Tag Archives: Renewing the mind

runner girl: week 3

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Now it feels like we’re beginning to make some progress. Three weeks is a significant benchmark in any habit change process.

EXERCISE

We completed the third week of The Beginning Runner’s Handbook run/walk schedule. Jogging three consecutive minutes at the top of each interval was tougher than I had hoped. My body just couldn’t seem to find a groove for some reason. I tried to remind myself to go slow though. The husband stayed in the back of our little formation, which helped some, although it was somewhat stressful to hear so many foot strikes behind me.

The workout on the 18th was the most difficult. We had to go downhill, with the wind on the outbound part, and uphill into the wind on the return. The 15 year old remarked that if we jumped into the air, the wind would probably push us backward. My legs were screaming during the fight to maintain some semblance of a jog. Plus, it appears maintenance has dumped a bunch of rock/pebble/sand on the trail and it felt like we were constantly battling tripping/twisting hazards and sand pits.

So, I know this sounds totally negative, but again we felt like rock stars because we only encountered one other runner on that morning. I told the kids, “This is what makes you a runner – when you get out in these conditions and tough it out to the end.” Hopefully next week will be a little easier.

I was genuinely trying to earn a couple of available Garmin Connect Badges this week and walked away with the 20K Steps Badge, I Am The Night Badge, and Challenge Champ Badge.

I have been very sore and probably need to be more diligent about foam rolling.

NUTRITION

28 days on the nutritarian diet. I think, for the most part, the cravings have subsided. If they come, it’s a very fleeting thought. Another thing I noticed this week is that I am finally sleeping better (and through the night most nights). Thank you, Jesus!

My eyes look brighter most days, but I’m still battling “fat eyes” frequently. I struggle with the fact that all I can see is how overweight I am (I call this fat eyes). I get it no matter how big or small I am, so I must renew my mind and talk to the Lord about it frequently. The enemy and my flesh try to convince me that I’m not doing enough and I should be looking better faster. God reassures me that I am doing all I can and I need to trust Him with the results. Before I weighed Friday morning, I was convinced I had gained weight. You see, I don’t feel like I look any different than I did four weeks ago. Even though some of my clothes are clearly too big for me now, I just cannot see it yet.

My body released another 1.2 pounds this week, which is a blessing considering I’m working with a crazy thyroid. That’s 11 pounds in less than 4 weeks (weighed Friday), so clearly something must be getting smaller even if my eyes try to convince me otherwise.

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runner girl: week 2

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It feels like the weeks are flying by faster and faster… I sure hope not though!

EXERCISE

We completed the second week of The Beginning Runner’s Handbook run/walk schedule. I did not enjoy the third one (5/12) because I felt like I couldn’t breathe through the whole thing. We were running at a slightly higher elevation and the grade was slightly steeper, but obviously at a faster pace too. The husband pushed us a bit without realizing it, so I think he’s either going to jog at the rear of our little group or jog on his own in the future. After that workout I am dreading the next one, and I don’t need that mental hurdle right now.

I’ve been feeling really sluggish around 2 pm every afternoon and Tuesday was really bad. I can probably thank my thyroid issues for this, but normally I would go to the kitchen for some kind of “pick me up” to make it through the rest of the day. Since we’re not snacking between meals… and 2 pm is obviously not a normal mealtime… I crashed on the sofa. I didn’t know what to do about it, I just knew I felt miserable. So, I spent some time working on my Bible study and I prayed. I ended up googling thyroid stuff for a bit, but just couldn’t find anything in cyberspace to help immediately with the intense fatigue.

Then, as I lay on the sofa in lethargic frustration, the thought came to me that I haven’t done a T-Tapp workout in a while. I argued with myself that working out requires energy… energy I didn’t have. I don’t know if it was divine intervention or what, but I found myself rising and heading for the TV remote. I loaded up the 15 minute basic workout (plus). Normally, I would fast forward through the intro, but I didn’t that day. I’m sure I listened to the intro when I first got the DVD, but I didn’t remember her saying that the workout helps with autoimmune disorders… thyroid… etc. I know her book talks about those things though so it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Suddenly, my “can’t want to” changed to “I’m willing to try”.

