So much is going on in the Thin Within ministry and God is Doing a New Thing. I thought a blog post updating you might be helpful.
Our iOS app is finished with development and will be uploaded to the Apple store on Monday where it will be tested by Apple. We will let you know as soon as it has “made the grade” and Apple releases it for purchase. We plan to ask $1.99 for the app and it will be useable on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. We are so very grateful for an incredibly kind donation made for the specific purpose of app development. The donation covered the lion’s share of the cost to develop the app. Here is a video sharing about the app. An official SNEAK PEAK! 🙂
Also, we are beginning our Thin Within workbook study on Monday. Our first webinar (the orientation) happens at 4:30 Pacific Time. Be sure to have a look at the emails that have been sent to the class if you want to participate and signed up a bit later. It is free. The workbook costs $40. There is still time to join us! I will be sending out an email early Monday, so be sure to subscribe!
As many of you know, I was the collaborator with the Hallidays in 2001 on the Thin Within book and wrote the initial drafts of the Thin Within workbook (the one we are studying). Over the years, I have been an official part of the Thin Within team, but also had life circumstances that caused me not to be able to commit full-throttle to the partnership. For the past year, God has made it clear that it is time. I am thrilled that this is official now. 🙂 It is amazing how having an empty nest opens up the possibilities!
By this time next week, we will have rolled out the brand new updated Thin Within website. And even better news from where I sit is we are integrating this blog site, God is Doing a New Thing, with the Thin Within website!
On a final note, though not any less important, the Thin Again book is currently on sale for 99 cents from several Venues:
I have worked through all four of the Thin Within workbooks.
I have worked through the Thin Within book.
I have led Thin Within groups three times in the last ten years.
I am a certified Wellness Coach and Pilates instructor.
I teach.
I KNOW this stuff!
And yes, here I am, still yearning for freedom, still waiting on God. Still wondering when I will be set free from struggling with excess eating and excess body weight.
Perhaps it’s precisely because I am immersed in the world of fitness that I am easily distracted and find it hard to keep my eyes fixed on the path that I know is the only way to freedom in this.
A few months ago I invested in a season of private coaching with Heidi Bylsma; a very wise decision! I remember sending her my daily logs with my “hunger numbers”—almost always reporting 0 to 5 eating. And yet I saw no weight loss and felt no progress happening. Heidi pointed out the discrepancy. ☺ As is the way of a good coach, Heidi put the observation out there and left it to me to wrestle with: “Brenda, you report eating within your chosen boundary of 0 to 5 on a consistent basis, yet you say you are not seeing the results you’d hoped for.”
In my wrestling, I decided I needed to more clearly define a “5.” Obviously I was eating past 5, so in my mind the solution was to get better at stopping at a 5.
One morning God turned the light on for me; all I had worked on with Heidi became clear as I read through the book of Joshua.
I came to the part where the land is being divided up between the tribes of Israel. I noticed how clear and precise the boundaries were and I started thinking how boundaries are important to God—God gives us boundaries for our safety, health and because He knows what is truly good for us.
In Joshua 18 the Scripture tells us that there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not received their inheritance. And Joshua says to them, ” How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your ancestors has given you?”
God spoke to me through that—How long am I going to wait until I do MY part to take possession of the freedom that God has given me?
It’s my inheritance!
God has given it to me, but it is up to me to do my due diligence and receive what God has for me.
For me, at this point in my journey, trying to more precisely define a “5” on the hunger scale is not where God wants my focus.
I believe He is showing me that my part is to do what it takes to place myself before Him every single day for the renewing of my mind; soaking in the truth of His Word, writing Truth Cards as a daily practice, being honest about where I am spiritually and what I am doing, as well as what I am eating.
Sunday morning at church God again spoke to me—this time through a guest speaker. She was teaching from Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and she came to Chapter 3 verses 8 and 9, where Adam and Eve have disobeyed God and eaten from the one tree in the garden that He had forbidden. In verse 9 God calls out to Adam, saying, “Where are you?
