Would it be weird to tell you that this post was inspired by the movie Finding Nemo? When you have a two year old, inspiration comes from all sorts of random places.
In the movie, Nemo and his aquarium friends are trying to find ways to get Nemo out of the aquarium and into the ocean to find his father. One plan they come up with is throwing a rock into the filter to make it stop working. Their plan worked (the second time of trying) and the aquarium was soon filled with slimy, green goo. When I saw this part in the movie, I started thinking about the importance of having a filter in our mind, keeping out the junk and keeping in the pure.
Heidi has talked so much about the importance of renewing our minds in order to change the way we look at food, our bodies, dieting, etc. When we renew our minds, we are recognizing the lies and replacing those lies with truth. There’s another important part to this: filtering out the junk.
How is your filter functioning? Is there a rock stuck in it? Do you let nasty, disgusting things pass through?
What do you allow into your mind? What are you focusing on? What do you see with your eyes?
Are you standing guard over your mind?
Can you handle watching shows that encourage dieting and excessive exercise like The Biggest Loser? Can you flip through a copy of a fitness or dieting magazine at the doctor’s office waiting room? Or do those types of things stir up anxiety inside of your mind? Are you tempted to buy that new, bestselling dieting book, thinking, “This could be the one!”?
What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to?
Is it time to get the rock out of the filter?
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27
I will set nothing wicked before my eyes. Psalm 101:3a
I’ve been watching The Biggest Loser for years. Since the Lord has been doing so much in my life this year, I didn’t want to hinder progress by watching a show that might tempt me to even think about dieting. So I prayed and asked Him if it would be alright if I watched it. He gave me peace to watch it. I won’t go into the reasons of why I like to watch the show (that’s for another post), but this is just an example of something that could trip us up if we aren’t carefully watching over our mind and heart.
The same sort of thing happened with a Prevention magazine in the waiting room at my chiropractor’s office. I used to find the articles interesting, but the last time I opened the pages I found myself appalled by the magazine. I had no peace reading it so I put it down immediately.
What about those innocent conversations with friends about the latest dieting fad? I used to be sucked into those conversations. I would ask questions. I would even buy the book. My curiosity was spiked. But now I do all I can to exit out of those conversations or avoid them altogether. God has brought me so far; I’m not interested in allowing any of that back into my mind. It wasn’t easy at first, but the more time I spent pouring God’s truth into my mind, the more junk was cleaned out. I want my mind’s filter to dissolve every lie.
It’s been really important for me to filter out anything that could trip me up because in the past I would take those kinds of things mentioned above and obsess. And when I say obsess, I mean OBSESS! I would buy the diet book and read (consume) it back to front, looking and searching for that final answer to help me lose weight, feel better, be healthy, etc. And then I would talk about it and think about it and talk about it and think about it… And I would talk with my husband about it and he would get so tired of hearing me talk about food. Good thing he is a very patient man! It was like reading, watching, and talking about dieting was my ‘fix’. In fact, the Lord clearly told me that one time. That was one of those “ouch” moments of truth. It was my drug. But praise God because He freed me from all of that! I chose to stop looking at those things and instead I looked to Him. He became my focus. I looked to His word for truth. He has been so faithful! He brought me out of that miry, gooey pit! Praise God!
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. Psalm 40:2
How about you?
How is your filter functioning? Does it need some maintenance? I want to encourage you to pour God’s truth into your mind. Watch over the doors of your mind. Stand guard over every single thing you hear, see, and think about. If you are not sure about something, ask the Lord. He will clearly show you.
On Wednesday, I shared a post that asserted that the #1 reason we fail at eating 0 to 5 is because of a lie that we believe that eating outside of our boundaries will be a bigger blessing to us than honoring God and staying inside our boundaries. I also shared an alternative truth that we can memorize and plaster (in sticky notes) around our house, office, and car so that we can begin to replace the lie with the truth that obeying God is an honor and privilege and no food will taste as good as the joy of obedience will feel.
If trading the lies for truth is the foundation upon which our eating is to be built (and I believe it is), then the mechanics—the how-to—of our hunger/satisfaction eating is the infrastructure.
