I consider Truth Journaling a lot like Renewing of the Mind “Boot Camp.” This isn’t for the faint of heart, but I tell you what…it has GREAT benefits! If you figure you aren’t a journaler, then you may want to renew your mind about that belief :-). If you could spend 10 minutes a day in something that could radically transform your life, draw you closer to God, enable you to think God’s thoughts after him instead of head down a road of thinking thoughts that take YOU captive, would it be worth it? I suggest you give this process a try. It is a training of sorts. If you do this training, then you will learn how to renew your mind practically speaking and will be able to do it “on the fly” more frequently.
This is one way you can work on the renewing of your mind goal, established in the Day 1 material. (Barb mentions Truth Journaling in Day 3.) Even if you aren’t doing the Weight Loss Bible Study with us, then you can use this approach any time you are tempted or even afterwards. I explain that a bit in the video.
One of the reasons I decided that I *could* afford the time to Truth Journal was because I knew I had spent plenty of time in the past looking at recipes, counting calories or fat grams (or “blocks”), reading dieting magazines, diet books, etc. I figured that given how much time in invested into establishing the mindset that didn’t work for me, it wasn’t at all unreasonable to spend a bit of time changing the way I think so that I could emerge victorious in pursuing a life of eating 0 to 5 for the rest of my days on this planet. 🙂 How about you? 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBzmuoY1olc?rel=0&w=560&h=315
I learned everything I know about Truth Journaling from Barb Raveling, first in her Freedom From Emotional Eating bible study. (Just a caveat…this speaks of dieting, but if you can get past that, the principles are very valuable…especially the part about truth journaling!) I love it and it has made a big difference in my life and in the lives of many people who have been in my Thin Within groups! You can do a search here at my blog, too, as I have written about this previously.
I hope this video helps you.
What can you truth journal about? When will you do that?
It is best to give yourself a portion, rather than have a bag of chips or a serving dish of food in front of you. Put an amount of food on your plate and then let that be that. Experiment a bit, but you may want to establish a boundary that whatever food you put on your plate, you will eat that (or less) and then wait 10 minutes before serving yourself more if you think you are still hungry.
A fist is a very reasonable measuring tool to use to evaluate portion size. Here is a video where I share my thoughts on the subject. 🙂
Another approach is whatever you have been serving yourself up to this point (if you haven’t been eating 0 to 5), try serving yourself a third or half of that. I know this sounds extreme, but just remember you can eat again when you are hungry.
Thin Within is quite simple, really, but we find that there are times when it isn’t easy. Times when we clearly want more food than we need. We can have all the practical tidbits in the world, but if we aren’t willing to say no to our fleshly desires, if we aren’t willing to live within our good, godly and delightful boundaries, then all the wisdom and insight will make very little difference!
So, are you willing? I personally, am romancing the willingness. Will you join me?
Last week, we did Day 1 and Day 2 of Barb Ravelings Weight Loss Bible Study. If you haven’t yet done that material–no problem. Go at the pace that works for you. Just keep moving forward!
I shared last week that we have to be willing to renew our minds–to think differently, if we are going to act differently for the rest of our days. This will ensure that the transformation we experience is lasting. We made a “renewing of the mind” goal, in fact. How is that going for you? I would love to hear.
I wanted to share some thoughts that I have as I look over my notes from doing Day 2 of Barb’s study. Because I am colossally lazy :-), I will do that in video…
Continue with your Renewing Of Your Mind goal. You are proactively taking time to think God’s thoughts (that pass the Philippians 4:8 test) about whatever it is that you need to renew your mind about.
Additionally, be alert and on your guard to any other thoughts that are NOT His thoughts about your body, size, eating, 0 to 5, boundaries and anything else pertinent to this journey. Take captive your thoughts so they don’t take YOU captive!
Do Barb’s Day 3 study on “Justification Eating.” Be alert to any mention of “calories” and trade dieting terminology for something that is congruent with 0 to 5 and Thin Within.
Make a list of lies that you tell yourself to justify eating outside of true physical hunger and true physical satisfaction.
Did you take Barb’s challenge last week? To have three days of not eating outside of your boundaries? Why not take the challenge this week. Just three days of truly sticking with 0 to 5. See what happens!
