GOOD NEWS Newspaper

LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDOURED THING!
What links a country music star, a Marvel-lous actor,
women washing prisoners’ feet and a former porn queen? See pages 4-5
Scan here for video stories:
www.goodnews-paper.org.uk
February 2026
See page
3
BAKE OFF
PRESSURE
How winner Jasmine
juggled the show
with medical studies
SAMUEL L.
JACKSON
Hollywood actor
credits his wife
for saving his life
See page
5
ADAM Pengilly is one of that
rare breed – Britons who
have competed at the Winter
Olympics! The Games are taking
place this month in Italy.
Now retired, Adam began
competing as a skeleton racer in
2004. He made it to two Olympics,
coming eighth in 2006 and 18th
in 2010, but he did win bronze in
the European Championships in
2008 and silver at the 2009 World
Championships in Lake Placid.
As he lined up for his second
run in Turin in 2006, he was in
fourth place – and had one eye
on an Olympic medal. But it
went wrong on just one corner
and his chance was over. Christians
in Sport asked him if it was
“gut-wrenching”. He simply replied:
“Yeah.” He has a long history
with the Winter Olympics.
Before his skeleton racing,
Adam tried the bobsleigh for
five years and became assistant
coach to the women’s bobsleigh
GOOD NEWS…
NEED FOR SPEED:
Adam Pengilly at
the 2010 Olympics
PA Images/Alamy
team at Salt Lake City Olympics
in 2002. After the 2010 Olympics
he was elected to the International
Olympic Committee Athlete’s
Commission and served as
a member of the IOC at London
2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and
Pyeongchang 2018 (where sadly
a dispute with a security guard
brought a premature end to his
IOC career).
Through all the ups and downs
of his career (no pun intended),
Adam was a committed follower
of Jesus and still attends a Baptist
church in Bath today. His
faith helped him cope with the
bitter disappointment of losing
out on Olympic medals. He told
Christians in Sport how he felt after
coming close in 2006: “It took
me about three months to get
over the pain. My head was in the
wrong place, I’d been worshipping
sport too much. My performance
was too important to me.
“An Olympics only comes
round every four years. You only
get one or maybe two opportunities
to win a medal, and I was unable
to take my chance. Too much
of my identity was wrapped up in
succeeding in that race.”
But his relationship with God
has helped him put sport in perspective,
knowing that his identity
is not determined by success
but in how God sees him – as a
child of God. And now he is simply
grateful to God for the gift of
being an athlete and being able
to compete at the highest level.
He sees racing as a way to worship
God – to honour God’s gift
to him.
He was again unfortunate in
2010. Having set personal bests in
training that year, he sustained a
knee injury a few months before
the Games began. Although he
made the Olympic team, he was
not at his best, resulting in
that disappointing 18th place
– so four years of hard work
seemed wasted.
Continued on page 2
for a change!

Page 2 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
Reuters
Girl wanted her violent dad dead
but prayer led her to forgive him
SUCCESS! Adam celebrates his silver medal win in
the skeleton race at the World Championships in
Lake Placid, 28 February 2009
SKELETON
RACER’S LIFE
LESSON
Continued from page 1
But this time Adam was in a better
place to cope. He told Christians in
Sport: “Success at the World Championships
had helped me realise something.
I felt amazing to be a World
Championship medallist for maybe
two or three hours, and then it was just
like, life again – normal… Achievement
and success don’t provide lasting
satisfaction.”
Instead, he knew that God’s love
for him never changes – whatever his
failures or achievements: “I was disappointed
for sure with my result at
the Olympics, but I knew the Lord had
a different plan, and his love for me
doesn’t depend on how I perform.”
Looking back, he wished he’d realised
sooner that winning medals
doesn’t compare with the satisfaction
that God provides. Christians in Sport
concluded: “Building your identity on
success will not satisfy. God’s work
through Adam’s career has made that
abundantly clear. Instead, offering
your ability and passion first to God,
using it to serve those around you,
means you can enjoy your sport with a
secure identity.”
You can read the whole story at: christiansinsport.org.uk/resources/what-isit-like-to-be-a-christian-at-the-winterolympics.
By Ian White
LIBBY Thompson almost took matters
into her own hands after praying
for God to kill her alcoholic and
violent dad.
One night, driven by desperation,
the girl stood over him with knife in
hand as he slept “in his drunken state
in his bed”.
She was “thinking of where to stick
the knife” and how to kill herself afterwards.
Thankfully, she resisted the
temptation.
Libby, who encountered God at a
youth event at the tender age of 12, actually
had a strong prayer life which
saw her through the worst of things,
but admits that praying for God to take
her father was the wrong thing to do.
The Libby Thompson you meet today
is a successful beauty therapist
from Warwickshire – friendly and approachable
with a lovely family – but
life hasn’t always been this way. As an
adult, Libby fell into the same alcohol
trap as her dad.
After marrying and having children,
she “struggled when making comparisons
to my life growing up”.
Libby says: “I realised more and
more that my life was messed up. I had
fears I was like my dad, in the sense
that I felt like battering the kids every
time they did something wrong...”
Drink helped her “to sleep and
switch off” as she spent around 15
years as a functioning alcoholic: “The
very thing I didn’t want to become, I
became.”
Physical attack
Of her own childhood, Libby recalls
her dad “beat me, bullied me and disciplined
me in ways that were completely
out of control.”
The final and worst physical attack
came when Libby was left alone with
him.
“Dad, in his extreme anger and frustration
in wanting some money to go to
the pub, attacked me, throwing punches
at me.”
