The P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone

The P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone

In the wide world of losing weight, despite all the tricks, tips, programs and techniques, there is only one way for weight to actually be “lost” or “released.” Are you ready? Here it is…

    To lose weight, the body must be allowed to utilize its own fat stores. 

In other words, our previously-eaten fuel reserves ~ also known as fat ~ must be accessed and used.

 

 

If, on any given day, I consume the same number of calories as my body uses, (not that I count calories, cuz I don’t,) my weight will stay the same because my food intake matched and took care of my body’s fuel needs.

And if you eat more food than your body uses, you will gain weight.

So, this means that…  even if you eat only healthy foods; even if you exercise, work out, use the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the furthest parking spot, and choose the menu item with a little heart beside it…

…if you do not eat less than your body actually needs to function, thus putting your metabolism into a state of being required to access its own previously-eaten fat stores to obtain energy, you will not lose your excess weight. It will stay exactly where it’s at, decorating your body.

But this is not an enjoyable experience, and is where many of us lose it ~ as in fail to lose our excess weight.

I have a simple tool, but first I need to give you a…

 

QUICK INTRO TO THE THIN WITHIN APPROACH

To understand where I’m going next with this, you need a basic understanding of what Thin Within is about. So here it is, straight from Thin Within’s “About” page:

“Thin Within is based on three principles: physical, emotional and spiritual. The physical principle emphasizes that we eat only when truly hungry and stop eating before we are full.

At Thin Within, we use what we call a “Hunger Scale” to track eating patterns. We encourage people to eat when they are at a “0”, or truly hungry, and stop eating when they are at a “5”, which is before they are full.

We don’t use labels such as “good” foods or “bad” foods. However, as people learn to respond to their God-given signals of hunger and fullness, and forego worldly legalistic food rules, they will begin to enjoy the freedom of making healthy well-balanced food and eating choices.”

 

 

 

One who typically diets might be thinking: “NO WAY! I can’t lose weight without being on a DIET!!!” Ooooh yeah, you actually can!  And much more enjoyably so. Many people have done so ~ just read a few of the testimonies at the Thin Within website! (Christine’s story, Deanna Lewis’ story, Kelly McGarry’s story), Marilyn Osborn’s story)

In addition to following these eating principles, emotional and spiritual aspects are also addressed:

“The emotional principle of Thin Within addresses the fact that we often eat in response to being upset, excited, anxious, nervous, depressed, lonely bored, etc.

At such times we turn to food to fill an emotional or spiritual emptiness, rather than for its intended purpose, which is physical nourishment. If this substitution becomes a habit, food can become an idol rather than a God-given gift.

The spiritual principles of Thin Within come in to play because it is often hard for us to eat from “0” to “5” in our own strength. We need supernatural strength and power to overcome fleshy habits and indulgence.

While food may provide some pleasure, physical nourishment it is not intended to provide spiritual fulfillment, which can only be met through a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father…”

 

 

 

There’s lots more, but that’s a good intro! Now let’s pull all this together.

No matter what my approach or plan, my body needs to use up its own fat reserves, which is going to mean some discomfort for me. It may be physical, emotional, spiritual, or any or ALL of those. And that is where the P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone enters the picture! (It may not be uncomfortable for all, but at my age, with my slower metabolism, it gets uncomfortable for me when I’m at a 0. Not pain; just discomfort.)

 

The P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone

The capitalized letters in this acronym spell “PERFUME” which stands for:  Previously-Eaten Fuel Utilization & Metabolism Enhancement Zone:

P = Previously 

E = Eaten

R = Reserve

F = Fuel

U = Utilization &

M = Metabolism 

E = Enhancement

Zone

 

This not a product; there’s nothing to buy. It’s simply a way of regarding and dealing with hunger. (I made it up, so you won’t find it on the Web.)

The “Previously-Eaten Fuel Utilization” aspect is simply allowing my body to utilize the “fuel” that I have previously eaten in excess, which I’m now storing as fat on my person.

So now I must allow ~ more like push ~ my body into that mode of accessing my stored fuel by eating less fuel than I use.

Very simply, this means I need to allow myself to get hungry so that my fat reserves are accessed for fuel. There have been times in my life when I have not felt true hunger for months. No wonder I am overweight! And that is precisely where the problem is for me!!! Because, very simply…

 

I DO NOT LIKE TO ALLOW MYSELF TO GET HUNGRY!!!