I believe that God is asking that of me as well. “Where are you with ME, Brenda?” Are you living in all the abundance I have given you, or are you in a place of rebellion? What tree are you choosing?”
To me it’s a really big deal is that I finally have taken my eyes off of seeking weight loss above everything– although I haven’t given up and I do still want it. It’s that now I am seeking FIRST the kingdom of God; seeking GOD through specific, daily practices so that my focus turns away from food and body obsession.
I have learned that the daily practices of prayer, Bible reading, writing and reading Truth Cards, praising God in song, lifting my face to Him will bring about the renewing of my mind and the transforming of my heart, my body, and my life. And then eating within the boundaries of 0 to 5 will be a natural result of my decision to claim my inheritance and choose the abundant life He alone offers.
~ Brenda Ameli. Brenda lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, teaching mind body movement and leading the women’s ministry at her church.
How About You?
Is it possible that “thin” or “0” or “5” has actually become a distraction from what God wants for you? Does God want you to focus elsewhere? What might responding to His invitation in this look like for you?
New Year’s Resolutions are motivated, no doubt, by a strong desire we have not to stay stuck…to make things happen that we know we want.
Even so, jokes abound this time of year about New Year’s resolutions. I have made my own jokes about it in past years, flippantly “resolving” to make only one resolution…that of not making ANY resolutions.
This year, I decided to look into God’s Word to see what it says about resolving or resolution. In the English Standard Version there are only 4 uses of the word “resolve.” The New International Version is not different:
In 2 Chronicles 20:3, King Jehoshaphat resolves to inquire of the Lord when a large army marches on his people.
Daniel 1:8 tells us that Daniel resolved not to forsake the dietary laws of the Jews when he was taken captive.
In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul states that he resolved not to know anything except Jesus and Him crucified.
Other than those three uses of the word, “Resolve” in the NIV, there is this reference:
If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty,
“I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have already cursed them,
because you have not resolved to honor me.
~ Malachi 2:2
If you have come to this blog for any length of time, if you have participated in any Thin Within groups, bible studies, or read the material yourself, you know that we speak a great deal of grace.
But I am remiss if I don’t point out that a twin truth with God pouring immeasurable grace on us is the fact that He desires our complete surrender to His will.I can’t read this passage in Malachi (or the other references in the bible) and feel ok with a New Year’s Resolution of “To walk the dog four times or more each week.” Or “Save $1000 for a vacation.” Or any of the other more typical things that I might include if I were to ever jump on the “Make New Year’s Resolutions” Bandwagon.
This passage screams sobering truths to me, instead.
What does God want me to be resolved to do?
He wants me resolved to Honor His Name.
There are consequences if I do not resolve to honor His Name. The New Covenant changes many things, but there is nevertheless a principle here: If I don’t resolve to honor the Name of the Lord, my experience will be that even blessings will be as though cursed. Perhaps this is what happens when I experience fear relative to food and my body. Food was intended by God to be a blessing. My body was intended by God to be a blessing. When I don’t resolve to honor Him with my life—especially, in this case, with my eating and drinking and how I treat my body—then even the blessings of food and my body seem to me as if “cursed.” They become so much less than He intended. They are a burden, a trial, a difficulty…a curse.
Will I take time this New Years Day to generate some New Years Resolutions? I haven’t in the past years, so I probably won’t this year…especially now that I have seen this passage. It seems a much better use of my time and investment of my energy to fulfill an intention that I know is called for in His Word.
I resolve afresh to honor the Name of the Lord.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
~ 1 Corinthians 10:31
What will this look like? I will pursue renewing my mind with His truth. NO more settling for the lies that are contrary to His Word. Not even one lie! No matter how “little!” Like the lie that says “I deserve to eat something sweet every day or multiple times each day.”
No more apathy or “sloppiness” with my godly, God-given boundaries of eating only enough food to nourish me. “Eating this won’t matter.” IT DOES. No more of that lie either!
