Thinwithin.org

New Things!

by | Dec 22, 2012 | Blog

Hi, everyone. My Thin Within journey blog has been returned to http://godisdoinganewthing.blogspot.com.

I hope you will come visit my new website and new blog. I don’t know if I will keep both up, but the same material that has been here since 2006 will continue to be here!

Say hello! 🙂 I would love to know you were here since things were offline for a while.

Thanks and have a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas!

See With Different Eyes

by | Dec 6, 2012 | Blog


Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past. 
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18,19 is a precious passage to me. God has used it to speak to me yet again.  He asks me if I can SEE what he is doing. Do I PERCEIVE the new thing he is up to!
I just returned from a wonderful horseback ride and it never fails to astound me that God uses my horses to teach me about life and about Him. Today was no exception.
Imagine walking through a dark alley after midnight in a part of town reputed for being riddled with crime.  What do you feel? Edgy? A sense of foreboding? Like at any moment you could be startled and it could mean severe harm? Believe it or not, that is how a horse feels much of the time! God has wired these amazing animals (since The Fall) with prey-animal instincts. This is true of wild mustangs, but also our barnyard trail horses.
Since horses anticipate they will be eaten at any given moment by a predator–not hurt, but killed– they look at the world differently than you or me. It makes time spent with horses on trails amidst forests filled with bogeys, replete with adventure.
Therefore, I have learned when I ride to see the world with the eyes of my horse. This way, I am prepared to help him when something unexpected frightens him and he jumps out of his skin (while I am still on his back). It might be a strangely moving rock (actually a lizard darting off the rock to shelter), a plastic tarp floating in the wind, or an inner tube hoisted above a fisherman’s head!
Today, a yard decoration twirled in the breeze on one side of the trail as a hiker approached with a child in a backpack on the other.  Poor Harley was convinced that his life was over. Because of the way I have trained myself to see with the eyes of a horse, I anticipated that Harley might need help and I was able to be there when he needed me.
Afterwards, as I considered how we managed safely through this experience in spite of Harley’s instinctive sudden leap sideways, I realized that looking at things from the perspective of my Heavenly Father also helps me to navigate life with greater tenderness and wisdom. What does He see when He looks at the teenager, the widow, my checkbook, my calendar? As my day stretches before me, if I choose to look at life with the eyes of my tender, compassionate Father God, what will I see? What will I know or be able to anticipate? What will become possible when I see things as he does?
My son reacts to something I say and, instead of disrespect, with my Father’s eyes I see that there is pain  deep in my son’s heart that he is guarding. I can come alongside and support him to process what is really going on.
A friend misunderstands me, challenging my motives and intentions, and, instead of being deeply wounded and going inward, I see with the Lord’s eyes the difficulties she has been facing and that I am a safe person with whom she can “decompress.”
His vision enables me to see that which I couldn’t otherwise see and provides wisdom to do that which I couldn’t otherwise do.
With my Father’s eyes, I see any of my “issues” and incessant longing to “just be normal” as opportunity to learn complete dependence on Him. Oh! How my struggle with this keeps me clinging to the hem of his robe!
Going through life, seeing with only my own eyes limits me too much, making me myopic or, what Jesus referred to as, “Nearsighted and blind.” I don’t want to miss rich opportunities that God intends for my growth as one of his children.
Today, I will choose to see with my Father’s Eyes.
How about you? What situation would be transformed if you could see it afresh through the eyes of your Heavenly Father?

Change Must Come From the *Inside* Out

by | Nov 28, 2012 | Blog

 This video is extremely powerful. It isn’t a Christian video, but it demonstrates *precisely* what one of my deepest concerns is about focusing on our weight and why I feel like the “Greater” calling of God on my life is to focus on HIM and WHO HE is… When my focus becomes Godward, I believe that *I* change…and these inward changes will affect my outward appearance.

It is my deepest conviction that the same is true for you! For everyone!

I hope that David experiences that transformation that God specializes in!

