I'm sharing the high points that I found in each chapter and then I
answer the questions at the end of each chapter with my honest feelings.
I'm reading the book on my Kindle, so I don't have page numbers for any
of the thoughts I have taken from the book. This has been a journey
that has spanned at least a decade for me. I'm not where I want to be,
but I'm farther along than I used to be. Walk with me and feel free to
share your thoughts. Be kind. Be blessed.
Each of the following points were taken straight from the book. No plagiarizing intended.
Each of the following points were taken straight from the book. No plagiarizing intended.
·
I wasn’t at my goal weight, but I was in the
process of investing wisely in my health and in my spiritual growth. I had been
diligently filling my heart and mind with God’s truths during this journey and
these truths were protecting me. In this moment, I could feel the Holy Spirit
filling me with a calm reassurance. And it felt absolutely great to say to
myself, “One hundred and fifty pounds isn’t where I want to be, but it’s better
than where I started. It’s tangible evidence of progress – and progress is
good!”
·
Do you see now why its so important to fill our
hearts and minds with God’s words and how vital it is to make his truth the
foundation not only for our identity but how we deal with food? The Holy Spirit
uses God’s words stored up inside us to nudge us, remind us, redirect us,
empower us, and lead us on to victory.
·
God wants to be in communication with us. And,
as I said in the previous chapter, if you dedicate this journey to God, He
promises the Holy Spirit will be with you every step of the way. And that means
you have access to a power beyond what you can muster up on your own.
·
We grow closer to God as we learn to look and
act more and more like Him.
·
Not only do our actions need to reflect the
self-control the Holy Spirit affords us, but our sense of identity needs to
reflect His presence in our lives as well. Here’s how the apostle Peter
presents this truth: His divine power has
given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him
who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his
very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in
the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not
have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been
cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to
make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never
fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11) That’s a lot of text, so let me
summarize the principles in these verses that relate to our struggles with food
and identity:
o
God’s divine power has given us everything we
need to experience victory in our struggles.
o
We are to reflect a divine nature – a secure
identity in Christ – which helps us escape the corruption of the world and
avoid evil desires.
o
It is through biblical promises that we find the
courage to deny unhealthy desires.
o
Getting healthy is not just about having faith,
goodness, and knowledge. We have to add to that foundation by choosing to be
self-controlled and choosing to persevere even when the journey gets really
hard.
o
These qualities keep us from being ineffective
and unproductive in our pursuit of healthy eating and, even more importantly,
in our pursuit of growing closer to God.
o
If we make the choice to be Jesus girls who
offer our willingness to exercise self-control and perseverance to the glory of
God, we can lose weight, get healthy, and walk in confidence that it is
impossible to escape the cycle of losing and gaining back again. We can be
victorious. We can step on the scale and accept the numbers for what they are –
an indication of how much our body weighs – and not an indication of our worth.
Personal Reflections
1. When
she felt like she didn’t measure up, Lysa says she kicked into withdrawal mode
or fix-it mode. What mode do you kick into when you feel like you don’t measure
up? I shutdown. My worth drops and I feel like nothing
I say or do is important, who cares what I think, I may plaster on a smile, but
I won’t speak.
2. Lysa
describes how God used a passage from Isaiah to encourage her and affirms how
much God wants to be in communication with us. If you could clearly hear God’s
words to you throughout the day, what kind of things would you hope you might
hear Him say? I am ok. My thoughts matter even if
people don’t agree. I am doing the right things. Well done, good and faithful
servant. What, specifically, would you like to hear Him say when you are
struggling with food choices or issues related to your weight? You are beautiful the way you are. You are perfect. I know
you want to lose weight to be healthier and to be obedient. You are on the
right track. Make the next “best” choice. You have my power in You and you can
do this.
3. The
apostle Peter writes that God’s “divine power has given us everything we need
for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). In other words, with God’s power we have
everything we need to experience victory in our struggles. Do you feel you have
everything you need from God in order to overcome your struggles with food? I know I have it all spiritually. I just wish I knew if I
was making the right choices as far as foods… Which foods are better for my
body? Or is this one of those
truths that looks good on Bible paper but doesn’t seem to impact your everyday
life? How might your relationship to food change if you could fully embrace
this truth? I ask myself often if I what I am eating
is beneficial to my body. I know “everything is permissible”, so it’s the why
am I eating and how much should I eat that I really wish I could hear clearer
Biblical instructions on.
·
“I am a Jesus girl who can step on the scale and
see the numbers as an indication of how much my body weighs and not as an
indication of my worth”. How do the numbers on the scale impact your
self-worth? They make me feel fat. Its funny, I look
down at my body and I think I look ok. Or I look at somebody else and I hear a
voice in my head, “At least I’m not as big as that”… but when I look in my
mirror or at a picture of myself, all I can see is how fat I am. Is
Lysa’s statement one you can make with full confidence or is it something you
aspire to but haven’t quite reached? I know in my
heart that “fat” people are worth as much as skinny people and that the number
on the scale has nothing to do with who I really am inside. Sometimes I feel
like society doesn’t take “fat” people seriously. What self-defeating
thoughts or hurtful comments from others routinely run through your mind when
it comes to food and your weight? I hear this boy at
Bible camp when we were doing a human pyramid. He was under me and he
collapsed. Telling me I was too fat when I KNOW at that age I wasn’t fat. I
hear my ex-fiance telling me I should lose some weight but I was only 19 and
120 pounds and I know that isn’t fat. The real thoughts behind those statements
were that nobody would like me or want me if I because I was fat. What insights and perspective do you
gain when you scrutinize them with these questions:
·
Is this true? Both
statements were made more than 18 years ago, I knew at the time they weren’t
true and now I’m 80 pounds heavier. I know they aren’t true. I have a husband
who loves me as I am, and friends who value me.
·
Is this beneficial?
Those thoughts aren’t valuable. They keep me stuck in this pit of depression
and low-self-esteem.
·
Is this necessary? These
thoughts are NOT necessary and I NEED to change them to statements that are
true and beneficial and necessary.
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