SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hi, and welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Miles Emerson, one of your hosts, and the owner and lead coach of the RevelationWithin.org industry.

SPEAKER_03: 0:13

And I'm Christina Polly, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach, and Heidi Parker in all things Revelation Within. We are so happy to invite you to join us today.

SPEAKER_00: 0:44

So for years, Peter have come to our ministry. We were thin within until a couple years ago, and then we became Revelation Within. They came to us because they wanted support with a Christ-like approach to changing the way they look. Yes, that's exactly, that's exactly it. If I'm just straight up, they want to lose weight, plain and simple. And that is still the case today. Many of you probably are still hoping that you could lose weight. And yeah, well, that's fine. Well, we changed our focus, not all of our ministry. We didn't overhaul and throw out a whole ton of stuff. We just changed our focus when we rebranded from Thin Within to Revelation Within, because we saw that those who experienced lasting changes, and yes, that includes losing weight or releasing weight and then keeping it off. How about that? Yes. The people who did that were those who were willing to work on changing the way they think.

SPEAKER_03: 1:56

Yes, that's that's it. Okay, so today we're gonna go deeper to talk about why we focus on mind renewal. And this is Heidi and I love talking about this, as you know, those of you that have heard some of our other podcasts. We get all excited, our eyes get all sparkly, and we we love talking about the renewing of the mind. This is where the real work happens, but it's the good, good work. It's good work. Before focusing on the food and eating, before trying harder, before rules or restrictions or anything like that, because if the mind doesn't change, we just go back to our old ways again and again and again.

SPEAKER_00: 2:45

And this truth that we go back to our old ways when we don't change our thinking always reminds me of a very lovely passage in Proverbs 26, 11 that says, as a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. I've been there a lot. I hate to admit it, but I've been there a whole lot where I am a fool repeating my folly like a dog returns to its vomit.

SPEAKER_03: 3:08

Me too.

SPEAKER_00: 3:09

You know, changing my eating and seeing the physical changes that delighted me. But it wasn't until I changed the way I thought that I could experience lasting change, change that was sustainable. Yes. Yeah. So for years, we've kind of witnessed the same pattern in people who come to our ministry. They change what they eat, they want to change what they eat and how much or when. But if their thoughts and beliefs stayed the same, the peace that they long for and the changes they hoped to sustain wouldn't last. And you know what we found is, and this is just being again straight up, behavior modification isn't enough. Right. No, it's not. Yeah. The transformation we're after has got to start with the heart and the mind and the way we think and what we believe. Yes, that is true.

SPEAKER_03: 4:08

So that's why Romans 12, 2 is such a foundational verse for our ministry. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So this verse invites us to, you know, basically a whole new way of living, not just by rejecting worldly patterns, but by embracing a mind that's made new in Christ. Because what we think about directly shapes what we believe. And what we believe inevitably drives what we do, our habits, our cravings, our reactions, our decision making, our relationships, everything.

SPEAKER_00: 4:52

Everything. And the thing I love about Romans 12, 2, which we quote a lot. A lot, is that he, God, promises to do the transforming, not through our striving or self-discipline, but as we renew our minds. And so, yes, that's true, even in the area of food and eating and what we long for, so many of us, to have less weight on our bodies. And we don't like to put the weight loss front and center because it's like a lovely um benefit to allowing him, welcoming him to help me with a new heart, a new mind, a new way of thinking, new passions, new desires. Let's take an example that many of us probably are familiar with dieting. When you have gone on diets, maybe in the deep dark past long ago, and me too, I can't count how many times I tried to restrict certain foods. Don't eat this, don't eat that. But in doing that, I actually set those foods up to be foods that I would crave even more. It's like I gave them power. I handed them power. I could tell myself I couldn't have them, all I wanted, but then all I could think about was, I wish I could have that. I wish I could have that. And that one thought made the food feel like the ultimate prize or something. Yeah. Like something I was being unfairly denied. I was entitled to have that. Right. And once I believed that, you see how what I thought formed and shaped what I believed. And then once I believed that it was the ultimate prize, it didn't take long before I didn't just cave in. I caved in with gusto. I'm like, delve in face first. And that's when the old self-defeating, self-condemnation thoughts came roaring back. Those thoughts that stand in opposition to God's will for my life, really. Like, uh, see, you blew it again. You'll never get this right. Right. And there went the downward spiral. See, heidi go, go, heidi, go. Yeah. Oh my gosh. So we just want to say it again. The reason why mind or null is front and center in the revelation within ministry is because what we think leads to belief. You think it enough times you're gonna believe it. Yeah. And when you believe it, it's gonna lead to your actions. And then of course it continues. Actions lead to more thoughts, usually of shame and failure, or I'm awesome, or something like. I mean, we just it's it goes on and on around and around and around. It does.

