As a child, the clandestine consumption of sugary treats felt like a thrilling act of defiance, a feeling many of us can fondly or ruefully relate to. Christina and I revisit those formative years, peeling back layers of our relationship with sugar, from hidden stashes of candy to the baked goods that spelled love in our grandmother's kitchens. Our candid conversation takes you through a tapestry of emotions, unearthing how these early associations have subtly shaped our interactions with food and the traditions we pass on to our children, often without realizing their origins or impact.
The taste of sugar can evoke powerful memories, like the bittersweet nostalgia triggered by a piece of German Marzipan. In this episode, we confront the emotional baggage tied to our diets, discussing how family patterns and 'Spirit-Led Eating' have influenced our journey towards a peaceful relationship with food. Through shared stories of personal trials and triumphs, we uncover the importance of renewing our mindset to view food as neither a villain nor a savior but simply as a part of life's blessings that comes without judgment or magical powers.
Embracing moderation and wisdom, we offer insights into transforming the way we think about traditionally vilified foods, such as sugar. By teasing apart the truths from the misconceptions that have long governed our eating habits, we learn the art of savoring without giving food control. This isn't just a guide to navigating dietary choices; it's a heartfelt invitation to tackle the emotional and spiritual challenges that are ingrained in our daily lives. Join us for these revelations and more, as we serve up a generous helping of encouragement.
Ashley T Lee Podcast Ashley T. Lee Podcast will cover many life issues such as overcoming stress, anxiety...
Learn more about our Revelation Within Community: https://www.revelationwithin.org
Speaker 1:
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:
And I'm Christina Motling, 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 Go.
Speaker 1:
Well, welcome to this edition listener. We're so glad you're with us and we thought we would dare to talk about something that's on a lot of people's minds right now in all kinds of contexts and what is that it is. Oh, and how I told you lately, christina, how sweet I think you are. You are so sweet, I think you are the sweetest. You are the sweetest thing on this planet. What, where do I go with that? Yeah, exactly, Well, you're not a saccharine sweet and you're not an aspartame sweet. You are sweet, true sweetness.
Speaker 2:
I feel like there's something that you wanna talk about today that has to do with something called sugar. Oh well, that's sweet of you to think of it, heidi.
Speaker 1:
All right, well, let's dive in. This is a hot topic right now. It is so hot.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah. It's in the podcasts, it's in the magazines.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and it's on social media big time it's everywhere.
Speaker 2:
I'm hearing my girlfriends talk about it. I know people who are hearing their coworkers talk about it. I really only have one coworker.
Speaker 1:
And she's definitely not talking about it, except for now.
Speaker 2:
Except for now, but it's really really everywhere. People are asking about it, Right?
Speaker 1:
of course, we're recording this on January 5th, when there's really been a big push for people to make changes to their lives. Yeah, and this is one change that a lot of people feel they wanna make New Year's resolution. Yes, yes yes, I like the idea of a revelation rather than a resolution, but that's okay, I have a new year's revelation. So what's your relationship been like with sugar over the years?
Speaker 2:
Well, that's such a great question and it's kinda interesting how you would call it a relationship, but actually it is fitting. So I mean, some of my earliest memories are. I'm thinking about myself as a little girl in our kitchen in California where I grew up, climbing up on the counter on my hands and knees and getting to that top top shelf. There was a little decorative box made out of metal up there and it had little things in there that were full of sugar, little what we might call treats, special little treats, things that were basically off limits. They were put away and, yes, I remember wanting those, sneaking those.
Speaker 1:
So was it because they were off limits that you wanted them.
Speaker 2:
Well, at the time, I just knew that they were more special than anything else in the cabinet. How did you know that? I knew that? Because of my mom and because she put them away where you couldn't reach them. Yes, my dad was not at all involved in any of this. And my brother? He could pretty much care less. It was really all about my mom and her thoughts and beliefs about those quote unquote treats that they were special, that they should be set apart, that they should be in this special little box, and one of the things she put in there were chocolate chips that she used to make a cake. Yes, they went in that little metal decorative box.
