Barb Raveling's Blog, page 19

How to Choose Weight Loss Boundaries (and Lies That Make Us Change Them Too Often)

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would come up to us and say, “Here’s your weight loss boundaries! Follow them for x number of days and you’ll lose that weight pronto! Oh, and did I mention that it will be fun and easy?!”

Then they’d give us a high five and walk off, leaving us to float into the happily-ever-after weight loss future!!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t usually work that way. Instead, we read an article on the Internet of someone who lost a bunch of weight and think, Maybe that plan wil...

Journaling for the Soul: Methods and Tips with Deborah Haddix

Have you ever thought about journaling as a way to grow closer to God? Or have you wanted to start a journaling habit, but you can’t make yourself do it? Or maybe you don’t know where to begin? If so, this podcast episode on journaling for the soul will help.

I’ll be interviewing Deborah Haddix, who recently published a book called Journaling for the Soul. The book describes 50 different ways to journal, along with tips on how to develop a journaling habit. These are journaling techniques th...

Bible Study: When Life or Ministry is Hard

Do you ever feel like God is asking too much of you? Or like you’re the one who has to do all the work and everyone else gets off easy? When life or ministry is hard, often our first impulse is to run.

We’re not the only ones who want to escape when life is hard. In today’s Bible study we’ll look at a man who was the master at escape: Jonah. In the first chapter alone, he has three trials. Let’s take a look at those trials.

 Bible Study: When Life or Ministry is Hard

To print out this Bible...

35: 7 Ways to Get Closer to God

Do you ever feel like you’d like to be closer to God but it doesn’t seem to be happening? In this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, we’ll talk about 7 different ways to get closer to God.

I’ll share my own story of the ups and downs in my relationship with God, including some of the things I did that hurt our relationship and some of the things that helped.

Here are the 7 ways to get closer to God that we’ll be talking about in the podcast:

7 Ways to Get Closer to God Find something...

34: 10 Tips for When Your Spouse Won’t Change

Do you ever think, If only my spouse would change, then I’d be happy? If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve probably thought that at least once. Unfortunately, God hasn’t given us a magic wand to change our spouses! That’s okay though. Here are 10 tips to help you when your spouse won’t change.

10 Tips For When Your Spouse Won’t Change 1. Recognize that you can’t change everyone you want to change.

Now you might be thinking, Isn’t this a no-brainer? Doesn’t everyone know that...

33: Christian Writers: Finding Your Identity in Christ with Matt Rial

Are you a Christian writer who struggles with finding your identity in Christ? Are you going through a trial that’s shaking your identity?

In this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, Matt Rial shares how his recent injury affected both his writing and his identity.

As we visit together about the experience and life in general as a writer, I hope you’ll be able to find some ideas to help with your own struggles with identity and trials that shake your identity.

Here are some of the resou...

New Christian Weight Loss Podcast

Do you ever feel like weight loss is an uphill battle with no end in sight? Sometimes it helps to have someone walk (or climb) alongside you. I’m hoping my new weight loss podcast will offer that kind of help!

It’s called Taste for Truth (after my weight loss Bible study by the same name), and it will be full of interviews, tips, encouragement, and opportunities to renew your mind while you listen to the podcast. Here is a sampling of the types of podcast episodes you’ll be listening to on t...

How to Pursue Goals Without Obsessing Over Them

One of the hardest things for me as a writer is to figure out how to pursue goals without obsessing over them.

Do you ever have that problem? Maybe you’re trying to lose weight. But youfind yourself constantly obsessing over calories or points or how much exercise you’re getting.

Or maybe you’re working on your marriage. But you’re steaming mad at your spouse whenever he doesn’t cooperate with your marriage improvement plans.

Or maybe you’rejust trying to get your to-do list done each day. A...

32: Overcoming Food Fixation: Interview with Asheritah Ciuciu

Do you ever feel like you can’t stop thinking about food? Or do you struggle with obsessing about losing weight, exercise, or eating healthy? If so, this interview with Asheritah Ciuciuon theChristian Habits Podcastwill help!

We’ll be visiting about how to overcome food fixation, which she discusses in hernew book which goes on sale today, Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for Satisfaction.I’ve previewed her book and it looks like a great resource.

Here’s a description of Asheritah’s book on...

Free Kindle Book for New Year’s Goals & Free Christian Moms Summit!

Happy New Year Everyone!Hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas season enjoying your families and friends! As we head into the new year, growth is on our minds. So today I want to share two different opportunities for growth: a free Kindle book for New Year’s goals and a free series of interviews on the Internet for Christian women.

Let’s start with the book.

Free on Kindle 12/31/16 through 1/2/17

Help for Your New Year’s Goals

I love making goals, but I have a hard time following through on t...