by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 22, 2010 | Blog
Obviously, those of us who come to Thin Within, typically do so because we want something to change with our size, weight, or attitude toward food … or ALL of the above! LOL!
What often happens, though, is that we discover God wants something so much more…he wants our hearts, our devotion, our thoughts, our actions.
It suddenly makes it SO hard! We KNOW how to *diet*…If someone just tells us what to eat and when, we often have an easier time of things! So when we discover that God wants us dependent on Him, this is when we may decide that we have to “quit” Thin Within! But that is the point of the Christian life…to become more and more surrendered to God, to be more like Jesus! 🙂
With Thin Within, we won’t be told what to do and when. The reason is simple…it is based on God’s Word. God gives us free will and His Spirit inside of us to tell us what God asks of us–and to give us the ability to do it in the strength HE provides!
He wants us to learn to lean on Him in the moment. To ask Him, to check in with him. How gracious that he wants to use something so mundane as eating or drinking to invite us to give him glory in the moment! Isn’t that incredible! To do that, we have to live in the moment with Him! To not shut him out! Be conscious of our choice and the ramifications.
This is where my feeling that taking 5 minutes before I eat really comes from. Taking 5 minutes before I eat when I am prompted to eat (for some reason), gives me time to check in with him. I don’t have a prescriptive plan that says it doesn’t matter if I am hungry or not, that I can have so many calories or grams or whatever… Instead, in those 5 minutes, I can say, “Lord, why am I drawn to food right now?” He will show me if it is because of physical hunger or not. If I am not drawn to food because of physical hunger, he will be faithful to show me what it IS about, too. “Lord, I see that I am bored (or wounded, or agitated, or sick, or tired…). I know that food isn’t what I need. Please show me what will satisfy the need in my heart (mind, body, soul, spirit).” He will do it.
I know I have shared this here quite a bit recently. It really does make a difference, so I just wanted to say it again in case anyone isn’t convinced! 🙂 Try it for one day and see if it helps!
Just 5 minutes. Make a boundary of delaying eating for just 5 minutes. It isn’t a rule, it is a boundary. Then use it to reconnect with God. He is faithful! Let’s give him a chance! 🙂
I would love to know how it goes!
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 21, 2010 | Blog
I have found something that revolutionizes my walking this path to healthier perspectives about food, eating and my body, too. You can do it too, if you haven’t already. Make a running list of God’s attributes. Whether it strikes you as you pray, you are reading the Word, a book, or hear a message, jot down what you learn (or are reminded) about God’s character and how he relates to humans. Then, practice taking time each day to praise Him for some of these things on your list. This revolutionizes our thinking, our living, our “health!”
Truly, so often on this journey we can become so SELF focused. My body, my food, MY eating MY MY MY! Yuck! That has never helped, has it?
As I focus on GOD and lift HIM up, I find that FOOD and EATING and my BODY all begin to subside in their significance and get put in their proper place. I don’t want to eat as much because GOD is GOD and food isn’t. My body (taste buds) doesn’t/don’t have the right to direct my path (tell me what to do)…only GOD does. He is lifted to HIS rightful place as LORD and I am humbled before Him!
It works! 🙂
Happy Sunday!
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 20, 2010 | Blog
Hi, everyone! I just want to throw out a little challenge today.
How about if today we make a special effort to live in the moment.
For today, set aside thinking about the huge goals you may have for your body.
Instead, relish each moment and choose to take THIS moment captive for the Lord. When you are faced with a choice to eat and you aren’t hungry and you KNOW it, grab THIS moment. In one little moment, you can resist and I can say from experience that the temptation can pass. Especially if you CHOOSE to set your mind and heart on something else! It is true! 🙂
So how about it…today, live in the moment. Can you grab THIS moment for the Lord? I knew you could! Unless you are munching mindlessly on food right now, you just captured this moment (actually a few of them) for the Lord! Now how about THIS one! Presto! A great day of living for Him and godly choices is made up of having captured one moment at a time for him. Live in the moment, resolved to honor him NOW and presto! At the end of the day, you will see a bazillion moments that were captured for the Lord!
And don’t forget to join us at the ning thing… http://godisdoinganewthing.ning.com We can enjoy community and encourage one another there! Be sure to make everyone else your friend when you are there. There are only a few of us right now…Come on along!
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Isaiah 55:2
So often I am in *pursuit* of satisfaction…to find something that will ease and soothe the aching and longing of my heart. I spend boundless energy and time diligently seeking, yet what I use to attempt to fill the hole is that which doesn’t have the capacity to satisfy. “He has placed eternity in the hearts of men” and that “eternity-shaped void” can only be filled with HIM. As I turn to HIM, instead of the refrigerator, turn to His WORD, instead of into the drive-thru, as I sit at His feet instead of bow in homage to the almighty Oreo milkshake when I am not hungry, as I listen to Him and eat of what *He* offers, my soul *will* be nourished, satisfied…*delighted*. What a wonderful promise!
