by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 22, 2010 | Blog
If you have been with us for the past week or so, then you have noticed I have sort of been doing a “series.” My desire is to break things down into babysteps.
Part 4, however, isn’t so easy as to plow right on without giving a bit more focus to it. Frankly, I think it is vital, the key, everything hinges on it..
Am I willing to wait?
When my emotions rage, am I willing to ask the Lord, “What is this about?”
When I know that I really can’t be hungry just yet and I am drawn to food, am I willing to sit still, BE still (in my spirit, body, *and* mind) and say “I am waiting for YOU, Lord…in YOU I place my hope.”
In the past few days, I have noticed that some of the answers to these questions for me have been very intriguing. God has faithfully been showing me what is up with me and that *food* definitely isn’t the answer.
“Why am I drawn to food right now?” has had such varied answers as:
* I have worked hard and deserve a break.
* I won’t be able to eat when I get hungry.
* I am afraid of rejection and food will somehow make rejection easier to take.
* I can TOO do what I want! I can eat what and when I want! That will show ’em! (Whoever “’em” is…)
* I am hurting and I just want something to make me happy.
* I am physically hungry and my body needs fueling.
I am sure I am probably missing some. But what about you? What are answers to these questions that you have discovered as you have waited? Have you been journaling, waiting 5 minutes before you eat?
If you are like me and many others I have talked with, usually there is a pattern. You will begin to discover that each time (or almost each time) a certain something happens or you have a certain feeling you will find yourself thinking about food. This is a GREAT place to be!
If that hasn’t happened for you yet, continue to wait 5 minutes before eating. Journal prayerfully how you are feeling, what you believe in the moment, and ask God to speak HIS truth and jot that down, too.
See if, over the next few days, you see a pattern, too.
Meanwhile, also continue to eat only when your body needs fuel…when there is a physical need for food.
As you do, evaluate if your emotions about things are a bit more intense than usual? If they are, evaluate prayerfully what this could mean in your life and what God may intend for you.
by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 20, 2010 | Blog
This is a basic…really, it is great for starting for the first time and it is great for re-starting…
Wait.
Period. That’s it.
Wait.
For what?
For the Lord. 🙂
Ok, so maybe this doesn’t sound so practical. So here is the embellished version of it. When you feel drawn to food, wait. Take time to sit still for 5 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much, but when we are drawn to food for any number of reasons, 5 minutes seems like a loooooong time. I am going to make it a habit before I put anything in my mouth, to wait…maybe even pick up my journal and a pen.
Then…ask yourself (as I will ask myself): What is my reason for being drawn to food right now?
Start with something as simple as: Am I physically hungry? Is there no more food in my stomach and my body now needs fueling?
That is a straight-forward, yes or no question (though, sometimes not as simple as all of that).
If I answer this question after sitting for 5 minutes with a “Yes,” then I am welcome to eat. No food restrictions, no diet foods, no need to obsess or fuss about this or that. (I will talk about portions in another post.)
But here is the thing…if you are anything like me, if you sit for 5 minutes and you know deep down inside that your thoughts of food have nothing to do with physical need, then the real question is this:
“Lord, what is this about?”
In other words, what is it about this moment, about the circumstances, my emotions, my thinking, that is causing me to think that food is the answer?
We have to take these sorts of questions to the Lord and listen and let him answer–thus the reason for the 5 minutes. If we are willing to sit even 5 minutes (even if we think it is physical hunger…surely we won’t die if we wait 5 minutes) and ask HIM these questions…and then really LISTEN for the answers, we may be surprised.
I want to share here at the blog the things that I have been discovering recently about myself that have caused me to be drawn to food more frequently…but first…I want to give us all “practice” in waiting 5 minutes when we are drawn to food…
Wait. Just wait.
Ask Him why you want food right now.
See what He says.
I will do it, too. 🙂
by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 18, 2010 | Blog
I was flushed out of hiding…not literal hiding, but hiding from honesty on the Thin Within forums. I was lurking there (and here without much to say this week) with my ideas shoved in the back of my mind wondering if/when I should ‘fess up….
Ok…’fessing up. Here and now.
I seem to have this tendency to go looking for a new book or new thought or new SOMETHING that will be like the quarter being put in the “obedience” slot on my “machine.” Do you know what I mean?
