At the Frontier

This is a very special episode as it's our 100th episode of this show!

When I sat down to plan this season and saw episode 100 would fall just before Christmas, I wanted to make sure we had a really special guest.

And we do.

I am so excited today for this episode on the nostalgia and traditions of family at Christmas with one of my favorite people in the world, Fehrn Hesse. Otherwise known as Mama, my grandmother.

She instilled in our family a love of Christmas.

To sing it loud for all to hear.

To watch every heart be light.

To bask in the inescapable glow of making spirits bright.

I love Christmas for the way it brings us together—one song, one cookie, one smile, one movie at a time.

In my family, I've named myself the Chief Holiday Cheermeister—and that love of the wonder and true meaning of this season is due in large part to our family matriarch, Mama.

Not only has she raised our family, Mama also taught as a professor in the nursing department at Mt. Saint Mary's for 24 years and worked for 40 years as a mother-baby nurse at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California.

If you've met her, you've probably received a hug from her. She radiates love and encouragement and it's a real gift to me this season to get to talk with her here about the love of a mother at Christmas.

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It's the season of giving.

Giving love, giving thanks. Giving to a red kettle near you.

And while those bells ring, it's also a season when many give of their time.

They volunteer.

Each year more than 3 million people of all ages volunteer their time, talents and resources to assist The Salvation Army's work across the U.S. These volunteers are critical partners in helping The Salvation Army fulfill its promise of "Doing the Most Good."

And yes, 3 million people is a lot of people. So I'd like to introduce you to just one of them today.

Dustin Wallace is a long-time Salvation Army volunteer because he loves it.

He's a graduate of The Salvation Army's addictions rehabilitation program and now attends The Salvation Army corps, or church, in Seattle. He regularly volunteers alongside his husband—from distributing meals or hygiene items to those experiencing homelessness, ringing the bell at a kettle or assisting in the toy distribution at Christmas.

He's here to share more about his experience with the organization, why he chooses to give back and why he believes anyone can be the reason somebody believes in goodness.

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You've probably heard the term "pandemic poverty."

Maybe you were lucky and were able to work from home when the pandemic took hold of our communities.

Or, you may know the reality of that poverty more intimately with the loss of a job, loss of income, loss of a way to make ends meet at all.

The Salvation Army has seen the reality firsthand as we've served more than 31 million Americans this past year. That's a 34 percent increase from the previous year.

And the need for services continues today.

Kristen Baluyot is The Salvation Army's social services director in Denver.

She's worked throughout the pandemic to keep people in their homes, to stave off eviction and prevent homelessness.

As she'll tell you, she wants to enrich lives—especially over these past 20 months for those who've received the unexpected knock of poverty.

Listen in for more about the state of pandemic poverty today and how The Salvation Army is working to prevent homelessness in Denver.

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FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

By now, you've no doubt heard of the power of gratitude.

Scripture tells us it's God's will for us to be thankful in all circumstances.

And science has proven the benefits of a regular practice of gratitude for the mind and body.

So in this week of Thanksgiving, we're pulling from our archives and adding to it.

In this episode of the Do Gooders Podcast, hear highlights from our favorite episodes on living with a grateful heart.

Hear from Dr. Rick Weissbourd, Harvard University's Faculty Director for Making Caring Common, who shared in Episode 05: Five Strategies for Raising Kind Kids.

Hear from Dr. Robert Emmons, who's considered the world's leading scientific expert on gratitude, and who shared in Episode 27: What is gratitude and how can we foster it.

Hear from Commissioners Doug and Colleen Riley, leaders of The Salvation Army in the western U.S., about the gratitude we find in Scripture from episode 68 How to find gratitude.

Hear from Pete Greig, a writer and church planter who co-founded and leads the 24-7 Prayer movement around the world, and who shared in Episode 71 A simple guide for how to pray today.

And finally, hear from our own Caring Magazine Managing Editor Hillary Jackson on the blessings of now.

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FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

We're in the business of telling you stories of transformation and hope—and sometimes, we get the chance to show you.

If you head to caringmagazine.org/video, we have an entire library of firsthand accounts of hope found with the help of The Salvation Army.

From a teen roasting her own coffee to bring water to Ethiopia, to a couple serving people living out of their vehicles, to a father who had lost everything to addiction and finally found healing and got his family back.

In this episode, we want to share with you one of these stories of hope.

The Seruyange family fled their home in Uganda in search of safety for their young children. They arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum in 2018 and found themselves alone in San Bernardino, California.

After a serendipitous encounter with The Salvation Army, the Seruyange's journey to freedom and safety brought them to a new hope and a new church family. It would change the course of their lives.

Listen to the story here, and visit caringmagazine.org/video to see it and share it with others.

Allow me to introduce to you today, the Seruyange family.

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FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

Imagine a December spent savoring the true joy and awe of Christmas.

Sounds dreamy, right?

Well, get this: You can.

