When I train myself to recognize the lies that I believe, it has a practical impact on my life! Here is what happened to me right after I made the video for the new study…
Are there any lies that you believe “on the fly?” Can you ask God to make you aware of them so that you can recognize them and replace them with truth? What examples can you think of that might make a difference for you in accomplishing your godly goals in your Thin Within journey?
Welcome to WEEK ONE of our summer study on Renewing of the Mind! If you are on the Thin Within journey, this study will support and strengthen you. I am so excited because this summer will be the summer you realize your godly goals. If you do the work in the assignments shared here –many of which will refer you to Barb Raveling’s blog, you will experience the transformation by the renewing of your mind that God speaks of in Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—
his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Our transformation doesn’t happen merely by changing the outside of our bodies…how we appear. We all have done diets before and know how to lose weight. What we want, though, is permanent change, that isn’t dependent on an approach that causes us to be so obsessed! You know what I am talking about, I bet…where the scale, food, eating, clothing sizes has your mind in a flurry–ALL THE TIME! Don’t you just want food and size to be a *non*-issue? We are called to freedom! It’s possible! Let’s experience it. To do that, though, we have to be willing to train our minds. That’s all there is to it. Dieting is easier, to be honest. Training ourselves to think differently is tough work.
In this video, I give you my reasons for making this summer a time to study, learn and do this Renewing of the Mind. I mean, we just DID this study here at the blog, right? So why on *earth* am I revisiting it? Why should someone who hasn’t done this study do this one instead of something else? Why should Thin Within participants do this “non-Thin Within” study? (Barb Raveling’s material is awesome, but she is not a Thin Within participant and prefers another approach for maintaining her healthy size–in spite of my bantering with her about it! LOL!)
Have a look at this video:
We will begin to evaluate what our focus on thin is doing to us. (You can take a moment to journal about this, if you like.) Is it serving our godly goals? Is hopping on the scale so many times in a day something that draws us closer to God? Are we growing in trust and dependence on God when we have a death grip on food and scrutinize every single nutrition label? Are we condemning ourselves more than we are walking in the wonderful freedom that Christ paid for with his precious blood? Can we be free from our emotions and thoughts causing us to eat? What if we release our grip on the food? Will that just send us into clothes that are 4 sizes larger than what we are currently wearing? What do you believe? Journal about this.
This summer, we will evaluate thoughts we have that control our actions. What we think about (especially again and again) affects what we believe. What we believe affects our actions. What actions will result in the transformation we hope for? What actions are needed to experience the transformation GOD hopes for in our lives?
This is the heart of this study, but it will have some VERY practical applications. You will experience great breakthroughs!
In all my years of supporting people in the Thin Within program, I have never seen the large numbers of people having breakthroughs as I have since using Barb’s Renewing of the Mind material to supplement other Thin Within material. I hope you will give this the next three months and really give it a try and see.
To understand a bit about what this summer’s study will be about, please stop here and read this post at Barb’s blog. It is an easy read and explains what we are up to this summer.
In her post, Barb encourages us to look at Ephesians 4:17-24. I have linked it here for you. I would suggest you study this passage, answering a few questions, perhaps. You can do this in your new “Renewing of the Mind” journal if you like. Here is a bible study from this passage that you can use if you like:
1.) From your experience, what describes the way the “Gentiles” (unbelievers, world) live?
2.) What is “futile” about the way the world thinks?
3.) Have you struggled at all with thinking the way the world does–in futility? What examples can you think of relative to your journey with food, eating, size?
4.) As Christians, we don’t have to be concerned about being separated from the life of God since Christ paid the price for us to have access to God, but we can nevertheless remain in darkness in the way we think. We can do this habitually and harden our hearts to God’s voice. Have you struggled with this in your life at all? How so?
5.) In what ways have you experienced less sensitivity to the Lord and given yourself over at times to indulge in impurity with a constant lust for more? The obvious answer may have to do with overeating, but can a quest to be thin also be thought of in a similar light? How so?
