In our latest episode of Fumbling Toward Jesus Podcast, you’ll hear some really impactful testimonies of hope from some great people. I put out a call for submissions a couple of weeks back, and I’m so excited to share with you the end result of that call.
FTJ is all about hope, and for me—as an addict in recovery, this hope found in the Lord has been such an important element in my own life, and I know as we are dealing with this recent COVID crisis, having hope is brought to the forefront for many of us as we try to navigate this incredibly difficult season. Hope of deliverance, hope that things will get better—hope is so huge.
For this episode, I enlisted the help of some friends of mine to share their stories or thoughts on the subject of hope. I asked them pretty generally to speak on how hope in Jesus has had an impact on their lives—either recently or across the board. The responses I received were so powerful, y’all.
I don’t know what I was expecting to receive, but the responses were so open and also so different. You’ll hear about lives changed from the saving grace of Jesus—you’ll hear about new perspectives on Biblical stories—you’ll hear about the myriad of ways that our Creator brings hope into our lives. It’s so awesome, and was so inspiring for me to hear these testimonies, and I really hope it brightens your day, too.
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Google Podcasts
Listen on Anchor
Additional Resources From “FTJ: Friends in Hope”
Each of the contributors for this podcast have other ministries in which they’re involved or other resources to share with you. You can check them out at the links below. They’re listed in their order of appearance.
Jack
Jack has been a friend of mine for a long time. He’s hilarious, a super talented musician, and a positive force for good in his job as a teacher. He’s also the host of a couple of wonderful and entertaining podcasts that you should definitely check out. I’ve had music featured on The Horrible Movie Podcast before, and the content there is always golden.
Jessica
Jessica is someone I have known for literally my entire life. Her aunt and uncle used to live across the road from my parents, and we played together as children. She’s found so much hope through the Christian addiction recovery community in our hometown through the Celebrate Recovery Program. They’re continuing to provide recovery services and Bible studies via Zoom during this difficult season, and for rural communities such as this—this kind of ministry makes the difference in a time like this.
Mountain View, MO Celebrate Recovery
Devin & Ginny
I met Devin through a mutual friend, and I met Ginny through both Devin and the podcast. Their stories were so impactful. Devin is an incredible musician with a number of projects, and Ginny also joins Devin in their family ministry The Long Family. They’ve had a life-changing journey, and both work diligently through Freeway Ministries and their home church to spread that message of hope in Jesus now that their lives and family has been restored.
The Long Family music ministry
Freeway Ministries is an amazing ministry that provides meals and clothing to those in need in and around Springfield, Marshfield, and Ash Grove, Missouri; as well as Omaha, Nebraska. They also have men’s and women’s discipleship houses for recovering addicts to grow in their faith and become leaders and missionaries in their local communities. They also have great Bible-preaching services on Saturday nights that have been super impactful in my own recovery journey. Such a worthy ministry that’s truly the hands and feet of Jesus in areas of the country that are so heavily ravaged by methamphetamines, opiates, and alcohol.
Springfield, MO (Northside/Headquarters)
Springfield, MO (South Campus)
Jarrod
Jarrod is one of my favorite sound technicians in the Springfield, MO music scene, and he’s also a talented musician himself with a great testimony. I’ve seen Jarrod be the example Christ wants us all to be, and I’ve seen him witness to people in crowded bars and bringing a non-judgmental message of hope to others. I mention in his intro that he was a voice of hope to me at a really important time—when Jarrod and I talked about God and worship music, I was struggling in my own addiction but also kept having these moments where God just showed up at the most seemingly-random moments (like at a bar when I was half-lit playing a show). Jarrod had no idea in that moment how much I needed to have that conversation, and I’ll never forget him for it. His blog is thoughtful and insightful.
Matthew
Matthew is my younger brother, and he’s a true inspiration to me. He is a loving father and husband, he has a successful career, he is thoughtful and insightful and wise beyond his years. He’s a leader in his local church, and I always love his perspective and the light he sheds on any subject. I loved his contribution to this podcast and a new way of looking at a classic Biblical story in a context of hope.
The Parable of The Rich Young Ruler
Vronske
Vronske is another friend I met through mutual friends and a love of music. Please check out his new EP. If you like Christian music with a super inspiring message, you’ll find a really powerful message in his new album. It’s so good. His lyrics are super meaningful, and the beats and musical composition behind it is super tight. Enjoy it.
Listen to Set Free EP on Spotify
I’ve had some technical difficulties lately with my editing software, and until that gets worked out, I won’t be able to upload to DSound, but I hope to have that squared away soon in the future. GarageBand is great, but when it comes to some of the more complex elements of editing, it definitely falls short. Until I find a workaround for this issue (which I am totally working on), you can always find the podcast on all major platforms.
Next week, I’ll have a new episode up that is starting a series on the Apostle Paul, his life, and his ministry. I love studying Pauline literature, and I’m so excited to begin this series on the podcast. We have so much to learn about hope, about life change, and about the impact one person can make for His purposes through the example of Paul.
If there are any topics you’d like to hear on the podcast, or if you ever want to share your testimony, please reach out to FTJ by email at [email protected], or you can leave us a voice message, and we’ll play your words on the air. I love to hear from you on the podcast, and always welcome any input you may have for our future content on the show.
ICYMI + Updates
I made this video earlier this week to try and continue spreading this message of hope. We all need it. Times are difficult all around, but we need to just continue to lean into Him and rest in His grace. He’s got this under control—no matter how chaotic it may seem in the moment.
Some more good news!
Our ministry is continuing to grow at FTJ, and I just found out that the podcast is now searchable in Google Podcasts (link above), and that’s super exciting—as not all podcasts reach this platform and definitely not as quickly since launch as Fumbling Toward Jesus, so I’m really excited to see this ministry continue to grow.
I pray that everyone is hanging in there during this time. I have been praying for this community to continue to grow here on Hive, and I just love the openness and transparency we have with each other here. Thank you so much for that. Thank you for being you. God bless you all. Sincerely grateful.
I am Jessamyn Orchard (@jessamynorchard), and I am a former youth pastor, worship minister, and church lay leader, who graduated from a Christian college. Most recently, however, I’m an addict in recovery who rededicated my life to Jesus about 6 months ago. I was raised in church, and saved at age 12, but I did a lot of straying over the past 10+ years, falling into pits of sin through addictions and self-pity. I’m no authority, just a believer in a big God and called to spread His word through as many conduits as present themselves to me. Fumbling Toward Jesus is a multi-media ministry campaign and includes a written blog of daily devotions on Steemit and an accompanying monthly podcast on Anchor.fm, and it represents years of study—both over the years and lately, and now combined with a whole load of human experience. I’m just a super nerdy sinner saved by a really awesome grace.
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