It is NOT fun, I DON’T enjoy it, and my “flesh man” wants to avoid it at all costs, cuz it just wants to EAT all the time!

But, if I’m going to lose my excess weight, I must stop that, and think and live O-5 eating.

Yes, there are other options, like surgery, but I don’t want to go there. (My sister did, and it was a good choice for her.) I want to bring the heart stuff (junk) that’s been lurking in the dark corners of my heart for years out into the light and dealt with so that I can live in freedom for the rest of my life.

Which, by the way, will be much shorter ~ or at least less comfortable and active ~ if I don’t tend to this weighty matter. (Pun intended.)

So I must allow my body to utilize its fat stores.

I have a feeling that when we are getting down to a 2 and a 1, we are actually starting then to access our fat stores. (If anyone knows, please let us know in the comments!)

And that is where the “P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone” comes in. It’s that zone between “starting to empty” and “true hunger.” However, for it to be the “P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone,” I must make a heart connection that I’ll explain in a moment. But first…

 

WHAT IS TRUE HUNGER?

First, a couple things hunger isn’t

  • It’s not just wanting food. If you are not physiologically hungry, but you want or even crave food, that’s “heart hunger” or “head hunger.” Heart hunger is just as real as “true physiological hunger,” and it’s very very strong, but it’s not true physiological hunger.
  • Neither growling nor rumbling constitute true hunger, either. One or the other ~ or both ~ might accompany true hunger, but they aren’t reliable indicators that you’re truly hungry.

True hunger is where your stomach feels that gnawing, slightly burning sensation – aka a “hunger pang.” To be hungry can be (is for me) a bit uncomfortable, which is actually its purpose – to motivate us enough to get nourishment and thus enable ourselves to live.

 

 

WHERE IT GETS HARD

But this is where it gets hard! Emotionally ~ because, as I believe I have mentioned, I LIKE to eat! I LIKE food!!!

A little while after we eat, (and how long depends on how much we just ate,) we start to feel our stomach “emptying.” This feels a little like being hungry, but it’s not yet true hunger. In the book God’s Chosen Fast, Arthur Wallis said that, when we stop eating, the walls of our stomach start to shrink, and that is what we are actually feeling at this point. So we shouldn’t confuse that with hunger. And that does make total sense.

But, no matter how much sense it makes, if my heart is not dealt with, and my flesh is still in control of my eating, head hunger kicks in at this point and beckons me to the kitchen… or to my purse where there’s a packet of trail mix…  or to Burger King where something yummy can be ordered real quick-like! But I’m actually only at a 3 or a 2 or a 1 at this “stomach-emptying-and-shrinking” point. I don’t get ~ or need ~ to eat until I’m all the way down to a zero.

So, instead of gleefully rushing to get food, I need to allow my body to shift into utilizing its own fat stores. If I take in food at this point ~ when I’m only at a 3, 2 or 1 ~ I will actually stop up the process of allowing my body to make this shift over to utilizing my fat- I mean FUEL reserve.

Because my flesh is strong, and it wants what it wants ~ food, in this case (in fact, food by the case sounds great!) ~ and, as I may have mentioned, it wants it now. so this is hard!

And this is exactly when I am in a prime position to enter the “P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone”!

Meaning…  I choose to sacrifice my desire to eat right now, and I offer up that desire to God as a living sacrifice. A fragrance to Him.

But I need His grace working in me to even be able to do this.

 

 

SCRIPTURES THAT SHED MORE LIGHT

There are several Bible verses that shed more light onto the concepts of fragrance, perfume, and sacrifice.

“Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  (Ephesians 5:2)

Christ’s sacrificial act of giving Himself up was a fragrance to God. Likewise, I want my giving up my right to eat what, when, and how much I want to be a pleasing fragrance to God as well!

Giving up my right to eat (now and a lot) is actually part of “walk(ing) in the way of love,” as I am loving myself, which we are told to do in Matthew 22:39:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

By shedding my excess weight, I’m loving my family, too, because I’ll be better able to serve them, and hopefully for a longer time.

This sacrifice is “expensive” for me. It’s costing me full rights to myself. But our Lord, whose sacrifice on the cross was more “expensive” than I could ever imagine, is worth it, isn’t He?

