From darkness to light.
Stories of Hope
We all have times when we get down and negative about our lives. We find it hard to believe that good will come. However many people believe that love and goodness are always around the corner for us all and that we need never give up hope. The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate darkness to light story and gives hope to lots of people who find themselves without a clear way forward.
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Anna Casey.
Stories of Hope
Anna and my daughter Eliza have been close friends since they met on the school bus in year 8 and discovered they were both a bit uncoordinated and unbalanced as the bus trundled along. Anna is now an adult and shares her amazing story of success, heartache, resilience and the courage and inner strength to find healing and hope for the future. She and I ran the Sunshine coast half marathon last year and raised money for the charity "Small Steps for Hannah" She is running the Melbourne full 42 K marathon later this year. She is articulate and intelligent and her story...
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Eyes wide open
Stories of Hope
Every year the lovely Sue and her Mum Helen make home made biscuits and sticky date puddings for the Streetlevel Fraser Island (K'gari) fishing trip. The love and dedication of this kindness has become a beautiful tradition. We all have capacity to be kind if we have our eyes wide open to the opportunities right in front of us. The simple kindness of a Pharisee named Joseph to make sure Jesus has a proper burial had much more significance than he could have ever imagined.
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Paul Campbell.
Stories of Hope
Paul's mum was just 15 years old when he was born and his brother was born when she was just 12. His mum passed away when he was 3. To say it was an unstable and challenging start to life, is an understatement. However he describes his Grandma, Aunty and Father as God's angels sent to look after him. They provided much needed love and stability. From the age of about 15, Pauls life has been marked by trouble and addiction. He entered the Salvos rehab at Moonyah 23 years ago, when I was the Captain there and he is now involved at Streetlevel in Fortitude...
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Finding our ert
Stories of Hope
I'm reading a book called phosphorescence by Julia Baird. She talks about finding our ert. The idea being that when we are inert we are stagnant. Inspiration to live our one and only lives with passion is sometimes hard to find. Christ on the cross typifies the capacity we all have to sacrifice self for others and for what we believe in. When we do this in balanced and healthy ways, we find our ert and will find what is worth living and dying for.
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Fraser Island (K'gari) with Paul and Jono.
Stories of Hope
Every year the Salvos at Brisbane Streetlevel Mission run a week long Fraser Island 4WD fishing trip for men. This year 17 of us ventured onto this spectacular sand Island and set up for camping, fishing and some authentic blokey community. I chat with Paul and Jono around the fire to get a bit of insight about how they came to be connected with the Salvos and what this event means to them.
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Acceptance into the holy of holies.
Stories of Hope
When Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple tore from top to bottom, signifying that all are welcome into the presence of God and the old Levitical laws are superseded. Even women with a crippled foot. Lucky that, or the world would have missed the spectacular ministry of the lovely Sue.
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Wayne Maloney - Re-posted.
Stories of Hope
It is with great sadness that I share that Wayne passed away recently. I spoke with his partner, Bea and she was happy for this podcast episode to be re-posed in his memory. Wayne had to lie about his name at school so his father could avoid the police finding him through the education department, because of his "freelance narcotics business" From dreadful beginnings, Wayne now has a family and a beautiful life in recovery.
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Bad luck?
Stories of Hope
We all experience hardship and unfortunate circumstances. However our response to this and our capacity to remain hopeful despite the random nature of good and bad luck can make a huge difference. Jesus on the cross cries out in despair my God, my God why have you forsaken me? We all feel like this at times, but as the movie "luck" so beautifully portrays, the richest love and hope can often rise from "bad luck"
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Joycelyn McIver. A journey of healing and service.
Stories of Hope
Joycelyn McIver had a challenging childhood, but in the midst of this, was beautifully loved and cared for by families within the Salvos. Her story is rich with the human experience. Courage in the face of hardship, gratitude for her many blessings and a deep and enduring faith and confidence in the goodness and provision of God.
info_outlineFamilies are a mixed bag. Sometimes we are close and feel very safe and at other times there may be distance and even animosity. If we are to love like Jesus, we need to let some people get close. Really close. Close like family. Sometimes people need us to be loyal, reliable and accepting and sometimes we need them.