Living Room Session 4

Wow, the Lord is showing me I have a LONG way to go! I can’t even handle the title for this Living Room Session. Page 87 in the HEAL book calls it “Body Beautiful.” I wonder what God wants to do with my disdain for that thought? Why is the thought of considering my body “beautiful” so repugnant to me? I want to know what is in my heart and mind that causes me to have such trouble. I think there is something HUGE here. I didn’t come online to post about this, but as I went to the Group Study and saw that “Body Beautiful” was the tagline, I came face to face with it. It felt dishonest NOT to tell you all–in case you have the same response. We can’t leave ourselves there. What do you think? ๐Ÿ™‚

Lord, thank you that we can use technology for your glory. Thank you that, via the internet, we can “gather” in a “living room” to talk about our study of your Word and principles that have come to others from your Word and their experiences. I pray that, if any of us struggle with a godly view of our bodies–your temple– you will heal us. Help us to believe you–what you say, Lord. You have said that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. May that thought eclipse all ungodly thoughts that we have embraced over the years. May you make us new from the inside out and help us to believe the truth. I confess my own struggle with this and pray that you would give me a God-honoring, healthy, accurate view of my body. (It is even hard for me to pray this way, Lord!) Guide and direct our “Living Room Session” Lord. We dedicate this site, this page on the web, this entry, and all our comments to you. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Someone that I was mentoring a couple of years ago made the mistake ๐Ÿ˜‰ of saying I was a couch potato! She recognized that, because of my obsessive past, I *fear* routine exercise (which is something God and I are working on changing) and I think she assumed that if I don’t have a set exercise plan and routine that it must mean I don’t do anything but sit on my rear. ๐Ÿ™‚ Now, admittedly, sometimes this can be true. But the truth is, much of the time, my life is active and I delight in that activity. This video illustrates that fact…er…sort of. ๐Ÿ™‚

One of the things that resonated with me in this material this past week was the challenge to find something I can enjoy doing to move my body for the praise and glory of God. NOT to “lose weight,” but to honor Him — to take care of the body he has made and chosen to indwell!

I love hanging out with my horses–even doing horse chores isn’t a “chore” most of the time. When I ride (which is pretty rare these days), I enjoy getting off and walking or running with my horse some of the time. They like that part, too. ๐Ÿ˜‰

What resonated with you this week? Did you consider a way that you might move your body in a joyful way? If so, what have you come up with? Did you add anything to what the authors call “The Body Beautiful Checklist?” Remember these are things that you can do that you know cause you to have a more accurate perspective of yourself and your body–they cause you to feel good! Like my day at the gym with the kids!

I think the next new thing I may try is geo-caching. Near as I can figure, geo-caching is like a real live treasure hunt. You get a GPS (global positioning system), are given coordinates for where a cache may be and then off you go to try to find it. For instance, I just typed in my zip code and found several in my area. When I click on the specific details, I get the coordinates and my kids and I could be off and away on a literal treasure hunt. My understanding is, these caches are often in remote areas, accessible by foot, horse, or bike, and sometimes they are more urban. There is fun and activity involved almost all the time! Sounds like a plan to me to get us out walking!

How about you? You may recall my raving about Dance Praise some years ago. It is still one of my favorite ways of moving my body and worshiping the Lord at the same time!

What are things you are thankful for about your body? For some of us, it may take more an act of our wills to be able to praise the Lord for these things specifically, but I challenge each of us to do this…we can ask the Lord to help us with this and he will. If you have the Thin Within book, you can turn to day 5 for an activity that is right up this alley.

For instance, on the Sundays when I am on the worship team, my arms, shoulders, back, and legs all help me to participate in worshiping the Lord and in leading others to worship the Lord. I can praise and thank God that I am able to do this–for the health in my physical body. I am also able to do a lot of chores around my home and bless my family. When I ride my horses, I have hips that work, legs, knees and ankles that enable me to enjoy God’s creation as I walk or ride. I can go back through my entire life and prayerfully evaluate how God has used my body to serve others and to exalt him and choose to praise him for this. I have to think that if we foster gratitude for our bodies we will defeat the lies that affect so many of us and keep us locked in places of shame. I see that I need to really work on this!

