Mind Renewal, Not A Free Pass

What if peace with food doesn’t start with more rules but with a renewed mind and reordered love? In this episode, we sit on the porch and wrestle with a question many of us face: does focusing on mind renewal mean we get a free pass to eat anything, anytime? As we unpack Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:13, and Colossians 2, we talk about how real freedom grows—not from control or indulgence—but from connection. Together, we explore how intimacy with God reshapes our desires, how gratitude replaces shame, and how caring for our bodies can flow from wisdom instead of fear or striving.

We also bring this conversation down to earth—addressing diets, GLP-1 medications, and surgery without shame or judgment. No matter the path, the real invitation is to pause and ask, “God, what are Your thoughts about this for me?” With simple tools like a breath prayer—inhale, “Jesus, I want to know You,” exhale, “more than I want control”—we make space for Spirit-led choices that last. If your soul is weary from the tug-of-war between rules and rebellion, this episode offers rest, reflection, and a gentler way home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Porch Welcome And Topic Setup
• 1:45 What Mind Renewal Really Means
• 3:10 Free Pass Or New Perspective
• 5:20 Intimacy With God Over Food Rules
• 6:50 Romans 12:2 And Transformed Desires
• 9:00 Does God Care About What I Eat
• 11:20 No Judgment On Methods Or Meds
• 14:30 Using God Or Being Changed By Him
• 17:00 Is Wanting Weight Loss Wrong
• 19:10 Shame, Culture, And Lovability
• 22:10 God Looks At The Heart
• 24:20 Seek First The Kingdom In Eating
• 26:20 Freedom Isn’t License Or Rules

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:01

Hi, welcome to our podcast, Revelation Within on the Co. I'm Heidi Files for Everestina within your coach. And I'm the only lead coach of the RevelationWithin.org Ministry.

SPEAKER_00: 0:13

And I'm Christina Motley, your other coach. Also a revelation within the country. We are so happy to be fine here enjoying us. It's because Heidi is actually with me in person right here. Right here in Colorado on my porch. That is super, super, super special. Yes, I think so too.

unknown: 0:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 0:54

And we want to invite you on my porch too. Yeah, come on. We want to outfit. Come on in. We'll make the porch bigger somehow.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02

All right. Well, after we do that, we want to talk about something. You know, maybe it's on your mind too, but we're going to gently yet boldly, we're going to go where no person has gone before. No, I'm kidding. Um, boldly kind of address something that we have heard often. I know I have, especially from people who are just starting to kind of dip their toes in the water of mind renewal. They've been pursuing weight loss, and now they're wondering, what does this talk about renewing my mind? And what's it got to do with this? Right. And they don't really know what it means yet. Uh so, or, or they have a lot of questions. You might fit into any of those categories.

SPEAKER_00: 1:41

Yeah, it usually sounds a little something like if mind renewal is the focus, I feel like I have a free pass to eat whatever I want. And kind of whenever I want to.

SPEAKER_01: 1:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:55

Like it's just kind of this big, wide open space.

SPEAKER_02: 2:00

Yeah. Oh boy. And let's be honest, that you know, that sounds really good. That sounds really good, maybe, or it might be appealing. But we want to really slow down and kind of get curious what's going on in my heart when I ask a question like that. And it's not with condemnation and it's not with fear, it's just with compassionate curiosity. Yes. I really want to ask what's going on inside of me. And I might think that. Is it a free pass?

SPEAKER_00: 2:30

Or is it a potentially new perspective? Yeah, exactly. Well, and you mentioned that that might sound appealing, but to some it sounds like, ah, no restrictions. Give me the rules. Give me the rules. Like, I can't do that. I'm gonna, you know, go out of control. It's like gonna ruin my life. So there's kind of both ends to that. Um, and I think that I can relate, you know, from years ago when I first started, I can relate to both of those sides of it. Yeah, so and you know, that those comments stir up a mix of things in us compassion, of course, a little concern, definitely, and definitely a desire to clarify. Yeah. Like, let's really talk about this because whatever we're doing, whatever we're thinking, whatever's happening on the outside reveals something deeper in us. It reveals what's going on on the inside in our hearts. When we truly begin to renew our minds, which is thinking God's thoughts after him, everything changes. It really does. It does. And not just what we eat or when we eat, our desires actually shift. What we want to do, our want-to shifts. Our values shift, our focus shifts, and eventually our actions shift as well.

