Post Big-Dinner Blues - What Now? Special Episode!

We have a special episode for you on Black Friday! The day after US Thanksgiving can be a challenge...

Are you feeling a little out of sorts after Thanksgiving? Overwhelmed by guilt or regret from the festive indulgences? We've got you covered. Join us,  as we help you navigate these tumultuous waters. We shed light on the powerful 'look and learn' tool, a strategy to experience God's beautiful way of redeeming mess-ups. In this episode, we share our personal strategies, aiming to empower you to overcome feelings of shame and guilt by changing your self-talk and renewing your mind.

Inviting God in is key!

Do you long to hear from God in your daily life? To truly feel His presence and guidance? Allow us to take you on this journey. We delve into the profound art of listening to God’s voice and seeking His wisdom. We dive deep into the importance of stillness, pouring out our hearts to Jesus, and utilizing tools such as journaling, worship music, and breath prayers. 

Let's explore the transformative power of gratitude and the importance of creating open spaces in our busy lives to connect with God. Use the 'look and learn' tool to hear from God. Even in our failures and struggles, we  can find opportunities for growth and transformation. 

Ashley T Lee Podcast
Ashley T. Lee Podcast will cover many life issues such as overcoming stress, anxiety...

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi and welcome to Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Bilesma-Epperson, one of your hosts and the owner and lead coach of the Revelation Within Ministry.

Speaker 2: 0:09

And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in All Things Revelation Within. We are so excited to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within on the Go, yay.

Speaker 1: 0:34

Did you have a good Thanksgiving if you're in the US? Hope you did, hope you did. But we're going to talk today about something we hinted at in our free Thanksgiving Day podcast. We're going to talk about the day after the holiday event and what we can do about the day after. Last week episode we had all kinds of strategies for before, during, and we mentioned a couple about last, but we were running out of time so we thought we could go again.

Speaker 2: 1:04

Here we go Well, and we talked so much last time about how our participants at Revelation Within they come to us after a holiday. They come and they say the event went really, really well and then the next day I completely lost it and everything in sight. You know did all the things I didn't want to do on the day of the event. So that's really why we want to make sure that we're here talking about this today Exactly.

Speaker 1: 1:35

So where shall we begin? We call it look and learn. And here's the thing In the old days of Thin Within it was called observation and correction. If you want to call that, that's fine. But if you're looking at old materials Thin Within book and the Hunger Within book you'll see it called observation and correction. And since, probably three or four years ago, we've called it look and learn. I think that helps.

Speaker 2: 2:01

I don't know it helps me. It helps me. The word correction is kind of hard for me. It feels condemning in some ways. I like look and learn. It feels like you know what. Let's just go for it. It feels like something that's more doable for me.

Speaker 1: 2:15

And what I love about look and learn and we're observation and correction. Whatever we're going to call it, look and learn. What I love about it and why we call it a mind renewal tool, is it because it takes something that historically many of us have had a problem with and that's failure and stands it on its head and helps me to see it as something God can teach me through. It doesn't intentionally go into failure, but if I do, and I am human, so I will fail slip, slide, stumble, fall. Whatever we want to call it, look and learn helps me to think God's thoughts about my mess ups, about my failures, about my sin even, which is really a cool.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Thing.

Speaker 2: 2:55

Yes, I mean, isn't it amazing? I feel like so. So many years I had nowhere to go with my failure. I was just kind of sitting in it Like what am I going to do with this? The shame and guilt, oh my gosh. And here it is again. But there's actually something that we can do, a process with the Lord that brings life, that brings joy, that brings peace and it turns your mess up into a victory, which I love that I need to. I'm so hopeful and encouraging.

Speaker 1: 3:26

So how do we know that we need a time of look and learn? You probably know it, but you know, if you come home from an event and you had a victory maybe at that event that's awesome. But now you have a real urge to eat and maybe you've given into that urge. That's an indication you might need to look and learn what else Well, just coming home feeling absolutely emotionally bulldoze and maybe this didn't go so well emotionally at that event.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Maybe that really difficult person, maybe that didn't go well at all, you know. Or maybe now it's almost like that opened Pandora's box or whatever, and now it's like you can't stop the tears or you're really upset and angry. I mean there's any number of things, and of course, all of these can lead us to food or some other kind of counterfeit comfort Right. It's the ones we've talked about in the past.

