When I taught school years ago, I was known throughout the Kindergarten through 12 grade halls as “The Animal Lady.” I taught sixth grade math, science, and social studies with science being my favorite subject on the planet. I loved getting up to my elbows in bubble solution, getting out the wading pools (in the classroom with desks all shoved to the wall), hoola hoops, and creating monster sized bubbles. Straws and string are incredible “devices” for making humongous bubbles that wobble and waver and with just the right amount of glycerin and DAWN dish soap (original scent works best), you could have a smashing great time.
In addition to “Kitchen Chemistry,” I loved involving the students in an “endangered species” unit. We learned about any number of incredible animals and plants. It was important that they learn to appreciate every type of vertebrate that I could welcome in the classroom. We enjoyed having a Burmese Python, Axolotyls, newts, turtles, iguana, rabbit and one of my favorite was the chinchilla. The first chinchilla I got to be the surrogate mom of, loved running like a little lightning bolt around the classroom. Soon after I retired from teaching (due to expecting my first baby), I became the proud surrogate momma of a chinchilla who needed a home. Dusty was with our family for TWENTY TWO YEARS. This seems insane. We were convinced he was going to outlive all of us!
I assumed Dusty was going to be like my classroom chin had been…loving running around. Periodically, I would open his cage door and invite him to step out into freedom. NOTHING DOING. This little guy would have nothing to do with the freedom he was invited to experience.
I often think back to Dusty and the wild and wonderful adventures he could have had exploring cracks and crevices behind bookcases and under beds. He preferred the familiarity, perhaps, of his cage. Even though freedom belonged to him, he never experienced it. He never lived up to his potential. In many ways, it was quite sad. Chinchillas have amazing haunches and are hard wired to run and jump and play, but Dusty, though he enjoyed being scratched and hand fed yummy treats, never ventured outside the safety and familiarity of his cage.
How am I like Dusty? How are you?
Jesus has purchased our freedom. The cage door is thrown wide open! What keeps us from venturing out into the wide open? Is it the fear we have of the unfamiliar? We cling to what we have known all the while bemoaning that we aren’t free. The truth is… weare. But we aren’t walking in it.
What is really holding you back?
Will you dare to step out into the freedom that Jesus has purchased for you?
What a joy it was to go to the grocery store this morning without a new diet plan guiding my shopping list! It’s been a long time since I approached a New Year without some crazy diet or workout plan.
FLASH BACK to…January 2013
I decided that I must have an issue with dairy so I planned to quit drinking coffee for a while and use almond milk. The problem is that I love crumbled cheeses on my salads and enjoy occasional yogurts. And my husband and I spend Saturday and Sunday mornings talking over a good cup of coffee. So, that plan lasted about two days. I also was going to drink a veggie smoothie for a meal at least once a day – kale, spinach, cauliflower, goji berries, expensive powdered vitamins and minerals would save me from this extra weight. The problem is that I hate cold drinks in the winter.
FLASH BACK to…January 1012
I decided I could only have special shakes and “natural foods.”
FLASH BACK to…January 2003-2011
You name it – Weight Watchers, Flat Belly Diet, nutritionist (eat specific foods every 2-3 hours), only homemade foods, “health” foods, Weight Watchers again….you get the picture.
And these diet plans usually involved a crazy workout plan. From working out an hour and a half daily to running half marathons to following a ninety day DVD program of intense exercise.
Well, praise God, I was freed from the diet mentality in 2013! It took a lot of work (renewing my mind, prayer, surrender to the Lord, giving up fear and control), but the rewards have been tremendous.
