This morning, “Shepherd” and “Provider” are the attributes to which God has drawn my heart and mind through Ethel Herr’s book, Lord Show Me Your Glory.
How do these attributes of God relate to my Thin Within journey? I am so glad you asked! 🙂 As I get to know the Lord as my Shepherd, I see that he is with me through the challenges I face. He is the one I follow. As my Shepherd, he will lead me to food when I need it–when I am physically hungry. Likewise, whey my soul and spirit and heart are hungry, he will lead me to provision for those needs as well, making sure I get what is necessary, what is truly satisfying instead of a counterfeit.
God is showing me that as I know and believe him to be Shepherd and Provider, I begin to trust him more and more. If he leads me to experience something that is uncomfortable or downright challenging for me, I can know that he will see me through it. I don’t have to turn to the false comforts that I have used for so much of my life.
I learned to turn to these things when, as a child, I was wounded, hurt, or, even, abused. I continued into adulthood without ever questioning these practices. They seemed to work and I took them for granted. I didn’t realize they short-circuited what God intended to teach me. Instead of healing they only numbed me, in essence postponing the inevitable–the need to be cleansed, to bring the wound into the light to be nursed.
Now, God wants me to experience the true healing he has in mind, the true antidote to the fear, the insecurity, the confusion, and the pain. It is HIM.
Ethel’s book is helping me to respond more and more to God as he is, instead of as the god (little “g”) that I have made him to be for much of my life. He IS more than sufficient. He IS my supply. All of Him is more than enough.
Shepherd me, Father, over all the rough and perplexing ways of life. It is my nature to wander, to stumble, to lie on my back and flail in the air until, exhausted, thirsty and malnourished, I die. How desperately I need your shepherding.
Cuddle me when I tremble.
Guide me when I cannot find the way.
Chasten me with your Rod when I disobey.
Prod and correct all my erroneous wanderings.
Ever and always, gently lead me home.
The above quote is from Ethel Herr’sLord, Show Me Your Glory, page 267. If you want one of the three copies I am giving away (with Ethel’s autograph), just use the “comment” link to respond to one of the posts here through May 10th. You may enter more than once.
Lord, today may I know you as Shepherd and Provider in a fresh way. Lead me to the places you ordain, Father. Direct me in the paths of righteousness for your name’s sake. Teach me to respond to what you bring by looking to you instead of to the things (like food) to which I have looked over many years of my life. Teach me to stay close to your side. Thank you for being a good, loving, strong shepherd to me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Well, I am just guessing, but…are you beating yourself up about something? Anything?
Here is a fact: No matter how horrible YOU may think it is, it isn’t horrible enough for the Lord God to endorse whatever self-flagellation you may be engaging in. So…stop it! 🙂
I have been studying my way slowly through the Bible. Right now, I have gotten to know Abraham a bit better than I knew him before and I am floored at really…he was kind of…well…not a man of great moral standing, humanly speaking. Yet God esteemed him. Abraham was considered righteous—why? Because of his faith (Genesis 15:6and Romans 4:3). Not because of all the great things he did. That is a relief. I figure if God can call Abraham righteous and obedient even though he did a bunch of stuff that raised the eyebrows even of King Abimelech at the time, then wow…God probably isn’t condemning me either. I am in Christ and Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those in Christ! In fact, I know he doesn’t condemn me. And he doesn’t condemn you either.
See, this is why we want to get to know God’s TRUE character. If we think that he is like our earthly fathers (who aren’t perfect) or like some tyrannical dictator king person, we won’t want to surrender our lives to him. He isn’t like that. We have to know him as he is. When we do, we find our resistance diminishes. Our hearts are tendered. We want to give him whatever he may ask of us (including our extra food). And we don’t waste a bunch of time and energy beating ourselves up claiming we have “let God down” !!(He isn’t “held up” by any of us so he can’t be “let down!”)
So, let’s stop it. Let’s stop saying by our actions that his grace isn’t sufficient. Let’s stop saying that we need to be perfect to be acceptable, ok? (And while it is true that the same grace that brings salvation teaches us to say no to ungodliness [Titus 2:11, 12], this also is not an excuse to whip ourselves. Let’s get to know our God as He is, give ourselves to him, say no to sin, and love him with our choices, one babystep at a time!)
How does this affect our eating?
Well, you tell me. Ok?
