Those ropes you thought you'd loosened during Lent… Are they start to tug again just when you feel ready to soar?
Lent ends. Life speeds back up. The structure, intention or motivation fades.
And suddenly those old thoughts and patterns start whispering again:
"I should get back on track…" "I was doing so good…" "I need to do better…"
This week on Nourished to Bloom, we step into that honest, in-between space — the one where real transformation either deepens… or quietly slips back into autopilot.
Because the goal was never a "perfect Lent."
It was freedom.
And the real question now is:
How do we carry that freedom forward?
In this final episode of our 40 Days to Food Freedom series, we unpack what it looks like to live untethered — not perfectly, but intentionally.
Here's what we explore together:
🌱 What Happens After Lent – The tension between wanting lasting change and feeling old habits resurface in everyday life.
🕊️ Freedom = Awareness – Real freedom isn't never struggling again… it's recognizing the rope sooner and choosing differently.
🙌 God in the Everyday Moments – Not just in quiet prayer, but in the car line, the kitchen, the messy, ordinary parts of our day.
🛑 Gentle Awareness Over Willpower – Simple check-in questions that help us stay grounded without slipping into pressure or performance.
💛 You Don't Have to Prove Anything – The Gospel truth that anchors everything: you are already loved.
Because this journey was never about getting it right.
It's about staying close.
🌱 Your Invitation This Week
Instead of asking, "How do I keep this going perfectly?"
Ask:
• Where did I feel pulled today? • Where did I feel free? • How is God inviting me back right now?
When the old patterns show up — and they will — pause.
Not to fix.
To return.
Freedom isn't about never struggling again.
It's about coming back… again and again… with awareness, with compassion, and with God at the center.
We're not starting over.
We're continuing the journey.
Let's keep walking it together.
You were made to bloom. 🌸
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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So we've spent the last several weeks talking about ropes,
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the small strings, those thick cords, these
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attachments that are quietly tethering our hearts and
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keeping us from flying close to the Lord.
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We've spent weeks naming them things like food control,
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distraction seeking, emotional comfort,
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comparison trap, and performance. And maybe over
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these 40 days you've really felt something shift and that is amazing.
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Maybe you are finding a little more awareness in your thoughts or
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your behaviors, a little more space to invite the
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Lord in to your struggles and maybe just
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a little more freedom. But as we're entering Holy
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Week, we know that Lent is coming to an end. And so really, our question
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shifts and it becomes how do we carry this
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transformation of heart and mind that we've experienced during our Lenten
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journey? How do we carry this forward? Well, that's what we're diving
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into today on the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So I hope you'll join me.
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Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your
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health. I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and
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certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection
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with your body, your spirit and and the nourishment that sustains them
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both. In a world filled with noise and confusion
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about food, health and body image, this podcast offers
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truth and healing from a Christ centered perspective. Together,
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we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what it means
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to truly care for ourselves through joyful nourishment
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of mind, body and soul. We're here to dive into the
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transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our
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Christian faith. With every episode, I'll be cheering you on,
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offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to help
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you heal your relationship with food and embrace the beauty
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of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit with
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confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.
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Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,
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one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,
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the teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.
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You were made to bloom, to come into
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full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with
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your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul
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and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place.
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And I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish
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to Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to
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thrive. Hey there.
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Welcome back to the nourish to Bloom podcast. So happy to be spending some time
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here with you this week. And we are entering
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Holy Week, and that means that Lent is coming
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to an end, and we will be entering the Easter season, which is the
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time for rejoicing and
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alleluias and just joyous
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occasions, right? But can we just take a little second and think about
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what we've experienced over the last 40 days as we have
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been walking our Lenten journey? Maybe you have
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had your own Lenten sacrifices. Maybe you've been following closely here what we've
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been doing on our 40 days to food Freedom journey.
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And I don't know about you, but when I always get to that Lenten season,
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it's kind of a little bit of a
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mixed bag, right? A little bit of maybe,
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oh, yay, I get to have, like, whatever I gave up for Lent. Maybe you're
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experiencing that, or maybe you are
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really have had a profound transformation of heart and mind over these
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last 40 days. And now you're kind of wondering, like, what.
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What happens after Lent? You know, what happens
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when we are no longer in this Lenten season? And maybe kind of your
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structure here and your intention goes away, because
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sometimes when Easter comes, we have that other shift,
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right? We kind of give up that being a
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Lenten people, that those little sacrifices and those
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struggles, and we just kind of go back into that autopilot,
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back into old habits and old routines. And it's like all of a
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sudden, these patterns that you had
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maybe broken or created some space to really think about during
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Lent. Our just kind of back in default. You're in that
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autopilot, right? And so maybe
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you've already felt a little bit of a pull towards those old patterns.