With your family this season, you can dive deeper into understanding the true wonder, mystery and excitement of God sending his only Son to the world. Make more of the reality of who Jesus is as our source of hope, peace, joy and love. Unwrap the true gift that Christmas brings to each one of us.

And we have the guide for your journey.

Lt. Erin Wikle is a Salvation Army officer (or pastor) currently serving in San Francisco. She's also a mom to four and a singer/songwriter. In fact, you might remember her from episode 26 of this podcast.

Together with Caring, she has shaped a 28-day Advent Journey for families and we are here invite you in to creating a meaningful season.

To making memories with your family as you set aside time to look forward to Jesus' arrival with increasing expectation.

But let's start from the top…what is Advent and why do we recognize it?

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

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FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

This season, we're exploring The Salvation Army's Pathway of Hope—a national initiative to provide individualized services to families with children, addressing their immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement to stop the cycle of poverty.

Last week, we learned about the research surrounding self-sufficiency and how essential hope is along the way.

Hope was described as the driver that leads to goal attainment—and critically connected to our spiritual well-being.

That's why Pathway of Hope is grounded in Scripture.

From what God requires of us, as found in Micah 6:8, to the motivation for serving suffering humanity, as found in 1 Corinthians 16:14, which says: "Do everything in love."

That theological foundation is about joining God at the place of need and allowing him to work through us to bring his healing and hope.

And that's exactly what you'll hear in this testimony.

Katherine Reid first met The Salvation Army in eighth grade, when she and her mother became residents at a shelter.

Years later, as a mother herself, she again met The Salvation Army and became a participant in the Pathway of Hope.

And this year, Katherine was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer—a pastor—now serving in full-time ministry as the Assistant Corps Officer in Bloomington, Illinois.

Only she can do the incredible details of her story justice.

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.

STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.

GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group.

BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.

FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

This season, we're studying up on The Salvation Army's Pathway of Hope—a national initiative to provide individualized services to families with children, addressing their immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement to stop the cycle of poverty.

Last week, we discovered the one question that kicked off this initiative and how Pathway of Hope came to be.

In the roughly 10 years since, The Salvation Army has carefully cultivated the ins and outs of the effort.

For those who provide social services, one of the biggest benchmarks or ways to demonstrate success is the measure of one's self-sufficiency. But what is self-sufficiency, really? And how do you measure it?

As it turns out, it's not only about economics—in fact, Psychological Self-Sufficiency and its components are key in reaching one's goals. And one of those components, hope, is a driver, an anchor to be cultivated along the journey.

Dr. Philip Hong is the Founding Director of the Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) at Loyola University Chicago. That's in addition to his roles as a professor, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Doctoral Program.

With CROSS, he's been involved in studies of the Pathway of Hope as the center's research focuses on the psychological empowerment process.

As he'll tell you, hope is psychological capital—a character trait that reflects the inner strength necessary to overcome barriers.

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.

STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.

GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group.

BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.

FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

This season, we're exploring The Salvation Army's Pathway of Hope—a national initiative to provide individualized services to families with children, addressing their immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement to stop the cycle of poverty.

Last week, we took a deep dive into hope itself to better understand it and what it does psychologically and physiologically, plus how we can find more of it in our own lives.

Hope is part of the namesake of this initiative, the Pathway of Hope.

And you may be wondering how it all came to be about a decade ago.

Commissioner Carol Seiler, who retired from The Salvation Army in 2017 as territorial leader in the central U.S., was there at the start.

She takes it all the way back to a question posed to a meeting of The Salvation Army's leaders: "You've served a lot of people," the advisor said, "but what are you doing to solve the issues?"

And that question ignited what we now know as Pathway of Hope.

Now in retirement, she is back at work helping establish the Pathway of Hope in the Northwest region of the U.S.

And as she says, the approach is simply to offer what you would to help a friend.

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.

STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.

GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group.

BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.

FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

This season, we're discovering The Salvation Army's Pathway of Hope—a national initiative to provide individualized services to families with children, addressing their immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement to stop the cycle of poverty.

Last week, we heard from a smalltown service center director about what it takes to deliver Pathway of Hope support day-to-day along with a current participant in the initiative.

But let's take a step back. What is hope?

Kierkegaard called it a passion for the possible. Psychologist C.R. Snyder said it's a reservoir of determination. Emily Dickinson said it's the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words.

It's hope.

And it's an essential ingredient, part of the namesake of The Salvation Army's Pathway of Hope.

Dr. Suzanne Phillips is a licensed Psychologist, Psychoanalyst, and Fellow and Co-chair of Community Outreach for the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA). She has been a psychologist for more than 35 years and is a newly retired Adjunct Full Professor of Clinical Psychology at LIU Post, a private university in New York.

And as someone in the business of hope, she's on the show to help us better understand hope and what it does psychologically and physiologically—plus how we can recognize it and find more of it in our lives.

It's not magic, she says, but a mindset, a propeller for action and possibility. And, it's contagious.

EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.

STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.

GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group.

BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.

FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.