Embark on a soul-enriching journey with us as we transition from focusing solely on physical transformation to embracing a spiritual path with Revelation Within. This episode takes a heart-to-heart look at the powerful evolution our ministry has undergone, moving from the Thin Within approach to a more holistic, God-centric mindset about our bodies and the way we eat. With personal stories from our own battles and victories over body image and food, we uncover the emotional and spiritual dimensions that are often neglected in traditional dieting narratives.
We have an honest conversation about the importance of renewing your mind for transformation, as we share strategies to overcome the challenges of food obsession and self-criticism. We discuss how the renewing of one's mind, as described in Romans 12:2, can pave the way to a more peaceful and free existence. The role of community and coaching in our journey is also highlighted, revealing how support and guidance can be the lifeline when navigating the path away from guilt-ridden diets towards a life graced with self-acceptance and divine love.
Lastly, we delve into the 5 Intentions of spirit-led eating and how it prepares us for God's calling, exploring the deep connection between the food we choose and the lives we lead. Join us as we explore the delicate balance of personal responsibility and spiritual reliance to maintain a healthy relationship with food, and how self-care plays a crucial role in being ready to embrace God's plans for us. Whether you're struggling with dietary challenges or seeking a more meaningful approach to living, this episode promises to offer insights that can reshape not just eating habits, but your entire outlook on life's calling.
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, welcome to our podcast 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 Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within. We are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within on the Go.
Speaker 1:
This week on this episode of Revelation. Within on the Go, we're going to address the elephant in the living room, the elephant in the living room?
Speaker 1:
Yes, no elephant, All right. So thousands upon thousands of people, it's true, have come to Revelation Within's predecessor, Revelation Within. From 1975 to 2023, worldwide I mean, this ministry has been worldwide. It really has, yes, it has these folks have wanted to learn an alternative to dieting, something that isn't as harsh to deal with, but they still wanted to lose weight. And now I think people are wondering are you still, are we, Revelation Within, still supporting people who want to lose weight? I mean, we're calling ourselves Revelation Within. We've jettisoned the thin in the name, and so have we thrown out what people came to thin within originally for, and so we thought we would talk about that today. We're going to address this head on.
Speaker 2:
It is something, I think, that probably a lot of people are wondering because, like you said, heidi, it's been thousands and thousands of people over the years. You know, when somebody changes their name in such a well drastic way, I mean, it sounds really different. It looks really different. People want to know what's going on, what happened to you guys, right? So I'm glad that we're talking about this today. I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 1:
And I think a lot of people want to know. Well, can I still talk about weight loss with you?
Speaker 2:
What do you say, christina? Absolutely, absolutely, yes. Well, heidi, both you and I came to thin within because we were so unhappy with our bodies and had an unhealthy relationship with food and eating. That's why we came. You know, at different times we didn't know each other. You came, you know, quite a bit earlier than me, but that's why we came. And so, yeah, at the time I thought it was all about weight loss.
Speaker 2:
I thought it was all about my body. I thought it was all about those things I had, you know, dieted for years and years and years and I know that you did too and it was like there was this emptiness. There was this problem that I knew went beyond food and eating and weight, but that's all I knew that it was about at the time. I didn't understand how deep it went.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
So we definitely want to encourage our participants, our listeners and our private revwithinteam community to continue to come to seek peace with food, eating and their bodies. It's within reach of every single person on this planet.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's just that the weight loss idea isn't the focus, it isn't the driving motivation. Vanity is not the point. That's the world's way of doing it. We're commissioned by God. Don't conform any longer to the pattern of this world but in Romans 12, too, we see, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's where transformation has to start and continue and end, if it ever ends.
Speaker 2:
I know that many that come to us also feel like you know. For all those years I was so worried about how I looked, but now that I'm older I'm just worried about my health. So there's that too. What we're about is what's going on inside, what's going on in our hearts that's causing behaviors that we're not wanting to do. That's not. We're not comfortable with.
