Um Life audio. Hi from the Salvation Army and you're listening to Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. During the Salvation Army USA Southern Territories Commissioning 2025.
Soundcast offered a space for individuals to record testimonies about people who have been pillars of hope and guidance in their walk with God. These are their stories.
So My mother and father-in-law were my first Savage Army Corps officer. And so I grew up with a broken family. family of eight. My dad was married before, married my mom, and had three kids, and then married my mom, and had five girls, and I'm the youngest. There you go.
Major Joyce Michaels. She was my first Corps officer in Wellsburg. I started going to the Corps, got invited for all the youth programs. And they were the core, she was the core officer there, along with her husband Oliver Michaels. It started there.
It started there with the love. that she brought forward. to a broken person with being the youngest of eight kids and She poured out the love in me that I never knew what love was, and so Because of that I kept coming back and back because I needed that love. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. We're going to take a quick ad break and we'll be right back.
Did you know Gen Z and millennials are leading the resurgence in church attendance? New research from Glue and Barna shows that they're now attending church more often than older generations. That's a historic shift. And behind this discovery is Glue. Spelled G-L-O-O.
GLUE has a mission to serve those who serve: pastors, leaders, publishers, and more. And they do it by connecting the faith ecosystem with the latest research, technology, and values-aligned AI. That's high-tech for a higher purpose. See the research yourself. Just text the word JOIN to 46816.
Again, that's JOIN to 46816. What was your faith like at that young age? I didn't have a whole lot because I didn't go to church. That was the first time I started going to church. I'll never forget when in my life.
while back My age is showing it, but they would do all-night services on New Year's Eve, you know, praying the old and the new. And I remember taking a slot. A one-hour slot. And I wish I remembered my age, but I don't. I just remember that time.
And I remember just going in and praying, or actually while we were waiting to pray, I went out in the car and I was talking to Major Joyce Michaels. And she was telling me about God and what it meant. And it wasn't just You know, just talking and talking. It was a true conversation in the middle of the night of talking about, you know, where my heart was and where the to know about it. I didn't know a whole lot.
But I learned. To love Joyce, and through Joyce I found that faith and I found that belief. And so that's where my faith started. And then but she was always so. loving and caring and I was missing that.
And and she taught me. She taught me to pray. I'd become a cork cadet. And um I remember when they moved, it was such a hard time for me because I felt like all that love was going away, you know. But it wasn't.
I had Jesus, so I had something to rely on. It wasn't just. Joyce and Oliver. It wasn't just Joyce to hold on to, but she taught me, she mentored. me in so many ways and um God has given me, made me want to be a part of that.
You know, they're always saying, well, you're Mrs. Michaels. I said, oh, no, I'm not the real Mrs. Michaels. It's Major Joyce Michaels.
She's the one who's always poured out in love to other people. I told someone this today and. It's kind of sad, but...
Sometimes your heart feels empty. And that's where I've been a couple times. And come in here this It's starting to be filled up again. But you miss that.
somebody coming along beside you and supporting you and getting you through the hard times. Even mentors need mentors. You know, even doctors need a doctor. Even pastors need. pastoral relationships.
And I think that's something that I'm grateful that we're starting to talk about more is Even just, I mean, to put a label on it, even just like burnout with pastors. It's so much to just constantly. empty yourself into others. If you're not being given time or you know making time for yourself to be poured into as well. When I was younger, I always wanted to be a mom.
And that was my, that's what I wanted to do. My husband worked. I was able to stay at home mom. Um we went up to Weerton, West Virginia, which is Uh ten minutes away from Wellsburg and um his parents Got a point it. There's a whole love story there, but I won't go into that.
But his parents got appointed to Whirton and But anyways, they called back all the officers because they got a new corps building and they were going to dedicate it. And I'll never forget Colonel Lady was up there and he was talking about the holiness table. And my husband and I weren't even And we were in a different direction. He was in the band. I was sitting over here.
And I just remember us both going to the holdings table. And it wasn't it we just went and separate. It wasn't like Oh, are you going? Are you going? No, we went because God was saying, This is where I want you at the home of this table.
And so when um we were going We didn't say anything. We left to go on the trip back to Baltimore with his parents. Who wasn't with us? And we both talked about it. And we're like, you know, is this what we really want to do?
Do we both want to be officers? Is that the calling? And we both said yes. My husband has a different story to say about when he told his mom, but there are some times where she would say, Well, you you guys aren't you told my husband he wasn't ready and Mike when he went to tell her and tell her that we both were gone, She was very excited and my husband's like, What's the change in you? She's like, Mike.
You are the change. You're ready, you know? And I believe that she was ready for both of us. She knew. She knew, but there was so much.
It can't be from other people. It's got to be in your heart. And your heart, you have to be ready. You have to be ready to accept it just because somebody. Comes with She came along beside us, but a lot of people will say you'll be good to be.
Uh you'll be good at this. But if you're not ready, then you're not going to be good at it because you're not putting your full heart into it. And I always felt like I wasn't good enough. to be an officer. I was afraid.
I was afraid because I was just like, oh my goodness, you have so many smart people. And here I am, a stay-home mom with all these kids and not college. You know, it's, it's. But God showed me. It's the love that you pour into others.