Speaker 1:
I've known you all this time and I've known about the chocolate chip history you have and I did not know that chocolate chips had their own special little place in the metal box.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and it was this beautiful box. It was painted all these beautiful colors, it had flowers all over it.
Speaker 1:
It was like special so if a container is known by the way it looks for how special the contents are, then we could say that this was near the top of your mom's list Absolutely, and I actually have that little container, I have it in my house and it's full of tea bags right now. No, that's not the precious at all.
Speaker 2:
Not at all. And so from a very young age, you know, and my mom, I mean, she did the best that she could and I love her dearly. But, yeah, definitely so many of my early thoughts and beliefs about what was valuable and precious and also forbidden, yes, which very much drew me toward it, those thoughts were formed from my mom, yeah, see, and for me, my relationship with sugar at an early age and you know my stories of being abused at dinner table about what I wouldn't eat and all of that.
Speaker 1:
Well, the whole deal was, if you eat these things that are awful, you can eat this which is yummy and sweet, and so I learned that the yummy, sweet things Were the reward for anything. I mean because, also, if I'd had a really Difficult doctors appointment as a little kid sometimes mom would even go to there was a drive-thru called yogi bears and we go through the drive-thru and I'd get a small milkshake. Yeah, so reward for eating things that were awful tasting or reward for putting up with a mean doctor, was sweet.
Speaker 2:
You know what I'm embarrassed to admit that as a mom, I did those things for my little kids too. Oh, I did. I mean we went to the difficult doctors appointment and got a milkshake afterwards same exact thing. I'm sorry, no, it's okay. I mean, I didn't know, I didn't understand, I didn't see what I was doing. I really didn't. I thought it was the right thing, I thought it was normal. Maybe we don't want to be normal in this world, right? You know what? As a contrast, I was just thinking.
Speaker 2:
What popped into my mind just now was going to visit my grandma at her house. She lived only about 20 minutes away. My brother and I were over there all the time. She loved to bake, she loved to cook and she involved us in her baking and cooking. And at her house sugar was not Forbidden. It was something to be used for blessing. She had a very balanced perspective About all the different ingredients that would go into the foods that she made and the baked goods. She was not thin. She was very healthy, normal size. You know she was not worried about that and this was your dad's mom.
Speaker 1:
Right, this is my dad's mom, yeah, so I didn't have any issues with sugar.
Speaker 2:
He's the one that did. Now my mom, my grandmother on the other side I didn't know very well, only when I was about five, because she lived in Germany and died very young. She struggled with food and eating issues her whole life, hmm, so it is kind of interesting to look at that. How my dad was like, yeah, whatever, it's great. I mean he enjoyed pies and cakes, but not any more than other kinds of foods. He just had also a very balanced perspective. But I remember going to my, my grandmother's house. I've talked about her before my omama. She made me feel so precious and special. But food at her house it was a gift, it was abundant, it was something to share and be celebrated, but there was no obsession with it. There was no, no struggle with this. One is forbidden somehow and more valuable than the other one.
Speaker 1:
So it's interesting because over the years my relationship with sugar has been either it's not forbidden and it's fine, that's like the place I like to land, it's not forbidden and it's not coveted. But then there's been the it's off limits. I cannot have it, and that's when I want it even more. That's the way my parents raised me. And then there's this other extreme where, oh my gosh, I just love sugar. I've got to eat a ton of it to be happy, and it will always take the next cookie or the next candy bar, and it will always be More, more and more. So there's these extremes, and somewhere in the middle there's this yeah, it's no big deal, and I have been most at peace when I've been in that place where yes.
Speaker 1:
It's just food.
Speaker 2:
It's just food. It's just food. It's just an ingredient. It's.