SPEAKER_03: 7:39

And that was my life for like 40 years or something like that. Oh, I'm sorry. No, you know what? I I said this before, I know, but I just never, ever, ever, ever realized that my thoughts were so important, that my thoughts were actually steering my life. You know, I did not realize that. I didn't believe that, I didn't understand it. I had read Romans 12, 2 a million times, heard it in church and sermons, and seen it in devotions and everywhere, but I never ever really understood what it meant and how important it was and how it was somehow connected to my beliefs and then to my behavior.

SPEAKER_00: 8:22

Right.

SPEAKER_03: 8:23

My behavior remained the same. No matter how many sermons I listened to on Romans 12, 2, my behavior remained the same. Yeah. And so this was this was a huge aha for me. And even when I jumped in with two feet, when we first started coaching, Heidi, and that was 11 and a half years ago, when I when I first jumped in with two feet, I didn't really believe that it was gonna change my actions. Um, beliefs maybe, but I thought I have been struggling with my actions for so many years. I'm pretty, you know, kind of hesitant, a little bit like, I don't know if this is gonna go anywhere. But let's try it. I knew God had led me to you, Heidi, and you taught me, you were the first person in my life who taught me how to renew my mind with God's own thoughts. And it did change my life and continues to every day, all the time. So around and around and around I used to go, and and maybe you can relate to this, listener, unless we start where God tells us to start, and that is our minds. Because lasting change, it doesn't begin with the plate, it begins with the pattern of our thoughts. That's where it begins.

SPEAKER_00: 9:49

Oh, so true. Let's just take a moment and think about this uh a little bit. Before the craving, there's a thought, and it may be just a little niggling thought in the back of our minds. Before the action, there's a belief. Like that will make me happy. Yes. And God invites us to begin right there in these little niggling thoughts we have. Let me in. He gently invites.

SPEAKER_03: 10:21

Well, and sometimes I go backwards with this too. Like if I am in the middle of an action that I don't really want to be doing, but I'm doing it anyway, I can actually stop and think, what am I believing right now? What am I believing about this food that I feel like is going to somehow solve all my problems? Where, what is my belief? And then I can back that up to my thoughts, and that's where the change begins. So that was that was very hopeful for me when I realized that years ago. So, in this situation, here's an example. You know, you might be just feeling really, really tired, really frustrated, like you'll never break the cycle. But the invitation today isn't to try harder. That's nice, isn't it? Doesn't that feel good? I mean, how many years maybe you, certainly me, did I think, if I just try harder, if I just try harder. No, the invitation today isn't to try harder, it's to think differently. Not what should I eat, but what am I believing right now? And maybe even what do I need right now?

SPEAKER_00: 11:37

Yeah. So let's pull this apart even further.

SPEAKER_03: 11:40

Okay, great.

SPEAKER_00: 11:41

If I say I need chocolate, what I may really be saying is I need comfort. Yes, I need something to soothe the ache of my heart and mind. Yeah, what if I pause there and bring that thought to Jesus? What if I ask him, Lord, what are your thoughts about what I'm struggling with, about what's driving me, about this belief that I'm holding that I need X, Y, or Z? What's going on? And what do I really need?

