🎶 Day 14 Song: If We’re Honest – Francesca Battistelli
📖 40-Day HOPE Journal on Amazon
🎧 40-Day HOPE Playlist on Apple Music
Day 14 – Boundaries Heal and Thrive
Dear Friends,
Psalm 130:5 says: “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Today I am honest: I am struggling. My mood is low, I feel depression pushing in, and the temptation is to listen to the lies of failure, rejection, and shame. But here’s the truth I cling to—when I put my hope in God, tomorrow will be better.
Setting boundaries is part of that truth. Boundaries are not walls—they are love in action. They protect our hearts, guard our healing, and create space where God can fill us with strength. Without boundaries, we are open to repeated harm, confusion, and the cycle of trying to please others.
For years, I wrestled with boundaries in my past abusive marriages. Abuse makes boundaries blurry. You’re told to “stay,” to “obey,” to keep the doors locked tight—yet the person hurting you is already inside. Every system around you reinforces silence, telling you to endure. But friends, boundaries are not disobedience—they are survival. They are courage. They are the foundation of healing.
Today, as I journal through these truths, I grieve what was lost—but I also see God’s mercy in showing me where boundaries create freedom. Saying “yes” to God and “no” to abuse is not failure. It’s hope.
✨ 5 HOPE Tips for Boundaries
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Say “No” Without Guilt – Every “no” creates room for the right “yes.”
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Protect Your Healing – Don’t give everyone access to your heart. Guard it with love.
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Be Honest With Yourself – Stop pretending to be something you’re not.
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Recognize Triggers – Know where your wounds leave you vulnerable and set safeguards there.
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Practice Truth-Telling – Honesty—especially with yourself—breaks shame’s power.
🌟 3 Important Points for Today
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Abuse is hard to explain because the person who vowed to love you may be the one hurting you.
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We lock our doors to keep danger out, but often the danger is already inside with us—and our children.
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Systems often demand that marriages “stay together,” making it hard for survivors to explain abuse when the message is always: stay, obey, endure.
📊 Domestic Violence Facts
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Intimate Partner Violence: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe physical intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
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Homicide Risk: More than half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former intimate partner.
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Children: 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of them directly witness the violence.
☎️ Crisis Resources
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National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call or text 988
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Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453
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National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-4673
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Substance Abuse Helpline (SAMHSA): 1-800-662-4357
with Hope and Appreciation,
Dr Brooke Jones
Founder Stronger Women