Speaker 1:
It's from sort of a plant and it's interesting to me though, because, you know, a lot of people say it's addictive. I'm no expert on this, but I mean, I have talked to a couple of experts about it and I've done some research on it, and it seems like sugar is one of those things that releases a lot of dopamine into our systems, and so Dopamine is, of course, a wonderful feel-good Neurotransmitter chemical in our body that when it goes surging through us, we feel good and happy. If you could just hook me up. But you know, people have said that, yeah, sugar is as addictive as heroin. Heroin to release is dopamine, is my understanding. So I think that there's something there with Dopamine that is kind of the addictive substance more than the right itself. But then, yeah, if you add to it, we make things off limits and then we sneak it. Yes, that is a dopamine hit too if I sneak the sneaking, and getting away with it there gives me a dopamine hit.
Speaker 1:
How often am I gonna sneak some broccoli? It's just not gonna happen for me at all, ever. But if I'm gonna sneak anything in my whole history, it would have been sugary probably. We'll put those two things together and I can see that there would be this sense of I gotta have more. Is it the sugar? Is it sneaking? Is it the dopamine? Yeah, I think it's those things. Then I've had these seasons in my life where I want to be free from Feeling like I got to get a candy bar, I got to get a cookie or I got to get something sweet, and where I've just sworn off of all of the things that we often call quote treats, close quote, and I felt so proud of myself for days and days without. Can you identify with that at all, christina Well?
Speaker 2:
a little bit. But okay, so this is what would happen to me. I would go down this same road where I would think this is the answer for me, for all my food and eating issues, is Just to completely restrict sugar out of my life. This must be the answer. So just a few hours later I mean not even days I would have this huge rebellion come up and it felt like it felt like I was, you know, out there in the middle of the field in a battle and I'm like where did this come from here? I am telling myself to do it. Nobody else is telling me to do it.
Speaker 1:
Well, it's interesting that you would say the thing about being out in the field and feeling like you're a battle, because some people would say that's because you're addicted.
Speaker 2:
You know what. Actually, rebellious is one of the names I used to call myself. I used to think I was rebellious about a lot of things. I used to think that that was kind of part of who I was, like a negative part of who I was. Well, I'm just rebellious. That's how I am. I just buck the system, I buck everything. I want to go my own way. I never, ever, liked the idea of somebody telling me what to do, not even if it was you. No Well, and it wasn't me. Really, it was the pressure all around me.
Speaker 2:
It was all my friends who were doing it, and my mom did the same thing many times in front of me.
Speaker 2:
We are going to have no more of these things in the house. She would throw it all away, get rid of it all for just a few days and then end up wanting it even more, binging out of control. That was the pattern that I watched with her. She would kind of go from the extremes of being like a nutrition guru type thing, you know, like a person who knew everything about nutrition and read all the articles, and I mean she was like obsessed on that end. And then she'd go to the other end and she said and now she'd actually announce it. She'd say, now we're going to goof, we're going to mess up, and now we're going to have whatever we want today, and she would go and buy it all. I know it's no wonder I have all these issues. So when I started with thin within and intuitive eating and all of that, my kids were like school age and I thought, oh my gosh, what have I done?
Speaker 2:
Like I've done all the same things and so I tried some experiments. Instead of saying you can have a cookie when you're done with your meal, I started putting cookies on their plates with the meal. Did you really? I did. I experimented because I thought I've like added into this, I've contributed, and I started, instead of saying no, we're not going to buy candy at the grocery store, I would say you can pick something, go ahead and pick something. And I try to kind of make a balance, I try to kind of normalize it.
Speaker 2:
So one of the things that I have really really enjoyed about thin within now, revelation within and kind of this whole approach to spirit led eating, is that there's no good foods, no bad foods. It's just food. They're just ingredients. There's no power or magic behind certain foods. Food is abundance and blessing from the Lord. So I've now been renewing my mind about those very things for almost 10 years and I'm not perfect, that's okay. I've grown that out. For the most part, I do feel like I enjoy a much more balanced perspective about food than I ever have in my whole life.