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, 
as instruments of wickedness, 
but rather offer yourselves to God, 
as those who have been brought from death to life; 
and offer the parts of your body to him 
as instruments of righteousness. 
– Romans 6:13
Do I really believe that my body can be used by the Lord as an instrument of righteousness? If so, what are ways I can stop offering the parts of my body to sin and start being more pro-active to offer, instead, my body to be an instrument of righteousness, given to God for His purposes?

Lord, thank you that you don’t leave me in a place where I have a defective view of myself and you. Thank you that what you have begun, you promise to complete (Philippians 1:6). Thank you that you desire that I offer my body to you for your use…my physical body is your temple. I pray that I might live as one who is a steward only of this body you have given me. Please help each of us to allow you to transform our thinking, our believing, our living. Help us to find joyful ways of moving our bodies so that we might be healthier inside and out. Break me free from self-imposed prisons of unbelief and believing lies. In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Going Deeper: Are there verses from scripture that the Lord might use to challenge you to embrace a godly view of your body, His temple? Take some time to investigate the Word. You can use an online study site like Blue Letter Bible or Bible Gateway to search the bible, read commentaries and the like. Share what you find here as you might encourage others of us if you do.

God’s Texting Plan

God has a texting plan! Well, ok, maybe that is not entirely accurate. God doesn’t actually need a texting plan.

Let me back up.  I didn’t really have a clue about text messaging until a few months ago when communication with our very busy worship/youth pastor required that I be able to get in touch with him. Prior to that, when I saw someone actually typing on their cell phone, I thought it seemed like such a worthless and time consuming endeavor. “Why don’t you just call them?,”  I wondered!

Emailing or calling Pastor Tony didn’t work, so I tried something on a whim I never had done before…I shot him a text message from my cell phone. To my joy and utter surprise, I got a response! I discovered very quickly that when needing to get or give information to Pastor Tony, nothing was as efficient as texting! I bought a texting plan and my world hasn’t been the same since, though, I don’t typically use texting for anyone else.

Last weekend, my 15 year old baby ๐Ÿ™‚ went on a evangelism trip to Costa Mesa. She had never been away from home before. Suddenly texting took on a whole new meaning. Throughout the day (and night) she could shoot me a text or I could ask her where she was and what she was doing. It was incredible to get to participate in her life that way…getting little glimpses into what she was doing. I knew when she ate, when she slept (when she didn’t!), when the adults on the trip got to sneak in a shower at the gym across the street, when they stopped for gas or snacks, when they arrived at the evangelism conference and when they went to the beach to witness.

She made it through (and so did I), I think partly because I could actually feel like I was involved through what had before seemed like such a silly technology–that of texting. It was super cool when she shot me a photo of her at that very moment at the beach while the group was talking to a homeless man named Jim. There was my baby! I felt like I was there! I knew about what she was doing and going through!

The other day, as I was going through Psalm 139 which the HEAL book has had us focus on quite a bit, it struck me why this Psalm is such a testimony of God’s love for us.


1 O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.
 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.
 4 Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD. 
– Psalm 139: 1-4

He used my text messaging Michaela all last weekend to demonstrate the fact that his involvement is proof of his love (as if I need that after Romans 5:8 and other texts).

While my baby was on the trip, I wanted to know her sitting, rising, going out and lying down…I wanted to know if she had brushed her teeth and what she had eaten. Why? Because I love her so much! I didn’t spend my time texting any of the other kids on the trip. Why? Because they don’t have my heart like Michaela does.

It struck me that this is the way the Lord is…he is so intimately acquainted with me and wants to know all about me (and does, in his omniscience) because he loves me so much. If he didn’t love me, he wouldn’t bother with knowing all my ways…So, what would the Lord say in a text message? He knows all my ways and cares intimately about it all…what is on his heart to convey to me?

I wanted to know every bit about my daughter while she was gone. Every breath, every step, everything she was learning…I wanted to know it all. And I couldn’t stop telling her how much I missed her and loved her. I wanted to know more. Because I am not omniscient, I relied on text messaging! ๐Ÿ™‚ God relies on his omniscience to accomplish the same thing…all because he loves me so very much!

What Makes You Feel Better?