Here is the reality, after all this time:
I know what I need to do to release weight.
I know what I need to do to keep it off.
Or, to get my eyes off my body, another way of thinking about it (which is where I am really trying to get these days…)…is this:
I know what God is asking of me with regard to my eating.
I know that I just flat out need to obey Him.
Yet I keep waiting for another new way of saying it. A “fresh approach.” Someone to just have the magic words that will be like flipping a switch and having everything start working right. Someone who will somehow wave a magic wand and “Presto!” obedience and weight stuff will all happen just peachy keeno perfectly!
The reality is, no matter who says it, no matter how they lost however many pounds, no matter what credentials are behind their name…I have a sin problem!!! I have an obedience problem! This is really challenging me today.
Can any of you relate?
Think about it…if you read my blog before and I probably said it on the Thin Within forums, too, when I was going through the HEAL book “This is a fresh way of saying it.” I basically said the same thing with the Eden Diet book. Good grief. I have SO much “knowledge” about this stuff…I know the drill. I also know the excuses I can use…and no matter what someone says, I could have more excuses than anyone. I know them all!
So…I am back to…what really is my problem is that I am making a choice–to give this moment to God or to grab it for my selfish lusts or self-gratification or self-whatever way of handling this moment. BAH!
Sure, I can read and grab at anything new that comes down the pike. God is God and he may add to my knowledge, but it is my job to “add to my knowledge, SELF-CONTROL.” (2 Peter 1:5) He will help me with this, yes…his Spirit will do it, but I have to die to SELF and what self wants. :-/
Gosh…this is a huge confession. EEEK!
So the bottom line is we — *I* — have to answer to God for if I lived according to the light he has given me. Sure, he uses books to give me additional light sometimes…but all I know is I have to own what I know now.
by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 16, 2010 | Blog
I am studying the book of Revelation…and this verse struck me…
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…
~ Revelation 1:5b
It hit me very powerfully. I wondered if it strikes you at all? Feel free to check it out in context if you like by clicking here.
What does this mean to you and relative to this journey with regard having a healthier view of food, eating, our bodies, etc., etc.???
Let me hear from you! 🙂
by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 12, 2010 | Blog
We are going through a mini-bible study of sorts in Hebrews 12:1-3. You might want to open your bible up to have a look. I have asked the question “What does God want ME to do?” as I look at this passage.
We are in part 2. Part 1 was yesterday’s blog entry.
Action #1: (vs 2) Let
What are we to “let?” Us!
Think about this for a minute. I thought of skipping the “let us” of this verse, but then I realized that when we are encouraged to “let” there is something implied. It is as if there is something in the way of the action that needs to be removed. I think this points us back to verse 1–the things that hinder and the sin that entangles, perhaps. In other words, once I have thrown off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, I am freed up to do the “let” mentioned in verse 2.
Apply: Have you done the throwing off of what hinders? Have you intentionally tossed aside the sin that entangles? It is intriguing to note that back in verse one, sin “so easily entangles.” We don’t have to work at being hung up or caught up. So it stands to reason…those things have to be removed before we can do what comes next in verse 2.
Action #2: (vs. 2) “Fix our eyes”
Upon what are we to “fix our eyes?” JESUS!
What are things you tend to fix your eyes on routinely? When it comes to the area of food, eating, my body, etc., the answer for me can be: the bathroom scale, compliments from my friends, my clothing to see if it fits better or is looser, the food, hunger and coveting a chance to be hungry and eat again, the mirror, etc., etc. We have to be willing to choose instead to fix our eyes on Jesus.
This may sound like it is something silly, but consider for a minute other similar verses:
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
– Colossians 3:1-3
17For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18So 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
We have a choice about what we will gaze upon or think about. In our passage in Hebrews 12:1-3, we are exhorted that, while we run with perseverance the race that is before us, we will do well to fix our eyes on Jesus. Let us press on to chase hard after him. Another verse that comes to mind is this:
12Not that I have already obtained all this,
or have already been made perfect,
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead,
14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:12-14
Part of running this race is choosing upon what my mind, thoughts, gaze will dwell. Will it be food? Will it be my next hunger so I can eagerly (if not greedily) eat? Will it be my weight? My clothing? How I look? These things have one thing in common…ME.