 

 

“BE HANGRY, BUT SIN NOT”

Then there’s the matter of our mood when we’re getting hungry. “Hangry,” which is “hungry and angry” at the same time, is the perfect term for it. Is your grumpiness evident to all when you’re in a bad mood? Over anything, not just not getting all the food you want, when you want it?

If so, the other part of my sacrifice, is laying down my right to act out my “hanger” while in this grumpy-feeling state. Sure, I can feel grumpy; there is NO sin in that! But don’t need or get to act grumpy. What’s that scripture?

“Be (h)angry, but sin not.” (Eph. 4:26)

 

Since this doesn’t come naturally to most of us, the heart ‘n’ soul of getting and staying in the “P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone” is choosing to allow God to help me crucify my flesh to the cross, and to be pleasant, despite how I feel or what I desire.

(I delve into this more in my article “Be Hangry, But Sin Not.”)

METABOLISM ENHANCEMENT

So what does the “metabolism enhancement” aspect mean?

First, we don’t want to slow it down by eating too little or being hungry for an extended time! Like starving myself.

I read this at WebMD.com:

“You slash your daily calories to fewer than 1,000, and sure enough, the pounds melt away. But when you eat so few calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories more slowly, and you usually regain the weight.” 

And once your metabolism has slowed down, weight is harder to release because the body, thinking it’s not going to get more food, slows down to conserve!

We want to increase our metabolism. We do this by increasing both activity and (thus, eventually) muscle.

Exercise is about more than just “using up calories” or “moving” and staying flexible. When we exercise, we are actually building muscle, and, what’s cool is that it’s the muscle tissue in our bodies that increases our metabolism by using calories even when we are just sitting! How cool is that?!?  So “Use it, or lose it” really applies here!

Drinking ample water also helps increase our metabolism. I think of it as lubricating the weight-loss process – which it does, literally and figuratively.

So when I first start sensing that emptying-but-not-yet-hungry feeling, I like to get a glass of water, (also a “sacrifice” because I’m not crazy about water), and then do some moving. When I most feel like just sitting and waiting for it to be time to eat, that is actually the best time to go for a walk and get myself moving, and also to renew my mind so that my heart gets pried off of food, and transformed into a heart that longs for the Lord more than it longs for food!

If waiting for true hunger is a challenge to you; if you tend to be cranky when you don’t get what you want, especially when it comes to food, and you want to view this differently and get more out of the process, apply these ideas about “the P.E.R.F.U.M.E. Zone” and get more spiritual mileage out of it!
Let me know in the comments how it goes for you, and any other insights you want to add!

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A note to you who are

[uuuuuum]

“not as young anymore”

 

When I was younger, losing weight was much easier. It was never “fun,” but it wasn’t nearly as hard as it is now at age 65.

As we age, our bodies tend to slow down, so our metabolisms naturally slow down, too. Partly just because of aging, but also partly because of not being as active as I used to be, which is partly because of aging. It’s a vicious circle that I have not done the best job of being on top of.

For me, there were the additional hindrances to being active that resulted from several injuries, plantar faciitis, and a knee surgery, each one slowing me down or altogether stopping me physically for weeks at a time. These also messed up my efforts and desire to have a regular exercise routine ~ which was already a challenge for me ~ and basically took the wind out of my sails. Or I let it.

Plus life just changes once children are grown up and out of the house. Less movement is required to maintain your normal day-to-day living, unless you have an otherwise active lifestyle or job, or unless you have a naturally active lifestyle and/or have applied yourself to physical exercise.

This is all a natural part of life, but we have to be UNnatural and very intentional to combat it.

So, at my age, I now have to allow myself to stay at a 0 for a little longer period of time if I want to release weight. The way I’d put it is that I have adjusted my “0” a bit. Since how we define a zero is quite subjective (who knows how and what we really feel), there’s room for adjustment anyway, so we have the freedom to define it in a way that works for us.

For example, I know of older gals who have said Thin Within doesn’t work for them. They did 0-5 eating for a long period of time, but didn’t lose weight. I wonder if they had adjusted their numbers a bit, redefining their “5” to be more what they had been thinking of as a “4,” and their “0” as a little more hungry.

