The Christian Habits Podcast

DEC 12, 2025

Belief: It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Change

A couple of months ago, I sent out a survey asking which lies people struggle with the most—today’s lie came in #1: “It shouldn’t be this hard to change.” The next two? “I’ll never change” and “I can’t do this anyway, so why bother?” <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-25796" src="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4.png" alt="It shouldn't be this hard to change." width="1200" height="630" srcset="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4.png 1200w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4-300x158.png 300w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4-1024x538.png 1024w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4-150x79.png 150w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Heading-4-768x403.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" />What’s interesting is that those second two lies come after repeated failure. But today’s lie—“It shouldn’t be this hard to change”—actually causes the failure. Why? Because if we believe change should be easy, we won’t put in the work required for real transformation. Let’s dig into this idea and replace the lie with biblical truth. <hr data-start="1067" data-end="1070" /> <h2 data-start="1072" data-end="1115">Why We Believe Change Should Be Easy</h2> This lie shows up most often when we’re trying to break a habit—but typically only at the very beginning of the journey. Once you’ve worked on change long enough, you learn (from experience!) that change is supposed to be hard. But if you’re new to the process or haven’t seen much progress yet, you’re far more likely to believe the lie, It shouldn’t be this hard to change. So where does this belief come from? <h3 data-start="1535" data-end="1580">1. Our Culture—Especially Marketing</h3> We live in a world that constantly tells us: Buy this product. Start this program. Take this course. It will be easy! Marketing promises quick, effortless transformation. That seeps into our thinking, so we assume change should just “happen”—no struggle, no sacrifice. It shouldn’t be hard to change… <h3 data-start="1895" data-end="1941">2. Misunderstanding Christian Growth</h3> Sometimes, in the church, we unintentionally absorb the belief that spiritual growth should be easy, too—almost effortless. We think if we go to church, join a Bible study, or attend a small group, we’ll naturally glide into spiritual maturity. But that’s not how the Bible describes transformation. It uses words like training, fighting, resisting, disciplining, and battling. Real change takes intentional effort, spiritual weapons, and daily engagement with God. <hr data-start="2452" data-end="2455" /> <h2 data-start="2457" data-end="2512">We Also Misunderstand What “Hard Work” Really Is</h2> Many of us think trying our hardest means “showing up,” like my husband did one day in high school when he told his mom he got a C on a test. “Well, you tried your best,” she said—except he hadn’t studied at all. Lesson learned? That effort meant simply being present. But effort is more than that, especially in spiritual growth. Breaking a stronghold, uprooting a generational sin, rewiring long-held thought patterns, or resisting a habit you’ve practiced for decades—all of that is hard work. <hr data-start="3027" data-end="3030" /> <h2 data-start="3032" data-end="3087">A More Accurate Picture: Training for a Marathon</h2> If someone told you to run a marathon in six months, you wouldn’t think, “I’ll just show up that day.” You’d know it required effort, planning, discipline, and sacrifice. Yet we rarely apply that same mindset to our spiritual or emotional habits—even though the Bible clearly portrays transformation as a spiritual battle. <hr data-start="3453" data-end="3456" /> <h2 data-start="3458" data-end="3482">The Truth We Need</h2> <blockquote data-start="3484" data-end="3705"> If I’m trying to change a stronghold, a generational sin, a long-term habit, or a behavior fueled by years of thinking, it will be extremely hard—and that’s completely normal. Hard doesn’t mean impossible. Hard doesn’t mean God isn’t with you. Hard doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Hard simply means you’re fighting a real battle. <hr /> </blockquote> <h2 data-start="3876" data-end="3920">What