This week has been a tough one in our house. We’re foster carers, and the young person who lives with us is going through the transition into adoption — which is a beautiful thing, and also an emotionally costly one. And if I’m honest, it’s been affecting everything. The small things feel big. I’ve been snappier than I’d like. And in the evenings I’ve been sitting there wondering: am I actually doing okay at this?

This week’s Thought For The Week is for every parent who asks that question. And for anyone who’s running on empty and wondering if what they’re doing is enough.

The encouragement I’ve been given this week — from my wife Grace, from friends around me — is simple: you’re doing better than you think. Your children won’t remember your worst days. They’ll remember that you showed up.

There’s a line in Lamentations 3 that I keep coming back to: his mercies begin fresh each morning. Sometimes that’s all you need — to get to the end of the day, and wake up and go again.

Whether you’re a parent, a carer, or just someone who’s been wondering if they’re getting life right — this one’s for you.

Buckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. We haven’t started meeting in person yet — but we’re here, thinking out loud, and you’re very welcome to listen in.

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#Parenting #Fostering #Faith #BuckinghamVineyard #ChristianPodcast #Lamentations #ShowingUp #MentalHealth

We foster children. This week a little boy who’s been with us for six months met his forever family. He was chosen — specifically, by name — and I watched that word land on him and light him up.

This week’s Thought For The Week is about what chosen really means — for him, and for all of us. About the complexity of loving someone and letting them go. About what the Bible says about adoption and belonging. And about what church is supposed to be for people still in the in-between.

Whether faith is part of your life or not — this one’s for you.

Buckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. Not meeting in person yet — but we’re here, thinking out loud. You’re very welcome.

#Fostering #Adoption #Chosen #Faith #BuckinghamVineyard #ChristianPodcast #Belonging

I’ve just come in from the garden. We’ve had a heatwave, it’s only the start of July, and things have grown really well — better than I expected. So I’ve been out deadheading roses and trimming back bushes. Not because anything is wrong. Because everything has grown so well that it needs shaping.

And somewhere between the secateurs and the sunshine, a thought started forming that I haven’t been able to shake.

What if the things that need cutting back in our lives aren’t the things that are failing — but the things that are flourishing? What if abundance is exactly what makes pruning necessary?

This week I’m thinking about focus, fruitfulness, and what it means to do one thing brilliantly rather than ten things well. I’m also being honest about the fact that I’m in the middle of this myself — and that cutting back things you love is a lot harder than cutting back things that aren’t working.

There’s a line in John 15 that I think was written for exactly this moment: “He prunes the branches that do bear fruit, so they will produce even more.”

Buckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. We haven’t started meeting in person yet — but we’re here, thinking out loud, and you’re very welcome to listen in.

🔔 Subscribe for a new Thought For The Week every week

📍 Find us: https://buckinghamvineyard.church

#Pruning #Focus #Faith #ChristianPodcast #BuckinghamVineyard #John15 #PersonalGrowth #ChristianContent

A phrase has been stuck in my head this week: "I know I should trust God more, but…"It's something I've heard from people who are really struggling — and what concerns me is the guilt that sits underneath it. Like anxiety is somehow a failure of faith. Like if you just prayed harder, it would lift.I want to gently push back on that.In this week's Thought For The Week, I talk honestly about my own breakdown at thirty — what led to it, what prayer did and didn't do, and what actually turned the corner. And I look at one of the most surprisingly human moments in the entire Bible: the prophet Elijah, sitting under a tree, asking God to let him die — and how God responded.Spoiler: it wasn't a sermon.In this episode:The guilt of "I should trust God more, but..."A personal story about burnout, anxiety, and asking for helpElijah's crash after his greatest victory — and God's responseWhy going to the doctor might actually be faith in actionThe danger of carrying everything aloneBuckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. We haven't started meeting in person yet — but we're here, thinking out loud, and you're very welcome.🔔 Subscribe for a new Thought For The Week every week📍 Find us: https://buckinghamvineyard.church#MentalHealth #Faith #ChristianPodcast #BuckinghamVineyard #Anxiety #Elijah

Someone overheard me telling a customer I was a pastor this week. They laughed. And what they said next stopped me in my tracks — because it was a reminder that the people who knew us then don't always see who we've become.