Painfully aware that it had, in fact, been a while, I pressed through to the end, and by the time Teresa Tapp announced we were finished, I felt much better. My eyes were brighter even.

On Sunday, when the fatigue hit, I just gave in and took a nap (which I rarely do).

NUTRITION

Another week on the nutritarian diet. One thing we’re realizing is that we can celebrate without it being centered around food. We had a date night… we stuck to the plan. Our oldest daughter came home from college for the summer… we stuck to the plan. Mother’s day was Sunday… we stuck to the plan. It was actually nice not to experience a food hangover or worry about how what I ate might affect the scale.

I’m not saying off-plan foods didn’t cross our minds, certainly they did, but it really wasn’t that difficult to resist the temptation. I like feeling better more than eating those old foods. Plus, renewing my mind about why I wanted them really helped me see that the reasons were silly and fleeting.

My body released another 1.6 pounds this week, and I’m certainly happy with that. I think my clothes feel looser… at least some of them anyway.

Learning to RALLY

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Over the past 8 weeks, some members of the Taste For Truth Support Group (on Facebook) have been going through Barb Raveling’s most recent study, RALLY. I really like Barb’s studies about renewing the mind, but I think this one may rank up there with I Deserve a Donut as a favorite.

RALLY is about learning to grow through the trials (big and small). How is that not applicable to every life on the planet? Right?

I mean, we’re either going through a trial, coming out of a trial, or entering a trial. That’s just the way life is, and yet we often kick against it instead of learning to grow with God in the midst of it. Maybe you don’t… but I do.

She uses the word “RALLY” as an acroynm to help us remember the steps in the process. During the 8 weeks, I have used this with my own trials… to walk the husband through processing frustrations… and to guide my teens through some teenage drama. I love this method at least as much (maybe even more) than the truth journaling method she shares in her other books.

If you missed out on going through RALLY with the support group, you can certainly do it on your own. I even have a series of videos on my YouTube Channel that wrap up each chapter with my personal thoughts on the study (well, except for Chapter 5, I was very sick that week). Still, my thoughts barely scratch the surface of what you can personally glean by going through it yourself.

Try it, it just might change the way you view trials.

runner girl: week 1 (take two)

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My emotions have been all over the place this past week… taking its cues from the weather I guess. Crazy weather (crazier hormones), but we managed to stay the course.

EXERCISE

We got in all three scheduled workouts (The Beginning Runner’s Handbook), and added two more people to our little walk/jog group. We ran in the cold and rain this week, and decided we felt hard core for doing so. Plus, we had to work around an out of town jaunt to experience the Newsboys united tour concert.

I’ve added my daily step total to the spreadsheet. Obviously, I do more walking than what is indicated by formal workouts. Since I’m actively trying to reach my step goal now (10K/day), I thought it should be listed. Nothing super exciting to report from this week, except that attending a concert is very conducive to racking up steps.

I did earn a few more Garmin Connect Badges in the past two weeks. I think the coolest one was called “well oiled machine”, which I received for improving my running VO2Max levels.

I’m not paying attention to those numbers right now (although, eventually I will care), but it’s cool to get notified that something improved.

NUTRITION

Yes, we’re still doing that nutritarian diet thing. Even more impressive is that we were able to do it on a weekend road trip. How? We took our meals with us. That’s right, I planned ahead and packed all our food for two days.

Normally, we eat in the car, but it’s rather difficult to eat a salad while you drive, so this time we built in a little extra travel time to stop and eat lunch both days. We ended up eating outdoors in the sunshine and it was such a nice break in the drive. One of the times we even ventured off the beaten path to a quiet little park… birds chirping… breeze blowing… lovely.

I cannot tell you how badly I wanted junk food over the weekend though… oh my goodness! Clearly, snacking while on a road trip is heavily ingrained in my system. We did chew gum, which helped a bit.

After the concert, we were exhausted and my mind kept going to our normal routine of grabbing take-out on our way back to the hotel. We had eaten the Tailgate Chili I brought at the hotel before we headed to the venue, but we were so hungry after hours of worshiping with the Newsboys.