Libby fell to the floor as he “full-on
punched me in the face” and “bent
down, shouting in my face to get out of
the house and never come home, and if
I did, he would kill me”.
She adds: “Little by little, rejection,
anger, hatred and disgust became the
garden of my soul.”
Her dad finally left for good, only for
Libby to suffer an horrific attack on the
streets by the daughter of the woman
her dad was seeing.
With a bruised body and a “messedup”
face, Libby lost her confidence
and quit college before things turned
around. Later she felt called by God to
study the Bible at college, where she
met future husband Phil.
As they prepared for marriage, Libby
had a positive prayer about her dad
answered: “During my prayer time I felt
the Lord tell me to contact Dad and ask
him to give me away.” Libby found the
number of the pub he hung out in, and
BATTLE WITH ALCOHOL: Libby Thompson’s life is a story of survival from
childhood abuse and a spiral into alcoholism, but also her path to freedom
through faith in Jesus
after two ‘hostile’ responses from him,
she was successful with her third call...
“Dad walked me down the aisle
and yes, he was a little drunk and was
shaking more than me, but he did it.”
Then, post-honeymoon, Libby got a
call from her dad for the first time ever.
Libby cried as he told her he was
proud of her and that the wedding day
was special.
“I could see the wisdom of God in
telling me to ask Dad to give me away.
It was to create a platform of a happy
memory and to begin to repair our relationship.”
He died a couple of years later in
2003 from lung and liver cancer, but
not before making his own peace with
the God he’d previously hated with a
passion.
Alcoholism
Libby and Phil eventually had two
‘miracle’ babies after being told they
wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally.
But as the children got older, the “demons
in the closet of my heart” started
“showing their ugly faces”, says Libby.
“My drinking got worse and worse.
I hid the evidence everywhere – in the
airing cupboard, wardrobe, under the
sink, in my underwear drawer, in my
handbag. I even had some at the salon
for when I worked late.”
In the evenings, tempting thoughts
entered her mind: “You have worked
so hard today... a glass of wine will destress
you.”
But the addiction finally broke
in April 2022 when Libby felt overwhelmed
by God’s love at church the
day after getting ‘hammered’ at a birthday
party.
“I was aware the addiction was killing
me and destroying everything and
everyone I loved.” But “clarity and
clear thinking descended on me like a
gentle, all-consuming, loving dove.”
Freedom
Libby had always wanted God to
‘piff, paff, puff’ her addiction away,
but now she realised it was something
she had to do herself, with his help.
She promised God she would never
drink again. She had to learn sobriety
the hard way, but she is staying off the
booze.
Libby, aged 44 from Kenilworth,
now serves God at Kenilworth Baptist
Church and has written a book that
tells more about how God has transformed
her life, called Undone: My-
Journey From Abuse and Addiction to
Freedom. She hopes it will point readers
to God and help those who struggle
with addiction and past hurts.
Undone is available on
Amazon at £12.00

Page 3 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
SHOCK NEWS: Big Brother
winner was a Christian!
NICE GUY: Richard Storry won Big Brother with his kind and self-deprecating attitude
Channel 4
IT MIGHT have come as a quite a
surprise to most reality TV fans but
the winner of a show renowned for
sleazy contestants was a clean-cut
middle-aged man.
Richard Storry, a 60-year-old composer
and author, won the latest series
of Big Brother. He admitted to Glamour
magazine before the show that he
wasn’t the typical Big Brother star, saying:
“I would have thought most people
who watch this show are at the younger
end of things and going to identify more
closely with the younger housemates…
but you just never know – it would be
quite a coup if I did carry it off.”
And carry it off he did.
How? By showing kindness in contrast
to the hatred he encountered on
the show. His gracious answers to insulting
questions and comments won
him admirers. And that winsome and
winning attitude springs directly from
Richard’s Christian faith.
One housemate in particular taunted
him, but Richard said he believed
there was a “lovely person” inside.
One viewer commented on X: “A
man who was not meant to be a housemate,
bullied everyday by Caroline, al-
ways wearing normal day clothes and
took himself to bed every night to read
his Bible who has just won Big Brother
and realised how much the nation
loves him.”
In fact, his Bible was the only thing
he took into the house, and he told
Premier Christian Radio that he shared
quotes from it with other contestants
when he felt God led him to do so.
He’s not the first Christian to have
won it, and others have made appearances,
but it’s not the show most Christians
are dying to be on! It requires a
tough skin.
Speaking to the Daily Mail after
his victory, Richard said he holds no
grudges, saying Caroline’s insults were
“water off a duck’s back” and he had
no hard feelings towards her. What a
contrast with today’s so-called ‘snowflake’
culture where everyone takes offence
at everything!
Richard said on Big Brother UK that
he has led a completely celibate life,
and has adopted an adult refugee as
his own son. As for the prize money, he
will be using that to help someone else
too – enabling a young musician to get
his album recorded.
‘Prayer and God’s presence
got me through Bake Off’
WINNER’S WAY: Jasmine Mitchell with the
1.2 metre cake that won Bake Off. She
relied on God to help her through tough
competition
THIS year’s Great
British Bake Off winner
has told how
she dealt with the
pressure of competing
on Bake Off:
she turned to God in
prayer.
Interviewed by Premier
Christian News,
Channel 4
Jasmine Mitchell said
her faith “has become
stronger and stronger
over the last year”,
as she relied on God
while balancing Bake
Off with studying for a
medical degree.
Jasmine said the
pressure of the show
“really pushed me to
rely on Jesus, on God,
because there were a
lot of situations where
I just felt completely
unequipped.