God lays claim to my body.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God?
You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body.
~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
So, I will be proactive and move my body in a healthy way, for the joy and benefit of doing so! AND to honor the Name of the Lord!
I resolve to honor the Name of my God.
It means making some difficult choices.
How About You?
What would it look like for you to resolve to honor the Name of the Lord? What blessings do you have that feel more like they are cursed these days? Is it possible that God invites you to resolve to honor His Name more than any other resolution this year?
On Saturday, I posted that I am declaring war on apathy. Even veterans find they can slip into periods of apathy or…downright disobedience. One of my new strategies for amping up my focus is to call it what it is…rebellion, resistance, disobedience. I know what God has called me to. Allowing myself to justify “little waverings” outside of his call is flat out disobedience.
So, my battle plan is concrete, specific.
One part of it requires that I journal two sets of questions from Barb Ravelings book, I Deserve a Donut and Other Lies that Make You Eat, each day. Once in the morning…before I am tempted to eat outside of my boundaries–in fact, before I have eaten at all. Then, I do another set before dinner–again…before I am tempted at all.
Sunday morning, these are the affirmations that resulted from doing the “Failure Eating” questions in her book. Do any of them fit for you? If so, they could become your own affirmations right now:
1. I am not a person who can follow my boundaries flawlessly without ever breaking them. The Lord, however, wants me to press on each and every time I do break them. Enough of the perfectionism! The sad truth that I have to accept right from the beginning is that I WILL mess up. So what will I do when I mess up? Quit? What kind of sense does that make? (None!)
2. I can’t change the way I ate yesterday or last week. I can’t change the consequences of those choices. What’s done is done. Instead, the Lord provides the strength now to enable me to care today. RIGHT NOW. I will press on. I will give my best to living according to my boundaries today. I DO care. I will eat according to what my body needs and when my spirit and heart are “hungry,” I will feed them what they need…which is not physical food! While I am free to eat desserts, I have allowed desserts to master me once again. I am choosing now to submit this issue to the Lord. He alone will master me. Desserts are now put in their proper place…into submission to God. I will exercise my freedom by choosing not to have dessert foods in my home right now for this season. I will remember that I AM IN A SPIRITUAL BATTLE!
3. God wants me to fight in the strength he provides with the weapons he provides, so I will.
4. By choosing to take the route of pressing on and in (instead of giving up), I will not regret it one bit. The Lord gives me the strength I need. Even if I stumble today, I will NOT throw in the towel and give in to eat what I want the rest of the day. I will, instead, take captive my thoughts, my desires and submit them to Him. He receives me and loves me..
5. I am committed to living a life with boundaries for the rest of my life so I will stop breaking them and acting like it is no big deal. I will accept that I will always have to have boundaries in this area of my life. I am not the type of person who can be healthy–emotionally, spiritually, and physically–without boundaries in my eating. I must come to terms with that. Accept it. Rejoice! God has used this difficulty to foster deep intimacy with me!
6. I choose to STOP BREAKING MY BOUNDARIES. I choose to stop minimizing choices outside of my boundaries!
7. A few months down the road…if I start now afresh to press on and keep my boundaries, I will be more mature spiritually and emotionally and I will have peace about where I am physically, too. God is changing me.
8. When I think of what I will gain, it is worth the sacrifice to follow my boundaries right this minute and for the rest of this day. The more I live according to my boundaries, the less difficult it becomes. But this doesn’t mean it will ever stop being a challenge. There will always be food I want to eat that my body doesn’t need.
Romans 6:1-2 – I have died to sin. I will not go on living in it.
Romans 13:14 – I choose to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and to make NO provision for my flesh and its lusts!
I will stop focusing on the physical battle…that seems so negotiable depending on how eager I am to look different. I will choose instead to focus on the spiritual battle, knowing that this has eternal ramifications. The physical battle has to do with my physical size and is almost totally inconsequential! The spiritual battle–that of breaking free from the control of food–is extremely significant. I want nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ to master me.
