‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will do everything I want him to do.’
– Acts 13:22
He was a murderer.
But God called him a man after His own heart.
He was a liar.
But God called him a man after His own heart.
He was an adulterer.
But God called him a man after His own heart.
Imagine what would have happened if King David, irritated with his failures, had thrown up his hands and said, “Forget it. That’s it! I have failed again. I QUIT being King! I refuse to write another psalm! Israel can find another leader. I am done!”
It is so tempting to let our perceptions of ourselves as “failing” determine what our next step will be. When it comes to the journey toward freedom with food, eating and body image, we tend to act like this is a diet…something we can “quit” if we don’t string together enough “good” days.
The truth is, God has called us to press on–through the “good,” the “bad,” and the “ugly.” If we want to be women (and men) after God’s own heart, then let us take a cue from King David. Maybe being someone after God’s own heart isn’t so much about whether we fail or not as it is about what we *do* with the perceived failure. Do we let it control our choice to keep on? What kind of warped perfectionism is this that would make me say “Forget it. I give up! I ate too much (or “past 5″) too many days in a row. I am a Thin Within drop out! I will never get this thing beat, so why keep trying? I QUIT!”
What if, instead of letting my failures, mistakes, and shortcomings determine the course I choose, I were to think of my failures as stepping stones? What if I were to submit my “failure” (and mySELF and my next choice) to God and then humbly STAND on it and USE it in the power of the Holy Spirit to keep on the Path to which God has called me? Is it possible that this journey is comprised of a number of stepping stones, some “failures” and some “successes?”
Why not put each and every one firmly under my feet in the strength that God provides? Rather than allow my “failures” step all over me, I want to step on them and launch on into what is next on this journey.
I am so glad that King David didn’t quit being King. There are so many lessons I learn from Him in the Scriptures! Maybe the chief lesson of them all is that God uses those who fail–and badly–and He even proclaims the one who presses on anyhow as one after His own heart!
How about you? What if you were to follow David’s example, that no matter what “failures” you may experience, you just keep on being faithful…keep on growing a heart after God’s? What if you were to step on those failures as though they were a means of getting to the goal instead of a wall blocking your way?
We often think of worship as singing songs on Sunday mornings, but the exciting truth is, we can do whatever we do for the glory of God, just as 1 Corinthians 10:31 says:
So whether you eat or drink or whateveryou do, do it allfor the glory of God.
Even eating and drinking can be an expression of worship! In fact, a careful study of Scripture might indicate to an astute observer of the text that God cares very much about this aspect of our lives. So let’s invite him to show us His will for our lives this summer!
Thin Within is the non-diet approach I used to release 100 pounds of weight between summer of 2006 and fall of 2007 and I continue to maintain a healthy size the same way. Not only is this an approach to managing weight, but it really is a discipleship program–focusing my heart and mind on being renewed by the Word of truth and submitting to the God of the Universe in *all* things…even things that seem mundane!
Thin Within is NOT a program where you will learn diet laws and rules. In fact, you will be encouraged to throw out your diet paraphernalia! You will even be challenged NOT to get on your bathroom scale. There are no “good foods” or “bad foods.” All is lawful! (1 Corinthians 6:12)
Instead, you will be encouraged to respond to your God-given signals of physical hunger and satisfaction. You will have the joy of allowing God to direct you personally in eating whatever foods you desire within the parameters of physical need. You can do this without guilt and with delight. Each time you are physically hungry you can select something to eat that thrills your taste buds! If you love summer squash, then great! Enjoy! If you hate it, don’t ever eat another bite of it again. 🙂 If you love cheese enchiladas, enjoy the freedom of having the mexican meal of your dreams when you are hungry and stopping when you are no longer hungry.
No weighing, measuring, counting, or preparing of special foods. You can eat out, go on vacation, eat what your family eats. I know it sounds too good to be true, but the key is in something that is hard for many of us–M-O-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. It works!
I believe that this is where our God-given freedom from tyranny of food, body images, and self-loathing is found. As I learn to ask the Lord to renew my mind and my thinking about food and my body, I see that He is the Creator! He created my body to be reliable if I will depend on HIM to help me through all those other times I may be drawn to food! I begin to trust him with this process. We *can* do this. And when we eat only what we *need* we will release the extra weight and discover our natural God-given size.
