Walking Upon the Aisle of God’s Grace

Something amazing happens when we grasp on to the true meaning of God’s grace. We are able to finally walk free in the truth that nothing can separate us from His love. Our performance cannot; our brokenness cannot; our pride cannot.

Basking in this boundless love which is rooted in mercy and grace liberates us from our self-imposed performance-based prisons. The truth is that we can eat all day long or never exercise and God won’t love us any less. Self-love and worldly acceptance is distributed in accordance to how well we abide by man-made rules. And this is a standard we’ll never be able to meet. We’ll always get to the end of the day and upon assessing our performance (what we ate and didn’t eat; how much we exercised, etc.) we’ll see where we didn’t measure up. And because we didn’t measure up we might conclude that we aren’t worthy or able to be loved. Remember that God’s love is not legalistic in nature like the love we often grant ourselves. I pray that you will have the courage to live in the freedom contained in God’s grace.

As you actively apply the aisle of grace to your HEAL Journey remind yourself that it is okay for example if you ate past a five, or didn’t have a chance to enjoy the gift of exercise . You are loved exactly where you are at regardless of your performance and what you have or have not accomplished. God’s love for you is constant and ever present. He does not want you to try and walk upon a tightrope of perfection because he knows you will fall and get hurt. He wants to lift you from the world’s attempt to balance upon perfection and gently put you on the path of his grace, love and provision.

Are you trying to balance upon a tightrope of perfectionism?
How can you accept God’s grace as you travel upon your HEAL Journey?

HEAL: A Shared Journey of Authentic Healing

I just got back from HEAL tonight with the girls. I just feel so blessed to be in the presence of such amazing women who are not afraid to be real with one another. It is clear that the journey we are walking upon is not meant to be done alone! God desires His daughters to be in authentic friendships with other women who spur them on towards His truth. As the five of us lounged upon the big green sofas in a tiny apartment in Isla Vista, we shared our lives and stories with one another. Lives that for many of us once contained so much brokenness and bondage. Lives that were in bondage to legalistic, lifeless living, rigid food rules, poor self-image and distorted thinking. While some of us shared our praises with one another, still others were not afraid to say that God is carrying them through this journey moment by moment and that so much healing has yet to be done. We were reminded of this truth:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. -Phillippians 1:6

Our hope for you is that God will equip you with the courage and God-breathed friendships to step into the light and embark on the journey of lasting, authentic healing.

Please be praying for The HEAL Journey as we finish up our first 6-week study on the HEAL Principles which will enable young women like you all over the country to rise above these things that have for so long kept us down!

Also, if you have a story of healing that you would like to share with us, please email me at wonderfully.made@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you and be a part of what God is doing in your life.

Pure Worship

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. -Romans 1:25

In college I often ran to the beach and along a strand of oceanfront homes. As I jogged upon the sand my eyes would gaze in wonder at the vast ocean formed by the same hands that made me. My thoughts would fill with praises and my heart with thanksgiving, knowing that it was made by the God who had saved me from the pits of my despair. On one occasion I remember jogging behind a young, fashionably dressed couple. Their heads were turned towards the impressive beachfront homes, many of which belonged to celebrities. I slowed down to watch as they pointed towards each home talking as they went. Never did I see them fix their eyes upon the sea or the sun that had begun to set. I wondered how our Creator felt in that moment, knowing that his beloved had failed to fix their gaze upon his majesty. I knew that I too had many times walked their steps and worshipped someone or something – a created thing rather than my Creator.

On our HEAL journey, let us ask ourselves, what do I worship? Who do I elevate to a place of significance and worth other than God? Is it a woman with a slim frame; is it fashion, personality, status? What do we fix our eyes upon and give our heart to that is not worthy of the life that is within us?

Embracing the Gift of Exercise

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:5

Living on the central coast of California I am blessed to live near the ocean and enjoy the sport of surfing. Every time my feet hit the water and I jump on my board, I feel fully alive. I’ve watched many glorious sunsets pour their brilliant colors upon the water and have danced upon waves as dolphins surfed alongside me. I love that I have been given a healthy body that can take me to amazing places shaped by the same God that formed me in my mother’s womb. Being able to move our bodies and explore the world is such a gift our awesome God has given us. It is a life-giving opportunity to worship the God that has so fearfully and wonderfully each of made us. I know that not every one is as blessed, though a healthy body and the ability to exercise are gifts that are easy to take for granted.

