Radical Revisited

On Sunday, June 13, I posted my Radical Plan, and in the weeks that followed, I didn't live up to the standard I set for myself. Therefore, I decided to read the book again and start over. I finished the book yesterday, and I am as committed to it as ever. However, the past several weeks have demonstrated that it is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Not for lack of enthusiasm, but due to ingrained habits and patterns of thinking and behaving that will take a good bit of prayer and effort to overcome. In those weeks, the challenges that were hardest for me were giving up luxuries and praying for the nations on a daily basis.

What is a luxury?
I kept asking myself that question, and as I did I rationalized several purchases that I should have forgone. By the world's standards, my whole life is luxurious. Therefore, I had to determine what is a luxury for me. What makes it even harder is that I don't have that many indulgences any more—at least not compared to most women in my demographic. I'm not a shopper; I had already committed to not making any more hobby-related purchases; And the only personal care luxury I occasionally indulged in was a pedicure. I'm not ready to consider a decent haircut a luxury, and I gave up coloring my hair months ago.

When I need clothing, I like to buy good quality items that I can wear for a long time. I'm not overly fashion conscious. (Been there. Done that.) I could spend less on my clothing, but then I would have to shop more frequently, so I feel like from a financial standpoint, it balances out. It is a rare occasion when I go out and buy I new outfit for an "event." I didn't even buy a new dress for my twenty-year reunion a few years ago!

My greatest indulgence at this point in my life is books, and I know better than to attempt a moratorium on book buying. Therefore, my goal is to only allow myself to purchase books that will contribute to my spiritual growth, and to purchase them only if they are not available from the library OR if I think it is likely that I would want to share them or read them again. No novels, biographies, or cookbooks! I can get all of those from the library. Besides, I have plenty at home that I haven't even read yet!

I've given up professional pedicures, and I'm going to spend more conservatively on cosmetics and personal care items. I'm going to try not to purchase clothing. However, I've been losing weight, so I've already had to buy a few items, but from now on, I'm going to try to have as many items as possible altered. Finally, I'm going to eat out much less frequently. I could write a whole post on that one!

In addition to all of this, as I have time, I'm going to go through each room in our house and purge as much as possible. Emotionally this isn't that hard for me, as it is something that I tend to do anyway on a regular basis, and I am not sentimental. At this stage in my life, finding the time will be the challenge. I did manage to clean out my daughter's room last week while she was away at my mother's house, and it was very satisfying. We all have so much, and it is such a waste!

Finding Time to Pray More
The second area that I failed in during the first weeks of my Radical Experiment was praying for the nations. I ordered the Operation World prayer guide, and I love reading through it, but sitting down every day for the time it takes for me to pray through an entry is extremely challenging for me. I have already for some time been burdened by the desire to pray more for extended periods of time and to intercede on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ, not to mention my own family, so adding an additional prayer focus area makes me feel overwhelmed. A morning "quiet time" is not enough. I'm lifting this up to the Lord and asking Him for direction. For now, I'm leaning towards scheduling for myself a weekly extended prayer time, but I don't yet know when or where it will be.

So there you have it—my heart and my struggles so far in following my Radical Plan. My hope is that this doesn't discourage you from attempting it, but rather, that it would spur you on as you see that by God's grace it can be done. In fact, that is the only way it can be done and the only reason that there is for doing it.