Because we eat each time we are hungry, we don’t have to worry about “shutting down” our metabolisms. The truth is, we are teaching our bodies that we are *NOT* in “starvation” mode. Quite to the contrary, in fact.
Additionally, because we will depend on the Lord to learn about our bodies and the way we think about food, to expose the lies we have believed, to replace these lies with truth, we will find our relationships with the Lord deepening.
I won’t lie to you…this process IS hard. There is a definite need to die to self–to be willing to say no to the additional portion when I am no longer hungry, but the joy that comes is bountiful!
Consider Colossians 2:20-21:
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,
why, as though you still belonged to the world,
do you submit to its rules:
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?
These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use,
are based on merely human commands and teachings.
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom,
with their self-imposed worship,
their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body,
but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
The above description sounds so much like a diet to me. I want to be DONE with that…I mean FOREVER. Do you? Aren’t you sick of the good food/bad food lists? Especially when you know down inside that you still REALLY love Häagen–Dazs ice cream and hate fat-free salad dressing? As we enjoy a modest amount of our favorite foods slowly and deliberately, we *are* satisfied. Partly because we go to GOD to have our heart needs met…instead of food! I can’t get my spiritual and emotional hungers fed by eating physical food. Nope. It won’t work! So Thin Within teaches that I go to God for that and then I am able to see the value of restraining indulging in extra portions of favorite foods! I end up joyful. I end up satisfied.
Please consider joining us for our study this summer. We will meet each week on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:30 PDT at http://www.thinwithin.org/chat/ to discuss what we have studied during the week. Be sure to get the workbook material so you can study during the week on your own! God will bless this! Give it 13 weeks and see if God doesn’t blow you away with the NEW THING He is doing!
NOTE: I edited this to reflect a change in day of the week. We will be meeting in the chat room on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. Hope you can make it!
I am leading an online Thin Within group this summer through the Thin Within workbook material. The first orientation meeting will be June 15th and we will meet at the chat room at the Thin Within website.We will meet for chatting together from 4:30-5:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time each Wednesday evening beginning June 15th continuing through the first week in September.
(If you are a visual person and prefer a video telling you about this material, below you will find one. It isn’t particularly exciting, but it does give the low-down about the workbook!)
Here are some details (which I have shared in the past) telling about the Rebuilding God’s Temple Workbook Kit #1. If you have done this workbook before, you can still join the weekly chats starting June 15th and work through *any* of the Thin Within workbooks as they are all designed so that they all have the same lesson topics each week!
The first kit is the most comprehensive and comes with three pieces:
Workbook #1
The Temple Toolkit
The Memory Challenge Cards (click on the image to see a large version and click again to see it magnified further):
The contents of Kit #1
First, the workbook itself, is a spiral bound volume that has material for 12 weeks of study. To download a sample of the material, visit this link. The download is an Adobe Reader (.pdf) file of Week One – “Hope.” After you download it, print it and take a week to try it out! 🙂
Each week consists of the following:
Lesson material – This is dense written material that you will read to glean the concepts that we are teaching or reviewing during the week. I usually recommend about an hour spent with this, highlighting, asterisking, and looking up the verses in my own bible. I may even write comments in the margin or, if I am leading a group, questions to be sure to ask participants.
Each of the reading portions of the lesson are divided into these segments:
Introduction – a brief overview of the week’s focus
Spiritual Information – the relationship this material has to the Scriptures
Physiological Information – the “mechanics” — what you can actually doto make additional changes in your eating to honor the Lord
Integration – How it all works together
Exercises – Don’t worry! These aren’t calisthenics! LOL! They are basically guided daily quiet times. 🙂 Each week includes “exercises” for each day of the week. Days six and seven are optional and a bit “lighter.” Days one through five include the following sections:
Going Deeper – This relates some aspect of the lesson you have read to your life
Bible Study – This shows how Scripture illustrates or illuminates the principles taught in the lesson
Knowing God By Heart – One of the best parts, this is a study of the attributes of God. We have found that the way a participant views God impacts how she will view food, herself, her body, as well as her willingness (or not) to surrender this aspect of her life to the Lord for His purposes.
Getting Practical – These are suggestions for putting some of the mechanics of the program into practice
Memory Challenge – Hiding God’s Word in our hearts will enable us to be reminded of our commitment to him when we are weak! Memorizing scripture is extremely helpful for renewing our mind and changing our thinking!
