Last week we had a birthday dinner at our house for Adam’s Grandma (“GG” to the kids), who just turned 75. The kids and I had a blast getting everything ready. We started the white chili in the morning, then baked bread, made the cake and frosting, and then set a fall-themed table. We had a great time that night celebrating GG and eating lots of yummy food.
Feasting is fun. But while we cooked and baked, my mind kept going back to the book I finished last week, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, and some things author Jen Hatmaker says about feasting and the church.
Hatmaker points out that the Bible teaches both feasting and fasting, but the church in America is so busy consuming everything, we’ve forgotten how to fast. We skim over the uncomfortable things Jesus says to do—deny yourself, take care of the needy, stop accumulating material possessions—and mostly dwell on how God wants to bless us.
Hatmaker describes how the early church was known for their generosity and wonders what they would think of Christians in America today. “Would they wonder why we all had empty bedrooms and uneaten food in our trash cans? Would they observe orphan statistics with disbelief since Christians outnumber orphans 7 to 1? Would they be stunned most of us don’t feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, care for the sick, or protect the widow? Would they see the spending on church buildings and ourselves as extravagantly wasteful while twenty-five thousand people die every day from starvation?” Then she notes that despite our tendency to emphasize the feast over the fast, the American church is shrinking, losing three million people annually.
Sometimes when we think about all the ways we’re falling short as believers, it’s almost paralyzing. There’s so much we need to change and it seems like nothing we do will ever be enough. And how can we think about trying to do more when life as it is feels overwhelming? When it’s a struggle just to pay the bills and keep up with the kids? Aren’t we all already exhausted?
But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe instead of doing more we should first work on doing less. Less buying, less wasting, less mindless activity, less thinking about all the things we want. Lately Adam and I have been asking ourselves some questions. Can we skip this trip to the store and make do with what we have? Sometimes. And we usually end up less frazzled, with more money the bank. Can we do without cable? Yes. Again, lots of money saved and extra time for other things. (But we do miss it, probably way more than we should.) Should we consider (gulp) switching to cloth diapers, mainly out of principle—to simply consume less? Yes, I’m willing to consider it. As in, think about it some more. 
How does saying no to ourselves make a difference in the kingdom of God? Well, hopefully it’ll lead to more time, money, and energy to spend on others. But it’s also about trying to live more like Jesus did. To feast and enjoy it. And also to fast, allowing God to work in us and through us.
Linnea,
Thanks for this timely post. I too am wrestling through some of these issues—some out of possible conviction and some out of necessity. Nevertheless, my attitude still has to change. I continue to be grateful for my time on the field, but my own struggle with materialism in a country with practically everything becomes familiar so fast. As a side note, I do cloth diaper and actually sort of enjoy it—most of the time. There are benefits both ways…
Anyway, thanks for your post and sharing your heart! Very helpful!
Thanks Sara. What kind of cloth are you using? Recommendations?
Linni- too funny… you and I are on the same wave link across the country with home school and these kinds of questions shaping our thoughts. I just had a conversation with a dear friend about that book- I have read her blog for a while but not the book, but have been pondering things along these lines with Andrew in this season of our life. Love hearing your thoughts and so wish we could sip some coffee together and chat about it all more…
Jess, you are a kindred spirit for sure! I miss you!
Great one, Linni. You nailed it.
Thank you for taking the time to write, I have truly enjoyed your posts…this one so hits home right now.
I wrote an answer on the cloth… but it got long! Umm… I did Fuzzibunz with AJ starting at 4 mos. till about a month ago,when at 2, he potty-trained even thru the night. Possibly a benefit of cloth. Next baby to be here possibly in Jan. if I make it that long and I bought more on Craigslist this time of a variety of prefolds, fitteds, and wool and PUL covers. I felt that this would save money and at this time, I needed that. The FB are great and have a good warranty and were needed for us to make the change to cloth. I can tell you more whenever/if ever you are interested, but didn’t want to overwhelm with a silly thing like diapers! so, there you have it! I like hanging them up to dry and knowing I saved a load in the dryer and putting cloth on my baby, but there are also hard things too and some days, I loathe the cloth! We’ll see how it all works with next babe.
What a WONDERFUL time it was too!! Yummy good white chili (my favorite kind)..and the MOST DECADENT tasty chocolate cake…savored every bite…..and knowing it was made by loving hands and helped by the ‘GREATgrands’ made it even more special……the evening was complete when Autumn let me hold and cuddle her, sit on my lap and size me up (as only she can do) and give me that adorable smile and shine those cute dimples! As if all that weren’t enough of a gift…I was blessed with a lovely boquet of red-tipped yellow roses (my very forite color of rose)…picked out by little Skylar….who had no idea they were my favorite.
Turning 75 seemed ‘less challenging’, after such attention, and this GG felt all the love that went into the beautiful evening.
God bless you, Linni and Adam, for celebrating my life with such a gift……i love that we share the ‘date’ to celebrate our lives.
Love you dearly, GG