Send us a text Time. The one sure thing we can be certain of is that time cares not for how we’re doing. It doesn’t go faster when we need it to. And no matter how much we will it, it won’t slow down either. Times marches ever on! For our online Ministry we’ve taken to doing the bulk of our weekly filming on a Saturday. It doesn’t take up the whole day, but it saves loads of time overall. We’ve given that day over to filming our work – the editing comes later during the following week. Sometimes...
Mar 30, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 56
Send us a text It’s a great thought to seek to only give God our best. But we need to check whether giving God what we have, and making sure that is the best we can offer, doesn’t become assigning human values to what we think God will want from us. While grabbing some time with Jo, Andy B drove her to work. This meant they had some time together while Jo worked a half day, that they wouldn’t have otherwise had together. And we should want to give God our best. We should desire to set aside qual...
Mar 29, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 55
Send us a text Andy B begins this week’s theme, “Honestly, I’m fine”, with a reminder of how skilled we can become at hiding our emotions through “Sunday smiles”. He warns us that sometimes people will ask us how we are without really wanting to know the answer, reminding us to only ask a question if we are willing to hear the response. He relates how honest David, of the Bible, was towards God, when writing many of the Psalms. He also points out that it’s only when we are honest with our brothe...
Mar 27, 2022•14 min
Send us a text Are you hurting inside? Do you feel alone? Do you feel lonely, even if you’re surrounded by people? Have your emotions left you feeling tired and like you have nothing left to give? Have you lost your job? Or a friend? Or a precious member of your family? Are you left wondering where hope will come from? Do you feel different from everybody around you – like you’ve got struggles they wouldn’t, and couldn’t understand? From being a victim of childhood abuse to enduring unemployment...
Mar 25, 2022•34 min
Send us a text I love how inspiration works. Truly! A friend and I were exchanging some comments on his blog, Devotional Treasures. He was talking about meds, or medication, and that made me think of my alarms – that help me take my meds at the right times. Medication needs to be taken carefully, having considered all the potential risks and side effects. You expect your doctor to have checked that whatever medication you’re being prescribed is either safe, or at least that the side effects are ...
Mar 24, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 54
Send us a text While chatting with a friend this morning, I was struck by the ease with which we can be driven along by life, when we really should be resisting that pressure, and being led instead. Sure, there can be life issues which pop up in front of us, which we quickly need to deal with, dropping everything in order to do so. There is a rush or life that we need to pay attention to. However, we should be led not driven, most of the time. Not one person on the planet enjoys being forced to ...
Mar 23, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Send us a text With life it often seems like we have just two choices to make - wrap ourselves in plastic bubble wrap to protect us from falls and pain. Or we can wear a crash helmet and keep charging on! Actually, I think there is a third option – a little bit of bubble wrap, a crash helmet, and some time planning out what is in front of us. There’s always gonna be stuff that knocks us for six! However, more frequently if we’d simply taken a pause before charging along, we could have spotted th...
Mar 22, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 52
Send us a text 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 Support the s...
Mar 21, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 51
Send us a text 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 broke...
Mar 20, 2022•16 min
Send us a text 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! ...
Mar 18, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 50
Send us a text 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 pr...
Mar 17, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 49
Send us a text 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 prett...
Mar 16, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 48
Send us a text 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. Someti...
Mar 15, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 47
Send us a text 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...
Mar 14, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 46
Send us a text 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 ...
Mar 13, 2022•18 min
Send us a text Being able to tell the time is a benchmark in our family. As each of our children has learned to tell the time, on an analogue clock, they get their first wrist watch - and a special trip with Dad to go pick out their very first wristwatch. Knowing what time it is, at any point in the day, can be incredibly useful - so we’re not late for work (I’ve been there), or collecting the children from school (I’ve done that), or being in the house so a parcel can be delivered – even if you...
Mar 11, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 45
Send us a text "Broken beyond repair." "Needs some TLC." "Don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s yours if you want it." Looking through Facebook Marketplace at “FREE STUFF” and you can be surprised by what people give away for free. Now, admittedly, some of that free stuff is not. There are people who list as free, but have no intention of giving it away for free – they’re just hoping to get more ‘hits’ of people looking at something they wish to sell. To be honest, that’s just a bit foolish. There a...
Mar 10, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Send us a text Crutches can be a hindrance to getting on with life, easily. However, if you’ve broken your leg, it is a necessity to enable you to walk, while your leg heals. Christians can be negatively accused of using our relationship with Jesus, or our choice to become a Christian, as some sort of ultra-negative thing. As a Christian, I’m happy to state that I lean on Jesus more than I’ve ever leaned on any other crutches in my life. I’ve used all sorts of things to help me get through life,...
Mar 09, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 43
Send us a text It’s so encouraging when we can advise someone, or help them, and see a burden lifted from their shoulders. It could be as simple as lending someone a phone, or giving them a life. Perhaps we take them a meal or two when they’re ill, or even just moving house, so they don’t have to think about preparing a meal for themselves. It can be so very simple, easy and straightforward to help others. There are some very specific skill sets, which the church will have within it’s walls. It’...