Review of the Week – This provides a space where you can summarize what God has shown you or questions and thoughts you have had. This section is especially helpful when you meet with others in a group setting. 🙂
In addition to these resources in the workbook, there is an extensive Introduction at the beginning and Appendices in the back, providing a great deal of material that will support you on your journey.
But wait! There’s more! 🙂 (Couldn’t resist saying that!) Not only do you get the Workbook, but when you purchase the first kit, you also get the Temple Toolkit. This is a resource that offers a place for you to log your own journey throughout each day during the full twelve weeks. As you progress through the material, the pages change to match what you have learned in the workbook. Let me show you what I mean.
The first image below shows Days 25-28. Click on the image to see a larger version and then click again to see FULL size what these pages look like in the temple toolkit:
Days 25, 26, 27, 28 in the Temple Toolkit
As you progress through the workbook and new material is introduced, the Temple Toolkit changes, too:
Days 49, 50, 51, and 52 in Temple Toolkit
Again, click on the image above and then click again on the bigger image to see it full size. You will see new tools have been added.
Of course all of the tools are optionalas you go through the 12-week workbook. If you have come out of a background of excessive charting and graphing, you may only want to use the journaling pages. Or, as time goes on, you may experience freedom with one tool and not another. The Lord will lead each of us individually. Some have freedom to use all the tools, charts and graphs.
By the time you are closer to the end of the first twelve weeks, you will have been introduced to all of the tools. Note how the material in the toolkit has evolved:
Days 77, 78, 79 and 80 in Temple Toolkit
Again, “Wait! There’s more!” 🙂 When you order the first kit, you get not only the Workbook, the Temple Toolkit that changes as you go through the material, but you also get the Memory Challenge and Temptation Buster Cards:
Memory Challenge and Temptation Buster Cards
Again, click on the image above and the larger image, to get a full size view of what these include. You cut them up and can carry them with you so that Thin Within isn’t just a bible study that you begin in the morning and leave behind the rest of the day. These resources are very supportive in helping you to keep the principles that God is leading you to embrace and apply with you throughout the day.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word
but does not do what it says
is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and,
after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
~ James 1:22-24
We don’t want to just accumulate head knowledge, but then leave it behind for the rest of the day! We want to ACT on what we learn in our times of study and in God’s Word!
I realize that $45 is not a “bargain price” for a workbook alone, but I trust you will feel like it is worth it. This material includes three months of workbook material and exercises, as well as the Temple Toolkit which would probably cost $20 for something like that (if you could find such a thing!) separately. (It isn’t sold separately at Thin Within, so this is hypothetical!) Truthfully, with the money you save by eating less food :-), you will be able to afford a kit for yourself and a best friend, too! (Ok, so now I am taking my infomercial over the top…hope you are bearing with me! LOL! But it IS true!)
Thin Within isn’t a big company. No one has a salary. The proceeds from sales of the workbook go to cover the costs of producing these materials, keeping the Thin Within website functioning, other expenses (like the phone!), and small stipends for some of the Thin Within team members. So while the cost of $45 may seem steep, it isn’t padding anyone’s pocket. I am sure you will be pleased with the quality of the materials you receive. (Boy, do I ever sound like an advertisement today. Sorry about that! I just really believe in this material and am eager for the word to spread!)
One additional piece of information that many are unaware of is that there are 3 additional workbooks, each covering 12 weeks. The material is designed so that people who have gone through workbook #1 before, can do workbook #2 or #3 or #4, even while most in the group use workbook #1. Each of the workbooks are presented in 12 weekly themes that parallel each other. These are the themes for all four of the workbooks:
Hope
My Body–God’s Temple
Identity in Christ
Celebration of God’s Grace, Part One
Restoration
Counting the Cost
The Fight of Faith
Celebration of God’s Grace, Part Two
Building Godly Boundaries
Forgiveness
Prayer
Celebration of God’s Grace, Part Three
When the group is on week five, everyone will be studying, reviewing, learning about the theme of Restoration. This helps prevent the material from becoming stale! It is a great system that allows people of all experience levels to enjoy a group together, studying and reviewing together.
To order materials, call Thin Within 1-877-729-8932 (9:00am-5:00pm Eastern).
