As I was heading down the driveway for a walk, I spotted several fresh new mole hills. Pesky, unsightly, and numerous…
I remember the saying about “not making a mountain out of a molehill” – which means that we should not make a big deal out of something that’s actually a little deal. Yes, good reminder. And I do agree with that. Especially since it’s easy for me to do that. It’s easy to get hyper-focused on my stuff, especially my hard stuff. When something is hurting me or making me angry or frustrated, it suddenly – or maybe gradually – magnifies and I now see it up close and personal. It takes over my time, overshadows my mood, and it drains me of emotional and mental energy. I let it come front ‘n’ center and allow it to take way too much of my focus and attention. Everything else shrinks into the background of my life.
How exactly do I do this? How do I make a small molehill into a big mountain? See the mole hill with the red arrow pointing to it in the photo below? That’s the same molehill that’s in the foreground in the above picture.
All I did to make it look big was to simply get up close to it. And then it looked more like a mountain!
My mind moseyed on down the road – our driveway, actually – and onto thinking about magnifying the Lord. How do I magnify Him instead of my mole hills – aka my problems, hurts, and frustrations? The same way! I get close to HIM!!! I keep Him in the foreground! I see everything else as being in the background!
Okay. That sounds good, theoretically, but what’s that actually look like? How do I live that out? Or live it in – into my heart?
This is where mind renewal comes in! And in Thin Within we are blessed with a PLETHORA of mind renewal tools. What I love about these tools is that they help me do exactly that – magnify the Lord instead of my stuff – some of which is like small molehills in size, and others are larger molehills! But nonetheless, the Lord is muuuuuuuch larger than ALLLL of them and I need to magnify HIM instead of my own stuff.
Here are several examples… (Click on any of them to see a larger, clearer version. If on a phone, you may need to turn it 90 degrees and expand to get the largest view.)
The God List and Praise Fest: The God List is something Heidi and Christina not only talk about a lot; they also DO it every day, with each other! You simply write down attributes of God
Truth Journaling: This is where we pour out our aches and frustrations to the Lord, then separate them into individual points, and ask the Lord to show us the truth regarding each one. In this, I truth journal about shame.
Victories List: These are victories we experience along our Thin Within journey. They can be big, small, or anything in between. No victory is too small to count!
Freedom List: These are indicators that are meaningful to you of what walking in freedom in the area of food and eating will look like. This first one is by Kathryn Felts…
This next Freedom List is by me… (It says “Truth List,” and that’s true, but it’s more a freedom list…)
Gratitude List: This can be generic, or it can be about something in particular, as mine is below. (This is just the first page of several.)
I Believe: An “I Believe” list is of any truths that you believe, or that you want to believe even more than you do. Like Thomas said “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” It can be a truth list, but saying “I Believe” about each truth just takes it a step deeper – to embed it even more deeply into our heart, mind, and thinking.
Truth List: A truth list contains truths about anything that needs to have some lies overpowered with truth. It can be written about a situation, a person, emotions… just anything that you want to understand more deeply about how GOD sees it. As you will see, they can vary widely! This first truth list is about a very difficult situation we were going through with a grandson on the autism spectrum, with frontal lobe damage, ADHD, and behavior disorders…
Here’s another truth list for when I fell and got a severe a head injury…
This truth list is about something much less severe – just the upcoming evening…
Who I am [My Identity] in Christ: This is simply truths from the Word that state who I am in Christ. Not who I make myself… not what I wish I could be, but truths according to God’s own word.
Victory Wall: Christina says: “This is such a fun and encouraging mind renewal tool! No victory is a small one. As we read each one again and again we are reminded that God is indeed doing a new thing is us. I like to build mine inside of my kitchen cabinets!
