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?
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?
Sometimes I just can’t slow down long enough to journal about lies I am struggling with. I have learned over time of using Barb Raveling’s techniques and her app how to use her approach “on the fly!” This recording is a REAL LIVE example of me struggling with a temptation today and how I handled it…
Just so you know how it ended. It is now about an hour an 10 minutes after I recorded that in my car and I am home. No milkshake. YAY! I obeyed God thanks to accountability with you all. 🙂 Obedience feels good. I am not hungry yet!
Below is a video that I made to help people understand what it means to renew the mind…what it is, how to go about doing it and why!
I hope it helps you.
Thanks again to Barb Raveling for her help in understanding how to practically apply the wisdom of Romans 12:2!
Summary:
Renewing the Mind is, simply, thinking God’s thoughts after him.
First, choose a renewing of the mind goal. Why? Because it is our thinking that causes us to act. If we want to act differently and see different fruit in our lives, we need to start where actions are birthed–in our thoughts! What do you want to think differently about? The scale? Your body? Food? Your marriage? Your job? Probably, for our study coming up, you will want to select something that has to do with food, eating or weight, but it is your choice. Maybe you are an emotional eater, so you need to think differently about processing emotions. Maybe you don’t feel like you trust God. You might want to renew your mind about God’s character. So first thing, you want to pick a renewing of your mind goal.
Secondly, select times of the day when you will proactively choose to think God’s thoughts about whatever it is. First thing in the morning is a good idea for most of us since it might set the tone for the entire day. If you struggle in your marriage, you might also want to plan a renewing of your mind session for just before you see your spouse. If it is about food, you might need a mini-renewing of your mind session before you eat each time you eat! Let’s dive in and do this for all we are worth. Give it just a few weeks of diligence and hard work and you will be amazed at how you are impacted! You can also renew your mind in the middle of giving in to behaviors that are counter to your godly goal or after you have given in. It is best to plan a time before that happens, of course! But even if you “blow it,” you can renew your mind about whatever it is after the fact and it will help!
Thirdly, select strategies for actually thinking God’s thoughts after him. In this video, I share some ideas for that, but it is by no means comprehensive. You can use Barb Raveling’s I Deserve a Donut app. You can read scripture or review memorized verses. The bible is clearly where God shows us his thoughts, so it is a safe place to land to find things to think about for renewing your mind. If you want to be more specific, you can do what I have done. On an index card, piece of paper, on a file in your laptop or your cell phone or iDevice :-), you can create a file or jot down a list of TRUTHS about whatever it is that you want to think differently about. Then, each of the times that you renew your mind, you would read those things…preferably out loud. Pray over them and ask God to work them deeply into the soil of your heart and mind.
Also, in the video I say one of the things I like about 0 to 5 eating is that it is easy. Then I talk about Barb’s app and mention that 0 to 5 eating is hard. What I mean by that, is when I am tempted to stray away from it, THEN it is hard. That is when I need to stop myself from whining about how “hard” it is. It is always going to be hard to obey. But the principles are easy, simple, and doable!
I hope this helps clarify what renewing the mind is! 🙂
My accountability partner has been teaching me the value of renewing my mind about food and eating. This is helping me tremendously to get back on track. I haven’t been at peace with food and my body for a couple of years (if I *ever* was, really!).
I had a season of exercising a lot and I “justified” eating outside of my boundaries, just like I would back in the dieting days! “I have worked out long and hard! I can ‘afford’ to eat this!”
Recently, I wondered about returning to 1-2 hours of intense cardio each day (in addition to the tennis I play almost daily). I also wondered about getting a bathroom scale again… “Just to motivate me!” I have to be honest with you…these are thoughts–temptations for me, really–that would short-cut what I need to learn. I need to learn to think differently. When I think differently, I will act differently.
My mind has to be renewed. How I view food, it’s purpose and place in my life, how I view boundaries…whether I will have them and which ones, etc…etc… All of this has to be determined, committed to.
