Andy B Podcasts and Stuff

What's coming up in our next Endurance Podcast?

This week Steven and Nathan focus on “giving it your all” in exercise as well as everyday life.

Endurance is your weekly spiritual workout, whether you think of yourself as a beginner, an intermediate, or advanced!

Join us for Endurance: Sundays from 4pm!

Steven and Nathan

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60 Seconds is all it takes to make sure you've not missed out on any of our posts, videos and resources - or exciting events we've got coming up.

In Case You Missed It

Guest Blog Posts by Andy B

Andy B has written some guest blog posts for Rainer, The Devotional Guy. He has also written a blog post for UK Christian Bloggers – of which we are members – coming in December.

Family Focus on Konnect Radio

For Family Focus on Remembrance Sunday Andy and Jo, together with the rest of the BerryBunch, discussed remembering. They also played some brilliant tunes as usual.

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If you’re late for work, then rushing like a mad thing is rather a sensible course of action. Of course we shouldn’t break any speed limits doing so! But hanging about and taking our time to drink a second cup of tea isn’t appropriate either!!

There are times in life when we simply need to get a hustle on, to get the job done…and keep our job, perhaps…

As we switch across to some new video editing software, we’re taking our time. Sure, we’re pressing on to make the switch over to the new software but we also, already, have work we are already doing. So, we’re taking our time and doing a little bit more each week the new software, and a little bit less with the old software.

Within a couple of weeks, that process should have been completed.

There’s a phrase that goes a bit like this: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. The basic point is simply saying that going slower can save us time later. 

Measure twice, cut once is another thing saying the same thing.

More haste, less speed is the exact same thing - when we rush we are prone to making mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes can not be undone.

So, Pace Yourself, and make sure you take that 7th day off from your rest-of-the-week-working-pattern. God took a break on the 7th Day of Creation…so we have no excuses!

Just a thought… 

Andy B

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It’s easy to see all the gaps and fill them up. If it’s a dam, great. That same finger shoving effort may not be quite as helpful if it’s a colander you’re filling the holes in, while you’re trying to strain some cauliflower from the water it was just boiled in - for your dinner!

Context, as ever, matters!

We can treat our diaries, and our time, a little like this – we can fill every second available, and leave no spare capacity (or room for other people, or room for God).

I once chatted with a minister in a church. He was pretty new, and his immaturity was sadly all too easily on display as he talked about how important he was, and why his diary was so very full all the time. The bigger problem here was that he had been given some really solid advice, and had chosen to ignore it – he’d been advised to always leave a little space each day for issues that came up with his congregation. He happily told me why he was ignoring that advice; he told me it was great advice, and he might do that one day. 

It wasn’t a surprise to see how much damage that did to the church and the end consequence was people leaving in their droves because they didn’t really get any chance to meet with him: his overly full diary precluded him from meeting the needs of the very people he was filling his diary in order to serve better, a little like the father who works all the hours he can for his family, while neglecting his family in the process – the initial reason for his extra hours.

Buffer zones protect us, sure. But, they also create opportunities - a little like saying no to one person in need, enabling you to have the opportunity to say yes to someone else. Filling our diaries, in one sense, can be simply our arrogance shining through. It is a bit like saying we can read the future and know what will be happening tomorrow or next week. Making plans is great. Not allowing those plans to change is not so good!

Perhaps this sounds a little extreme to you, but it really is rather true – we can block out our ability to hear what God may be saying to us: there’s nothing wrong with being busy. But there is something wrong with being so busy we have no time for other people who may need us. 

So, be slow to fill your diaries, and always make sure you leave time for God to have the right to alter the course of your day.

Just a thought… 

Andy B

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There will always be parts of our lives we’d rather forget – those moments when something traumatic happens to us, or those times when we’ve done something that may have ruined the life of someone else, perhaps permanently.

Those moments define us, and they can be moments we’d rather not ever have to remember.

But, having undergone a 15 month of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - for childhood trauma - I find it fascinating that the way to help someone process that trauma is to enable them to relive that trauma, and yet remain in control of that memory they are reliving. That control was lacking, hence the therapy approach.

Those 15 months were incredibly exhausting, but that process of remembering – in a safe environment – meant I could finally move on something I had had no choice over suffering.

Remembering the pain was a literal part of my healing!

When our daughter died, aged just 10 weeks, it was a time that truly took our breath away as we sought to process what was happening - that we could not control. And, yet, it was also the birth of our determination to seize every moment and live life to the full to the very extent of our abilities. That led to a journey I wouldn’t wish to have missed, as much as I still miss our precious daughter - Magdi. God redeemed that pain into something truly wonderful.

We forget the past at our peril

Sometimes remembering can be painful, but blocking or attempting to delete the past actually removes parts of our past from us, and our we are the products of our past. We don’t have to relive those traumatic moments with a smile! But, they made us who we are today.

If you have some past pain that you can not process, talk to Jesus about it. He endured a trauma we will never have to match or meet or face, and all because He loves us and wanted to give us the option of Heaven as our final destination. 

And, that is something worth remembering

Just a thought… 

Andy B

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Have you ever heard the phrase ‘phone a friend’? While it may have been made more widely known by a popular British TV quiz show, I’ve used it and heard it for many years before that. The meaning is fairly simple – when you get stuck, you contact someone who may know more.