Speaker 2:
Now I have to say that this Christmas I had some struggles. Why, do you think? Because my mom's not with us anymore. I missed her very much. Christmas was a really big deal to both of my parents, but especially my mom, and we had this German, special German chocolate that was made in my mom's hometown Marzipan right, yes, and honestly I felt so drawn to it. It was really hard for me to have it in the house and that's not something I've had to really deal with in a long time, but it does come up when I miss her.
Speaker 2:
And this type of Marzipan chocolate you can only get it once a year. We got one store here in Colorado Springs. Now I could purchase it from Germany. It'd be very expensive, but still, it's just food. It's just food. It's just ingredients mixed together. It's just food. But for me, that particular food, I've got a really emotional attachment and I knew where I put it. I put it away so that it would be special for Christmas, which kind of felt like hiding it, and I knew where it was. Did you put it in the metal box, though? No, the metal box wasn't big enough actually, or I might have. No, I don't think I would have, but I did put it away. I put it in the closet, I put it in a bag. Nobody knew where it was, except me, and I did sneak it, I did.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so you had those dopamine hits coming to you.
Speaker 2:
And it's like I was a little kid again. It kind of bunched me right back to being a little girl and climbing up to get that box and everything. But it's again renewing my mind with God's thoughts. It's just food. There's no magic there and I'm not connected to my mom when I'm eating these foods. The memories are there and those are great and those are mine forever and I do miss. I miss her very much, but she's in heaven now. She's having a grand time, best time ever. So I don't need to, I don't have to worry about where she is. But there was a little bit of a relief when everybody ate it and it was gone. I struggled with it.
Speaker 1:
Well, you know, I appreciate your, you know sharing that with us, both your vulnerability, honesty and and then just the fact that so often we have attachments to certain foods. Most of the time they're sweet. Sometimes there are other things and it's related to the people, the memories, the environment we were in, and it's like if we could just disconnect somehow. In our minds it's not the food that brought the joy, it's the person, it's the way they treated us, it's the environment they created, kind of like you've described with your grandma. If we could return to that instead of eating the food that we associate with that what if we were to renew our minds and take time to give God thanks.
Speaker 1:
You know, I have some wonderful memories about a very crusty crumbudgy and of a grandma who she would babysit me for long periods of time, sometimes like for days, and I hated it when she would come. But I tell you what, if I came home from school and she was baking peanut butter cookies, oh it would be an amazing afternoon. And it was amazing in an environment where I was abused. I wasn't abused by her, I was being a butter cookies in that same space. So it's no small wonder that when I think of peanut butter cookies I get warm fuzzies, but I can think of them without eating them, and I can think of them and give God gratitude.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for Grandma Bright, who made me feel safe and cozy and comfortable for those brief afternoons in my life when I wasn't safe in that room so very often. So that is something that maybe the listener here could kind of experiment with. Invite God into it and see if you struggle with a certain food in particular and whether it's a sugary one or not. I ask God, is this really an addiction or an attachment to sugar itself, or is there a memory here that I really want to relive and ask him if he can show you and kind of dismantle that for you so that you can experience the really wonderful memory without having to eat.
Speaker 2:
Honestly, I feel much the same way about mashed potatoes. So it's not just sugar. No, it's not. I was going to mention to remember that time. I came to visit you, heidi, and you were living in your fifth wheel in a campground. It was so cool. It was this amazing little community and, like a historical community, it was just amazing. Thank you.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, look it up on the web Anybody who wants to. Columbia, California is a great destination for tourists. Yeah, and I remember.
Speaker 2:
I visited and you had found this adorable little bakery. It was so cute, just tiny tiny, and if I remember right, they made peanut butter cookies.