Of course, after singing about breakthroughs (Zealand) and being free (Peter Furler, Newsboys), I certainly knew I wasn’t going to cave, but I was genuinely famished… and sweating (Texas is warm). Fortunately, the 14 year old had made us a “strudel” recipe she found in my Eat to Live Cookbook. So, we had that instead instead of our usual junk feast. Yum!

Sunday, when we rolled back into town, we had to shower and head back out for the 15 year old’s piano/voice recital. I cannot even begin to describe how strong the urge for french fries was. I was whining about it to my husband, but mentioned I was afraid I’d gain weight if I ate them. He replied by asking me if french fries were good for my thyroid. Um, no, not at all. Well played, Husband!

Plus, I truly feel God has asked me to give up certain foods for now and eating french fries would certainly be acting in disobedience for me. We didn’t have french fries, but we did have a frozen fruit “dessert” that the 14 year old made in our own kitchen that night.

So, how did the scale pan out last Friday? My body released 1.2 more pounds. At first I was a bit disappointed, but then I renewed my mind about the scale and was able to thank the Lord instead of grumbling. The fact that the scale is actually moving should be a celebration when you’re working up against thyroid issues.

Another week has passed, and now it’s time to focus on the current one.

runner girl: walking resumed

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Well, that illness really knocked me back a bit, but I’m thanking the Lord I was able to resume walking, plus, pay closer attention to what I stick in my pie hole… which wasn’t pie this week (more about that later in this post).

EXERCISE

I hadn’t planned to walk 7 days, but the weather was so incredibly nice after we got out of church on Sunday. The sunshine called my name and I just could not refuse.

Still not a speedy walker, but you know what, I don’t care. It felt good to move. There’s nothing like forced rest to really make you appreciate the ability to exercise. Remember, this runner girl wants to run again and our journey through The Beginning Runner’s Handbook run/walk schedule should start over next week… so exciting.

NUTRITION

I did a lot of praying as we resumed the nutritarian diet because I know it isn’t an easy program to adopt (I was doing this before our house flooded April 2017). The husband agrees that I’m in charge of the food… so, using this power, I’m being very picky about what I purchase. Have the kids complained? A little. Overall though, they’ve all been very supportive.

One thing I do differently, I allow for some raw honey (my parents keep bees). While sick, I began having a morning cup of hot lemon/honey water instead of decaf coffee. I needed to eliminate coffee anyway and this is a better option for me. Besides, it’s not that much honey… especially when compared to the amount of refined sugar I consumed before. If you’re thinking, but won’t that affect your weight loss, check this out…

My body released 7 pounds in the first four days. Soooo, clearly the honey wasn’t my problem. I normally weigh on Friday so I had the husband check the scale and tell me the difference. He thought it was for a week and said, “Wait, what? This is just in four days?”

We ate a lot of salad and I made two batch soups for the week (we have 4 people in the house doing this). The thing that changed from day to day was breakfast and maybe “dessert” (blended frozen fruit based stuff). Doing a salad bar prep a couple of times a week was so helpful and I will continue it.

There were a couple of times I mourned the loss of my old favorite foods, but thankfully I was able to renew my mind and move past it. Seven days off my old food drugs and feel more in control of my thoughts and actions.

Ok, another week down… moving on!

Taste For Truth study begins January 12th

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The Taste For Truth Support Group*  (on Facebook) will be hosting another round of Barb Raveling’s, Taste for Truth. The study will officially begin on January 12th and run for six weeks. So, if you want to go through this short little book packed with so much awesomeness, with a stellar group of gals, pop on over to the TFTSG and join us!

Participants Materials List:

* The TFT Support Group is named after Barb Raveling‘s book by the same name.
** Available only on the TFTSG.

New Christian Weight Loss Podcast

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Barb Raveling has started another blog which will feature “Christian Weight-loss” related podcasts. She is calling it Taste For Truth Weight Loss Encouragement with Barb Raveling.

