Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

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LORDI stil l cringe when I picture it .Back when mall s were ne w and a curiosity, i t stood i n frontof the shopping center's shoe stor e where Mo m bought he r girl sthose sensible Hush Pupp y shoes .To wal k dow n th e mall , I couldn't ge t around it . And t oshop for shoes, well, that reall y bothered me .I'm sur e th e shoe stor e owner place d i t there t o attract cus -tomers. Bu t i t revolted me .It was a mirror .But not just an y mirror .This mirror distorte d people' s bodies , makin g the m appea rgrotesquely fat . I n m y opinion, mirror s lik e tha t needed t o sta ywhere the y belonged, i n front of circus tents . Instead , i t irrever -ently created havo c i n front of an otherwise sedate store .Many time s I had watche d othe r kid s stand i n front of tha tmirror, laughin g an d makin g fu n o f thei r blown-u p bellie s an dbehinds.1 couldn't.I had struggle d wit h a weight problem sinc e childhood. Sowhy should I make myself look heavier ? I thought. That mirro r repre -sented m y worst nightmar e abou t persona l appearance . I tsurfaced m y fear of someday actuall y growing that fat.It wa s silly , I know. Eve n bac k the n I thought m y feelingswere ridiculous . Bu t i t didn't chang e m y hatre d o f tha t mirror —and m y unhappiness wit h m y body.Ironically, when I look at photos o f myself from those years ,I would lov e t o be tha t sli m again . When i t concerns bod y image ,I've seldom viewe d mysel f accurately .Not long ago , I laughed ove r a cartoon o f a man an dwoman, eac h lookin g int o a mirror. He' s fat and sloven -ly but imagine s a taut, muscula r ma n smilin g bac k a t him . She' sslim and attractiv e bu t see s a chunky, homel y woman instea d o fher tru e reflection .I'll demur from commentary about men , but I must admit it' stough fo r women t o assess themselves realistically. And for many o fus, it's no laughing matter. The pressur e cooker o f trying to "have itall" spewed u s out, but we're no t ye t sure where we've landed. I nour minds , we're stil l faintly chanting, "I'v e got to be perfect."But none o f us are.26
A TRU E VIE W O F Yo uConsequently, when w e decide t o change, w e may first nee dto adjust our visio n and ge t realistic . It' s possible t o emerge fro mdenial an d stil l se t goals built o n fantasy . However, wit h God' shelp, w e can vie w ourselves throug h Hi s lovin g and truth-fille deyes.God know s we're dus t an d H e stil l love s us. H e know s tha twe're filth y from sin , but H e stil l welcomes u s into Hi s arms. H eknows tha t we'l l neve r b e perfec t on earth , bu t H e stil l forgive sand change s us .I smile whe n I picture it . I relax whe n I understand it . Ichange when I grasp it .You can, too .In Par t Two , lear n ho w realis m play s a role i n th e chang eprocess—and ho w i t can affec t you.1. Generally , are you realisti c about yourself? Why, or why not?2. Writ e ou t your goal(s ) t o change. Ho w realisti c ar e they ? Ho wrealistic i s the tim e frame in which yo u expect t o change ?3. Ho w can you sta y realistic a s you work towar d change ?27
Page 4 and 5: JUDITH COUCHMA N
Page 6 and 7: ALSO B Y JUDITH COUCHMA NGetting a
Page 8 and 9: LORD, PLEAS E HEL P M E T O CHANG E
Page 11 and 12: Getting past the fear of trying and
Page 13: INTRODUCTIONnatural powe r al l ca
Page 16 and 17: LORD, PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGEeliev
Page 18 and 19: We begin to change by forsaking den
Page 20 and 21: LORD, PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGEike m
Page 22 and 23: Sometimes God uses other peopleto c
Page 24 and 25: LORD, PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGE2. I
Page 26 and 27: Refusing to change often damagesour
Page 28 and 29: LORD, PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGEThese
Page 30 and 31: When we uncover our need to change,
Page 34 and 35: Change is hard work, but the Lordof
Page 36 and 37: LORD, PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGEGod h
Page 39: A TRU E VIE WOF YouGetting realisti
Page 43 and 44: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UA big mistake
Page 45 and 46: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UI remember wh
Page 47 and 48: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UOne personali
Page 49 and 50: A TRU E VIE W O F YO Uyou. But we s
Page 51 and 52: A TRU E VIE W O F YO Uof Mother' s
Page 53 and 54: A TRU E VIE W O F Yo uWhen I kept t
Page 55 and 56: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UBased o n fir
Page 57 and 58: A TRU E VIE W O F YO U"People of Ja
Page 59 and 60: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UNow she had g
Page 61: A TRU E VIE W O F YO UI was a husba
Page 64 and 65: LORD. PI.EAS f. HEL P M E T O CHANG
Page 66 and 67: auA STA B I NTHE SOU LGod can fill
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Page 70 and 71: LIVING I N LOU DDESPERATIONWhen use
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Page 74 and 75: HIDING FRO M JO YChrist can heal th
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Page 78 and 79: WELCOME T O M YPITY PART YFeeling s
Page 82 and 83: MEMORIES O FPANDORAIt's difficult t
Page 84 and 85: LORD, PLEAS E HE L P ME T O CHANG E
Page 87 and 88: TUMBLINGSurviving the ups and doums
Page 89 and 90: STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO MHe contin
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO MRosalie m
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mthat says
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO M"I couldn
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mthan anyt
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mand the n
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO MI cry out
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mworked fo
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO MListen cl
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mand self-
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STUMBLING TOWAR D FREEDO Mto the ce
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LORD, PLEAS E HE L P ME T O CHANG E
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Way- — •CHOOSE I TOR LOSE I TGo
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LORD, PLEAS E HEL P MF . TO CHANG E
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GOOD-BYE,DAMSEL I NDISTRESSChange m
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LORD, PLEAS E HEL P M E T O CHANG E
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- - - > 2 3 ^THE WOMA NYOU'LL NEVER
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When we quest for significant chang
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a'7ATTACKS FRO MBEHIND HUR TTHE WOR
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ICCTHE NEW ,IMPROVED YO UHolding on
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO Uhow she did
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO UBut the n m
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO Ulives and s
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THE NEW , IMPROVE D YO Ufalling on
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO UIf I tried
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO U"Judy," she
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THE NEW , IMPROVE D YO UThe old thi
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO Udeliver hi
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THK NEW , IMPROVE D YO UEach person
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THE NEW , IMPROVE D YO Urelatively
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G lofrjPart 1 : STARTUNG INT O TH E
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NOTES31. A.W . Tozer , Man: The Dwe
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Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

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