How About You?
If you haven’t gotten Barb’s book yet, I strongly urge you to do so. It is an amazing tool.
Which set of questions will you journal through today?
What affirmations can you list that will support you in your renewed determination to live according to your godly boundaries?
NOTE: If you would like to participate in an online Thin Within class (no charge for the class—you need only purchase Workbook Kit #1), visit this post for details about a class starting on January 6th.
It was a bit of a slow fade for me over the holidays. So, today, I am declaring war on apathy! Will you join me? Right now, there are no foods in the house that I am likely to give in to eating outside of 0 and 5. This is a temporary “THIS MEANS WAR” stance….I mean for a week or so. Also, I am journaling my way through two sets of questions in Barb’s I Deserve a Donut and Other Lies That Make You Eat book…one set in the morning and one set at 5pm (or so) each evening. I am renewing my commitment to check in DAILY with my accountability partner. THIS WEEK I MEAN BUSINESS. Not only am I getting back in the saddle, but I am GOING SOMEWHERE!
How about you?
What is your plan to take back the Land the Lord wants as YOURS? Why rest in apathy until January 6th when you can get a running start? (Ugh…mixing my metaphors! LOL!)
ATM machines. Amazing devices. But, even after all these years, I still view them with distrust. All the more since the unthinkable happened.
On a lazy Saturday evening last summer, I stood at the local ATM machine to make a deposit in my personal account. I inserted two checks totaling what, to me, is a significant amount of money. As I waited for the machine to verify that I had followed my end of the bargain :-), I noticed that all was not well. The ATM was taking a bit too long to respond. Then, horror of horrors!
“ERROR” appeared on the screen.
Something had gone wonky with the entire automated process. The checks were gone and no deposit was credited to my account. I fully anticipated that giving the machine my hard-won checks, I would have money present in my account in short order (even if not immediately).
After a conversation with a national customer service line representative and two visits to the bank, there was still no money posted to my account. In time, however, the deposit did show up.
I am not in the habit of waiting for much of anything. If I make a sacrifice of some sort, then this is especially true… I want a return on it …YESTERDAY! The ATM fiasco just illustrated this in a practical way.
Isn’t the same true for most of us in our quest to discover our “natural, God-given size?” In fact, this tendency may rush us right past what it will take to even make the changes. Or, assuming, we can “clean” the “outside of the cup,” or “constrain” our outer behavior, we may release weight, but the first trial that hits, we revert back to old behaviors and we are off on that downward slide once again.
What if we were to take the slow way…the reliable way? What if this struggle with food, our bodies, eating, isn’t so much about our size, but about our souls? What if God wants us to learn something we can learn no other way? What if he wants us to learn how desperately we need him? What if he wants us to learn the power of training our minds to think differently?
When you invest your time in renewing your mind, in training yourself to think truthfully, even before you are tempted to eat outside of your boundaries, you can actually gain a new mindset that can activate at just the right moment—say when you are most tempted to give in to desire eating! This does take extra time, yes. Like giving up my hard-earned checks to the ATM, I want instant gratification for a sacrifice. There aren’t many things we want to lose other than weight and there aren’t many things we are willing to give up, but we have to be willing to give up…to invest some of our time if we want to learn to think differently about food, about God, about ourselves, about our bodies, about this process.
First thing in the morning, when I am fresh, committed, resolved…it is then that I take the time to renew my mind, to carve out that time to go over in my mind what is true. I select from one of the many tools that I have shared here at the blog or from Barb Raveling’s website. I don’t need to do them all. I don’t need to take much time, even, but doing something makes all the difference in the world. Taking time to think, ponder, speak out loud such thoughts as these will be rewarding..like making an investment in a future return:
“Eating 0 to 5 is richly rewarding.”
“Eating according to these boundaries for me allows me freedom to enjoy all foods within moderation.”
“It is much better to live by design rather than by desire.”
“If I make sacrifices to live according to my boundaries starting now, life will be less chaotic, more peaceful and my body more healthy two months from now.”
