You will certainly have seen our new Pastor on one of our YouTube streaming services and might even have received a call from him over the last few weeks. We have been delighted to welcome James, Megan, Judah and Priscilla into our MEBC family! However, it is tricky to get to know people under lockdown...

In this special episode, you will find out a little bit more about James and his family. You'll hear about all sorts of topics including their move to Rickmansworth, Priscilla's super skills as a goalie, James and Megan's time in Russia as well as James' impressions of MEBC and its people.

Grab a cuppa, find a comfy spot and join James and Manon as they chat together.

Join me, Manon, as I explore the discipline of Simplicity. We’ll talk about the challenges that we face in our materialistic society as well as look into Jesus’ teachings and hear some practical ideas from Richard Foster and John Mark Comer.

Recommended reading:

John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The path to spiritual growth.

Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding how God changes lives.

Join me, Amy, as I explore the Spiritual discipline of Solitude & Silence. Together we'll be digging into what Solitude has to offer to our spiritual and mental wellbeing, and trying to overcome the fears that hold us back from embracing it. Within this podcast I mention quotes from Richard Foster's: 'Celebration of Discipline', and Martin Saunders 'The Beautiful Disciplines'. Though I don't mention it in the podcast, I would also add Thomas Merton's 'Thoughts on Solitude' to any recommended reading on this subject.

Manon has made it her mission to build a case for exercise to be included in the conventional list of spiritual disciplines. Some of the questions asked are: Does exercise help us deepen our relationship with God? How does knowing that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit influence the way we see our physical body? Come and join the conversation and do leave a message!

Links and references:

Find Tana Gabriel's story and more posts form her on: https://faithandfitness.net/author/tana-gabriel/

Here is the full list called '18 Reasons to Exercise': https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201205/18-reasons-exercise

Find a comfy seat and let us take you on a practical meditation of Acts 16. We will encourage you to immerse yourself in the story and actively listen to what God wants to impress on your heart.

This mediation was created by Bill Gaultiere for Soul Shepherding. Find the full script on https://www.soulshepherding.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Paul-Discerns-the-Spirits-Leading.pdf or go to https://www.soulshepherding.org/ignatian-meditation-guides/ for more ignatian mediations. 

Join Amy and Manon as they discuss the discipline of meditation by asking what christian mediation is, how it is different from meditation found in different religions and what it looks like.

A couple of practical links:

If you'd like to explore new ways of meditating, why not try ignatian mediattions: https://www.soulshepherding.org/ignatian-meditation-guides/ (listen to the next episode for a taster). Ladies, you might also enjoy trying breath prayers. It's a form of meditation using Bible passages. Find out more and get a few freebies here: https://littlehousestudio.net/blog/2020/5/21/breath-prayers-for-anxiety-free-mental-health-printables