SPEAKER_02: 3:52

Yeah, and you know what else changes? Why I eat. Right. That's a big one. And even though it's kind of implied in what you said, I just want to say it outright, not just what, not just when, but why. Yeah, and that's definitely and that's the impact mind renewal can have on me because I'm asking God, what are your thoughts about that? Right. You know, mind renewal isn't intended to be not by God, not by our ministry either, as a transaction to kind of arrive at a place, peace with food. Right, right. Um, it's not a like a spiritual loophole of some sort to avoid hard choices or because it's the easy way out. Mind renewal, though, is a relational transformation. It's about intimacy with God. And when we walk, you know, closely with Him, maybe even in a way that we haven't ever thought of before, we start to value and cherish what He values and cherishes, including how we treat the body He's entrusted to our care. And I'm not just talking about your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, so you better exercise it and feed it food you don't like. I'm not talking about that at all. No, no.

SPEAKER_00: 5:04

You want to read Romans 12, 2, 4? Sure. And this is a verse, it's one of our cornerstone verses at Revelation Within. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

SPEAKER_02: 5:21

We're not just gonna avoid worldly patterns like, you know, dieting and restriction. We're also kind of refusing to think with the world's mindset about our value, our body, our worth, our food. And instead, we're going to God and saying, What do you have to say about that? We're letting God change the way we think and ultimately change our desires.

SPEAKER_00: 5:44

Yeah, and you know, that might be something you've never done before. I mean, that might sound like, what are you talking about? Like, this is my weird little issue. This is the way I used to think about it. You know, I feel like I need to pull myself together, figure this out, and then go to God. But you're saying that God is inviting us to bring this to Him exactly where we are, and to invite Him to come to the middle of our mess.

SPEAKER_02: 6:11

Well, and it makes sense when you stop and think about it. He made us.

SPEAKER_01: 6:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 6:16

He has been with us every second of every day of every year of our lives. Right. And He knows how we tick, He knows how we think, He knows what our bodies need. Yes, He knows what our mind needs, our heart needs. Yeah. I mean, He knows. So why would I think that this is an aspect of my life that I'm just going to do what's right in my own eyes? Right. Instead of saying, God, I reach out to you. Tell me.

SPEAKER_00: 6:40

Well, it might be because you think, oh, well, God's got more important things to deal with than um, should I have another bite of this or should I eat this instead of that? I mean, doesn't God have more important things to deal with?

SPEAKER_02: 6:53

It's a good question, and it's one we hear often. And, you know, really when you think about the heartache, the challenge, the mental bandwidth, even our heart bandwidth, you know, all of the things that food and eating and body image has challenged us with.

SPEAKER_00: 7:10

Of course it's important to get it. Of course it is. It really is. Of course it is.

SPEAKER_02: 7:14

Well, and we want to just mention that it's important to recognize, like this, call it a heart check, if you will. We want to just gently offer this at Revelation Within. I want you to hear this, listener. We don't believe or teach. We don't, if you think you hear us teach this, please let us know. And we want to be sure we straighten out and fly right. We don't believe or teach that someone who chooses to diet instead of more intuitive approach. Or someone who chooses to use a GLP1 medication, you know, the injectables that people are all the rage now, or people who pursue weight loss surgery automatically in sin. No, we don't teach that. We don't believe that. Likewise, here's an important one too: someone who doesn't pursue those things like uh weight loss drugs or surgery or dieting or whatever. People who don't do those things are not on a higher spiritual plane. We do not teach that they are. This isn't about labeling methods, it's about what we are encouraging is that we pursue intimacy and alignment with God. And so to do that, we encourage strongly, like Christina has said, invite God into these decisions. If you are being told by your doctor to consider GOP1 medication or some other surgery or whatever, a diet, ask God, what are your thoughts about this path for me? And don't necessarily just swallow what you're being offered without inviting God in. Invite him in. And he may say, Yes, this is my plan for you. He may say, I have something better.

SPEAKER_00: 8:58

Yeah, so that simple, sincere question can open up space for healing, clarity, and freedom. And if we find ourselves resisting that question, you know, that might reveal something deeper, a place in our hearts where God wants to do some tender work. We are all on our own journey. Yes. And each one of us has a unique set of circumstances and past experiences and physical and emotional challenges. I mean, we've we're all unique. So we just really want to bring that home is that we are not at all ever judging choices that someone else is making for different reasons.

