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It’s really healthy to look back at what we’ve accomplished.  It’s good to remember what we’ve done, or how we tried to do something last time.

It’s great to reflect on where we’ve done amazing things, and even not so amazing things. It can even be healthy to remember the foolish things we did and managed to escape serious injury.

However, if we look back too long, we end up risking falling over. Because we’re still walking forwards at the time!

Just a thought…

Andy B

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Andy B opens up this week’s theme, “Down, But Not Out”, by first reminding us of the fact that everyone has had an experience of being down, but not out. 

He unpacks this week’s Scripture verses, Matthew 11:28-30, by explaining what a yoke is in the context of these verses and further explaining its value, as in how oxen are trained using a yoke. In addition, he provides real-life examples of people learning vital skills using the same idea as that of a yoke. 

He relates how a broken bone causes one to be down, but not out, and he emphasises that you will get up again.

And finally, he challenges us with the idea of seeking help when we struggle, reminding us that those with more experience will know more about how to handle situations such as tightening a motorbike chain or using weights at the gym. 

Andy B

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Introduction

In this week’s Marriage Matters, Andy B and Jo talk about the highs and lows of their own marriage after 25 years.

As always, Andy B steers the episode with scripture, when Jesus spoke about his yoke being easy and his burden being light. Perhaps an unusual choice, but Andy B links this to couples and the need for them to stick together: 

- Matthew 11:28-30 

Andy B and Jo take us on a journey through the seasons of marriage, for example the honeymoon period, setting up home, having children and different jobs and places that affect our lives together, bringing us our ups and downs or as Andy B and Jo prefer to say – ‘Highs & Lows’.

Join Andy B & Jo and reflect on your own highs and lows and how you can stick together through them.

#RealTalk – Highs and Lows

Tips and Resources

- Invest in your marriage 

- Play together, work together, eat together, sleep together….

- Make the same effort towards each other in marriage as you did before marriage.

The Take Away

-      Married life just gets better over time!

Andy and Jo

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Today is a good day! We’ve got two loads of washing on our washing line blowing in the gentle breeze and sun. As a stat at home dad, this makes Andy B very happy!

Inside the home, the hoover has been finally repaired and the carpets have been thoroughly gone over. As has the stairs, and lots of dusting has happened too.

In our homes, and in our Spiritual lives we need lots of maintenance. Dirt and dust appear no matter what we do, especially if you use a wood burning stove a lot!

In our walks with Jesus Christ dirt and dust constantly appears too, blocking our ability to see God, and who He is.

While we need to keep doing what we can to keep on top of things it’s also important to take moments to deep clean. In our spiritual lives this is resting before God with no agenda and allowing Him to the opportunity to gently help us clean behind those harder to reach places.

I really enjoy cleaning the home. I love being with God. But, I’m rather good at keeping a lid on those hard to reach places, letting the dirt build up.

So, take some time before God, to get vulnerable with Him. Make a hole in your schedule, pull away the furniture of your spiritual life, and give it a good clean – especially those areas of our lives which people don’t get to see often, or at all.

Just a thought…

Andy B

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There is so much in life that can drag us down and make us give up. But, there is much reason to keep going!

Andy B started a project in September 2021 – writing a book. This is a project a friend had asked him to undertake. And it’s quite a rapid turn around.

But there are so many things that Andy B never got to do.

We all have dreams, hopes and ambitions. And they all can be decimated, or perhaps just deflected.

But God has plans for us as His children. And those plans are to prosper us.

So, if you’ve been putting off something you know God has placed on your heart, and you have a hundred reasons why you couldn’t follow through, or perhaps just the one reason – pick up again and just Keep Going!

Just a thought…

Andy B

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Bathrooms can be hard to make look both pretty and functional. The pipes that make it all function can appear pretty ugly, so it’s become a trend to box pipes in.

However, this comes with a cost. Whether it is the shower body behind lovely looking tiles, a toilet cistern placed behind a wall, or pipes concreted into a floor, it’s tempting to hide these things away, but the cost comes when something breaks.