What Is Good? We look at what is good about something, especially something bad or sad, rather than at the obvious negative aspects. We look for what is good in your or another’s life and pray it back to God starting with “It is good.” You might start with a situation that’s difficult or downright horrible. Ask God to show you anything good about it or that can come from it. If you can’t think of anything, then call to mind an attribute of God and apply it to the situation, like this…
Your grown daughter is going through a messy divorce. You can’t think of one good thing about this, so think of an attribute of God, like…
“God is faithful.” Apply that truth to the situation: “God will be faithful to my daughter.”
“God Provides”: God will provide for my daughter.
“God Heals”: God will heal my daughter’s broken heart.”
“God is the almighty Counsellor”: God will counsel my daughter.”
“God is Light”: God will bring light into my daughter’s darkness.
“God is Hope”: God will bring hope to my daughter.
“God is the God of Comfort”: God will comfort my daughter.
“God is Emmanuel – God with Us”: God will be with my daughter even in the hardest, most painful times.
Or on a more generic note: It is good that my grandson is feeling better. It is good that my neighbor is so kind to me. … It is good that the debt is finally paid off. … It is good that the sun came out. … It is good that my husband got a raise. … It is good that our children like each other. … It is good that my son got that promotion he has been studying for. … It is good that my back aches less today than it did last week.
Isn’t it so much better magnifying God, His attributes, His gifts to us, what He can do for us and in us, and how He can transform us than staying stuck with our little mole hills? Enjoy using any/all of the above to magnify the Lord and minimize your own perspective, pain, and priorities!
I’ve been reading a book called Parenting the Wholehearted Child by Jeannie Cunnion (excellent book by the way) and she talked about how we know we are loved and accepted when we know who we are in Christ. So that got me thinking about how I have spent so many years not feeling accepted because of my body or thinking that I needed to conform to a certain pattern or image of this world. I have learned that there are more issues if I don’t accept my body where it’s at; like I’m accepting defeat. So I started thinking, what would happen if I knew (really knew) and declared who I am in Christ? Because in Christ I AM accepted!
“Those of us who struggle with food, eating, body image, and weight may spend excessive energy performing for acceptance because we equate our self-concept with our outward appearance. When our reflection in the mirror is less than perfect, we may continue to try to improve ourselves and an abusive pattern of starving or stuffing ourselves may persist” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
Heidi Bylsma shared an amazing file with me with many truths about who we are in Christ. Today I sat down, with the printed list, and picked out the ones I felt that were most applicable to me in the moment (of course all of them are). And then I wrote down (with some fun colored pencils) on a sheet of paper. I will keep this paper on my bathroom vanity to read each day and confess. These are truths I can renew my mind with. And I know as I renew my mind, God will transform me (Hebrews 12:1-2). As I declare these truths, I will believe them more and more.
You see, it’s not what I do that makes me who I am. It’s not my outside appearance that makes me special. It’s not how well I perform or go about my work. I am who I am because of who I am in Christ–because of what He has done for me. I am accepted because Christ accepts me.
You and I are accepted by Christ no matter what. This list tells us who you are in Christ. So when you look in the mirror, you can lift that chin up and be confident in the Lord despite what you see or wish you could see. You are His beloved! You are accepted!
“This undeniable, unavoidable longing for a sense of value is a sanctified hunger placed in us by God’s design, but we will never experience inner peace until we face the truth that nothing of this world–our appearance, our past or present performance, possessions, or the opinions of other–can fulfill our longing for security and significance…Our hunger within will persist unsatisfied until we can see ourselves not through the eyes of the world but through the eyes of our loving Lord” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
When you know who you are in Christ and you know you can accept your body as is, you will start to relax and be thankful for your body. It’s not quitting or giving up. It’s not saying you will never release another pound. It’s being confident that the Lord loves you and accepts you right where you are at and that He will complete the work He has started in you. I really think this is a vital part of the journey toward freedom in this area of our lives, especially if you have been worshiping the skinny idol.
“When we accept ourselves for what we are, we decrease our hunger for power or the acceptance of others because our self-intimacy reinforces our inner sense of security” (Hunger Within, Chapter 5: Worth Not Shame).