the Bible Says About Hard Change</h2> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012&version=NIV">Hebrews 12</a> is a perfect picture of this struggle. It reminds us that resisting sin is painful, that discipline doesn’t feel good in the moment, and that even Jesus sweat drops of blood in His fight against temptation. But it also reminds us that discipline produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). That harvest is coming—if we don’t give up. <hr data-start="4354" data-end="4357" /> <h2 data-start="4359" data-end="4400">How to Renew Your Mind for This Lie</h2> When it comes to working hard on growth in the areas God wants us to change, that hard work looks like lots of renewing our mind—multiple times a day. Towards the end of the podcast episode, I share some different ways to renew your mind for the lie, It shouldn’t be this hard to change. I give an example for Scripture meditation, truth journaling, and using the Tired of the Struggle questions from my book, <a href="https://amzn.to/2sOjCiM">Renewing of the Project.</a> Here are the truths I shared in the podcast as examples of what you could write down when you’re truth journaling the lie, It shouldn’t be this hard to change. The last truth is a truth journal entry from my 2002 journal! : Belief: It shouldn’t be this hard to change. Truths: <ol class="ol1"> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ol class="ol1"> <li class="li1">That’s crazy. Of course it’s this hard to change! I’ve been doing this for 40 years now! It’s hard to change years and years of thinking one way and doing things one way because of the thoughts. If I want to change I need to get down to the fundamentals and change the way I think. That is not going to be easy.</li> <li class="li1">It’s not that hard to make dinner, change my clothes, or play a game. It IS hard to break free from a stronghold or a generational sin. And it’s crazy hard to change years and years of the same old thoughts that are fueling the negative emotions that are driving this behavior Of course it’s going to take work to change! I’m being delusional when I think it won’t!</li> <li class="li1">If it was hard for Jesus – who was 100% God in addition to being 100% man – to withstand temptation, how hard will it be for me?! He sweat tears of blood in his fight against sin. Can I not at the very minimum renew my mind 2-3 times a day to fight this behavior? Thanks be to God, He know exactly what I’m going through and is willing to help. But he expects me to work alongside him.</li> <li class="li1">Barb’s Journal – 1/18/02 (23 years ago!!!) – Belief: Losing weight should be easy and fun – so should everything else in life! I shouldn’t have to suffer. [I hadn’t refined truth journaling yet as I wrote just one truth for three sentences!] TRUTH: It should be easy and fun, but it’s not! It may be that way for people who like to exercise and thrive on that sort of thing, but not for me. For me it is TORTURE and MISERY!!! Expect it!! [Note: tell them I didn’t really write the truth – I no longer believe it should be fun and easy – so God sometimes gives us truth in layers. For those who say they don’t know what the truth is – if you keep going God will show you it at a deeper and deeper level.</li> </ol> </li> </ol> Listen to the podcast for more insights and to renew your mind along with me! If you have a friend who is struggling with change in some area of their lives, please share this post or podcast episode with them. <h2>How to Listen to the Podcast</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BarbRavelingBooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on YouTube</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-habits-podcast/id899589208?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://subscribeonandroid.com/barbraveling.com/feed/podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Android</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4RiCoYxtkWRm5B4FjXx3lT" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Spotify</a>.</li> <li>Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”</li> </ul> The post <a href="https://barbraveling.com/belief-it-shouldnt-be-this-hard-to-change/">Belief: It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Change</a> appeared first on <a href="https://barbraveling.com">Barb Raveling</a>.

