Think of it this way. Your mind is like a computer. In your computer, you’ve probably got years of data collected. In your mind, you have years of rejection, hurt, deception, and anger programmed. You made a choice: to believe the data or not; to delete the data or not.
The word “truth” appears more than 224 times in the Bible. We need to begin to deal with the lies that put us in bondage and replace them with the truth. The truth will set us free. By giving ourselves to Jesus, we begin to see Satan’s power and lies, then we begin to resist him. Dr. Larry Crabb said, “The soul will not be healed without truth.”
It has been said that Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. That’s not because he is afraid of us. It’s because he knows that the power of God gives us victory over the works of darkness.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. If God can say these things about you, then you can say these things about yourself. Start by reminding yourself you are a child of the Almighty God. Truth!
We have to battle directly the enemy’s lies and confusion. The antidote for deception is truth. As you recognize a lie, defend yourself out loud. Those that meditate over and speak God’s Word’s out loud tend to change their thinking and habits faster. Truth changes our thinking, and thinking changes our behavior. Achieving a new way of life consists of repeating positive actions.
Read the following list and find the statements that best describe you. Then speak it out loud in your own words from your heart!
Corrupt Data: I am fat.
Speak it out: I am beautiful! I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
God’s Word: Psalms 139:14; 1 Peter 3:3-4
Corrupt Data: I am dumb and stupid.
Speak it out: I have the mind of Christ!
God’s Word: 1 Corinthians 2:16
Corrupt Data: I can’t! I’ve been sick too long and I can’t get well.
Speak it out: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
God’s Word: Philippians 4:13
Corrupt Data: I am ugly.
Speak it out: I am made in God’s image!
God’s Word: Genesis 1:27
Corrupt Data: Nothing I’ve tried works. I am weak and a lost cause.
Speak it out: I am strong!
God’s Word: 2 Corinthians 12:9; Joel 3:10
Corrupt Data: I am lost. I don’t know how to get back to normal.
Speak it out: I am found!
God’s Word: Psalm 23:1-4; Luke 15:6
Corrupt Data: I am a victim of my past and will never be able to overcome that.
Speak it out: I am a victor!
God’s Word: Psalm 60:12; 1 Corinthians 15:57
Corrupt Data: I am nothing. I am worthless.
Speak it out: I am treasured!
God’s Word: Deuteronomy 7:6
Corrupt Data: I am so scared.
Speak it out: I am safe!
God’s Word: Proverbs 18:10; Psalms 3:3
Corrupt Data: I can never be healed. I don’t deserve to be healed.
Speak it out: I am healed!
God’s Word: Isaiah 53:5
Corrupt Data: I am not loved.
Speak it out: God loves me!
God’s Word: John 15:9
Corrupt Data: I have been addicted to food for over “x” years. I’ll never be free.
Speak it out: The Spirit lives in me—I am free!
God’s Word: 2 Corinthians 3:17
Corrupt Data: No one likes me. You wouldn’t like me.
Speak it out: My worth is in who God says I am!
God’s Word: Psalms 8:5-8
These are God’s Words. So get into His Word (the Bible) everyday. Not only will you begin to see the truth, but also your faith will grow stronger. You will find that over time, your spiritual muscles of resisting Satan will grow, and the battle will get easier.
Speak it out: I am beautiful! I am lovable! I am worthy. I am capable! I’m not just saying that—God says that!
Read this excerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
60% of women have some sort of eating disorder
King 5 News: “Health Link” reported a University of North Carolina survey finds 60 percent of women have some sort of eating disorder, and it can take many forms.
Secret eating can be just a guilty pleasure or a serious eating disorder. It all depends.
"Eating a large amount of food in a certain discreet period of time, feeling a sense of loss of control, as if you can't control your eating or stop and then a host of criteria - that several have to be met - such as eating in secret, eating until uncomfortably full, and feeling negative about it during or after the eating episode," said Dr. Jay Ashmore, clinical psychologist.
Then there are calorie prisoners, consumed with counting every morsel. The career dieter's weight is like a yo-yo: going up and down. Ashmore says it can lead to more serious disorders. [This personally was my downfall into a dungeon of bulimia!]
"Anger, stress, anxiety - and that in and of itself or in combination without eating can trigger a binge or overeating or eating when not hungry. Why? Because it just feels good, and you're going to do something that feels good to help you manage that negative mood," said Ashmore.
When food takes over your life, it's time to take control. First, find another more constructive way to make yourself feel good. "Pleasant activity scheduling, whatever that is—taking a job, going shopping, something you like to do, calling a friend," said Ashmore.
Second, cognitive therapy can help women find their core issue that's driving them to medicate with food.
