She had to go after the ketchup, didn’t she.

I’ve joined a bunch of ladies from our church in reading the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. The whole premise of the book is that as there is less of me and my stuff, there is more room for God and simplicity and generosity.

I have to admit. When I heard the first chapter was about restricting ourselves to seven foods for a month, I cringed. Keith and I have really purged our diet over the past few months simply because we wanted to eat healthier and cut out excess.

Restricting us to seven foods for a month, when we have already restricted our diets, just didn’t seem to have a place. Instead as I started the book, I asked God to make it clear to me how I could apply this book and its principles to my life.

And it hit me on page 22. “And tonight my kids here with me in the land of plenty threw away a pound of food because they didn’t have ketchup.”

She had to go for the ketchup, Ugh! I use ketchup on eggs. I use ketchup on hamburgers, hot dogs, ham, sometimes chicken, steak. If ketchup can be added, i will try it. I even remember my cousin eating Cheetos dipped in ketchup. Simply I like ketchup.

Before we had kids, Keith and I would have “discussions” about ketchup and our future kids. He reminded me he didn’t want them to use ketchup. I nicely reminded him that I would be the one staying home with the kids. Yes, we have “discussions” about the most trivial things.

I’ve won the ketchup battle for the most part. The boys use ketchup on eggs, hamburgers, and hot dogs. I don’t let them use it on chicken or steak, and I have cut back on using it on those two items too. They also use ketchup on their “green french fries”, I mean green beans. As they dip their green french fries and laugh, I stand in the kitchen and ask, “Do you need more ketchup?”

So for the next month, we will be ketchup-free. There will be no green french fries. No ketchup on eggs.

After reading the chapter, I also looked at my son’s uneatten bread crusts differently. He is like me in that neither one of us like to eat the crust of bread. Instead, we eat what we want and throw out the crust. Sandwiches. Toast and peanut butter. Doesn’t matter what is on the bread, the crust doesn’t get eatten. I will tell you, my aversion to bread crusts probably goes back to my silly great-uncle who would repeatedly joke with us that eating bread crust would put hair on your chest.

My son, however, has no excuse. He has seen me eat like this. He has seen me throw out extras. He has seen me enable him to do as I do. I no longer have an excuse.

God, speak to me in these ketchup-free days as we eat the crust on our bread!

A few other things in the chapter hit me too. I am hoping to blog more about those in upcoming posts.