As you begin to invest time in telling yourself the truth, in writing out these truths, in designing your truth cards, listening to encouraging Sound Cloud files or creating your own :-), you will find that in the moment of temptation, these are the thoughts that will come into your mind to strengthen you! When you just finished eating a wonderful dinner 0 to 5 and your high school daughter brings in a freshly baked plate of cookies that she made at a friend’s, the thoughts that you invested time thinking about will bathe your mind, enabling you to stand strong in the face of temptation.
Imagine, you are staring down a warm chocolate chip cookie (or four) and the thoughts that hit your mind are, “How many cookies will it really take to satisfy me right now?” or “Will I break a boundary right now if I eat this? What will I gain if I break my boundary right now? What will I lose? What will life look like (inside and out) if I practice *now* living according to this boundary? Is it a good boundary? How will what I do in this moment affect the larger picture? What choice do I really want to make right now?”
If I have spent time renewing my mind once or, even, twice a day, these are the thoughts that come to mind in those weaker moments, bringing with them life and strength infusing power to honor my body, my boundaries, and my God!
I can’t recommend enough the value of taking one set of questions from Barb Raveling’s book I Deserve a Donut and Other Likes That Make You Want To Eat (or her iPhone app) each day…preferably close to the time of day when you are most prone to struggle (I do this at 5pm each day in preparation for the temptation I have to engage in evening eating), and journal the answers. I have found that, for me, just thinking about the questions isn’t enough. I need to sit down and actually grapple with the questions a bit. Seeing my answers in print is really helpful. I do this even when I am not tempted. (Not many of us want to sit down and journal when we are being tempted.)
The time invested is SO worth it. In fact, I have found the investment worth some other sacrifices. I now set my alarm to wake me up earlier, giving me plenty of time in the morning to be able to renew my mind. It is like putting a deposit in an ATM (one that WORKS, though!). I know that if I put that time in, it will come back with lots of additional benefits.
How About You?
If you haven’t seen the consistency in your life with practicing the Thin Within principles or maintaining your godly boundaries of eating between hunger and satisfaction, are you willing to consider the possibility that you need to change things up? That it might be beneficial to begin now to invest some time (maybe even lose a little sleep…even 15 minutes!) in training your mind to be alert and ready for action? What are you willing to start doing today? If doing this every day is too much, you might want to consider 4x a week to start with. You might be surprised and actually enjoy it! 🙂 I know you will be pleased with the way it impacts your thinking!
When you read this, my sister…my naturally thin sister…will be visiting with me. This year, I have had the opportunity to enjoy her company more than in the previous ten years combined! I have no doubt that the visit that I have with her for Christmas will be filled with yet more lessons of what it is like to be an intuitive eater like her.
Whenever I am with Andrea, I learn something about how a naturally thin eater navigates the waters that are murky and challenging for me.
Some of the things I have learned from her are:
1.) A naturally thin eater doesn’t use a bathroom scale. Andrea has never owned a bathroom scale, yet when she goes to the doctor she is the same weight as she was 45 years ago (NO JOKE!).
vs. me…how many years did I struggle with letting an ever-changing number—if not on the bathroom scale then a pants size—determine my value, worth, “success?”
2.) A naturally thin eater doesn’t have “off limits” foods. Andrea typically likes to eat whole foods and vegetarian because of her conscience. She isn’t bound to rigid dieting laws, however. She bends and flexes according to her conscience in the moment. She and I have enjoyed decadent Mexican food, homemade pizza with lots of toppings, cheesecake, homemade ice cream sandwiches, hot fudge sundaes, and the list goes on and on.
vs. me…I often feel like I need to make some foods off-limits because I fear losing control. I want to grow up to be like Big Sister!
3.) There is virtually nothing that a naturally thin eater won’t taste and enjoy.
vs. me…I seem to feel like I “need” so much more than a “taste” of the foods I enjoy. I am eager to grow up in this respect, too.