Speaker 2:
Yes, and other things too, but I remember that you and I talked about that and you shared those memories with me of your grandma and that season in your life and you and I enjoyed those cookies together and it was fine and it was good. It wasn't a big deal, we were hungry. We enjoyed it together, we didn't have too much. I think we even shared because they were kind of big and that was fine and that was a way to enjoy the time we had together. It was fine. It wasn't like we had to say let's run the other way from that little bakery, or let's have another 12 cookies to take home or whatever.
Speaker 1:
We didn't do that. Yeah, and this makes me think about when I have had the privilege of coaching people who have been in that struggle with sugar. They feel like sugar is the enemy and they kind of get nervous about not having any foods off limits when they've come to thin within that revelation within, and I've encouraged them that they have to think differently about sugar or about that particular food before they can reintroduce it into their lives. Don't expect that if you have it in your home, you're just going to finally be AOP with it on the spot, and so renewing our minds about the specific foods that we want to be free to eat can be super helpful. And, christina, have you had to do that with any food in particular?
Speaker 2:
Oh, yes, again and again, and again and again, because really I mean, how many years did I think all those thoughts, thoughts like I can't have this in the house. I am out of control. If I have this, if I start, I'll never be able to stop. And really, those are not true, those are lies. And yes, maybe it was true in the past for me, so we could call them little tea truths. It was true in the past. But going forward, it doesn't have to be. If my thoughts are made new, they're different, they're new. I'm trading out those old lies for new thoughts. Did God put these foods on the planet to torture me? No, he did not.
Speaker 1:
He did not. And there are people who have said to me food at the time, that God created man and all of that was very different than it is now. That's true, and now the companies are putting things and chemicals and whatnot into foods to make it more addictive. I have no knowledge of that, but maybe it's true, maybe it's not. See, I think that if we have the perspective that it's just food and it's moderation, it just seems like that would make all the difference in the world. I mean, really, is it my moderate approach to eating a cookie when I'm hungry, or at the end of a meal after I've been hungry and I have room still? Is that what I am afraid of? Or is it the way I overeat it, that what makes me rush to?
Speaker 2:
the all or nothing. Thing.
Speaker 1:
And that I really think we do that. So the renewing of the mind about a certain food, what does that look like for you when you've done that? Let's be real concrete so the listener could say, okay, I want to try that. What are some thoughts?
Speaker 2:
The first thing is invite God in. It's always first, because my wisdom falls flat. I need God's wisdom, I need his insight. It's so much deeper than mine. So that's first is okay.
Speaker 2:
Lord, I'm struggling with feeling this pull toward this particular food and, like you said, heidi, it's not always sweet. Some people are very drawn to I don't know some other kind of food that is comforting to them. You know it's something they always go to for comfort. So the first thing I say is okay, lord, help me with this.
Speaker 2:
Is there a situation in my life where this food came up something in my past? Maybe it's something now? Did it involve a certain relationship with somebody? Was it positive, was it negative? What happened with that? So that's the first thing.
Speaker 2:
And then also, you know, maybe it's just kind of a habit, a pattern, maybe it's an old pattern of beliefs and thoughts, that kind of a thing. For me, what has been so powerful is to trade out those thoughts for thoughts that are true and then say those again and again and again, so I might create a truth list. I have truth lists about specific foods chocolate chip cookies or cake or that kind of thing. My grandma made us these amazing chocolate chip cookies when I was a child, so that's a big one for me too. There's a certain kind of donut. That's a big one for me too, but again, it's connected to a person, a memory, a relationship. So if I can, with a Lord, separate out what is true from what is not and separate out the food from the memory and the emotions, and this doesn't have to take very long I mean it can be pretty quick If I write these down, think about them and say them out loud.
Speaker 2:
It's like, wait a minute, there's no magic here. And I use that word magic because, honestly, I think that I felt for a long time Like there was some magic there, like I would feel so much better if I had one of those or two of those, or 10 of those or 20 of those. That's a lie. That is a lie In some ways, you know. I mean it's like anything that's too much. It's that feeling that I need more. I need more. I need more to feel better. Whatever it is, it doesn't even have to be food or sugar, it can be anything. We are desperate to feel better because this world is so hard.
