Spirit Radio: 100 Stories of Hope

This episode contains a conversation about suicide. If you or a loved one are struggling, please don't have to carry it alone. You can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 anytime for free, confidential support. If this isn't the right topic for you or your kids today, we completely understand, and we hope you'll join us for the next episode. What do you do when lif...

What happens when the marriage you fought to save feels like it’s slipping away all over again? To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, Matt and Kristin pull back the curtain on a journey marked by incredible rescue, deep trauma, and the slow, beautiful work of divine restoration. Years ago, they found themselves ensnared in a highly manipulative and controlling church environment that ultima...

What happens when the fix for your pain becomes the very thing that breaks you? In this episode, we sit down with Scott, who shares his raw journey through chronic physical pain, a crumbling marriage, and an accidental path into prescription pill dependency. Born with spine and back irregularities, Scott was told by doctors that his only option was long-term pain management. But what started as a...

Have you ever had a moment where life completely blindsides you, and your "Plan A" is suddenly off the table? That’s exactly where our good friend Ralph Garcia found himself in 2020. After 17 years of living his dream career in Southern California law enforcement, an unexpected, ongoing internal nerve injury ended his time on the force out of left field. With the world shutting down due...

Introduction In this episode of 100 Stories of Hope , Forrest sits down with long-time friend, patron of the arts, and Central Valley educator, Aaron Gomes. For years, Aaron's life revolved around creating community through his nonprofit that fostered the local music scene, his 20+ year career in education, and raising his 3 children with his wife Stephanie.  This past October, Aaron was orda...

What happens when a seemingly perfect "white picket fence" life completely shatters right before Christmas? In this deeply raw and moving episode, we sit down with Cody and Alex as they share their journey through their darkest valleys, identity loss, and eventual supernatural restoration. After 15 years of marriage, a sudden divine prompting led Cody to discover that his wife was having...

In this deeply moving episode, we explore the journey from a childhood defined by abandonment and an orphan spirit to a life of profound purpose and faith. Our guest shares the raw reality of growing up in a broken home, a cycle that led to a rabbit hole of dysfunction and eventually, the ultimate test of any parent's strength: the loss of a child. After the passing of their firstborn daughte...

Episode Summary In this powerful episode of Stories of Hope , Forrest and his longtime friend David sit down to discuss the transformative power of saying "yes" to God. David shares a deeply personal account of a supernatural encounter on a mountainside that redefined his understanding of God as a father. This shift in perspective gave him the strength to obey a difficult calling: reconn...

In this episode of 100 Stories of Hope, Marina sits down with her long-time friend, Josie Jimenez, for a raw, hilarious, and deeply moving conversation about what it actually looks like to maintain a soft heart in a hard world. Josie shares her journey from entering a discipleship school with a heart as hard as a rock—fueled by past injustice and anger—to a radical moment of surrender involving a...

What happens when the Jesus Freak identity you built as a teenager doesn’t sustain you through the wreckage of a divorce or the silence of your 30s?  In this moving episode of Stories of Hope , we sit down with a guest who spent years trying to control her own narrative. From a Christian upbringing to a painful divorce after only 18 months, she opens up about the exhaustion of trying to be enough...

In this deeply personal episode of the Stories of Hope podcast, host Forrest sits down with his longtime friend of over twenty years, Geoff, to discuss the raw reality of navigating life's most intense transitions.  Geoff opens up about a year defined by the circle of life—starting with the profound grief of losing his 92-year-old father and ending with the immense joy of welcoming his first...

In this powerful episode of Stories of Hope , host Tara sits down with Chelsea to discuss a journey of radical transformation. Chelsea opens up about her transition from a lukewarm faith to a life-altering encounter with God that pulled her out of the darkest season of her life.  Chelsea shares the raw reality of her past, including her struggles with addiction , mental health , and the trauma of...

In this episode of the Stories of Hope podcast, hosts Marina and Forrest are joined by Monica Stahl , a worship leader at Radiant Church here in the Valley. Monica shares powerful, firsthand accounts of how being sensitive to the Holy Spirit can lead to life-changing moments in the most ordinary places—from parking lots to coffee shops.   In This Episode, We Discuss: The Power of Small Gestures: M...