The evolution of our (food) revolution

I blame 7 for this. Well, 7 combined with Sugar, Salt, Fat combined with No Other Gods.

I was doing fine in my sugar-induced, organic-free oblivion. I have two amazingly healthy kids (praise God!) and my husband and I seemed to be doing fine, too. Other than the lack of energy that naturally comes from having two kids. I don’t exercise regularly – I chase kids around all day, so I am far from lethargic – and I actually eat pretty healthy. I always choose the low-fat, low-sodium snacks at the store, whole wheat bread when possible, and I eat produce. So I’m fine…I thought.

Then God started to plant the seed. My community group (CG) girls studied No Other Gods over the summer, and the idea of false idols started brewing in my head. I never thought of food as an idol, but I came up with plenty of others with which I struggled. I had never done a fast of any sort, so the idea of identifying idols and removing them for a season appealed to me. So I started to pray on it. On Oct. 31, I randomly decided to participate in No Makeup November and ended up fasting from makeup for 30 days. Seems silly, but it was hugely impactful. For the first time in my life, I stopped focusing on what other people thought about me and starting appreciating how beautiful God made me inside and out.

Somewhere around the middle of November, I decided to read Jen Hatmaker’s 7. This book had been recommended to me several times, although I was unsure why. The premise of the book is that Jen takes seven consecutive months, chooses seven areas of excess in her life, and fasts from each in a unique way. During the first month she tackled food and ate the same seven foods for 30 straight days. She did similar things with clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste and stress. And to say it rocked my world is a massive understatement. Along with hauling boxes of clothes and toys to donation sites and becoming crazy about materialism, I suddenly had an epiphany – we needed to make some changes in how we eat.

My husband loves sugar. My nearly 4-year-old daughter LOVES sugar. And you know…I love it, too. I didn’t realize it, but we all suffer from a sugar addiction. It is in EVERYTHING. Why does my bread have sugar in it? And my milk? Is nothing pure anymore? Surprisingly, I am starting to learn that it can be…but I just have to give up some modern conveniences, shop around a tad more, and be willing to roll up my sleeves and get my clothes (and kitchen) a little dirty.

I am no expert. In fact, I will be the first to admit I have no clue what I’m doing. But I’m learning as I go, and considering I have had no less than 12 conversations with people in the last week about how they are wanting to do the same thing this year, I decided I’d share what knowledge I pick up along the way. 

So join me in my quest to keep it a tad more real in 2014.

Heather