Speaker 1: 4:26

Right. Another good indication that you might need a look and learn session with the Lord is a sense of hopelessness. Like I can't believe it. I renewed my mind, I did all that and here I am. Anyway, I was intentional, I made a point for two weeks before the event and I still. I just can't do this. I just can't do this. I'll never get it right. If you have said any of those things to yourself, then it's a great time for a look and learn. In fact, there's a lot of hope in the fact that we're going to be talking about that and you want to latch onto that.

Speaker 2: 5:01

Yes, well, and just you know, adding on to that hopelessness is the lies that come in when we feel that way, lies from the enemy, lies from what we believed in the past. Oh, christina, you're never going to get this right. Look at you, you blew it again. You are such a failure. On and on and on. I used to tell myself all of those awful lies. When those start coming in, yeah, we definitely need to stop it right there. Stop it right there.

Speaker 1: 5:28

And this is why so much of what we do at Revelation, within talks to mindset and mind renewal and thinking differently, thinking with the mind of Christ, thinking God's thoughts after him is because so much of what we do, what we choose to do with our behavior, like overeating or over anything is rooted in our self-talk, what we believe, and so we want to overhaul our self-talk, including the day after an event or an hour after an event that we've had. You definitely need to look and learn time with the Lord if you're experiencing shame and guilt, because those are not from the Lord. Shame is not from the Lord at all, it's from the enemy, really.

Speaker 2: 6:12

From the enemy right. And then, of course, regret. You know you felt like, oh, I wish I had made a different choice, I wish I had done that better. We can get so stuck in regret. It's like trying to walk through molasses or something. We're just stuck in it and it feels heavy. We do not want to be stuck there. There is so much hope in the Lord and he just loves us.

Speaker 2: 6:38

He just wants us to come to Him and talk with Him about everything. He responds every time with compassion and love for us and patience. That's who he is. He can't be anything else.

Speaker 1: 6:51

While you were saying that, Christina, my mind went back to last night. I was leading the Bible study. I lead in person for my church ladies, and one of them said and this was so cool, she's not even a part of our church or anything like that, she's a friend of somebody who comes. And she said you know, God said he wanted me to get something, and so he said to me I delight in you.

Speaker 2: 7:16

Yes exactly.

Speaker 1: 7:17

I think that's the first time she's ever heard anything like that.

Speaker 2: 7:20

And that's straight out of Scripture. God delights over us, really. Does God delight over me, even when I'm soaked in shame and sitting around full of regret and hopelessness? Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 7:34

Yeah. So when we feel all of those sorts of things or any of those sorts of things, before we just kind of move on and do our look and learn, we want to remember that condemnation isn't from God. Romans 8 1 tells us there is no condemnation in Christ. No matter how far we may think we have fallen, there is no condemnation in Christ. We can't outfall or outsin the love of God. There is no condemnation in Christ.

Speaker 2: 8:00

Yes, romans 5 8. God demonstrated His love for us in this. While we were still sinners, he died for us.

Speaker 1: 8:09

I love that because it was before I ever had a Godward thought, before he ever intended to be an awesome, peaceful eater who doesn't overeat, and all of that Before you ever did that God decided to give Jesus for you.

Speaker 1: 8:25

I love that and John 3.17, you know 3.16 is super popular, that you know. We know that God loves us so much, but 3.17 tells us the converse of that. I mean, he loves us so much and so he sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world, not to condemn you for your holiday eating, but that the world might be saved through him.

Speaker 2: 8:50

And I love that. There's nothing that we can do that can separate us from his love. I mean there's nothing. His love is not dependent on what we do or don't do, and we have to remember that and tell ourselves that truth Again and again, especially when we are feeling overtaken by failure. Ephesians 1.4,. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. We are chosen, we're holy and blameless, we're set apart. That is so, so beautiful and so important for us to remember and renew our minds about.

Speaker 1: 10:00

And again, the thing I love about this verse is that he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless. So he chose you, he chose me before we ever behaved ourselves, before our performance was on display. Ephesians it's amazing, and so many reasons to love God even more. And then 2 Corinthians 521, oh my goodness, god made him Jesus, who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Oh, mind blown, Completely mind blown. And so, really, before we do anything, we wanna remember that everything that's really, really important is still in place. God is still God, we are still his and we are not condemned by him. We are loved by him with a relentless love. Those things are still in place, even though you ate too much, or even though this happened, or even though you failed in this area. Everything important is still in place.