I Quit! — Sorta…

by | Nov 26, 2012 | Blog

I am done settling.

I am done with believing tiny things.

It is time to put my big girl pants on and dare to believe great things about my Mighty God! To catch a vision for the GREATER thing He has in mind.

Image Courtesy of iStockPhoto.com

 I want to wrap my arms (and heart) around everything that God has planned!

If you have visited my blog at all previously, then you know that my primary ministry for the past 6 years has been encouraging people with regard to eating between hunger and satisfaction. This has been “good,” but, now, a shift is in order. To continue with that focus would be to allow myself (and maybe you?) to be distracted from what is a greater, more worthy, focus.

I see it this way: I have a choice–will I allow myself to obsess about my size or even, perhaps, about the nobler thought of how my eating and weight may be a reflection to some people about the sufficiency of my God, or will I pursue the Greater thing that God wants me to pursue? Is it possible that I have been living the antithesis of what Jesus speaks of in Matthew 6? Read my anti-verses:

Heidi, worry about your life and what you will eat and drink. Go ahead and worry about your body and what you will wear, how it will look and what size it is. Your life is all about food and clothes and how you look. (Antithesis of Matthew 6:25) 

So keep up the worry–it is so productive! Obsess about what you will eat and drink and wear. The people in the world run after these things and God wants you to be just like them (not!). (Antithesis of Matthew 6:31, 32).

I have been living as if these are the words found in Matthew 6…but who would really say these things to me? The enemy of my soul!

Instead, Jesus says:

  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, 
and all these things will be given to you as well. 
~ Matthew 6:33
God is redirecting my life. I feel the *good* thing has been to speak to others about offering our bodies to God and pursuing “0 to 5” eating–and I still believe this is *good*.  But I think my focus on this has eclipsed the greater thing that God wants to do in and through me.
I am expanding my vision.
Will I take him at His word? If I seek HIM first, and HIS righteousness, to know Him, exalt Him, praise Him, adore Him, walk with Him…if I allow this pursuit to saturate my life through and through–not just be “first” on my list each day before I take off and do my own thing–is it possible that anything else that He wants in my life will fall into place? 
If what is said is true–that the good is often the enemy of the best–then I want to move on, grow up, graduate on into the *best*…that greater calling of God. I want to put the “good” in it’s place so it doesn’t stand in the way of the best!
How about you? What have you focused on in your life that hinders you from pursing that Greater thing that God is calling you to?

Seven Survival Tips for the Holidays!

by | Nov 19, 2012 | Blog

Need some strategies for managing through the holidays? Consider these tips (also posted previously in 2007 and 2011):

Photo Courtesy of iStockPhoto.com



1. Figure out why you are going to a social occasion like a party or family gathering. (See chapter 25 in Thin Within.)

– Write down your purposes in attending and plan accordingly. Most of us, once we have decided to surrender this area of our lives, don’t go to parties intending to overeat. So ask yourself if it is because you want to connect with family, friends and co-workers, it is easier to accept that food isn’t required for that.

– Then, when you get to the event, achieve your goal! Socialize or network or whatever it might be!

2. When planning to attend a social event that includes food, plan to be at a zero (stomach totally empty) by eating a smaller meal earlier in the day.

– It may be unreasonable for you not to eat at some events–like sit-down holiday dinners and the like. If your event is at 7pm, for instance, and you get hungry at 5:30 pm–you are definitely at a 0 at 5:30pm–then have just a few crackers or a cup of milk or something that will just remove the hunger. You don’t need to eat to a 5. This way, you will be more likely to arrive at your holiday dinner at a 0 and ready to eat.

– You can also “ride the 0” a little while unless you know yourself well enough to know that you will have a hard time eating slowly if you get “too hungry.” When we eat too fast, it is easy to eat way too much.