Seriously…I would love to know if there is a connection
there for you like there is for me. 🙂
Don’t forget…when you comment on blog posts between now and the 10th of May, you get entered into the free drawing for Ethel Herr’s book, Lord, Show Me Your Glory!
Sometimes I can’t believe myself! Even as I diligently write sample chapters for my book proposal, and here at the blog about how awareness of God’s true attributes and praising him changes things–and it does!–I nevertheless so easily shift into the flesh. I suppose it makes sense that, after 40+ years of thinking one way, it won’t necessarily be a flip of a switch to make a change. But God has been working with me on this for a long while. Good grief!
So here is where I am. I feel like Paul in Romans 7–like there are two of me fighting. The result is I AM CRAZY! I am SO thankful that HE IS SUFFICIENT for even my insanity.
One of me focuses desperately on the Lord, blogs about him, his character and choosing to praise him. That is the person who rejoices in thanking him repeatedly throughout the day and when tempted to keep eating (and not hungry) says, “I have the Lord! I don’t need more food! I love HIM, He is trustworthy and loving! I don’t need food to satisfy me! I trust him!” (Yes, all said with exclamation points, exuberant hyperbole and superlatives!!!) As I do this, He changes me. He makes me new (again), He makes my choices new, my thoughts new. Focusing on HIM transforms ME. YAY! I was made for THIS! So were we all!
Then, suddenly, POOF! The other me is there and the “godly me” is gone. I may not notice this until I have spiraled into a different place–a darker place. It is the place of “Ugh! I never knew menopause would change me so much. How can I be so forgetful? What are those bulges on the sides of my hips and why am I carrying less weight worsethan ever? And nuts…even my hunger signals are different. My hair is different! I look like a poodle! I hate this!” BAAAAAAH!!!!
Do you see what the focus of the shift is? ME! MY food, MY weight, MY “stage of life,” MY forgetfulness, MY hunger signals, MY [[gulp]] hair!
While all of this is true, certainly…that my body HAS changed and I know much of it is a result of hormonal shifts, what is UP with allowing it to draw my focus so intensely? When I do that, it doesn’t produce godly change at ALL. In fact, it makes me like the lady with the colander on her head. 🙂
When I CHOOSE to know God more and CHOOSE to praise him, I know that I choose something that changes me. It may not seem permanent, but it is an eternal investment!
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
This is the reason why I am having the “Praise Changes Things” contest for three copies of Ethel Herr’s book, Lord, Show Me Your Glory. Be sure to check this link for details! It is free! Enter today! YAY! You might win an incredible book to enjoy during your quiet time, but more…I know that this book will propel you further along the road of being a praising woman! I am sure of it! Praising women ARE free! 🙂
I may drive myself nuts, but I know that apart from this quest to know God more and to praise him, I would be menopausal AND miserable! 😉 Not just schizophrenic!
NOTE: Anyone who comments on blog posts from now until May 10th will automatically be entered in the drawing. Comment and you are entered! Or, if you would rather not, no worries. If you win, you can “pass,” but you won’t want to do that! LOL!
I want to try to share with you a bit about why this book has me so excited. God has been reminding me of some invaluable truths that he has poured into my life over the past ten years and, more specifically, since November of 2006 when I began this blog.
I have been reminded of a question I have been asked a lot over the past few years which is what flipped the switch for me in releasing weight. After all, that is what typically brings us to Thin Within in the first place–a desire to lose weight. People who know my story know that I struggled a lot and gave up for a long while before things changed in 2006. I will say, even now, good days, weeks, and months happen when I apply one transformational truth. It is this simple:
Praising God changes things.
It is true.It really does make a difference.
You see, when I praise God, I esteem him as Lord and assume my rightful place as his subject. He is King! He is the Potter and I am the clay. He is the Sovereign and I am the one asked to submit to and obey his directives. This is a place of humility. It is literally impossible to praise God and remain prideful. Or I sure don’t know how to do it that way!
When I am in a place of humility, esteeming God more highly than myself, I tend to grab at my food, my rights, my way a lot less often. (This translates into overeating a LOT less!) Impetuous, childish compulsions they don’t own me as they did previously.
But it is very hard to praise God if I don’t know him as he is. If I am not getting to know him the way he reveals himself in scripture and in the world around me, I end up with my God being much too small. As I draw near to him through his Word and begin to believe what he says about me and about himself, I find much to praise him for! It is all connected!