We all need people we can talk to – either as some form of a sounding board (I have several people like this who are happy to listen to my Andy B thoughts spilling over) or as someone to whom we make ourselves accountable.

Accountability is hugely important, and a subject for another day: we can’t force people to be made accountable! But we should be allowing ourselves to be made accountable to other people. And it is super important never to exist in a bubble of our own thoughts and feelings. That’s just inviting big and painful trouble: a different perspective can see what we can not.

I was once told by a church minister that he would act like the father I never had. He didn’t ask. He just stated that was happening. But, I had no respect for him - for a wide number of reasons, not least the fact I didn’t know him and was happily married when he ‘gave’ his advice. Needless to say I ran a mile and didn’t look back!

We need to exercise wisdom when sharing personal facts and feelings: as Christians we should always be open about our lives with the people we meet, but it is also important to create and enforce righteous and appropriate boundaries too – Jesus did this all the time, and that’s worth paying attention to, very much!

Be wise and righteously cultivate a few friends you feel safe talking to and make yourself accountable to them. Wise counsel doesn’t come cheap, but it’s extremely precious!

And, remember, you never have to surrender personal information that you’re uncomfortable with sharing, especially with strangers and people we don’t yet know well. They might attend a church, or even wear a dog collar, but let’s share our lives appropriately, and carefully: dog collars can be faked, and church is full or broken people just like you and me.

Just a thought… 

Andy B

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In this episode we are focusing on Remembrance – remembering the sacrifice of those who have died fighting for their countries. But also the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Endurance is your weekly spiritual workout, whether you think of yourself as a beginner, an intermediate, or advanced!

#GoDeeper

As it is Remembrance Sunday, for GoDeeper this week Steven reflects on those who have fought for our freedom. He starts off with two absolutely perfect scripture verses – John 15:13 and Galatians 5:1.

He explains a little about Remembrance Sunday for our viewers around the world. Obviously, he talks about those who died defending freedom during World War 1 and 2, as well as other more recent conflicts, but he also reflects on those who have fought for our freedom in politics and law like William Wilberforce.

Steven points us to the greatest sacrifice of all – Jesus’ death on the cross. And he challenges us to stand up for others even if it costs us. 

#GoDo

For the final segment, Nathan asks Steven a couple of questions about his talk:

1. It’s been said that in your spiritual walk, you are either going forward or backward. Would you say that’s correct?
2. How do you celebrate your progress?

Watch this, the first episode of this season, to find out Steven’s answers to these questions.

Steven and Nathan

Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch
www.berrybunch.org

Support Us Online
www.berrybunch.org/supportus

Catch us on Konnect Radio for our weekly show - Family Focus: Sundays, 3 til 6pm

What's coming up in our next Endurance Podcast?

As it is Remembrance Sunday, for GoDeeper this week Steven reflects on those who have fought for our freedom. He starts off with two absolutely perfect scripture verses – John 15:13 and Galatians 5:1.

Join us for Endurance: Sundays from 2pm!

Endurance is your weekly spiritual workout, whether you think of yourself as a beginner, an intermediate, or advanced!

Steven and Nathan

Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch
www.berrybunch.org

Support Us Online
www.berrybunch.org/supportus

Catch us on Konnect Radio for our weekly show - Family Focus: Sundays, 3 til 6pm

Send us Fan Mail

When we look around the world we see houses built for their surroundings. But one thing all houses remains constant – they really do need fresh air to keep them healthy.

As people we produce moisture all through the day, and that needs to be allowed to escape the house.

You can keep your doors and windows closed, but while this may make you warmer, it is also going to make problems with damp far more likely.

As Christians, we also have a habit of sometimes shutting the doors and windows of our churches, and hiding away from the world. We do it in a hundred different ways, but it is always healthier to open the doors and windows of our churches to keep us healthy – it allows fresh air (people) inside, and helps prevent against us becoming stagnant in our approach to life.

So, make sure your windows and doors get opened once a while, because fresh air is good for all sorts of reasons. And it’s the same with our churches too – open the doors, let people in, and breathe.

Just a thought… 

Andy B

Support the show

Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch
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60 Seconds is all it takes to make sure you've not missed out on any of our posts, videos and resources - or exciting events we've got coming up.

BerryBunch Programmes are back!

Coming Up

Endurance

The focus for Endurance this week is Remembrance; reflecting on those who have lost their lives defending our freedom. In this episode, Steven reminds us of how Jesus laid down his life for us and challenges us to stand up for others even when it costs us. Jesus gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity and Steven and Nathan encourage us to remember this too.

Family Prayer Time

JoJo and Peter take time this week to encourage us to mark Remembrance Day as a family. JoJo reads a well-known poem to help us to reflect on what men and women from the Armed Forces have done for us across the world and Peter leads us in prayer. Join Peter and Jo in remembering the fallen and those who fight to protect us today – We will remember them.

Keep in Touch

Social media loves to hide the stuff you see.

So, to make sure you never miss out on our latest posts, videos and BerryBunch News, just sign up to BerryBytes – our Weekly Newsletter and you’ll be up to date everything we produce: For Free, For All!

The BerryBunch

Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch
www.berrybunch.org

Support Us Online
www.berrybunch.org/supportus

Catch us on Konnect Radio for our weekly show - Family Focus: Sundays, 3 til 6pm