SPEAKER_02: 9:40

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 9:41

We just want to encourage you to see this as an invitation to, you know, an invitation from God. Talk to me, child. You know, talk to him like he's your best friend. Yeah. Because he really is. He really is. He is for you. He knows your wounds, he knows your emotional stress and struggles, you know, stuff that happened in your childhood, things that are happening now, heartaches. He knows all of that. And then also the physical parts. He knows what's challenging you physically that might be very unique. Heidi and I are both going through seasons where we are having to kind of look at, you know, well, how are we doing and why, and different physical challenges that we both have. And we're inviting God in as well. We're on our own journeys and we're praying each other through.

SPEAKER_02: 10:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 10:34

So it might be helpful to ask, are we using God or are we being changed by Him? So, you know, let's be real. Most people who find their way into this ministry are seeking relief. I was from the torment around food. We feel tortured by food and eating. We feel like, did God put food on this planet to torture us? Because why is this so hard for me? Many are also secretly or not so secretly hoping for weight loss. Well, and and you know what? That's okay.

SPEAKER_02: 11:10

Yeah, that's okay. Of course, that's why I came too. And it's okay to acknowledge this is what I'm after. And we aren't going to condemn anybody who's after that, of course. It's also very human. But here's the difference that we want to invite you into. When mind renewal becomes a means to get what we want, even if it's peace or a smaller body size or a different body size, we're still kind of using God like a vending machine. We don't want to be about that. But when mind renewal becomes a way to kind of know him, to love him, to reflect him, to be more in alignment with him. Yeah. That's when it gets really good. And it starts, it starts to transform our character, not just our cravings.

SPEAKER_00: 11:57

Yeah. Yeah. So really, I mean, we get this question all the time. People come to us in our classes and for coaching, and they might ask, is it wrong for me to want to lose weight? Like, what's the big deal here?

SPEAKER_02: 12:10

And we did a podcast episode on that a couple weeks ago. So have a look at that for a full-length address.

SPEAKER_00: 12:17

Yeah, exactly. So wrong, no, no, no, not wrong. But what about some questions that might help us get started? Like, what's motivating you? A lot of the people that come to our classes and our one-on-one coaching are motivated by shame. That's why we have a whole class called From Shame to Shalom. Because we are motivated by the world, we're motivated by the culture, we're motivated by shame, past experiences, guilt, all kinds of things. Um, we want to know about that. We want to bring all of that into the light with the Lord because there's healing that's needed. What about this one? This question. Am I measuring my lovability by my size? Yikes or my ability to be accepted or, you know, to be okay in society. That's tough. That's a tough place to live. Judging yourself or others by appearance, and again, that's that's a tough place to live.

SPEAKER_02: 13:18

You know, and I just want to say for those of us that really have been trained from earliest days of our childhood, our youth, whatever, that being overweight is a sin indicative of all kinds of hidden other sins. If you are one that struggles with that, I would invite God directly into those beliefs and ask him, what are your thoughts about those thoughts, God? I have heard and seen so many people who aren't just judging themselves, but they uh they apply that to men of God, women of God, worship leaders, ministry leaders. If they are overweight, they are somehow not quite as worthy to be used by God. Ouch! And I know I've I've judged myself that way years ago, I did. And that's why I'd love what God says about appearance versus what's on our hearts.

SPEAKER_00: 14:10

So 1 Samuel 16, 7 says, the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. And this is so important, and this is so true. God is far more concerned with the state of our hearts than the shapes of our bodies. You know, there could be any number of reasons that you are struggling with weight. It could be all kinds of things. They are all valid and important and real. But when we renew our minds, we begin to see ourselves and others through God's eyes, through his perspective. Um, and boy, does that help.

SPEAKER_02: 14:53

Oh, it sure does.

SPEAKER_00: 14:55

That is so freeing and so beautiful. We want to really be focused on what does God see and what does he think? And if our answers there are full of judgment and shame, that's not from God.

SPEAKER_02: 15:09

No, it's certainly not.

SPEAKER_00: 15:11

That's not from God.

SPEAKER_02: 15:12

In fact, let's go ahead and zero in on a scripture that's pretty clear about how God feels about priority, what should be our priority, what should have our heart. Um, we're pulling this passage out of Matthew 6, 25 to 33. I'm not gonna quote all of it for us now, but I'm just gonna highlight a section of it. Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, and if it has so many carbs or so many proteins, or no, I'm kidding. Um, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Seeking first his kingdom in the realm of food and body means maybe that we stop asking, how can I look better? How much weight do I need to lose? And maybe start asking, God, would you show me what would honor you today, Lord? How can I exalt you? Right.