6.) What are some practical things that you can do to “put off the former way of life” and the “old self?” (see verses 22)
7.) Do you see any ways that your former way of life was corrupted by deceitful desires? How so?
8.) Spend some time journaling about the promise of verses 23 and 24. How does it sound to you to experience the following:
to be made new in the attitude of your mind?
to put on your new self created to be like God in TRUE righteousness and holiness?
9.) Journal a prayer to God about your desire to no longer think like you have in the past, but to think differently during the course of our study this summer…to be trained for the rest of your life!
10.) Sit with your journal open for a few minutes. Ask God to impress HIS thoughts upon you…what is HE speaking over you right now? Jot it down. (Share it with us here if you like!)
Here is the recorded version of our online class that we held during the week this class originally ran:
These posts have been edited for those of you going through later than our 2013 class. So, you can go at your own pace. The way this was originally intended was for a posting each Monday. Then, the participants (you!) could spread doing the assignment out over the week or do it all in one sitting. Even if you are later in doing the study, you can still comment here at the blog. Some have subscribed to the comments and may respond if you have a question or need support.
Assignment:
1.) Write down what you believe about food, about yourself, about emotions, about your ability to be your natural, God-given size, and anything else that you might want to deal with. Skipping lines as you write in your journal will give you room for the rest of the activity.
2.) Interrogate what you wrote down with truth…use the Philippians 4:8 test… Is the thought TRUE, noble, good, pure, excellent, praiseworthy, etc?
3.) Prayerfully ask God to help you to recognize lies in what you have written down. Reject them. Simply, cross them out. Replace those lies with God’s view of the situation by writing the TRUTH down next to the crossed-out lies.
An example would be I will never be able to get this weight off.
or
I have to be thin in order to ever be happy.
The truth is, these are lies. I hope that thin will be put in it’s place–that we will begin to think God’s thoughts about thin and size and weight. What are GOD’s thoughts about these beliefs? We can do all things through Christ!
4.) Recognize little “t” truths that you magnify or give a lot of time and attention to. An example of a “little t” truth might be I have such a hard time losing weight and keeping it off. This may, in fact, be true. How much mental energy do you give this thought? Is it owning you? Are you condemning yourself for this? Is it a truth that has any right affecting your mood, your thoughts, your actions? How much are you “magnifying” it? Are you making it bigger than God? Would magnifying the Lord make a difference?
5.) Write down Truth – Big “T” Truth – from God’s Word to replace any of the lies that you are now choosing to reject or that trumps any of the little “t” truths. An example of a Big T truth that trumps the little t truth of I have a hard time keeping weight off might be:
God is doing a new thing
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
God has begun a good work in me and he will complete it.
Even better if we begin to realize: Being thin isn’t as important to God as I have made it out to be. Really…what are God’s thoughts about this?
For this summer’s study, you will want to have a journal, a translation of the bible you like, and a spiral bound set of index cards. You can purchase the cards this way. More on that during this week’s online class.
6.) If you can either join us for the class on Wednesday by registering here, or watch the recorded version of it–you need to sign up for that, too.
7.) If you don’t have an accountability partner yet, prayerfully consider getting one.
I hope you are taking captive any thoughts that say “I can’t do this much work!” or “This won’t work for me!” or “I don’t get it!” and submit these thoughts to Christ in obedience. Instead, ask God what HIS thoughts are about this study, this work, this hope for you for this summer. Replace the lies or “little ‘t’ truths” with HIS thoughts–his “BIG ‘T ‘Truths!”
This is another great song for your Renewing of the Mind playlist! I hope you enjoy!
