When I calm down and take time to pray, I am reminded that it’s ok. God is ok with me throwing my tantrum because I am coming to Him. I am expressing my emotions and not stuffing them. I am not turning to food for comfort. I am talking to Him, even if it might be yelling at times.
It is then, in the quietness of my soul, the Lord gently reminds me that HE came to give me more. He came to give me life. He came as a baby in a dirty cow stall to give me peace. And hope. And joy. And completion in Him.
I am reminded how God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary when she was just a teenager to tell her that she was going to have a baby.
Not just any baby, mind you, but the SON OF GOD! Yes….not only that but she had not even been with a man. Oh and more….she was engaged to a man who could accuse her of having an adulterous affair. A stonable offence in that time.
I’m sure she thought that it was an impossible situation. She could have given a lot of excuses when Gabriel came to her why she wasn’t worthy. I’m sure she may have thought of some reasons why she was unable to have this baby. I’m sure she thought it was going to be hard. I’m sure she was scared.
In Luke’s gospel it states that she was “confused and disturbed” (Luke 1:29 NLT) or she was “thoroughly shaken” (MSG) when Gabriel came to her. What was the angel’s response to her? Did he say “you should not be disturbed”? or “Woe to you for being confused”?
No. Read his response:
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!”
Luke 1:30
And God reminds me in a whisper to my heart. “Don’t be afraid as you follow my boundaries for you through this difficult time of year, for you have found favor with God, my daughter!”
Just as the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary and told her how God would transform her life by bringing Jesus through her, God whispers to us that He will transform our lives as we also follow Him.
Mary was willing to step out in faith and follow God through what must have been one of the most difficult times in her life. She faced ridicule, shame and possible stoning. Yet she said to Gabriel
“I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said”
Luke 1:38
Mary was facing an impossible situation. Although it may seem like eating 0-5 is trivial compared to what Mary went through, our heart’s response is just as critical as hers. Our situation is just as important to the Lord as Mary’s was back then. And our impossible situations are POSSIBLE through HIM.
“Nothing is impossible with God.”(Luke 1:37) This is what the angel told Mary.
So it is with us. Whatever challenges you might be facing this Christmas, remember that God is right there with You to give you the strength and guidance you need.
That little baby born long ago came so we can be FREE today! He came so we can have life abundant in Him.
Jesus calls us forth to follow Him in everything we do. Let’s GO!
“Let us run our race marked out for us as we keep our eyes on Jesus”
Hebrews 12:1-2
How about you? Are you ready to follow Jesus with your eating? Are you willing to trust that God is with you and will help you in this?
My sister got married a few years ago at a beautiful log home in the mountains of Colorado. The morning of the big day, we had all the bridesmaids over for breakfast while we had our hair and makeup done. We had a huge spread- croissants, danishes, muffins, coffee cake, mimosas, fruit, cheese, coffee and of course, donuts. The spread took over the entire kitchen counter, it was huge!
I walked over to it with another bridesmaid who is a naturally thin woman. We both grabbed plates and began looking over the mountain of food in front of us. I reached for danishes, fruit and a plethora of other goodies. Then I glanced over at the other bridesmaid. She had grabbed a couple of pieces of cheese and put them on her plate and was walking away. “That’s all you want to have?!?” I asked, utterly bewildered. She shrugged, smiled and said “Yeah! It’s all I need right now!“
She ate what her body needed at the time. Her want and need aligned perfectly. The concept of wanting more than that was completely foreign to her. Her need was her want.
For so many of us, our wants go far beyond our bodily needs.
Our wants rise up in us and take over, hence the meals we eat from 0-8 or 2-6. Our wants are fueled by unhealthy, unaddressed and sinful emotions, attitude and thought patterns. My want is a greedy, gluttonous, prideful, entitled, rebellious little creature. It’s a monster, really. A WantMonster.
WantMonsters take over meals, crash through our Thin Within boundaries without a second thought and keep us wrapped up in bondage. They wreak havoc on good intentions. They are often the reason we just can’t seem to stick with Thin Within. They blaze through dinner at 90mph and leave us dumbfounded at the end of the day, wondering what in the heck happened to maintaining 0-5 boundaries.