3.) When you are eating 0 to 5 at a holiday party and there are TONS of choices from which to choose, you can look at all that is offered and evaluate before you choose the foods you will eat which choices are most likely to be “teasers,” “pleasers,” and “whole body pleasers” (see chapter 18 in Thin Within). You want to be “picky” about what and how much of each “pleaser” or “whole body pleaser” food you select.

– Identify which foods offered are teasers and don’t even “go there.”

– If something is available all year long (like fresh french bread) you may want to forego selecting it in favor of something that is a favorite at holiday time (chocolate peppermint pie? LOL!).

4. ) Look around the party or dinner for a naturally thin eater and note their behaviors. See if you can spot someone who is naturally thin, but who is enjoying the party without overindulging. (This may be tough as most Americans use holidays as an excuse to eat way more than we need…thus the “average” American gaining 8 pounds in two month’s time.)

5.) Sometimes people give gifts of food. It is true that some people love on others by giving food any time of the year–all the more during the holidays! In Thin Within, there is nothing wrong with having a small piece of whatever food that you receive, of course. If you know that you can withstand temptation to overeat it, feel free to have it in your home, of course! But if you know that you can’t handle the temptation, then here are some suggestions:

– When someone wants to send you home with a bunch of treats 🙂 either politely tell them “No, thank you,” or oblige and state (or not) that you will be glad to share the treats with others…then re-gift them as soon as possible before temptations lures you into eating them.

– I found that friendships didn’t end and family members didn’t disown me if I refused food from them. Maybe your friends and family are different…but really, when you consider where “people pleasing” has gotten most of us, it is like a death sentence. Most people who love us well enough to give us food gifts are aware of our struggle. Depending on the person, I have admitted my weakness as I explain why I have to turn down their kind offer.

– When you end up with treats anyhow…THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH FLUSHING THEM DOWN THE TOILET THE MINUTE YOU WALK THROUGH THE DOOR! If you are like me and sometimes need “permission” to do something so drastic, consider this a blanket permission… “Flush the cookies, cakes, pies, candy, whatevers…down the toilet!”

6.) Put the fork down between bites when you are eating out or at a holiday party. This helps slow me down quite a bit any time…not just for holiday parties.

7.) Maybe most importantly, EXTEND GRACE to yourself. If you “blow it” for a party or a meal or even for a day or a week…just OBSERVE and CORRECT! This isn’t a diet, so you don’t have to feel like you “blew it!” Instead, you just had a step or two back on your path…but forge ahead “forgetting what is behind!” Remember this is a journey…a life long journey! God extends grace to you in all things, so extend some to yourself!

What about you? Do you have strategies that have helped you make it through the holidays?

How to Defeat Shame

by | Oct 11, 2012 | Blog

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in You I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame… – Psalm 25:1-3a
Photo Courtesy of  iStockPhoto.com
There are moments when I get a big, sudden dose of reality. I am faced with the truth of what it is I am trusting in and it certainly isn’t God! In those moments, I feel shame…it is as if all my “eggs” have been placed in a basket–all that I feel, what I perceive about the world and myself–I have entrusted to a “positive” situation or a person. Circumstances and people aren’t to be looked to for my sense of value, well-being, or confidence. To do so, is to set myself up for a deep wounding or a fall. My soul is to be lifted up to God alone. When I do that, there won’t be shame. He is faithful, loving, and good.

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all the day long. – Psalm 25: 4,5

This is the perfect antidote for the shame, disappointment and heartache I may feel when I have trusted in circumstances or people too much. Fix my eyes on the Lord and he will show me HIS ways. He will teach me HIS paths. He will guide me in HIS truth. He alone is my Savior and worthy of my hope throughout this day!

Lessons Learned From A Nutty Golden Retriever

by | Oct 8, 2012 | Blog

Obsessed with lights, reflections, and shadows, my golden retriever, Daisy, slams herself into the wall as I open the back door. The sun has just risen above the hill in the distance and Daisy is convinced that the prey animals–squirrels, perhaps–scamper a mass exodus on the facing wall, reflections moving in synchronization with the door. She earnestly assaults the wall to stop the invasion.