“Waiting For Tomorrow”
Maybe tomorrow we’ll start over
Maybe tomorrow I will finally change my ways
Said the same things yesterday
Don’t know why I’m so afraid
To let you in
To let you win
To let you have all of meCan’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been betterEveryday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrowMaybe today I’ll start believing
That you’re mercy is really
As real as you say it is
It doesn’t matter who I used to be
It only matters that I’ve been set free
You rescued me you’re changing me
Jesus take everything
Can’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been better
Everyday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow
Oh, I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
And I’m makin this my moment now
To grab the hand that’s reachin down to save me You saved me
Can’t spend my whole life wastin’
Everything I know I’ve been given
‘Cause you’ve made for so much more than
Sittin’ on the side lines
I don’t wanna look back and wonder
If good enough could’ve been better
Everyday’s a day to start over
So, why am I waiting for tomorrow
I’m gonna grab the hand that’s reachin down
And I’m not gonna wait until tomorrow
Oh, tomorrow
What is really holding you back? Will you choose to reach out to God’s hand, reaching for you and “do” tomorrow…NOW? 🙂 What will that look like for you?
Are you wondering what study we are going to do next here at the blog?
Are you hoping that you can get support for your Thin Within journey this summer?
Look no further! 😀
Here is a short little video blurb about it…
Starting Monday, just TWO DAYS away, June 17th, we will begin!
I want to revisit Barb Raveling’s material in her “Weight Loss Bible Study” which I think would better be named a “Renewing of the Mind Bible Study!” LOL!
I may not be using her material in order so check in here on Mondays for the week’s assignment. I am going to supplement and augment with some of my own material so I hope this will result in a study that is vital, transformative, and life changing while supporting you on your Thin Withinjourney!!
Here is how it will work:
Each Monday, I will post a video and assignment. Sometimes there may be a sound file as well or instead. I may send you to Barb’s blog for the assignment that you will do.
Additionally, and this is what I am SUPER excited about…I will be offering an online class to focus on whatever the topic of our Monday study is for that week. The classes right now will be set for Wednesdays at 3pm Pacific which I know doesn’t work for everyone, so you will be able to listen to/watch the recorded version of the class! You can sign up to attend and/or sign up to get the recording of the class instead! Isn’t that awesome? I have to pay a monthly fee for this service, so I have to charge each person for the classes/recordings. But I am charging the smallest fee the service allows of $5 per class. I hope you find that reasonable (and it is cheaper than a Weight Watcher’s meeting, right? LOL!)
Anyhow, I hope you find this a wonderful way to support you on your Thin Within journey.
Each week, you are welcome to post your questions that you hope will be addressed during our online class, too. More on that on Monday.
During the week, don’t be surprised by seeing posts only on Mondays (with the week’s study assignment), Wednesdays, and Fridays. I am working on developing some new resources to support people on the Thin Within journey, including a 30-day online challenge and a God is Doing a New Thing retreat that I hope to offer! So I don’t anticipate posting here as often during the summer.
I am so excited! I hope this works out well!
Monday, June 17 – Focus is on What IS the Renewing of the Mind and Why Should I Do it?
Wednesday, June 19 at 3pm Pacific – Online Class to discuss our subject.
In March, my husband and I went whale watching in Monterey Bay. We “only” saw two whales. But the show these two Humpback Whales put on for us was ASTOUNDING! They came under our boat, spy-hopped right next to us, waved their pectoral fins right in front of us, launched themselves out of the water and really seemed to be having a competition…I could just imagine the first one saying “Watch this…” Then doing his “trick” and saying to his friend, “See if you can beat *that*!” The second one would then copy cat the first.
These two whales supplied us with and ABUNDANCE of whale antics, joy, amazement and filled me with the wonder of my God who created these marvelous creatures! Who would have thought that we could return from a whale watching tour having “only” seen two whales, but literally having cataloged every single whale behavior known to man above the surface of the water. It was incredible! Abundance…for sure.