SPEAKER_00: 16:15

That's a really different question, isn't it? I love it. So does that shift in perspective? And yes, that leads us to a deeper truth. When God becomes our first love, we don't throw care out the window. That's actually not what freedom is.

SPEAKER_02: 16:32

Right, right. So the question of I feel like I have a free pass to eat with I focus on mind or null. See how it's not it's incongruent.

SPEAKER_00: 16:39

It's incongruent. We don't eat with abandon, we live with intention. Our why changes.

SPEAKER_02: 16:48

I love that.

SPEAKER_00: 16:49

Which leads to a change in want-to also.

SPEAKER_02: 16:52

Oh, it does.

SPEAKER_00: 16:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 16:53

And and there's a kind of freedom, of course, that isn't freedom at all. And Christine has mentioned a couple of times, and Paul warns us actually about that in Galatians 5 13, where he says, You, my brothers, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.

SPEAKER_00: 17:13

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 17:13

And then, of course, Colossians 2, Paul also wrote verses 20 to 23, pulling a little bit from that adds a powerful insight. Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to its rules? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These rules are based merely on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, but they lack any value, any value in restraining sensual indulgence. In other words, you know, you might be able to get thin by having rules, right? But what's happening inside your heart is there's still a lust for food.

SPEAKER_00: 18:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 18:01

Is there's oh boy, that's that's a big challenge. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 18:05

Well, and that's of course when the weight comes back over and over and over again, because we're not addressing the real issue. So I mean, wow, that's that really packs the punch, that one. I mean, it's right there in the Bible, and we know how that feels. Those of us who have been involved in trying to restrict and follow rules for so many years, um, we know that that there's something missing there because our want to doesn't change. Right. So trying to follow external rules, even the ones that look so good, won't change the heart. And that's why nothing ever lasts. It doesn't last. We get into some kind of a routine with restrictions, and then all of a sudden it just stops and ends. There's no lasting change, it's not from the heart. Only Jesus can do that.

SPEAKER_02: 18:59

Amen.

SPEAKER_00: 19:00

He's the one that does the transformation. That's where true freedom lies.

SPEAKER_02: 19:06

I remember in my dieting days, and kind of this was before I prioritized building intimacy and mind renewal. Most of my motivation, you know, I would look in my life, what event is coming up?

SPEAKER_01: 19:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 19:19

Or what person will I possibly see at that event that I haven't seen in a long time to motivate, kind of drum up my motivation to lose weight on a diet, to stick to that. Yeah. And it was all about me. It was all about me. My appearance, an event impressing someone. None of that was lasting, none of it was even motivating enough, really. But as I begin to renew my mind with all of the many tools we use, which are scripture-focused and life-giving, scripture and praise and gratitude, and the very question, God, what are your thoughts about that? Something changes. It changed for me back then. And even today, when I'm off kilter, these are the things that kind of get me grounded again. I can see my body as something entrusted to me by God who loves me so much. I no longer want to use my body for my own glory. I want to steward it for his glory.

SPEAKER_00: 20:19

Yeah. And that's a really big shift. I mean, I really think that's key. It's not about throwing away care, it's about shifting what we care most about. Our desire for control slowly gives way to a desire to be close with him, to walk closely with God. And that shifts things. I mean, you know, for me, those things were separate for many years. I didn't put them together. They were separate. But since I've put them together and I practice thinking God's thoughts about myself, about my body, about food and eating, about everything in my life. That's what really makes that long, long-term change happen. And we've seen it again and again in the ladies and gentlemen that come to our groups and who we coach. All of a sudden there's a shift, and it's not hard.

SPEAKER_02: 21:15

It's not hard and so crazy. It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_00: 21:18

Yeah, because your heart wants it and your desires have lined up with God's desires. And that that's freedom. That feels so good.

SPEAKER_02: 21:27

Yeah, freedom isn't having whatever you want, it's freedom from wanting to have whatever you want. Yeah, you know, and and then your want changes.