As Heidi puts it, we need to allow ourselves to get “good and hungry.” If I only allow myself to get “barely hungry” for just a minute and then go ahead and eat, especially at my older age with my lower metabolism, I will likely not release weight.

So we just need to invite the Lord into this process and ask Him for wisdom and discernment in how to apply all this to our own unique situations, and also surrender our flesh and wills to His lordship!

 

Objectionable Obligation or Inviting Opportunity?

Objectionable Obligation or Inviting Opportunity?

[Inspired by Terri Graham]

Am I the only one who finds it SOOOO hard to wait for a zero ~ “true hunger”? There are many things in my life that I do even though I don’t want to do them…  like doing the laundry…  dishes…  going places when I’d rather stay home…  I even shower, floss, wash my face, and make my bed when I’d really rather not!!!

And there are many things in the Thin Within world I do even if I can think of other things I’d rather be doing…

Having a phone chat with Heidi and Christina and our group? ~ I’d rather be napping at the 3:00 hour, but these chats are worth staying awake!!!!!!

Writing a blog post (which is like journaling for me)? ~ Lots of work, even drudgery at times, but a richly-rewarding process!!!

Making or reading through my Truth Cards? ~ Encouraging to read, fun to make!!!

Reading and commenting in the forums? ~ I love being encouraged and giving encouragement!!!

Adding to my God List? ~ A joy that helps shift my mood and my focus!!!

But waiting for zero? ~ UUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!  I DON’T WANT TO!!!!

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There!!! I said it!!! I just reeeeeeeally DON’T. WANT. TO!!!!!!!!

In my favor, there have been lengthy seasons in which I have been able to shift into that dreaded-yet-coveted state of being able to eat within the 0-to-5 eating boundaries. But then [whatever in the world?!] happens, and the weight that I so diligently and joyfully lost, inches its way back onto my person! Annnnd  :::sad exasperated sigh:::  the favor dissipates.

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ENTER:  TERRI! 

In the midst of one of these downward detours in my forever-long struggle, one day I happened upon a post by Terri Graham in the Thin Within Discussion and Support group on Facebook. (At least I was searching and not just retreating into a dark corner, which is my tendency in such times.) And Terri graciously allowed me to share it here. She wrote:

I just finished the chapter titled “Holy Struggle” in the Hunger Within book. A question following the chapter asks:

“Do you view the principle of choosing to eat only when hungry and stopping before you are full as an ‘objectionable obligation’ or an ‘inviting opportunity’? If you don’t see this as an inviting opportunity, why not?”

I realized that I do indeed view it as an objectionable obligation. Why? Because it is hard and takes time and patience.

My food (and my right to eat it) is “mine” and I really have held onto it like a petulant child not wanting to give up her pacifier when it is time. 

Today I confess this and I repent. I ask God to change my mind and my heart so that I will see it as an inviting opportunity. I need to renew my mind in this matter.

What about you? Why is this an obligation vs. opportunity? What are the truths you use to help you see it as inviting and as an opportunity?

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GETTING REAL

So, getting real with myself (not my favorite thing to do,) why do I see this as an “objectionable obligation” rather than an “inviting opportunity”?

It feels like an obligation because my “flesh man” – which wants what it wants, and wants it now – is being restrained and constrained. It’s not getting what it wants right this very second.

Terri’s reference to the “petulant child not wanting to give up her pacifier” rang embarrassingly true as that very thought had just recently crossed my mind.

Many times, in the heat of a battle of whether to eat when I’m not hungry or to go ahead and indulge and eat more than I need (beyond a 5), self-discipline is the last thing I’m interested in! The image of a baby not getting what it wants is a perfect depiction of ME! Well, lacking the baby-cuteness.

So I thought I’d explore that a bit, and asked my friends on Facebook for photos of babies and their pacifiers. I actually only wanted one photo ~ of a baby whose pacifier had just been removed ~ so they’d be angry ~ which would give me an in-my-face view of what I myself must look like to God when I’m not getting my way.

What I got was several pictures!!! And I realized that, together, they made up a darling, but a little-too-vivid composite picture of my own attitudes toward food. Since this is not the cutest thing to see in a grown woman (me), I will let these babies “say it all” for me! Cutely, which my attitudes aren’t, but these babies are!

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“I love my food. Totally contented with my food. See how contented I am?”

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“You’re not really going to ask me to give up my food, are you?”

