Have Hope; Will Travel Have Hope; Will Travel

On March 17, 2020, the world shut down and Anna Ward had to make the difficult decision to prioritize her health (her life) over her job and even over her extended family.







Anna was born with a progressive genetic disorder called Cystic Fibrosis.







CF is one of the highest risk conditions for serious illness from COVID-19, so Anna, her husband, and their two sons (ages 5 and 3) needed to self-isolate to the highest degree.







No grocery stores. No babysitters. No family gatherings. No exceptions.















In honor of Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month (May), Anna is sharing her story on this week’s episode of Have Hope; Will Travel.







She talks about how the disease works, what it has meant for her 30-some years of life, and what the vaccine means for her.







It is a heavy episode where we talk about physical, mental, and spiritual health. We even talk about death.







I think you’ll learn a lot—I did.







Resources







Connect with Anna Ward on Facebook and YouTube.







The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for all the ins and outs of CF







New England Journal of Medicine on the safety and efficacy of vaccines







Find the episode







Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.

Ever since the very beginning, God’s desire has always been to be in relationship with us.







But what does that look like since Jesus isn’t just walking down the street to go hang out with?







This week on Have Hope; Will Travel, Jenilee Samuel demystifies hearing God’s voice.















She offers some tips for getting started—for the first time or when you’re stuck.







She talks about how to know when what you hear is from God and provides safe-guards to help you walk in wisdom in how you’re presenting what you think you’re hearing to others.







And she shares what it has looked like in her own life when she and her family lost everything in a hurricane (with no insurance).







This is an episode you do not want to miss!







Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







What questions do you have about hearing God’s voice?







PS: A few weeks ago I was hosted on Jenilee’s podcast Java with Jen. We talked about being a Christian in a secular workplace without being weird. You can find that episode here.

Stephanie Rousselle came to the United States from France as a high school foreign exchange student. Her goal was to learn English.







She accomplished that goal and came to know Christ.















This week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast she shares her story of intellectual and cultural opposition to the Gospel.







Highlights







* How God used Stephanie’s host family to speak to her heart* Proof that the resurrection of Christ actually happened* Advice for when your relationship with God feels stale* Tips for mentoring and community building* How to learn to read the Bible in the culture it was written in







Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







Be sure to connect with Stephanie through Gospel Spice Ministries.

Here we are: having a different kind of Easter for the second year in a row.







We’ve been through a lot this last year, and at some point or another, we’ve probably all borrowed these words from Jesus:







My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”







Except these words aren’t original to Jesus.







He’s actually quoting King David in Psalm 22.















For the Jewish audience, Jesus was calling to mind the entire Psalm, not just the one verse plucked from context as often happens in a Christian context.







So as we celebrate our second Easter safe at home, let’s reflect together on these words of David and of Jesus.







Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







For help encountering God as we journey through Holy Week without the typical traditions (again), check out the updated Holy Week Workbook. Available for free.

We love to travel, we love to get to hear others’ stories, and we love to learn about someone else’s life and culture.







Yet sometimes we’re left with the question of “How?”















This week on Have Hope; Will Travel, journalist, author, and global adventurer Jessica Stone shares from her experience of living and working in cultures other than her own.







Jessica has invited us into her kitchen to teach us how to travel, a refreshing perspective on “fake news,” and what it’s like to be a Christian in a secular workplace.







We get to learn from someone who has traveled well. 







Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







Be sure to connect with her online at Jessica-Stone.com, on Instagram @JessStoneTV, Twitter @JessicaStoneTV, and Facebook Jessica Stone. Check out her book Crossing the Divide: Twenty Lessons to Help you Thrive in Cross-Cultural Environments.

I hope you don’t find it sacrilegious for me to say this. Jesus and I have talked about it, and He’s cool with it.







There are some scriptures I absolutely hate.







They make me angry.







I feel like they show a world different than the one I want to be part of.















Like take Deuteronomy 32, for example, where Moses doesn’t get to enter the Promised Land because he struck the rock. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.







Or Genesis 20 where Abraham lies about his wife being his sister, so King Abimelek takes her as part of his harem then God says Abimelek’s going to die because he [unknowingly] took another man’s wife.







Do you know who has to pay to make that situation right? Abimelek.







Do you know what Abraham has to do because of his lies? Pray.







That’s it.







This makes me so mad! Like the one who is deceived is the one who has to pay for his innocent mistake and the deceiver gets a get out of jail free card.







Abimelek’s intentions were pure.







That’s true of most of us: we don’t go around intentionally sinning against people. That would be manipulative and toxic.







Let’s talk about this Old Testament story I hate so much and remember that we’ve all both wronged and been wronged.







Listen to episode {36} on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







Which scriptures do you have a hard time with?







Resources Referenced:







Woven by Angie Smith







Caste by Isabel Wilkerson