SPEAKER_03: 12:14

So this is why the Godless, the Praise Fest, the Breath Prayers, Praying Through Scripture, and all the other mind renewal tools that we share are so important. They're not just nice extras that will maybe make you feel a little calmer or a little better. No, no, no. They are spiritual tools, spirit-led tools that will lead to transformation. Yeah. So we renew our minds on purpose with God's word and God's character until our beliefs line up with what is actually true from God's perspective, not from the world's perspective, not from social media's perspective, or you know, that neighbor down the block. What are your thoughts, God? That's where I want to go. I want him to be my true north. I want him to be my first source. And he promises to transform us right there.

SPEAKER_00: 13:18

Let's take another quiet moment here and listener, consider what craving has you feeling defeated today if you do, or what craving often causes you to feel defeated. What thought comes right before that craving kind of percolates up from the bottom uh of what's going on? And and then consider is it true or is it just familiar? Because uh what's familiar can feel strangely comforting, even if it's a lie from the pit. I mean, it really can. And ask the Lord to show you, even now, if you can think of an instance where you had a craving and you gave into it, back up and think, what was the thought that came before? What had happened? What was going on? Was there a belief that drove me actually giving in? And is the belief I held true, or is it just familiar? And then, Lord, what are your thoughts about all of it? And then just let the Holy Spirit gently bring truth where lies once ruled, and and let that truth shape your next choice. We also want to encourage you. I don't want to go past this moment without mentioning look and learn, of course, which we mention a lot. It's one of the most important ways that we can incorporate experience of God's grace in our daily lives. If I do have those moments that cause me to feel such defeat, if there's a craving and a subsequent belief that results in me giving in, and here I go again, I can invite God to show me, Lord, I see that I this is what happened, this is what was going on, but what can I learn from this? What would you like me to do differently? How can I strengthen my own soul and my own mind to make different choices next time? So if all things are equal, I come out a victor instead of feeling like I gave in and caved in. And we will let God's instruction teach us how to approach this again the next time it happens. And it will happen again.

SPEAKER_03: 15:47

Yeah, what I love about look and learn is it's something really good and really strong. It's like a a plan that you can do right after messing up. And for me, that was so hopeful because I never knew what to do with my mess ups. I never knew, you know, what do I do now? Okay, I'm sorry, uh, I'll stop doing that. Um, you know, I hate that. There was never a way for me to go to the Lord and learn from it. I didn't, I didn't even really think about that actually. But I love look and learn now and I love the rhythm of look and learn because God is, he's waiting for us to come to him. He's excited about it, actually. He's not disappointed, he he knows that I'm gonna stumble all the time. And he's ready to receive me, to receive all of us with compassion and joy. He's like, oh, there she is, there she is. We're gonna talk about what happened last night. I can't wait. You know, he's excited and thinking about that is so life-giving for me and makes me want to go to him. It doesn't take, it doesn't have to take a lot of time either. It can really be just a few minutes. So, anyway, that makes me very excited to talk about look and learn. Um, I love going to the Lord for that.

SPEAKER_00: 17:09

And for me, I think one of the things I like about look and learn is I can look at something that happened years ago, months ago, weeks ago, days ago. Yeah, and I can still look and learn about it. If I didn't do it then, I can definitely get all that wisdom and glean what God has for me by inviting him into it now. You know, I can say, you know, that time that I went on that trip and did da-da-da with so-and-so. Lord, what was going on? Because I'm getting ready to take another trip to go see so-and-so. And maybe I want to invite him to show me how I can best prepare for that. Um, so that's cool. You know, we all have triggers, we just do. Yes. And in this context, of course, we're thinking of triggers as being something that makes us do things or that prompts us to do things that we wish we hadn't. And we can reframe the word trigger and the concept of trigger and actually turn it into something beautiful and wonderful with the Lord's help. Yeah. But let's talk about some of these difficult triggers for just a moment. Here are some from our lives, Christina and I, and from what we hear from um you all in our community and that we see online. For me, wow, a big trigger is difficult people because so very often I wear my heart on my sleeve. And if somebody is difficult in some way, I take it personally, even if it's not, it could just be the way they are with everybody.