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“But I wannnnnnnt it! I neeeeeeeeed it!!!”

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“Nooooo!!! Please let me have my food!”

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“I know!  I’ll HIDE some so no one will know about it!!!”

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“You wouldn’t really take away something I cherish SO much, right?!?!”

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“I’m warning you; do NOT take away my food! Seriously ~ JUST. DO. NOT!!!”

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“Pleeeeeeease let me have it!!!!!  I waaaannnt it!!!”

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“I CAN’T believe you TOOK it from me!!!!!!!!!”

(Thank you to the mommies of these little dolls ~ Shannon, Beth, Trieste, Maggie, Mandie, and Stacie, plus a grandma, Mary ~ for letting me use these precious photos!!! )

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BACK TO DISCIPLINE

Okay, that was a fun ~ even though too-familiar-feeling ~ detour. Back to discipline and my distaste for it…  

I’m not off in disliking it. This verse in Matthew (11:28) says:

“For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant…”

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“Seems” painful?!?!? Feels pretty outright painful to ME!!! No “seeming” about it! But it’s in the Word, so it must be true. So I’ll come back to it in a moment.

Viewing “having to wait till I’m hungry to eat” as being an opportunity requires thinking beyond my current flesh-indulging state of mind and heart. However, it’s the only way that the rest of that verse can become reality, which is actually a pretty sweet reality:

“…but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

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And getting that peaceful fruit of righteousness is really the ultimate “opportunity,” isn’t it?!?! 

So, once again, back to Jesus’ feet I go to confess this sin of self-focus and self-indulgence, and repent. 

  

   

And I must remind myself (again) that repenting means I turn 180° and go ~ as in live and walk ~ the opposite direction! Not 360°! ~ a gaffé I’ve heard spoken by a well-meaning teacher! Which, if you think about it mathematically, actually means “coming full-circle,” right back around to the very state of sin we wanted to repent from. 

Not exactly repentance, but it sounds sadly similar to what I have too often done. 😣 (The verse about a dog returning to its vomit comes to mind.😣)

I ask God to change my mind and heart so that I will see eating only when I am at a zero as the “inviting opportunity” that it truly is. My flesh man can’t see this because of its inherent trait of being blind.

Solution? My flesh man needs to DIE so that my spirit man can be free to grow and thrive, which will enable me to see things as God sees them. This is no small feat (specially in ME), yet I know it is nothing that God can’t handle. And it’s totally accessible via re-surrendering my will and then renewing my mind on an ongoing basis!!! 

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HIS INVITATION

Back to the question of whether we see this as an “inviting opportunity.” I thought it would be fun to look into the word inviting a bit more deeply.

An invitation always bids the invitee to come to something. So what might that “something” be, specifically, if the Lord is the One doing the inviting?

Just for starters, here are three things I found in the Word that we are invited to:

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1) Come to the Lord’s own TABLE.

Jesus, the King of Kings, invites us to dine with Him and tells us in Psalm 23 that He prepares a spread for us! And I’m sure is not just scraps! 

“You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalms 23:5)

(He’s not going to feed us flowers either; those are just the decorations!)

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2) Come to JESUS and find REST!

This journey through life can be full of heaviness, but the Lord doesn’t want us to carry the burdens by ourselves! He invites us to:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

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3) Come and TALK with Him!

The God of the universe actually wants to converse with us! And He has time for us!!!

“My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me, O my people.’ And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” (Psalms 27:8)

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What we get out of the deal by submitting to God’s discipline ~ which, for us Thin Withiners, is 0-5 eating ~ far outweighs, outshines, and overshadows any pain involved. This is why I believe it’s worded that “all discipline seems painful…”  What’s truly painful is not accepting God’s loving invitation to embrace discipline and receive ALL that He has in store for us. Living with our self-indulgent heart day after day, month after month, and year after year is anything but pleasant!

Terri had a bit more to say:

“One of the baby pictures of a sleeping baby brought to mind, strangely or maybe not, the parable of the wise virgins. Does that food pacifier keep me from filling my lamp with oil? Does it dull my hunger for God? I think so. I need to make some truth cards for this.

Come, Lord Jesus, YOU are the answer to our every need!!! Help us GET this, HEAR this, RECEIVE what You are saying to us, APPLY it to our hearts and our thinking, FILL our lamps with the oil of the Holy Spirit, STOP dulling our hunger for You and things of You, and WALK IN VICTORY in this!!!!!