To really experience the abundant life that God intends, of course, we have to believe what God says is true. The incredible display that my husband and I saw that day doesn’t even begin to touch the incredible stuff that God does in our lives. The “common grace” of day to day life–just even as basic as our beating heart (have you ever thought about that?) is mysterious, wonderful, and glorifies our great God.
I didn’t say we need to believe in God, though we certainly do that, but…it may surprise you to know that believing in God isn’t enough to experience the abundant life–the satisfying, full, life that Jesus came to earth to see us experience.
We simply have to believe God.
What does he say that we have to believe?
First and foremost, we have to believe what he says in Romans 3:23, that we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God. We have to believe what God says in his Word in Romans 6:23–that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. This means that the wages of my sin–of your sin–is death. We have to believe what God says in Romans 5:8 when he intervenes and says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” You see, apart from embracing the truth that God says about Jesus and about yourself, there really is no way to experience the abundant life. It is all just smoke and mirrors apart from the sacrifice Jesus made for you.
So, before we go any further, I hope you will be sure that you have identified that you agree with God that, left on your own, you wouldn’t deserve heaven. That God, being kind and loving has provided a Savior to go in your place to pay the price that righteous holy God requires. Be sure that you know that Jesus paid the price for you–he bought you–he ransomed you–so that you would never be forsaken by God or have to be separated from him and so you could HAVE the abundant life we have studied this week!
Apart from embracing these truths, there is not only no abundant life on this planet, but there is no heaven. Please be sure this is settled for you today if you haven’t done so previously! Here is a link to a presentation of the 4 Spiritual Laws if you want a thorough, but clear understanding of these truths.
This week’s “Group Session” video is here:
God’s Word–the Bible–is Truth. What it says is reliable. So often we balk at the passage in Psalm 139 that says I am fearfully and wonderfully made. We just can’t let ourselves accept that. Here is a file that, perhaps, can convince you that God isn’t kidding. He thinks you are an amazing work of His creative genius. Download this file and have a look at it…Read what it says out loud each day and see if you don’t experience a transformation! Click here: Who I Am In Christ 02
Psalm 139 tells us that we are precious in God’s eyes as his wonderful masterpiece.
At the same time, we are encouraged in verses 23 and 24 to remember that we are the creation and he is the Creator. He wants us to invite him to search us and know us and tell us what needs adjusting. It is vital that we be willing to welcome him into our eating and body image issues. He is the one who knows what we need and what will enable our bodies to be at their best. He alone knows what our “natural God-given size” even is! We want to trust him to feed us in our proper time and to show us what a “0” really feels like for us and when we are at a “5.” We want to invite him to tell us when we are acting out of greed or trying to deceive ourselves and when we can celebrate even the smallest of victories! He is doing a new thing and wants us to sing and shout about it!
In order for us to really invite him to search us and know us like the Psalm demonstrates, we want to learn to be still in his presence.
I don’t mean a “quiet time.” If you are anything like me, your “quiet times” can be quite BUSY. Not quiet at all. I mean, where you just sit in his presence with no agenda. Just waiting on Him. If you have acknowledged him as your Savior (see above), then He says that His Holy Spirit is present living within you. He is present with you even if you don’t “feel” him.
It is high time we cease from letting our feelings dictate what we believe is fact. Our feelings are soooo impacted by our struggles with our weight and eating and that just shouldn’t be the case when you consider all that God has offered to us! The truth is God is present with us PERIOD. Isn’t it time that we let FACTS (as GOD defines them) dictate our feelings, instead? We have WONDERFUL news! The “Who I Am in Christ” list is incredibly great news! So is the gift of salvation! So is the fact that God is present with us wanting to guide and direct us! Let’s let these truths saturate us with the joy that Jesus says is ours. He says HIS joy can be IN us! This IS the abundant life (at least in part).
This ABUNDANT LIFE that our God offers us is distinctly different from the life that the world offers us. So, in the comments, we are going to create a sort of cumulative list (in the book, this activity is on page 103).