My husband did something strange a couple of weeks ago. Not one for too much physical “exertion,” Bob typically avoids (like the plague)  activity that can generate a sweat. ๐Ÿ™‚ Ok, maybe it isn’t quite that bad, but he isn’t one of those kinds of guys that needs to pump iron or run 5 miles to feel like a man. ๐Ÿ™‚

So, when, one morning during our quiet times, he asked me if I would like to get a membership to California Family Fitness again, I was quite surprised. Not only was I surprised at his suggestion of the idea given it costs money to do this, or at the fact that this implies a willingness to sweat, but it also struck me that we live 40 minutes from the nearest facility that is worth it’s salt in sweat, which means quite some time investment to get our money’s worth.

I have a confession to make. Not like it is a new confession or anything. I have made it here at the blog before. I love exercise. I am a reformed gym rat. But my problem is I fear returning to my former obsession. The pendulum is way at the other end of things for me in this. What once was obsessive “fear of NOT working out” has become a fear of working out. I fear that I can’t handle any kind of routine exercise.

Maybe God has us placed 40 minutes from CFF (California Family Fitness) to help safeguard against this. When we lived 5 minutes away from the gym we belonged to in the 90s, I worked out twice a day for over an hour. (Hubby calls this my “bulimic period,” as he is convinced–and he is right–that I used exercise to “purge”).

So he had the idea of doing this–of getting a gym membership, but that is a long step away from actually signing up. So imagine my surprise when he came home one day and gave me three membership cards (one for me and one for each of our two kids) so that we could now freely go to the gym…Wow. I guess he really meant it.

Although it has been two weeks since he did this, yesterday was the first day the kids and I got over to the gym. We began with a half an hour of racquetball–which is a blast as far as I am concerned. I love tennis, but racquetball with my kids is great because we can spend time pummeling the ball instead of chasing it like we do out on the tennis court.

After racquetball, we ventured upstairs to the cardio equipment. Since the last time we had a gym membership (probably a couple of years), I am amazed at the “improvements!”  Now, you can hook up your iPod to the treadmill and, if you select a movie on your iPod, it will display on the screen in front of you. I can watch my Beth Moore videos and improve my spiritual fitness while I walk/jog/run my way to physical fitness! Goodness!

My kids and I did the treadmill for about 20 minutes, too. Will wonders never cease! ๐Ÿ™‚

I do have to admit, though…when we first got to CFF, I felt like an addict assaulted by the “substance” she formerly abused. There were scales everywhere to hop on. I walked by and tried not to look. The last thing I want to do now is fall off the Boycott Scales wagon! Then, as we went into the women’s locker room, a woman was having her hips measured by a personal trainer. Yikes! I wanted to holler: “No-o-o-o! Don’t do it! Be free! You can tell if you have lost inches by the way your clothes fit! Don’t give in to the man-made numbers!”

I must rein in my passion just a bit. ๐Ÿ™‚ Fact is, many people don’t have “issues” with numbers, graphs, charts and the like the way I do. This is my personal battle and I need not become a zealot attempting to rid the world of scales and tape measures!

There were a couple of familiar things, however, that did surface following our visit to the gym. One was the old “Now I deserve to eat _______.” Ah…the activity of my life is not to be the determining factor for when I eat. My body’s legitimate hunger and satisifed signals are…and even these, I must submit to the Lord. I am glad I saw that this is what was going on!

The second familiar feeling that followed a fun, enjoyable workout at the gym was this sense of inexplicable confidence. I felt…well..good. I mean, even the tweak in my arthritic ankle couldn’t keep me from plain old feeling good. I think it is this sense that I have done something that I know honors the Lord and is good for HIS temple–my body. This is an investment in properly caring for that which I am merely a steward of. My body is NOT my own. It belongs to Him. As such, I must care for it the way He wants. My spirit and heart and mind are his as well, so doing something for one aspect of my “self” at the expense of one or more of the others is not His way.

This morning, when I turned to my HEAL book, I came to page 83 where the authors point out that there are things that I can do to help me to feel positively about my body. Given that I have this tendency to beat myself up, self-deprecate–definitely NOT glorifying to God–it stands to reason that if there are practical things I can do to help me feel better about my body and not at the expense of my spirit, mind, and soul, then maybe I should do them!