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I’m sure there are many more “invitations” in the Word, and I’d love to hear any others that you find!!!

And I’d also love to see your responses to Terri’s two questions above:

What about you? ~ Why is this an obligation vs. opportunity?  ~and~  What are the truths you use to help you see it as inviting and as an opportunity?

Is God Enough?

Is God Enough?

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Image courtesy of Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few years ago God took me on an emotional healing journey, which lasted about 4 years.  It was a very hard time in my life, but such a blessing at the same time.  One of the areas the Lord addressed was my area of security, or rather, my lack of security in Him.  It was really about where I was placing my identity, because it certainly wasn’t in Christ.

It all started when the Lord asked me a question.  I had been waiting for a few years for Him to fulfill a promise He specifically gave me in a dream.  It wasn’t only a promise, but a desire He placed in my heart.  And so in that discouraging time of not seeing the evidence of His promise, He asked me, “If you never had this thing, would I be enough for you?”  I remember right where I was, standing in front of our dining room table.  I didn’t have to think about His question for very long at all when I spouted off, “No!”  I wasn’t ready to sacrifice that promise.  Oh, it really bothered me that He would ask me that.  How dare He!?  And so the journey to placing my true identity in Christ began.

I knew in my head who I was in Christ.  I read my Bible.  I spent time praying and in Bible studies.  I only listened to Christian music.  I sang on the worship team at church and was a leader for the youth group.  I knew my stuff, but I was so insecure.  I had fears.  I didn’t like myself.  I didn’t even know who I was.  And I really didn’t know who I was in Christ.

Over a long period of time, the Lord showed me all of the things I was putting my security and identity in.  He would show me one thing, we would work on that one thing, and then it was on to the next thing.  I’m glad He worked slowly with me because otherwise it would have felt very overwhelming.  I was shocked at the things I was placing my identity and security in.  It was in food, in my friends, in my husband, in where I lived, in my past, in being a mother, in my job, etc.  There were so many things.  I remember the day he showed me how I was putting my security into one particular friendship.  I couldn’t believe it!

When I say I didn’t know myself, I mean I didn’t even know the basics about myself.  Like, I didn’t even know what my favorite color was.  I believed it was blue and purple, but after awhile the Lord showed me that I only liked those colors because they were “safe” colors to like.  (My favorite color is actually orange!)  Even a little toddler might know their favorite color.  (I think my daughter likes pink!)  But that’s how lost I was.

I even believed things about the Bible, but I didn’t really have anything to stand on aside from what someone told me to believe.  So I had to start at ground zero with some of those beliefs.  The Lord took me back to the basics and taught me

His truth so I could know without a doubt why I believe what I believe.  I couldn’t lean upon someone else’s Bible teaching.  I had to go to the Teacher Himself!

I wore masks.  I pretended to be invisible.  I didn’t want anyone to know the real me because the real me could get hurt.  The real me could cry and feel pain.  It felt safer to hide behind all of my false identities.  No one could hurt the real me because they didn’t know the real me.

And the Lord stripped all of my defenses away.  I had built a wall around my heart, and He began to tear it down brick by brick.  There were times it was so scary that I was trying to build up that wall again even as He was taking it down, but of course He won that battle.  Praise God!  He showed me my true identity in Christ.  All of the façade was washed away.  All of my defenses were brought down.  But I wasn’t left desolate or feeling naked.  As the Lord revealed the false identities, He also began to clothe me with my true identity.  It really was and is a beautiful work!

I praise Him for what He’s done.  I can honestly say that I’m at a place where I know who I am in Christ.  Yes, there are times when I’m tried and tested, but ultimately, I am no longer moved or threatened by things as I used to be.  I keep my eyes on Christ and He is there with me.  There are quirks about me (we all have them), but I rejoice knowing that this is how the Lord made me.  And He loves me for me!  All of those false identities went to the wayside because I know that I am something without them, but I am nothing without God.

So let’s go back to that original question that started all of this: “Is God enough?”

And my question now is a loud and joyous YES!!!!!!!

