There is a Sara Lee chocolate pie in my fridge ya'll!!!
And no one at home to see me sneak a bite. Well, the dogs...but they won't tell!

I. Miss. Sugar. And several other things. But sugar especially.

I've also noticed I don't eat as much if food doesn't taste good. I need flavor! (This should probably prompt me to think about how much I eat versus how much I need to eat. I mean...I'm this size for a reason!)

Why are we doing this again???

As I stared at the pie, it occurred to me that one of the reasons we grow closer to God when we fast is that we are so much more aware of Him than when we aren't. I mean, if it wasn't for 7, I would be thinking how awesome the pie tastes and feeling guilty about the calories. As I looked at it and thought "No one would know!" I thought about how I would know, how I'd betray the girls in my "tribe" but the biggest stopping point was that I'd made this commitment to God. That He would know.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that God would look down on me licking the fork clean of the last of the Sara Lee chocolate goodness and go all "OH, we are through! That is the last straw. You are on your own girlfriend" But there is a bond, a relationship. And in shutting the freezer, I said with my words and actions that that relationship is more important than temporary joys. I'm aware of His presence and His awareness of my actions. And I have chosen the better thing.

I took to Facebook to see how my other 7 tribe members were doing and one of them had posted that she had given herself too much freedom and was restricting her list more.

It made me think that, both with 7 and with all that is going on in real life, when I put it in perspective...I still have it really good. I mean, even with the unemployment and fear of paying bills, etc, when you look at a worldview perspective, I am one of the richest people in the world. That even when going without, there is more I could go without and be okay.

I've added A Day In The Life Of A Minimalist by Joshua Fields Millburn to my reading list while we continue on our 7 experiment. It turns out most of the essays found in the book can be found on their website http://www.theminimalists.com/. The book is also available on Amazon. I downloaded it for free forever ago but it was $7 when I checked for this blog.