These verses all challenge me to choose another focus entirely…JESUS, His will, His way, His beauty, eternal things. These things are to be our focus. As we run this race, as we choose to surrender our desires to Him, he alone is to be the focus that drives us onward.
Apply: What are things that you tend to focus on that might keep you from focusing on Jesus? What can you do to be intentional about fixing your eyes on Jesus?
by Heidi Bylsma | Feb 11, 2010 | Blog
I am so glad to hear that some of you are joining in on this journey. I can’t stress enough that THE single most important thing, as I mentioned yesterday, will be for you to go to the Lord. Listen to what He says to you personally in His Word. Pray things through.
I have set a timer on my watch to beep at intervals. It reminds me to reconnect with Him and it has been incredibly helpful for reminding me that I am soooo dependent on Him. I believe that when someone starts this journey, it isn’t so much about losing weight as it is about gaining something so much more permanent…a heart that is intertwined with God Almighty. Yes, we have a relationship with him already (most of us), but as we take something so mundane as eating and the frequency with which we experience a desire or need to eat and use it to help us learn to lean on him…wow…it will revolutionize anyone’s life!
So, though it may not be what you are after, trust me a bit. 🙂 Let’s use scripture right now and for the next three days (at least?) to help us get our bearings of what might be good for a beginning. I wish we were sitting together in my living room, opening the Word. This will have to do for now! 🙂 You might want to look at Hebrews 12:1-3 in your own bible. Let’s have a mini bible study!
Part 1 of this Mini Bible Study is below. You may want to jot down your thoughts in a journal or in the margin of your bible. Before reading the verses that are in chapter 12, however, for context, chapter 11 is the list of many great people who have demonstrated a ton of faith over the years. The writer of the book of Hebrews has given an impressive list of how faith has been demonstrated in the lives of people who have endured amazing difficulties. It is with the list of these well-known characters in mind, that the words below were penned:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Let’s observe what is in this passage.We will only get through verse 1 today!
I am approaching this passage with this question…”What am I called to DO?”
Action #1: (vs. 1) Throw Off or “lay aside.”
What do we “throw off” according to this verse?
“Everything that hinders” and the
“sin that so easily entangles.” When I look up these words in Strong’s online concordance, I see that “sin” can be any path that leads away from God’s righteous ways or anything that misses the mark.
Consider, too, trying to run a race with a big backpack on your back or in huge steel-toed boots. Or, worse, something wrapped around your legs, flapping and twisting as you run. This is the way burdens and sin that God doesn’t intend for us to carry with us can affect us.
Apply: As you consider your life prayerfully, what are things that hinder you from being/doing what you sense God is calling you to be/do?
Apply: What beliefs, thoughts, words, acts is the Lord leading you to throw off that might be sin according to the definition above?
Consider: God doesn’t call us to do this in our own strength. In His grace, He supplies the conviction and the ability to do the tossing off of hindrances, burdens, excess weights and sins!
Returning to the passage, asking the question of “What am I to do?”
Action #2: (vs 1) Run
How is the action to be performed? With perseverance. Click on this link to see what this word means in the original language.
What do we “run?” The race marked out for us. Again, using Strongs, the word translated “race” can mean: “the place of contest, the arena or stadium.”
Apply: As you consider the definition of perseverance, what images does this bring to your mind? In what ways are you willing to demonstrate “the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” How do you imagine this will be challenged in the days ahead with regard to food, eating, and your view of yourself and God? What can you do to continue to continue during these trials and sufferings?
Consider: The Lord will enable YOU to hang in there. For me, a vital part of my life’s journey is to realize that he doesn’t ask me to win the entire battle or run the entire race in one moment. He asks me only to put one foot in front of the other right now. One foot in front of the other in this moment again and again is what causes me to make it from one end of the course to the other.
I would love to hear from you if the Lord uses this passage to speak to you at all.
Practical: What can I DO? Whatever God calls me to set aside or toss off. He is calling me to do it now…just this moment. Not for the next 6 months, but right now. Will I? Will I commit to running? It may not be easy, but I can lean on him.
What am I willing to do to really grow and be changed? What am I willing to sacrifice in order to experience God’s best for me?