Speaker 1:
So back in the day, when we were thin within, a big part of what was encouraged was for people to follow the eight keys to conscious eating. Why don't you tell us, christina, what those keys are?
Speaker 2:
Number one eat when your body is hungry. Number two eat in a calm environment by reducing distractions. Number three eat when sitting. Number four eat when your body and mind are relaxed. Number five eat and drink only the things that your body loves. Number six pay attention only to your food while eating. Number seven eat slowly, savoring each bite. And number eight stop before your body is full.
Speaker 1:
I just have to say those keys are amazing for anybody. It doesn't matter if you want to be a different size. That's not even the point. To me, it's a godly wonderful way of relating to food and eating and your body and your environment, even because we want to eat in a calm environment, we want to be more relaxed than we tend to be in our society, you know, I mean, it's like these really address some issues that we tend to have in our modern day society Go, go, go, go go. I'm off and running and I never stop, and when I do it I'm passing out, you know that sort of thing. So to me, looking at these from this angle, I see them as being such beautiful, positive ways of just living life.
Speaker 2:
You know. I just want to say that I so much appreciate Thin Within and what it was all those years. It's what drew me into a relationship with the Lord that I've never experienced before, even though I've been a Christian pretty much my whole life. Thin Within introduced me to a way of relating to the Lord that was new to me and it was so good and it is so good. And so, yes, there was more of a focus on weight loss. Certainly that's why a lot of people were coming. But the result, when somebody really went through the materials, the Bible studies, were amazing and I know, heidi, that you helped write those. Those materials drew a lot of people to the Lord and still are. And so what I love about our new name is that it really represents what's going on kind of behind the scenes. Right Before it felt like almost behind the scenes, like for me. I came for weight loss, I came to shape shift, I came to go down in my jeans size right.
Speaker 2:
But what I was really hoping for deep down inside was a way to deal with this incredibly strong stronghold, this thing that had a hold of me that I could not get free of, and it was standing in the way of my relationship with the Lord. I was struggling, I was hopeless, as so many of us are that have struggled with food and eating in our bodies, and so the new name is meant to represent what happens to our heart as we surrender, as we give our hearts to the Lord. All these little nuts and bolts sit down while you eat, wait till you're hungry. Those are great, those are wonderful wisdom, but the heart of the matter, where the transformation really happens, is in our thoughts and in our hearts, and so revelation really fits that so much better than focus on a size called thin, I think too, that when many people would come to us over the years and they'd see the keys to conscious eating, they'd say, awesome, I can do that.
Speaker 1:
And they're thinking I can do that and lose weight this way. They're not thinking necessarily about I'm going to have a peaceful relationship with food, and some of them did. But they think that and then they start trying to live that way and they realize this is hard. There are other reasons why I'm running to food, things that aren't addressed in these eight keys. This is how to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're not hungry anymore. But what about all the rest? What am I going to do when I just get this agitated feeling rise up in me and I feel like only food's going to solve the problem I have here? Or when I'm face first into a bag of whatever and I go? What am I doing? And I don't even remember the previous 20 minutes.
Speaker 1:
These aren't addressed in the keys to conscious eating, and that is one reason why we wanted to change the name, because people come to this place of going. Oh my gosh, the keys are right here. They look so easy. I'm struggling with doing them. Why? There? They have a heart that's more open to seeing. Oh, this goes so much deeper than what I thought, and that's the beginning of the revelation, or many revelations to come.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and that is what we see with people again and again, and it's so exciting because they do come with this kind of small idea of what we're about. Ok, we're about these keys, we're about sitting down and being calm when we eat, we're about these kinds of things, and we're about weight loss and all of that. But what happens, though, as we begin to renew our minds and surrender and lean into the Lord for all the things we need, like you said, heidi, what's not addressed here? The emotional stuff. What about the emotional stuff? What about past woundings and patterns that haven't been broken in our lives for years? Lots and lots. There's so many reasons why we eat when we're not hungry, and so people see that and they lean in and it's like wait a minute, wow, this, like you said, it goes so much deeper, and that's where that revelation comes in.
