Book Review {7}: Part 2

In continuing my review of 7, I wanted to share some quotes from the book and how they have challenged me.

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"If a fast doesn't include any sacrifices, then it's not a fast. The discomfort is where the magic happens."

"But the feast has a partner in the rhythm of the gospel: the fast. It's practice is unmistakable in Scripture. Hundreds of times we see reduction, pouring out, abstinence, restraint."

".....discomfort creates space for the Holy Spirit to move."

It's been a while since I've fasted.  From anything.   On purpose.  With a purpose to obtain something greater.  God doesn't always call us to fast from food.  Perhaps a fast from spending money, or Facebook. 

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"The careful study of the Word has a goal, which is not the careful study of the Word. The objective is to discover Jesus and allow Him to change our trajectory. Meaning, a genuine study of the Word results in believers who feed poor people and open up their guest rooms; they're adopting and sharing, mentoring and intervening."

How is the Word causing change in my life?  If it's not causing change, then I'm not really reading it/devoting myself to it.

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The following is a quote from Month 4; fasting from media.  Her family also participated with her this month.

"Between the fighting, crying, whining, and blaming, I hit a metaphorical wall. I wanted to turn on a movie and silence their little mouths. A nice screen trance would settle the tumultuous waters. Instead, I sent everyone to bedrooms until I gave the word. We have to deal with rather than anesthetizing tension with TV or video games. It's easier to bypass relational snags with a convenient distraction, forfeiting the chance to improve problem solving and listening skills, I don't want my kids to be more comfortable interacting with a computer screen than a human being. We stay the course until we've resolved an issue, not allowing 'Phineas & Ferb' to fill the space instead. This is harder and requires more time, but my kids will marry people and have bosses and children. Learning healthy relational skills is now or never."

How many times have I used a movie to break up the craziness?  To use that 'screen trance' that creates only a temporary solution and over -ooks the heart of the issue?

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Some quotes from Month 5, the month of Waste.

"I'm beginning to wonder if the unprecedented consumption of the earth's resources and the cavalier destruction of its natural assets is a spiritual issue as much as environmental. Like Wendell Berry wrote: 'The ecological teaching of the Bible is simply inescapable: God mad the world because He wanted it made. He thinks the world is good, and He loves it. It is His world: He has never relinquished title to it. And He has never revoked the conditions, bearing on His gift to us of the use of it, that obliges us to take excellent care of it. If God loves the world, then how might any person of faith be excused for not loving it or justified in destroying it?' "

"True reform involves purchasing fewer disposable materials in the first place, like bulk products, produce from the farmer's market, and the second-hand goods that have already shed their packaging. Best practices include reusing containers over and over, lowering the consumption of single-use materials. Recycling is probably a third-tier tactic toward genuinely reducing waste for maximum impact."

"Yes, Africa, we'll take your diamonds, gold, and oil, but you can keep your crushing poverty and disease. What does it mean to be a godly consumer? What if God's creation is more than just a commodity? If we acknowledged the sacredness of creation, I suspect it would alter the way we treated it."

I have a looooonnngg way to go on this topic.  While we half-way recycled in Texas, we are required to recycle here.  I have taken to it like every good perfectionist does...I've even already dug things back out of the trash to replace them in their proper recycle bins.  But we buy and use paper towels and paper plates like they were the next best thing to thin sliced bread.  And don't even touch my individually wrapped Kraft American Cheese!  If I ever run out of that in our house we will probably starve!  In all serious though it leads me to wonder....In what ways can I be a better consumer?  In what ways can I make better choices about what I'm buying from the get-go that will produce a better result?

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From Month 6: Spending.

"If tithing the minimum and consuming the rest is okay, then we can dismiss Jesus' ideas and act obsessed about other stuff He said....Literal obedience would require such a radical overhaul, my head is pounding. The ramifications are overwhelming."

Literal obedience would require such a radical overhaul!  While I don't believe he has called me to it all at once, He has opened my eyes even greater to how we spend the majority of our money.  We have been faithful tithers, and when there is an extra need in the church we do our best to support it as we can.  But this chapter specifically leaves me asking myself how much more can we do?  What about the rest of our money?  It still is His; not mine.  Do I really need curtains on my windows, or would that money best be used elsewhere?  Can I sacrifice something I want to give to something better?  This is something that I really struggle with.

"Would they be stunned most of us don't feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, care for the sick, or protect the widow?"

"The church the Bible described is exciting and adventurous and wrought with sacrifice. It cost believers everything, and they still came."

I believe the people of the church want something radical to live for.   None of us asks for our spouse to be partially committed; but we want to be loved passionately.  I believe we are all looking for that same passion when it comes to serving our God who calls us into something much bigger than ourselves.  An adventure that is wrought with great sacrifice but with an eternal reward.  That type of living, radical as they say, is what draws others to Christ. 

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In one section Jen talked about a mentor encouraging her to stay with other Christian families during her business travels, and not at a hotel.  Just as the early disciples relied on the hospitality of other Christians to take care of their needs as they traveled from city to city.

"This exits the expediency of consumerism and enters the realm of hospitality. There is something so nourishing about sharing your living space with people where they see your junk mail pile and see wee football schedule on the fridge and pile of shoes by the front door."

What has happened to this type of hospitality?  Looking back I remember my parents volunteering at different times when the church asked for host homes for a guest speaker, a missionary traveling through seeking support, or for other events that would require any out of town guests.  I can't remember the last time I heard this requested presented!  (Maybe I just missed it.)  The natural thing to do now-a-days is to book a hotel.  I believe this takes away the fellowship that was intended.

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"Everyone has ideas. It's confusing and overwhelming. This creates a war within, and it leaves you raw. Sometimes you're a full-blown mess over it."

 

"Take a little baby step. Tomorrow, you can take another. Offer yourself the same grace Jesus has given you. We're no good to Him stuck in paralysis."

"Proverbs: our light is the dimmest at the beginning of salvation, but it grows brighter and brighter as we go. There is no wasted scene, no futile season. God gives us what we can handle when we can handle it. We are drawn more and more deeply into the knowledge of Jesus......Do the best with what you know. When you know more, adjust the trajectory."

There is much I am learning and much that I feel God is speaking to me.  Sometimes it comes in pieces though.  IE. My eyes have only recently started to open to the reality of the slave-trade that surrounds us.  I know I can't come to grasp the entirety of it all overnight and quit consuming everything that is related.  It will take time.  It will take energy and research.  But as a friend of mine has said...I can't claim ignorance anymore.  Therefore I am responsible.

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I really. really, really, really hope you put this book on your reading list!  Jen speaks in such a relatable way, but also a way that will speak deep into your heart and make you want to change.  I only shared a few things with you and I keep thinking about all of the other stuff that was in her book that moved and challenged me just as much.  It is stuffed full of goodness!!!