Speaker 2:
It's tough and we have sorrow and disappointment and frustration and we have anger a lot to deal with here on this earth, and so it makes sense that we would be grabbing for something that would make us feel better.
Speaker 1:
When I think of renewing my mind about specific foods before trying to have them in the home, whether it's, you know, encouraging somebody to really let this spirit-led eating approach, with no foods off limit, have a chance, or if it's my own life I feel like it's really helpful for me to ask God to show me what is true about this food. Kind of like remember the way you've talked about the scale before saying this scale owns me. What is going on, lord? What is true about this scale? You know you've done that in order to be able to not be mastered by the scale. If I do that with food I come up with, you know his spirit in me will impress upon me truth about the food that I'm struggling with having in my home with freedom, and I can speak that truth out loud over and over and over again.
Speaker 1:
Whatever it might be, it is just food might be at the top of that list, it is just food. There is no shortage of this food. I mean for me those are two that God has given to me a number of times. If I want it and it's not in the home, I can go get it anytime. I am not being naughty by eating this food. I can eat this anytime I'm hungry. It's not naughty, I mean, and it makes a difference. It's like if I think I'm naughty, then, oh my gosh, I can't imagine not, you know having it around and not having it around. It's like I'm in this whirlwind of overthinking the whole thing. But if I believe what God says is true, that there's an abundance, you live in a place where there's lots of stores you can get it all anytime you want and then eat it when you're hungry.
Speaker 1:
Wow, the pressure is off, if I just believe the truth, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:
I love that. It's so true. Heidi and I know we've both seen that in our lives so many times. I pulled out my truth list about baking and baked goods. Should I share that? That's what. I was looking at yeah, exactly, okay. So I have this truth list that I created about baking and baked goods because for so many years I thought I will never be able to bake again. I'm going to just stop baking because it's just out of control. I can't deal with it. It's not all or nothing thinking isn't it Nothing, yeah, totally all or nothing.
Speaker 2:
And so I created this truth list and I've used it many, many times. I read this before I bake and it helps me so much. And this is what might sound crazy to somebody out there, but when I read this truth list and renew my mind and invite God in, it takes about 30 seconds, maybe 45 seconds before I bake. I do not feel that out of control. Pull to the food, to licking and having too much and grabbing handfuls out of the bags or whatever of the ingredients. All of that comes down when I am thinking God's thoughts after him. Okay, so here it is. Number one God made baked goods not to torture me, but to enjoy with friends and family in just right amounts. I mean, how beautiful, that feels so good, that feels doable, that feels like something that lines up with who God is.
Speaker 2:
Number two there's nothing bad about cookies or muffins or cakes or sweet breads. Are they bad? No, they're just food. They're just food. Yeah, there's no moral attribute. Number three I'm free to enjoy baked goods in just right portions when I'm hungry, when my body calls for fuel, I'm free. I'm free, it's okay, it's fine. Number four I enjoy baking for my family, friends and neighbors, and this is a blessing, it's good, it brings joy, it brings life. Number five I have wonderful memories of enjoying baked goods from my grandma, my mom and my aunt in particular. Those are beautiful memories and it just it can stop right there. Enjoy those memories.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you can thank him specifically for some of them and the time that you got to bake with your grandma, and sometimes I think that's all it takes to send some endorphins going through our system. And then we don't crave that dopamine quite so much.
Speaker 2:
And we've talked about how research has shown that gratitude brings that very same dopamine rush. And wow, wouldn't we rather be in that place.
Speaker 1:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
Yes, Okay. Number six eating too much dough or batter causes my tummy to hurt and causes me to eat food and fuel that my body doesn't need. It doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel good in the moment or later. So no, I don't want to do that, I really don't. Number seven sneaking dough or batter actually hurts me physically and causes me shame. Do I want to be living in a place of shame and guilt? No way. I want to be free. I want to be enjoying what God has for me, but his way. Number eight I can choose to prepare dough or batter without licking it all or just licking a few bits. I can set boundaries and I can invite God in and I can stick to those, and you know what that feels really, really good to do that. It feels so good.