This evening I am meeting my sister who is coming from out of town. Our meetings are typically somewhat intense as we have to make decisions and have conversations about our mother’s care. Add to this fact, this morning, my husband left town, beginning a long season of travel, which changes the dynamic in our home considerably given my 19-year-old son and I struggle in our communication. Bob typically runs interference for me with Daniel. So I find myself a bit keyed up (something else I need to renew my mind about!).
Soon, my daughter and I will leave to meet my sister for dinner at a buffet–“Fresh Choice.” I want to be proactive right now and plan to be very specific about what I will eat and how I will look at food given the abundance provided there coupled with the emotions I feel.
With the help of my accountability partner, I have learned how to ask myself questions and how to answer them, evaluating what I REALLY want. Affirming the TRUTH has made a huge difference for me. I am committed to doing this at least once each day regardless of if I have struggled with my eating or not. Practically, this is training me to think differently. But it *is* a slow process.
Right now, I am going to do this with the buffet and how I feel today. I thought I would give you a glimpse into this process, in case you might find it helpful. So here it is, happening in “real time!”
Lord, I am dreading what is ahead today. I am definitely dreading taking my Mom to the doctor tomorrow. In fact, I have dreaded these two days for a while. I feel so helpless. I know, Lord, that the buffet dinner tonight will offer a whole lot of options for “numbing” myself to the feelings I don’t want to feel. I reject that, Lord. Instead of viewing the buffet as an opportunity to do what I want, I choose to take captive my thoughts about food and eating. My body was purchased by the precious blood of Jesus and it isn’t mine to do with as I please. My body belongs to the Lord. I want to feed it only when it needs fuel and I want to feed it an appropriate amount that it needs.
Lord, I want to apply myself to following the 8 Keys to Conscious Eating, even in the middle of a restaurant with my sister and daughter present.Lord. I know I may FEEL like I *want* to eat more, but what do I really want? Lord, I want to eat in a way that is in line with 1 Corinthians 10:31…to glorify you in my eating! I choose to rejoice in eating appropriately, within God-given boundaries. I choose NOT to look to food to meet needs in my heart that can only be met through fellowship with the Lover of my Soul. Is the sacrifice really too great? Is it really too high a price to pay to lay down a second brownie or another piece of french bread? Isn’t experiencing joy in my eating experience with NO regret afterward worth NOT overeating? I get to eat whatever I want within the physical boundaries of hunger and satisfaction! No diets ever again! That is a gift! Lord, I don’t want to abuse that gift by stuffing more food in than I need.
Lord, I don’t need very much food at this buffet. I know that even arriving really hungry (which I will definitely be as I am hungry now!), it won’t take much more than a fistful-sized amount of food to satisfy me. I need to slow down and really take note of the wonderful tastes and textures and delight in how efficient my body is! Lord, thank you that I don’t need much food!
Lord, another thought that is a lie that pops in at buffets is that in order to get my money’s worth, I need to eat a lot of food. That is so silly! I am not paying for this meal so that I can harden my heart, stuff my face, and boast that I have a good cost-to-quantity ratio! That is ridiculous! I want to pay the full buffet price for a wonderful bowl of the chicken pozole I love (with cheese), a piece of french bread (slathered in butter) and a brownie muffin. That will probably be enough to satisfy me and it is well worth the cost since I enjoy the flavors so much and don’t have a soup recipe that I love nearly as much.
Lord, I do have the emotions to contend with, but if I stuff food to numb my feelings, I will not only have to face the emotions again afterwards, but also disappointment in myself and feeling yucky physically for overeating. Lord, the benefit to eating more than I need is slight…it isn’t even a benefit. It is that I get to taste the food longer. Well, duh! If I eat half as much food twice as slow, I get to taste the food just as long without overeating! It makes no sense to overeat. Lord, I trust this to you.
Thank you that THESE are the truths. The lies have NO place in my mind. I choose to take captive my thoughts and make them obedient to you. I LOVE how I feel inside when I make THIS sacrifice. When I lay down my wants for the greater joy of following you. Thank you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