Speaker 1: 11:08

Right, I love that. That's so true. So, to start this process of look and learn the day after, the hour after, the week after, whenever you're doing it hopefully the sooner the better. You could even look back, though, on last year and look at about last Christmas to prepare for this Christmas invite God in.

Speaker 1: 11:28

So we're going to do that. We're gonna welcome him in, and that can be as simple as God. I'm not gonna run from you this time. I'm not gonna put my head in the sand. This time I'm not going to turn myself off, I'm not going to veg out, I'm not going to shut down. I'm not gonna go into that shutdown mode that we all know so well, where we just binge watching a show because we don't wanna deal with whatever life is asking us to deal with.

Speaker 1: 11:54

So, we're gonna avoid that tendency to run from him and say, okay, I'm here. What shall we do with this?

Speaker 2: 12:01

And then we're just gonna ask him Lord, help me to see, give me eyes to see this and a heart that's open. What happened? Let's just talk about it. Let's be just open and honest. Invite God into the mess. What happened that didn't please my heart? What happened, lord, that didn't please your heart? What didn't work so well, and why Show me show?

Speaker 1: 12:26

me what it was. This is where we have to be courageous, we have to be bold. God says he's given us everything we need for life and godliness, so that means he will give us the courage to look headlong into our mess, up into our failure, into our slips, stumble, slide, fall, failure, sin, whatever we're calling it. He will give us what we need to face it, because facing it is what we need to do in order to learn from it.

Speaker 1: 12:52

The only true failure you've heard me say it before is the failure that I fail to learn from. We can live this quality season without regret, not because we've been perfect with our eating or going to counterfeit comforts. We're not doing that. It's impossible to be perfect but if we are perfectly imperfect, we can experience no regrets. That just means that when I do slip, slide, stumble or fall or fail, I go to him. That's being perfectly imperfect, because my imperfections are there. That's gonna happen. What I do with them can redeem it. He is going to redeem it for me and that's what we're going to head into as we look and learn For me that's such a relief.

Speaker 2: 13:37

actually, it's a relief to know that when I mess up because I know I will I'm not planning to, but I know that I will.

Speaker 2: 13:46

What a relief it is to know that I can go to God and I can figure this out with him and he will give me his insights and he will give me his wisdom in a loving way. And I've done this now so many times. I mean practically every day. To be honest with you is when I look and learn I've done it so many times that I know God is consistent, that love is consistent. He will meet us there. So what a relief to know I'm going to fail but it's going to be okay.

Speaker 1: 14:17

I'm going to learn from it and I'm going to be able to move on with the Lord. That's a huge relief to me. It is, and we want to urge you just be sure, no matter how many years of Bible study or church attendance or how long you've been a Christian, be sure that you ask him to show you what you need to know, because I mean, it's like Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says that we're to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding in all our ways, including our mess ups.

Speaker 1: 14:48

We are to acknowledge him and he will make our way straight. He will show us the path we need so that next time, if all things are equal, we can be victorious. Jeremiah 33.3 says call to me. That's the Lord saying. Call to me, my child, call me and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. I don't know about you, but I want that kind of wisdom Instead of just my own wisdom. Yes, hearing out how to experience victory the next time.

Speaker 2: 15:22

Now we have his phone number Jeremiah 33.3.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Call to me, we know we've got the number. We welcome you. To just sit with the Lord and listen, then this is not a skill many of us have. We're not used to being still.

Speaker 2: 15:37

Yes.

Speaker 1: 15:37

And we're not used to listening for the Lord. Does he speak to us audibly? Not most of us, right? So, christina, how do you sense God's voice to you or what his will is regarding? Let's keep it in the context of look and learn. What does that look like or sound like, or feel like? How do you know something is from God or not just your own imagination?

Speaker 2: 16:02

Oh, that's such a good question. I think it starts with me pouring out my heart to him. That's where I always begin, whether it's in a journal, or maybe I'm driving in the car or taking a walk, or maybe it's at home. If I can find a quiet time at home, in the bathtub, maybe. Yes, that's a good place for look and learn. So it usually begins with me talking, not listening. I usually start and I pour out my heart and I tell him this is how I'm feeling, this is what happened, lord, this and this and this, and then this, and I tell him the whole story and he's a good listener, he's very patient and he waits for me to get to the end. So I've talked it all out. And then I ask him and I just say Lord, help me with this, show me your wisdom. My wisdom would look like something like this Well, just don't do that again. My wisdom is shallow.