“Walking to the
tent from the green
room, or waiting, I
would just pray the
Lord’s prayer a lot in
my head… I felt like
God was walking along
beside me.”
The youngest ever
five-time Star Baker
added: “I would
look back at the end
of the week and just
feel completely held
by God. It was a complete
kind of miracle,
to be honest, that I
had managed to get
through it!”
Jasmine told Woman
Alive magazine:
“I think it was God’s
grace that carried
me through. Life got
so full-on. I’d look at
my week and think:
‘I can’t possibly do
all this.’ I’d pray that
what truly needed
doing would get
done and every week,
somehow, it would…
“I kept feeling his
presence through every
round, every new
challenge. Even now,
every new stage brings
new adjustments, and
I still have to trust that
God has me. I never
feel fully equipped, but
he always pulls [me]
through.”
Another area of life
that has been a challenge
is living with alopecia.
She began losing
her hair at the age of
ten, but is now able to
feel confident without a
wig. She says: “Often, I
would pray for my hair
back, in a sense of: ‘This
is what I want, this is
what healing looks like
to me.’ Ironically, healing
isn’t just what we
ask for.
“God has healed me
to make me more whole,
and more me. I’m now
starting to enjoy being
different and just going
with that. It’s definitely
a process of learning to
see myself the way God
sees me.”
SINGER OF MASSIVE HIT BALLAD
REALLY DID FIND ‘WHAT LOVE IS’
IN 1984 rock band Foreigner
sang I Wanna Know What Love
Is and hit number one in both
the UK and US charts. It remains
one of their best-known
songs and is played repeatedly
on radio stations – particularly
around Valentine’s Day.
The powerful vocals, backed
by a Gospel choir, belonged to
34-year-old Lou Gramm. His delivery
sounded sincere, but it was
another eight years before he really
found out what love is.
The intervening years were
not without excesses and, as explained
in an interview with Fox
News, he had a drug addiction
that was getting out of hand.
He had always accepted God’s
existence but regarded him as
just someone to bring requests
to and offer thanks in the good
times, but 1992 marked a seismic
change:
“We had played a concert at
Madison Square Garden and
there was a record company party
afterwards that lasted until
four or five in the morning. Everybody
was drunk or high on drugs
and I ended up back in my hotel
room unable to sleep.
“I started thinking about what
I had become. I was upset and
worried about my children seeing
me like this. I finally fell on my
knees and asked God to take this
‘plague’ away from me.
“A couple of hours later I called
BIG VOICE: Lou Gramm
pictured early in his career
Misterweiss/Wikimedia
my attorney and asked him to
book me into the Hazelden Rehab
Clinic… I spent the best 30 days of
my life there and today I’m a devout
‘born again’ Christian. God
plays a role in everything I do.
I know he gave me my life and
saved my life. I serve him.”
It hasn’t all been plain sailing
since for Lou. The reference to
his life being saved was literal
as well as spiritual, as in 1997 he
had a brain tumour and the subsequent
operation affected his
voice. However, he has gone on
to make Gospel records and, at 75
years old, he is still touring and
doing guest spots with Foreigner.

Page 4 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
Eternity
ROMCOM: Elizabeth Olsen is at the centre of an eternal love triangle
Director: David Freyne
Stars: Miles Teller, Elizabeth
Olsen, Callum Turner
Certificate: 15
Available: Cinemas; streaming/
DVD dates TBC
LARRY (Miles Teller) and Joan
(Elizabeth Olsen) are an elderly
couple. Joan is terminally
ill, but it is Larry who dies
unexpectedly a week before
Joan – having choked on a
pretzel.
In the way station between life
and death where they meet, there
is an awkward encounter as Joan’s
first husband Luke (Callum Turner)
is also there, having waited 69 years
for Joan to join him since his death
in the Korean War of the 1950s.
This rather ingenious love
triangle is complicated by the many
stalls in this way station which
are ‘selling’ various alternative
eternities. So, who will Joan pick
and where will she choose to spend
eternity?
There are a few twists and turns
in the plot and some very funny
moments. But what does it tell us
about heaven?
It is unlikely that the film
maker had any desire to offer
a theological reflection on the
afterlife, but was aiming to make
an enjoyable fantasy love story, in
By Simon Carver
which they definitely succeeded.
The question ‘with which
husband/wife do you choose to
spend eternity’ is not new and it
was a question that was asked
of Jesus [see Matthew 22:23-33 in
the Bible]. His answer was that
the question was based on a false
premise: marriage is part of the
earthly life we live, but heaven is
different.
It is natural to ponder about
heaven and what it will be like,
but our earthly mind will always
struggle to understand matters of
eternity. What we can be sure of is
that who we are now will continue
to be who we are in the life to come.
The apostle Paul used the
analogy of a seed which falls and
dies, but then grows into a plant.
The plan for the plant is only
fulfilled after it dies, but there is a
continuity between the two.
What we know now but Paul
didn’t know is that the DNA in the
seed contains the plan for both the
seed and the plant. God has a plan
for us that is fulfilled in the next life
– if we put our trust in him.
God loves us and wants us to
spend eternity with him. If you
want to know how, see our Help
For Readers section on page 7.
INSPIRED by the example
of Jesus, who washed his
disciples’ feet, a group of
Christian women recently
cleaned the feet of inmates
in a women’s prison in the
state of Goiás in Brazil.
The leader of the
group, Shaila Manzoni
from a church in Brasília,
said: “Love doesn’t ask
who deserves it, but who
needs it. They need us.”
