Hey ladies...

I gotta tell you...I don't know what I'm doing here.  I'm really about to make the whole 7 thing official by writing this blog (which, ps, is my first blog ever and I haven't had an easy time figuring out how to do it...wonder if this is an omen?  Hmmm...).  Let me say from the beginning that I'm 20 weeks pregnant.  I don't want my baby-mama status to be a cop-out, but obviously I can't be as radical as some of you (whew!).  And y'all are being RADICAL (!) which is amazing and challenging and just totally wow-ish.  I respect all of you for tackling this challenge head-on.  I pray that God would be honored in our sacrifices and that we would really use this as an experience to grow in Him and together. 

To be perfectly honest, I've struggled with whether this whole 7 thing is for me.  Certainly, I should feel more of a calling if I'm going to fast in some capacity for 7 months, right?  Well....I haven't heard "Robin, I'd like for you to do 7" in my ear...nor have I felt a strong nudge to do this in my heart either.  However, I know that my human, girlish inclinations are screaming "NO!!!"...so why not go against my grain a little?  I find that often somewhere inside of my No is God's Yes. 

So, yesterday I finally crickety-cracked the book and read the introduction and the first chapter (ok...just 1/2 of the first chapter).  What I found interesting was the portion that Jen highlighted re: the reasons for fasting: mourning, inquiry, repentance, preparation, crisis, and worship.  I must admit that the words "inquiry, repentance,..and worship" hit a chord.  I am curious (or inquiring) as to how much excess I have in my life and I have a desire for this to be revealed to me...I do think I need to repent from the blindness of excess itself as well as the desire to have excess...and I've been praying about leading my life in a more worshipful way.   So...I'm in!  I can't promise always to be enthusiastic about this experience, but I'm in regardless.   

Today is Day One for me. For at least this week (I may change it up like Beverly did), I'm going to have these items for breakfast and lunch:

• cereal/oatmeal (I'm counting milk along with this)
• whole wheat PBJ

For dinner, I'm going "lean and green."  I'll limit my dishes to 7 ingredients or less.  Also, I'm going on a "grocery" fast this week.  I've been convicted by all of the excess food I have in my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator.  I will not be buying myself anything from the grocery store for breakfast or lunch until most of this stuff is gone (i.e. Beef and Barley soup, canned corn, etc. yummy yummy), and I'll try to use these for dinner too.  I'm going to try to cut all processed foods (I'm a junkie) and unhealthy snacks.  My goal is to stick with 7 dishes/day. 

My 7 may look a little different from y'alls, but, clearly, I can't afford to lose weight with a baby on board. However, I do want to be challenged.  I have somehow managed to sleepwalk through the abundance that God has showered upon our family; I desire and need to be awakened. 

Here goes nuthin'!

R