Yesterday, I shared that there are two extremely different (opposite) ways of living within 0 and 5 boundaries. I also mentioned that a person can choose a combination or a variation of either or both. More on that in the weeks to come!
In brief review, the first of these two extremes is a very structured approach. Yesterday, I provided a link to a Google Docs chart that you can copy, save and use if you feel God is leading you to do so. It isn’t likely to be a good idea to use it all the time. It might be for a week or a month-long “season.”
Today, I want to share the extreme opposite approach–that of the “free spirit,” “free-flowing” non-structured approach. This might be right for the person who—at least for now— does best (for any number of reasons) without charts, logs, or reports. God has wired us all differently, so if this is you, I hope you will celebrate it! But, before I share with you how this can work, I want to lay some groundwork with a couple of caveats:
1.) Our hearts are deceitful.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9
2.) Our bodies are not yet redeemed
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:23
Because our bodies are not yet redeemed, because our hearts can be quite convincing, using this “less restrictive” approach is best used by those who have an intimate relationship with Christ, who are aware of their own weakness and tendency to wander. Not all people with this kind of relationship with the Lord will be suited to this, but it would be very difficult to have this approach if you know that you are definitely more of a “seeing is believing,” or “nuts and bolts,” or “cerebral” kind of Christ-follower! Even if you think of yourself as a true-blue “contemplative,” if you are like many of us and are too busy to be still in God’s presence daily or through the moments of the day, if an entire day (or week!) can go by without you being aware of God’s presence, if you think people “over spiritualize” the eating thing too much or you are convinced that God doesn’t care that much about your eating…then this approach isn’t likely to be for you at all!
Let’s talk straight. For some of us, structure can actually masquerade as godliness when it is really (perhaps, maybe?) a play for control.
Conversely, those who are sensitive to the Lord’s leading in the moment (or who think they are ;-)) might develop an air of superiority to those who are more technical or concrete in their walk with God and may attempt to justify sin as “The Lord led me to….” OUCH. We don’t want either!
To blow everyone out of the water :-), let me just say that one of the most tender-hearted, sensitive-to-the-Lord’s leading people I have interacted with is a client who is very “routine-oriented.” So while these approaches may appear to be mutually exclusive, they aren’t. My client has shown me that structure and free-flowing sensitivity to the Lord’s leading can not only co-exist, but be wonderfully complementary!
To make it even more confusing, some people who are “free spirited” might be challenged by people they respect to add more structure to their lives when what they really might need is to:
“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
Specifically, I would urge those who are drawn to this more “free flowing” approach to:
1.) Recognize the voice of the Lord—that He speaks at all—even in the moment (John 10:27)
2.) Know that He has a will—and is willing that you know what it is—even in the moment (Romans 12:1,2)
3.) Rest in the fact that He gives you what you need for life and godliness—even in the moment (2 Peter 1:3)
What do I do to do this, Heidi? You have convinced me!
It is pretty tough to provide instruction or a “This is How This Is Done” to a NON-structured, FREE-flowing approach! LOL!
Jesus says that his sheep know his voice—he speaks, but sometimes, we prefer not to hear it. We may even hide behind 0 and 5, pointing to them as the rule we follow for our eating. Sometimes, the rule written on our heart, breathed into us by the Holy Spirit—the voice of Jesus—will over-rule what we claim is our 0 and 5. God may lead us to abstain from food, to choose another food, to eat more slowly, to stop eating…or, he may challenge us to love well by eating when we aren’t yet at a 0 when an aging aunt showers us with love (via a meal we weren’t expecting). GASP!!!! I know. I sound like I am contradicting everything, right? Sometimes that is the way God is, but we don’t want to blame God for a rebellious act, either. God’s #1 goal is for us to love well and he typically provides ways for us to do that without breaking godly boundaries. But, when in doubt, the Spirit can guide us to what God wants in the moment. In theory, anyhow! 🙂
If you know that you have the freedom to flow with the Lord and that you have a heart for obedience–not the heart of a rebel unchecked–then this unstructured approach might be where you will find the freedom that you know Jesus has purchased for you. When we boil it all down, asking the Lord “Is now the time to eat?” or “Is now the time to stop eating?” “Is God in this bite?” is probably what we want to do.