SPEAKER_03: 18:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 18:36

But yeah, so that's a trigger for me for sure.

SPEAKER_03: 18:38

Yeah, I think it is for all of us in some some way, shape, or form. That's a big one. The next one is huge for me, and it's emotional overload. This was really my main issue with food and eating for years and years, and it still comes up when I am emotionally overwhelmed. I'm stressed, my heart is broken, maybe I'm lonely, disappointed, somebody has hurt me, maybe I've hurt somebody. Emotional overload is a big one for many of us.

SPEAKER_00: 19:12

It definitely is. Holidays, you know, there's food, there's expectations, there might be family dynamics, and we're entering into the holiday season. I mean, it seems early yet because we're still in September when we're recording this. Yeah. But you know, it'll be on us before we know it. So you know, again, inviting God to show us what how can I be prepared to take action and be victorious rather than succumb to these overwhelming triggers that I experience at holiday time. What's another one?

SPEAKER_03: 19:44

Oh, here's another huge one for me. Much better about this now, but it still comes up. And I feel like a lot of times when things come up again with the Lord, we're just going deeper. So don't be afraid of that, you know, for it to come up again because we're he's taking us deeper often when he does that. So comparison. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, comparing with a neighbor or comparing with your friend or that family down the street or that co-worker, and then that shame comes up because you don't feel like you measure up somehow. This is huge for so many people. Comparison and the shame that comes with it.

SPEAKER_00: 20:25

Right. And all of these that we're talking about as triggers can cause us to think thoughts repetitively that are going to form our beliefs, and those beliefs are what's going to drive us to do things like overeat. And so it doesn't really matter what the trigger is. So many of us have eaten in response to just about anything. I mean, we've had classes that have met and sometimes coaching groups, and we'll ask questions and we'll share around the circle. And somebody might say, Well, this doesn't really have anything to do with my eating. And then I'll describe an appointment at the doctor's office that really threw them when they saw something on their chart or whatever. And I'm like, Well, I don't know about you, but I've eaten over that stuff before. Oh, for sure, all of it qualifies, it really does. And in those moments, like when um I remember one doctor's appointment for me was really, really hard. Not because there was anything for me to be necessarily convicted about or anything, but because of the mean dragon lady I had as a doctor. Oh, what was I believing in the moment that I felt so wounded by her? Oh my gosh. It's helpful to ask God, well, what is really true?

SPEAKER_03: 21:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 21:43

Anyway, some more triggers that you might experience when self-worth kind of gets tangled up in performance. That's one I've experienced quite a bit.

SPEAKER_03: 21:52

Yes, for sure. And then chronic illness. Oh man. So, you know, some of you know that I'm dealing with breast cancer right now, and I'm already thinking, what are the holidays gonna look like, you know, at this low, low energy level that I have? And um, I'm, you know, having to kind of stay away from people and crowds and all these things. And life looks really different right now. The next holiday season hopefully will look really different again. That's what I'm hoping. But chronic illness, those of us that deal with pain, chronic pain, or any kind of illness that is ongoing, physical challenges that just go on and on. It's hard. And without the renewing of the mind, honestly, I don't know how I would be surviving. I'm renewing my mind every single day about the illnesses that I'm dealing with.

SPEAKER_00: 22:50

And of course, we also have chronic pain. I mean, you can name a million of these that are triggers, just about anything can be a trigger for us. Life transitions, you know, moving, relationships ending or starting or whatever, on and on it goes.

SPEAKER_03: 23:06

So well, and it might just be the things that happen daily in your routine, in your schedule, the kids getting sick. I mean, it could be anything, it doesn't have to be a big, huge event, it can be anything that overwhelms you and causes stress or hurt or pain. In those moments, our minds go to certain thoughts. Thoughts like, I need comfort, I need a break, I need relief, I deserve this, that that hurt me. Or if I don't control this, I'll lose everything.