Note: If you are struggling with thinking about food all the time, you have to choose to think about something else. You can’t just tell yourself to stop thinking about food! The best thing I have found to think about is what God says is my true portion…HIM. At my other blog, I have a boatload of resources that can help with that. I especially recommend establishing and adding to a God List and using that to have a Praise-Fest.
Don’t forget to post here to the blog to support one another, ask questions, share your insights! Each time you do, you get entered in the drawing for a Thin Within book (donated by the Thin Within ministry), a Hunger Within book (donated by Arthur and Judy Halliday) or an hour of personal coaching with yours truly.
A ten year old, autism spectrum boy, a “magical” connection with a formerly abused mustang, and a “Forbidden Ride” are components of a story found in the pages of a newly released book called Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories From Moms. This is a (true) story I wrote about my son and one of our four horses. This book is filled with “Chicken Soup for the Soul” type inspiration!
My son is now 20 and Dodger has “gone on” to Rainbow Bridge, but the memories are so sweet.
By the time I did the drawing late last night, I had 53 different slips of paper to draw from! Thank you for participating this week. YOU all make this blog a supportive community. You have been a very REAL encouragement to me this week.
We now start fresh with our drawing entrants. Any new comments from this time forward on any of the posts will go into next Friday’s drawing. If you want to be in the drawing next Friday, please keep up the great work. Remember, you can comment on a post directly, or on another person’s comment to encourage them! Each time you comment, I add your name (yet again) to the drawing. Multiple entries are welcome!
Without further “ado” the winner of this week’s prize is Lisa Meyer. CONGRATULATIONS! I will be emailing Lisa to find out which of the three options she will choose:
Free copy of Thin Within — all donated by Joe and Pam Donaldson from the Thin Within ministry.
Free copy of Hunger Within – all donated by Judy and Arthur Halliday, the authors of the books and programs.
An hour of Skype or phone-call coaching with me broken up into increments that suit you.
As a bonus for reading through this post :-), I want to share with you a song that has meant so much to me on this journey. In fact, this song, sung by Hillsong in this rendering, God used SPECIFICALLY when I was driving through our canyon one day in late Fall of 2006 to call me out of my rebellion and back into fellowship with him, offering my eating and my body (and MIND!) to Him. I hope it encourages you:
When I woke up one day and found myself at a size 24 again (I had lost 100 pounds with a popular weight loss program previously and gained most of it back in a very short period of time) I realized that I didn’t get that way magically. It was action upon action that had gotten me to that place. Actions come about as a result of thinking.
So, it made sense that the key to why I gained weight again so readily is I had never learned to think differently. It was my thinking that caused me to act in such a way that all that extra weight landed on me. By the time I lost the weight in 1997 with Weight Watchers, I was even more obsessed with food and exercise than when I started. I know this may not be the case for everyone, but it was for me. While the outside of my body was changed physically,my heart and mind had been changed too…not for the better either. My mind was riveted to food as never before. I thought about it constantly. When an overuse injury kept me from being able to exercise excessively as I had been, my thoughts and actions about food and eating were betrayed. The weight poured back on.
It was time for me to realize that, if I wanted to see an outward change–to be a healthy size once and for all–I needed to not only act differently, but also to think differently.
In all honesty, this process continues to this day. It is a constant training!
James 1:14, 15 speaks of a progression. We have a thought. We mull it over. We ponder it and allow the thought to grow. Finally, it incites us into action.
Before it ever gets to that place, Paul in 2 Corinthians urges us to take the thought captive and submit it to obedience to Christ.
It stands to reason, if we want to act differently (knowing that health is found there), we have to learn to think differently. We have to train our minds.
This takes work. But anything worthwhile is worth working, fighting for!
And notice this…all along the way, we have a choice about what we will think. We can think the thoughts that lead to actions that don’t correspond with our godly goals and with truth. Or, we can choose to think thoughts that align with my desire to honor God with my eating and drinking and with my living.
Here are some things that we may need to think differently about–that we may need to renew our minds about.
ABOUT THE BATHROOM SCALE
Thoughts you may have now:
I need the scale to land on this number ______.
I need to see the numbers go down.
The scale will tell me if I have been doing this “right” or not.