In our media-driven society exercise is often viewed as a form of punishment for our imperfect bodies, rather than a good and perfect gift from above. Exercise is worship when done with a pure heart and thanksgiving. It is a gift we can give ourselves and even to our loved ones. If you catch yourself putting exercise on your "have to" list, maybe it's time for a new activity. We have every reason to get excited about being active! Get creative with this wonderful gift! Find something – at least one sport or type of exercise that you love. There’s tap dancing, kickboxing, power walking, rollerblading, skateboarding, soccer, hiking, kayaking, karate, gymnastics, snowboarding, surfing! Come on girls – we’ve got a lot of options to choose from!

Always remember that you are body beautiful - you have arms to hug, eyes to discover, feet to travel upon. You are blessed. Pray and work for a healthy, active heart and body - one that will allow you to tackle the irreplaceable role God has called you to.

God's Little Girls

God never intended for his daughters to struggle with food and body confidence like we do. He made our bodies beautiful, perfect in His image. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.[i] As little girls, we were blind to what the world had to say about our bodies and the bodies of the women we loved. We didn’t know that they were pressured to look a certain way. They were simply a place to explore the wonders of the world - a place to twirl and skip and laugh out loud. But as we ventured from the innocence of our youth the world began to tell us otherwise. It told us that the shape of our body reflects the level of our worth. That place of girlhood bliss we’ve ventured so far from is where God still intends for us to live, and to live abundantly; to live in freedom and confidence, content in the way our bodies have been made.[i] Genesis 1:27

Above is a picture of my flower girl Kaylie and her best friend Arwin. Aren't they absolutely perfect! So are you!

Search me God

So, I can't stop thinking about this verse in Pslam 139: Search me God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. If there is going to be any real change in our lives, this has to be our genuine request to God. Before we are transformed physically, we must be refined and renewed within. On our journey with God, we bring our part which is our utter brokennes and humanity and the Lord brings his redemptive power, his redeeming love and healing grace. It is here in this quiet place of surrender that God mysteriously works in our lives, changing our hearts.
This prayer made me ask God, what's offensive and ugly in my life? What do I do that bums you out? Of course there are a lot of things! But when I think about those offenses that have to do specifically with the struggle I sometimes encounter with rising above poor self-image and unhealthy eating habits, this list comes to mind: idolotry, hatred, envy and selfish ambition (Galatians 5:19-21). Let me break them down:

• idolotry: idolizing the perfect body and women I think have it
• hatred: criticizing the beautiful body God has blessed me with
• envy: admiring beatuy in other women while failing to see the beauty my Creator finds in me, his beloved
• selfish ambition: focusing on me! My body, my food, my weight, blah, blah, blah! Forgetting the abundant life I have been called to in Christ Jesus - a life of JOY, LOVE, FAITH, SERVICE & FRIENDSHIP!

God, help me get my eyes off of me and my life and on to you! I praise you for the life you have given me. For saving me, for healing me and blessing me with your goodness. I choose today to honor you and give you thanks. I chose to open my heart to those around me and pour your life into them. I love you.

We are More than Conquerors!

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Matthew 5:29-31
There may be a season on your HEAL Journey, when it’s best for you to completely cut something off and throw it away because it’s separating you from the peace of God and causing you to sin. While HEAL is a freedom-filled approach to food, meaning you can eat any foods you want within the boundaries of hunger and fullness, it is sometimes helpful to refrain from a certain food or activity if it is detrimental to your healing journey.

Jenna, one of my friends on the HEAL Journey shared her experience: “There was a time on my journey where I had to completely take a break from working out. I had gotten so obsessive about it to the point that it totally took over my life. I felt like if I didn’t run eight miles a day I was a failure. It was best for me to totally take a break from it because it had become an idol in my life. I knew it wasn’t going to be forever, but it was the best thing for me during that season of life because God had to renew my mind and heal the way I thought about exercise. Since then, I’ve been able to make exercise a regular part of my life, but now I have a healthy, balanced relationship with it. Now it’s like my chance to worship God and thank him for my healthy, beautiful body. I can go for a three-mile walk or take a simple bike ride. Katy shares a similar experience: I use to weigh myself multiple times a day – sometimes as often as 10 times. God helped me realize that I needed to toss the scale and get it out of my life! It had become an unhealthy obsession that kept me focused on losing weight that I did not need to lose!