It is brand new so she only has three out there right now, but I know she’s got a backlog of recordings she’s already working on. Also, the second one is my interview with her about my renewing the mind journey to that point.

I think you’ll find encouragement in these podcasts, so I hope you’ll check them out. Barb is so gracious to share her knowledge on this subject.

RYM 12 Week Challenge: Week 6

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Every challenge should be challenging, even if the most challenging part is sticking with the process. We’re beginning week six of this challenge and no doubt, keeping momentum when the “good feeling’s gone” isn’t easy. Last week we engaged in praising the Lord. This week, we’re hoping to turn the tide of positive versus negative influences.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~ Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

 Turning the Tide

Despite all the “good work” we’ve been doing over the previous five weeks, it is entirely possible  there is still more “garbage” going into our minds than there is Truth.

If we don’t protect our minds from the influences of this world, especially while we’re trying to break free from a stronghold, we will constantly be swimming against the tide. In order for the tide to turn in our favor, and for us to have more truth in our minds than lies, we need to plug up the areas where those lies are getting in.

If we spend more time reading, watching, speaking, or listening to what the world has to say than we do reading, watching, speaking, or listening to what God has to say; we will be treading water at best. We don’t want to barely survive. We want to thrive.

Since we still have to live in this world, we’re going to encounter some of the world’s messages, but it is possible to dramatically reduce our exposure. We make choices every day regarding what music we’ll listen to, what publications we’ll read, what we’ll watch on television…etc.

I’m not about to give a ratings list for you to go by, but I am going to point you to Philippians 4:8 (see top). This week we’re going to ask God to reveal areas where we can purge sources from our individual lives which bring death instead of life to our souls. We want Him to open our eyes.

It’s possible we may need to set boundaries with friends we’ve had for decades. We might need to delete some things from our iPods. We might have to purge our personal library. We might have to unfriend some people on Facebook. We may need to forego finding out what happens in that next episode.

A few years ago, when the Lord revealed to me that I was obsessed with finding the perfect diet, I felt convicted that I needed to let go of my extensive collection of diet books and apps. So, I donated the books and uninstalled the apps. It was so freeing to clear those out of my life.

I’m not saying it will be that simple all the time. I mean, I have yet to put my television in a garage sale. We have decades of being so attached to these sources that letting go of them could prove rather painful and might take some time. So, let God guide you down that path.

It is also possible there will be sources you cannot eliminate, like your spouse’s negative outlook, your kids’ rebellious choices, your co-worker’s foul language…etc. Even driving down the road we will be hit with signs and advertisements looking for space in our minds.

So, I’m going to ask you to add another layer of “renewing the mind” that I call “passive renewal”. We’re going to build a playlist of God glorifying music and play these songs in the background of our lives. Play them driving down the road, play them while you clean, play them while you work. Saturate your world with music that edifies the soul. Let it become the “soundtrack” of your life.

Right now, as I type, I have scripture lullabies playing in the background. Let’s turn the tide in our favor by purging the negative influences we can and ramping up depositing God’s truth into our minds.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” ~ Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

Week 6 – We’re going to add to God glorifying background music to our day to passively renew our minds. We’ll also continue to actively renew our minds by keeping the daily 20 minute appointment with God beginning with praise/worship, confession of sins, and the “who I am in Christ” mirror exercise. Finish up your 20 minutes with any method you wish. Also, this week, we’re going to renew our minds any time we are tempted to break our boundaries. Be sure to take full advantage of Beth Moore’s Praying God’s Word: Breaking Free From Spiritual Strongholds and I Deserve a Donut by Barb Raveling.

For “day by day” suggestions, join the Taste For Truth Support Group and download this week’s PDF.

_______________________________________________________________________
Weekly Challenge Check-in:
Renewed my mind for at least 20 minutes a day & kept my food boundaries 5 of 7 days.
I’m down 0.8 the fifth week :)*
Challenge Total: 5.6 lbs
*for more commentary on this weigh in, join the TFTSG.
_______________________________________________________________________

Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2017

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It’s that time again! I am so excited to have the opportunity to participate in this wonderful challenge with Beth Moore, her gorgeous staff, and all my fellow “siestas”. It is such a blessing that LPM takes this on every other year. This will be my second year joining the team and I’m ready to go!20161221_071209-2

I tried to make my spiral last week when Beth’s blog post first came out, but my printer is behaving very badly…not a surprise. I was going to go ahead and use the image it spit out, but I just didn’t like it.