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time to tame the WantMonster. How exactly should we go about subduing such a wild creature that seems so unpredictable at times? I’m glad you asked. Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about this, shall we?
“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinfulthings, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.“-Romans 8:5
“He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Forgive us our sins,for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.“-Luke 11:2-4
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.“-Ephesians 4:21-23
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”- Galations 5:16
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.“-Galations 5:24-25
“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”-Matthew 26:41
I’m noticing a bit of a theme here. When we pray and are Spirit lead, we have God’s help out of the sinful nature that holds us back. We can’t expect to tame the WantMonster on our own. No amount of effort on our parts is going to get us anywhere. But, when we pray and are filled with the Holy Spirit’s power, we have the power to overcome the flesh.
What does this look like practically? For me personally, this often looks like praying each morning against the things that I know will try and feed the WantMonster. I pray against pride. I pray against entitlement. I pray against temptation (Jesus taught us how to do this!). I pray against distraction, excuses I might tell myself to eat beyond a 5, complacency and rebellion. I have a list a mile long of things I pray about and against. I also ask for a fresh renewal of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life that day. I ask for the Spirit’s power to help me stay obedient to my godly boundaries.
This is a non-negotiable for me, I do it every day. And on those days where I don’t…well, wouldn’t you know…the WantMonster rises up and stampedes throughout almost every meal. It’s a correlation too strong to ignore. Without continued prayer about all this, the WantMonster grows. But, as I am faithful to pray about it and surrender my fleshly wants, God is faithful to help me. As I continue to seek Him, pray against my fleshly desires and ask for the Spirit’s leading…I notice more and more that my wants and my bodily needs align perfectly. I am not throwing a temper tantrum because it took so little food to satisfy me. I am not pouting because I can’t have a second helping at dinner. I am thankful, humble and grateful to eat what my body needs, not what my flesh cries out for. It’s a beautiful thing to tame the WantMonster!
How about you? Have you felt a WantMonster rising up in you? Do you often find your wants and your bodily needs don’t line up? Take some time to list out the emotions, attitudes and thought patterns that feed your WantMonster. Do an experiment and pray daily about these things. My guess is that God will show you a way to tame your wants in favor of obedience to your godly boundaries and bodily needs.
Sometimes I feel like a Golden Retriever when it comes to food. If it is there…I have to “retrieve” it. It is meant for me! I have a golden and know that sitting patiently with not one, but TWO tennis balls in front of her…well, it just wouldn’t happen. Sort of like those moments of temptation when I know I plan to eat, eat more, or eat again and the momentum is carrying me forward. I wonder…could I garner the strength to wait for a moment before going after whatever-it-is? Like this dog in the above image?
One of the biggest blessings in my life is getting to be one of the coaches for Thin Within. Through this ministry, I have had the blessing of “meeting” many of you one-on-one (via Skype or the telephone). God has used many of my clients to speak truth into my life and give me great tools to use myself as well as to share with others! One of my very favorites to share is what one client created and called the “STALL” tool. (If you are out there reading this, let me know if I can credit you!)
Any time food is within reach, it is a great idea to get in the habit of using this tool automatically. Of course, we want to extend grace to ourselves, giving time to develop a new habit just as we would any habit:
Take a moment and, before eating, S.T.A.L.L.
The dictionary definition of “Stall” is “to bring to a standstill.”
If we have the power of Christ living in us, if I can do all things through Christ who dwells in me as a child of the Lord like the Scriptures say I can (see Philippians 4:13), then when I am making my move to eat (like a retriever after a tennis ball!), it is totally possible in the strength that the Lord provides for me to apply this tool before I take a bite. I want to S.T.A.L.L. or “bring to a standstill” forward momentum. Just for a moment….
Using this tool…each letter of the word S.T.A.L.L. stands for something:
S – STOP
T – Turn. Sometimes this means literally, physically…away from the open fridge or cabinet, away from the second helping, or a little more abstractly, momentarily away from the desire for that taste, bite, lick, whatever-it-may-be.