I can honestly say that I got to that place where I knew in my heart that if I never saw the fulfillment of His promise, that I would still praise Him.  That I would still live for Him.  The realization that brought me the most joy was knowing that no matter what, I can still have more of God!  He is enough for me!

Nothing fulfills or satisfies me like the Lord does.  Like Jesus does.  It’s like an overflowing cup.  He just keeps on pouring in and I am full of Him.  It’s so beautiful!  Nothing in this world satisfies my heart like He does.  Not my friends, not my job, not my husband, not my house, not my role as a mother, not food, not anything.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  Matthew 24:35

It was a journey.  Four years feels like forever when you are in the midst of it.  But it was so worth it.  Maybe you are in the midst of a similar journey.  Maybe you have no idea who you really are or who you are in Christ.  My friend, He will show you!  He wants to fulfill that desire.  He wants to satisfy you.  No food will satisfy that.  No person will.  No job.  No amount of money.  No friend.  Only Jesus!

You are precious in His sight.  He loves you.  He wants to be your Protector.  He wants to clothe you in Him and His righteousness.  He is drawing you to Him.  Allow Him to take down those defenses and those false identities.  And He will give you all that you need, He will not leave you defenseless.

Your identity is in Christ.  He is Your rock!  Stand upon Him!

How about you?

Is your true identity in Christ, or are you hiding behind false identities?  How do you see this come into play with your eating?  If God were to ask you if He was enough for you, would you be able to give him a joyful “YES!” or would you tell Him “No!” like I did that first time?  He is our strong tower, our refuge…run to Him and HE will keep you safe!

Tonight (before this posts tomorrow), the Lord has been prompting me to ask another question.  What if you never reached your “goal weight”, would He still be enough for you?  He’s not saying you won’t get to your God-given weight.  What He wants to shine His light on is, are you focusing so much on a goal weight or size that it’s become a false identity in your life?  Have you used food, dieting, or your reason to lose weight as something you have hidden behind or have found comfort in?  He wants to be enough for you, no matter what your weight or size.  He is more concerned about your heart.  Is your heart fully His?

The True Source of Healing

Image Source: iStockPhoto

Image Source: iStockPhoto


Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

– Jeremiah 17:14

In Mark chapter 5, Jesus is surrounded by a mob of people. In the midst of the crowd is a woman “who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years” (verse 25). She had tried just about everything and everyone.

In Mark 5:26 we see “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.”

In her ailment, she had looked for healing everywhere that she could think of. She had spent all of her money and yet, ironically, she had suffered more and actually gotten worse.

Have you ever felt this way? The more you sought help and freedom from overweight and overeating, the more diets you experienced, and the more you knew, maybe even the more doctors you went to about this, the more found yourself actually in bondage to food, the thoughts of food, the lust for food and the inhaling of food when you weren’t hungry?

I have. After a year in the 1990s with a popular weight loss program, losing 100 pounds with a very strict diet and obsessive exercise, training for three marathons, studying to become a certified personal exercise trainer, I found myself with a worsened “heart condition.” Like the bleeding woman, I had looked to anyone and everything for healing *other* than the One who could truly offer it. My heart was attached to—obsessed with—food.

The incredible thing is, God can take these “failures” and our desperation and actually use it all. This bleeding woman had become so convinced that the only source for healing left for her was Jesus, that she knew that if she just *touched* his clothing, she could be healed! Now that is faith! Jesus sought her out. He wanted to see this woman face to face—not because he didn’t know who she was. He knew. He was God, after all. But he wanted to speak to her personally. In Mark 5:34, we are told what he says to this woman after she was healed: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

What marvelous words. These words He longs to speak to us! This very healing he longs to impart to us. Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! – Isaiah 30:18

But who are we looking to for our healing from this tendency to eat more than we need to sustain our bodies? Are we looking to Him? Truly? Are we seeking His healing? Or are we seeking the healing through any number of other methods? Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. – Ps. 107:19-20

If He heals us, it isn’t at the expense of our souls. When the Lord saves us, we truly are saved. Let us turn to Him, focus on Him, praise Him with our lives. In that place we, too, will experience the rush of power into our lives that sets us free from our suffering!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. – Hebrews 12:2

Lord, I choose to come to you today for the healing I need. I need to be healed of my tendency to turn to food to process my emotions. Conversely, I know sometimes I replace overeating with restricting and I turn to dieting to “save” me—as a functional Messiah of sorts. I choose to reject this tendency, Lord. Instead of either unhealthy approach, I want to view food as fuel and be set free from extra weight and over-eating. I want to be set free from needless restricting. I know you alone can work these changes in me. I come to you, Jesus. Amen.