I considered ordering one from LPM, but I’m really trying to be more frugal these days. Part of me felt like I should just use the icky one to save the money. I mean, I already had the spiral (left-over from the 2-pack I bought in 2015). I would only be out one sheet of cardstock and a bit of ink. Plus, was it my pride keeping me from using it?

Ugh, so much grappling over something so silly! I finally decided I would use some of my personal “blow money” (thank you, Dave Ramsey) and have it printed at Staples.

I use them a lot for printing scripts and our Christmas cards because my printer usually flakes out during big jobs. I would end up losing my temper with the machine and screaming insults at it, so the husband forbade me from using it on large and/or important stuff (smart man).

Of course, now it is even choking on the small stuff. We can’t afford to replace it just yet (“living like no one else”… thanks again, Dave). Needless to say, I’m getting a lot of practice renewing my mind about things outside my control. Ha!

Anyway, I dropped by Staples while the kids were at their orthodontist appointment yesterday. I was going to use the self-serve printer but the guy behind the counter said it wouldn’t take card-stock. He offered to print it for me and I thought, “How much extra will I be charged for that?”

When it was all done, I pulled out my wallet to pay and he said, “It’s under a buck, don’t worry about it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yep, have a nice day!”

I proceeded to thank him profusely and wished him a Merry Christmas!

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Every time I look at the cover of my spiral, I’ll be reminded of God’s provision. I got to keep my “blow money” and I got a pretty spiral. I feel so special.

Now, I’ve just got to decide what my first verse will be…

from beneath the waves

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Well, I honestly thought I was ready to move to another set of boundaries, apparently not. The “diet mentality” noise in my head reached deafening volumes about two weeks into the boundary shift. I know it had everything to do with eyes of my heart shifting from relying on the Lord to relying on the diet. I stepped out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus, but as we know, humans can’t walk on water in their own strength.

As soon as my inflated ego got in the way, I began to sink. Over analyzing every little thing I ate returned along with feeling the weight of taking back the responsibility of making my own transformation happen. It seemed all I thought about was food and exercise and weight.

Then, I broke the boundary… and broke it again… and again…. and the hours of fruitless research returned. I would find myself googling and reading about all kinds of diet plans, supplements, and exercise programs. Finally, I started through books in my own library that I’ve read over and over.

UGH!

The  noise of “diet mentality” running amuck is horrible and dare I say, torturous! And trying to control my weight and flesh desires is exhausting (and futile). I’m glad I kept up with the practice of renewing my mind but I was so bombarded I felt frozen in my old pattern of behavior.

When I awoke from falling asleep on the sofa after downing an entire bag of snack size Almond Joy, I knew I wasn’t ready for “walking on water” when it came to my food boundaries. Pride is still very much alive in my flesh. I really hate admitting defeat, but I needed to humble myself and cry out to the Lord for help.

Fortunately, on the timeline of my journey, this will be seen as a tiny blip, hardly significant in the realm of damages, but a very significant turning point for me.

One really positive result from this was a re-reading of Lisa Bevere’s You are Not What You Weigh and Sharon Hersh’s The Last Addiction (which I’m still in the middle of). Ironically, reading them again, I came away with an entirely different message which has dropped another layer of scales from my eyes and shifted my focus even more intently to the Lord. I hope to post more about this soon.

I did return to Weight Watcher points as my boundary line, and much of the diet noise dissipated almost immediately. I still have to renew my mind about keeping my boundaries, but it isn’t like having a screaming banshee in my ear all day long. Obviously, clear boundary lines that allow for “real life” are better for me right now.

If you find yourself slipping beneath the waves, cry out to Jesus and then grasp His waiting hand. Don’t let it go on simply because you feel powerless to change… admitting your powerlessness is pivotal to tapping into the unfathomable power of the Almighty.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)