A – Ask. Ask the Lord what is going on right now. Is my body in need of food? Is my desire for this lick, bite, helping because this high-performance “machine” that is my Holy Spirit-indwelt body needs fuel? Or is it something more impulsive or, even, of my flesh? I can ask the Lord if there is physical need or if this is emotional hunger or spiritual hunger? I want to ask Jesus to impress upon my heart what he would have me to do about what I am experiencing. Does it require food? Or would whatever-it-is best be “fed” another way?
L – Listen. Jesus said in John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” This tells me that when we listen–truly still our hearts and listen for him–that we will hear his voice. Sometimes this may come through wisdom he has given us through other means previously. Sometimes it may come through a Holy Spirit-led prompting. (I don’t think it necessarily means audibly at this point, so please be open to other ways you may “hear” him!) It may be a whisper that says, “Yes…” Or a whisper that says, “Enough.” It may be a shout out “Are you kidding?!?” (Just teasing about that part. :-))
Most tools don’t take us any farther than this place and there we are, left dealing with what we know God wants us to do in cold stark contrast to what our flesh is screaming at us to do. My favorite part of this tool is that it pushes me beyond with the second “L” in the word STALL. The second “L” is…
L – Love. Love what he tells me. I like to challenge myself to love him. Would eating this now or for this reason be an expression of love for the Lord? Of love for what he has laid on my heart? Of loving concern for the body he has entrusted to my care for this season of life on earth? Am I loving what he has told me?
If we get in the habit of “STALLing” before we start munching, we might discover that victory is just a few precious moments away!
How About You?
Can you practice S.T.A.L.L. before the next time you eat? If you try this, please share your results here with us. Others may be encouraged to give it a try!
You are going along happily in your Thin Within journey and you are finding freedom from diets, when BAM, you are tempted to look back at those diets. There are situations that can tempt us to look back (not being happy with the number on the scale, breaking your boundaries too often, feeling like you will never overcome, and so on). We think, “Oh, maybe my set of boundaries (0-5) don’t work, so maybe I should go back to _______, or maybe I should try ______.” Sound familiar? I know it’s very familiar to me since I have essentially looked back SO many times. In April of this year (2014), I was sharing with my husband about how I was thinking and felt tempted about going back to Weight Watchers because I knew it worked (even though I had sought freedom from tracking points). He said, “Going back to Weight Watchers would be like Lot’s wife looking back.” Ouch! It was something I needed to hear though. And then he said, “Weight Watchers is like a Band-Aid.” He has seen me walk my Thin Within journey, overcoming obstacles, gaining a healthy pregnancy weight, releasing inches and weight after baby was born, being free from obsessing, etc. He KNOWS this works! He has seen the transformation work God has done resulting from me choosing to renew my mind and letting myself to be free from the chains of captivity. And I needed to see through my husband’s eyes as he shared this wisdom with me: don’t look back.
Luke 17:32 says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” That’s seriously all it says. This was a scripture the Lord led me to after my husband shared that truth with me. I felt like it was a warning, a word of caution from the Lord about how very serious He is that I don’t look back, but to press on, to persevere. (The Lord gave me a word for 2014: persevere. And He has shown me He wants me to continue on this year with what He showed me last year, that He has brought CHANGE to my eating and is helping me overcome. God’s reminder to me to persevere has helped me climb out of some ruts).
So why should we remember Lot’s wife? What happened to her?
In Genesis 19:12-29, the story about this account is found. The summary of what happened was that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin. Angels told Lot and his family to flee the city:
When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed (verses 15-17).
And then the Lord did exactly what He said he would, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (verses 24-25).
But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (verse 26).
That’s some pretty serious stuff! She looked back, after God had told them, “Do not look behind you!” And then she turned into a pillar of salt. Yikes!
I wonder why she looked back? Maybe she had fond memories of the place? But you know what, it doesn’t matter why she looked back, but that by looking back she was disobeying God.