According to Christian
Daily International
(CDI), the group is called
AME (Ame Mulheres
Esquecidas or Love
Forgotten Women) and
was founded by Manzoni
to support incarcerated
women and restore their
dignity.
AME volunteers have
washed more than 800
prisoners’ feet in the
last five years. They have
also baptised 202 wom-
FROM LUST TO LOVE
helping others find Jesus 1990s, before quitting
too”, adding: “Crack the films in 2008 and
Bible … you won’t regret working as a webcam
it” and a cross emoji. ‘model’.
In a later post she She announced her
wrote: “My journey with faith in Jesus a year ago
my faith is my own and on social media: “I’ve
I’m being public about it found my faith again
because I know there are and I’m so at peace. My
legions of people that belief in the most high
FREE FROM HER PAST: Jenna Jameson today
want to know Christ but has led me to strength I
are in fear of judgement. never knew I had.”
I am unafraid and She told the New
A FORMER porn star using her platform to will continue to show York Post: “I am being
once earned her living help others find faith people that the broken loud and proud about
from the lust of men in Jesus.
are the most important my walk with Jesus
but has now found the Now 51, Jenna captioned to him.”
Christ.
love of Jesus.
an Instagram photo of The Las Vegas-born “Proclaiming my love
The Christian Post herself with the words: adult movie star was for him is opening so
reports that Jenna Jameson “After decades of being so successful that she many people’s eyes to
has been baptised as a known for my body and was given the title ‘The the fact that they are not
Christian and is now sin, getting baptised and Queen of Porn’ in the irredeemable.”
Women wash prisoners’ feet
to demonstrate Christian love
Screenshot/YouTube/ET
en, distributed 2,160
hygiene and food kits,
and facilitated 555 legal
consultations. They also
connect women who
have received no visits
with ‘godmothers’ who
write to them and offer
emotional support.
The event in the
Goiás prison was deeply
moving for both the
inmates and the women
who did it. The ladies
also led a Christian
service, sharing Holy
Communion, offering the
inmates a space where,
in their own words, “they
not only ate, but sat at the
table to belong”. Some
inmates danced, cried
and received prayer, and
several were baptised.
Manzoni told Diario
Cristiani of CDI: “Jesus
invites us to live the
Gospel through concrete
LOVE IN ACTION: Christian women wash the feet and
pray for inmates in a prison in Brazil through the cell bars
actions. The washing of
feet is a calling.”
Since AME began
working in a prison in
Luziânia in 2020, the
reoffending rates have
plummeted. Among 850
women who served their
sentence at the unit
between 2020 and 2024,
only three reoffended —
a recidivism rate of just
0.35 per cent, far below
the national average
of 42 per cent, according
to Brazil’s National
Secretariat for Penal
Policies.
Manzoni says: “The
world measures in
numbers, but this isn’t
just a statistic — it’s proof
of a possible path.
“A safe society isn’t
one that imprisons more,
but one that reintegrates,
rebuilds and chooses not
to give up on its people.”
DISCOVERY NEWS
Science, archaeology and history’s
latest revelations
Science finds link between emotions
and the heart – confirming the Bible
By Andrew Halloway
A NEW book by a retired GP explores
how cutting edge research is catching up
with what was written in the Bible
over 3,000 years ago.
Dr Stephen Brooke, author
of Your Heart in Rhythm
with God’s, recently told
the Salvation Army’s War
Cry magazine about discoveries
concerning the heart.
He said: “In all cultures
around the world, there’s a
recognition that the physical
heart is somehow the centre
of life, linking mind, body
and spirit. That has been
confirmed by the research
of the HeartMath Institute
in the United States, which
has been studying the links
for 30 years.”
The research has improved
our understanding
of the communication between
the heart and the
brain, and how emotions
impact our heart health.
Stephen told War Cry:
“In the Bible we’re told to
rejoice with our heart and
soul and love God with all of
our heart… These emotions
put our heart into a healthy,
coherent rhythm.”
The Bible talks a lot
about emotions of our
heart, and the impact of
both negative and positive
feelings. HeartMath
Institute has discovered
that regularly experiencing
emotions like love,
appreciation, compassion,
care and forgiveness are
all good for our physical
heart. Conversely, it has
long been known that a
bad temper and stress
is bad for the heart. It is
now also known that the
heart has its own ‘brain’ –
nerve cells that assess and
make decisions, sending
messages according to the
circumstances.
Stephen believes that we
should take our emotions
seriously because “they
have a great impact on our
heart and lifespan”. For
example, “nurturing anger
and combining it with
cynicism or hostility leads
to damage to the heart.
It’s well known in medical
literature that people who
can’t control their anger,
and have great outbursts,
are more prone to have a
stroke or a sudden heart
attack.”
The Bible says: “A joyful
heart is good medicine, but
a crushed spirit dries up
the bones” (Proverbs 17:22),
and “hope deferred makes
the heart sick, but a desire
fulfilled is a tree of life”
(Proverbs 13:12).
The Bible teaches us to
avoid negative emotions
like hatred and jealousy
primarily because they
are sinful and can lead
us to hurt others, but
also because they have a
negative effect on us – both
mentally and physically.
As a Christian, Stephen
adds: “The heart that we’ve
been given is a huge clue to
the nature of God, and to
the meaning and purpose of
our life on Earth. It is to have
a heart connection with our
Creator.”
Your Heart in Rhythm
with God’s is available
on Amazon
LOST

Page 5 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
LOVE SAVED SAMUEL L. JACKSON
Hollywood actor credits his wife for saving his life
SHE won top prize of
entertainer of the year at
the 2025 Country Music
Association Awards, along
with album of the year for
Whirlwind, but Lainey
Wilson says she owes it all to
Jesus Christ.