For me personally, chocolate, diet soda and artificial sweeteners have the potential to be been stumbling blocks for me – separating me from God’s best. I have also made the personal decision to completely refrain from drinking alcohol because God showed me that it had the potential to be a problem in my life. The night of my high school graduation party, I was completely suffocated from the onset of dark debilitating depression. I was a mess. In desperation to feel better I went upstairs and grabbed a wine cooler from under my bed, which was leftover from one of the parties my friends and I had. Alone, I shut the door and drank the whole bottle in two minutes, hoping it would make me loosen up and feel better. A few years after that, God clearly showed me that alcohol had the potential to be a problem in my life because of my past struggle with depression. Knowing this and seeing how it caused so much pain in my family, I’ve cut it out of my completely. I have never regretted my decision!

While God may make it clear that He wants you to cut something off completely and throw it away, it’s important for us to know that above all we are conquerors in Christ! God has already declared victory in our lives because He is within us. This means that we have the ability to rise above any temptation. God’s word assures us: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. -1 Corinthians 10:12-14

As much as I like this verse a part of me would rather not hear it because it means that for all the times I’ve given into temptation, God has a provided a way out that I chose not to take. Like the time I spilled my milk on the carpet while eating a huge cookie that I was not hungry for. Looking back, the spilled milk was my way out of this common temptation. But rather than embracing this incident as an escape from my embarrassing “food trance”, I kept on eating my cookie! I hope this truth that God is faithful and that He will provide a way out for us when we are tempted is a refreshing truth, not a condemning one. It is awesome to know that if God is within us, then we are “more than conquerors!” Romans 8:37 assures us “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Girls, how we ought to live fearlessly in the light of this truth! There is no temptation you cannot rise above with God on your side!

Love Unreturned

"If anyone knows the pain of a love unreturned, it must be God...This is his story:he pursues you with his love and pursues you with his love, and you have perhaps not said yes. And even if you reject his love, he pursues you ever still. It was not enough to send an angel or a prophet or any other, for in the issues of love you must go yourself. And so God has come. This is the story of Jesus, that God has walked among us and he pursues us with his love. He is very familiar with rejection, but is undeterred. And he is here even now, still pursuing you with his love."

-Erwin McManus

Diet Soda: My Self-Induced Headache

Diet sodas - they haunt me everyday at work. I can't hide from them. They're on the counter when I get a cup of water, they're in the fridge when I grab my lunch and there is even a full-service, never-ending soda fountain in our break room. All the diet coke a girl could want! Free refills all day long - imagine that! So somewhere between the kitchen, the breakroom and lunch I'll grab myself a diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, or a diet "I don't even know what." So today there I was on my way to the kitchen to grab a drink of water and pretty Mr. Pepper stared me down. And he stared me down hard. So I grabbed him and popped him open and I had myself a new friend accompanying me in my cubicle. But as I took my second sip I felt that wierd headachey, "not good for you" kinda feeling come on. And I kept on sipping. I sipped my way right through Mr. Pepper until he was all gone and all I was left with was that yucky "I'm not feeling so peppy sort of feeling.

So diet sodas - I mean they're really not that big of a deal, right? Maybe they aren't but in my heart as lame as it might seem I know I'm not doing what's right for my body because it tells me so! And to add to that they've become my "can of comfort" at work - keeping me from going to God in thought or prayer.

Jesus says something about this sort of thing "And if your right hand causes you to sin [be separated from God], cut it off and throw it away." So maybe it's time I do away with the diet drinks. I don't need them, they're not good for me and I'm turning to them for peace and comfort instead of the only one I've met in this world that can truly satisfy.

So, I'm taking a break from Mr. Pepper and his diet friends. I'll keep you posted! =)

Know My Heart

Let this be our authentic prayer before God as we travel upon our HEAL Journey:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
-Psalm 139:23-24

This is what the HEAL journey is about - going to God daily and asking him to search our heart, to refine us and make us beautiful in His sight. The HEAL Journey is about transformation from the inside out. We cannot be healed from harmful eating habits or distorted body image until God renews us within. As He brings to light things that are not pleasing to Him, we are presented with the opportunity to become the women he wants us to be - to be "lead in the way everlasting." Here are some questions to help you probe your heart:

• Do I run to tangible things for comfort instead of God?
• Do I speak God's word over my life or do I let my anxious thoughts have control?
• Do I affirm my body or I do I criticize the way God made me?
  