Mar 08, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 42
Send us a text We love accomplishing things. Perhaps, like me, you use a digital To Do List. It is immensely satisfying clicking that little tick box, and having the satisfaction of having accomplished something else. It can be addictive. We can end up working so hard in order to have achieved something, that we miss out on the actual achieving! We’re really good at being busy. The church excels at this, sadly. I think we sometimes feel that if we work really hard then, perhaps, God will love us...
Mar 07, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 41
Send us a text In order to kickstart this week’s theme Andy B gives some real-life examples of inexperienced people thinking they know better than those with experience, reminding us of the downsides of being proud. He provides reasons for why humility is such a good thing to reach for, and why pride and arrogance are not such good things to reach for. He talks about truck drivers, fact-checkers, diesel engines, and more… Andy B Support the show Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch www.berrybunch.o...
Mar 06, 2022•14 min
Send us a text It’s easy to be bamboozled by people telling us their truth. And we’ve seen, during COVID, media sources confuse everybody by spreading their own opinions, while calling their opinions fact and, at the same time, deleting and blocking any, and all, comments that they simply didn’t like. The truth has been belittled to opinions, just shouted ever louder! MSM means Main Stream Media – I had to look it up. And the trouble with MSM is that they do exactly the same thing as social medi...
Mar 04, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Send us a text We all like to think we’re special and unique. And, in many ways, we truly are. But, we’re gonna have issues when we think that our specific uniqueness is somehow superior to that of someone else. You may not be in to Star Trek. But, whether you are not, there is a fascinating point worth noting from the Mission Statement of the United Federation of Planets, of which earth is a part (that only Captain Kirk ever seems to be able to save!). And that, in really bad paraphrase, is tha...
Mar 03, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Send us a text It’s easy to shut a door, or close a window, without it actually working. My grandfather once, because he was so busy concentrating on leaving for a holiday, actually was in a taxi, being driven to the airport, when he realised he had lost his keys. When the taxi had popped back for him, he found the keys! They were in the front door, with the door wide open. It’s easy to think we’ve done something we haven’t. In our house we’ve got doors that close easily and ones that, while not...
Mar 02, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Send us a text Andy B 2 Minute Video, Fires, Vents and Fuel S4, E37 Log Burners are great for romantic nights, or just to warm the room. However, it isn’t always quite as simple as just throwing some wood inside and chucking in a match! You’ve got make sure the wood is dry – in the UK it is really frowned upon to use wet wood in a fire in a home. You’ve also got to think about using any vents on the fireplace to help build the fire and supply it with enough air. It even matters how you first sta...
Mar 01, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Send us a text Go Deeper with Andy B, as he talks about going back to basics. Andy mentions supermarkets’ basic items ranges as he looks at how the word ‘basic’ means different things to different people. He refers to the life of a character in the film called The 100-foot Journey, as a means of demonstrating how important it is to go back to basics at times. He looks at John 3:16, default positions, roots, and more… Andy B Support the show Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch www.berrybunch.org Su...
Feb 28, 2022•15 min
Send us a text Pancakes are a great way of having fun while you cook AND eat. And we like them a lot in the BerryBunch household! We all take part in both sides of the process, but, of course, the ending – and eating – is always the more popular. And that’s just Andy and Jo! Sometimes it’s good not to fiddle with things – like painting. Paint over the spot too many times, and you ruin your work. But food? Sometimes a little fiddling as it cooks is a great way to get the best result. It may not m...
Feb 28, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Send us a text Instructions manuals – they tell us so much, about so many things. Most of which, of course, we ignore because, well, we don’t need those functions. Until we do. Then we wonder where the manual went, or spend endless amounts of time finding out which set of numbers is the model number, so we can find a manual online. Only to find that still isn’t the model number, until we find the actual appliance we have, realise our model number was correct, so why did the website not know abou...
Feb 24, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Send us a text Jo saw a sign that stated “No Ball Games”. And, she thought, well that doesn’t sound like much fun. So, she has become our first guest for an Andy B 2 Minute Video. Jo takes us through what the sign can mean, whether it means anything, and how it can make us feel! So, have you seen any signs that seem to have the goal of spoiling simple fun? Just a thought… Andy B Support the show Keep in Touch with the BerryBunch www.berrybunch.org Support Us Online www.berrybunch.org/supportus...
Feb 23, 2022•2 min•Season 4Ep. 34
Send us a text Andy’s always been careful with mobiles phones (cell phones) and his current phone has - like so many before it - got a screen protector to protect the phone’s screen from scratches, chips or cracks. But, ever since he added his current protector, it’s been on a little wonky. Sure, it’s been put on straight, but it just isn’t centred. Which has irked him quite a bit! Sometimes things can come along which simply annoy, when they really shouldn’t. Andy’s been wanting to replace the ...
Feb 22, 2022•3 min•Season 4Ep. 33