Speaker 1:
So I think what we've done is we've entered into a new era, really, where the focus is not on the physical, the temporary, because we all know how to lose weight. We can tie ourselves to a chair and we'll lose weight, but we'll gain it right back as soon as we're out of the chair. So what is it that draws me to food again and again, and what can I do to minister to that or to let God minister to that? And so we're kind of cutting to the chase. This is a process. We've seen people go months before they finally go oh, it's not about food, eating and weight, and it's like, yes, exactly. Instead, we are just starting at the front end telling everybody that, ok, this isn't about food, eating and weight. There is something, a treasure here so much deeper than landing on the right pants size, which is here today and gone the next day.
Speaker 1:
I hate to say it, but it's true. Without all of the other things being a part, that stronghold, if it's left unattended to, will continue. We want to attend to it. We want to bring those weapons that God gives us. Scripture says that the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world, but we have divine power to demolish strongholds, and that's a wonderful promise that we want to just bring to you at the front end. God promised we'd be transformation, so what are we waiting for? Let's do whatever it takes. Romans 12, 2 says you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So, christina, I would love for you to share that. Yeah, you came to thin within so that you could lose weight, and the keys to conscious eating, and 0 to 5 and all of that. But what did you experience? And I'd love for you to flesh it out how God met you in the emotional place, in that place of meeting Him in order to finally come to a place of being at peace.
Speaker 2:
You lost weight too. Yes, ok. So when I first came to thin within, this was like years and years and years ago I did turn it into a diet, and I know that you've had the same experience. I looked at it with the dieting mentality that I had been entrenched in since I was 14 years old, and I thought this is another diet, but it's different. It looks different, there's something different about it. I'm going to try it. And so I went around in circles and circles and circles, because I did the very same thing that I was always doing. I tried to follow a set of rules, and those were the keys, and I failed again and again, and again.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's like I can't do this. It looks easy, but when you see it on the page, but what's my problem? And we just end up condemning ourselves, like we did with the dieting Right.
Speaker 2:
Exactly, it was the very same thing, but I had invited God in. That was different. And I was doing these beautiful Bible studies that were so good, so rich, and that was different. I was starting to look at truth, what God's viewpoint was about me, about my behavior, about my sin, about kind of everything. I was starting. I was just kind of looking at those things but still kind of acting like it was a diet, almost like I had two separate things going on. I was loving the material, loving the Bible study, like soaking in it, loving the grace too, because I was constantly tripping and stumbling, but at the same time, over here was where the food and eating was. I was kind of holding them separate. When I look back and think about it, when I finally reached a very, very desperate place of just Lord, I don't know what to do. Nothing is working for me, Nothing, and I cannot get past this and I want to eat so badly at times, the pull to food is so strong. What is this? What is going?
Speaker 2:
on in me Me too. What is happening? I mean, it's got to go deeper than just following a list of rules. Even though they look so simple, there's got to be more to this.
Speaker 1:
And of course, we would always say, though there aren't rules, they're just keys, they're guidelines, but I don't care what you call them, I was failing at them.
Speaker 2:
I was failing at them too and I thought, how can I not get this? And if I'm failing at this, well, I'm really a mess. I mean that's like anyway. I mean I really was very, very down on myself, very self-condemning. What made the difference for you? I went back on the Thin Within website, desperate for something else. You know, you know the story, heidi, and I found you. I found a coach I didn't know there was anything like that, while you were the only one. But still I thought, okay, you know what, maybe this is what I'm lacking. I need to link arms with somebody.
