All Aboard!

We've just jumped on board... the crazy train.

It all started roughly 6 months ago. I cannot explain it- other than to say that God was stirring my heart- changing my perspective in a way that only He can do. I began to look around our cozy, modest 1,185 sq ft home and saw something I had never seen before: excess. It came as quite a shock. You see, I've never really looked at all that we have- all that God has graciously given us- and considered it excess. On the contrary... I've secretly wanted more... More space in the living room to entertain our family and friends. A larger kitchen that could comfortably fit more than 2 people in it at a time. More room in the bedrooms for our children to run around and play. Granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances were on my wish list. More attic space. A 2 car garage. My list of wants only continued to grow with each passing month. 

Suddenly, I began to see areas in our life where we were wasting the precious resources God had given us. Areas that needed purging. I started rummaging through our closets and bagging up clothes that hadn't been worn in years. I began sifting through our attic and garage, boxing up things that we never use. I've made several trips to Goodwill over the last couple of months. And in all this time of purging excess, I couldn't quite explain what was going on inside my head... not to my husband... not even to myself. I lived in a state of tension, pleading with God to reveal His will to me, why I was suddenly going "crazy."  Little did I know, one of my favorite authors- Jen Hatmaker was in the process of writing a book on this very subject. And once again, I felt as though Jen had taken a look at the random thoughts that have been floating around in my head for months, processed them, and articulated them in a way that finally made sense. 

In a recent blog post, jenhatmaker.com, Jen explains the premise behind her new book- 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. BOOM baby! She nailed it! This is exactly what I have been feeling for months. Praise God that she had the guts to publish this book and subject her family to further scrutiny. I applaud her for such courage. If you have a moment, take a look at Jen's blog. 

Now, I want to put this out there as a sort of disclaimer, we {the Card family} do not claim to have this all figured out. Not at all. This is a process, a journey if you will, that God has invited our family to participate in. We are by no means suggesting that this is something that everyone should be doing. If you feel God inviting you to participate in the mutiny against excess, that's awesome and we are thrilled to have company on this crazy, difficult journey. But if not- we are not judging you. Not at all. Please understand that. I was a little apprehensive about even blogging on this subject, but in the end, felt like sharing it with you regardless. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.