When you know who you are in Christ and this journey becomes about what’s within, you focus on your heart relationship with Christ and not the number on a scale. If you are first starting your journey this may feel hard to imagine or accept because you just want the added weight gone. And I can encourage you that you will release weight in conjunction with the Lord working on your inner man as well. It’s pretty amazing!
Would you like to renew your mind with some truths about who you are in Christ? Here are some truths to get you started:
Who I Am In Christ
I am God’s child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which lives and abides forever 1 Pet. 1:23
I am forgiven all my sins and washed in the blood Eph. 1:7
I am a new creature II Cor. 5:17
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit I Cor. 6:19
I am delivered from the power of darkness and transformed into God’s kingdom Col. 1:13
I am redeemed from the curse of the law Gal. 3:13
I am strong in the Lord Eph.6:10
I am holy and without blame before Him Eph. 1:4
I am accepted in Christ Eph. 1:6
I am blessed Deut. 28:1-14
I am a saint Rom. 1:7
I am qualified to share in His inheritance Col. 1:12
I am the head and not the tail.
I am above only and not beneath Deut. 28:13
I am victorious Rev. 21:7
I am dead to sin Rom.6: 2, 11
I am elect Col. 3:12
I am loved with an everlasting love Jer. 31:3
I am established to the end I Cor. 1:8
I am set free Jn. 8:31-33
I am circumcised with the circumcision made without hands Col. 2:11
I am crucified with Christ Gal. 2:20
I am alive with Christ Eph. 2:5
I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places Col. 2:12
I am His faithful follower Eph. 5:1
I am the light of the world Matt. 5:14
I am the salt of the earth Matt. 5:13
I am called of God II Tim. 1:9
I am brought near by the blood of Christ Eph. 2:13
I am more than a conqueror Rom. 8:37
I am in Christ Jesus by His doing I Cor. 1:30
I am an ambassador for Christ II Cor. 5:20
I am beloved of God I Thess. 1:4
I am the first fruits among His creation James 1:18
I am born of God and the evil one does not touch me I Jn. 5:18
I am a king and a priest unto God Rev. 1:6
I am a joint heir with Christ Rom. 8:17
I am reconciled to God II Cor. 5:18
I am overtaken with blessings Deut. 28:2
I am healed by the wounds of Jesus I Pet. 2:24
I am in the world as He is in heaven I Jn. 4:17
I am a fellow citizen with the saints of the household of God Eph. 2:19
I am sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit Eph. 1:13
I am complete in Christ Col. 2:10
I am the apple of my Father’s eye Ps. 17:8
I am free from condemnation Rom. 8:1
I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ II Cor. 5:21
I am chosen I Thess. 1:4
I am firmly rooted, built up, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness Col. 2:7
I am a disciple of Christ because
I have love for others Jn. 13:34-35
I am built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone Eph. 2:20
I am a partaker of His divine nature II Pet. 1:4
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works Eph. 2:10
I am being changed into His image Phil. 1:6
I am one in Christ! Hallelujah! Jn. 17:21-23
I have all my needs met by God according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus Phil. 4:19
I have the mind of Christ I Cor. 2:16
I have everlasting life Jn. 6:47
I have a guaranteed inheritance Eph. 1:14
I have abundant life Jn. 10:10
I have overcome the world 1 Jn. 5:4
I have the peace of God which passes understanding Phil. 4:7
I have access to the Father by one Spirit Eph. 2:18
I can do all things through Jesus Christ Phil. 4:13
I walk in Christ Jesus Col. 2:6
I press toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God Phil. 3:14
I live by the law of the Holy Spirit Rom. 8:2
I know God’s voice Jn. 10:14
I show forth His praise I Pet. 2:9
I always triumph in Christ II Cor. 2:14
P.S. I created a Sound Cloud recording reading these truths. Enjoy!
