It’s been lovely seeing personal and generic message from friends and family, wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
So, Happy New Year!
But, as you’d expect from me, I had a thought that was less to do with the upcoming 12 months, and more to do with last 12 instead.
It’s great to have goals, dreams and ambitions. But I was struck by the sadness and emptiness of one quote that basically said they hoped we all got what we wanted.
Life can be full of challenges!
Sometimes it is the difficulty of making, what should be, a really simple decision. But, with age, comes wisdom. And with wisdom comes arrogance. Without God’s intervention, we’d be doing life on our own. Wait, don’t we do that anyway?
The good news for those of us who love Jesus, is that when He died, rose and again and ascended to Heaven, Jesus didn’t leave us on our own to figure things out.
BerryBunch Special Christmas Episodes
Crafty Christmas with a home made nativity Art Project
And a Christingle making project, with Dave the Dog helping Jo Jo construct their very own Christingle.
We all have ways of coping with difficulties and stress of life. That goes for the good stuff too.
We, each of us, have ways of processing what comes our way each and every day.
But, sometimes, the daily grind have a negative effect on our ability to cope with the very things we ‘know’ we should be able to easily deal with.
After a small mishap, when a pair of woollen gloves tried to take on the heat of a tumble dryer, and lost, Andy B started thinking about a much older memory of a very expensive cardigan that suffered the same, inevitable, outcome.
And, much like what happened to those woollen gloves, mistakes happen.
But, with God, the Good News is that we can’t mistake ourselves away from God. Because the very nature of Gods to redeem our mistakes.
As a Stay-At-Home-Dad for more than 15 years I’ve thoroughly loved everything with caring for my family and our home.
But since catching Covid a little over a month ago, discovering an issue with my heart, getting through a lung infection and adjusting to a whole host of medication to keep me healthy until the heart issue can be resolved, it has taken a lot out of me.
The most challenging part is being on blood thinners. Because there is so much I can’t do, or need to seriously question whether I should do that, or not.
So this is one of Andy B’s extended 2 minute videos. But, after a hellish November, and nearly 6 weeks with no filming anything, it seems fitting!
As people, we want to control the situations around us, to make us safe. But we also have to learn, as we mature, to be able to discern which battles we should enter, and which battles we simply need to accept. Not accepting them in terms there is nothing we can ever do about it. But accepting that there are some battles we just need to leave to one side.
And the Bible tells us not to be anxious. But, it also tells us that, when we are anxious, we are go to God.
Take your mind back, and you might remember seeing the first signs that Covid-19 could well be a real issue, heading our way, like a freight train running along the tracks towards the edge of a cliff!
Scroll on a couple of years, and it is still making the lives of tens of millions of people difficult, at best. It has taken many loved ones from their family, way ahead of time, and it has created an abundance of fear.
We had an issue with our latest Marriage Matters video, so we’ve re-uploaded that.
And we’ve had an odd issue with the post on our website – because it kept going to a different post on our website! It wasn’t until after Id fixed the issue that I realised it was sending multiple emails – so apologies about that.
So, if you’ve received the same email post a few times, that last one is the correct one: the latest one is the correct one, and works just fine.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he looks at 2 Corinthians 13:11, which explains that we need to grow up as Christians in maturity, love, peace, and in unity with other Believers.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he explains how we make sure we’re going in the right direction.
He touches on the armour of God, in particular the shoes of the gospel of peace.
In reference to Habakkuk 3:19, he looks at deer, climbers, and athletes being sure-footed and confident due to knowledge, practice, and experience.
After seeing some beautiful images of Autumn, or Fall – depending on what part of the world you live in – Andy B got thinking about cycles of life.
Because in life, just like those leaves, what can seem the end, can also just be the beginning of something else, and new.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he explains the concept of going against the grain.
He expands some verses of Scripture, Romans 12:2, James 3:4, and Acts 3:19.
He explains that going against the grain isn’t something we ought to try and do, but it is often unavoidable when we’re walking in the direction God calls us to go.
While out and about on a mountain bike ride, Andy B stopped to rest under a tree. Ok, so there wasn’t much resting due to the rather unexpected low flying helicopters and Andy’s rather excited enjoyment of them.
But, Andy was struck that he hadn’t showered for a few days, nor shaved. Simply because while he’d kept meaning to, things kept stopping him.
There are always things which will blur how people will see us.
Much like my trusty boots, our identity can become confused by the scuffs and dents we all experience in life.
On my boots, they will always be the same brand. But, the name on the side, even though it is bright orange, is showing signs of age – after being used almost every day, all day, for a year.
We have a dehumidifier in our home. Because, in our last home, we had horrendous damp, which led to serious problems with mould.
And we were thankful that we were able to get some great advice about which sort of dehumidifier to buy. And so we bought the type we were advised to buy.
And ours really is superb. You set the humidity level you want in your home, which you can find in the manual, and you switch it on. That’s it – other than emptying the tank when it is full of water.
So Facebook and Instagram and Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have all crashed, at the same time all around the world.
Which is something rather unexpected.