I’m HOPEless and EMOTIONAL and I JUST WANT TO EAT!!!!

(Week 10 Summer 2013 Renewing of the Mind Bible Study)

Image Source: iStockPhoto

Image Source: iStockPhoto

Since January 11th, I have been going through a tough trial. It is taking me deeper and making me more desperate for God than ever. This has affected my eating. I feel like I am FIGHTING to do the right thing so often. And sometimes I just stop fighting…until I start fighting again…until I stop fighting again…until I…well, you get the gist, I bet.

I know that God peels back layer upon layer of stuff in my life…like the layers of an onion. Like Eustace in CS Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader when Aslan had to tear off the reptilian skin from Dragon-Eustace, ripping him clean of his scales…the pain of it all was necessary for him to be free of what bound him. Having gone through the transformation, though there may have been a grieving, there was also relief.

I feel a bit like Eustace. Will I welcome God’s new thing that he is doing, even in this? Or will I tenaciously cling to food as if by going through a hardship, being so sad, beaten up emotionally, etc., I deserve “this one vice?”

So, this week’s topic of emotional eating, coupled with hopeless eating, is something that is near and dear to my heart. Please don’t for one minute assume that what I share with you here is theoretical in my life. Far from it. Chances are, I have been in or AM in the trenches along with you. Or BOTH. Like with this week’s study topics, it is both. I have seen the truth of living these principles, but I need to be reminded.

 Monday

Do you ever feel driven to eat? You give in and you are still driven to eat? And does it go on until you are just too miserable to keep going or all the food is gone? What causes this? For many of us, it is overwhelming emotions. I think sometimes we are trying to literally make ourselves so miserable physically so that we can’t FEEL our emotions any more. Or maybe we are trying to punish ourselves for something…like for “being so weak” that we feel hurt, or sadness, or pain, or anguish or guilt. Using food for these reasons won’t solve the problems. We know that with our heads, but we keep eating anyhow.

  1. Visit Barb Raveling’s Emotional Eating Bible Study page. What does Barb say is true in her blurb before the “Journal” section?
  2. Can you add to your truth cards anything from this preliminary section?
  3. Can you journal about the situation that is causing you to want to eat? Right now, take a few minutes to think back to the last time you ate out of emotion. What was going on? How did you feel? What did you do in response to the situation? If you ate, what did you eat? How did you feel as you ate? How did you feel after you ate? Did eating help?
  4. Consider using some of Barb’s renewing of the mind tools if you aren’t already.
  5. Read the “Journal About the Situation — Not the Food” and add any truths to your truth cards. NOTE: I love Barb’s material, including her Freedom From Emotional Eating workbook, but it *does* have dieting vocabulary in it. Please be aware of that if you decide to purchase it!
  6. If you didn’t already, visit Barb’s other site at this link and go ahead and do the activities on that page. It is very helpful in moving through emotions that might lead you to eat outside of 0 and 5 boundaries.
  7. If appropriate, add more truths to your truth cards.

Tuesday

  1. Visit Barb’s Emotional Eating page again.
  2. Complete the Bible Study questions.

Wednesday

  1. Visit Barb’s Emotional Eating page again.
  2. Complete her emotional eating questions at the bottom of the page with an experience you had recently with emotional eating in mind.
  3. Add anything to your truth cards that you glean.

Thursday

I love what Barb says. This is NOT hopeless as long as we keep fighting lies with truth. That is KEY! We have to be willing to do the hard work!

  1. Visit Barb’s hopeless eating bible study page. Consider that Barb would write in her journal even after she had broken her boundaries. She shared with us in our first class that even doing this afterwards, she found it transformed her! Are you willing?
  2. Complete her Hopeless Bible Study eating questions.
  3. Can you add any truth cards to your deck?

Friday

  1. Visit Barb’s hopeless eating bible study page again.
  2. Complete her Hopeless Eating questions for your journal at the bottom of that page.
  3. Can you add any truth cards to your deck?
  4. Recap this week: What are you learning about emotions and how to take command over them instead of allowing them to lead you to food?