Doctors say if you don't tackle the problem early on, harmless eating disorders can turn into obesity, heart disease and even diabetes. Doctors say just remember you are in control of the food, not the food controlling your moods.
[end of article]
The only thing missing from this article was the fact we need God. . For many of us, our hopes have been shattered. There is no more happiness or joy. The kind of hope and joy we need now is a solid trust in God. It is a sense of absolute certainty that God loves us, cares for us, and will do everything He has promised in the Bible, His Word. Like an anchor, hope in God gives us the strength, joy, and security to heal, one day at a time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article title: “Survey: Majority of women have an eating disorder”
Link: http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_091809HEK-eating-disorder-LJ.192584a83.html
Secret eating can be just a guilty pleasure or a serious eating disorder. It all depends.
"Eating a large amount of food in a certain discreet period of time, feeling a sense of loss of control, as if you can't control your eating or stop and then a host of criteria - that several have to be met - such as eating in secret, eating until uncomfortably full, and feeling negative about it during or after the eating episode," said Dr. Jay Ashmore, clinical psychologist.
Then there are calorie prisoners, consumed with counting every morsel. The career dieter's weight is like a yo-yo: going up and down. Ashmore says it can lead to more serious disorders. [This personally was my downfall into a dungeon of bulimia!]
"Anger, stress, anxiety - and that in and of itself or in combination without eating can trigger a binge or overeating or eating when not hungry. Why? Because it just feels good, and you're going to do something that feels good to help you manage that negative mood," said Ashmore.
When food takes over your life, it's time to take control. First, find another more constructive way to make yourself feel good. "Pleasant activity scheduling, whatever that is—taking a job, going shopping, something you like to do, calling a friend," said Ashmore.
Second, cognitive therapy can help women find their core issue that's driving them to medicate with food.
Doctors say if you don't tackle the problem early on, harmless eating disorders can turn into obesity, heart disease and even diabetes. Doctors say just remember you are in control of the food, not the food controlling your moods.
[end of article]
The only thing missing from this article was the fact we need God. . For many of us, our hopes have been shattered. There is no more happiness or joy. The kind of hope and joy we need now is a solid trust in God. It is a sense of absolute certainty that God loves us, cares for us, and will do everything He has promised in the Bible, His Word. Like an anchor, hope in God gives us the strength, joy, and security to heal, one day at a time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article title: “Survey: Majority of women have an eating disorder”
Link: http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_091809HEK-eating-disorder-LJ.192584a83.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Body Image and Self-Esteem
Why are we so unhappy with our bodies?
I don’t think any of us would disagree that we are under pressure to measure up to a certain social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image. Images we see daily can reinforce an already negative opinion we have of our body, leading us to believe we are overweight and not able to meet the “perfect” American standard.
Family and friends can influence our body image with positive and/or negative comments. Doctors and other professionals also have a powerful impact on our body image. Their comments may be delivered as health advice, but if misinterpreted, affects how we perceive our body.
We all have days when we feel awkward or uncomfortable in our bodies. The key to developing positive body image is to recognize and respect our natural shape and learn to overpower those negative thoughts and feelings with positive, affirming, and accepting thoughts. Accept yourself. Accept your body. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate your body.
What is body image?
Slowly over time, you developed your body image based on what your family, boyfriend(s), and/or husband(s), coaches, and teachers told you. Add to that thousands of daily media messages from magazines, novels, television, music, and you start to believe that you’re fat or ugly. All these negative thoughts and beliefs can lead down a self-destructive path unless you know how to recognize and cope with them. A woman with a healthy body image respects her body, takes care of her body, and keeps her body in perspective.
What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is defined as “a confidence and satisfaction in oneself.” It is your overall evaluation of your self-worth and how you value your own attributes. How high or low your self-esteem is depends on how you compare what you’d like to be with how you actually see yourself.
Research shows that girls lose twenty-three percent of their self-esteem between elementary and middle school. A study by the American Association of University Women found only twenty-nine percent of high school girls were happy with themselves.
Psychologists describe key components of self-esteem as how you evaluate yourself in terms of important characteristics like what you are good at, what you are not so good at, and the kinds of situations you prefer or avoid.
Most of our feelings about ourselves are built into us in childhood. If we were fortunate to have loving parents who conveyed our worth in their relationship to us, and if we grew up in a safe environment with positive relationships with peers, teachers, and role models, then it is likely we will feel reasonably good about ourselves. However, if faced with negative influences in childhood, it may not take much to tip the balance the other way.