But back to my grocery trip last last week. I went with a list—not of diet foods for me and regular foods for my family, but a list for meals that my whole family would enjoy – homemade pizza, crockpot Puerto Rican pork and rice, grilled chicken on salad, chicken enchiladas and chicken quesadillas. It was such a relief to buy normal food, to be a good role model for my children who were with me, to pass by the kale without putting it in my cart, etc! I smiled as I passed by the kale, but I did buy spinach, mushroom and lettuce for the salad I enjoy. I felt more relief as I passed by the low cal/low fat granola bars (I remember when those were my “treats”). I considered buying gluten free cereal for my yogurts (I have to eat GF), but I wasn’t in the mood for it. I declined the cereal not because it was a “carb,” but because my body didn’t want it that day. I bought tortilla chips as well as chicken breasts. I left the store elated that I have freedom and choice and am not in bondage to some “expert” rules for my food (and exercise) choices. I felt badly for the people who are placing their hope in their new “expert” diet this January.
You may wonder if I have released weight since giving up dieting. The answer is yes. I do not weigh myself and I am close to my God given size as it is. But, my pants fit better, some are too big and I have gone down a size in new clothes. Some of my old clothes are fitting as well. Several months ago, I accidentally saw my weight at my doctor’s office – I was 4 lbs from my original “goal” weight. The nurse said “oh, this must be a mistake. You’ve lost 7 pounds since your last visit 3 months ago.” I told her it wasn’t a mistake and briefly described Thin Within.
For those of you new to TW or working with Heidi (i.e. allowing God to guide you), amazing freedom and peace await you. Yes, you will release weight, but you will also experience the freedom, peace, and joy that come from surrendering to the Lord as you grow in intimacy with Him.
By Carrie (Not South Africa :-))
How About You?
How has grocery shopping changed for you since beginning Thin Within? What changes would you still like to make? What questions do you have, if any? 🙂
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5
Jesus. There is no other name quite like it. He is God with us. He is the Alpha and the Omega–the beginning and the end. He is the Word of God. He came to be with us, to live among us, to save us, to free us, to deliver us. He is Emmanuel.
Emmanuel: God with us.
Think on that. Really think on that. He chose to come to live among us. Did you know that during the 33 years that Christ lived on the earth that there was “peace on earth?” There were no wars. There was peace. I think that is so beautiful. And I relate that to my heart: when I am in Christ and Christ is in me, I have peace. When I am in the Word (Christ is the Word), I have peace. He is with me. He is with us.
Jesus. The Son of God. Our Deliverer. Our Savior. Our peace.
We know that the true meaning of Christmas is Christ. It’s to celebrate His birth, that He was sent to the world as the Father’s greatest gift, so that ‘whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). And we take hold of that gift and unwrap it when we acknowledge and accept Christ as our savior and ask Him to forgive us of our sin.
But there’s more to the gift. There’s healing, freedom, comfort, beauty, deliverance, peace, joy, love, and the list goes on and on. Every single aspect of our life is touched by Christ’s love, by the Father’s love. All we have to do is accept that gift and reach into that wellspring of life of God’s Word.
When I thought of writing this post, I thought about how much the Lord has done in my life this year in regards to eating and how I think about food. I’ve thought about the amazing transformation that has taken place in my heart and mind–which has also become evident in my life and eating. And I know I’ve talked so much about this, but I attribute that to being in His Word and Him being so faithful to watch over His Word to perform it. It was faith in action. I believed what God said (took a little while at first), but after awhile His Words became so real in my heart and then I saw the evidence of that in my life.
It says in John 1 that Christ is the Word, and the Word (Christ) is life. His Word is a wellspring of life. Christ is our life. He is the reason we truly live. I am seeing that I am not truly living unless I have Christ as the Lord of my life. He is the One I fix my eyes upon. He is my strength. I lean upon Him.
And so that means I lean upon Him when it comes to my eating habits. And one of the ways I do that is by being in His word. This isn’t a task I cross of my “to-do” list each day. This is an essential part of my daily walk with Him. Somewhere along the way I gave food, weight, and body image a place in my life that God never meant it to be, but through Christ I have overcome and continue on this journey of finding peace and satisfaction in this area.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
So then faithcomesbyhearing, and hearingby the word of God. Romans 10:17
One of the ways He speaks to us is through His Word. And when we read the Word, the Holy Spirit brings that word back to our remembrance. And in a sense, His Word is in us. Emmanuel: God with us. He may not be physically right here with us that we can reach out and physically touch Him, but when we read His Word, He touches our hearts, minds, and souls. He breathes His life into us. This is so beautiful!