• Do I judge other women by the shape or size of their body?
• Where is my focus? What do I think about during the day? Are my eyes fixed upon God and His truth or am I concerned with the things of the world?
• Do I praise God for the ability to exercise and enjoy my body or I am worried about burning calories?
• Do I ask God to reveal the parts of me He wants to renew and refine?
• Do I spend time daily in prayer? Reading and memorizing His truth?
• How pure and edifying are the things I expose myself to? (music, TV, Myspace, movies, Internet)
  

Healthy Eating - The HEAL Way!

So what does it mean to eat healthy, or allow God to reign over the way you approach food? Eating with God at the center simply means:

• Eating between the boundaries of hunger and fullness (together we’ll discover how!)
• Accepting food as a source of nourishment and sustenance
• Going to God to fill your emotional and spiritual needs – not food or anything else
• Eating nutritiously for the motive of being a good steward – so you can be well nourished so that you can serve God more effectively
• Obeying your physiological hunger and need for food rather than starving yourself or restricting your diet

Psalm 139

Psalm 139
You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
p when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, [a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

About the HEAL Journey

Mission Statement
HEAL is a program of Wonderfully Made designed to help young women develop a healthy and positive approach to food, their bodies and life by making God the center in this area of their lives.

More about HEAL
The HEAL philosophy incorporates the physical, spiritual and emotional components of our lives, recognizing the powerful relationships these parts have with each other. HEAL is a spiritual program, one that is based on the principles and implications of the Christian faith. HEAL encourages women to apply their faith to their daily interactions with food while encouraging them to live more meaningful and abundant lives. Experience has taught us that we need something bigger than ourselves to heal and restore us - because we can’t do it on our own. We need each other and we need God!

The HEAL Program
The HEAL Program is currently offered through college chapters of Wonderfully Made and consists of weekly HEAL sessions offered over the course of the school year. HEAL Sessions are student-led and are comprised of a small group of girls who meet regularly to discuss the HEAL material and exchange encouragement for their HEAL journey. HEAL materials include the bestseller Thin Within by Judy and Arthur Halliday and a series of writings on the Healthy Eating, Abundant Living principles by Allie Marie Smith, the creator of the HEAL Program.

In January 2009 Group Publishing will release The HEAL Workbook, by Allie Marie Smith with Judy Halliday. This 6-week group study will allow young women worldwide to embark on the HEAL Journey!

What Girls Are Saying

“Because of HEAL, my relationship with Christ has grown like crazy! I now see my body and my relationship with food as blessings. Looking into the mirror, I can see something beyond my reflection. I see God's love in the twinkle of my eye, the curl of my hair, and the crease of my smile.”

“HEAL has helped me feel the Lord's grace and has provided tremendous support from my friends who are also on their HEAL journey. HEAL was an answer to prayer that I do not know what I would do without! I am truly blessed and can't wait to share this program with all of God's girls!”

“HEAL is my saving grace. It was able to pull me out of the dark and into the light in my eating and the way I looked at food and my life in general. The HEAL program has completely changed the way I go about my body image issues. I now understand how to examine my body before eating in order to judge just how hungry I am. I know to eat slower in order to not overeat, and I am becoming familiar with the signals my body is giving me surrounding these issues.”

“The HEAL program has taught me how to bring God into this part of my life, which I wouldn't have been able to do on my own. That is what makes this program so unique--it brings God into such an important part of daily life and really reshaped how I dealt with issues I had with my body, eating, and self-love.”

“Through HEAL I have learned how to bring God's love into every bite I put into my body. I am able to stop eating before I am overwhelmingly full, and I am learning how to put the right foods into my body. I am learning how to treat my body in the way God designed it to be treated. “

About Allie

Allie Marie Smith, the Founder of Wonderfully Made and creator of the HEAL Program, is a simple surfer girl, writer and speaker. She loves dreaming big dreams for God – anything to give back to the One who has given her everything. Allie is open and honest about her encounters with depression and is passionate about helping young women discover, strengthen and reclaim their value and worth as daughters of God. She is married to her best friend Paul and lives in Santa Barbara. When away from their day jobs and ministry they can be found surfing up and down the California coast, spending time with people they love and traveling in search of good waves and fellowship.

The HEAL Principles

1) HEAL is a shared journey
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help lift him up." – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

2) HEAL is centered on God, not ourselves
Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

3) HEAL offers a freedom-filled approach to food
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

4) HEAL is about living an abundant life
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full...I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." – John 10:10 -18

5) HEAL never ends
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 6:1