The scale tells me if I am a failure or not, if I have value or not.
I need to get on the scale each day (or multiple times each day).
And other thoughts like these. The thoughts you actually have may be more subtle, of course.
Do these thoughts pass the Philippians 4:8 test? Are they true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? The answer goes without saying.
What is really true?
The bathroom scale is a piece of metal and springs with an arbitrary number system on it–that is ALL.
I can survive even if I don’t get on the bathroom scale. I can use other tools to evaluate my progress in losing weight–such as how my clothes fit or what I see in the mirror.
God is after my heart and the scale can’t measure that! I can go to the Lord and ask Him if I am doing this as He would have me. HE is the only one I will go to for approval–not a machine made by man.
God redeems all my past mistakes. He has declared me precious and holy in His sight. He has declared me HIS. He declares forever that I reflect HIS success through Jesus on the cross. He determines my value and worth. Not the scale.
I do not need to get on the scale each day. In fact, I will survive if I never get on the scale again. (Yes, you really will.) The scale is designed to be a tool to help me. If it is not helping me, I can get rid of it until the time comes when I can think about it differently.
If you are feeling down about what the scale is telling you, my suggestion to you is get off the scale. Replace the thoughts you have about the scale with God’s thoughts about it.
Did you find yourself responding like this to my suggestion? I could never stop weighing myself at LEAST once each day!
Replace that thought, too! How about with this thought: Ok, God is doing a new thing. Me staying off the scale really WOULD be proof of that! I will choose to stay off the scale and I will survive! 🙂
ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF FOOD NEEDED BY YOUR BODY
Many are surprised about how little food it takes to satisfy physical hunger between 0 and 5. You may have thoughts like these about the small amount of food it takes to sustain your body:
I can’t believe that I am not still hungry. Of course I need more food than that little bit!
I really HATE that I can’t eat more that this without being over a “5.” God couldn’t possibly expect me to live on so little food!
I will never be able to live like this the rest of my life! I love food just too much!
Here is another opportunity to see if these thoughts pass the Philippians 4:8 test! Are these thoughts true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy?
What is really true?
My body is remarkably efficient! I don’t need that much food to sustain me. How COOL is that? God, I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
God empowers and strengthens me to break strongholds such as eating more food than I need for reasons other than physical hunger. He is in the business of sanctifying–purifying–perfecting and this is part of that work. He is teaching me to depend on him so much. He is calling me closer to His heart through this struggle. With an invitation like that, I can definitely learn to feast on the Lord and release my hold on so much food!
For my entire life, I get to walk with God in humble dependence on Him as He continues to work this fact–my need for so little food–into my life. I can’t fathom the great intimacy with a mighty, good, and wonderful God that is yet ahead for me!
God promises to be my portion. I know that he means what He says and His promises are true. He will work into my life a deeper love for Him than I currently have for food.
I have the wonderful privilege of selecting foods from all that is available. I may not eat very much of it, but I get to relish each and every bite and enjoy it thoroughly. What a gift that is!
What other thoughts could you use to replace the negative thoughts that don’t pass the Philippians 4:8 test relative to the small amount of food it takes to sustain you?
ABOUT THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND
You may have thoughts about the process mentioned in Romans 12:2 about the renewing of your mind.
It is just too much work to change the way I think!
Do I really have to sit down and journal about all of this EACH time I am faced with the temptation to eat?
This renewing the mind stuff takes too much time. Just gimme a diet so I can GET THIN!
These thoughts don’t pass the Philippians 4:8 test either. How about replacing them with:
This will be worth fighting for, worth working for. This is transformation I am after and God will do it in me. I will participate in it with Him as He calls me. It will be worth it!
I sit down to do things all the time (tv, read, computer, etc.) so I probably have more time to sit down and journal than I want to admit, but I also know that as I develop renewing my mind as a habit, I will be able to do it “on the fly” and won’t always need to sit down to do it! It is a process and I am in the early stages! It is worth learning. Romans 12:2!!!
I have done diets before and gotten thin(ner) before. But they haven’t worked for me. I want a change that will draw me closer to God and change my inside AND out–for the rest of my days! This is it!
What other thoughts have you had that you want to renew your mind about?