So when God tells me, through my husband, to not look back like Lot’s wife did, I would have to say He’s pretty serious. I don’t believe God is going to turn me into a pillar of salt, but He is showing me how detrimental it is that I obey Him and submit to Him. Did you notice that Lot’s wife “looked back behind him?” Who was this ‘him’? It was her husband. And I’m guessing she was not only disobeying God, but she was not submitting to Lot. God instructed Lot and Lot led his family out of the city that was going to be destroyed. Lot’s wife looked past her husband and God and looked back. And POOF, she was a pillar of salt.
So why would Jesus say, “Remember Lot’s wife”? Because He doesn’t want us looking back. He doesn’t want us going back to those things that He has called us away from. For me, He’s asking me to persevere and continue on in what He’s shown me to do, to not look back. Christ came to save us from our sin and set us free from those things that held us captive. God was saving Lot and his family from the destruction of the city. He told them to “escape for your life!” It was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). Don’t look back. Why would we want to look back? But we are tempted to look back and sometimes we do look back.
I’m not sure where you are in your Thin Within journey, but I do know this, God doesn’t want us held down, ensnared, or under any kind of captivity. There are plenty of areas in our life that this can touch on, but what I want to deal with is the area of looking back at the diets and the food restrictions that have held us captive for so long. I’m not saying “looking back” for you is disobeying God, but I am saying for myself that looking back for me has meant that I have not submitted to God. It’s like saying, “God, I know you don’t want me looking back, but that life worked for me. That diet worked for me (and failed me). Just let me go back. I can’t believe you are taking this away from me.” It’s pride. It’s basically saying, “God, my way is better than your way.” Ouch. It’s saying, “Lord, I don’t trust that Your way will get me what I want, so I’m going to make sure that I am happy, so I will do it my way.”. Has God given you a clear direction of not going back to diets? Is He asking you to submit to Him about this area of your life, or even other areas?
Unknown source and author
I saw that cartoon (above) recently on Facebook and it brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful illustration of what God wants to do in our lives. We think when He asks us to give up something that it’s doing us a disservice, but really, He has something so much greater that He wants to give us in place of our sacrifice. He says to die to ourselves so we can gain Christ (Galatians 2:20).
Through what the Lord spoke through my husband to me, it’s very clear to me that I am not to go back to a diet…unless I want to be like Lot’s wife. And, um, looking back didn’t really work out for her. So why would I want to go against what God has said?
Another scripture God has encouraged me with is James 4:7, which says, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he must flee.” So when the enemy tempts me with looking back, the Holy Spirit brings this scripture to my remembrance. It reminds me that I am to submit to God, to follow His lead (away from diets) and to not look back. God is looking out for me. He has a big ole teddy bear hiding behind His back that He wants to give me. *smile*
The enemy’s temptations to look back are becoming more and more quiet as I continue to submit to God. I have a lot more to say about the topic of submission, but I will save that for a future post. I am tasting more and more freedom as I continue to renew my mind and put my thoughts under the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
As far as the lie about thinking my Thin Within boundaries weren’t working: of course they work (I see the physical evidence as well). I like the way Barb Raveling puts it in her book Taste for Truth (Day 15), “When we find ourselves breaking our boundaries right and left, we don’t think, I need to renew my mind so I have the strength to follow my boundaries. Instead we think, I need to find a new set of boundaries because these boundaries obviously don’t work. Here’s what we are doing: we’re trusting the boundaries [we are looking back]. We’re believing the lie that somewhere out there is the perfect set of boundaries. And when we find them, they’ll be easy to follow. The sooner we get that lie out of our system, the better. We’re transformed by the renewing of the mind. Not by the boundaries.” This is exactly what would happen to me when I was breaking boundaries right and left. Instead of renewing my mind, I would think my boundaries must be broken, so I better go back to Weight Watchers, or not eating carbs or sugar. Lies! We think our boundaries will save us, but only God can save us. Only God can transform us. So the more we renew our mind and put on God’s truth, the more we actually do follow our boundaries. It works together, hand-in-hand. We follow our boundaries because God transforms us. We are transformed because of renewing our mind.
