How’s life going for you?

What an interesting question we ask one another. 

In his latest book, Bob Goff says that we should turn this question around and ask “How’s your life going for others?” The idea is that to truly love our neighbors - to be the most like Jesus- we should be more concerned with how our actions & lifestyles are impacting others than ourselves. He proposes that if our life is good for us, but is not good for others, it is necessary for us to make changes so that our life is mutually beneficial. (I'm paraphrasing of course, you should really just buy the book and read it for yourselves. So freakin' good.) 

Inspired, I asked myself, “How is my life going for others?” Initially, I thought “Pretty good. William and I haven't fought in a while. My friends seem to be doing okay. I called my mom last week.” Everyone's fine and I'm a rock star.

Then I lead a discussion about global hunger & poverty with my youth kids...and I realized I willingly keep my question short and vague. In reality, the extent of my life reaches past a group of friends. Of course I already knew this, but it really hit me that my choices have small, yet global impact. I could blog about intentional living all I wanted, but my life, holistically, wasn’t going well for many others around the world. It couldn't be-- because I never considered them in my decision making process. 

I came home from work and said to William, “I want us to assess every area of our lives & see how we can give more and do more and be more aware.” He shrugged and said, “Okay,” probably assuming I would forget this project like so many others. But I didn’t. It kept nagging me, I just didn’t know where to begin. I tend to work in extremes, but really wanted to offer manageable, sustainable solutions. A few mornings later, I watched Jen Hatmaker’s live video about her book, “7.” 7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. (Source)

Moved by Jen’s powerful story and how it drastically changed their lives, William and I both have done simpler 7 inspired cleanses before, but never to the extreme that Jen & her clan do in the book. As I sat in my bed watching this video with William, I knew that this would be it--this is how we were going to double check on how our lives were working for others.

So like the detailed planners we are, we decided to start that day & figure it out as we go. 

Our first month, we’ve decided is going to focus on the food we eat. There’s several factors that are going into this.

1. We both can stand to lose weight. It’s just reality. Gluttony & sloth can be vices for both of us and honestly, that affects the lives of others around us. Running out of energy, heighten risk of disease, and the depression that accompanies unhealthy eating has/potentially has an impact on our relationships, our ministries, and our engagement in our communities.

2. Eating out. While it is a fabulous way to be intentional with our friends & we both believe the sweetest worship can happen around a table, we also need to acknowledge how much money goes into eating out each month. We want to be good stewards of our financial resources, but it is hard to justify a $40 meal several times a month when we are also aware that almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.(Source)  More go hungry from lack of resources, famine, and displacement. 

3. Our food’s energy calories. The amount of food that is shipped globally & nationally uses SO MUCH energy & oil annually. We have surely taken for granted the ability to get California red tomatoes in the dead of winter and avocados all year long from Mexico. Don’t get me wrong, I love this. But also, when it comes to how my lifestyle of buying what I want, when I want it from the grocery story--it’s not really working well for others. Fossil fuels, GMOs, pesticides, etc are hurting our global environment, small agricultural areas ,and the families who have spent decades providing the food of our tables.

So, we set out a few rules and for the month of May, we are going to be more intentional when it comes to our food. We in NO WAY are claiming to be experts on this--not even close. We simply want to set up parameters to how & what we eat so that we can learn more & slowly develop new habits.

Our food rules for the month are:
-Only buy local, organic food products.
-Eat seasonally. (Goes along with #1 because we can only eat what is currently growing in our area.)
-Eat only happy meat (Meat that has come from a free range, grass-fed, organic environment.)
-No eating out
-Increase heart rate in physical activity daily (aka exercise)
-Give monthly to Heifer International to help combat global hunger & poverty through empowerment & sustainability
-Then my own personal goal: Write about our experience on here.

You may be thinking, “Neat, but why are you telling us?”

It comes down to 3 things. First, we need accountability in this. Like I said, food is a big area of weakness for us. Admitting is the first step, so posting about our experiment seems like a close second. It will help us remain true to our task.

Secondly, maybe it will encourage you to laugh at us, to consider your food choices, or at least to ask yourself “How is my life for those around me?”

Lastly, I hope to share observations, terrible ideas we thought we great, recipes, and hilarious stories of our progress. If nothing else, hopefully it is entertaining for you.

Want to know more about something I mentioned?

Here's a few links. Of course, I in no way profit from you using any of these links. I'm not that cool and about one person reads this website regularly. Hi mom. 

Everyone Always- Bob Goff’s latest book. Do yourself a favor and buy it now.
7 by Jen Hatmaker
Heifer International-We highly recommend this organization! Read about their work here.
Locavorism vs Globavorism Infographic - quick link to discover the difference
Reasons to Eat Local-A quick list of why local eating is a good choice
!0 Facts about Global Hunger- Statistics for global poverty & the hunger crisis
Hunger Map- Where Hunger Exists
Eating Sustainably-Emory University does a much better job explaining the statistics of fossil fuel usage when it comes to food in the US
Apple Mountain Alpaca Farm-Located in Clarkesville, GA. Their farm is a MUST see. Such an informative, cuddly tour.