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Book Review – 7

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Jen Hatmaker is currently ruining my life. 

I read 7 during the Christmas holidays.  In retrospect, probably not a great idea.  Yep, I read this book in a room with so many presents they wouldn’t even fit under the tree.  Did I mention the book is about excess?

I feel confident that, if we ever met, Jen and I could be good friends.  But I also think we would probably roll our eyes behind each other’s back every now and again. 

7 is about a series of experiments that Jen and her family particpated in.  Each month, they (or sometimes just she) gave up excessive something or other.  The first month was food.  Jen picked seven foods and ate them exclusively.  One  month required her to wear only 7 items of clothing.  (This one would have been easy for me)  Other months included media, shopping and possession fasts. 

I don’t actally disagree with much of anything she has written in this book.  It’s just that much of it makes me feel guilty about the way I am living my life and honestly? that gets on my nerves.

Also, in addition to wanting to sell the house and move the family to a camper, reading this book made me think we should also adopt a couple of Ethiopian kids.  Which means I am gonna need a bigger car…

Filed Under: Just Books

Bible Tuesday – Revelation

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A revealing of Jesus, the Messiah.
Revelation 1:1

Since it’s January, every good Christian is starting their “Read the Bible in One Year” deal.  That means that most of Christendom is reading Genesis right now.  And really, who doesn’t love Genesis?  Every great Bible story you ever learned as kid came mostly from Genesis.  It’s easy to read, easy to interpret, and easy to talk about with others. 

Revelation is NONE of those things. 

For a long time I have wanted to do a study on this book.  I envisioned something like “Revelation for Normal People”.  Because here’s the problem.  Some people just ignore this book.  Some people skim it and move on.  And some people like it FAR too much.  You know the ones I’m talking about?  These goofs that diagram all the sentences and assure you that a pattern emerges confirming that Obama is the antichrist.  They stockpile canned goods to make it through the tribulation.  They speak with total confidence regarding their interpretations no matter how shaky their biblical foundation may be.

I am none of these people. 

You see, the first time I read this book, I was a brand new Christian who knew jack diddly about bible prophecy.   And I really enjoyed it.  But every time I heard someone talk about it, it was if we hadn’t read the same book.  I was confused and annoyed. 

One of the core tenets of my beliefs is that God intended for ME to be able to read and interpret scripture for myself.  I do not believe God would inspire something to purposefully confuse me.  So when we encounter something that is, shall we say…odd, I am just going to say “I have no idea what that means” and move on.

So my hope is that by the time we get done, you and I can be the type of people who love Revelation for what it actually says.  That we can read this book with hope, not fear.  And that we will see Jesus revealed because ya’ll…that’s the whole point

Filed Under: Bible Tuesday

Glutton – Part 22

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I feel better than I have in a very long time. 

This is the hard part.  I feel like I am doing everything I need to do to reclaim my body.  I have more energy.  I am sleeping better.  But the pull to jump on a scale is overwhelming.

And isn’t that completely goofy?  Because no matter what number flashes off that thing, it won’t really change anything.  Oh, it may make me temporarily happy or depressed, but as far as really telling me what kind of progress I am making?  Nope.

But I am not going down that road again. 

Here are a few things that I have been consistently doing this time around. 

– I am eating three meals a day and no snacks.  Look, I am not going to argue with you about this.  I don’t actually care if you eat 24 small meals every day.  But, for me, not having to think about what snack is appropriate has been very helpful.  I can’t be trusted (yet) to make healthy choices.  So limiting the amount of choices I make is nice. 

– Along those lines, I am streamlining my menu.  For example, I eat the same breakfast every day. Breakfast is just hard for me.  I DO NOT want to eat in the mornings.  I just want coffee and peace.  The very idea of food is nauseating to me at 5AM.  But the thing is…everything I have read about diet and nutrition for the past 25 years has stressed the importance of breakfast. If I want the body I never had, I have to start eating like I never have.  And if that means choking down breakfast every day…so be it.

– Dinner is my last meal of the day.  Period.  I don’t have a specific time I must be finished.  But when I am done, I am done.  This eliminates the 9PM kitchen search.  Nobody makes good choices after 9PM.  That rule applies to pretty much anything…not just food.

And here’s the biggest change I have made so far.

Every morning before I get out of bed, I pray.  It goes something like this.  “God, without you I am going to screw this up. Let’s keep that from happening today.”

Every night before I go to sleep, I pray.  “Thank you God for getting me through today.  Also I really appreciate how you helped me not eat those Totinos Pizza Rolls.  I know I should not have even had those in the house much less cooked a giant pan of them.  Thank you for being bigger than all my stupid.”

Filed Under: Glutton

Funday

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Filed Under: Just Fun

Resolved 2013

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So it looks like another week without one good idea for Bible Tuesday. 

This is gettin on my nerves.

But it’s a good time to tell you about my New Year’s  resolution.  You ready?

I am going to read one non-fiction book per month.  (Said book cannot be Christian living or weight loss related.)  I’m thinking history, biography, etc.  This is a big deal for me.  I’m not a fan of real life. 

It’s January 22 and I have not read or even picked out what book I am reading first. 

Welcome to my world.

Filed Under: Just Thoughts
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