The 7 Experiment: Staging Your Own Mutiny Against Excess

If you have talked to me at all in the last year you know I have fallen in love with Jen Hatmaker.  Her writing is so genuine and hilarious.  She is the type of author that I swear could be my best friend.  From discussing her and her books with others, I'm not the only person that feels this way.  Last summer I read her book, The 7 Experiment.  To say it was life changing would be an understatement.  I have told all of my friends, I want you to read this book so we can discuss it.  So when my best friend emailed me and said, "I just read the book, do you want to lead a study with me?"  How could I say no?  We meet for the first time with our group last week.  We discussed the book and got to know each other better.  Here is one thing I love about this group - we all attend different churches.  It is not a church group or a small group, it is a group of women who are interested in growing together.  The only common bond we all share is Christ!

We are going through the study guide version of the book.  We will be tackling all 7 of the excess principals.    Each week we will be fasting from something.  It was exciting to hear last week how each person is viewing the fast differently.  There are no rules. No right or wrong way to do this!  Here are the 7 things we will be giving up in some form over the next 7 weeks, clothes, spending, waste, food, possessions, media and stress. 

My plan is to journal each day and share at the end of the week what I have learned on the blog.  
It has been a long time since I was in a women's bible study group.  I am excited to see what God has in store for each of us over the next few months. 

This week we read through the introduction and prepared for our first fast that starts tomorrow.  My favorite quote from this part of the book is, "I believe Jesus is telling us something that actually might apply to all of us.  I think there really is a problem, and if Jesus is serious, then far more than fearing poverty or discomfort, we should worry about our prosperity.  It is the kryptonite of true discipleship, according to Jesus."