The group I will be leading starting June 16th is an “open” group. You can join the chat at any time. There will be more details to come here and at the Thin Within website. Hope you can join us, even if you will be traveling a lot this summer! You can still join us at your convenience! 🙂
Surrounded by family members who don’t seem to “get” 0 to 5 eating–
Friends and co-workers who insist as you reach for a cookie that “You will never lose weight if you keep eating junk like that!”–
People who don’t give any credence to the “notion” that eating even a cookie when hungry is not going to cause weight gain!
Does it seem like “failure” lurks around every corner?
Even church friends may wonder why you want to connect eating with your faith and walk with God! Some may think that “working on the heart” is an excuse for not really working on weight loss. And others may think that “organic only” is next to godliness!
Once we have decided to surrender our eating to the Lord, once we have agreed that it is our own heart and the desire for more food than we need that needs “fixing” rather than the nutrition content of the foods we eat, we may discover that those nearest and dearest to us just don’t buy it. And they may not hesitate to verbalize this again and again!
If we look for support and encouragement from others, we may find that pressing forward seems so difficult.
Lately, I have noticed a tendency I have…that of lamenting something like this:
“I could follow you, Lord, without hindrance if only…..” Or “I could succeed in eating between 0 and 5 if only ….” Or “If I only had a support group, I could succeed.”
The honest desires of my heart to receive support and encouragement in the pursuit of giving my eating and drinking to the Lord is not a bad thing. But at some level, I wonder if I am blaming God’s provision (or lack of provision!) for my lack of consistency! With my eyes on those around me, I wish that SOMEone, SOMEwhere, would join me in pursuing faithfulness in this area of life! Don’t I *need* support? Wasn’t I made for community? It makes sense that I am hindered going forward until I have a buddy or accountability partner or at least a husband who supports me…er…uh…right? 🙂
(NOTE: In all fairness to my husband, I must say that I am blessed with a supportive husband or family, but I know that many you who visit this blog aren’t so fortunate — I want to offer these thoughts out there for consideration.)
In the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed Eve and God for his choice: “…the woman YOU gave me made me do it!” Eve blamed the serpent (which is a sideways approach to blaming God, too, since God created the serpent). The temptation in the garden, similar to the temptation I face today, was to turn the light of conviction away from self and find a scapegoat…something or someone else to put the responsibility on. Or, at the very least, to share the responsibility with!
But here is a thought I have to consider when I think these “If only…” sorts of thoughts. God has called me to this…whatever this may mean. This marriage, this job, this time and place. Right now, this is where He, in His perfect sovereignty, has called me and placed me. And he has placed these convictions about my eating IN ME–not in anyone else (necessarily).
2 Peter 1:3 says I have been given everything I need for life and godliness--so the responsibility remains with me to use what I have been given to choose to honor the Lord. Yes, it would seem so helpful to have an accountability partner, a husband who also eats 0 to 5, kids would didn’t eat all the time and never gain weight :-), a Thin Within group at my church…but the truth of the matter is, God has called ME to this. He has called me to set my eyes on Him no matter what else is going on.
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
~ Psalm 73:8
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
~ Micah 7:7
There is much about my walk with Christ that encourages me to be in relationship with others, but when it all boils down, God calls me to an “As for me…” walk with him. He calls me not to be distracted by what others do or don’t do, say or don’t say, whether they show support, encouragement, approval, or agree with me or not. His calling to me is specific, personal, unique. Will I be faithful to His calling?
As for me, I will do this thing regardless of what everyone else chooses. I will press on to walk with my God in obedience out of a heart of devotion and love. He is my refuge no matter what. I hope in the Lord and wait on Him.
How about you? Will you choose to be faithful in your “As For Me” walk with God? How might choosing to do so affect you today?
“You are different from me. You love God. I have never loved God,” came the candid disclosure from one who embraces the gospel message, has studied and taught the truths of the Word, and shepherded God’s people.
“Do you want to love God?”
“Well, sure.”
From where I sit, wanting to love God more proves that you love God! Maybe not as much as you like, but if you really didn’t love God, then you wouldn’t care if you love him or not. Or that makes sense to me.
Can you identify with this honest Christian’s confession? Perhaps you know you love the Lord, but long to love Him even more.
Here are three things that continue to make a huge difference in my life, causing me to grow in my love for my Savior. I hope they might help you:
1.)I ask God to put a greater love for Him in my heart.