15 MIN

NOV 20, 2025

Lie: I Want to Do This (So I Should)

Have you ever noticed how quickly a desire turns into a justification? That looks good—so I should eat it. That sounds fun—so I should do it. I feel like it—so why not? <img decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-25765" src="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="630" srcset="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1.jpg 1200w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1-300x158.jpg 300w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1-150x79.jpg 150w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Heading-1-768x403.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /> This lie shows up everywhere, especially in the habits we struggle with: overeating, overspending, over-scrolling, overworking… basically anything where desire takes the wheel and drives us somewhere we later regret. Often people tell me, “I don’t know what I’m thinking. I can’t pinpoint the lie I’m believing.” This makes it hard to <a href="https://barbraveling.com/how-to-truth-journal/">truth journal</a> because we need to begin with a lie if we want to put the truth to it. In today’s Christian Habits Podcast episode, I cover a lie you can always use to truth journal whenever you feel like breaking your boundaries with a habit: I want to do this, so I should. At its core, this lie is about desire: we want something. When we believe this lie, we assume that desire equals permission. But desire isn’t a good decision-maker. <h2 data-start="820" data-end="852">Where the Lie Comes From</h2> Culture constantly tells us: Follow your heart. You deserve it. Live your truth. And while that might work when our desires are healthy, it’s a terrible strategy when our desires lead us toward sin, addiction, struggles with our health and finances, relationship problems, and regret. God never designed desire to be our leader. He designed it to be something we steward. <h2 data-start="1189" data-end="1217">A Better Way to Live</h2> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2013%3A14&version=NASB1995">Romans 13:14</a> gives us a completely different approach: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts.” That means: 1. Put on Christ Talk to Him. Ask for help. Sit with Him instead of your temptation. 2. Make no provision for the flesh In today’s words: Make your habit hard to do, and obedience easy to do. Ask yourself: <ul data-start="1581" data-end="1729"> <li data-start="1581" data-end="1608"> When am I most tempted? </li> <li data-start="1609" data-end="1671"> How can I create roadblocks that make indulging difficult? </li> <li data-start="1672" data-end="1729"> Where can I move, limit, or remove access to the habit? </li> </ul> For example: If your phone derails your day, stop keeping it nearby. No social media before a certain time. Put it in another room during work hours. Small barriers create big freedom. <h2 data-start="1920" data-end="1946">Renewing Your Mind</h2> Here are a few truths you can use when you’re truth journaling today’s lie: <ul data-start="1986" data-end="2331"> <li data-start="1986" data-end="2052"> Just because I want something doesn’t mean I should do it. </li> <li data-start="2053" data-end="2125"> My life is better when I live by design, not desire. </li> <li data-start="2126" data-end="2202"> One little indulgence isn’t harmless—it reinforces the idea that I have no boundaries. </li> <li data-start="2203" data-end="2272"> If I did everything I felt like doing, my life would be a mess. </li> <li data-start="2273" data-end="2331"> God’s desires for me lead to joy, health, and freedom. </li> </ul> Transformation doesn’t happen by willpower. It happens by renewing your mind—catching the lie, replacing it with truth, and practicing that truth one decision at a time. And over time? Desire stops driving the car. Wisdom does. Truth does. Faith does. God does. And that is when real change begins. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f3a7.png" alt="🎧" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Listen to the full episode on the <a href="https://barbraveling.com/christian-podcast/">Christian Habits Podcast</a>! I’ll give you a chance to renew your mind and go more in depth on the topic. I also share three of my own journal entries on this lie – dating back to 2006! <h3>Resources Mentioned on the Podcast</h3> <ul> <li>Indulgence questions from the Stopping a Habit section of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2sOjCiM">Renewing of the Mind Project</a></li> </ul> <h3>How to Listen to the Podcast (Christian Habits)</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-habits-podcast/id899589208?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li> <li><a href="https://subscribeonandroid.com/barbraveling.com/feed/podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Android</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=51757&refid=stpr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Stitcher</a></li> <li><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-HUegeqUl__ZcHCIHxdRE6vWfnBvly7I&si=CE2HG0skTVopo5AU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on YouTube Music</a></li> <li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4RiCoYxtkWRm5B4FjXx3lT" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen or subscribe on Spotify</a></li> <li>Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”</li> </ul> The post <a href="https://barbraveling.com/lie-i-want-to-do-this-so-i-should/">Lie: I Want to Do This (So I Should)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://barbraveling.com">Barb Raveling</a>.