Speaker 2:
I really had no community. I didn't have anyone around me that understood what I was going through. I knew a lot of dieters. I knew a lot of people who were very much entrenched in the dieting mentality, but I didn't know anyone who had kind of gone to a new place with the Lord, a finding piece with food and eating, and you had. You were there, you were the one, and I was like, okay, this is my last effort. If this doesn't work, you know, I'm just going to completely give up. But what I knew? I knew that God didn't want me to give up. I knew that God had something better, much better, because in his word he talks about freedom, he talks about abundant life, he talks about abiding joy with him. And on the outside I was kind of pretending all those things, but on the inside it wasn't there, I was stuck, I was trapped, all of those things you know very much, trapped in guilt and shame. And so you said to me okay, you've done all the materials.
Speaker 1:
All the materials, all the Bible studies, all the books.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's not like we were going to sit down and go through one of those together, because I had already done them all, but you knew exactly what I needed. After listening to me tell my story, you knew that I needed to learn how to change my thoughts. I needed to learn how to renew my mind so that my thoughts were lining up with God's thoughts more and more and more. And then that would somehow, amazingly enough, lead to my desires changing, my beliefs changing, and lead to my actions changing. And that sounded impossible to me. It sounded like some kind of a crazy magical solution. I thought, really, my thoughts are important like that. I don't know, that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2:
But I was in a very desperate place, which is a great place to begin because you're so open and ready and willing. So that's where I began with you together, you know. I mean, you taught me how to renew my mind and I just ate it up. I jumped in with both feet, basically, and I thought, okay, I got rid of my scale at the time. Well, it was broken. Anyway, I threw it out. I did not get a new one. I said I am taking my focus off of weight for the first time in my adult life, I'm taking my focus off of my pants size, off of a list of rules or restrictions or whatever you want to call them. I'm going to take my focus off of all of that and figure out how to change my thought patterns, how to think more like God.
Speaker 1:
Well thinking.
Speaker 2:
God's thoughts, yeah, yeah, thinking God's thoughts, having the mind of Christ. I didn't understand any of that and I'm still a work in progress, but I'm loving so much living that way and I think so much of it too was the dailiness of it. It's like, okay, you can read a book and get all kinds of wisdom and knowledge and Bible study and all of that, but where's the dailiness? Tell me how to live that life. How do I do it? How do I live a life of mind renewal with the Lord? How do I do that? And that's what we worked on, you and I, for just a few short months before you had an awful health crisis, but then we became so close and prayer partners and partners in ministry and best friends and all of those wonderful things I'm so grateful for. But that is where the difference All of a sudden, my whole world was different, because my thoughts were different.
Speaker 2:
I looked at things differently. My mindset was different. I looked at my body in a different way. I looked at my relationship with the Lord, who God was, in a different way. Everything started changing and I was not focused on weight and food and eating. Those things began to fall into place in a totally new way, totally fresh way, because I was renewing my mind. I was focused on what's important to you, god. How can I give you glory what's important to you? And yes, of course, food and eating was part of my life, so that changed as well, and I did release weight at the time, and I didn't even notice that it was happening at the time.
Speaker 2:
It happened as I renewed my mind, as I looked to the Lord, as I let go of all those old thoughts and thought patterns that were so destructive for me.
Speaker 1:
That makes me think of one of our participants who was in Mind Renewal 101 with us. She came to Mind Renewal 101 to deal with an entirely different thing, her perspective generally and specifically to a different area, and then she said I didn't even know I was losing weight at the same time. It was like the Mind Renewal. It really is true. If we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, thinking with the mind of Christ, as it says in 1 Corinthians 2.16, all these things will be added to us. That's Jesus' own words in Matthew 6.33. And so I think that that can't be overstated, that we want to make the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is our God. And so if we keep putting pursuit of thin in front of everything else, like many of us do, oh goodness, you know what is a scriptural self-perception.
Speaker 2:
And.
Speaker 1:
I'm so glad you asked because we have a class specifically on yeah, we want to. We want to think with the mind of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit himself to lead us in the way we think, the way we think about food and eating. And so we decided to kind of repackage those eight keys to conscious eating, but they are paired with this pursuit of renewing our minds, of thinking with the mind of Christ. But let's go ahead and talk about why we've called these the five intentions of spirit lead eating. And really, romans 8, 5 says to set the mind on flesh is dead, on the flesh is dead, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.
