Almost a month ago I went to Portland, Oregon with some of my best friends. I had such a great experience there being in a room filled with thousands of young people all just lifting their hands and praising Him. It was one of the coolest things I have ever been apart of. The day I got back though, my mom received a book from our neighbor. Our neighbor had recently found this book called Seven, an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker. My mom started to read it from the encouragement of our neighbor. Our neighbor, better known as Karol, said that she wanted to go on this journey along with my mom and whoever else wanted to join. They started talking and realized how much they needed this in their lives. One night my mom and Karol were sitting in our living room reading the book aloud to each other. I was in the kitchen doing my homework when I started listening in. As they were reading I realized how much I wanted to go on this journey as well. And so, here I am starting on this journey. The official launch day is March 1st. We will have to see where all of this goes, but I am praying that God will really show up in my life during this time. This journey that I am embarking on goes something like this: for the next 7 months I will be cutting excess out of my life. The first month will be possessions: meaning I will give away 7 items of mine every day for a month. The second month will be clothing: meaning I will only wear the same 7 items of clothing every day for a month. The third month will be food: I will only eat the same 7 foods for a month. The fourth month will be spending: only spending my money at 7 places for a month. The fifth month is media: I will be cutting out 7 pieces of media for a month. The sixth month is waste: I will adopt 7 new greener ways to my life. And the last month is stress: praying to Jesus 7 times a day. I will not be alone though. I will not only have my mom and Karol behind me but also my council. My council consists of 7 of my closest friends helping me through this journey and participating in some of it as well.
Meet my council!
Kelcey: One of the sweetest people I know!! She is the better, more outgoing half of me. She was with me when I went to Portland and considered my best friend. She will be the council member that will not let me give up. She is a Jesus freak and proud of it! She is finding ways to help her school find Jesus, one person at a time. She is by the book and won't let me cheat.
Amanda: She is the busiest of all my council members. In fact she was informed of the journey TODAY and still wants to be apart of it. She is super willing and also went with me to Portland. She and I were the first teenage girls in our youth group and she will be lenient with me. She will probably be the one I call when I want to cheat. :)
Katie: She's probably the one most excited about this whole thing! The day I told her about it, she was all about trying to figure out what I was going to eat, what I was going to wear, etc..and then a few days later had went out and bought the book and had already started reading. She also went to Portland with me and I love her fun spirit! Definitely won't let me cheat.
Meagan T.: I have known her through my cousin for about 4 years but actually met her about 8 months ago. I love her and she has such a beautiful voice! She goes to a Christian high school and God is doing great things through her at her school. She went to Portland with me as well. She was a bit hesitant at first about this whole thing, but totally on board after prayer. She has a sweet spirit and might let me cheat. :)
Faith: I met her through Meagan T. and I totally love her. She also went to Portland with us last minute but she was totally meant to be there. She goes to the same school as Meagan and everytime I'm down all I have to do is talk to her and she will always give me such a prophetic word. She has such wisdom and is so in love with God. She might let me cheat, but she will also be the one that keeps me in check with God. If I'm not doing it for Him, she'll let me know.
Emma: Emma goes to my school and is in my grade. I met her the first day of school this year because she sat next to me in my english class. She is one of the smartest people I know and I chose her because I felt that I wanted to grow in my faith with her. She was also so excited to do this experiment with me! As soon as I told her she jumped right on board and started talking about all the things I should do to spread the word about it. In fact, this blog was her idea. She wants me to go around and talk to people all about it, so I just opted for the blog. :) She probably won't let me cheat..
And last but not least is Megan C: I've known Megan since elementary school and I picked her because not only have I known her the longest but also because I dance with her. I dance 10 hours a week and I felt that if I wanted to go on this journey I would need some support everywhere I went. Megan not only goes to my school but also at dance; the two places I spend most of my time. Megan is very unique and crazy and I don't know if she is going to be able to actually do the experiment with me, but she is going to be a great support system. She will definitely let me cheat.. :)
So now you know about me and where I got this crazy idea to do this. You've met my council and my support group. But I want you to know that I'm doing this to be more like Jesus. Jesus didn't live the rich life, even though he could have. In today's society enough is never enough. As a teenager, want is more important than need. The poor do not matter, all that matters to us as teenagers is image and being the best WE can be. I'm done with self-consciousness and thinking only about myself. I want to go on this journey to become more like Jesus and to experience what he experienced, to feel what he felt. In the Bible it says the poor will be rich and the rich will be poor, because the poor gave everything they had to Jesus, while the rich only gave a little bit. I want to be more like the poor. All that I am is yours, Jesus, and during this journey I pray that you would give me the strength and the courage to get through it. I also pray that you would bless my council as they go on this journey as well. I also pray that you would give me the right words to say as I come across people who want to know and understand what I am doing and why I am doing it. Lord, you are my all and without you I would be nothing. Bless this time set before me as I embark on a journey like no other.
