30 Days of Nothing

As part of what we are doing in honor of National Adoption Month, the Widhalm family is going to observe 21 Days of Nothing.  It started out to be 30, but considering that November is Thanksgiving and my children are still very young, we are going to start out with just three weeks instead of four.  I considered that maybe we should wait for a month that isn't as busy, but I dont' think those exist.  There is always something going on.  Leading up to Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday will be a good thing and I wanted to do it before the beginning of the year so that we might have some renewed focus.   So, we are going to go ahead and do the best we can this month.

Here's what our plan is.....

In order to have a greater understanding (sort of..as best we can) of what types of things the very poorest people of the world and orphans in Africa might have to deal with, we are going to live as simply as possible from now up to Thanksgiving Day.  This actually means we will have only 24 Days of Nothing.

Our meal plan will be very basic and repetitive.  Very little meat, if any, will be included.  Potatoes will be a staple and we will use mostly eggs for protein.  We will not be driving thru or eating out at restaurants, with the exception of one meal that is an early Christmas celebration for extended family and is already planned and can't be moved.  If there are any dessert type items, they will be homemade with what I already have on hand.  No purchases like chocolate chips at the grocery store are allowed. Extra material things will have to wait or not be purchased at all.  No books, toys, candy, new clothes, awards or surprises for any of us.   We will choose two or three different outfits to wear for the duration of our experiment.  All medical/dental appointments will be rescheduled if possible.    Generally speaking, we are going to do without providing our "wants" and just take care of our "needs".

Once or twice each week, hopefully on Saturdays while Doug is home, we will do one or two special projects.  We will....

1. Spend at least one day using no electricity.
2. Wash at least one load of clothing by hand in the bathtub.
3. Carry water from a neighbor's house down the street to use for one day.
4. Sleep at least one night on the floor in our clothes with no pillows or blankets.
5. One day we will eat only one meal.

I know that these adjustments we are making are still not even close to being reality for what the poorest people in our world have to live with.  Hopefully, though, it will give us a renewed sense of blessing and appreciation for the great abundance we've been given and a stronger passion to serve the poor both locally and around the world.

I will blog about our experiences at least weekly, but I am going to restrict my computer usage as well.  I am going to be posting or having guest posts to tell the individual stories of children waiting to be adopted or sponsored, as well as adoptive and foster families as often as possible throughout the month.  

Throughout the month, we will be doing our family worship and Bible study around how we can serve the poor, the widow and the orphan.  We'll also be in prayer for those groups of people as well.  If we can pray for you, please leave a comment and let us know.  We'd be honored to serve you and your family by lifting your needs in prayer!