Renewing mind —-> Transformation —-> Following Boundaries
Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
My boundaries do work. I will submit to God. The devil will flee. I will follow the boundaries God has given me (0-5). I will walk in freedom!
How about you? Have you tasted freedom from dieting, but you are tempted to go back into dieting because you keep breaking your boundaries? Breaking your boundaries is an opportunity to draw closer to God. Go to Him. Pray. Praise Him. Renew your mind. Submit to Him. Walk in freedom! Don’t look back! God is doing a NEW thing!
CHIRP! The purpose of smoke alarms in our home is to let us know there is smoke hot enough, born from a fire, and that we need to get out! The alarms tell us to find safety, and that our lives are endangered. Their purpose is to save lives. So when a smoke alarm’s battery runs low, it lets us know that we need to change the battery with an annoying, inconsistent, “chirp!” That little chirp means, “If you don’t take care of this now, I’m just going to get more and more obnoxious. And if you fail to change my battery, I won’t be able to help you in case of an emergency.” In reference to our Thin Within journey of finding freedom from the control of food, there are situations (“fire”) that arise (like smoke rising), that sets off the “renewing-of-the-mind” alarm saying CHIRP!–YOU NEED TO RENEW YOUR MIND!
Last week, a smoke alarm in our house was chirping at me and letting me know its battery needed to be changed. The chirping sound is not something one can easily ignore. And the longer I put off changing the battery, the more often it chirped. I believe life has these same “chirps”, letting us know something needs to change or be recharged. From this chirping episode, the Lord showed me that there are “chirps” and alarms that go off in our life telling us that we need to change something. He showed me that there are things that tell me I need to stop and renew my mind.
Some of the “alarms” could be anything that trigger overeating or disorder in our eating. Maybe it’s after a stressful day and you just want to come home, grab the cookie jar, plop your feet up on your recliner, and shovel in the cookies. Maybe it’s finding out some upsetting news and you drive to the nearest fast-food drive-thru, knowing full-well that you are going to “super-size” and try to numb yourself with food. Maybe you put your jeans on and they are a little tighter than you remember and you feel tempted to try that new diet your friends were talking about. There are hundreds of things that can trigger our own personal out-of-order eating experience.
What kind of “smoke” sets off your alarm for needing to “recharge” or to renew your mind?
You aren’t hungry, but those brownies are screaming your name!! CHIRP!
You are at a “5”, but you really want another serving of salad from the buffet. CHIRP!
You ate an entire package of Oreos. CHIRP!
You want to eat your way through your emotions. CHIRP!
You weighed yourself and you gained. CHIRP!
You know what’s so cool about renewing our mind? Because, ultimately, it’s the LORD who does the work! Even recently, the Lord has been reminding me that I am transformed through HIS work, not me behaving better or making all of the perfect choices. It’s GOD! That revelation is oh so freeing!
Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
When you hear a CHIRP!, renew your mind! Grab your Bible, your truth cards, your journal, or get up and have a dance praise fest! Or use whatever tools or ways that work for you to put on God’s truth!
How about you? What’s setting off your “renewing-of-the-mind” alarm? Are you trying to overcome by your own strength and will-power? Christ said that we can do all things through His strength! Let’s strengthen our spiritual muscles by getting into His Word! Do you need to change your “battery” by renewing your mind?
Image courtesy of nongpimmy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
We get so discouraged when we break a boundary. We eat when we aren’t hungry (zero). We blow past satisfaction (5). We bring out that “club of condemnation” one more time (sigh). But wait! STOP! Pause. Freeze it right there! Come a little closer to the screen. Yes, there. Now let me tell you a little secret (hands cupped over your ear): Failure leads to victory! Sorry, did I shout that into your ear instead of whispering. Sorry! I just get a little excited!
It’s true! It’s not about following your boundaries 100% all.of.the.time. It’s about going to God if you break your boundaries. We get so upset when we break our boundaries. We feel bad about ourselves. We think we will never be able to follow our boundaries. So then we overeat because we feel bad about ourselves. It’s like this vicious cycle that is perpetuated by our thoughts, beliefs, despair, thinking we will never be skinny anyway, so we might as well eat. Sound familiar?