15 MIN

OCT 22, 2025

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32 MIN

OCT 2, 2025

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32 MIN

SEP 18, 2025

10 Lies That Make You Procrastinate

Do you ever feel like you’ll never get caught up? I know that feeling because I’ve struggled with procrastination for most of my life. Here’s what I’ve discovered: it’s a two-fold process to break free. First, we need to renew our minds and change the way we think so we actually want to do our dreaded tasks. And second, we need to learn practical strategies and time management tools to help us get caught up. I talk about both in <a href="https://courses.barbraveling.com/products/courses/stop-procrastinating">my new course, How to Stop Procrastinating</a>, but today I want to share something that’s often overlooked—the subtle lies that make you procrastinate. Let’s uncover ten of the biggest ones together. (I share 40 in my new course.) <img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25708" src="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate.jpg" alt="10 lies that make you procrastinate" width="1200" height="630" srcset="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate.jpg 1200w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate-300x158.jpg 300w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate-150x79.jpg 150w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/10-Lies-That-Make-You-Procrastinate-768x403.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" />   <h2>10 Lies That Make Us Procrastinate</h2> I go into these in more depth in my podcast episode, so I’ll just record a simple truth here for each lie. <h3>1. This needs to be perfect.</h3> Truth: There is nothing perfect in life except God. So if I’m waiting for perfection, I’m working on an impossible goal. I subconsciously know it’s impossible and that makes me want to procrastinate! I will be far more likely to do hard things if I have more of a “Let’s just give this a try and see how it goes” attitude. Besides, God is in the habit of taking people who aren’t naturally good at what He called them to do (think Moses) and then equipping them for the calling. He can do that with me too! <h3>2. It’s too hard. I can’t do it.</h3> Truth: If God wants me to do this, He’ll help me do it. I can’t do it perfectly. I can’t do it without struggle, and I can’t do it without the possibility of failing, but I can do it! It will be easier if I break it into steps first and start with the smallest step I can take without dreading it. A step I can actually make myself do. <h3>3. I don’t feel like doing this (so I shouldn’t).</h3> Truth: Just because I don’t feel like doing something, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it. What if I didn’t feel like feeding my newborn baby? I would still do it! In the Bible, God often called people to do things they didn’t feel like doing. Remember Jonah? On the other hand, sometimes we should stop doing things we don’t feel like doing if there isn’t a good reason to do them. It’s good to take time to think about those things and talk to God and others for wisdom. <h3>4. This problem will go away if I ignore it long enough.</h3> Truth: It will never be easier to tackle than it is right now. The longer I put off problems, the bigger they get. Just think of putting off an uncomfortable conversation in a relationship. The longer you put it off, the more the problem grows, and the harder it is to bring it up. I have a whole lesson on how to solve problems promptly in my <a href="https://courses.barbraveling.com/products/courses/stop-procrastinating">How to Stop Procrastinating</a> course. <h3>5. I work better under pressure so I’ll wait.</h3> Truth: Often, I only work under pressure so that’s why I think I work better under pressure! Sometimes this works but other times I run out of time and end up with a project I’m not happy with because I didn’t have enough time to do a good job on it. <h3>6. If I don’t have a big block of time to work on this, it’s not worth doing.</h3> Truth: Often in life, all I have is little blocks of time, so if I want to actually do this, I need to adjust my expectations and do this in little blocks of time. I wrote my first book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Emotional-Eating-Weight-Bible/dp/0980224349/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AN6AZHLGWZIP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Cm6u-fppNI7koE34Sz9NQEBoThS8HSm-HTQmNsRMmaVATtqirvSub-FrElkP8yi25X-5cZAMd6LayW49DZiv779TEWmOKG9htoVvBQX4ocdYmHQUKDE00_G6EbnCXROn6d0EkxJjZqmeCJZlzVOLJy4_87g7zuJFL6UGX4P2q3JzYY-XcXXV1ieumsh63k2BFbRTaiOuhdf0hxcFWwjvl6hFTlEJSVY58XOvqD3V0o0.q_yRy5_6v2JmC84tSjSkALDuXEG0cZIWrZikYOP3Apo&dib_tag=se&keywords=freedom+from+emotional+eating&qid=1758151614&sprefix=freedom+from+emotional+eatin%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-1">Freedom from Emotional Eating</a>, in 15 minute blocks of time because I had a houseful of kids and that’s all I could make myself do. <h3>7. If it’s God will, things will go smoothly, I’ll have the desire to do it, and it will just happen without trying.