I’m so thankful the Father sent His Son. Jesus is the BEST gift of all!
How about you?
How can you embrace that gift (Jesus) this Christmas and every day of your life? Do you look at spending time with God as a “have to” or a “get to”? He wants to be with you: have you invited Him into your life? And if you have invited Him into your life, have you invited Him into the area of eating? He wants to be with you! He is Emmanuel.
In Thin Within we refer to “phases”…it isn’t just a one-size-fits-all, do-this-and-presto! sort of experience. The phases that are considered a part of Thin Within in the published material are 1.) The Freedom Phase 2.) The Discernment Phase 3.) The Mastery Phase. This may not paint the complete picture for all participants, however. Here is how one participant, who previously struggled with binge-eating, describes the phases during her own journey so far.
My Phases of Thin Within
1. Eating for hunger: Freedom. When I was first introduced to the Thin Within material, I was exhilarated. No weighing and measuring? I can eat sweets in moderation instead of bingeing on them? Really? I thought I was addicted to sweets and had to avoid them for the rest of my life. I tried to wait for hunger but unwisely let myself get too hungry. I wasn’t eating enough. I ended up replicating the starve/binge pattern that I had developed with my eating over the years. But it was an introduction, and I had hope that this approach could work for me. I just didn’t know how to work it.
2. Eating for satisfaction: Binge-free. With support from Heidi, I moved into phase 2. I started focusing more on eating for satisfaction. The binges stopped abruptly. It was a miracle. But I was still relying on calorie counting and meal patterns (three meals and two snacks) to help me feel safe and to regulate my overall food intake. I was able to have some flexibility around these old rules, but was afraid (and felt unable) to totally cast them off. I was on the path to freedom and incredibly grateful not to be bingeing. In my old mindset, this would have been “in recovery,” but I wanted more. I was on the path to freedom, but not there yet. I didn’t want to be self-regulating my food. I wanted to let go and let God more, but again, felt stymied. I didn’t know what to do to get to the next level (sounds like a video game, doesn’t it?)
3. Discernment: letting go of food restrictions. Phases two and three have been interwoven for me. At first, I was afraid that I couldn’t eat sweets in moderation, so I had only small amounts of sweets and that worked great. Then I tested my limits by eating pop tarts for breakfast and having bread sticks for a snack. I didn’t binge, but I did learn that “everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial” because the more I relied on eating sweets and highly refined carbohydrates, the more sweets and highly refined carbohydrates my body craved, and it felt wrong. I downsized my sweet intake back to where it had been originally: sweets as treats, rather than as staples, and that feels a lot better.
4. Mastery: Freedom in Christ. A whole new level of letting go. This is a prediction rather than a review. I’m not sure about this. I don’t know where I’m going. But I have hope. I’m not bingeing or restricting. I’ve been binge-free for over six months. I’ve learned that my body does not want sweets and highly refined carbohydrates in anything but small amounts. With phases 2 and 3 under my belt, I now feel more ready to let go in the way I tried to do when I started trying to implement Thin Within. Perhaps I’ve come full circle, but maybe it’s a spiral rather than a circle. Now I have freedom in Christ: I am less in charge and have to be more open to the Spirit’s leading. Maybe my meals will be regular and predictable, maybe they won’t be. God is in charge. Until now, I have relied on counting calories as a way to reduce my anxiety – not all of the time, but much of the time. Now I want to turn to God to reassure me that he won’t steer me wrong. One challenge here is that feeling of chaos is almost intolerable to me. I want to trust God, but my ongoing struggle has been not trusting God. So putting myself back in God’s loving arms on a moment-by-moment or at least on an as-needed basis is my directive right now. I am ok. God is with me.
How About You?
Can you identify with this person’s struggle? What phase are you in? What might it take for you to press forward to the next phase? What is God’s Spirit testifying to your heart right now?
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.