But what would happen if we looked at every boundary breakage (aka failure) and renewed our mind instead? What if instead of feeling bad about ourselves and discouraged, we got really excited because we get to get closer to the Lord because of our failure?
I tell you what would happen: we would have victory!
I’ve seen it! I’ve experienced this! I’ve tasted it! When I break a boundary, I get so excited that I get to sit with Jesus and talk things over. Maybe I’m just an odd one…wait…I KNOW I’m an odd one! But really, I do get excited to renew my mind and bring all of my thoughts and feelings before the Lord. I love that as I am real with Him, He shows me His truth.
So how does this work? How does failure turn into victory?
Here’s an example: Evening was the most tempting time for me to want to overeat. I had a really hard time breaking the habit of eating outside of my boundaries in the evening. I would put my daughter to bed and then immediately I would make some popcorn or grab some sort of snack, and then eat it in front of the TV (distraction, mindless eating). It wouldn’t matter if I was hungry or not, that’s the habit I had developed over the years (and well before my daughter). I knew I wanted to change it, but I kept on doing it. I would feel so bad and would feel like I failed yet again. My solution (well, God’s solution) was that after I put my daughter to bed, I would sit and read through my truth cards, or I would answer a set of questions from I Deserve a Donut in my journal, and reading scriptures. I took that time to renew my mind. Change didn’t happen right away, but as I took the time each night to renew my mind, little by little, day by day, the Lord was transforming me, until one day I no longer had the urge to grab something to eat after putting my daughter to bed. And since then, I just wait until I’m hungry to have an evening snack. And sometimes I am not hungry for a snack, and I’m totally ok with that. That’s a huge change! Victory!
It wasn’t self-control. It wasn’t will-power. It was GOD who changed me! My part was being self-disciplined in taking the time to sit with Him and renew my mind.
Failure led to victory!
We try to change our outcome through our own strength. We think if we change our habit or behavior first, then our thoughts and beliefs will line up. But it’s actually the other way around. First, we have to change our thoughts and beliefs, and THEN we will change our habits and behavior. We tell ourselves that we will “do better next time.” We strive and put forth all of our own human effort to see change in our eating habits, but when we lean upon ourselves to make it happen, we will only become weak and tired. It’s God who helps us overcome. It’s not in our own strength. So each time we go to Him and repent after we’ve sinned, we are transformed more and more to His likeness. When we renew our mind after overeating, we are transformed.
I look at failure as opportunity to grow. I look at failure as practice.
It took Thomas Edison 1,000+ times before he had the invention of the light bulb “perfected”. Every failure led to victory. He didn’t give up. And just because we overate just now or last night, it doesn’t mean we smash all of the light bulbs and give up. It means we keep going forward. We renew our mind. We go to God. We think that because of failing to follow our boundaries, that we need new boundaries. Maybe you’ve been really trying your best to follow your boundaries of eating between hunger and satisfaction, but you keep overeating. Does that mean your boundaries don’t work? No way! It means it’s time to renew your mind. It’s time to go sit at the feet of Jesus and drink in His truth.
So the next time you are tempted to fail: go to Jesus. Renew your mind. The next time you break a boundary: seek His truth. And know that each time you do, you are one step closer to victory! Sweet, sweet victory!!
Would you like to know more about renewing your mind? There are so many great resources on this website and blog about doing just that. Do you have a set of truth cards? If not, you can learn more about it here. I also have recorded a set of my truth cards on a Sound Cloud file that you can find here. Do you have a set of questions to help aid you in renewing your mind such as Barb Raveling’s I Deserve a Donut? How else can we, at Thin Within, help to encourage you to renew your mind and see failure as victory?
Not just any baby, mind you, but the SON OF GOD! Yes….not only that but she had not even been with a man. Oh and more….she was engaged to a man who could accuse her of having an adulterous affair. A stonable offence in that time.
