Jen Hatmaker's "7" - Having and Giving

I’m reading Jen Hatmaker’s book, “7.”

I confess I bought it over a year ago, and I think I might have been a little afraid to read it. It’s about taking a long, hard look at your life, “a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends a social experiment to become a radically better existence.”

From the moment I moved out on my own when I was 18, I have struggled. There has been not enough food, not enough clothing, not enough money… Not enough resources. But as I’m writing this, even though it seemed like “not enough,” God still brought me through. He still provided for me… even when I wasn’t following Him. Even when I turned my back on Him and everything I had been brought up to believe. Even when I did the things I said I would never do.

Even then.

So when I started reading this book last year, I remember thinking, “Oh, no… This is going to tell me I should live like I used to.”

But it doesn’t.

What this does do, however, is inspire me in the supposition that if I give to others, what I have (or don’t have) doesn’t seem that important. If I can share what I have been given with someone less fortunate than me, or maybe even MORE fortunate than me, I will be blessed.

I’m only to the end of Chapter Two.

How radical a thought that someone should go for a whole month only wearing 7 items of clothing! I love pajamas too much, and I would probably opt for wearing them instead of regular clothes. Of course, that would be a little ridiculous for Jen to have done, considering she is a woman’s ministry leader and speaker. She would definitely not wear pj’s out there in public.

It’s really odd reading her book because I kind of feel like I know her. She is one of those women who is REAL. Yes, I said it… REAL. She doesn’t seem to make herself into something that she’s not, and that was completely obvious while watching their renovation show on HGTV. I don’t live “that far” from Austin, and I thought about how cool it would be to drive down and go to their church some Sunday morning.

I think, if people would admit it, we are all looking for “real.” We put on these false pretenses, trying to be someone we aren’t to impress others. However, we, ourselves, are looking for truth, something real, even if we aren’t acting like who we are.

I'm glad that Jesus came for me. I'm grateful He came for you! He sees something in us that cannot be seen by other human beings.

He sees our hearts, and He loves us, rejoices with us, holds us in our sorrows and dark places. He has a plan for our lives that goes beyond anything we can imagine, or even hope for. Believing these promises is the only thing that got me through many dark times when I thought I was alone and forgotten.

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

There are many people in our world who are living in darkness and thinking they, too, are forgotten. What if we believed that we are the hands and feet of Jesus and acted like it? What if we were the "REAL" that God wants us to be?

I feel like I am sounding like a broken record, but I think we could change the world. 

One person at a time.