Never deterred by the obvious pointlessness of her behavior, the beliefs she possesses drive her to pursue the illusive prey.

Sometimes, she tries to “control” her urges. Body still…alert, watching, quivering…yet seemingly resolved to “leave it,” when, suddenly, she flings herself into the wall yet again, overcome by the urge that has ruled her for her seven years of life. Daisy has never successfully captured a reflection. Why she keeps at this behavior, one can only guess.

I wish I could explain that reflections have no substance and thinking differently is necessary in order to be victorious over the impulses she faces. I would expose the fact that believing the lies keeps her stuck in destructive and futile behavior.

Can you identify with Daisy? Do you keep slamming into a wall but feel like you accomplish nothing?

I wonder if you, like Daisy, might benefit from thinking differently.

My focus in the pages I have written here since 2006 has clearly been on the “success” that you will experience (losing weight) if you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are no longer hungry. Whether implied or stated explicitly, I have asserted that you will experience the physical transformation seen in my pictures (down the sidebar and elsewhere on this site)–that you will “release” all your extra weight and keep most, if not all, of it off your body permanently. That if you eat “0 to 5” and go to God for all the other reasons you are tempted to eat, you will be transformed!

This IS true, but this is only PART of the truth! Believing that 0 to 5 eating will physically transform you without incorporating the whole picture can actually perpetuate discouragement and, even, captivity.  Without the context of a renewed mind, changed thinking, and new beliefs, 0 to 5 eating is just another diet.

I know some of you are dealing with this. You have done everything. You feel like Thin Within is a last hope. And some of you have tried TW, “released” weight, regained it, tried it again, lost weight, gained it again…and you find you are on another figurative treadmill…only now feeling more hopeless than before. I really believe this is the same behavior that Daisy’s reflection madness illustrates for us. We could restrain her externally, but true lasting change has to come from some place deeper. Somehow, she needs a new belief about reflections on the wall. Perhaps we need new beliefs about food, our bodies, about weight and about God!

We need to stop slamming into walls chasing something illusive! Maybe what we keep chasing is serving only to distract us from what is really worthy of pursuit.

I propose that we turn a new direction. I hope you will go with me down this new road. Instead of chasing lights on the wall, I want to chase hard after God. I want to pursue a transformed heart and a renewed mind. I don’t want to settle for a change in my body–I don’t want YOU to settle for that! Or for the promise that we think having a smaller body will offer us when SO MUCH MORE is offered by our great and generous God who lavishes grace and mercy on us so freely!

I want nothing less than God very God, breathing his life into me and through me. I want to sense his presence so powerfully, that it is palpable. I want to invite him to expose lies that I believe in a new way…not just if the truth feels  better than the lie I have believed. Sometimes the lie feels good, even more “truthful” than the truth! That is why we grab at it. It is familiar. But nevertheless a lie.

I want to rebuke any lies that somehow whisper comfort and solace to me when I desperately long for it and there seems to be none forth coming. I want to be willing to stand cold, alone, bare before my God and trust him that if I am exposed and left standing it is for very good and perfect reasons.

Let’s stop slamming into the walls, led astray by what we are so convinced is true. Let’s take time to pause and consider together. Over the next weeks and months, I hope to do that here. And you are invited to join me.

Was there anything that I shared in this blog post that resonated or rang true for you? Won’t you share with me what that was/is?

