by Heidi Bylsma | Sep 13, 2013 | Blog
Chipotle Burritos are THE BEST! 🙂
Right now, as I write this, I am tempted to hit the fridge for some of my left over Chipotle burrito. I love Chipotle. There is nothing better than my Chipotle burrito unless it is, perhaps, my Chipotle burrito left over with some extra cheese and salsa! One burrito can easily give me three meals and, perhaps, even five!
Because it is so good, I find myself — right now —Â tempted to eat before I have a clear hunger signal. My “0” hasn’t arrived, though I can sense it is close.
So how does this entire renewing of the mind and truth stuff work? For me, it changes my now.
Because I have been working so hard at rehearsing the truth and renewing my mind with God’s truth (each morning and, often, each afternoon), I have automatically sort of gone through a little process this afternoon even while considering giving in to eating my burrito before having a clear 0 signal. I have thought about the burrito and how good it will be and these truths have jumped into my head to help me be victorious over the temptation:
1. The burrito will be there when I AM hungry. It isn’t going anywhere! (I know this is obvious, but when you are in the throes of temptation, sometimes, you don’t think straight!)
2. The burrito will actually taste even better when I am hungry….truly hungry…AND when I don’t have the hindrance of my convicted heart and going against my conscience!
3. That burrito, as yummy as it is, will not taste good enough to make me glad that I ate outside of my boundaries.
4. Giving in to eating that burrito would be practicing blasting out of my boundaries. I can, instead, use this moment (or momentS) of temptation as an opportunity to grow in my strength and resolve NOT to give in when I am tempted. If I give in now, I am practicing giving in to my temptations and will be more likely to do so the next time.
5. Right NOW is the time to be faithful to God and to my resolve…right NOW is the time to show respect for my body and to honor God with my eating, drinking AND abstaining!
6. If I give in right now, I am more likely to continue to struggle with desire eating all the time and to have the confusion about my body…I will keep struggling with my size as I never know what God has in mind for me if I keep eating outside of 0 and 5 boundaries. Eating within my 0 and 5 boundaries RIGHT NOW will help me to continue to faithfully stay on the path that will provide clarity…physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
7. It is possible that there is something else going on that I should deal with that eating when I am not hungry will only serve to mask.
Ok, so these are the truths that are off the top of my head and by going over them in my mind (and typing them up here!), I have talked myself into waiting for the 0 and into being faithful to what God has called me to do!
My conscience is free!
And…by the way…I am hungry now! YAY!
How About You?
What do you do when you can’t get a certain temptation out of your mind? Would it be helpful to start telling yourself about the situation, about the food, about the choices that are before you? If you are pro-active and practice thinking truth each day—whether or not you are being tempted at the time—then it is more likely that you will use these tools automatically when you are tempted. Is doing the work worth it?
by Heidi Bylsma | Sep 11, 2013 | Blog
Why Renew My Mind?
A few months ago, my husband was listening to something I had recorded. On my way to meeting a friend for lunch, I had recorded my conversation with God in case it could be helpful to you all. That file is found here. When Bob was listening to it, though, he stopped it for a moment and asked me, “Does anyone know just how hard you work at this?”
I wonder about that. I get asked a lot about if it ever becomes easy. I have to say…well, yes, it becomes easiER at times. Until it becomes hard again. But I have to keep investing time, energy, and effort—I have to keep up the good fight.
That is why I make such a big deal about renewing the mind with truth. Because I simply HAVE to keep working on the way I think.
So, today’s truth card, found in the picture above, is specifically about renewing my mind and why it is worth while to keep on fighting, to keep working at changing the way I think. Â Many of these statements come directly from the work I have done using Barb Raveling’s material at her website. In case you can’t read my writing, here is what it says:
Renewing My Mind:
1. God has called me to a renewing of my mind habit.
2. It is important that I do this every single day.
3. God wants me to develop this habit because it helps me to think differently…to act differently.
4. God is crazy about me. He loves me. I am His precious daughter. Â I am precious in His sight. He calls me.
5. Satan doesn’t want me to renew my mind. Â He knows it will make me a more effective witness. Â He knows I will be more victorious. Â Renewing my mind changes me permanently.