4.) A naturally thin eater may choose not to have some foods in her house. This may seem to be contrary to item 2, but while she may not have these items in her house by way of routine, she can, on occasion, if she chooses. She just rarely chooses. To be honest, this one surprised me, but apparently, my sister has, over the years, just decided there are some foods she doesn’t need to have access to freely. She doesn’t seem to miss those foods when they aren’t in her house. She doesn’t buy them and really never has. That said, she had a king-size, organic, dark chocolate raspberry truffle candy bar in her cabinet last time I visited. She suckshalf a chocolate rectangle…and makes the chocolate bar last for a couple of weeks or longer!
vs. me…If I have a chocolate bar in my house, I typically won’t stay out of it anytime I am hungry. It is likely to be gone within a day or two—at the most three. The last time I came back from my sisters, though, she gave me a chocolate bar of my own to “practice” her “techniques” with :-). It lasted 10 days!!! It is amazing how satisfying it was to eat it that slow. I was able to be grateful and mindful.
5.) Meal preparation is a big event for the naturally thin eater. I compared notes with my daughter on this one and it is true in her experience as well—Andrea does everything related to food (even shopping!) with care, focus, and time. She is mindful when preparing coffee, when peeling and cutting fruit, when stirring the yogurt, when toasting the bread. Everything is done with great intentionality. The eating of the meal is only part of the enjoyment for her. She truly takes a lot of time to prepare the food…even food that we wouldn’t ordinarily think would require that sort of time.
vs. me…I can’t prepare the food fast enough when I am hungry!
6.) It could go without saying, but a naturally thin eater eats very slowly. My big sister takes a bite of something and savors it just like the half-rectangle of dark chocolate I mentioned previously. I can say with relative confidence that she does this with all the food she consumes.
vs. me…I have always claimed to be a “texture” eater…thus the reason why I chew chocolate and, yes, even ice cream! But what is TRUE? What is TRUE is that a great deal of enjoyment can come by slowing down and sucking on the chocolate (for instance) or ice cream. By just allowing the entire experience to take a bit more time. 🙂
7.) A naturally thin eater removes the emotion from pre-meal preparation anticipation. Actually, I am not even sure how to categorize what I am talking about here. While Andrea enjoys food tremendously, she nevertheless refers to meals as “feedings.” She has asked me when I stay with her: “When do you want our next feeding to be?” I have given this some careful consideration and there is something about the term “feeding” that reduces the emotion behind anticipating a meal. What I mean is when I am hungry and actually preparing the meal, the emotions and joy are allowed to flow, but beforehand, referring to the next meal as a “feeding” seems to remove the emotion from the event, thus making it less about lust 🙂 and more about the needs of my body, if that makes sense. I am not as likely to pre-empt hunger. Maybe it is because I think of a “feeding” as something that is done for animals who require certain nutrients…not for recreational enjoyment of food! I know we aren’t animals, certainly, but I do think the term is helpful. When I think of “my next feeding,” I think in terms of what my body needs, instead of what my taste buds want.
vs. me…I sometimes get excited thinking about the next meal or the next time I get to eat. Sometimes, then I will eat before my body needs food. Using Andrea’s term of “feeding,” removes some of the super-charge from the anticipation.
8.) A naturally thin eater sometimes overeats, but doesn’t get upset about it. It’s true! When I asked Andrea about the quantity I have seen her pack away on rare occasion 🙂 she reminds me that she doesn’t eat like that very often. When she does, she doesn’t think much about it after the fact. She waits until she is hungry again and eats her normal portion size.
vs. me…I tend to beat myself up when I overeat. Or, in the past, I have tried to exercise to make up for overeating.