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Maybe thoughts of, you know, I don't know,
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oh, like I said, I get to have this thing again. Or maybe
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you're finding yourself, like, even from the beginning of
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Lent to now, you have had, you know, you haven't been able to keep up
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with your sacrifice the way that you were in the beginning. And you're like, oh,
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I should just get back on track, or I need to be more disciplined, or,
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I was doing so good. What happened? And I really just want to
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pause and just gently stop you right there.
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Because when we have these things pop up, these thoughts and these old
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patterns and kind of these default autopilots
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pop back up, we need to know and recognize that
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that's that rope, that's that tether that's trying to come
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back. And it's not like this big obvious way, but
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it's really quiet. It's subtle. It's showing up
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in those thoughts and in those habits and maybe the feelings of
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pressure that you're having. And I think that
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this is a really good thing to talk about when it comes to
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Lent and that shift into that Easter season,
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because I think for many of us, Lent has been so performance
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based, right? We think the goal is to do Lent well,
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that it has to be kind of that all that all or nothing. Either you're
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being really good or you're not. But we really want
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to reframe that and look at Lent as a time to grow in
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consistency, to be more disciplined.
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And the goal was never to do Lent perfectly. It was
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never to make mistakes or, heaven forbid, not
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be human, because we are. But the goal of these Lenten
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sacrifices and what we've been doing during this 40 days to food
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Freedom journey was the goal was just
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freedom. And I think we can
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feel like, okay, we've made progress and we're never going to feel that pull back
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again into maybe old patterns of thinking or behaving
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or defaults. But that's not true either.
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When we've practiced and we've had this transformation of heart and
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mind. When we talk about freedom, it's this
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ability to be able to recognize these
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old patterns popping up sooner.
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Like maybe this week you're going to catch yourself standing in the kitchen after
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dinner and you're really not hungry. You just had dinner, you were
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satisfied, but you've had a long day. It's just been one of those
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days. You're tired and you're just
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wanting something to bring you some comfort or some peace.
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But that growth and that transformation that maybe you've experienced through this journey is
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instead of immediately reaching for food or alcohol
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or whatever it is, you pause for a second and you
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think, wait, what do I actually need right now
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in that moment? And then you get to choose.
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Maybe it is food. Maybe it is a glass of
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wine. But maybe it's not. Maybe it's
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a hug from. From your spouse or your children. Maybe it's just
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needing five minutes to sit quietly. It's
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just what we have transformed, what we've been working on
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is Lent is just again, that space to not be
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tethered, to let the Lord come into these moments and speak to us
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and help us recognize what it is that we need right now
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in this moment, and that is freedom.
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Or maybe it's going to look like you're getting dressed in the morning and you
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catch that old comparison thought creeping in
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I wish my body looked like it used to, or
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I hate all of my clothes. But instead of spiraling,
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you just notice it and you don't let it bring you
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down. You don't follow it all the way down to, you know,
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completely undoing any progress. Our mind
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shifts that you've had. You just see it
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and acknowledge, okay, my body doesn't look like it used to
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and that's okay. That recognition,
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that space, that's that freedom too. And freedom isn't perfection.
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It's really more deeply rooted in awareness.
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Again, it's that small space between the urge and
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wanting to give in to a particular attachment, a particular
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passion, and the way you actually
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respond. And here's the important
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part. You don't create space by trying
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harder. It's really about this
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Space has been created by staying closer to the Lord.
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Because everything we've talked about throughout this series, the letting go of control,
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the learning to honor your body, releasing the
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comparison, untangling emotional eating, and being able to
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step out of performance based culture,
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all of that freedom is flowing from
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relationship, not willpower.
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So when you have those moments when life feels full again, when you
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are so overwhelmed and it's going to happen, we all know it does,
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it's not really a question of how do I stay on track,
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but instead shift it to, okay, Lord, how do I stay close to you?
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Close to the Lord in your actual everyday life that you're
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living, not just in the quiet prayer
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time that you've set aside. That is beautiful. That is a wonderful habit
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to have. But we're talking about in those moments where we have had
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default patterns of behavior that were not serving
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us, but inviting the Lord into the
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middle of the mess that you are in. Maybe
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it's in the car line and it's just not moving fast enough for
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you. Maybe it's you're making dinner and you
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spill a whole jar of garlic all over the floor.
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True story, Been there. It's very stinky.
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Maybe it's while you're folding laundry and gosh darn it, that sock monster
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in the dryer got it again. Or maybe
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it's just you're feeling overwhelmed by it all and you just don't
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even know why.
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And can we be honest? Because most of life isn't lived in these, like,
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big reflective moments. It's lived in
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these kind of in between that everyday
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moment, that middle of the mess
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and the enemy is so good, y'. All. That's exactly where he tries
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to bring that tether back, where he tries to
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rope you in where it sneaks back in
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when you find yourself scrolling, when you need a break. And it leads down to
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that comparison when you're overthinking and you're
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worrying at night and you can't get a good night's sleep
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when you have that I'll start all over again tomorrow mindset,
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or you're feeling that pressure to fix everything all at once.