Speaker 1: 17:04

My wisdom and all or nothing. Yes, that's how it feels my wisdom.

Speaker 2: 17:06

Nothing. My insights are teeny, tiny compared to God's. Then I'm quiet before him, and I do have a hard time being quiet. So sometimes I will listen to a favorite worship song and then have the quiet come after that. Or sometimes I'll do breath prayers where I am breathing with scripture, and then I will let the quiet come after that, and then, if I need to do that again, I will, if my mind is filling up with distracting thoughts. Or sometimes I will ask him again speak to me, lord, help me to see. Then I will listen.

Speaker 2: 17:42

Sometimes God doesn't give me those insights and wisdom right away. Sometimes he just says wait on me and I'll talk to you about this when you need it. It might be tomorrow, it might be in an hour, it might be next week or next month, and that's okay too, because I know that his timing is best and he's going to show me. But in the moment, these are the things that I always sense from him. I always sense peace, I go to him and I always sense his what's the word? Cosiness I mean, that's not quite what I was going for, but it kind of is, because I sense that I'm okay being there with him, his acceptance. It feels cozy, like I'm a little girl on my dad's lap.

Speaker 2: 18:33

You know it's good, it's a good place to be with him. It's a good place If I'm having a hard time hearing from him. I will start thanking him for things. I'll go into gratitude and then have a time of quiet after that or read scripture and have a quiet time after that. So those are some of the things that helped me enter into that stillness and then I'm going to come back to it. But God will often give me thoughts, ideas. All of a sudden, something will come to mind and it's like, oh my gosh, no wonder I was so upset by that what that person said. At the event. I mean no wonder, because really, wow, this and this and this. And he will give me that insight. So I can trust him. Whether it's in the moment or it comes the next day or the next week, I can trust him. He's taking care of it, he's redeeming it, I'm safe with him.

Speaker 1: 19:28

That's beautiful, and I would add to that that sheet, that who I am in Christ sheet that we mentioned last week. I would say get that out before you allow your failure to define you and hopefully you won't and allow those truths from scripture to define you. Say them out loud I am. So I'm going to give that URL again to those of you that may not have gotten it yet.

Speaker 1: 19:52

It's teamlifeisgoodcom forward slash identity and they're just wonderful, life-giving Bible scriptural truths about who God says you are. And certainly the list could have been much longer.

Speaker 1: 20:08

We took basically a few from the resources we had and you might even want to use that in your time with the Lord, looking and learning. And certainly, if you've used that list at all, some of those truths might be in your heart by memory, and that's great. You can do a look and learn without a journal open, without your Bible open. You can be running errands or cleaning your house or whatever, but do not let the mess up define you, because I think that's an affront to God. He's like wait a minute. I sent Christ to the cross so that you wouldn't be defined by your own performance. Let my son define you and he says you are more than a conqueror. He says that you are precious in his sight.

Speaker 1: 20:50

You are a part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 2: 20:55

Yes, oh, I love that, heidi. I'm going to throw out one more thing. I'm going to share one more thing. Just a few weeks ago, I was really struggling with something and I was so tired and my whole body was tense you know how it is when you can feel all those things physically and I laid down and I started to pour things out to the Lord in an attempt to look and learn and ask him for his insight, and I fell asleep. That was his answer. So much of what I needed at that time was rest. You know we overlook rest. We overlook it a lot, especially in this country, for some reason. Rest. And then, when I woke up, my body was calm and I was able to hear him and I was able to be so much more open to his wisdom and it was such a better place to be than before I had napped, and I just love that. He knew that I needed that. He made my body. You know, he knows. He knows what we need.

Speaker 1: 21:52

You know that reminds me of the story of Elijah when he was showing his stuff to the prophets of Baal and God came and consumed the offering, even though there was a ton of water all over it. But the prophets of Baal got nothing from their God quote little.

Speaker 1: 22:09

G God. And then Elijah got depressed. He ran out into the wilderness, laid down under a tree, and wanted to die, and certainly that's a great look at the opportunity. Even without looking and learning, though, god provided rest, provided a meal, provided food, and then God and him had some conversation, yes, and so I love that. Sometimes it's really basic, isn't it?