9.) A naturally thin eater eats sitting down at a table. Andrea mentioned this to me during one of my recent visits. Although this is definitely one of the Keys to Conscious Eating, I nevertheless found it strangely reassuring that even a naturally thin eater sits for any “feeding” :-). It isn’t just a “rule” for me. It is wisdom. People, like my sister, who I admire for the way that food doesn’t own them, just take a load off to enjoy their food.
vs. me…I have been known to walk through the kitchen and mindlessly grab something. It seems like when I eat something standing up, it is likely that I am breaking my 0 to 5 boundary. Like it doesn’t count when I eat it standing! Sitting down, I own up to the moment being an eating occasion…even if it just a cookie. By sitting down, I slow down, am mindful, and enjoy the experience more. I am less likely to pre-empt hunger if I uphold this secondary boundary!
10.) Naturally thin eaters keep temptations that are present in their home wrapped up and put away out of sight. One of the reasons why the chocolate bar that Andrea gave me lasted so long was because I followed her advice…I wrapped it up and put it out of sight.
vs. me… In the past, I often left foods like cookies, brownies, etc, on the counter. The truth is, if it sits on the counter, I am likely to be reminded of it even when I am not hungry. Then it becomes more of a battle for me than it needs to be.
11.) Naturally thin eaters exercise for enjoyment and general feel-good health benefits, rather than out of fear. Andrea does Yoga and walks around her neighborhood. She does so because she enjoys it.
vs. me…over the years at various times, I have exercised out of fear or to make up for what I have overeaten!
How About You?
Can you adopt any of these practices? Do you have a naturally thin relative or friend? What other practices have you noticed are a part of their life?
Or is my life like this cluttered coffee table…intended to display you–to show you off–to demonstrate that I honor you, but so many things are allowed in that your face is obscured?
Have I welcomed you?
Do I prepare a place for you that you might live freely, unhindered?What, in my life, is crowding you, Lord?
Is it my desire for my physical body to be healthy? Have I taken that too far? Not far enough? Am I owned by food? Or, am I owned by a drive not to be owned by food?
Is it my love for my husband and the “Happily Ever After” I dreamed to enjoy once our nest was empty?
Is it my children and the importance I place on what they choose to do with their futures?
Have I given laughter, joy and all the things you have created and truly want for me, too great a place of prominence?
Have I exalted the gifts rather than the Giver?
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. ~ Ephesians 3:16-17a
I choose to make room for you today, Lord. By faith, I choose to welcome you to dwell in my heart. I choose to still my soul, like a weaned child with it’s mother (Psalm 131). Please wean me of anything in this world that distracts me from a passion for you. I am so grateful, Lord, that one thing I know…I need you so much that my life is a living testimonial of your grace, love and mercy. Thank you. Like the song says, Lord, “Be born again in me, today.” I will never NOT need the gospel preached to my soul.
Break free from dieting and compulsive exercise! God never intended for food to torment us or for us to spend two hours on the elliptical making up for what we ate earlier in the day. Instead, he longs for us to experience his peace, joy, and rest in the presence of food. He longs for us to move our bodies out of expressions of joy and worship…because it feels good to do so! God invites us to shake off the shackles of fear that keep us a slave to exercise to make up for what we eat.
What IS Thin Within? How can you start right now, with no money invested, to shed extra weight and to walk in the freedom that is yours?
A free online class will begin January 6th, 2014. Please join us! The only thing you will need for it is a Thin Within workbook, but even if you don’t have one of those, please join us anyhow! (You can get a free sample of one week’s worth of material at this link.) The webinars will encourage you and there will be new videos posted here to the blog each week as well.
This post outlines the details for how you can get involved in the class that starts January 6th and runs through April 7th.
If you want to see the emails that have been sent to the class list already, the first one, sent on December 3, is here. The second, sent on December 16, is here.
What do you have to lose other than obsession with counting and exercise? With Thin Within, we eat what we enjoy in moderation. We become mindful of what our bodies need to operate at their best. We exercise because we enjoy doing so and relish the health benefits. We no longer live in fear! Sound good to you? Come on along!
How About You?
Want to join us for the workbook study? Subscribe to the email list by clicking here.
What questions would you like answered in our Orientation Webinar? Use the comments section here to respond. I look forward to hearing from you. 🙂