The singer says: “The church
was a huge part of my growing
up and our family foundation.
We love Jesus. And I’m not sure
STAR OF BLOCKBUSTERS: Jackson as Nick Fury in the Avengers series
Easy-Peasy.AI
SHE could have left him –
and many wives would have
done. As someone descends
into a spiralling drug habit,
it can tear marriages and
relationships apart.
But love for her husband and
her Lord led LaTanya Richardson
Jackson to help Samuel L.
Jackson through drug addiction.
She got the movie star admitted
to a New York rehab clinic and
stuck by him until he was free.
It was only then that the actor’s
career took off. Without her,
he would have probably ended
up in crime to fund his habit or
worse still, in a coffin.
Samuel told People magazine:
“She didn’t have to do what she
did.”
The 77-year-old actor has
been married to theatre actress
LaTanya for 46 years.
Early in their relationship,
Samuel got hooked on drugs,
which took its toll on their
relationship. One day, he took
so many that he collapsed and
it was then that LaTanya got him
into rehab.
The Avengers and Pulp Fiction
star told People: “She could have
just said… get out, whatever and
just left me… let me go and be
whatever I was going to be.”
LaTanya admitted that she
felt like leaving him at this time,
but also believed it was her
Christian duty to stay and help
him. She said: “I felt as though
God had spoken to me and said,
‘Now, you can’t leave this young
man like this. So give him some
help.’”
After breaking free of the
habit, Samuel went on to movie
stardom. He holds the Guinness
World Record for the highestgrossing
actor of all time, with
a worldwide box office gross of
over $14.6 billion for the films
he has acted in – much of that
coming from his roles in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe and
Star Wars.
He said: “I was given another
chance to be who I was supposed
to be.”
Cover photo: Philip Romano/
Wikimedia
COUNTRY STAR: ‘I love Jesus. I’m not
sure where I would be without him’
By Mark Ellis, godreports.com
where I would be right now on
this journey without him. It’s
just a part of who I am.”
The 33-year-old Grammy
winner joined the cast of TV
show Yellowstone in 2022, with
some of her songs featured in
the series until it ended in 2024.
Raised in the tiny farming
community of Baskin,
Louisiana, Lainey grew up in
a home where faith wasn’t just
talked about; it was lived.
Her family attended Baskin
Baptist Church every Sunday,
a place where her parents were
married and where young
Lainey made her decision to
follow Christ. “A lot happened
at Baskin Baptist Church,” she
shared in a recent interview
with Us Weekly. “My parents
got married there, and I got
saved [became a Christian] as
a little girl there. It was full of
good people—the kind that
would give you the shirt off
their back.”
That simple, Bible-believing
upbringing shaped everything
about her. When Lainey first
moved to Nashville at age 19,
she lived in a camper trailer
parked outside a recording
studio. Her faith became her
anchor there.
She credits the grit instilled
by her parents—and the
calling she felt from God—as
the driving force behind her
perseverance. “I knew from
an early age that this was
my calling,” she said in an
interview with Movieguide.
org. “I knew that this was a
gift. I truly believe that if you
feel like you have a gift, you’re
supposed to share it with the
world.”
Lainey’s music reflects that
conviction unapologetically.
Songs like Me, You and
Jesus lay it out plainly: true
love and life work best with
Christ at the centre. Her track
Sunday Best draws directly
from her childhood memories
of dressing up for church,
reminding listeners to bring
their best to God no matter the
storms of life.
As arenas fill with fans
singing along to hits like Heart
Like a Truck and Watermelon
Moonshine, Lainey remains
the farmer’s daughter from
Baskin who starts her day
talking to Jesus.
LOVING LIFE WITH JESUS: Lainey Wilson
performing live in Nashville in 2024
Helloburton/Wikimedia
LOVE HURTS: Research shows it really is possible to die of a broken heart
‘This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one
and only Son into the world that we might live through him.’
The Bible, 1 John 4:9
Adobe Stock

Page 6 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
Former criminal now
gives jobs to ex-convicts
The greatest love of all
ON Valentine’s Day we will doubtless
find our airwaves full of love songs old
and new again. One in particular comes
to mind.
It is over 40 years since Mick Jones, guitarist of
rock band Foreigner, awoke in the middle of the
night to write the timeless power ballad I Wanna
Know What Love Is. The lyrics are still relevant
today, for so many people in this troubled world.
(See page 3 for more on who sang the song.)
Jones has said that the words came to him as if
from a “higher source” and that is easy to believe.
It is not stretching the imagination too far to
suggest that the song is a sub-conscious reaching
out to God.
The chorus pleads: “I wanna know what love is,
I want you to show me. I want to feel what love is,
I know you can show me.”
That could be just about romance, but the
refrain goes deeper. Paraphrased it says: “I’ve
gotta take a little time to think things over. This
mountain I must climb feels like the world upon
my shoulders. In my life there’s been heartache
and pain, I don’t know if I can face it again but I
can’t stop now. I’ve travelled so far to change this
lonely life.”
Love is…
These words still resonate with so many people
today. It is actually possible to be lonely in a
crowded room.
Do you want to know what love is?
Well, the Bible has the answer: “Love is patient,
love is kind, it doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it is
not proud. It doesn’t dishonour others, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).
However much we love someone else, we will
fail to live up to this standard. These are the
characteristics of a God who “so loved the world
he gave his only begotten son (Jesus) that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life” (John 3:16).