Speaker 2: 22:37

Yes, Sometimes it is, yeah, sometimes it's just just rest, emotional rest, physical rest, yeah, we just need that too, god knows Well. And here's the thing.

Speaker 1: 22:49

Sometimes, when I look at the environment that I was in at the time that I slipped, stumbled, fell or failed, I can see that I was not setting myself up for victory. It might be that I and I've been preparing for my visit to my sister this way too, by looking at how can I prepare myself for victory. Okay, her bed is the hardest bed. This mattress company known for its hard work.

Speaker 2: 23:16

Oh, it sells.

Speaker 1: 23:18

It is the hardest and I'm a princess and the P-girl Me too, yeah, and so I mean I have a sleep number bed set on 20. That tells you something.

Speaker 1: 23:28

You have a sleep number bed, and so I, right away I know if I'm going to be at my best when I'm with my sister I need to take my little foam topper, my own set of sheets, and put that, even though she's so proud to share her really hard bed with me, oh, she's not in there. At the same time, she sleeps on a different, on the food top, which is almost as hard.

Speaker 2: 23:48

Oh, Food tops are very hard.

Speaker 1: 23:50

So sometimes you have to think ahead Like and this is how God looked and learned with me about previous visits to my sister, because I know when I'm in pain from a really hard bed, then I'm weaker. I'm much weaker to this temptation. Because I just want to feel better. So sometimes it's as simple as taking care of our needs. God might say well, who could you call to help you be accountable?

Speaker 1: 24:19

He might lay on your heart that person isn't a safe person for you. Maybe you shouldn't eat when you're with her, or whatever it might be. You know I mean he will give you that wisdom. But it might be sometimes a real practical answer and not an all or nothing like just get it all out of the house or whatever. He's not really all or nothing about his solutions very often.

Speaker 2: 24:42

I was talking with someone the other day who has had this kind of roadblock for years and years and years in her journey and just couldn't figure out where it came from. It just was really stuck. And I know that many of us feel that way and we go to the Lord in an attempt to look and learn again and again and it's like where is this coming from? Sometimes it helps just to talk with someone else about it and then that other person can say you know, did you notice that this is happening or did you notice that this is kind of a theme from your childhood or from your past? Those kinds of things, Wow, I mean, those are the things that break those strongholds in our life. She was able to see some of those things in her past, renew her mind, and she's free from that now. She's able to move on.

Speaker 2: 25:32

It's amazing. I'm so grateful. God is so good. He wants us to be free. He wants us to come to Him and say help me with this, God, let's do it together. He wants that. He waits for us.

Speaker 1: 25:48

One of the reasons why one of our mind retools is the God list and praise fest is because we have so many erroneous ideas about who God is and what he's like and what he does for people. And what you have just described is a loving God who is nothing, maybe like my earthly father was or is for those that have fathers living still. He's nothing like the authoritative and rude boss that I've had.

Speaker 2: 26:14

He's nothing like that.

Speaker 1: 26:15

So we encourage people to get to know God fresh. Just start from scratch, if you need to, and go into the Psalms and write down. How does God disclose his character, what does he say about himself, and then you will be more likely to hear from him in ways that are accurate. You'll believe that you'll hear from him because you see that he loves you, you'll see that he is for you. He is for you, he's not an enemy, and I just love that about him. Some people that we've interacted with they say well, I don't hear God like that, I don't hear him answering me. What would you say to somebody who said that, christina?

Speaker 2: 26:55

You know, there are so many ways that God speaks to us, and one of the ways that I know that it's him is when there are a lot of different things pointing in the same direction. For example, you know, maybe he's talking to me about love and acceptance, or maybe there's something that I need to know or something he's trying to teach me, and all of a sudden that theme comes up in a sermon that I hear. Or that theme also comes up in a song that you know I just flipped on the radio on the way to take my daughter to school and that song is talking about the very same thing. And then I open my devotion and it's there as well. And then I talk to a friend and all of that is affirmed by her. That's one way that I know God is trying to get my attention and he's going to bring me all these different ways. That's one of the answers. The other answer that I know this is true for me is go to the word.