Speaker 1:
And you know my old way of thinking that's called the flesh in the Bible. My old way of thinking and being that way of thinking about food, eating in my body was nothing good about it at all, and bread death into my life. And it's when I focus my attention on the spirit of God and on what he's calling me into, I have a totally different way of responding to food and eating in my body. And do I want food right now? Do I not need food right now? So let's, let's talk about that. We created this using some of those keys. Share those with us, won't you? Christina?
Speaker 2:
If my body is a gift from God to me, if I am fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image and by his careful and loving design. I mean, if this is really true, if this is what I'm thinking about, renewing my mind about, if I'm thinking about and believing that I am his beautiful masterpiece, his poetry in motion, one of a kind, I mean, if I'm looking to the Holy Spirit for his wisdom and loving leadership, what will my response be? You know, if I'm really intentionally, on a daily basis, renewing my mind about these truths and others that line up with God's word, I'm going to start honoring my God given body with these intentions.
Speaker 2:
And that's kind of what we had in mind as we wrote them out.
Speaker 1:
Right, right.
Speaker 1:
And to pair them with mind renewal is vital, because without talking to God about what are your thoughts about this God?
Speaker 1:
And telling myself the truth again and again about how good it feels to be free from the tyranny of my emotions, and responding to those with food, I may not be able to do these intentions. It may require the gritting of my teeth, and that's just the flesh, and the mind controlled by the flesh is death. So sooner or later, I'm not going to be able to hold it together anymore. So the first intention of the five intentions of spirit led eating is I will busy myself as the Holy Spirit leads until I prayerfully sense a physical hunger signal. Now to renew my mind about that, I might tell myself you know, I have practiced eating when I'm not hungry for years, or I have practiced denying my hunger for years, and neither of these have brought me life. I want to do what will lead to life and abundant life in Christ, and so that alone, if I could tell myself that enough, I will be willing to eat in response to a physical hunger signal.
Speaker 2:
I love that because, again, it's your response to what is true about you, about God. I just love that. It's beautiful, it's life giving, yes, Okay. So number two I think this is my favorite one because it's just, it's so key, it's so, so, so key. I will invite the spirit of God into my meal with a heart of gratitude and praise. Imagine doing that every time you eat. Imagine building a routine, a pattern in your life of gratitude and praise every time you eat, inviting God in. How is that going to change my response, the way I eat, what I'm thinking as I'm eating, what I'm thinking about myself? I mean, how is that going to change? It's going to change everything, especially if we do it every day.
Speaker 2:
It really does, it really, it really does.
Speaker 1:
Yes, and it doesn't have to be about weight when we do these things I mean, it's not. I want to incorporate an awareness of the Lord's presence, provision, his power, everything into my life all day long, every day of my life, and so incorporating Him into my eating is really an awesome way of walking with Him, so intentionally, throughout the day, because I'm going to eat numerous times a day, so it can kind of act like a reminder system. Whenever I'm hungry, oh, I get to connect with God as I fuel my body, which is so cool, all right. The third intention of spirit-led eating is I will choose food that delights my taste buds and causes my body to feel energized and strong in a just right-sized portion. Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:
We don't have to deny ourselves those things that we enjoy, unless the spirit leads us to say no to something for a season, for whatever reason. He has reasons of his own, but I also can rely on him to show me how I can eat in a way that will be a blessing to me, energize me and strengthen me and not overeat. So I need him for that. I need to lead into him. So I mean that's one of the things is we want to recognize we can't do these things on our own. It's going to result in failure. We need the spirit to lead us, the spirit to strengthen us and empower us.
Speaker 2:
Food and eating is just one of many, many, many counterfeit comforts. I love using that word. It's counterfeit, it's fake. It's just one of many. You could rewrite these for any issue that you're dealing with that is over too much spending too much scrolling on your phone, too much TV watching, too much of anything, and so, really, we're just focusing on this right now because we're talking about the transition from then within to revelation within. But you could rewrite these intentions for anything that you're struggling with.