Moving my body in fun, enjoyable activities is one of those things that makes me just feel good about my body. When I consider that God has made me naturally atheltic and that he has put in me a love of  exercise…well, I can get pretty out of touch with these two blessings pretty easily when the only activity I engage in is spreading hay out on the hillside twice a day or stacking hay bales. Yes, some seasons of my life are naturally more active than others, but this season isn’t one of those. I am home with my kids much more focusing on our highschool science and math courses, trying to help them out…so I am home much more.

I appreciate that the authors of HEAL have asked us to generate a list of things that cause us to feel better about our bodies.

So how about it…without sacrificing your emotional or mental health, what can you do to feel better about your body? What can you do to honor God with your body?

I will continue to generate my list, but also I am on a quest to break free from the fear that being at a gym or around scales and tape measures will somehow lure me back into my former obsession. God wants me not to allow anything other than HIM to determine my steps. Fear can be an idol that I “obey” if I don’t deal with this.

I am chasing after the joy that I know is in Him as all things are balanced BY Him and for His glory!

To What End, Thinness?

The image that “graces” this blog entry–I hope you see just how bizarre it is–is, apparently, a computer modified (hard to say “enhanced”) image of a model who is already rail-thin. Is this really what they think we should look like??? Look how big her head is compared to her hips!

Yesterday, my former pastor sent me a link to an article that sure is penetrating.

Please note: I do NOT agree with everything in the article–such as the reference to Eve’s having eaten the fruit as “mythical,” so please don’t email me about that. I do, however, feel the author offers some challenging thoughts that I can prayerfully take to the Lord to help to foster a godly evaluation of my own heart.

It connects well (for me) to what lesson 4 in HEAL is about, so I thought it might be helpful to share it with those of you who might want to take the time to read it.

But for many, the prospect of a “good” body comes to function as a kind of “ultimate purpose” that gives their lives personal meaning while connecting them to a much wider cultural devotion to thinness. (Michelle M. Lelwica, Guest Voices, Thin and Salvation)

One of the things that challenged me as I read this is I wonder to what degree I have allowed striving to achieve thinness or, even, wholeness in this area of food, eating and body image to define my purpose in life? Is this a godly thing? Sure, the Lord may have called me to a ministry related to this issue and I have no doubt that he has…but have I allowed striving after this to define my purpose? Or have I allowed Him to define my purpose? There is a subtle, but profound difference.

I spent a few minutes making my own “body beautiful” (well, not quite, but you get the idea…). If I had taken a bit longer to do it right (I have never modified a photo like this before), I could have done the same thing the graphic artist did to the photo of the model to an image of me at my heaviest. This comparison is shown to the left. Is this really what I want to be about?  I could even have plastic surgery to make sure everything looks just so without an image being required or a graphics program. That is where the mindset that I have had can take me if allowed to go to its logical extreme. Boy, this is sobering. I look at the image of the model that Ralph Lauren put on it’s publication and advertisers are convinced that this is what we want, girls! This is sad!

The HEAL book really challenges me in this regard in lesson 4. My body is a temple of God’s presence. He really has esteemed this body that he has created. Do I believe what He says in His Word about my physical body’s value? Do I treat my body, His temple, with respect and esteem, or do I desecrate and demean it with the choices I make? What self-talk do I engage in? What do I say to myself or others about this amazing body that God has made?

Even if I have made choices that have hurt my body, right now is a new moment, a fresh start. I don’t mean like starting a diet. Not a Monday, first-day-of-the month or anything else. I mean literally a fresh start. I can repent, change my mind, my heart, my behavior…allow GOD to give me HIS thoughts, HIS heart, and an ability to will to act differently.

Contrary to what the world says, your body is not just something to be looked at and adorned.  Its purpose is to serve, encourage, and love the people we encounter. Girls, it’s time we discover and reclaim the true, God-given purpose of our bodies. (Smith and Halliday, HEAL, page 79)

So, to what end will I pursue thinness or, even wholeness? Will I allow this to be my “purpose?” Frankly, I want to chase hard after God and only God. If I cling to Him, my purpose will be God-determined and my life God-honoring. I will love Him and people, serving others in a way that infuses my life with joy and meaning! How hollow and superficial striving to fit back into a certain pair of jeans seems in comparison!

So…what does the *Lord* have to say about it?