Years ago, as I watched a Beth Moore video, she admitted that she had prayed this prayer frequently after observing the love a friend/mentor displayed for the Lord. She longed to love the Lord that way. It certainly seems to have worked for Beth–she is clearly crazy about God! So I began to pray this…not every day, but on and off. I still do.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will,
he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us
—whatever we ask—
we know that we have what we asked of him.
~ 1 John 5:14-15
God commands us to love Him (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). If we pray according to His will, we know that He hears us and will grant it to us…so, praying for a deepening of my love for the Lord seems like a sure thing! 🙂 I like that kind of prayer!
2.) I look at my sin and acknowledge the incredible, extravagant price paid for my forgiveness and freedom from sin.
Some people don’t want to look at the things that they have “done wrong.” Certainly, I don’t mean beating myself up over it, but I DO mean refusing to be in denial or glossing over my sin. I am keenly aware that apart from the Lord in my life, I would even NOW become a VERY immoral woman. I would make Mary Magdalene look saintly.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman? I came into your house.
You did not give me any water for my feet,
but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered,
has not stopped kissing my feet.
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—
as her great love has shown.
But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
~ Luke 7:44-47
Mary was deeply aware of the depths to which Jesus’ love and mercy reached to pull her out of the pit where she lived. Jesus says that the one who has been forgiven much, loves much. Frankly, we all have been forgiven much, but many of us “forget” that fact! Nurturing an awareness of what Jesus has forgiven in me is huge for me in stimulating a deeper devotion and appreciation for Him.
This, too, is something I ask the Lord for–to help me to see myself as He does–the sin *and* the provision for the sin, as well as the costly price paid for my freedom. As I look at what I was before I knew Jesus, the path I was on and what I was likely to become, as I see even daily how much my heart is drawn away from the Lord and that I constantly am in need of His grace and mercy, as I see what I would be if I was given over to my own fleshly tendencies–even for a day–I am deeply grateful for all He does for me. This stirs me to love the Lord even more.
3.) I listen to music (and sermons) that reminds me again and again of the attributes, acts, and love of my God and my love for Him.
I know that a lot of Christian people don’t like Christian music. I need Christian music. A lot. It is used by God as a lifeline to His presence for me. Music that specifically reminds me of the truth of God’s personality, His kindness, His power, His creativity, awesomeness, love…this focuses my attention on whatever is lovely, good, noble true (Philippians 4:8) and helps to foster a deep love for Him as well. I love it when I wake up in the night and have songs going through my mind that praise the Lord for who He is. Some of the songs on my favorite playlist on my iPod right now are:
Nothing Without You – Bebo Norman
Song for the Bride – Brian Doerksen
You’re Beautiful – Phil Wickham
Pour My Love on You – Philips, Craig, and Dean
King of Wonders – Matt Redman
Obviously, being in His Word and getting to know Him more, fostering an ongoing prayer life…these things are wonderfully helpful as well.
One other thing that has revolutionized my love for God is practicing gratitude. I have written about that here at length before, though. (If you want to see those posts, use the search feature to type in the word “gratitude” and you will see a bunch of posts that mention gratitude.)
How does loving God more relate to my views of food, eating, and my body? Simply, the more I grow in my devotion to the Lord, the less likely I am to retain anything for myself. I want to give myself away to Him for His purposes. I turn to Him to be more than enough and see that He meets me in my hunger and thirst. I don’t want to rebel by choosing excess in any area of my life. The more I love Him, the more I want to obey Him as an offering to Him (John 14:23).
There really does seem to be a lot of truth in the concept that if we continue to struggle to surrender our eating to the Lord, maybe we need to focus on deepening our knowledge of Him, His character and loving Him. As our love deepens, we want to abandon ourselves to Him…including in the area of eating. Maybe I get caught up in obedience in a legalistic way when what I need to do is be captivated by His love, His character and love Him in response. Somehow, I think that as I grow in that, the obedience may be more likely to follow.
I don’t know who GloZel is, but she seems to be pretty funny. When I stumbled upon this short video, I could TOTALLY relate! Obviously, if I am hungry, the issue isn’t quite so severe. 😉 But assume the woman in this video isn’t hungry…and she is in for the battle of her…NIGHT!