Speaker 2:
We know when we're out of balance. We know when things are not right. We can sense it, it doesn't feel right and, like you said, it's destructive actually. So let's go to the next one. I will create a peaceful eating experience by being present with the food and reducing distractions. So I love these. I love this one. Yes, god is doing the work in us. Yes, he's the one that is healing us and transforming us, but there is a part that we play. We have to step out and do it. We have to step out and ask him, invite him in, and here again, we're stepping out and creating a peaceful eating experience. We're going to be present with the food. We're going to bring down the distractions. We're going to delight in the food we're going to invite God in. Those are steps that we can take in this journey in faith, and then God meets us right there.
Speaker 1:
Yes, he does All right. And number five of our spirit led eating intentions is I will stop eating before my stomach is full, at the peaceful place, of just enough, and this reminds me that my body only needs so much fuel in any given day. And really, if I'm looking to the Holy Spirit to strengthen me and equip me and empower me throughout my day and throughout my meal, this isn't as hard as it may sound. You know consistency. Yeah, it might be tough.
Speaker 1:
We encourage people to be perfectly imperfect. That means that means that when we find ourselves overeating or getting off track in some way, invite God to show me was I just distracted or was there some other thing in operation at the time that kept me from stopping eating when would have been best? In any event, I love these intentions because number one their intentions I have to be intentional to do them. And I love that their spirit led because I need him in order to do these things. And, of course, every time I eat I can reconnect with God, and this is what these remind me of. Over the next couple of weeks, we're going to unpack these intentions a little bit and also address some of the challenges that may face us when we attempt to let the spirit lead us with our eating.
Speaker 2:
Lately, heidi, you've been talking about something that I just absolutely love and I would love for you to share. What do you mean when you say I just want to be ready? I just want to be ready for what God is calling me to. What do you mean by that? Can you explain that a little bit?
Speaker 1:
Sure, in Ephesians 2.10, I'm reminded and really it's profound to me and it still is. It still beats with a new whole level of everything in my life. I am his masterpiece and I was created in Christ specifically to do something. So the fact that I am his masterpiece is, I rest in that truth and there's nothing I can do. I've mentioned this on the podcast before. There's nothing I can do to not be a masterpiece and nothing I can do to be a masterpiece it's just because the master made me.
Speaker 1:
As I sit in that and believe that truth, I recognize the rest of Ephesians 2.10 that I'm created in Christ Jesus to do wonderful things that God has created in advance for me to do, and I just want to be my best self, be the best I can be in Christ and the best I can be.
Speaker 1:
That he leads me to do that, the Holy Spirit leads me to do, so that I'm ready for whatever he calls me to. What of those Ephesians 2.10 tasks does he have that he's preparing to call me to step into? So I mean it may mean getting the rest. I need being hydrated, making sure that there are no medical issues that I haven't attended to, moving my body, at least a little bit, you know, to just keep the kinks out of it and to keep the joints from aching as I am able, again, as the Holy Spirit leads, noting that nothing, nothing should have me captivated except the love of Christ, and that all put together is going to enable me to be ready for whatever God calls me to. So my motivation for being led by the spirit in my eating has changed completely from focusing on my way to I just want to focus on him and be ready to do whatever he calls me to. That's really what it's about for me.
Speaker 2:
I love the freedom in that, the hope in that, the joy in that. I mean again just looking to the Lord, it's like what do you want, god? What's best for me from your point of view, and that just totally frees us up in so many ways. So I love that. Thank you for sharing it, heidi.
Speaker 1:
All right. Well, I'm looking forward to the next couple of conversations we have about spirit led eating and what it looks like and what the challenges are to doing it, so I hope our people will be back for it.
Speaker 2:
Yes, me too. I'm excited about it. I'm excited. Come on back and we'll just keep going on this topic and we'll go a little deeper. We're so glad that you've been here and we hope that you will join us for our next episode of Revelation Within on the go.