6. To develop this habit, I will have to make sacrifices.
7. If I make this sacrifice, I will be more godly, even 6 months down the road.
8. I can be thankful to God for many things in my situation.
What About You?
Have you been working on changing the way you think? About food? About life? About your body? About a person who challenges you? What are you doing, practically, to think differently? Are you committed to renewing your mind daily about this situation/problem/challenge? If not, can you make a plan today to renew your mind daily? Do you need a truth card about renewing your mind? What can you include on it?
by Heidi Bylsma | Sep 5, 2013 | Blog
Today’s post is another snapshot from my truth card deck.
Have you added to your truth cards just how great 0 to 5 eating is yet?
What truths will you add to your truth cards today about the blessings in 0 to 5 eating?
Take some time to review your truth cards today. Ask the Lord to show you if you BELIEVE what is written on them! If not, what will you need to do in order to truly renew your mind and be transformed?
by Heidi Bylsma | Sep 4, 2013 | Blog
Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!Â
– Psalm 66:1-3a
Some of us have been on this journey a while now. It is so easy to be discouraged when we look right in front of us. Sometimes, we miss the forest for the trees we keep ramming!
Today, let’s do some evaluation…some surveying of the road we have traveled. Let’s get to a clearing and have a look back over the land we have traversed!
1. Have you said NO to more food lately than you did previously? For instance, if you were to compare a year or two ago or even a month ago with the past week or two (or three or four), have you overeaten anywhere near the quantities of your “old days?” Have you overeaten nearly so often? Let’s get specific…did you used to “binge” on a full bag of cookies and/or an entire loaf of bread, and/or a half gallon of ice cream…and/or….etc., etc. Compare what you consider as having overeaten now with then. Is the quantity smaller? Has there been progress? While there is likely room for improvement as there is for most of us, note patterns of babystep progress and I bet you will see you have come a long way!
I remember back to Saturday night TV with my husband. There were four shows back-to-back that we looked forward to watching all week. We planned for that binge each week! It consisted of chips with melted cheese all over them….mounds and mounds of cheese (no kidding) and the giant sized bag of Hot Tamales that we got at Costco. That was just for starters! We continued the “salty-sweet-salty-sweet” food frenzy all night long while we watched our shows. God has delivered me from that. I bet there is behavior that you used to engage in that you no longer do! Right? Take a moment to praise God for bringing you out of that, for giving you moments of grace to take steps closer to having a healthy relationship with food.
2. Have you said YES to God more? To obeying his leadership? To spending time in his presence? To allowing him to have his way with you just a bit more? Have you prayed more? Praised more? Given thanks just a bit more?
3. Have you been exposing the lies you believe even just a bit? Have you been rehearsing believing his truth either with truth cards, music, scripture memory or some other means, allowing your mind to be renewed even just a bit more? Are you thinking differently even a little? 🙂
4. Have you been moving your body just a bit more? Again, think back to a year ago or so. Maybe this hasn’t been one of your goals. That’s ok. Prayerfully consider if God would have you move just a bit more. I don’t mean strenuously, but in a way that gives you joy and that can be an expression of worship! If this hasn’t happened yet, see if God might lead you to make gentle plans (that you will hold loosely) to do so. What are the possibilities?
5. Are you exploring the foods that best fuel your body just a bit more? Some foods make you feel energized. Some, depleted or even sick to your stomach. Have you been evaluating which does what? Have you been selecting Whole Body Pleasers a bit more than Taste Bud Teasers? Even just a bit?
Some of these things you may not have made any headway with just yet, but I bet it is because they haven’t been included in your list of things to be intentional about.
If you are going to do an evaluation like this a year from now and come up with answers that delight your heart, what changes—babysteps—will you begin to take now?
Let’s celebrate! You have come a long way, Baby!
by Heidi Bylsma | Sep 2, 2013 | Blog
Have you been tempted to throw in the towel and just say FORGET IT to this entire boundaries/renewing the mind/losing weight/having a healthy relationship with food project?