SPEAKER_00: 23:42

And just think, if those thoughts are left unchecked, if we don't say, God, what are your thoughts about this thought that I'm having? I mean, we will act on them. It will form and shape a new belief or resurface an old belief, and that belief will lead us to take an action that we will wish we hadn't. Yeah. Um, that isn't in alignment with the God we serve and what his hopes and dreams are for us, and he only wants the best for us. Let's talk for a minute about what scripture actually says about thoughts, about mind renewal and about our flesh and all that fun stuff. Yes, great.

SPEAKER_03: 24:18

Let's go there.

SPEAKER_00: 24:19

I'm in Romans 8, verses 5 and 6. This is one that we also love, of course. It says in this passage, those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires. But those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. Yes. Oh, and both Christine and I have used this passage in very significant moments in our lives.

SPEAKER_03: 24:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 24:56

To remind us to take captive our runaway thoughts and to think thoughts that are governed by the Holy Spirit. When thoughts are shaped by my flesh, seeking what feels good in the moment, or what soothes my shame, or what makes me feel happy, or whatever it might be, we end up in cycles of regret. I know for me it's not just regret, it's full on shame. And when I go into that cycle, it seems to just keep going around and around and around. But when my mind aligns with what the spirit desires, truth, peace, love, I know when I focus on those things, life and peace follow. The mind controlled by the Holy Spirit is life and it is peace.

SPEAKER_03: 25:44

It is. Even just reading that passage right now, listening to you read it, Heidi, is like bringing me peace and life. I just like I want to hear more. So let's go to Colossians 2, verses 20 to 23. And here's a passage that pulls no punches. Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to its rules? And again, this was me. Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These rules which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. This is in the Bible. This is amazing to me. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. That's it. That's exactly it. That's been my experience for sure.

SPEAKER_00: 26:59

Yes. So if you come to us and want to experience freedom from some extra weight you carry, and we encourage you to renew your mind instead of tell you what to eat or how to eat or when to eat or why to eat or whatever. And you're wondering why are you doing this? This is why.

SPEAKER_03: 27:20

This is why, right here. This is why.

SPEAKER_00: 27:22

Yes, the rules and the all of the stuff that goes with conforming to this world's ways of doing this, it lacks any value in restraining sensual indulgence, which is what this is about. It's about me giving into what my flesh wants. And God is, He's not in the business of being a cosmic killjoy. You like that? I'm gonna smash you for eating. That's not the way he is. You know, that line that they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. It's like a spotlight on how rules alone can't change my heart and it can't sustain any changes physically that I may have landed on because of changing my eating or whatever. They don't change what we want most, like when we feel lonely or painful or unseen or not heard or whatever it might be. God wants to completely renovate our lives. And he does that, like it says in Romans 12, too, be transformed, and God is the transformer by the renewing of your mind. So focusing on how we think, what we think. Am I thinking in alignment with God? What are your thoughts, God? That is the key. That is the key.

SPEAKER_03: 28:47

You know, for so many years, I thought I was supposed to do the transforming. I thought it was all on my shoulders to fix this. And then, I mean, I used to say things to God like, I am so sorry that I'm so messed up in this area. I'm gonna work harder, I'm gonna try to do this better, I'm gonna follow these rules and restrictions, and then I'll I'll come back and show you, and then we can move on to something else. I'm serious. I mean, I I felt like this was something I was supposed to do myself. And so what joy, what a relief, what peace there was when I realized this isn't my job. This is God's job. I do have a part in it. If I don't renew my mind several times a day, I'm going to be going down my old trails. Um, yes, me too. My old thoughts, those old ruts. I'm gonna go right down there. That's my part, and I can do it. I can do the renewing of the mind. It's it's not draining, it's actually fun, it's life giving. I love doing it. I mean, I love it, it draws me closer to the Lord, and so that's. My part. God's part is the transforming. That's off my shoulders. That's his part. It's it's his part. And he does it so well. He does it so well.

