TW Chapter 14 Excerpts:

Our Lord imparts newness of life to us through the Spirit of Christ which gives us the power to make holy choices. He inspires us to believe Him; He equips us to act. – p 141

Acting, before allowing God to inspire, can take me down the path of my performance.

…we are, in fact, eagles, destined for the sky. – p 141

You are holy. This is a fact based on God’s provision, purpose, plan and pardon….”But,” you may object, “I have binged three times in the last six days. How can I possibly be holy?” Because God is God, and He says because of the finished work at the cross of Calvary all of your past, present, and future sin has been paid for….
…If we do step outside of God’s will, are we cut off from His grace? No! As authentic believers in Christ, we are by God’s mercy permanently under grace….
We are forgiven. We are redeemed. We are holy. – p 141

Growing up steeped in legalism, I just need to let this settle in my mind without having to rush into the next part. I am Holy. God has forgiven all the sins I have and will commit. I am, simply, forgiven.

Either we will be led by the Spirit, choosing to eat 0 to 5, or led by the flesh where the mind remains fixated on food. By believing the Word of God, that you are Holy in His sight, you will choose actions that are in line with that belief. You will be inspired, equipped, and empowered along the way by His grace and the Holy Spirit to choose in accordance with His will. Philippians 2:13 says, For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. – pp 142-143

I have to slightly disagree with the wording of this passage. I am entirely capable of being fixated on food and eating, even while choosing to eat 0 to 5. I do understand that there is merit in “acting as if…” to sort of prime the pump of good behavior, but after years of striving and half-striving and failing, I’m being called to a time of resting in Him. This passage does say that I/we will be “inspired” to choose in accordance with His will. I am taking a step back and maybe it will give a little bit of room for that to happen.

Being Spirit-led gives us the freedom to develop sensitivity and experience joy in listening to His voice moment by moment. There is peace in knowing who we are in Christ, and there is confidence and rest for our souls when we surrender our will to a holy God. – p 144

I am very excited by the idea that God may not mean for me to pick up and “do” Thin Within verbatim. I know it’s a really inspired program, but for many years now, I have treated it as the book of the law that, whenever I’m ready to get serious, would walk me through the right path and on to victory over my weight. I’ve had it all wrong. Only God can lead me. I am at a place where I need to listen to what I read, but not treat it as the words directly out of God’s mouth. The trusting that I need to start doing is trusting that God’s got me covered. I may be this weight for a long time, I may not. If I purse God, and get the “listening” part down, then who knows where he will take me. I have to STOP presuming that I know exactly what God’s will is and STOP trying to bend my own will into doing it. It has taken God completely out of the equation for me – pushing him to the role of “meal police”.

Know that He desires you to be your natural God-given size. If you remain unconvinced, you will remain stuck in actions that go along with those negative beliefs. – p 145

This is the big red flag for me. Maybe, just maybe, I need to let go of what *I* want in terms of physical appearance, and just listen for God’s inspiration. It may bring me full circle to this style of study and living, but maybe not.


I’m not blinding myself. I know that I carry more weight than this frame was intended to handle. I also carry a lot more guilt than my soul was intended to handle.


I am forgiven.


I am Holy.


I am listening.