But, if you are missing being to chat with folks in Social Media, come join us over on DingDash.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he digs deeper into the subject of training with others.
He talks about the impact that encouragement has on athletes in sports events.
He relates an occasion when he was cycling, and Steven came alongside him while running, and the influence their individual efforts had on one another.
When we go cycling, things can stick to our tyres. If you go mountain biking, you might end up with plenty of mud liberally applied to your bike. And if you’re really unfortunate, you’ll end up with a clay/grass mix that will stick to the outside of your tyre, and weight your bike down enough that you struggle up hills you can normally cycle up, without much effort or thought.
Well this is exactly what happened to Jo, and her bike, when we were out Mountain Biking one day.
It seemed as though the weight of her bike had been doubled! And holding a pile of it in my hands, after I’d scraped it off her bike, I could easily believe it.
When a well runs out of water, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no water left – just that the water table may have dropped, so our well runs out of water. When we dig down a bit further, we find that water again, and our fill will be filled with water once more.
And in our relationship, and walk, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we can often feel as though God has moved away from us.
We have several items in our recording studio that are nearly identical. They may be the same length, or the same brand, they may just look really similar. And this can make setting up the studio entertaining, when you’re trying to connect one specific microphone, or whatever.
Andy B loves simple solutions to life’s troubles, so when he had given up trying to be patient plugging into cables, that he can never tell apart, he came up with a solution – velcro.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he talks about spiritual walls in our lives.
Having read our two Scriptures for this week, Andy begins by speaking about those walls that we can face when exercising.
He relates a personal experience of hitting a wall while cycling one time.
And he looks at the idea of overcoming that wall in terms of not giving up because of feelings – feelings that the wall is impassable or impenetrable.
He also talks about another type of wall, which is more of a warning, such as when we feel pain.
I’m working on two books at the moment.
And by working, I mean I have a title cover for both; I’ve got one book basically ready for publishing, and one book about half the way through as I rewrite some previous works into what is already a 3 part series.
I’ve been working on writing a book for nearly 20 years…the one I began back then is still where it was when I first wrote it…it’s a good book, but I’ve never really finished it.
Andy B took Jo for her return trip to the dentist, but while Andy and Jo share many traits and interests, one thing Jo does REALLY well, is not worrying about things she either has no control over, or things that haven’t yet come to pass.
With a hyper-sensitivity to needles, Andy would have been worrying for two weeks straight, letting the anxiety grow, thinking through the various things that could go wrong. Positive side of that trait, is the ability to read ahead, see the problems before they happen and prevent them – which makes event planning really easy.
Andy B loves his kitchen, and he loves kitchen shops, or departments with cooking equipment in them.
For ages now, he has been trying to make Yorkshire Puddings, using his super cheap cupcake baking tray.
In one way it is perfectly functional – it has a number of bowl like shapes, that help Yorkshire Puddings grow into the right shape as they cook. But, on the other hand, it is super cheap, ultra thin metal, and has the non-stick ability of super glue!
How is the framework of your life and world holding together?
Are you leaning to one side, under pressure, distorted by the tensions of life, that you feel pulling you in every, which, way?
We’ve had something of a refresh to our recording studio, here at BerryBunch HQ, and it meant adding some super cheap breakfast stools someone was throwing away – which makes everything more roomy, and easier to set up and adapt around the different recording projects we’re regularly involved with.
But it also gave me a good opportunity to sort something that has been bugging me since we set up.
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he talks about spiritual food.
He reads a few different Scriptures, including Hebrews 5:11-14, all of which speak of food and sustenance in one way or another.
He talks about the way water travels in a flood, how it will always follow the path of least resistance. Similarly, we often ‘take the path of least resistance’, in many areas of our lives, such when exercising; we might cycle ten miles, but might not be especially fast or focused, thus taking the path of least resistance.
Jeremiah 29:11 – New Living Translation: For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
I was flicking through some music the other day, and came across one of older albums. It’s a live version of Garth Brooks on tour, and the one song that always jumps out at me is the I’ve linked below, and it’s the title for this blog.
Throughout our life, we’ve often faced trials of many kinds, and this frequently leads to prayer. But, sometimes, our prayers are more like we’ve rewritten that well known scripture above.
In Season 5, Episode 1, of Little Blessings Online, Jo Jo and Andy B focus on quick and slow things – prepare to get slow down or speed up! There are cool video clips of fast cars and guess what is slow!
There are quick and slow angels in the StoryTime and so we just have to make some angels in Art Time, but how will JoJo do this!
Quick, Quick, Slow…. sounds like a dance – well you can definitely dance during SongTime!
Go Deeper with Andy B, as he talks about self-control.
He touches on 2 Peter 1, Proverbs 25, and Matthew 7.
He explains the idea of supplementation, keeping in mind the words of 2 Peter 1:3-8, which talk about supplementing lots of godly traits with other godly traits, including self-control.
He also talks about road rage as a perfect example of a lack of self-control. When we get angry with others and start raging at other drivers, our witness is awful, and we fail to show others the righteousness of Christ through our actions.
And more…