This first came to my attention in 2007 when I was still releasing weight. I had 0 and 5 wired and I was zipping along to my “natural God-given size,” releasing weight steadily. I was stoked! Then, I began to notice incredible stomach pain if I got to a zero. Also, I could only eat tiny little bits without hurting, too. I couldn’t eat to a 5. A visit to the doctor confirmed what I had suspected…I had a stomach ulcer–my first and, so far, my last! God used this season to show me I had turned 0 and 5 into something I listened to even more than I did the voice of the Lord!! I had turned it into a law that couldn’t be trumped even by God’s leading by His Spirit! I depended on 0 and 5 as if it had the right to tell me what to do. I had to stop being so rigid about hunger numbers and start listening more for God’s leading. HA! Fancy that! I found I needed him so much and he showed me just how much he was there for me, leading, guiding, strengthening. I continued to release weight, too!
If you think it is possible that you are looking to 0 and 5 or charts, challenges, reports as your “functional Messiah”—to save you from the sin of gluttony or over-eating, then you may want to consider waiting on the Lord to show you when to eat and how much. He may actually lead you to eat smaller quantities than you would eat if you depended on 0 and 5, although more frequently.
Be mindful of the fact that the heart is deceitful and prone to go astray. This isn’t a license to abandon 0 to 5 eating. Truthfully, the best approach is probably somewhere in-between both the extremes I have shared today and yesterday. I believe that, for most of us, it may be possible that the Lord wants us to listen to HIS voice, praying about what we are interpreting as our 0 and 5 signals (remembering that the physical body is not yet redeemed) as well as which foods will provide us the nourishment we need.
How About You?
Have you been replacing the lie with truth as mentioned in Wednesday’s post?
Will you sit with the Lord and evaluate which approach might be better for you or if God is calling you to a “both/and” approach of some kind? What do you think?
What has worked best for you in the past to be faithful in 0 to 5 eating?
Is your 0 to 5 eating about what you choose to DO or is it more about what you BELIEVE?
Wow. God just keeps blowing me away. Grace in action. He is such a gracious, loving, merciful God.
Weds. night, Julie F. and I began our new online support group at the Thin Within website. We had quite a group show up for our first chat! It was WONDERFUL!
Yesterday morning, I knew I, too, needed to open my workbook and “do” the material that I have encouraged all the group members to complete. My words to them Monday night had something to do with “Even if you have done the workbook several times before, believe that God is doing a new thing right now! Go through it with a fresh heart, believing that God will meet you in a new way! Invite Him to do so!”
I have seen God do that with me before with Thin Within material, but I guess I just wasn’t sure He would pull it off again :-/. I don’t know why…There it is again! “Oh me, of little faith!”
Even after saying that to the group, I felt a bit…well, “Ho Hum” about doing the workbook…*again* yesterday morning. It is SO familiar. What I really wanted was to work in my Beth Moore Stepping Up study. But I figured I would get to that after I hustled my way through the reading of Lesson 1 in the Thin Within workbook.
First, I spent some time journaling a prayer to God to help me see the material in a new way. Then, I began to read Lesson 1 and God gave me an “assignment.” To those of you with the Thin Within quarter one workbook, I challenge you, the readers of this blog, with the same “assignment:”
Go through Lesson 1. Read and highlight, circle or underline everything that is said about God’s character–what He is like or what He does. Write down a list of all of these character qualities or behaviors in a journal. If there are verses, write them down (look them up, too!). Then next to all of these, write down if you believe them or not–REALLY believe them! Use this list (and keep adding to it as you go through the workbook for the next 3 months) to pray in faith, “God, I thank you that you do the impossible. Thank you that you embrace me and are doing a new thing in me. Thank you that your grace is immeasurable and steadfast.” If you struggle with believing any of the things you have written down, pray a prayer of confession and ask God to help you to believe these things about Him in a new way.
As I began to do this…oh wow…I sensed His power and His presence in such a mighty way, it was like I could touch Him! Like FEEL that embrace, literally!
I continued to bask in His presence as I left to go on a trail ride with my best horse. Mercy Me was playing in my truck…This video (by someone else) plays the song that I listened to…the words really became me…or I became the words. God was so ver present it was almost overwhelming! (In a good way!)
