HOPE40 - Day 31 - Truth and Freedom

Week 6: HOPE IN THE JOURNEY

Today's Scripture: John 8:31-42

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“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ~John 8:31–32

As you move deeper into the final stretch of Lent, Jesus invites you to remain. Remain in My word, He says. Remain with Me on the journey. This is a call to listen, stay, and walk with Him all the way to the Cross.

Jesus speaks of truth and freedom, two things you likely long for in your journey of faith and in your daily life. But freedom doesn’t come from escaping suffering. It comes from walking through it with Him. The closer you stay to Christ, the more you come to know the truth of who He is...and who you are in Him.

This journey to the Cross reminds you that being strong on your own only goes so far. Cling to the One who walks with you, who has already gone before you, who never leaves. And as you remain with Him, you discover that true hope isn’t found at the finish line, it’s found in every step where you choose Him again.

Question to Ponder: Where in your life right now is Jesus asking you to “remain” with Him instead of rushing ahead or pulling away?

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Help me to remain with You, especially when the road feels long or uncertain.Teach me to trust in the truth of Your love and the freedom You offer when I walk in Your Word. As I continue this journey to the Cross, fill me with courage, peace, and enduring hope. Amen

HOPE For Your Health - Progress over Perfection

One of the greatest lessons on this Lenten journey of fasting has been this: progress over perfection. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way...through trial, error, prayer, and persistence.

Last week I shared a bit about my health journey with Crohn’s disease. Once I received my diagnosis, I followed the traditional medical model and began a course of steroids to reduce the inflammation. I was told to eat whatever I wanted, but it quickly became clear that my body had something else to say. The steroids didn’t sit well with me, and I certainly couldn’t eat just anything without paying a steep price. That was my wake-up call: if I wanted true healing, I had to look deeper.

After coming off the steroids, I started searching for different options. That’s when I was introduced to the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. It was a game changer at that particular time and set me on a course of paying attention to the foods we brought into our home and to those we were putting in our bodies. The recipes, rooted in whole foods and traditional preparation methods, began to support my gut and shift my mindset around food. I started making bone broth, soaking grains, eating fermented veggies, drinking raw milk and learning to feed my body with intention and reverence. It was not an easy sell for my family, so I often found myself preparing "regular" meals for them and something additional for myself. Sometimes, I would find a "keeper" that the kids liked, but most of the recipes were rejected quickly. The struggle was real!

Over the next few years, I did a lot of experimenting with food—just ask my husband or any of my kids! One of the more memorable parts of that journey was trying wild-caught fish bone broth made by a woman who had healed herself of both IBS and Crohn’s using her own protocol. A mutual friend connected us, and she graciously prepared two quarts of this broth every week and passed them along to me. At first, I couldn’t stand the taste or smell...it was strong, earthy, and nothing like the chicken or beef broth I was used to. But, because it made my gut feel so good, I chose to sacrifice and drink it anyway.

Fish bone broth, especially from wild-caught fish, is rich in minerals like iodine, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It is known for supporting digestion, soothing inflammation in the gut lining, and helping the body gently detoxify. I slowly began to associate that strange taste with healing and peace in my body, and it became a staple for over 2 years.

This same friend also introduced me to the benefits of fennel tea. She would soak fennel seeds in purified water and set it in the sun for a period of time (the exact duration I can’t remember). The tea reminded me of black licorice...which I do not like...so this, too, was hard to get down. But I drank it anyway, because I was committed to feeling better.

Sometimes healing means trying new things. Sometimes it means overcoming your distaste or discomfort for the sake of progress. These small “yeses” became acts of hope for me, ways I began to trust that my body could heal, and that God was guiding me on a path of wholeness, one odd-smelling cup at a time. TO BE CONTINUED...

If this week hasn’t gone perfectly for you, you are in good company. Keep going. Every hour of fasting, every choice to avoid sugar, alcohol, or white flour this week is a step forward. Every intentional act is a brick laid on the path of hope and healing.

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to stay in the journey. And Christ is walking it with you.

You’re doing better than you think. Keep choosing progress.

HOPE For Your Marriage: Joy in the Journey

Marriage is a journey of deep love, shared joy, and also at times...real struggle. There are seasons of laughter and lightness, but also moments of miscommunication, unmet expectations, and hard conversations. In all of it, Jesus calls you to remain.

Remain in Him. Remain in your vows. Remain in love, even when it’s hard.

Just as Jesus invites you to walk closely with Him to the Cross, marriage invites you to walk closely with your spouse through both the beauty and the burden. True intimacy isn't built only in the highlights, but in the daily...showing up, choosing one another, being present in both celebration and sorrow.

It’s easy to be present in the celebrating and even in the easy-going times. But how are you toward your spouse when there is sorrow, sickness, or stress? Those are the moments that reveal the depth of your love and the strength of your commitment. Do you become distant or defensive? Or do you lean in with gentleness and grace, even when you are tired yourself?

True love shows up not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s costly. In the moments when your spouse feels most burdened, confused, or overwhelmed...your presence, offering quiet support, patient understanding, or a simple hug...becomes a powerful witness of God’s love at work in your marriage.

Reflection/Challenge

Where can you show up more intentionally for your spouse this week: in the joy, or in the struggle? Ask yourself: Am I remaining with them through it all?

Choose one act of presence today: listen without distraction, pray together, offer comfort, or speak a word of truth in love. Let that be your yes to remaining...in Christ and in covenant.

SHEET PAN SALMON

Keeping the sheet pan theme going this week, I'm sharing another quick, easy and healthy meal that you can have on the table in about 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

4 salmon fillets (5- to 6-oz. each)
1 pound red potatoes, halved
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lemon, halved or sliced
fresh parsley for garnish if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Add potatoes to a bowl and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. (sometimes I like to add garlic powder and onion powder as well.) Arrange potatoes cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes.
While the potatoes roast, trim green beans and place in the same bowl used for the potatoes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper; toss to coat.
When potatoes are tender, remove pan from the oven and heat broiler to high.
Place the salmon fillets in center of baking sheet with potatoes and add green beans. Drizzle remaining tablespoon olive oil over the salmon, season with salt and pepper and queeze lemons over everything.
Broil salmon, green beans and potatoes 10 minutes, or until salmon is no longer translucent but still moist in center and green beans, potatoes, and lemons are lightly browned.