For as he thinks in his heart, so is he... Proverbs 23:7 (Amplified)

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1 1 Think Well For as he thinks in his heart, so is he... Proverbs 23:7 (Amplified) Ponder this proverb. What does it say to you about your thoughts? They are powerful. So powerful are your thoughts, they can shape you. If you think badly about yourself, if you have a poor image of God, you will feel crummy and you will look crummy and you will act crummy...whatever you weigh. Your negative thinking translates into a negative life. You will make poor food choices because you think wrong. The flipside: Think well and you will eat right and weigh right. Do you have a few questions? Good. I had a whole list of them when God told me to toss aside fat thinking and begin thinking the right way. I wondered, What is thinking well? How do I think well? How long before I think well? Will thinking well actually help me weigh right? Let s take them one at a time. What Is Thinking Well? Thinking well happens automatically when the Holy Spirit controls your mind. This Bible verse speaks to it:

2 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what the sinful nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5) In other words, the sinful nature resists God and his ways. It prefers bad company like lust and greed and lots and lots of food. In contrast, a Spirit-controlled mind hungers for God. In Colossians, the apostle Paul wrote, Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1,2) Thinking well depends on a Spirit-controlled mind, which thinks on what matters most to God. You put on a godly attitude that wants what he wants. Jesus came that you may have abundant life marked by love. Selfless love. The kind of love Jesus showed on the Cross. It s you first, not me first love. The kind you wrap your kids in when they dash to your room, thunder booming, lightning zinging, desiring a safe place in the storm. Me disappears in this love. He abounds. Interestingly, you cannot love well unless you love yourself. Look back at the verse on the cover: Love your neighbor as yourself. This assumes self-love. A healthy self-love. Next question. It s a big one.

3 How Do I Think Well? My answer may surprise you: You think well as you abandon yourself to Jesus daily. When you became a Christian (or one who loves Christ), you expressed salvation belief, like this: Yes, Lord, I am a sinner in need of a Savior and I cannot save myself, no matter how hard I try. I need you. Your death on the Cross paid the penalty for my ugly choices, past, present and future. Your resurrection proved your victory over death, and I too am victorious when I accept your gift of salvation. I accept it, Jesus. Thank you. Salvation belief is a one-time event. You may pray a salvation prayer more than once, but once is enough. Your eternal destiny is sealed: heaven-bound. Now walk in love. Say what? The Word of God, or the sixty-six Holy Spirit-inspired books we call the Bible, equates love with obedience and obedience with faith and faith with belief. This second type of belief is continual belief, a present participle in the Greek, which basically says, now that you believe Christ for your salvation keep on continually believing him all day, every day. The apostle John wrote, And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. (2 John 1:6 )

4 Choose to continually believe God, and your excess pounds will melt away. You see, when you continually believe God, food is no longer an idol, or something you seek to find happiness. Turn to God instead. This isn t easy. God seems far away sometimes, and the fridge is so near. So very near. I ve been there, done that and even bought the t-shirt. You too? In a later chapter, we ll consider food as an idol in depth. For now, please know that you can t help but befriend food when you think well. Your idol crushes like an Oreo cookie. Here are examples, one positive, one negative. Two editors had food issues. Bonnie stood stick thin. Before noon, she ate only fruit, and every day after work she headed to the gym for intense aerobics plus 30 minutes of crunches. Then once she got to her apartment and ate a quick dinner, she jumped on her stationary bike and pedaled for an hour watching TV. Carol, on the other hand, looked like an updated Marilyn Monroe: fuller hips and curves, but no one would call her fat. She walked for exercise when she had time. Divorced and the mom of two grade-school kids, she talked about losing ten or fifteen pounds. She used to emotionally eat all the time; now she was under less stress and occasionally ate a pint of ice cream at a sitting. Which woman loved herself to life? Did you select Carol? You re right.

5 Carol accepted her curves. Her weight was just inside the healthy range for her height. Bonnie strove for perfection. One mistake like skipping a workout or eating pizza drove her toward self-hatred. Sure, she could fit her skinny-legged jeans, but she never wore contentment. Not ever. How does a woman like Carol or me or you think well? We need to continually believe that God is for us. The food he created nourishes our bodies and tastes delicious. It is a gift of the Gift-Giver. When you see food as God designed it, it never becomes an object of lust, or something we deeply desire before God. Food is God s expression of his love, his care of his creatures, you and me. We choose to continually believe that God has our best interests at heart. This may sound easy. It isn t. Consider folks in the Bible who harbored the sin of unbelief. Among them: Abraham. He lied. He passed Sarah off as his sister to protect himself against Egypt s pharaoh. Sarah. She doubted God could make good on his promise of children in her old age. Moses. He killed a man. David. Too much time on his hands and he bedded Bathsheeba. Naomi. She pity-partied.

6 And Eve. She disobeyed big time. She and her hubby committed the very first sin. The object: Food. Yeah, food. A piece of fruit from an off-limits tree. Ironic, isn t it? A Grand-Canyon-sized difference between them and us. They were under the law and had to follow it to please God. We are not under the Law; we are under grace. Jesus, fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life and fulfilled the Law. In his strength not our own we can kiss dieting good-bye. As you discover just how pleasing you are NOW to God because of Jesus grace to you, you know you have freedom (present tense) and are not a slave to food. How Long Before I Think Well and Befriend Food? You can begin thinking well today. Choose to savor thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. (Philippians 4:8) You ll discover how in the next chapter. Likewise, the excess pounds will drop like sandbags when you think well and befriend food. Two friendly words of counsel: 1) As with any weight-loss plan, check with a physician before you begin. 2) Be realistic. Unless you have a particular body type and are at least five feet eight inches tall and under 25 years old -- I know, I know, I just knocked out 99.5-plus percent of my readers -- you won t be a runway model or a cover girl, ever. That s okay.

7 Bettter than okay. Whatever your size and shape -- apple (roundish in the middle), pear (wide in the hips), hour glass or celery stick (a boyish figure) -- God has a plan and a purpose for your life. Heavenly Father, I put myself in your hands. I need your help. Change my thinking so that it reflects your mind. You know my weight struggles. You know that they ve come between us. Help me to think well so I can love myself as you love me. In His name. Amen. Reflection Moment 1. How do your thoughts affect you on the inside? On the outside? 2. What is something you like about your looks? 3. Have you tried dieting? What has been your experience? 4. Do you agree with the author that a key to weight loss is loving yourself? Why or why not? 5. Do you believe you can love yourself to life? A Food-Friendly Step For three days, write down everything you eat and drink. Use the form on the next page. You ll need several copies. Please do not change your eating habits during this time. (For Other? jot down whatever you think is important to note.)

8 Food Diary Day Time Food/Drink Hungry? Emotion before you ate? Other? Upon completion of your food diary, look for patterns. Do you eat mostly in the afternoon and evening? Do you eat when under stress? What types of foods do you eat most? Sugary? Fatty? Salty? Keep this food diary. You ll need it in a few chapters.

9 Soul Speak Memorize James 1: 17 and meditate (think) on it. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.