Hmmm…if I really stop and get still about this “issue”…that of my body, how I feel about it, how it functions (and, admittedly, how it *looks*…which I hope to be less of an issue for me as I grow up!), and ask the Lord “Lord, what do YOU have to say about it? What is your heart about this?” I come away with a very different viewpoint than when I shut him out of this. He is interested! He does care!!!

Let’s all ask ourselves some questions:

Can I be still, quiet my heart and mind for a bit and wait on the Lord, wait to hear the HOLY Spirit (as opposed to “the condemning spirit,” or the “perfectionist spirit” or…whatever else) testify to my heart what the Lord’s mind and heart is for me in this? AM I healthy? AM I functioning the way He intends? Is there anything that I am in denial about, anything I fear, anything that I idolize in this area of my life? What does *HE* want of me? Does he want me to be more active and prayerfully, joyfully, worshipfully move my body more frequently? Am I obsessed and does he want me to have freedom from insisting on 90 minutes of cardiovascular workouts each day and strength training 4 days each week? Does he want me to allow more “meat on my bones?” Or does he want me to realize that I am making my heart work too hard by carrying extra weight on my frame? Does he want me to come to peace with food and my body in a way that my physical body doesn’t seem to indicate I need to? Do I fixate too much on clothes…does my vanity with wanting to look a certain way keep me from being humble, modest and able to be set free?

What does the *Lord* want for me?

These are questions that we can benefit from asking — but let’s ask the LORD what the truth is! As we do, we may come out of the experience better able to have a vision for where we are heading with the Lord as our guide relative to food, eating, our bodies and views of ourselves.

On page 76 of the HEAL book, the authors give us examples of “Body Vision Statements” of others who have allowed the Lord to guide and direct them in this process. I, too, want to allow the Lord to give me His vision of what he wants for me. Part of my Body Vision Statement includes “To release fear, to make peace with my body, to rest in a lifestyle where I keep the proper balance and don’t become focused on me, but on serving others and the Lord…”

How about you? What does the Lord have to say about these things to you?

Body Expectations…

What kind of expectations have we placed on ourselves? What standards do we subtly expect (or, even, demand) that we live up to?

We have a challenge before us…that of living in this world with all the messages that are constantly bombarding us about physical standards but not giving in to this…to keep our focus, instead, on what matters for eternity–spiritual values.

Lesson 4 challenges us to evaluate these things. We are encouraged to choose God’s perspective on beauty instead of the world’s ideal.

Truthfully, my thoughts about that are…it is tough to know God’s perspective of beauty unless we really spend time in His Word. We have the world bombarding us…literally…from every angle. Every window in shopping malls and stores taunt us with what beauty looks like, TV, billboards, magazines, newspapers…it is hard to escape it even if we don’t read magazines or watch TV. We want to constantly bathe our minds in the truth of what God’s view of beauty is.

 10 Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:
       Forget your people and your father’s house.
 11 The king is enthralled by your beauty;
       honor him, for he is your lord. 
Psalm 45:10-11
I love this passage from the Psalms as it speaks deeply to my heart of how the Lord sees me. He is enthralled by my beauty. He is enthralled by yours.Wow!
The authors make some comments about Psalm 139: 14
David does not applaud himself for his individual design nor does he criticize God’s work.  He gives God praise for the work he has made…David recognizes the brilliance of his Creator and shouts out genuine praise and thanksgiving.  Let’s aspire to have hearts filled with praise for the awesome and unique way God has made each of us.(Smith, Halliday, HEAL, page 74)

We are challenged not to dishonor God by condemning His creation–ourselves. When we view ourselves so negatively and with contempt, we don’t accomplish anything godly whatsoever. We sadden the heart of God. He created us.

One of the best ways to learn how to walk in the truth that you are body beautiful is to talk to God about it.  Ask God to help you see yourself through His eyes rather than through the eyes of the world.  If you want to love your body, you have to fall in love with the One who made it! 

How will you, how will I, begin to combat the worldly perspective today? How will we embrace the truth about who we are and the amazing body God has designed for us? Our minds need to be renewed with truth in this. What can we practically do, today, to cooperate with God’s intention?

Take some time to follow the advice of the authors and to journal, asking God to change the way you see yourself. Spend time asking the Lord to help you to have His perspective on your body and to help you reject any way the world’s thinking affects you.

You might want to do this every day…and tenaciously cling to his promise that he can transform the way you think. Share with us here anything that he shows you!