Romantic love can be amazing but it pales in
comparison with God’s unconditional, eternal
love.
Human love can let us down, but God has
promised: “Never will I leave you; never will I
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
LEWIS Gibson’s life tragically
spiralled out of control
after his parents split up
when he was just nine years
old. He turned to drugs big
time and was in and out of
prison for years.
But the now 45-yearold
found God over seven
years ago and turned his
life around. He runs his
own successful construction
company which sponsors
and hires ex-convicts and
addicts!
Paradoxically, the country
was ‘imprisoned’ in lockdown
when Lewis was himself
let out in 2020, but it didn’t
prevent his enterprising
venture – begun while in a
Southampton hostel.
Over the years he’s
employed over 50 men and
women, many of whom
got work for the first time
in their lives. At least three,
including a brother and
sister duo, have gone on to
successfully set up their own
companies.
Transformation
Lewis himself has gone
from not being able to
complete the short distance
from Bournemouth train
station to a near-by homeless
hostel without scoring
on drugs, to successfully
completing a sponsored
run – raising well over his
£1,000 target in memory of a
cousin he lost to cancer.
After his parents separated,
Lewis began shoplifting
and committed petty crimes
to “impress my friends”. He
was eventually suspended
from school.
Gravitating towards “the
people who were giving me
FINDING
By Ian White
the approval I was seeking”,
Lewis’ life really hit the rocks
when he was arrested at just
13 and sent to a children’s
home.
The cycle of criminal
activity and increasing prison
sentences began. Lewis
failed to make a connection
with his own behaviour: “I
saw myself as a victim”.
Over the years he became
addicted to cocaine and
heroin, and also sold drugs.
He woke up every day with
withdrawal symptoms: “We
just lived to use.”
Although determined to
change his ways, Lewis failed
to understand he was totally
powerless to overcome drugs
and alcohol by himself.
Each time Lewis got out
of prison, he’d be “using the
same day”.
At a low ebb, he began
to read daily Bible passages
– initially in secret because
of the fear of ridicule.
However, as the reality of
God grew stronger, Lewis’
fears subsided.
One particular New
Testament verse struck him
so much that he wrote it on
the wall of his room: “If you
confess with your mouth
Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart God has raised
him from the dead, you will
be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Even though Lewis didn’t
know what ‘saved’ meant, he
knew he needed saving from
himself, so each day until he
was sent back to jail, Lewis
did exactly what the verse
says and called on Jesus.
“It was such a revelation,”
he says.
HOPE
COMPLETE CHANGE: God took away addict Lewis
Gibson’s desire for drugs – and now he’s a company
boss and in training for Christian ministry
Lewis’ desperate cry was
answered while behind bars
in April 2019.
As he stared into the
mirror on his lonely cell wall
in the deepest of reflection, “I
didn’t recognise the person
looking back at me”. In that
moment Lewis completely
broke down: “I didn’t know
where else to go. I’d come to
the end.”
Encounter
Lewis yet again cried out
to God, and this time “God
stepped into my life,” says
Lewis.
He massively transformed
over a period of two-anda-half
years, so much so
that the prison gave him a
position of trust whilst still
inside.
He also went through the
12 Steps of Cocaine Anonymous
(a spiritual recovery
programme). When he shared
the Steps with another inmate
who was more familiar with
the Bible, his friend told him
the programme reminded
him of a book in the New
Testament called James.
That caused Lewis to delve
deeper into the Bible. As he
read the four accounts of
Jesus’ life on earth (the books
of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John) he encountered Jesus
for himself and “experienced
a freedom I’d never had
before”.
Now with a purpose in
his life and his release date
beckoning, Lewis prayed
he wouldn’t fall back into
old ways. Then he suddenly
realised: “I had no desire to
go and get alcohol or drugs!”
As well as running
the construction company,
Lewis has completed
a theology course and
is going through preordination
with his church.
The father of three adds
there’s no greater feeling
than sharing his story in
prison and seeing “the
beautiful thing” of “the light
coming on in someone’s
eyes”.
GOOD NEWS
Issue no. 295
www.goodnews-paper.org.uk
Published by the Good News Fellowship UK, a registered charity, no.
1167287, in association with the international family of Challenge
newspapers. Please note: some stories may be unsuitable for children;
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Dealing with rejection
WHEN we are rejected in
love or in any relationship,
we can respond by losing
hope, being angry or falling
into despair.
I remember how I felt when I was
let down by people I thought were
friends, but who turned against me.
Rejection cuts deeply, and its
sting lingers, shaping how we see
ourselves, others and even God.
In the Bible, we find the opposite: a
powerful healing perspective instead
of bitterness. For example, Joseph was
rejected by his brothers and sold into
slavery by them (Genesis 37). Yet his
life shows that even betrayal of this
magnitude need not have the final
word. Joseph did not allow bitterness
to define him. Instead, he trusted that
God was working in the background,
weaving purpose through his pain.
Towards the end of his life (Genesis
50), Joseph stood face to face with the
brothers who had wounded him and
could say: “You meant it for evil, but
God used it for good.” He did not
deny the hurt, but through his faith
he found ways to understand it and
to see how God had used his negative
experiences.
Joseph is like Jesus, who was
able to suffer and die for others,
and was able to forgive those who
crucified him so unfairly. A heavenly
perspective will transform how we
look at rejection, and finding hope
through the lens of God’s faithfulness
is an act of faith.
Rather than letting past wounds
convince us we are unlovable or
doomed to repeat the same pain, we
can ask: “How might God have been
at work, even there?”