SPEAKER_00: 21:36

Well, and like you said, our focus is not me, me, me anymore. It's God, God, God. It's God, you take care of this. God, you show me. God, you know, who are you in this? And then what are his truths? What does he see? What does he know? What's true from his perspective? And the shift is off of me, the focus is off of me, and the burden pressure, yeah. The burden is off of me. Right. Oh my gosh, what a relief. Okay, so we've got a couple questions for you to ponder here. Let's ask these of ourselves, not to condemn, not to condemn. There is no condemnation in Christ. We know that from his word, but to reflect in light of God's truth. So here's the first one. Have I been using mind renewal as a way to get something from God?

SPEAKER_02: 22:30

Yeah, if you are renewing your mind, look at why.

SPEAKER_00: 22:34

And then is there a part of me that still believes my value, my worth is in how I look or what I weigh?

SPEAKER_02: 22:45

That's that's a hard one because it's deep in there for many of us.

SPEAKER_00: 22:49

Yes, it is, it definitely is.

SPEAKER_02: 22:51

And then another question to ask yourself is have I judged others? Or have I judged myself based on size or appearance? Uh and it can be really helpful to kind of check in with the thoughts you have when you see people initially. What are your first impressions based on? Are they ever based on body size? When you go into church on Sunday morning and and there's a worship leader on the platform, what are your thoughts? Is it based in how they appear? Boy, that's tricky.

SPEAKER_01: 23:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 23:23

Um, and what would it look like? Here's another question. What would it look like to seek first the kingdom of God and how I think about my body and my eating? Another one is what does intimacy with God actually look like in my everyday decisions? Is there anything that I do or consider that's independent from the question of God, what are your thoughts about this? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 23:54

Well, and I just want to jump in really quick and say this isn't at all about numbers on the scale when we talk about size, because we have met hundreds and hundreds of women that are all different sizes and feel very much the same way. Yeah. It's not about that number. No, it's really not. So I just want to mention that. You know, a lot of times, I mean, the restriction piece, the part where um you feel very trapped in your body, where you're unhappy in your body, all those things that happens at all sizes.

SPEAKER_02: 24:28

Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_00: 24:28

All sizes. Um I just wanted to jump in there and say that. Yeah. Okay, we have a beautiful breath prayer here for you. Um, we are going to inhale and say, Jesus, I want to know you. And then we're gonna exhale and say, more than I want control. And remember, a breath prayer is so simple if you've never heard of this. It's just taking deep breaths, but also adding in God's truth. So it calms our body down at the same time as renewing our mind. And you can use any truth that lines up with scripture and create your own breath prayers. It's so simple. So let's do this one together. Let's just take a deep breath first and just kind of relax. Okay, and let's go ahead and inhale. Nice deep breath through your nose. And say, Jesus, I want to know you. Jesus, I want to know you. Exhale. More than I want control.

SPEAKER_02: 25:46

More than I want to control.

SPEAKER_00: 25:48

Let's do that one more time. Inhale, Jesus, I want to know you. I want to know you. Exhale. More than I want to control. All right. Beautiful. Thank you for doing that with us.

SPEAKER_02: 26:10

Friends, God didn't send Jesus to earth so you could lose 10 pounds. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's even better than that. So much better. It's even better than that. He sent Jesus to redeem your soul. And in that redemption, he wants to make all of us whole from the inside out.

SPEAKER_00: 26:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02: 26:32

From the inside out.

SPEAKER_00: 26:33

Right, right. So when we seek him first, his priorities become our priorities. Oh, that's his thoughts become our thoughts, his values become ours. And suddenly how we treat our body stops being a burden. Yay! And starts becoming a beautiful response of gratitude.

SPEAKER_02: 26:55

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00: 26:56

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_02: 26:59

I really hope that today's episode encourages you not to just settle for behavior modification or, you know, like forcing yourself to not eat that or to eat that or or to do so much of this and not enough of that.

SPEAKER_01: 27:12

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 27:13

Just go deeper with God. You know, invite him to show you. What do you think of all of this? What would you like me to do? What is aligned with you, Lord? Get to know the one who changes everything. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 27:27

So until next time, eat with grace, live with wonder, and keep seeking him first.

SPEAKER_02: 27:35

Oh, that sounds good. Yeah. I feel like we should sing. We should sing.

SPEAKER_01: 27:39

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. You go. And all these things will be added unto you. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00: 28:00

Yay! I love that we both know that one. I was like, do I know it? Yes, I know it was a course. So we are so glad that you've been here today, definitely. And we hope that you will join us for our next episode of Apple.