Lord, I seek to pursue *You* in this day. I will look to *You* to meet that ache in my soul. Whether it is sadness, loneliness, happiness, boredom, I will not spend myself in trying to satisfy that void. Instead, Lord, today I will turn to You, through prayer, to listening to You, through Your Word and the Holy Spirit. I will eat *what* *is* **good**…that which *You* provide. I look forward to your promise happening for me…that I will delight in what you bring my way, as You nourish my body *and* my soul. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 19, 2010 | Blog
Hi, all.
I don’t know if this is something that might appeal to the visitors here, but I know sometimes it might be intriguing to visit with one another…people who visit the same blog. I created a “Ning” network, which is a bit like a Facebook, only it can be our own.
The place to find it is here.
Let me know what you think! Ok?
Truthfully, I am trying to find a way I can interact with visitors to the blog. The reason is a book project I am working on. I want to find out what YOU all are looking for when you come to the blog and what YOU might like to find both at the blog, now at the Ning Network (maybe), but most importantly, if any of you still enjoy holding a real live book in your hands, I want to know what you would love to find in “the perfect book.” I don’t mean a fiction book. I mean a devotional/journal/interactive/guided quiet time book… If you could find the perfect tool to enjoy quiet time with God so you could “feast on Him” what would it look like to you?
I am so eager to hear about it. Feel free to post your comments here, but also to the Ning Network thingie, too. Let’s see how that works. I hope you can bear with me and hang in there as we figure out what this is!
Thanks,
Heidi
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 18, 2010 | Blog
Please vote in the poll in the sidebar. Thanks!
…I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you
on the palms of my hands…
– Isaiah 49:15b-16a
Did you ever have a crush on someone and write their name all over your notebook in grade school? Or worse, in permanent marker on public bathroom walls? Why did you want to do that? Maybe so everyone who looked would know! The secret was OUT! You were in LOVE!
Tattoos seem to be all the rage these days. People get them for a variety of reasons. I don’t know about *them*, but pain is not *my* thing–not intentional pain–no way. I can’t imagine going and having someone engrave with a needle on my back, ankle, wrist, a design proclaiming my love or devotion “Heidi loves Bob.” No way. Yes, I love my husband, but there are certain boundaries I must draw. Intentional pain is one of them. I bore the dear man children–that was enough of a sacrifice of love! 🙂
But God has engraved you on the palms of His hands. He wants all the world to know! The secret is out. He is in LOVE! The object of that love is YOU!
I remember as a kid when I was madly “in love” with someone and had written it all over everything. It was so humiliating when the object of my affection made it clear to anyone and everyone that mine was an unrequited love. It was so embarrassing. It made me want to hide. It produced so much shame…
I wonder if I do that to God? He has engraved me on his hands for all the world and heavenly realms to see. Do I mock His love for me? Is His lavish love for me unrequited? Does Satan laugh at God because of me?
I look to His hands and see that the engravings on his palms are the shape and size of nail scars. I realize that the pain He went to knows no end—no limit. His love knows no boundary.
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 17, 2010 | Blog
2 The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, [a]
and your land Beulah [b] ;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
– Isaiah 62: 2-4
a. Hephzibah means my delight is in her .
b. Beulah means married .
I feel like such a poser…a fake, a fraud! I am going to a writer’s conference at the end of the month–someone has blessed me by paying my way. (God has blessed me through her.) It is my first writer’s conference. I am excited, of course. So, I got advice about how to make the most of it and it included getting business cards and a website and yada yada.
So when FedEx delivered the package of business cards the other day, I eagerly pulled out a sample and something just overwhelmed me… “Fraud! Poser! Fake!”
Just so you know I am *not* nuts, this is the layout of the business card:
Ok, do you see what I mean? “Author?” “Speaker?” “Worship Leader?” Good grief! Who am I trying to KID!
I mean, yes, I DO those things, but do they reflect what I am? I hardly think so.
I sensed the Spirit of God convicting my heart…. “Child if you struggle so much with embracing my calling on your life while you walk this earth, is it no small wonder that you struggle with embracing the ‘so much more’ that I have declared you to be: You are ‘My precious one,’ ‘My royal priesthood,’ ‘A new creation,’ ‘My Bride,’ ‘My holy, set apart one?'”
He is right. Of course.
Yes, God has called me to write and things I have written have been published. Yes, he has called me to speak and, yes, I do lead worship, but somehow, I felt like it was wrong to act like this wasn’t just a “fluke”–a mistake, not really happening. Like it is an accident that something I wrote got published or if people really knew me they would never invite me to speak to their group…or to lead worship.