We have a choice: be trapped
by memories of rejection or see a
bigger picture: that God is in control,
working through all circumstances,
even the negatives in life. He can take
what was meant to break us and use
it to deepen our character and grow
resilience, faith, and an eternal hope
that cannot be shaken.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
1. In 1974 Olivia Newton-John’s song at the Eurovision
Song Contest about the love shown
by the Salvation Army included these lyrics:
“Just a band of happy people, teaching,
preaching love is equal. When you feel the
Spirit move you, glory, glory, hallelujah.”
What was the song called? Anagram: lolling
oven glove (4:4:4:4)
2. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments
were: “Love God with all your heart…”
and love whom, as yourself?
3. There are several stories about St Valentine;
one legend says that, when Emperor Claudius
banned soldiers from marrying, Valentine
thought this was unfair so he broke the rules
and arranged marriages for others in secret.
What was his punishment?
4. Another legend records that, while in
prison, Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s
daughter. When he was taken to be killed on
14 February, he sent her a love letter signed
with which three words? Anagram: evolution
ferryman (4:4:9)
5. Name the 1989 film about a bored Liverpudlian
housewife who takes a holiday to
BRAIN SIZZLING
PRAYER
REQUESTS
If you would like prayer for whatever
issue you are facing, or help to become
a Christian, call the UCB Prayerline
on 01782 36 3000 (UK local call rate)
or 01 4299 930 in the Republic of
Ireland. The Prayerline is open Monday
to Friday from 9am to 10pm and on
Saturdays from 10am to 3pm (closed
Sundays and bank holidays). Trained
Christian volunteers will take your call
and pray for you and with you.
Greece and falls in love with a local man
who bolsters her self-confidence.
6. In the Bible (1 Corinthians 13) Paul tells
us the many attributes of love. One is
that it “never ___”.
7. A sentient Volkswagen Beetle, known
as Herbie, starred in a 1968 American
adventure comedy film. What was the
nickname of the car and the film’s title?
8. London’s Piccadilly Circus houses the
Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain celebrating
the Victorian politician, the Earl
of Shaftesbury, and his work replacing
child labour with school education. The
statue on top is popularly but mistakenly
known as what?
9. This ancient Greek word means unconditional
love. Anagram: a page (5)
10. The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre
on 14 February 1929 was a gangland
shooting in which US city?
11. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote: “So
these three things continue forever:
faith, hope, and love.” Which did he say
was the greatest?
SUDOKU
by Shogun
FILL in all the squares in
the grid so that each row,
each column and each of
the 3x3 squares contains
all the digits from 1 to 9.
JANUARY 2026 SOLUTION
6. Fails
7. The Love Bug
8. Eros
9. Agape
10. Chicago
11. Love
1. Long, long live love
2. Your neighbour
3. He was thrown in
jail and sentenced
to death
4. ‘From your
Valentine’
5. Shirley Valentine
QUICK QUIZ ANSWERS
BREAK TIME CROSSWORD
With Chef
Mark Darracott
Ingredients
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14 15 16
For the pear filling:
17 18 19 20
21 22
23 24
HELP FOR READERS
HOW TO KNOW JESUS
FOR YOURSELF
AS you have read through Good News, we hope you
have seen the difference knowing Jesus Christ makes
to people’s lives.
If you would like to know more about this, read on, or see:
www.goodnews-paper.org.uk and click on the
Finding Faith section.
The Christian faith is not some philosophy, dreamt up to make
people feel better, or to be a crutch in times of need. It is based
on a person. Our time itself is measured from the day
of his birth. His life is a fact of history: Jesus Christ.
In Jesus, God became a man, lived a perfect life, and died on
a cross – taking God’s punishment for all your wrong-doing
and mine. But he came back to life to prove his power over
death, then went back to heaven and will one day return again.
In Jesus, we are offered a person to follow, a power to transform
lives, a purpose for living and eternal life.
If you would like to know Jesus Christ for yourself…
1. Read aloud, meaningfully and
sincerely, the prayer opposite, and
2. Fill in the coupon below so we can send you
information to help you in your new life.
PRAYER
Dear God, I believe Jesus died for my sins
(things I do wrong) so that I can be forgiven
and receive your free gift of eternal life.
Please forgive me, and come into my life to help
me live your way. From this moment on, I want
to follow Jesus’ example and join other Christians
in serving you and other people.
Amen.
Page 7 | GOOD NEWS | February 2026
Flavours to Savour
Pear
crumble
6–8 ripe pears (about 1.5 kg / 3–3.5
lbs), peeled, cored, and sliced or diced
(Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc work great)
2–3 tbsp light brown sugar (adjust depending
on how sweet the pears are)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Optional: ¼ tsp ground ginger or
nutmeg, or a handful of fresh or frozen
cranberries for tartness
For the crumble topping:
150g (1¼ cups) all-purpose flour (or
half flour, half rolled oats)
100g (½ cup) light or dark brown sugar
100g (7 tbsp) cold unsalted butter
50g (½ cup) rolled oats (optional, for
extra crunch)
50g (½ cup) chopped nuts (almonds,
pecans or walnuts – optional)
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Lightly butter
a baking dish (about 20x30 cm / 8x12 inch or a 9–10
inch round dish).
Prepare the pears: In a large bowl, toss the sliced pears
with lemon juice, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt
(and any optional spices). Tip into the baking dish and
spread evenly.
Make the crumble topping: In another bowl, mix flour,
brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and oats/nuts if using.
Add the cold butter. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients
with your fingertips (or pulse in a food processor)
until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some larger
clumps.
