Have Hope; Will Trave‪l‬ Have Hope; Will Travel

“From ashes to ashes and dust to dust…”







This week welcome Ash Wednesday which ushers us into the 40-day season leading up to Easter known as Lent.







Those who are familiar with the liturgical church just got a little stressed because the follow-up question is always, “What are you giving up for Lent?”







The tradition (not a biblical tradition, by the way) is to fast something for 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter to remember the suffering of Jesus.















Dallas Willard said, “Fasting is how we learn to suffer happily.”







In episode {35} we unpack the discipline of fasting but we also offer a different approach to Lent this year.







What’s getting between you and God?







There’s been a fair amount of suffering over the last year. We’ve already given up a lot.







Maybe this year Lent needs to look a little different than giving up yet another thing.







What if we took a more creative approach to these 40 days?







How can I look more like Jesus when we get to Easter than I do today?







Let’s unpack that question together in episode {35} of Have Hope; Will Travel.







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







Resources Referenced:







{34} Allyship Is Not Optional [Lise Farah]







{15} Let’s Talk About Race [Haley Lowe]







The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster







The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard

Love is not like snow. It doesn’t go away.”Lise Farah







This week’s podcast guest is a powerhouse!







Lise Farah does it all. She’s a writer, a poet, a spoken word artist, and a wife. She’s in seminary, she leads at her church, she runs her own ministry, oh, and she’s 8 months pregnant.















Join me on episode {34} of Have Hope; Will Travel when we get to hear Lise Farah share her perspective on race, culture, and colorism.







Lise Farah was born in Haiti and has also lived in south Florida, Georgia, and now Minnesota, so she’s got quite the diverse experience when it comes to race.







We talk about how being Haitian is different than being African American. But also how it can be the same.







She shares her perspective on allyship and teaches us how to love the Black community better.







And, of course, she talks about Jesus and the ministry He’s called her to—even though it hasn’t been a popular choice.







This is an episode you’re not going to want to miss.







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







Be sure to connect with Lise Farah on Instagram and YouTube.

This was probably the hardest podcast to record so far.







The world is changing so quickly, coming up with content that would still be relevant, respectful, and hopeful several days from now seemed like an impossible task.







Yet reality is: God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So what could I say that would be true regardless of what happens?















The only theology that stands is what’s true at the funeral of a four-year-old and at the gates of Auschwitz.







Or when white supremacists storm the Capitol, a pandemic claims the lives of otherwise healthy individuals worldwide, and the series of unfortunate events of 2020 continue into 2021.







As a follower of Jesus, you were made for such a time as this.







Hope runs in your veins—literally and figuratively.







Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him.”Lamentations 3:21-24







In episode {33} we unpack this important passage from the prophet Jeremiah.







We talk about what it’s like to have hope in a world where we can’t currently travel.







We unpack the difference between “grace” and “mercy.”







We take a look at Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech—a rhetoric packed with hope.







And we are offered the challenge to hear the stories of those around us.







As Christians, we bleed hope.







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

When Miranda Jo Davis came to know Jesus, she felt like her new beliefs were a direct clash with the yoga she loved so much.







She was right.







But instead of abandoning her yoga practice, she learned to adapt her yoga to honor God with the gift that is movement.















I absolutely loved getting to chat with Miranda. She breathes scripture in everything she does. She’s learned some things the hard way about being rejected by her community because of her faith. She thanked God for getting a parasite in India so she wasn’t expected to participate in a fire-cleansing ceremony.







Listen to episode {32} on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript.







Be sure to connect with Miranda on her website MirandaJoDavis.com, on Facebook Christian Girl in the Yoga World, and on Instagram @MirandaJoDavis. Her book Christian Girl in the Yoga World is available on Amazon.







Reflection Questions:







* When has something you enjoy been in conflict with your faith and what did you do about it?* What are your views on yoga? How did listening to Miranda share her story impact your opinion?* When’s a time you faced persecution for your faith and how did you stand strong?

All the feels this year as we head into Christmas week.







So many thoughts, precautions, and canceled plans around the concern of being safe.







These are all good things.















This week on Have Hope; Will Travel we wrap up our healing series talking about spiritual healing.







You heard Joy Vetterlein’s story and suggestions in the previous episode.







This week let’s talk about what spiritual healing has looked like for some individuals in the past. And let’s explore what it could look like for you this Christmas.







Some of the practicals may surprise you:







* It’s ok to be mad at God* Lean on someone else’s faith* Forgive God (Wait what? Listen to the episode)* Forgive yourself* Pay attention to who you’re following and surrounding yourself with







Christmas carols, traditions, memories… everything is different this year.







Yet our God is the same.







So let’s gather at the manger once more.







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







What’s it going to take this Christmas for you to be escorted back to the manger?

If you've ever thought, "I love Jesus but don't think I fit in the church," this is the episode for you!



Have Hope; Will Travel host Katie Axelson (@KatieAxelson) interviews writer, pastor, and Christian misfit Joy Vetterlein (@JoyVetterlein) about healing when you've experienced trauma in church, being ok not being in a church, and keeping Christ in Christmas (or not).



Be sure to connect with Joy Vetterlein on Instagram @JoyVetterlein and at JoyVetterlein.com. Check out her book Misfits Around the Manger.