Speaker 2: 27:52

If God seems very silent to you, which sometimes he seems to me he's not distant, but he might be very silent. We know that he's close at all times. So if I need to hear God's own words. I can just go to the Bible and I can read his very own words. I can look at the way that he spoke and interacted with people, jesus, when he was here. Certainly in the New Testament I can hear God speak and those words are there because they're there for me too and they're there for you. They're there for all of us for all time. That's why I mentioned that sometimes I have such a hard time with stillness, so I might read God's own words first and then enter into a time of stillness and listening after I hear God's own words, after I've read them from the Bible.

Speaker 1: 28:46

That's beautiful. Speaking of hearing from God, I know that the look and learn time that I have had with him, when I have listened for him, versus when I have just used my best wisdom very different. In fact, there's a couple of really big ones that God has given me as a look and learn, to be honest with you yeah Okay this is here so that you can learn that.

Speaker 1: 29:12

You need me to tell you how to look and learn. For instance, there was an incident well, not even an incident, it was a habit I had developed and God, I thought I was asking him. But I built up this truth list. That was kind of harsh. I saw it afterwards and I'm like this isn't working. I'm still not using my truth list, I'm praying for help and but it wasn't making a difference.

Speaker 1: 29:40

And then I went back to him again and said okay, lord, did I miss something from you? Because I know your solutions work. And that's when he said that wasn't from me. You turned your own wisdom. So what is from me is this and the insight that he gave me as to what had been going on was nowhere near what I would have come up with. It was so profound and so it was. It was life changing. To hear from him about that, it just blew my mind. That's happened a number of times when I have recognized okay, I just had inserted my own wisdom here and what I really need is to wait on yours, lord, and he always comes up with strategies that work.

Speaker 2: 30:24

Does I think I know what that story is.

Speaker 1: 30:27

I love that story.

Speaker 2: 30:29

I do so. I think one of the things that helps me is to remember there's no need to run from that, from the struggle, from going to God, from looking and learning. There's no need to run from it or put it off or hesitate. What we want to do is run into it. Yes, you're right, we want to run into it because God has wisdom for us that will change our lives going forward. It really will. Maybe in small ways, maybe in huge ways, and we don't know, and we don't know how it's all connected. God does so rather than saying, oh, I don't want to go to God with this again, it's been like the hundred and millionth time but he says come to me, don't hesitate. In fact, run into my arms. I have so much that is good for you and I want healing in your life, I want to heal you. Yeah, so that helps me. It's like, okay, run, run, run to the Lord, let's deal with this right now.

Speaker 1: 31:33

To him, yes, yeah, I think as we do this, we begin to see that, huh, that really wasn't so bad. In fact, it was pretty good. Yes, all the years that we ran from God, it's like we think of him as the disapproving parent or something we want to hide our sin from. We know with our intellect we can't hide from him, but yet I mean think of it. It's been this way since the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve hid from the Lord, and then they blamed each other and the snake for all their troubles.

Speaker 2: 32:07

Right, right, no, no, no, no, that was the first time.

Speaker 1: 32:12

He doesn't want us to run from him, he wants us to run to him. He has the answer. Jeremiah 33, 3,. Call to me and I'll tell you great and unsearchable things. You do not no I love, love, love that. So, Christina, as we kind of wrap things up, what are some of the things that God has told you in a look and learn? Now, it doesn't mean that this is going to be one size fits all for everybody, but what?

Speaker 1: 32:37

is kind of unique, Even if it's just one strategy or one solution that God has given you during your times of look and learn. Can you share any of that with us?

Speaker 2: 32:47

Well, this is one that I feel like I've been working on lately with the Lord. It's kind of an ongoing look and learn and that's kind of how to manage my time so that I have these kind of open spaces. Some people call it margin. I like to call them joyfully open spaces, because if I don't plan those in whether it's 10 minutes, 20 minutes I'm just gonna kind of rip, snore through my day and it's like there's never any space to meet with the Lord, to rest, to just kind of have a minute to think. You know what I mean. Those, if I don't plan that into my day, it's not gonna happen and all of a sudden the day is gone and I've missed opportunities where God has been showing me things, or maybe I just needed to sit with him, just to be with him.

Speaker 2: 33:43

So that's a big one. I feel like he's challenging me as far as leave some open spaces in your day, christina. Let's actually plan them so that you can come to me, so that you can rest, so that you can maybe have some joyful movement, some gentle stretches, so that you can have an opportunity to hear my voice, listen to a worship piece. How about sing to me or dance in your living room for five minutes to worship music. Leave some spaces open in the busyness of your life. That's been a huge one for me lately.