Assemble: Scatter the crumble mixture evenly over
the pears. Don’t press it down – you want it craggy for
maximum crunch.
Bake for 35–45 minutes until the topping is golden
brown and the pear juices are bubbling around the
edges.
Rest for 10 minutes before serving (it will be lava-hot!).
Serves 4 to 6
Across
1 City in the US state of
Nebraska (5)
4 Complete trust (5)
9 Type of shoe (8)
10 Jesus said these people
will inherit the earth [Bible:
Matthew 5] (4)
11 & 6 Down. It occurs this
month (6,7)
12 Church council (5)
13 Male 21 Across (4)
15 Cereal plant (3)
16 Common to both computers
and pianos (4)
17 Relating to town or city (5)
19 European country (6)
21 Ruminant animal (4)
22 Dense clumps or tufts of
grass (8)
23 Plant with showy flowers (5)
24 Mineral sometimes used as a
gemstone (5)
Mike’s book Proper Cornish Childhood is available on Amazon
Down
2 Spread as protection for plant
roots (5)
3 Poisonous plant (7)
5 Organisation and running of a
business or system (5)
6 (See 11 Across)
7 Fruit with thick rind (11)
8 ‘Where is the ----- I knew when
first I saw the Lord?’ [hymn] (11)
14 Type of guitar (7)
16 Form of musical entertainment
(7)
18 Powerful businessman (5)
20 Arthur ----- , late actor and
comedian (5)
• See next issue for solution
JANUARY 2026 ANSWERS
FREE OFFER FOR THOSE SEEKING FAITH…
I want to make a new start in my life and would like, free of charge:
The DVD ‘So Who is This Jesus?’ A true account of Jesus’ life (booklet)
Contact from an experienced Christian, to help me learn more about Jesus.
My tel. no. is
My name and address (print)
Hi to all! Hope you are well
and ready for a tasty treat.
Try this easy pear crumble.
O S L O A L F R E S C O
A V M O X A
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V R N E E
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We regret this offer is only available to UK and Ireland readers. February 2026

SPORT
WHEN cynical footie fans saw a
‘Jesus saves’ slogan their witty reply
was often ‘but Le Tissier puts in the
rebound’.
Today they might insert Harry Kane or
another striker, but in the 1980s and 1990s
Southampton and England footballing
legend Matt Le Tissier fitted the bill. He was
even nicknamed ‘Le God’ by Southampton
supporters, such was his ability to score
spectacular goals.
But Matt has now found the real God – he
was baptised last September.
He wasn’t brought up in a religious
family. His journey to faith began during the
COVID-19 pandemic, when he began to think
more about the important things in life.
Last year, on The God Cast on YouTube,
Matt told his story: “Dave Merrington, youth
team manager at Southampton, was a
Christian and he’s always played a big part
in my life and my career. We’ve stayed in
touch all these years. In 2023 his wife passed
away. I was invited to her funeral.
“I walked into the church that day and
I had the most amazing feeling… I felt this
warmth… and I had this feeling that I belong
here. I then became a Christian [in December
2023] and I’ve been going to church pretty
much every Sunday ever since.”
On another podcast, he added that at the
funeral he heard “‘Somebody’ telling me
you need to come here” – an inner voice that
he now believes was God’s Holy Spirit.
In a Zoom video interview in 2025, he
added: “On that day my life changed for
ever… Subsequently I had a lot of chats with
the pastor of the church… and with Dave
NEW CHRISTIAN: When the saints go
marching in, Matt really will be ‘among
that number’
James English/Wikimedia
FOOTBALL ‘GOD’ LE TISSIER
FINDS THAT JESUS SAVES
By Andrew Halloway
Merrington. They were incredibly supportive
and informative. I just wanted to know more
about Jesus.
“Just before Christmas 2023, we were sat
in the church and I decided this is what I
want to do with the rest of my life, I want to
be a Christian, I want to follow Jesus, and
I declared that day that that is what I was
going to do.
“At first I didn’t speak about it publicly, but
I put a cross on my social media bio. Later,
in 2024, I was being interviewed at a festival
and the interviewer noticed the cross, so he
started asking me about my faith… I just was
honest about what had happened to me. I
wasn’t sure I was saying the right things, as
it was very early in my Christian journey.
“But then something incredible happened
on the way back. My satnav was taking
me a different way home and I wondered
why, but then it said to take the next right
into God’s Blessing Lane... I had to take a
photo, because I thought, no one is going to
believe me when I tell them! If I ever I needed
a sign to say you’re on the right track, I don’t
think I could have got a more obvious one!”
Since then, he says: “I’ve been enjoying
my journey, reading the Bible, and I now
find that the first music I put on to listen to is
songs of worship. If someone had said that
about me a few years ago I would have asked
them if they were crazy.”
Later he was baptised, to affirm his new
faith. He concluded: “It’s incredible how my
life’s turned around.”
In a podcast with Rev Jamie Franklin,
Matt said he now feels that his life has a
purpose and “is better for it”. He has no
regrets: “Faith has had a very calming effect
on me… I’d like to think I’ve developed a lot
more patience and I’m hoping that I become
a better human being”.
When he was about to have a knee
operation, his friends prayed for him, asking
that his recovery be as pain-free as possible.
Having had operations before, Matt fully
expected to have some pain, and left the
hospital with painkillers and crutches.
But he never needed the crutches or the
painkillers.
He concluded: “I think the power of
prayer is amazing. I never felt anything in
my knee. It was incredible.”
FOOTBALL GENIUS: Matt Le Tissier on the ball for Southampton in the 1998/1999 season
Reuters
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