“The body is a sacred garment. It’s your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.” –Martha Graham
Read this excerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
I don’t think any of us would disagree that we are under pressure to measure up to a certain social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image. Images we see daily can reinforce an already negative opinion we have of our body, leading us to believe we are overweight and not able to meet the “perfect” American standard.
Family and friends can influence our body image with positive and/or negative comments. Doctors and other professionals also have a powerful impact on our body image. Their comments may be delivered as health advice, but if misinterpreted, affects how we perceive our body.
We all have days when we feel awkward or uncomfortable in our bodies. The key to developing positive body image is to recognize and respect our natural shape and learn to overpower those negative thoughts and feelings with positive, affirming, and accepting thoughts. Accept yourself. Accept your body. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate your body.
What is body image?
Slowly over time, you developed your body image based on what your family, boyfriend(s), and/or husband(s), coaches, and teachers told you. Add to that thousands of daily media messages from magazines, novels, television, music, and you start to believe that you’re fat or ugly. All these negative thoughts and beliefs can lead down a self-destructive path unless you know how to recognize and cope with them. A woman with a healthy body image respects her body, takes care of her body, and keeps her body in perspective.
What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is defined as “a confidence and satisfaction in oneself.” It is your overall evaluation of your self-worth and how you value your own attributes. How high or low your self-esteem is depends on how you compare what you’d like to be with how you actually see yourself.
Research shows that girls lose twenty-three percent of their self-esteem between elementary and middle school. A study by the American Association of University Women found only twenty-nine percent of high school girls were happy with themselves.
Psychologists describe key components of self-esteem as how you evaluate yourself in terms of important characteristics like what you are good at, what you are not so good at, and the kinds of situations you prefer or avoid.
Most of our feelings about ourselves are built into us in childhood. If we were fortunate to have loving parents who conveyed our worth in their relationship to us, and if we grew up in a safe environment with positive relationships with peers, teachers, and role models, then it is likely we will feel reasonably good about ourselves. However, if faced with negative influences in childhood, it may not take much to tip the balance the other way.
“The body is a sacred garment. It’s your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.” –Martha Graham
Read this excerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Why Do I Hurt?
Someone once said, “Life is pain. The sharper, the more evidence of life.”
We all have pain in our lives. Not necessarily illness, but deep, emotional pain caused by those who have hurt us. Loss causes pain, relationships cause pain, failure causes pain, and giving up on unrealistic goals causes pain. Don’t we retreat at the first sign of trouble or misery? We’ve given up all hope of overcoming and learning from the experience. So we turn to food and substances to soothe the pain.
What can God do about it? What can’t God do? is a better question. Our problems are so close to us and seem so much bigger than God. When life’s problems loom over us, we tend to lose our sense of perspective and God fades into the background. But in some mysterious way known only to God, we grow when our hearts are broken.
Suffering isn’t pleasant, but it’s necessary. God doesn’t cause our suffering, but uses it. The enemy seems so busy in our matters that it’s hard to trace the hand of God in it. But His hand is in it.
Did you know that pain broadens our base of experience and can make us stronger (or weaker)? The apostle Paul taught that suffering is an essential course in God's curriculum for all believers. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). We become less judgmental, self-righteous, and less convinced that our way is right if we allow ourselves to express and feel pain. We become more compassionate in the end.
God wants believers to glory celebrate in their difficulties, to continue to put their hope and trust in Him, and grow stronger in spite of their experiences.
Read this exerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
We all have pain in our lives. Not necessarily illness, but deep, emotional pain caused by those who have hurt us. Loss causes pain, relationships cause pain, failure causes pain, and giving up on unrealistic goals causes pain. Don’t we retreat at the first sign of trouble or misery? We’ve given up all hope of overcoming and learning from the experience. So we turn to food and substances to soothe the pain.
What can God do about it? What can’t God do? is a better question. Our problems are so close to us and seem so much bigger than God. When life’s problems loom over us, we tend to lose our sense of perspective and God fades into the background. But in some mysterious way known only to God, we grow when our hearts are broken.
Suffering isn’t pleasant, but it’s necessary. God doesn’t cause our suffering, but uses it. The enemy seems so busy in our matters that it’s hard to trace the hand of God in it. But His hand is in it.
Did you know that pain broadens our base of experience and can make us stronger (or weaker)? The apostle Paul taught that suffering is an essential course in God's curriculum for all believers. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). We become less judgmental, self-righteous, and less convinced that our way is right if we allow ourselves to express and feel pain. We become more compassionate in the end.
God wants believers to glory celebrate in their difficulties, to continue to put their hope and trust in Him, and grow stronger in spite of their experiences.
Read this exerpt from “I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It?” by Kimberly Davidson.
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