What is the LIFE that the WORLD offers us? What words or phrases describe this WORLDLY LIFE? Please respond in the comments, using magazine reference or other advertising references or just your own good observation skills!
What is the ABUNDANT LIFE that the LORD offers us? What words or phrases describe this ABUNDANT life? Please respond in the comments using a bible dictionary or concordance to flesh out the meaning of “Abundant Life.”
I am leaving an example of the format you can use to respond.
Then, come back later on …today, later in the weekend, or next week and read out loud all of the words and phrases that people have used to describe first “LIFE the WORLD offers” and then “ABUNDANT LIFE that GOD offers.” When you do that part, then please respond to this:
How does your soul feel when you speak the words and phrases out loud that describe the LIFE the WORLD offers?
How does your soul feel when you speak the words and phrases out loud that describe the ABUNDANT LIFE that God offers?
Finally, YES! We WILL be having a study start on Monday! More on that tomorrow!
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
Imagine sitting with a friend. No distractions, just the two of you. You share with the friend how you are struggling with a trial and then ask the friend what you should do. The friend looks at you with love on his face and says: Peace, be still.
What?!? What on earth do you mean “Peace, be still”?!?!? How could I possibly“be still” when I should be DOING something about it all?
For the past three weeks, at various times, I have sat with my prayer journal open…an exercise that is dear to me. I pour out my heart to God on the page, writing my prayers (it helps me to stay focused). Sometimes, I am impressed with something to write down–something that seems to be from the heart of God for me. The theme over the past three weeks has been “Be still and know that I AM God.”
Again. Again. Again.
And…
…again.
Do you notice the presence of “I AM” in the middle of that verse? You may recall that God used the “I AM” to identify himself to Moses when Moses asked God His name. He responded with “Tell the Egyptians that I AM sent you to them.” There is something supremely sufficient in this designation for God and while Psalm 46:10 may not intentionally be the use of the “I AM” name, it nevertheless causes me to think of this.
It has occurred to me that no matter what the question, no matter what the ache, the emptiness that I feel, God’s name, “I Am” is the answer. God is the answer.
“Lord, what will be enough for me?”
I AM.
“Lord, who will be my Comforter for my heartache? Who grieves with me when I grieve?”
I AM.
“What will finally be the solution to my struggle with eating and my weight?”
I AM.
No matter what the challenge, struggle or question, our God says we can know him, I AM, as the sufficiency we need, the strength in our weakness.
But I only experience him as the answer when I still my mind and heart and body. I must Be Still and Know. He tells me to Be Still and Know I AM God… and there is something that will happen as I do that. Are you like me at all? My mind tends to spin and spiral and go wonky if left unchecked. That is when I may grab for food to “center” me. Isn’t that strange? Then, my mind spirals and spins even more…
STOP.
I must be still and know that he is God.
When I stop the spiraling thoughts, when I choose to STILL myself…and this means sitting out on the deck, in the bath, in a chair with a towel over my head–whatever it takes so that NOTHING has my attention but my GOD… I experience a fresh wind. I experience fresh forgiveness. Strength. Peace. Calm. I experience HIM. I am still and I know He is God. He is my portion. I magnify HIM instead of whatever it is that I am struggling with.
We aren’t wired to be still. We are wired to DO DO DO. But we want to obey what he commands and he commands us to be still and know that I am God.
When we still ourselves, we may be surprised. There is much more victory in what another translation of this verse says this way: “Cease striving.” Doesn’t that sound like a great idea? Let’s just cease striving.
When we stop our spinning, spiraling, running, and striving and just rest and know, ponder, dwell on HIS character, His awesomeness, I believe we get the clarity we need.
Stillness is a path to victory.
What can you do to foster stillness today…if not literal physical stillness, perhaps a quiet, still heart that ponders the awesomeness of God–even for a moment? Share with us here what happens for you. If you do this when you are tempted to eat, tell us the outcome!