SPEAKER_00: 30:13

So I'm definitely way better than I ever did.

SPEAKER_03: 30:16

Right. Nothing that we do really lasts. It just doesn't. You know, you might run into a friend that's transformed herself temporarily and it's like, oh, she did it. She she did it. And then you see her again the next year, and things are different again. Because we can't make things like that last. It's not the deep work. So if rules and restrictions and pulling ourselves up and trying harder, if that isn't the deep work, what is what is the deep work? So we want to give you some tools that we have seen change our lives and change lives of the women and men in our community. It's not just behavior, it goes deeper than that. It's desires. We want our desires to line up with God's desires. And then it becomes easy. So we have many, many, many tools, many mind-reviewable tools. Many, many, many, many. Some of them have been put together by our participants, some of them by me, Heidi. They've just kind of evolved over the years, but we're going to just give you a few here so we don't want to overwhelm you. So we want to start with the God list, which is actually where we always start. Pretty much every class that we teach, every time we're coaching, we start with the God list because this is so important. It's so important that we see God as He really is. And some of us, myself included, boy, I had a wrong view of God. I needed to go to the Word and see who He really is, who He really was at that time in my life. And I use my God list all the time. I have them everywhere. I have a whole bunch at this point. Basically, all it is, it's so simple listing who God is and what he does for people. So, for example, his faithfulness, his beauty, his goodness, his kindness. And you can go on and on. If you've never done this before, you can maybe start in the Psalms. That's a great place to begin. But his attributes are all over the word, all over. And there are hundreds and hundreds of them. So writing a God list is our first mind renewal tool that we'd love to give you. Okay, so the second one is again so simple. We call it the praise fest, like festival. And basically, you take your god list and you speak out loud your praises for who God is. You declare truth when feelings lie. So for example, God, you are faithful. God, you are the lover of my soul. God, you are beautiful. God, you are good. God, you are kind and compassionate. God, you are wonderful, majestic, amazing. God, you are the one who makes things so. And it can just go on and on and on. That's called a praise fest. So the first one is the God list, and it's a list of God's attributes. And then the praised fest is using that list to speak praises to God out loud. And it turns our hearts toward Him in the most beautiful way. And then the third one is personalizing scripture, claiming God's word in your own life. So using your name in Scripture to make it personal, using your own circumstances or a loved one's name and circumstances. So for example, Psalm 145, 14. The Lord upholds Christina when she falls. The Lord upholds Christina when she struggles, when she falls, when she needs help. The Lord is there upholding me. I'm taking that scripture and I'm personalizing to my own situation. Here's another one that I love. Psalm 34.8. Christina, taste and see that I am good. Blessed are you, Christina, when you take refuge in me. So I'm personal, and I can personalize it even more if I want to to a very specific situation. One of my favorite ways to renew my mind is personalizing scripture.