Through that is what I saw my mother-in-law. She taught me. that it's about loving your people. loving others loving. And I hold on to that dearly.
I hope that I'm able to give other people that love.
So, if your mother-in-law was sitting in this chair, what's something that you would like to tell her today? I would say Joyce Major Joyce Michaels. Thank you so much for just loving me. and teach me what love is. because sometimes I felt like I didn't have that love in my family.
And thank you for just teaching me. going in the right path and not going in the wrong path. And I'm so thankful that you were able to be there. to pick me up. when I was down.
I knew that I can come to you. I knew that you were always there. when I was hurting, going through pain, and Just thank you for loving me. Love is such a big thing for me and I just. Can't.
Say that enough, so thank you. That's what I'm saying. I'm Gary Sterdiman. And what is your connection to the Salvation Army? Military commander, a major down in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
South Manilas County. In December of 2020, my wife and I were diagnosed with COVID and lost my sense of smell and taste. And so we went and got tested, and both of us were positive. That was on a Friday.
Well, the next Thursday, I said, I think this is leaving me. I think I feel okay.
Well, on Saturday, I was a mess. And so I ended up in the emergency room in Matthews, North Carolina. They said we're going to have to put you on a ventilator. My oxygen was 72. Um They put the ventilator in and evidently I pulled it out.
and my pulmonologist spent 55 minutes with his nurse pumping air into my lungs to keep me alive. And I ended up being on that ventilator for 40 days and in the hospital for 70, but I'm sitting here talking to you today. And so you talk about telling your story. I promised the good Lord I would tell this story as many opportunities as I have. And so.
It was just amazing. And so I was on a cruise ship a few weeks ago and a young lady got in the pool with us and I said, Where are you from? She said, I'm stuck with this Polish accent. I'm like, well, it's gorgeous. And she said, I'm from Augusta and I'm an emergency room nurse.
And I was like, wow, here's my opportunity again.
So I tell her my story, and she just looks at me. She says, You don't. You don't get it, do you? And I said, Yes, yes, ma'am. I get it.
I know the good Lord, you know, can't. She said, I'm just going to be as honest as I can with you with this deep look. And she said, You wouldn't have got that kinda help from me. She said, We were 15 minutes and we were on to the next person. You got 55 minutes?
with your doctor? She said, you are an absolute miracle. And so it's just, it's an amazing story to tell because one of my children, which. If, with the format of your story here, probably my children. All right.
For the most Wonderful people that I look to. I don't deserve my children. They're much better than I ever dreamed of being. They're all serving the Lord, you know, as adults. And but one of my children was called and said, How long would it take you to get here?
And he said, Take me three, three and a half hours. I said, Your dad don't have three hours. And my other son was with us, and he had a COVID as well, so he was able to come into ICU. And when he walked in, they said, We're sorry. But your dad is a loss of life.
But by the time he got back to me, they had gone in through my jugular vein to get my blood and oxygen flowing again. with IV and I said I said later, what did you say to me? And he said, I just knelt down beside her and said, Dad. Bye. You can do this, believe it.
And so that's the story that I've been telling for a few years now about how. wonderful and powerful the Lord is. We pray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. We're going to take one more ad break and We'll be right back. Did you know that Gen Z and millennials are leading the resurgence in church attendance?
That's right. New research out from Glue and Barna as part of the State of the Church initiative. Shows that Gen Z and millennials are now attending church more regularly than older generations. This is a historic reversal in church trends. And GLU, spelled G-L-O-O, is at the center of all of this.
They're the technology platform for the faith ecosystem, connecting you with the latest research, technology, and values-aligned AI that supports churches. And ultimately, human flourishing. Glue is on a mission to serve those who serve: the pastors, leaders, publishers, and more in the faith ecosystem. That's high tech for a higher purpose. You can stay up to date with everything happening at Glue and across the entire FAIC ecosystem by texting JOIN to 46816.
And when you text today, they'll send you the latest research from Glue and Barna about this historic church trend. Again, that's the word join to 46816. Having gone through that, um How has that changed your your day-to-day outlook? There it I tell people all the time, I just said it last night. After all I've been through, I don't have time for it.
I just don't have time for that anymore, you know, because I found out life could be very short. And I was just talking with an officer friend last night that I had some. I just had some ill feelings towards this individual, but I was misguided by. The story that had happened, and I said to that individual, I have to ask you to forgive me because I had some awful feelings towards you, but I said, I don't have time for.
So, you know, after all I've been through. I find it um A God timing thing that the first two stories that we've covered this morning alone have been about people just getting this second chance, like literally at life. And I can't help but feel that that's what I'm getting from that is that reminder to like if we actually lived each day as if it is our last, or if it's our bonus and we loved and we lived like that. We're just gonna change the world with that kind of love. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs.
You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life.
These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more.
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Connect with us at Thriveent.com. Dinishtasis went into a war zone to make his new film, revealing never-before-seen footage of October 7th. Get off! The film offers a new way to understand Israel, radical Islam, anti-Semitism, and biblical prophecy. Could the fate of the world be tied to this place?
The Dragon's Prophecy, based on Jonathan Kahn's international bestseller. Watch it now or buy the DVD at SalemNow.com. That's SalemNow.com. Mm-hmm.