If you can take the time to listen to the song all the way through, I hope you will do that. It is so powerful. The words to the song are here.
It struck me so powerfully…I was truly caught up in God’s beauty, just as the song says.
But then, suddenly, God gave me an amazingly powerful *contradictory* image. Yes, I was swept off my feet by Him in this moment. But He showed me what happens when I am not.
He showed me what I have often done…replacing the object of my devotion. This may sound so silly, but he showed me what it would be like if the music that was playing was sung to what I sometimes focus on, sometimes surrender to–as if the music was sung to the pizza, or the chocolate muffin, or the hot fudge sundae…Picture it with me…
I sit down, grinning ear to ear at my dining table, eyes GLUED to the food, heart fixated on the tasty morsels landing on my taste buds:
“I can feel your presence here with me…(singing to the food…)
Suddenly I’m lost within your beauty… (this breaks my heart…)
Caught up in the wonder of your touch (on my lips and the taste),
Here in this moment I surrender to your love…”
How often have I surrendered to the “love” of food?
This broke my heart…but God showed me this so tenderly. I did *NOT* feel shamed. He doesn’t use shame. It is His kindness that leads me to repentance…
I felt…well… “educated.” I felt like he “enlightened” me, pulled back the curtain, as it were, to expose (there it is again) the truth. But, again, he showed me truth with the perfect balance of grace.
And just as quickly as that vision of my sin came upon me, it left and He restored me with an awareness of HIM. HIS beauty. HIS majesty. I was caught up again by the “wonder of His touch.”
I can tell you for SURE, the two do NOT begin to compare.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
– Psalm 73:25-26
Thank you, Lord, for a vision, just a taste of your amazing presence. Oh, God, it really does make me fall down to my knees like the song says…And thank you for showing me so clearly, just what I have been doing when I allow food to have my affection…I have “surrendered” to it. Thank you that, in each moment, I have a choice. I can choose to surrender to your love. I can surrender to your grace. I can surrender to the One who took my place. Let me not forget. Oh, God…thank you. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.
Ok…silly me. I thought that going home would produce flesh machinery. HA!
(Note: For those who don’t know, “Flesh Machinery” is that which causes us to be lured or drawn to food when we aren’t physically hungry. It is things that are in our emotional or habitual or even just mental programming that kick in like being on “auto-pilot”…like when a DVD is on, we go for the microwave popcorn or when Mom comes to visit, we begin foraging through the pantry for the chips…all without concern for physical hunger and satisfaction.)
If I thought going home would be tough relative to flesh machinery, it never crossed my mind how much rougher it could be not to even GET home!
Today, I got to the Tulsa International Airport and my flight to Dallas Fort Worth was …delayed…the airport in DFW was closed for weather. We got off the plane. Then they had a new departure time…we boarded again….then, the news came that the airport in DFW was closed ALL day due to weather! Oh my word! I am NOT a traveller and this is one reason why. Coming here I got scared out of my wits at DFW so I was thrilled that if I had to miss my flight home, that it was before I got to DFW. So, I am here with Jan another day. I sure had a lot of scary moments before I was reunited with Jan with my luggage in her car heading back to her house, though! I am a weather and travelling weanie! Both at once and I am a basket case!
My new flight will leave tomorrow about 5pm from Tulsa. I fly to Dallas Fort Worth and from there fly to Sacramento, getting in at 9:30pm or so.
Flesh Machinery…yes, there is a lot…the emotional turmoil of adjusting my mind to leaving my dear friend behind, psyching myself up for the travel (I hate to travel…have I said that yet?), the knowledge that my sister and mom and husband need me to take care of business with my Mom (many phone calls and emails since the last time I wrote about this in the last entry), feeling sorry for myself: “Lord, why did this have to happen?” (poor baby!), the disappointment/logistics about cancelling my Thin Within class tomorrow night since I won’t be there to lead it, oh golly gosh..I could write a million more things that I could complain about…all of which send me into an emotional topspin…wanting the REST of the chocolate bar (the big one, with almonds…the DOVE one…) that is over there on the counter!!!!!!!