This week's Thought For The Week is about the gap between internal transformation and external recognition. About the courage it takes to hold your new identity when someone else is still reaching for the old one. And about a couple of Bible characters — Paul, who nobody believed had really changed, and Simon, who Jesus called Rock before he'd done a single rock-like thing.

You don't have to be a Christian for this one to land. Anyone who's ever worked hard to leave a version of themselves behind will know exactly the feeling I'm talking about.

Buckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. We haven't started meeting in person yet — but we're here, thinking out loud, and you're very welcome to listen in.

This week's Thought For The Week comes live from a very loud, very cold data centre in the middle of the night — where I went through full biometric security clearance to sit in a narrow corridor with cramp in my legs and do absolutely nothing useful.

Kai, one of our incredible Radio Christmas volunteers, fixed everything. I sat there like a lemon.

But somewhere between the ringing ears and the cramped legs, I found myself thinking about what it actually means to show up for someone — even when you can't fix anything. About a largely forgotten Bible character called Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement. And about why choosing the background might be one of the most important things any of us ever do.

Whether you're a Christian, curious, or just ended up here somehow — you're very welcome.

Buckingham Vineyard is a new church in Buckingham. We haven't started meeting yet, but we're here — thinking, talking, and working out how we see the world. This podcast is part of that. Come and listen in.

A day at Silverstone with our foster son turned into something much more meaningful than cars, racing, and tyre smoke. As I watched him experience something I love for the first time, I was reminded that some of life’s greatest joys aren’t found in the things we enjoy, but in sharing them with people we love.

This week’s Thought for the Week explores relationship, foster care, adoption, and what a day at Silverstone taught me about the heart of God. Could it be that beneath all of Jesus’ invitations is a Father who simply wants to share life with His children?

Whether you’re exploring faith or have been following Jesus for years, I hope this week’s reflection encourages you.

This week’s Thought for the Week was written late on a Sunday evening after a day that felt full from beginning to end. Two church talks, a long-overdue garage clear-out, a car repair that should have taken thirty minutes but somehow took four hours, and a growing sense that despite being busy all day, there was still far more left to do.

It got me thinking about how often we measure our days by what didn’t get finished rather than what did, and whether that’s really the way God sees things.

Looking at the life of Jesus, who somehow managed to live with purpose and peace despite constant demands on His time, this week’s reflection explores busyness, faithfulness, unfinished jobs, and the question many of us wrestle with:

How do you measure a good day?

Whether you’re juggling work, family, church, caring responsibilities, or simply feeling like the list never quite ends, I hope this week’s Thought for the Week encourages you.

This week Grace and I became godparents again, but the question that really stayed with me didn’t come from the church service, it came from our six-year-old foster child on the way home:

“What actually is a godparent?”

This week’s Thought for the Week from Buckingham Vineyard Church explores what being a godparent really means, why we dedicate children rather than baptise babies, and why helping shape the faith and identity of the next generation might be one of the most important callings we ever carry.

Whether you’re a parent, godparent, exploring faith, or simply curious about church here in Buckingham, you’re really welcome.

This week’s Thought for the Week from Buckingham Vineyard Church reflects on the recent UK local elections, the growing conversation around “Christian values,” and what it really means to live as Kingdom people in a divided world.

Looking at the teachings of Jesus, Deuteronomy 10:19, and the challenge to love the outsider, we ask a bigger question: are we building around culture, comfort, and politics… or around the Kingdom of God?

Whether you’re exploring faith, part of church, or simply asking deeper questions about the world around us here in Buckingham, this short weekly reflection is for you.

Buckingham Vineyard is a new Christian community gathering in Buckingham, passionate about loving God, serving people, and making a lasting impact locally—with Sunday gatherings launching this Autumn.