How much more do I consider it a “fluke” that God declares me holy and righteous in his sight and that, in love, he predestined me to be adopted as his precious daughter? (Ephesians 1)
The bottom line is that I don’t believe God! Wow. This is huge. I have worked on this for years, yet here I am, still stuck in my disbelief. What I believe shapes my behavior…so if I believe that I am not the things that HE declares that I am, in a very real way, I also am not believing what He says about HIM. All of these things shape my behavior and shape my character, too!
I read in advice to people going to writer’s conferences, “The best way to be an author is to act like one.” Hmm…I suppose this could be true, too… “The best way to be a freeman–a captive now set free–is to ACT like one!” Wow.
Lord, please forgive me for not believing you. I am convicted. Thank you for the callings you have placed on my life here on earth, to speak, to write, to lead worship. I thrill when I have the chance to do that. Help me to reject the accusations of the enemy who wants me to curl up in shame and render me impotent…to never dare to stand to serve you again in any way shape or form. He wants me so inside myself that I never believe that you would flow through me into the lives of others. Lord, forgive me for believing lies and rejecting YOUR truth. Lord, I see that this has even affected my journey to live free from unworkable beliefs relative to obsessions with my body, food, dieting, exercising, etc. It is like I walk around saying, “I’m not really free…” and then I live proving it to myself. Maybe not in ways that are so obvious like they used to be…but nevertheless. I invite you to transform my belief system, Jesus. I want to believe YOU. Not just in you, but YOU and what YOU say and have said about yourself and about me. In your precious name, Amen.
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 15, 2010 | Blog
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he
chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless
in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of
his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In
him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all
wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ… –
Ephesians 1:3-9
—-
He has blessed me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing!
With how many blessings?
EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ!
He chose ME before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight!
What did He choose me for? For hardship? For misery? NO!
TO BE HOLY AND BLAMELESS! In *His* sight! (Even when I am not in
my *own* sight!!)
He predestined ME!
He adopted ME!
And WHY did he do these things?
He did this according to HIS pleasure and will!
He did this for the praise of HIS glorious grace!
He has redeemed ME!
He has lavished the riches of His grace on ME!
He has made known to ME the mystery of His will!
And WHY did He do these things?
He has done this for HIS pleasure!
For some strange reason the God of this Universe, the One who brought the
Heavens into existence with a single command, the One for whom the morning
stars sang, the One who holds it all together…for some reason, this One,
this great I AM has chosen ME. For some strange reason it brings him
pleasure to save ME, to adopt ME, to pour out *every* spiritual blessing on
ME.
If these aren’t reasons to fall head over heels in love with this One, I
don’t know what would be!!!!!
Compare this One, this incredibly strong, intelligent, creative,
coordinated, loving, compassionate, merciful, gracious GOD to the
god–*food*–that I have served for so long. There is NO contest! This ONE,
this mighty Lord of Lords and King of Kings is the best thing going and the
old “love” is ancient history!
Let’s ponder this One! He is MIGHTY, wonderful, loving! Food [in excess]only robs, kills, destroys.
Lord, thank you for such a clear picture of just how incredible you are. I
feel like the young peasant girl who has been swooning over the
amour-bearer of the Prince only to see the Prince Himself on his gallant
steed come to sweep me off my feet! For so long I have been focused on
food so much that I missed just how awesome you are. Forgive me my
blindness, Lord. I ask you to reveal any other idols in my life and give
me the strength to hang on to only you. Amen.
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 14, 2010 | Blog
Please respond to the poll in the right sidebar. Thank you!
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.
– Hosea 6:3
Sometimes, when I am drawn to food and I am not yet hungry, I sense that I should sit a while in my need. I am to recognize it, give it a voice, offer it to the Lord and wait.
I do this, rather than use food to silent the voice of my heart or to distract me from something that I would rather forget. I quiet my heart, instead, and focus for a moment prayerfully on the Lord.
Often, I don’t want to be still in my emptiness. I am afraid. I may think I can’t handle feeling the emotions that well up in me. I would much rather run away, or busy myself with something, anything—even fixate on how to manipulate my next hunger or obsess about what foods I will eat, exercise compulsively or check the bathroom scale again.
These behaviors are leftovers of my former driven ways.
Now, He calls me to acknowledge Him in this moment, to strive to do so.
As I write, it has been raining quite a bit. I consider the days ahead and am confident that, because of the time of year and where I live, I can be sure of something—it will rain more.
As confident as I am in this, this verse shows me that God wants me all the more confident in Him. He promises that he will come to me just as surely as the rain falls on the earth. Do I believe Him? Will I wait expectantly in my emptiness? He will flood all the empty places in my heart, but He asks me to wait for him.
God will show up if I patiently wait for Him.