So…instead of eating…inhaling…that mongo sized Dove chocolate bar (the one with the almonds that is open over there on the counter), instead of continuing with my list of all the reasons I am a basket case right now…I choose to take captive this moment (these moments!) and to give praise and thanks to God…
Thank you, God, that I am here with a friend who loves me instead of spending the night in a lonely hotel room in a city where a tornado could come from nowhere and eat me alive! Thank you, Lord, that my husband is a doll to be willing to stay with my kids, be homeschool teacher, Mr. Mom, care for the horses, dogs, and also try to do his regular job….wow, Lord. He is amazing. AND he has been trying to get the bathroom all fixed up while I am gone…I know he has gone to a lot of trouble, Lord…God, thank you that Daniel (my almost 16-year-old) is getting along so well with Mr. Shaun, our neighbor doing the tile work. What a blessing that is! I hope that they can connect on a wonderful new level. Lord, thank you that my Mom just called me. If she is nothing else, she is giggly and silly. That is a good thing (even if the ER staff think she has Alzheimers…). Thank you! Ok…Lord, I am PRAISING YOU for all the good things that you give. Thank you for Jan and her husband, Ali, and their wonderful hospitality. I love my friend. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Flesh machinery need not have the final word. Being controlled by the Spirit instead of all the “poor me” thoughts and other flesh machinery stuff….one moment at a time, taking captive this moment for you, Lord (and the chocolate bar doesn’t look quite so tempting when I praise YOU!).
I want to be honest. If you don’t like honest, you won’t like this post. *I* probably won’t like this post when I am done.
I am sick of myself and my excuses. Do you ever feel this way?
Some thoughts have struck me.
If I don’t “like” the Thin Within book, I can join the crowd. After all, who likes to be told that God cares about what I eat and that He wants me to eat less food? Who likes to be told that I need to “observe and correct,” or confess and repent when I just simply want to EAT? Who wants to think that what I eat somehow is a reflection of my walk with God and whether or not I am allowing Him to meet my needs?
Who likes the fact that I have a stomach the size of a fist and when I put more than that tiny bit of food in it I just WANT more? Who wants to be told this stuff? Not many of us like it. Frankly, right now, I don’t like it.
So if I have a problem with what is in the Thin Within book, I am in good company. In fact, I can get my shorts in a bunch about it! I wonder if you know the feeling…
But that doesn’t mean the message of the book isn’t true. It just means…I don’t like it.
Yes, I can come up with a million reasons to reject the message in the book…
–> I was abused at mealtime as a child… –> I have an autistic son and it is soooooooooooooooooo stressful…. –> If God meant for me to eat so little why did he make food taste so good?
Or how about: –> “It isn’t realistic to eat this way.” –> ” I am a teacher and the schedule tells me when to eat.” (It is easy to disregard the fact that many teachers have figured out how to eat this way by planning their hunger). –>”I have health problems.” or “I think I have health problems–I NEED more food!” (Why do we think that no matter what the trouble or problem is, food will solve it? Half the time, eating too much food has caused or contributed to the problem!!!) –>”I have medications that I have to take with food…and a full meal is in order so I won’t get nauseous!” (It actually only takes a cracker or two …ask the doctor!) –> “I take medications that change my hunger signals!” (Most of the time this means we don’t get to a 0 as often as we *want* to…the fact is, if we wait for 0 and eat, we just don’t get to eat as much food as we want…) –>”I have high blood sugar, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, low thyroid…” the list goes on. That may all be true, but if God has allowed it in my life, it certainly isn’t His intention that it be used to justify gluttony or eating more than my body needs!
I am at a point of honesty with myself tonight. Want to join me?
Most of the time…gosh…it just boils down to this… I WANT TO EAT BECAUSE I WANT IT.
Food tastes good and I want it.
I want to justify eating it. I want it.
I don’t like eating less. I want it.
I am ready to be honest. I am going to quit griping about the book, my son, my neurotic dog, my spirited horse that scares me, my stressful life, my uncooperative body, and, even…GOD! I am going to QUIT MY GRIPING!
The bottom line is I WANT IT!!!! I want more FOOD! I want to eat!
I am sick of my own attitudes and excuses. Are you sick of yours?
So what will I do with this truth? Will I get mad? Will I eat in response to this declaration? Or will I choose to recognize that there may be some truth to this? What will I do with the truth?
