Week 03 – Part 2 – Assignment Thin Within Book

You are making your way through Day 4 and Day 5 this week.

In addition, as you have time, consider these questions and tasks:

1.) Memorize 2 Corinthians 4:7 and take time each day to thank God by faith that it is true. Lord, thank you that I have the treasure of your Holy Spirit within my earthen body. Thank you that power need not reside in me, but that you, Lord, provide the power I need for living. It is evident to anyone that any power they see is from a wonderful, all-powerful, glorious and compassionate God, instead of from me. Do your own version of praying this verse! 🙂

2.) For two weeks, now, you have been trying to eat when hungry and to stop when physically satisfied. This principle sounds so easy. Take some time to journal about the difficulty of this “simple” goal. It is simple, yes, but if you are like most of us, you may have found that it is NOT easy. Have you found yourself getting angry? Are you feeling emotions more intensely? All of this is common. Week three is when many quit trying. What can you do NOT to give in to the temptation to quit? Will you choose to recommit to giving God your eating and to try to apply the keys to conscious eating?

3.) Darlene (Abigailsing), at SparkPeople, said the following:

I have a chair in a quiet place in our home that I am trying to get in the habit of retreating to when temptation comes…

How about you? Can you designate a place, not just for eating, but a place that will be your retreat place, where you will take a “time out”–a chance to refocus on the Lord and your godly goals to honor him with your eating–when you feel temptation or an erosion of your commitment? Consider creating a place and then try it out. Let us know how it goes!

4.) Continue these practices this week:
          1. Adding to your attributes of God list.
          2. Praising God daily for three things on your list (or more!).
          3. Writing three things in your journal that you are grateful for. Sometimes we really have to stretch in order to do this, but it is worth it! Ask God to show you.

5.) Focus this week on learning your satisfied signal and abiding by it. Journal about what it feels like for you and how you feel emotionally about stopping eating or when you don’t want to stop eating. Ask God to clarify “5” for you this week.

6.) Can you share with us the two extremes of “the path of my performance” and any evidences of either there have been in your life? Is the cross of Christ beginning to be a stabilizer for you?

7.) Are you observing and correcting? Or condemning yourself and staying in that place of condemnation? Resolve to observe and correct, break camp and move forward! Confess not only your sin, but confess, too, Christ’s sufficiency to redeem your sin! He took care of it. It is gone!

8.) Give yourself plenty of time for the Mirror, Mirror Exercise. Some of my thoughts about this material are at these links (other posts from my blog over the past almost 4 years):
December 15, 2006
June 16, 2009
June 17, 2009

Be sure not to rush and to ask the Lord really to direct you…to make this time your special time with your loving, heavenly Father. Ask him to show you what needs healing and what he is healing and what has been healed. Let this activity be a PRAISE-FEST! 🙂 Let us know how it goes. I am praying for all of you this week!

9.) Be sure to check in here and to respond to any others who are posting. God may have given you a ministry of prayer and encouragement to other people in our study and we would love to hear from you.

10.) If you can make it to one of the chats this week, please do. The first is this morning (Tuesday, June 29) from 7am-8am Pacific time. Go to this link to find out how to chat. Join us, even if you are late! No need to be prepared in any way. Just bring an open heart and join in! 🙂 Another chat is scheduled for this Friday, July 2nd, from 5-6pm Pacific time. Hope you can come to one or both!

11.) Visit our book study website at God Is Doing A New Thing and see if there is anything there that can encourage you! The chat transcripts are pretty easy reading (they look long but can be read pretty quickly) and very uplifting!

12.) Will you pray for one another and for me? I am being slammed…hard. Thanks so much. I am sure you all are, too.