That is where this book and our contest comes in to the picture. Ethel Herr’s book, Lord, Show Me Your Glory, puts the reader face to face with the Lord Almighty and his character traits, enabling us to see our amazing God as he is. When you read this book, you will have not only a wonderful quiet time, but I believe God will use it to change your life! You will want to praise this God that you get to know more intimately! As you praise him, you will be transformed! Praise changes us!
Starting right now today, this is how you enter:
Make a relevant comment here following any post from this one onward. Any time you do, I will write your name down on a slip of paper and put it into a “hat.” On May 10th, I will draw three names from the hat. I will post the results of the drawing on the blog on May 11th. Assuming I hear from you within 48 hours after making the announcement at the blog, Ethel Herr will autograph your copy of the book and it will be sent to you! Three people will win a copy.
It is that simple.
I believe in this book so much that I want you to have a chance to experience it. I use it during my quiet times each day. I really think you will love it. 🙂
In fact, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is! 🙂 And if you *don’t* win a copy, you will want to buy the book anyway! 🙂 (No, I don’t get any referral fee or commission or anything like that. :-))
NOTE: To make a comment, if you are on the primary blog page, find the link “COMMENTS” at the top right side of the post that you are reading. Click on that and follow the prompts. If you are on a single post page, POST A COMMENT will be at the bottom left beneath the blog post. Hope you are able to post! 🙂 If not, shoot me a message at cool horse woman at gmail dot com (all one word with @ instead of “at” and . instead of “dot”).
Recently, someone asked on the Thin Within forums about how to know when to stop eating and how to stop when you know you should. These are some thoughts about that:
For me, considering the boundaries that are a part of my life helps me.
1.) Dog has a fence. Keeps her safe from deer hooves which flail when a deer is attacked. Seriously. And the cougar that was prowling the neighborhood. One view of the “kitty” apart from the fence, Daisy (my golden retriever) would be off like a shot to play with the “kitty.” The boundary keeps her safe.
2.) The yellow line down the middle of the road is a boundary. Oncoming traffic has to stay on one side of the yellow line and I have to stay on mine. I am thankful for that boundary, keeping us all safe.
3.) I have taught my kids that they can’t help themselves to whatever they see that they want at the mall. If they want something, boundary number one is easy enough–“Do you have the money for it?” They *can’t* take something they can’t pay for. It is a boundary.
4.) I need only so much food to sustain my energy and bodily functions. Eating according to this boundary keeps me healthy and safe.
When I think of stopping my eating at “satisfied” as a boundary that is like other boundaries in my life, it doesn’t seem so negotiable or offensive. It really is helpful, loving, and respectful.
If I want to drive on the other side of the road, that is not only disrespectful to other drivers, but it is also “disrespectful” to me…not to mention stupid. The same is true of eating. I know the risks involved with overeating. The physical ones are bad enough.
But for me, even *more* devastating is the attitude “just one more bite won’t hurt.” I play the guitar. When I have gone a few weeks without playing for some reason, I have no calluses left on my fingers. Playing HURTS until I get the calluses again. When I think about my attitude of “just one more bite won’t hurt” when the sweet voice of the Spirit has whispered, “Enough, child…” and I blow through it…when I think about what that does to my heart, in effect making it calloused so I don’t feel the pain of sin quite so readily (just like my calloused fingers keep me from feeling the guitar strings and the pain they cause to my non-calloused fingers), it isn’t worth it. It is like throwing open the gate when I see Daisy wants to chase the deer or cougar and letting whatever happens happen, acting like it doesn’t matter. It *does* matter.
We focus so much on our physical weight. Ignoring the voice of the Spirit may not cause me to gain a ton of weight physically, but the “weight” of the callouses that grow on my heart is too high a price to pay. (Boy, am I mixing my metaphors or what?).
None of this is meant in a condemning way. If it comes across that way, please reject that. Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ. I find freedom in admitting what is going on in my life…the lack of boundaries and the need to adhere to them. His forgiveness is amazing.
How about for you? What is a boundary that you have established for yourself? What are ways you can support yourself and show respect for yourself relative to this boundary?
My daughter was in a play that had it’s last performance a week or so ago.
One of the lines in the play was “Everyone is searching.”
Do you know what you are searching for?
We search the internet for all kinds of things. Maybe this blog was one of the things that came up as a result of search parameters you typed in to Google. What brought you to this blog? What are you hoping to experience, receive, learn by coming here?
I would really like to know. I hope you will post in the comments. And I hope you won’t mind if I respond. Be sure if you comment that you select the option to be notified when your comment gets a response.
