of ginger ale or that one food that they are craving.  They may be "eating for two" but don't get enough calories even for one.  Surely I could go through one week of "deprivation" without bemoaning how difficult my life is...

So, to summarize, here are my realizations from Week 1:
1. I am so, so fortunate to have access to ample nutritious food every day of my life!
2. I am addicted to foods, particularly sugar, that are not nutritious at all.
3. I can go a week without breakfast cereal and live to tell the tale!  (and I discovered a new recipe for delicious  homemade muesli that ups the nutrition and cuts the cost of my cereal habit!  Yay!)

Winter Break

Rehoboth had a five day Winter Break this year, which corresponded with Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend (and thus the high school youth group ski trip in Pagosa Springs, CO).

The ski trip was from Saturday to Monday, so we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early with lunch out at Panda Express and a special Valentine's pizza dinner at home.  Jonathan surprised me with some beautiful flowers!  We had a nice, quiet celebration (the calm before the ski trip storm!)  :)

My Valentines!  <3

The next day, we loaded up twenty-eight people into five cars and drove four hours north to Pagosa Springs.  We had an awesome group of high school students!  Here they are all lined up:

The trip included playing at the Rec Center, group devotionals and activities, meals, and (of course) skiing!

Benji and I did not ski, so we spent that morning at the indoor pool.  What a treat!

The trip was certainly stressful (trying to focus on the teenagers without losing the toddler, several chaperones having to cancel last-minute, cooking meals for thirty people, and one snowboarding accident that led to a fractured wrist...)  Thankfully, we all made it home in one piece and I think the kids had fun--and grew together as a group--so I guess we will call it a successful weekend.  :)

I think Lena was Benji's Valentine

Christmas 2015

I am way, way behind on my blogging...but this week I am determined to catch up!  First, here is a quick recap of our Christmas travels with some of my favorite photos from the trip.  It was a whirlwind journey from NM to MD to NC and back again, but we were so thankful to spend this time with all of our family and many good friends!  One fun part of this trip was that we got to share the news that we are expecting another baby next summer!

Our first stop was Walkersville, MD where we stayed with my Mom and Dad on the farm along with Wade, Emily, Caroline, Andrew, Tim and Christine.  We enjoyed watching Benji play with his cousins and getting to see the extended Nicodemus and Welliver families.

Feeding the ducks in Baker Park

Christmas morning!

The day after Christmas, we drove down to Greensboro to celebrate with the Newmans.  Benji and his little cousin Knox were so cute together!

After an all-too-brief stop in Winston-Salem to visit Larry Jones and Genavee...



...we drove west to Blowing Rock to spend a few days with the Miller family.  Benji loved the mountains!

Watching the "airplane" (drone) was a big hit for Benji

Celebrating the Dads' 60th Birthdays!

NewMillerman Clan

After a fun overnight in Roanoke with Caroline and Andrew...

...we boarded the plane to return home.  Benji was worn out from the trip (and he wasn't the only one!)  But we were so thankful to spend Christmas with our families.