</h3> Truth: Sadly, we can see from Scripture that this isn’t true. Think of Jonah, Moses, Jeremiah, and Elijah. God often calls us to do things that don’t go smoothly, that require a lot of effort on our part, and that we don’t want to do! Plus on a practical level, even if we like our work, there are days we’re not crazy about it. <h3>8. Other things are more urgent so this can wait.</h3> Truth: I need to be careful not to let the urgent take over the important. I do that by making priorities (which we’ll talk more about in my procrastination class). <h3>9. This will only take a minute, so I’ll just scroll/check email/etc. first.</h3> Truth: It usually takes far more than a minute, and even if it does only take a minute, that minute destroys my concentration. It can take ten or fifteen minutes to get it back again. I’m far better off making boundaries with my phone and not jumping on it whenever I feel like it. (Granted, this is easier said than done. I’m hoping to make a class on how to do this at some point – as soon as I learn how to do it myself!) <h3>10. I’m just not the kind of person who follows through.</h3> Truth: I may not be a person who follows through right now, but God can help me change. Also, I do follow through in some areas of my life, just not all areas. Thankfully, I am a work in progress! If you’re interested in making progress in overcoming procrastination, check out my new online course below. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f3a7.png" alt="🎧" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Listen to the full episode on the <a href="https://barbraveling.com/category/christianhabitspodcast/">Christian Habits Podcast</a>! <h2>“How to Stop Procrastinating” Course</h2> This will be an on-demand video course with 17 lessons, three live Q&As, assignments, and an opportunity to find accountability partners (at the Q&As). Register by September 22, 2025 to take advantage of early bird pricing. <a href="https://courses.barbraveling.com/products/courses/stop-procrastinating"> Click here</a> to find more about the course: <a href="https://courses.barbraveling.com/products/courses/stop-procrastinating"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-25615 size-large" src="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-1024x512.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-300x150.jpg 300w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-150x75.jpg 150w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-768x384.jpg 768w, https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2.jpg 1440w" alt="help with procrastination - procrastination course for Christians" width="1024" height="512" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25615" data-jpibfi-post-excerpt="" data-jpibfi-post-url="https://barbraveling.com/end-boredom-mindless-procrastination-eating-with-kim/" data-jpibfi-post-title="End Boredom, Mindless, & Procrastination Eating with Kim" data-jpibfi-src="https://barbraveling.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Use-this-Thinkific-How-to-Stop-Procrastinating-2-1024x512.jpg" data-pin-nopin="true" data-jpibfi-indexer="1" /></a> <h2>How to Listen to the Podcast (Christian Habits)</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-habits-podcast/id899589208?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts</a></li> <li><a href="https://subscribeonandroid.com/barbraveling.com/feed/podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen or subscribe on Android</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=51757&refid=stpr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen or subscribe on Stitcher</a></li> <li><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-HUegeqUl__ZcHCIHxdRE6vWfnBvly7I&si=CE2HG0skTVopo5AU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen or subscribe on YouTube Music</a></li> <li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4RiCoYxtkWRm5B4FjXx3lT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen or subscribe on Spotify</a></li> <li>Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”</li> </ul>   The post <a href="https://barbraveling.com/10-lies-that-make-you-procrastinate/">10 Lies That Make You Procrastinate</a> appeared first on <a href="https://barbraveling.com">Barb Raveling</a>.

21 MIN

The Christian Habits Podcast

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