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The enemy's sneaky and he knows how to attack. And if you're
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not paying attention to how he is influencing your
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thoughts and your emotions and your behaviors, it can
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leave you feeling like you are stuck right back where you
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started. But the good news is, is that you're
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really not. Because now you have tools.
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Now you have ways that you can start to see it and
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recognize that this tether that is trying
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to tie itself again.
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And instead of it tightening, you can learn to loosen it
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through these tools that we talked about. And so
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I want to give you just something really simple that you can carry with you
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after Lent. Something pretty practical. It's not this like
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long drawn out plan, it's not this huge set of rules, but it's just
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really, really about a gentle check in that you can come back to
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at any point in time in your day, whether it's at the end of the
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day or the beginning of the day or just even in the middle of it.
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It's kind of these questions are kind of drawn from
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the examine prayers and I think that that's just
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beautiful because again, it's that space. It's putting that space between
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what's happening and our response to it.
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So whatever time of day you find yourself in, just ask, you know,
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where did I feel pulled today
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and where did I feel free?
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Where was I trying to grip so hard to control?
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And how was the Lord moving in my life today?
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And really that's it. It's so simple, but it's so profound just to
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take a few moments to reflect on these things. Because it allows you to
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see those patterns, it allows you to recognize this and become and
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build that self awareness tool. And really that's
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it. It's not fixing, it's not judging, it's not over
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analyzing, it's just noticing and being aware.
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Because awareness is what really keeps that rope from tightening again to where
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you're feeling pulled down to where you're feeling trapped.
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And if you happen to find yourself being pulled back into old patterns, this is
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where you can do things differently. Not with frustration,
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not with that judgment and condemnation of
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I can't believe I'm here again. But really with
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compassion. That's the other tool
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that you need to bring. Because the Lord
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offers us that same compassion over and over
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again. And we've got to extend that same compassion
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to ourselves when we find ourselves falling
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back into old patterns. Because the invitation is never,
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do better. The Lord doesn't say, do better. Come back and try
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again. It's always, just, come back to me.
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I will give you rest. I will give you what you need,
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everything you need, again and again and again.
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So if you find yourself later today overwhelmed, or
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you happen to notice you're reaching for your phone without thinking, or
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standing in front of the pantry or the refrigerator again,
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instead of being harsh and critical of yourself, just pause
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and say, lord, here I am. Be with me
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here. And that's it.
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It's not about being polished, and it's not about being perfect, but it's just about
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really learning to be more present to what you're experiencing in the
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moment. And it's not about always getting it right,
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but it's just really about staying connected and letting
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prayer and this awareness be that thread that gets you through the day,
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that helps you stay connected in that relationship with the Lord.
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And I hope that what you walk away from, from this
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40 days to food Freedom journey, this
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shift that I really pray that you take away from this, is that
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you don't have to prove anything to anyone
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to really be able to let go of that
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performance pressure that you're feeling. Because you don't have to prove
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anything. Not with what you eat, not with your body, not. Not with
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your productivity, not with your discipline. What I
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want you to take away and what I really pray that you experience
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in this Holy Week. Because this is the foundation of it
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all, the foundation of everything that we go through
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in Holy Week. Walking the passion with
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the Lord, going through and experiencing his
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crucifixion. It all comes down to the fact that
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you are already loved
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and that you are already saved. The battle has already been won for
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your life. And when you let
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that truth become that foundation and the way that you
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operate, everything else starts to settle.
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Food becomes food. Your body becomes a gift.
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Rest becomes allowed. And the ropes,
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while they don't disappear overnight, they do lose their grip. Little
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by little, they tether, they fray.
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So as we move out of Lent, please don't
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ask yourself, how do I keep going about this perfectly?
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But instead ask yourself, how do I stay close to the Lord in this moment?
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Because that's where that freedom lives there, in
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relationship with the Lord. Not in any particular plan, not in any
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particular rules, but just in relationship.
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And I just want to say thank you and that I'm really proud of you
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for showing up, for being willing to
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look deeper and to explore this idea of
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attachments and tethers this Lenten season here
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on the podcast for letting God meet you in this.
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Just know that I'm proud of you and I think it's really awesome that you're
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having these shifts. So just keep going, keep noticing, keep
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returning and keep praying for that rope to be loosened.
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I thank you so much for spending this time here with me on the
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podcast this week. I hope you have a beautiful and
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blessed Holy Week and a wonderful
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Easter week weekend celebrating the
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resurrection of our Lord that the battle for our life has already been won
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and I will be right back here with you again next week. Remember beauty
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held as a seed, beauty shared is the flower. It is your time to bloom.
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Take care and God bless.