Stories of Hope

Everybody makes mistakes and has annoying personality traits. But if we are to love like Jesus did, we will have a huge capacity for forgiveness. To stay married to me, the lovely Sue has needed to forgive me regularly, which I suspect makes her a Saint of the highest order. One time, in a car museum - I pushed the boundary to the edge.

Lucy and my daughter Georgia studied together and were flat mates. I love her like a daughter. Lucy is a bubbly delight to chat with and her story will make you smile and know again, that there really are still wonderful people in this world.

If we are to love like Jesus, we will be safe for people who feel like they are lepers to hang out with. No judgement, no rejection, just warmth and acceptance and maybe even healing!

Tony Kerridge had a challenging childhood and spent many years in and out of jail and in addiction. His five beautiful children were deeply affected and disconnected as a result. He got clean and almost instantly his family found healing too. Loved and embraced wholeheartedly by some loving Salvo communities, this family has moved on and now is doing really well. Its a fabulous story.

Confronting evil and the demonic in our day and age seems extreme and the language is laced with judgment and condemnation. But Jesus loved people enough to confront the things that were destroying them and causing suffering. When we really love people we will do whatever we can to help them find freedom and wholeness.

Katie Jackson and I ran the Red Shield Appeal at a private girls school she worked at for about three years We hit it off and loved doing this together as Katie is a dynamic and fun lady. A few years later Katie was diagnosed with appendix cancer and her story took an unexpected twist. Her courage and honesty as she shares her story is heart wrenching and inspirational.

Jesus was a master teacher and people felt loved and inclined to grow, heal and learn from him. If we love like Jesus, we will teach others in ways that are life giving and helpful. Kids often say "I love my teacher" because good teachers care and adapt to students in ways that are loving and wise.

Matt is a gentle and thoughtful sort of fellow and yet tackles one of the hot topics on the philosophical and political landscape - environmentalism. His Christlike way is humble and disarming and draws you towards the issue rather than away. Hearing him share his story is good for the soul.

I was a fat little kid and not a great footy player, but one time a senior staff member at my school noticed me and I overheard him say to my footy coach that he thought I "was a good player and went in hard for the ball" It felt good! Jesus noticed and affirmed ordinary people all the time, and it was a powerful demonstration of His love.

Peter Janetzki is an educator and counselor and often ran sex education programs in schools. He also heads up a yearly Fraser Island fishing trip that the Salvos join. He is a husband, father, grandfather and has had his fair share of hard knocks. In this episode he shares his story and the mindset that has seen him rise above this and find happiness and meaning.

In my quest to be a more loving person I am exploring how Jesus loved people by carefully reading Marks Gospel. Turns out his first step was to do his inner work. To surrender and embrace the cost of a life of love.

SJ is one of the most positive people you could meet. Her running and support of others who run is spectacular to witness. But her life has not always been easy and her story demonstrates the power of faith and love.

Not the easy sort of love you feel when you are happily together with friends eating cheesecake, the sort of love you have when the people in front of you are behaving badly and you really want to slap them or completely disengage, but instead you decide to try to be helpful.

The lovely Sue and I did our Salvation Army training with Sandy Fernee back in 1993. Since then, she has studied Egyptian Archeology with a side subject of the history of witchcraft. She has become a vegan and a passionate advocate for the protection of wildlife and now works as the operations manager for an arts program that supports people with intellectual disabilities. She is quite interesting...

We live very fast paced lives and we can often struggle to find perspective and peace. Mindfulness is a way to slow down, notice our actual lives and gain wisdom and fresh hope. Breathing is an important strategy, so toilets are not ideal.

Brad McIver grew up in the Salvos but ended up living a double life. It was in a broken place in his life in Darwin that he gave up trying to run his life and he surrendered to God. He got honest, lost 40 kg, started getting fit and today runs marathons and holds positions of great responsibility in the Salvos.

When we truly feel what someone else is feeling, we get to love on a deep level. This is not always pleasant, as many people are sad, afraid and angry - not fun emotions. But avoiding this means we avoid relationship and that's a lonely place.

Heather Hawkins is an extraordinary marathon and ultra marathon runner, She has run in extreme environments all over the world. She grew up in the Salvos in Melbourne and went on to become a nurse. She is married and has two children, and in her 40s was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This scare birthed a new found zest for running and living every moment to the full. To go into the draw to receive...

I've not been well. I have a head cold and have been flying, so my ears are blocked and I feel like I do life in a deep sea diving helmet. But there is still much to be grateful for and practicing gratitude is a game changer! Check out the tips on practicing gratitude on the resilience project website. https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/everyone/gratitude/

Most of us don't do what we know we should and can experience a lot of shame and guilt about this, especially, it seems, if we have grown up in the church. We maybe see ourselves as evil and sinful. But bad behavior is often complex to change and we do better when we deal kindly with ourselves rather than harshly.

Kris Halliday's great grandfather was a renown drunken sailor who found his way the the Salvos in Australia way back in the late 1800's. Kris had a desire to be a Salvo officer from an early age and endured through many years of rejection because of his sexual orientation. Kris is a salvo officer today based in Melbourne and he loves it.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for". There are seasons to develop, consolidate and rest, but these are always to prepare us for the adventure of living our lives to the full.

What good is faith if it does not result in loving behavior? In the 2011 Brisbane floods, thousands of people could not just sit by thinking kind thoughts about those suffering around them. They formed a mud army and gave practical expression to the sentiments. Lets hope an organic mud army of loving support for flood victims rises up again now!

Conor Watt dreamed of being a photographer and a surfer as a child, but addiction ravaged his life and those dreams dissolved. But now with 23 years of recovery, he has taken up photography and anything is possible.

Richard Rohr says the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. To have faith is to acknowledge that we cannot see what is ahead and to go there anyway. To leave our comfort zones and hang on to hope. When we do this humility and love is sure to follow.