Speaker 2:
Number nine God made all of the ingredients of baked goods to combine together to make delicious food for me and my loved ones to enjoy. Isn't it amazing? I always thought it was such a miracle. You put in the flour in a bowl and the eggs and the sugar and the baking soda or whatever the ingredients are, and you mix it up and it becomes this beautiful thing. That's amazing. It's science. It's awesome. Number 10, there is nothing magical about cookies, cakes, muffins, scones they are just food. Number 11, and this one is so important baked goods will never, ever help me with my emotional needs. In fact, eating too much of them will make things worse, a lot worse. I don't want that, no way. Number 12, there's just two more Normal with quotes around it. Normal sized baked goods found in bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores are usually two to three times bigger than a wise, just right portion for me.
Speaker 2:
My daughter brought home this beautiful muffin the other day as a gift for me, and it was huge. In the past I would have eaten the whole thing without even thinking, but I shared it. I had a few bites, that was all I needed. Number 13, inviting God into my baking with praise and gratitude will help me to enjoy his beautiful gifts.
Speaker 1:
That's great. A person who is listening could imagine whether it's making something and licking and tasting, or whether it's buying something and going overboard with it. They could make a truth list, like you just shared, and then you read it before you bake each time.
Speaker 2:
I read it before. I also read it when I share it with others, so I read it other times Out loud is better, oh yeah, better, because of the different learning modalities that are.
Speaker 1:
it's not just visual where I'm looking at it, but I'm seeing it, saying it and hearing it, even though I'm the only one there.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's really, really good. It really helps. Some of these phrases and sentences. I mean, I've read them so many times, I don't even need the truth list in front of me anymore. I'm pulling out the butter and the sugar and I'm getting ready to bake and these thoughts come to mind now oh, this is just food. Oh, I remember enjoying time with my omama. Oh, that was wonderful and special. I mean, the thoughts just come up now because I've renewed my mind so often.
Speaker 1:
So when we say renew your mind about, we'll just say sugar in this case, or sweet foods we're not talking about finding a Bible verse in the Bible and then memorizing it. Is that right?
Speaker 2:
Right, I mean definitely. Everything that I have on a truth list or a truth card lines up with the word of God.
Speaker 1:
I think the gist is if Jesus were to sit with me as I'm preparing to bake, or if he were to drive with me to the store, what are the thoughts he would have about the cookie aisle, or about no baking, or whatever?
Speaker 2:
it might be. Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, anything that's consistent with what he would say to me or what he would want, what thoughts he would want to plant in my head. That is what I want. I want to think with the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2.16, paul says we have the mind of Christ, so I want to think with that mind. And when I think with that mind, it says things to me like there will be plenty of time for that another time when I'm hungry, or that will always be available, or something similar.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, sugar doesn't need to be in this category that we attribute moral value to like. It's really a naughty thing. I think that sets us up for a disaster more often than not. Now, I know a lot of people don't agree with that. That's fine. Yeah, that's fine. Ask the Lord, though, when you think about it something that God has created that has come to be in everything that our society seems to make and eat, and all of that Maybe we want to ask God OK, what is your perspective on the presence of sugar in my life? Instead of just doing what sounds good, we might want to ask him yeah, what do you think?
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. We should ask him about everything. He's the one that has all the wisdom for us.
Speaker 1:
Well, thanks for joining us today. It's been kind of a fun, sweet, sweet episode.
Speaker 2:
Sweet episode. We are so glad that you've been with us today. We hope that this discussion has encouraged you in some way and we're glad that you've been here, and we hope that you join us next time for our next episode of Revelation Within on.
Speaker 1:
Go See you next time. Alright, we'll see you, bye-bye.