"7"

I finished this book a few weeks ago. I flew through it, actually, soaking up almost every word. So many things applied to us, well to me, actually. I just love the idea behind this project, and have applied a lot of it to our lives. My husband is tired of me going through his drawers. The other night I overheard him tell a friend "Our junk drawer isn't even junky anymore!"

The bottom line is we don't need so much stuff. There is so much more to living simply, with family and friends being the main priority. I could go on and on, but I will spare you my ramblings. I would definitely say though, that this is a MUST read! {Did I mention the author Jen Hatmaker lives in my hometown of Buda, TX?!}

Here is a glimpse of what you will find buried in the pages of "7":

"So yes, eating is still a starting player, but being in each other's homes cooking and sharing food together is delightful. Eating a meal in a restaurant is one thing, but friends padding around barefoot in your kitchen and chopping carrots for your soup and sipping their coffee on your deck is another creature altogether. 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 pee wee football schedule on the fridge and pile of shoes by the front door. Opening your home says, "You are welcome into my real life." This square footage is where we laugh and hold family meetings and make homemade corn dogs and work through meltdowns. Here is the railing our kids pulled out of the wall. This is the toilet paper we prefer. These are the pictures we frame, the books we're reading, the projects we're undertaking- the raw material of our family. It's unsanitized and truthful. We invite you into this intimate place, saturated with our family character.

Maybe this is why hospitality was big to the early church. Living life together in the sacred spaces of our homes is so unifying. When our Christian forerunners were persecuted and misunderstood, when belief in Jesus was dangerous and isolating, they had one another. They had dinner around the table. They had Sabbath together. They had soft places to fall when they traveled. Safe in the home of a fellow Christ follower, they could breathe, pray, rest. What a gift."

And one more thing...

"Love God most. Love your neighbor as yourself. This is everything.

If we say we love God, then we will care about the poor.

This earth is God's and everything in it. We should live like we believe this.

What we treasure reveals what we love.

Money and stuff have the power to ruin us.

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. This is what is required."