Speaker 1: 34:18

Yay, yeah, I love that. Some of the things that God has taught me to do or shown me in different look and learn opportunities. It has been as simple as use a truth list next time before that event. That's where some of the things we've shared in previous podcasts has actually come from. It's been a look and learn.

Speaker 1: 34:37

He's also shown me that my tendency to be all or nothing can get in the way of hearing his look and learn strategies. So it's really rare that God will tell me get rid of all of the blank in the house so that you won't be tempted to eat it or whatever it might be. So I find sometimes he will give me a sense of a modified boundary he wants me to use. I remember one example of that was when I was loving my thin within boundaries of zero and five Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're not and you can have whatever you choose.

Speaker 1: 35:14

I was eating Oreo milkshakes I would make at home every time I was hungry and I was feeling like garbage, but my taste buds were sure liking it. Well, he kind of challenged me on that and so he gave me a modified boundary no Oreos and vanilla ice cream or milkshakes, whatever concoction you take it in were not off limits, but he wanted me not to have it in the house and to have it only when I was out for a meal with somebody else, so that I could have it more in moderation. And that's wisdom. It's like I would have been in all or nothing. Can never have another Oreo milkshake ever again, ever, ever again.

Speaker 1: 35:56

No, but that's not the way. He's so gentle and so loving, and so I find that his boundaries for us are often gentler than that. They're more modified. It might be for some of my clients over the years who have struggled with having too much alcohol. You know, every night they were drinking half a bottle with their husbands. Okay, well, maybe, maybe a modified boundary includes only one night a week of having a bottle of wine and having it with a meal instead of in front of the TV. I mean, I don't know that. So for them that worked really well, because all or nothing is where we tend to go, because then I know if I'm being 100% perfect or 100% failure, and that's just not the standard Right. He has a lot to share with us about how to negotiate this life with joy, and that's about I love that.

Speaker 2: 36:48

Heidi, modified boundaries are wonderful. So we've talked so much about gratitude in Revelation within in the last few months. We did a whole month of gratitude in August and we learned so much about why gratitude is important. And, of course, the first place where we hear about gratitude is in the Word of God, and he tells us to thank him all the time. This can be a look and learn as well, because gratitude really does change my moments, my life, my decisions, the way I interact with people.

Speaker 2: 37:23

It really really does. And just recently we were talking about how gratitude actually gives you that same dopamine kind of a little high than having that sweet food or you know other things like that. So that is a look and learn for me. I know that when I'm struggling with an issue, or maybe I'm just feeling downhearted, maybe my body doesn't feel well there's all any number of things that might be challenging me.

Speaker 2: 37:51

If I go to gratitude and I start thanking God for things right around me, just right here, it changes my heart. It turns my heart toward the Lord. It reminds me who he is and that he's so much bigger than anything that I'm dealing with. That's a huge look and learn for me. I want that to become a natural pattern in my life that when I am downhearted, I go to gratitude, I go to the Lord and start thanking him for everything I can think of. We have lots of mind renewal tools that are based on gratitude and will lead us toward that. And, of course, gratitude toward the Lord. That's the key Giving him the thanks and the praise. It turns our hearts, it calms our bodies down, it gives us peace in the moment.

Speaker 1: 38:42

Yeah, and if you are interested in learning more about renewing your mind, which these are all strategies for mind renewal. I mean, we have some practical ones that have to do with food and eating and all of that, but it's what we believe about food and eating that makes such a difference in the way we choose to act. Anyway, join us at RevWithinteam if you want to get support around your mind renewal journey so that you can live free of those counterfeit comforts that cause you distress, that cause you to feel so disappointed. I love that we've talked about some of what can come of our look and learns with the Lord after a slum, stumble, slide, fall, failure, sin, whatever it might be, and that we can look forward with the Lord to victory the next time. Things are equal. You know what the Bible calls this confession and repentance.

Speaker 2: 39:32

Yes.

Speaker 1: 39:33

I love that, I love that. Well, in sanctification, yes, it is step by step, it's a process. Yeah, it is a process. So, anyway, we're glad you joined us today and hope you'll come on over to RevWithinteam. We'd love to have you there. We would.

Speaker 2: 39:49

We'd love to see you there. Come and join us, and we'd love to see you on our next episode of Revelation Within on the go. Thanks for joining us, bye, bye.