A Season For Truth

by | Oct 2, 2012 | Blog


Image Courtesy of iStockPhoto.com
I heard the call of a Red-Shafted Flicker today.  These beautiful woodpeckers are “Heralds of Fall,” migrating to higher elevations in the summer and returning with the Autumn. The daytime temperatures may still soar in the 90s here at my home in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but night cools into the 50s. The lingering daylight of the summer months is no more.
My life, too, is in a new season. Homeschooled all their lives except for one year in a public school, my children have “migrated” to schools in other states. In June, my elderly mom took her last breath of Earth’s air and flew freely into eternity. With my care-taking responsibilities in the past, God is inviting me forward—to fresh adventure.
Is God calling me to focus more on writing and speaking in the months (years?) ahead? I sat still in His presence last week to listen to what he had to say to me about this. Instead of the sweetness of His presence, I was astounded by the noise in my head. I captured the monolog I spoke over myself:

Lord, is this really what you want? What if I am being arrogant? What if I am promoting self? Then I would be setting myself up for a big fall… you know that I don’t feel like I have much to offer. I just truly want to point out to any who will listen how awesome YOU are. I want to proclaim your praises. What if people think it is too Pollyanna-ish? What if they think my joy is fabricated? What if they think it is old news? What if they minimize just how powerful a transformation praise, gratitude, and forgiveness can cause in a life? What if they shoot the messenger because they don’t want to hear the message? I know many are in places that I can’t fathom. Those who have been hurt beyond belief or who are walking through trials. What about them? Is teaching that a life of praise is transformational…OFFENSIVE? I hate to wound, but I guess what I hate even more, Lord, is not being loved by others. I want them all to be excited by what I share. What if I think you have given me ideas to share…and what if I can’t organize them or finish them? Lord, what if the ideas I have aren’t good enough? What if they are only personal truths…and aren’t really as amazing as I think? What will people think…of me? I seem to be stuck in that rut of what people think a lot. That saturates my thinking. My greatest fear is that I have made up a “calling” to write and speak for selfish reasons. Yet I am not sure I even *like* the idea of writing and speaking and putting myself out there to be rejected! Lord, I am confused! What is YOUR will?
Not the best way to start a new season of life writing and speaking, huh? â˜ș (I was due to leave to share at our women’s retreat in just three days’ time!) I just about convinced myself to forget the writing and speaking (the work) and, instead, go after the certification as a professional tennis instructor, teaching tennis (another opportunity that has opened up).
God led me to expose the lies in the monolog I was proclaiming over my life with an eye to what Scripture teaches. This shut down my defeated thinking–immediately!
What do you speak over your life? Are you like me? Do you speak lies over your life? How do you narrate your story? Do you, like me, defeat yourself? Is your loving, Heavenly Father challenging you to expose those lies and to replace them with truth—HIS truth, so that you might walk in what He wants for you?  How about if you try it? Be it a new endeavor—a new hobby, ministry, vocation—or a long-held ambition. Picture yourself giving it a go. What do you have to say about yourself? Capture the noise in your head, the narration or monolog that you speak over your life. See if you are caught up in defeated thinking that God wants to stifle with his trump card of truth! Then speak truth in response!
The LORD your God is with you,
    he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
    he will quiet you with his love,
    he will rejoice over you with singing.
~ Zephaniah 3:17

Good, GOOD Morning!

by | Sep 22, 2012 | Blog

Photo Courtesy of iStockPhoto.com

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, 

for I have put my trust in you. 
Show me the way I should go, 
for to you I lift up my soul. 
– Psalm 143:8

I *enjoy* greeting the Lord first thing each morning. I wonder if he feels likewise! 🙂 When I sit at his feet first thing, opening his Word and talking with him, I experience a very tender “Welcome, Child” into the day. He affirms again for me that He loves me and that his love has no limits. When I allow him to convince me of this yet again each morning, I am reminded that trusting him is the only way to live…what else could I do? What else would I even *want* to do? I lift my soul…the deepest part of who I am to him…he treats it as precious and directs me. Why wouldn’t I want to start my day this way? 🙂 Thank you, Lord.

(For the record, I am convinced that God has placed this desire inside of me…there is nothing about me personally that garners “self discipline” to spend this time with him. He knows that apart from starting my day with him, I would be a moral train wreck…no, worse…Even now, my natural tendencies rise up and fuss against his wonderful authority. I must be intentional throughout the day to take every thought captive!)