thou shall NOT be scary thin

Do you know that the Bible does NOT command thinness? God wants you and me to take care of ourselves. You may never look good in skinny jeans. AND THIS IS OKAY.

Do you know that Bible does NOT command thinness? Why then do so many Christian women — and girls! — desire a Victoria’s Secret model’s airbrushed body? (BTW: The photo above is from SkinnyJeans, “the jeans that make you look thinner!” How apropos.)

So why do so many women lust after skinny. Is it vanity? Insecurity? Something else?

Is dropping 15 pounds and toning up a bad idea? No, not as long as your motivation is taking care of the body God gave you for his glory.

But if you’re dieting without God’s glory in mind, stop it. Ask God what HE wants you to do.

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Tragically, dieting sometimes turns ugly and stomps into a food addiction.

Shelly’s Story

Shelly (not her real name; some details changed) desired a respectable goal: become healthier. But she went overboard. Way overboard. She began a downward spiral leading to a many-year bat­tle with a food disorder that eventually led her back to God.

When Shelly was little, she felt conscious shopping for plus-sized (aka: “chubby”) clothes. She longed to buy the clothes on the skinny racks. She desperately wanted to look in a three-way mirror and feel good about herself. Mean girls called her Blubber of Judy Blume fame, girls who forced her to repeat: “I am Blubber. I always will be Blubber.” 🙁

Here is what one person shared: “I was, unfortunately, one of the ‘fat kids and, believe me, I received more than a bit of ridicule. I was punished (by classmates) for looking the wrong way, breathing the wrong way and for generally just being there. Kids can be cruel and the scars they leave behind deep. I would like to say, though, that for the kids who today feel like a ‘Linda’ (the main character in Blubber), you have my sympathy but believe me, things can get better.”

Shelly struggles with dieting morphed into bingeing and purging. Eventually she all but stopped eating and ended up in the hospital where God got her attention as she laid flat on her back, looking up.

The Way Out

Shelly and others who struggle with dieting and body image problems need God’s help to win the battle with food.

Here are the three main steps for success. (I fully recognize they give a mere outline of what to do. If you want support from a Christian biblical/pastoral counselor, please contact me or a counselor at your church. If you’re facing an emergency, dial 911.) Please continue reading this post at BasicsMatter.com, where I post on Mondays. Click here, go there in a nano second.

You Are Blessed,

 

overwhelmed by your emotions?

Are your emotions overwhelming you? Are they interfering with your peace? You need God’s solutions to your overwhelmedness.

Feeling sad? angry? afraid? lonely?

Are these feelings overwhelming you? Are they interfering with your peace? Are the elbowing out time to take care of your body and your spirituality? Then you need God’s solutions to your overwhelmedness.

I invite you to hear practical ways to handling emotions that overwhelm you today (Tuesday) on my new interactive, online radio show named “REFILLS.” Every Tuesday at 2pm ET (11am PT) my show shares cups of comfort, truth, and hope for women and the leaders who serve them. If you cannot make the live show, feel free to listen to the archived show. The player for last week’s show is below. 🙂 We zeroed on life’s troubles that overwhelm and three thing you can do to find peace.

September’s focus: “Something Has Got to Give!”

Did you miss last weeks show? The player is below.

By the way, next week’s guest is author Mary DeMuth on our families and “something has got to give.”

You Are Blessed,

help for overcoming your crazy addictions

Do you or someone you love need help overcoming crazy addictions? You are not alone. God is with you. Lean into His strength.

Natalie* stared at mirror. “Ugh! I’m so fat. I hate myself,” she thought. She stepped on the scale. The numbers flashed 92. At five feet four inches tall, Natalie had all but stopped eating.

Her addiction? Control. (Starred names have been changed.)

Once her son hopped on the school bus, *Karrie felt an adrenaline rush. Shopping! She told herself she’d buy one and only one outfit for her seven-year-old. Three hours and many shopping bags later, she collapsed on her couch and cried.

Her addiction? Shopping.

*Suzanne picked up her kids’ toys in a flurry. Ben would be home any minute, usually in a sour mood, and she didn’t want to make it worse. Negative thoughts attacked: “I do everything I can to keep him happy. I wash his clothes. Make his dinner. Keep the kids quiet. Share his bed. But does he care about us? No! All he really wants is his remote and a twelve-pack of beer. Sometimes I wish he were dead.”

Her addiction? People-pleasing.

An addiction is a recurring compulsion to engage in a specific activity to the point of harm.

Among the addictions that mess up the lives of women, men and children are drug use, gambling, tobacco, work, sex, pornography, overeating, perfectionism, cutting, shopping, video games, exercise, and religion. Addiction hits every ethnic and socioeconomic group. It is in your church.

Where Experts Disagree

Folks who study addictions differ on its cause and the best way to treat it. Most scientists insist that addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that can be treated successfully with medication and behavioral therapy, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Neil T. Anderson and numerous other Christians in the field say addiction is a spiritual problem at its core.

Please continue reading this post at BasicsMatter.com, where Lucy posts on relationships every Monday.

You Are Blessed!

thou shall NOT follow the 10 commandments

Your ever-loving God never meant for YOU to follow the 10 Commandments. Here’s why.

OK, I’m stepping on toes. The blog title gives away the content of this post so if you want to quit reading now. . .well, you’ll miss the truth.

You know the 10 Commandments, at least the biggies, Do Not Murder. . .Do Not Steal. . .Do Not Lie. . .Honor Your Father and Mother. They sound good, moral, and holy — and they are.

But God never ever intended a child of God (AKA, a Christian, believer, Christ-follower) to follow them for at least 2 reasons:

1. You can’t.

2. They do not bring about holy living.

The 10 Commandments are the cornerstone of the Mosaic Law, which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. He wrote them on tablets of stone and instructed His chosen people — the Israelites — to follow them. No person except Jesus Christ has ever followed them perfectly, ever.

So why did God give the 10 Commandments? Click HERE to read the rest of this blog at BasicsMatter.com, where I’m at today.

Join the conversation. Do you agree or disagree? Please take a sec and share your comment.

does God help those who help themselves?

Many Christians believe that God helps those who help themselves. Is this true? What about the helpless? Find out.

Does God really help those who help themselves? Or is this oft-quoted statement. . .hogwash?

What does the Bible say? Let’s look, beginning with a confession: My life revolved around to-do lists, and things got done. . .but contentment eluded me like  sunshine in the Northwest.

Little things got done: get a haircut. CHECK.

And big things: write a book. CHECK.

And even bigger things: marry my college sweetheart, buy a house, start a family. TRIPLE CHECK.

I worked My List. Another accomplishment. Another reason to feel good. Hey, doesn’t the Bible say, “God helps those who help themselves”?

Uh, no.

Most Christians — 80 percent, according to a poll by the Barna Group — believe it’s scriptural. Far from it. The message championing self-initiative denies God’s grace. Keep reading this post here.

You Are Blessed,


Find GOD's Freedom from Anxiety

 Get My FREE Anxiety Helper Pack!

Choice is a wonderful gift from God. You do NOT have to be stuck in self-focused anxiety. You can find God’s freedom.

You have Successfully Subscribed!