Why is 6 Afraid of 7? Because it's an Epic Book by Jen Hatmaker

In the spirit of full disclosure, let me start with a confession: I have a huge girl crush on Jen Hatmaker. It began when my friend Lisa sent me a link to this blog post about the exhausting work of welcoming adopted children into your family. I would seriously rather you read that post right now than this post, if you had to choose one. It's just so good. So honest, so funny, so heartbreaking, so human. I loved her instantly. I texted my friend Anna, who is also in the process of adopting through the foster system, and told her she HAD to check out this Jen Hatmaker character (She was way ahead of me, as per usual). I started following her on twitter where it became evident we share a love of all the same "F"s: family, food, faith, and football. It was then that I became 100% convinced that she was my long lost best friend.

So when she extended an offer to send a free copy of her forthcoming book, '7,' to any bloggers who were interested in reviewing it, I was on it like white on rice - or in "our" case, like mayo on a fully loaded panini sandwich. It arrived just after Christmas and I know that God really wanted me to read it because my 10 month old actually slept on the plane ride home from my in-laws, allowing me to get totally hooked.

Here's the premise (taken from JenHatmaker.com):

"A seven-month experimental mutiny against excess, tackling seven areas of overconsumption in the spirit of a fast; a fast from greed, irresponsibility, apathy, and insatiability. Each area boiled down to just seven choices for a month:

Food.
Clothes.
Possessions.
Media.
Waste.
Spending.
Stress.

Only seven foods for a month. Only seven pieces of clothes for a month. Give away seven things we own a day for a month. Eliminate seven forms of media for a month. Adopt seven substantial habits for a greener life. Spend money in only seven places. Practice "seven sacred pauses" a day and observe the Sabbath...a deeply reduced life to find a greatly increased God."

Crazytown, right? Give away 7 things A DAY for an entire month? Maybe we weren't meant to be best friends. Or if we were, she'd be the salt-of-the-earth type of friend that is relatable and funny in spurts, but mostly too pious to really enjoy.

In '7,' though, Jen Hatmaker manages to chronicle her "experimental mutiny" with thought provoking wisdom and relatable humor that reaffirmed my girl crush once and for all. She sets the stage by noting that "When we hear 'fast,' we put on a yoke of self-denial. When God said 'fast,' He meant to take off the yoke of oppression," but she isn't too pious to include her private conversation with a failed dinner entree: "I hate you, separated cheddar cheese sauce that ruined my creamy sauce. Why are you so temperamental about heat? Velveeta would never treat me like this."

Long story short, I loved the book. It dominated so many of my conversational contributions that I can now refer to it as "that book that makes me want to be a better person" and my friends know what I'm talking about. I alternated between reading it strictly as an observer and engaging it in a personal way, wondering how Hatmaker's observations about her own overconsumption were applicable to my life as well. It's an enjoyable read either way, and a potential life changer if you lean toward the latter.

Case in point: Reading '7' was the push I needed to declare my 2012 New Years Resolution to only shop second hand. It also spurred me to contact a local under-privelaged elementary school to see if they could make use of some items that I would have normally just donated to the Goodwill. It turns out that they can in fact use our old electronics, and they could use some school uniforms too, so now I've rallied some girlfriends to collect as many as we can.

Read this book if you want to be challenged about your own contribution to the consumer machine. Read this book if you could use a laugh at the expense of a soccer mom who takes away her kid's TV and video games for a month when they didn't even get in trouble. Read this book if you could use a good cry. Or a good laugh.

And just in case she's reading this: Dear Jen, I love you. Not in a creepy stalker way, but in a it's-really-a-shame-our-life-paths-didn't-cross-because-I-bet-we-would-have-had-a-good-time kind of a way. My favorite part of '7' was the adoption story sub-plot, and I completely lost my sh*t when you were all, "I want you to know their names." So tender. Keep it up, and keep it coming. XOXO - Anna