SPEAKER_00: 34:46

If you're interested at all in learning how to use these just these few minor null tools that we've shared today so far, we are going to be during the month of October focusing on a new theme, crowned with bounty, which is going to take us into Psalm 65 for the entire month. And we are going to be renewing our minds using the God list with Psalm 65, using the Praise Fest with Psalm 65, using Who I Am in Christ with Psalm 65, and personalizing scripture from Psalm 65. And the list goes on. Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. That's gonna be awesome. And uh so just check out revelationwithin.org and there will be a description of that uh as of October 1st. So if you're listening to this podcast after that, it's there now, probably, unless it's way after October 1st. But you can join anytime and get a free month. Yes, so there you go. Yes, come join us. It's gonna be awesome. That would be so cool. So when we practice renewing our minds, and you can do it any way you choose, you just got to go deep and you've got to apply it to your life. God wants to target the lies we believe in our lives, the thoughts we have in our lives, so that the actions can be changed. He targets those with targeted truth. Yes. And so when we practice these strategies, something shifts big time. For instance, we start to catch the thoughts before they spiral, before they cause me to act. We've also found that as we practice mind renewal, the voices of shame get so much quieter. Yes. And we also begin to enjoy the now, the peace, the rest, the gratitude, rather than trying to earn or prove something. And it doesn't rest on me. We begin to see that and believe it. And here's some of the things we've seen as people have committed to renewing their minds. And when we have renewed our minds, first of all, there's greater clarity. We start seeing what's really driving us. We don't just blow by it. We're like, oh, look at that. Aha. Yes, exactly. I had an aha moment last week. We just started our brand new class from Shame to Shalom. And wow, God put a spotlight on ways that shame is kind of wiggling its way into my thoughts. And it's like, what are your thoughts about this, Lord? And He just gives me beautiful truth to refute the shame. So there's a lot less shame because God's truth speaks louder. That's another benefit. Another benefit to renewing our minds is more freedom, less urgency to soothe myself with counterfeit comforts. And there's not this aversion to stillness. I mean, that's huge for me because I'm somebody, I'm not one of those busybody people who is so energetic, but I still would avoid stillness. I know that doesn't seem to go together, but anyway, and then a fourth thing we've seen is we're able to make better decisions. Yes. And the reason is probably related to the fact that we do it from who we are in Christ and from who he is, rather than our impulses, which I think is so important. A fifth one, we could go on and on about this, of course, but long-term transformation, our desires shift, and that means we don't want to overeat, we don't want to overspend, we don't want to overscroll. All of that falls away when our heart is filled with something so much greater, so much more rewarding. And it's true, I know there are some of you who may be listening to this game, well, that's not gonna be true for me. Right. That's what I thought. Try it and see. Look what happened with Christina.

SPEAKER_03: 39:00

Yeah. Well, and I just want to encourage you too, when those truths come up for you, write them down and put them into a list. That is one of our other tools. It's a truth list. It was one of the first tools I ever used. And you can read those and say those out loud over and over and over until your thoughts become one with those. That's so important. God will give you his thoughts. And we don't want to forget those. Write them down. Okay, so we want to invite you today, right now, right at this very moment, to start here and now with one tool. Just one. Just one. So pick one trigger that you face. Maybe it's a difficult person, a holiday that's coming up, an emotion you're dealing with right now, stress, overwhelm. When it comes, pause. Use your God list, speak praise, find a scripture that counters the lie. Pray it. Write it down. Let the spirit fill your mind with something true, something from his perspective. Ask him to show you what his thoughts are.

SPEAKER_00: 40:20

And I just want to say, you know, try this challenge. I mean, you may be saying, that's not gonna work. My favorite, put your favorite morsel in this, you know, spot right here. That's going to satisfy me more quickly and more completely than opening my Bible and praising God. It's not true. Yeah. And so I just want to challenge you. Put your indulgence uh with the food or whatever it might be on hold for just five minutes, for just five minutes. Set it aside and give God an opening. Say, okay, God, I'm giving you this opening. I want to take you at your word. You say that you are enough for me. You say that you are satisfying, that you will grant me the desires of my heart when I delight myself in you. And right now I'm ready to delight myself in you. Would you come into this moment and just put off eating or scrolling or buying something online, whatever, and see what happens if you renew your mind at that moment. I like praises the one that comes easiest to me and who I am in Christ. Those come easiest to me. Another resource we often use is I deserve a donut and other lives that make you eat. You can pull that open and pull it out and renew your mind with that. Then see if after five or 10 minutes you still have that craving. And I bet you don't. I bet you don't. Now you might. That's true. But if you keep it up, uh eventually you'll see your desires change. Yes. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 41:58

And we have seen that in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people over the years and in ourselves as well.

SPEAKER_00: 42:05

So walking this path isn't easy. We're not going to pretend it's easy, but it's real and it's worth it. It really is. God doesn't want us just managing life, He wants us living and experiencing an abundant life, mind renewed, heart aligned, free. Doesn't that sound wonderful? It sure does.

SPEAKER_03: 42:25

It sure does. We are so glad that you've been here with us today. And we would love to invite you to join us for our next podcast episode here at Revelation with it.