It is totally normal to feel that way.
This is the 12th and final week of our Renewing the Mind Bible Study and the truth is…it IS hard to stick to your boundaries. If it wasn’t hard to stick to your boundaries, they probably wouldn’t be boundaries. Just think about it for a minute. If you don’t have any temptations to go into a certain store at the mall and spend up your credit card, you don’t need to have a boundary about that store (or the credit card)! If you don’t feel tempted to overeat shrimp scampi, you probably don’t have a boundary to give shrimp scampi a wide berth.
We establish boundaries because we know that we are likely to venture across a line or to welcome outside forces in that would influence us in a way that wouldn’t be best for us.
So, of course it is hard! We are training ourselves which implies that, left to our own devices, we would behave differently than we know we should.
Barb does a great job of exposing a lie that we want to RENEW OUR MINDS ABOUT. That lie is this:
Life should be easy.
Think about it for a minute. Do you have a feeling that you will only follow through if something is fun or easy? If you get tired of working at something, maybe you believe this lie that life should be easy. God never has promised us that life will be easy. In fact, if we read the Scriptures there is much there that speaks to us about being diligent, persevering, hanging in there. If life were meant to be easy, I don’t think these exhortations would be in Scripture!
Monday
1. It’s that time again! Evaluate your feeling about 0 to 5 eating. Has God called you to 0 to 5 eating? Are you convinced in your heart he has? If you have written this commitment in your journal previously, review the dates and entries when you were convinced that this was so. How about now? If you are convinced today, add a statement reflecting that conviction and date it with today’s date.
2. Visit Barb’s blog page on “Losing Weight is Hard.” Read her introductory material.
3. Complete the “Life Should Be Easy” bible study on the same page.
Tuesday
1. Â Looking at yesterday’s bible study, what are some truths that you can add to your truth cards? Take some time to do this and renew your mind with truth!
2. Visit Barb’s blog page again at the same link. Please remember that Barb isn’t a Thin Within participant and don’t be put off by any “dieting” jargon that you see in her material. Complete her “Dieting is Hard” questions.
3. Are there any additional truths that you can add to your cards? If so, take some time to do so now.
Wednesday
1. Visit this page here at this blog. Take some time to read the introductory material and to watch the video on that page.
2. Can you list some situations that you have been in that are similar to what I describe? What upcoming situations might you face this week that fit this description?
3. What are some truths about situations like these that you can possibly renew your mind with?
Thursday
1. Visit this page again. Complete the “Preventative Eating Questions” on that page. (When asked in the questions about “now”, just insert in your mind a recent experience when you have done this…or if you are currently facing a situation where you are tempted to “preventative eat.”)
2. What are some of the possible solutions that God might want you to consider? Â Are you willing to use any of his solutions? If not, why not?
3. If you are not willing to use any of God’s solutions right now, please take some time to review your thoughts from Monday, Question #1 where you evaluated your commitment and God’s leading to 0 to 5 eating. Following boundaries IS hard, but if we are unwilling in these moments to do what we can (work!) to do so, when do we really expect to be willing? If we only follow our boundaries when it feels good, how often will we follow them?
Friday
1. Visit the Preventative Eating page again and work through the Fear Bible Study.
2. If fear isn’t something that fuels your preventative eating, how about if you evaluate what IS? Then create a bible study to share with us here so we can all benefit! What other emotions might possibly fuel the desire to eat outside of 0 and 5 in anticipation of not being able to get near food?
3. What truths can you add to your truth cards today? Take a few minutes to add two or three.
What’s Next?
If you made it through this entire study, then you deserve extra KUDOS! We started strong, but many of us got swept away by the fun, freedom, and busyness of summer! In January, I will likely lead a Thin Within workbook study here at the blog. I will do so with a renewing of the mind focus. Start saving your $$ for the workbook packet (about $50 on Amazon) if you don’t own a set. More information to come later this fall, but for now, just know that I will continue to provide  support here at the blog (as I have been) with a study launching  the first week in January 2014!
Let’s press in to our Lord and not give up!