Tradespeople, especially plumbers, will tell you that pretty isn’t so pretty when something simple breaks, and you’ve got to tear down a wall to get to a part that takes a few seconds to replace, and a few days rebuilding a wall!

In the modern age it’s equally tempting to cover up things in our lives which we feel simply don’t look very nice. We hide them from our friends, and from people who can help us. Shame and embarrassment grow, and our ability to be helped, diminishes.

While some things are certainly an improvement we need to ensure that modern ideas don’t just cover over something that needs some help, or regular maintenance.

Just a thought…

Andy B

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In the first part of That Sinking Feeling, Part 1, I talked about a used chair that I’d bought that wouldn’t stay up. The gas cylinder wasn’t working very well so as you were sitting there it would suddenly, or slowly, drop.

With a mug of tea in my hand, that became a little less than safe or ideal!

While this isn’t the ongoing saga of Andy B trying to find a working chair, it does remind me that there are often things in life that we try to fix, but we simply can’t do it.

Sometimes whatever we’re trying to fix is simply beyond repair. And sometimes we simply need to fit a replacement part to make it all happy once more.

Mercifully God never looks at us beyond repair, and is always willing to help us become more like Jesus Christ.

But, are we willing to take the time and invest in a long term fix? Or do we prefer the quick fix, even if we know that fix isn’t going to last?

We can have a ‘get-you-home’ mentality, and that can be great. But, we even if that quick fix can get us home, we still need a proper repair.

And, are willing to let God invest our time to make that happen?

Just a thought…

Andy B

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When you’re broken down you want to see a recovery truck.

When you’re broken down physically you want to see a doctor and a hospital.

When you’re broken down spiritually or emotionally, you want a compassionate person who looks like they have something of their life in good order.

It’s easy to only want to speak out, and to hear, nice and positive things. We all like that, and we all need that.

However, as Christians, in our journey to becoming more like Jesus Christ, it can’t all be positivity and things that make us feel warm inside. Because we are all sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God, because of the sin in our life. And dealing with sin can be painful as we accept things that are true, and seek to repent and then reconcile ourselves with God.

Do we have the right to speak into the life of someone else?

We can’t just go around trying to correct what we see as mistakes in others. But, within the church family, we do need to be speaking truth – both positive, and not so positive. And we need to ensure we are open to our church family holding us to account too.

Just a thought…

Andy B

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Andy B unpacks this week’s theme, “Going Equipped”, by providing real-life examples and consequences for being prepared or not being prepared. These examples include real stories involving military logistics, scouting and the Vulcan.

As the phrase ‘going equipped’ has various meanings, he explains what some of those are.

He quotes 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which explains how the Word of God equips us for every good work.

Andy B also relates his scouting days, and how, as a scout, he was trained to be ready for any situation.

And he finishes with the challenge to be ready; equipped for what God may ask of us in the week to come.

Andy B

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Introduction

In this week’s Marriage Matters, Andy B and Jo talk about getting engaged - that period before marriage when a couple prepares to get married.

As always, Andy B finds us some relevant bible verses to see what the bible says about getting engaged. The bible doesn’t say anything specifically about getting engaged per se, but there are, of course, principles and experiences of engagement in the bible to be found: 

• Matthew 1:18- 21 – Joseph thinks about calling off his engagement to Mary
• 1 Corinthians 7:9 – Better to marry than burn with passion

As Andy B points out, the purpose of being engaged to be married is to get prepared for marriage. And both Andy B and JoJo together explore the issues around engagement and the dangers, giving, as usual, some of their own experiences to help us get our heads around this stuff. In fact, listen out for a cool analogy about traffic lights; engagement is not on red or green or even amber, so where does it sit?

Find out by watching this enlightening episode on Engagement! 

#RealTalk – Rules of Engagement

Tips and Resources

• Bethany Hamilton – a surfer; How Do We Stay Connected? https://bethanyhamilton.com/how-do-we-stay-connected/ 
• Read Song of Songs – have a look at how the relationship, and the words change, as they couple from the process of getting married to being married

The Take Away

Think of the humble British Traffic light. Green to Amber to Red, then Red to Red plus Amber, then Green. A perfect analogy of Engagement and Marriage.

Andy and Jo

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