Barb Raveling > Quotes

“God has a reason for not giving us the quick fix: He wants us to be conformed to His image and He uses trials to help us grow. Weight loss is one of those trials. It’s not fun, but God can do great things in our lives if we persevere and keep going to Him for help.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“The best way to break free from entitlement eating is to adopt a biblical perspective of life. God never said, “You deserve the good life, and of course you have a right to eat.” Instead, He said, “If you want to follow me, you have to be willing to give up everything.”
― Barb Raveling, I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat): A Christian Weight Loss Resource

“Lifelong boundaries in the area of food make our lives better because they keep us safe. Yes, they cramp our style, but you know what? Our style needs to be cramped because there are consequences to eating what we want when we want.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“It’s found in a Bible verse: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:a). In this verse Paul tells us that change begins on the inside, through the renewing of the mind. So the best way to approach weight loss isn’t to focus on saying no to the cinnamon roll. It’s to focus on changing the thoughts that make us want to say yes.”
― Barb Raveling, I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat): A Christian Weight Loss Resource

“The Greek word for abide used in John 8:31-32 and John 15:4-5 is the same word that’s used for living in a house. The idea is that we don’t just visit the Word for 10 minutes a day. We live in the Word. Meditate on it. Chew on it as we walk through the day.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“The renewing of the mind, like a home improvement project, is a taking off and a putting on. You take off the old self. You put on the new self. You take off the lies. You put on the truth. You take off a cultural perspective. You put on a biblical perspective. You take off what you learned growing up. You put on what you learned in the Bible.”
― Barb Raveling, The Renewing of the Mind Project: Going to God for Help with Your Habits, Goals, and Emotions

“We live in an instant society. We’re so used to getting what we want quickly and easily that we often expect to reach our goals without a lot of effort on our part. But life doesn’t always work that way. Jesus tells us that we can’t bear fruit unless we abide in Him (John 15:4). Paul tells us that if we want to receive the fruit of the Spirit, we need to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25). Walking and abiding aren’t instant activities. They take time.”
― Barb Raveling, The Renewing of the Mind Project: Going to God for Help with Your Habits, Goals, and Emotions

“In many ways it’s like a home improvement project: You don’t know what you’re getting into. You uncover problems you didn’t know you had. You have to make multiple calls to your friend, the Carpenter, for help. And it usually takes longer than you think it will take.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“Unfortunately, it will take more than one conversation to unlearn the lies we learned growing up. We learned those lies situation by situation, and I am afraid we’ll have to unlearn them the same way.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“One of the ways we love Him well is to hold His gifts with open hands, willing to give them up if they get in the way of loving Him.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“The renewing of the mind, like a home improvement project, is a taking off and putting on. You take off the old self. You put on the new self. You takes off the lies. You put on the truth. You take off a cultural perspective. You put on a Biblical perspective. You take off what you learned growing up. You put on what you learned in the Bible.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“God is not all about “do what you want when you want.” On the contrary, God is all about “love me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” One of the ways we love Him well is to hold His gifts with open hands, willing to give them up if they get in the way of loving Him.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“the truth is, Satan is interested in any activity that controls us, discourages us, and messes us up our lives. He’d like nothing better than to see us controlled by our bad habits for the rest of our lives.”
― Barb Raveling, Taste for Truth: A 30 Day Weight Loss Bible Study

“Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
― Barb Raveling, I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat): A Christian Weight Loss Resource

“way because”
― Barb Raveling, Freedom from Emotional Eating: A Weight Loss Bible Study

“Renewing the mind involves two different things: 1) studying the Bible to see what it has to say about the area we’re trying to change, and 2) going to God for help in the midst of transformation to remember what we learned in the Bible and see our current struggle from a biblical perspective.”
― Barb Raveling, Freedom from Procrastination: Living Joyfully and Productively with God's Help