Imagine a recent anxiety-producing situation and the Lord saying in response, “I’ve got it in the bag…”! Take Back Your Temple Member Leilani Lykins RN posted a powerful story in our Community about how she heard those very words when she was anxious about a particular situation. I’m sharing the story with her permission. I believe it will “Wow” you as it did me! This past July, my beautiful daughter Leah and I had the honor and privilege of going to a wonderful area of Chicago called Saint Charles for a family reunion. On the flight, I wore some cool jeans and a beautiful white long-sleeve b ..read more

When people want to change, one question often haunts them: “What if I fail?” While failure is a common fear, you can take steps to overcome it. I had to confront the fear of failure when I decided to write my first book: What if no one liked it? What if nobody wanted it? However, I decided to start confronting that fear with an empowering question: “What if I succeed?” It was inspiring to imagine the potential impact on my life, my loved ones, and those the Lord may bless me to influence for His kingdom! Plus, I would have peace in doing what the Lord was leading me to do; I would do my pa ..read more

A few years ago, I used a potent key to escape the enemy’s food temptation snare. A famous food truck came to our town to appear at a local festival. The food truck had a reputation for giant hamburgers, which people said were among the best. When I first heard about the food truck visit, I got excited. I imagined how delicious the burger would be, satisfying my curiosity. However, on food truck visit day, a funny thing happened. When I imagined going to the food truck and eating one of those burgers: My stomach felt queasy I saw the burger grease making me feel sluggish, tired, and mentally ..read more

Take Back Your Temple reader Tammy Reed shared a powerful declaration she called, “A Farewell Letter to Sugar.” Although sugar was Tammy’s life-long comfort and friend, she decided she wouldn’t tolerate the “master-slave” relationship it had become. As the Bible says: All things are lawful for me; but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any. – 1 Corinthians 6:12 I’m sharing Tammy’s letter below with her permission. I could relate to what she wrote and I believe many of us can! Dear Sugar, You have been my best friend for most ..read more

Ever been unhappy about a situation, but it persisted anyway? Reaching your “Enough is enough!” point makes all the difference in making permanent change. Let me explain. A couple of years ago, I received an email from a lady who had not reached her “Enough is enough” point yet. She wrote: I still have a great problem with my weight. Suffering from hypothyroid and high blood pressure. I need to do something, but I am too busy.” “I am too busy” was the clue that “Enough is enough!” was not there. Whatever was making her “too busy” was more important to her at that time than dealing with her ..read more

I struggled with chronic procrastination for years. However, uncovering the link with emotional eating was key to overcoming procrastination. I ate to procrastinate, which was part of my past emotional eating habit! Because I wanted to remove a source of emotional eating, I needed to get rid of the procrastination habit. In this article, let’s discover why people procrastinate and steps I took to beat procrastination. What Does Procrastination Mean? Procrastination comes from the Latin term “pro-crastinus,” which means “forward to tomorrow.”  Do you see a problem here?  The person p ..read more

Ever wondered what separates an overcomer from one who gives up quickly? That is right: The Overcomer Attitude! In the following article, you’ll learn about three principles for better emotional control and results. What is an Attitude, and Why is it Important?  Our attitude starts with our inner worldview; it speaks to how we see God, ourselves, others, and circumstances, plus our internal self-talk.  Our attitudes then show up outwardly in how we interact with others and our daily choices. Our beliefs and attitude drive our behavior, which is the biggest driver of brain change! Co ..read more

When people want to change, one question often haunts them: “What if I fail?” While failure is a common fear, you can take steps to overcome it. I had to confront the fear of failure when I decided to write my first book: What if no one liked it? What if nobody wanted it? However, I decided to start confronting that fear with an empowering question: “What if I succeed?” It was inspiring to imagine the potential impact on my life, my loved ones, and those the Lord may bless me to influence for His kingdom! Plus, I would have peace in doing what the Lord was leading me to do; I would do my pa ..read more

A few years ago, I used a potent key to escape the enemy’s food temptation snare. A famous food truck came to our town to appear at a local festival. The food truck had a reputation for giant hamburgers, which people said were among the best. When I first heard about the food truck visit, I got excited. I imagined how delicious the burger would be, satisfying my curiosity. However, on food truck visit day, a funny thing happened. When I imagined going to the food truck and eating one of those burgers: My stomach felt queasy I saw the burger grease making me feel sluggish, tired, and mentally ..read more