Send us a text It’s a great feeling when you finally fix something yourself; there is an immense sense of satisfaction when you hear that final ‘click’ as something goes perfectly back into its proper place. I’ve seen that happen a few times, and it’s always very satisfying! In life there are some things that we simply can’t put right. It doesn’t matter how hard we try – we just can’t make fix it or repair it. When we lost our daughter she was just 11 weeks old. There was nothing I, or we, could...
Apr 24, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 69
Send us a text Today is Good Friday and marks the most important date in the Christian Calendar. After Christmas Day, Good Friday, is probably the most celebrated day of the year here in the UK, and around the world and, annually, for some 2,000 years, and for good reason! There are two great certainties in life. No matter your status, your wealth or your success, they apply to you just as much as they apply to me - they have nothing to do with culture, geography, goodness or ‘niceness’. The fir...
Apr 07, 2023•2 min•Season 5Ep. 68
Send us a text Have you ever heard of the story of the ugly duckling? If you haven’t it’s simply a children’s tale about we grow as we age; about how we can start off looking one way but will grow into something quite different. The moral of the story, for me, at least, is to not let our children think they can become what they want to be, just because they want to. It's a bit like stating that Santa Clause is real. Harmless? Not really - not if we convince them that he really is real, and the r...
Apr 06, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 67
Send us a text Have you ever witnessed somebody become a Christian? I’ve been privileged to see this quite a few times. Each occasion was utterly different from the next. But the one thing that always followed that moment of saying ‘yes’ to Jesus Christ was an inescapable, infectious, impossible to miss joy! When I was at school I vividly remember someone trying to ask me a question. I say trying, as it was more accusational than inquisitive. Their conclusion, simply, was that I was weak because...
Apr 05, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 66
Send us a text From football to tiddly winks, what gets you excited? We’ve all that got one thing gets us on our feet and shouting. For some it’s football, or perhaps tiddly winks is your thing. If tiddly winks is new to you, google it – I won’t spoil the surprise! If you’ve ever been to the football (soccer) terraces of your local football club then you’ll know the sort of excitement I’m talking about. It’s pretty much the only thing which seems to excite the passion in us British folks. Althou...
Apr 04, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 65
Send us a text There was a built bridge. It was over a river, but they knew that there were some pretty fierce so it was decided, using the best knowledge available, to make that bridge SUPER strong - it was so solid they knew it would never struggle against the winds. Until the winds came. Before it really ever got used it had collapsed into the water below. When they worked out why it had collapsed, it was simply too strong for it’s own good. It was built so strong, in fact, that it could not ...
Apr 03, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 64
Send us a text If you had to write a biography about yourself what would it say and how easy would you find such an exercise. God tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made; that He hand made us on purpose and for a purpose. So, if you were saying who God had made you to be, how would you go about that? I’m currently writing something of a professional biography, not a super short one. But I struggle to speak the truth about what I am good at for the most part. I’m quite comfortable say...
Mar 31, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 63
Send us a text Let’s go somewhere controversial. It shouldn’t be, but it is. So, let’s get this out at the beginning. Evolution is not true! It isn’t false because I say it is. Even Charles Darwin stated it was only a theory – and a theory that has never been proven to be true. Actually, the opposite has happened. But, let’s stick to the facts here. I’m telling you the theory of evolution isn’t true because God told us how He made the world, in just 6 days with a 7th day - when He rested. You ca...
Mar 30, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 62
Send us a text It’s easy to jump into the day with a smile on our face and a coffee in our hand. Although I don’t recommend jumping with a coffee in your hand, unless you have a sealed flask that you trust. Then your smile will change and you’ll remember you should have drunk tea instead! However we start the day – whether we love mornings or loathe them, we all face similar issues, that have nothing to do with how much money we have, whether we work in the home or in an office or on a building ...
Mar 29, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 61
Send us a text Whatever is going on; whatever your life looks like right now; wherever you’ve come from; whatever is looming ahead of you – there is always reason to Praise God! At the time of recording this video, I am finding myself breathless For me, it will pass and is simply the side effect of having my heart medication dropped by 50%. That is a good thing, but it is not a pleasant thing to work through! However, it is still worth making the effort to Praise God! Whatever we may feel like c...
Mar 28, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 60
Send us a text We all see change and can get a bit freaked out. Losing control is another one that can make us very uncomfortable. Perhaps I’m more unique though, because I really do enjoy change! I’m not daft enough to think that some change doesn’t infuriate me. But that’s because a lot of change is utterly unnecessary. Here’s the thing for those of us who have decided to become Christians – change, and losing control, is at the very core of being a Christian! When we say sorry for the things ...
Mar 27, 2023•4 min•Season 5Ep. 59
Send us a text If you’ve ever watched the film, Finding Nemo - or Finding Dory – you’ll appreciate the fact the Dory, is a small blue fish, is a bit forgetful. She’s also incredibly joyful. And she is also well know for her little song when everything is going horribly wrong and those infamous words, “Just keep swimming”. If life has go you down today, don’t worry about it. Firstly, because there is no point in worrying – just like rocking fast on a rocking chair…you move as far along the road a...
Mar 23, 2023•2 min•Season 5Ep. 58
Send us a text It’s no fun when you are in a place of deep sleep and are rudely woken at 3am with your heart pounding: this has become my normality too frequently. And, while I’ve been told by my cardiologist to just ignore palpitations - because I know what atrial fibrillation feels like – and carry on as normal, I can’t. At 3AM, when my heart starts pounding away badly, all I want to do is go downstairs - as quietly as possible and wait it out. Card games, a cup of tea and a film, or two, is a...
Mar 22, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 57
Send us a text How do you work out whether something is good for you, or not? God’s made us with some amazing intelligence, and yet we can be “dumb as a bucket of shrimp” when we allow what people tell us, to over rule what God has already told us. Of course we should seek medical advice about some things, but it should never over rule our ability to, also, pray and ask God in faith - for a miracle. I’ve prayed for healing that I’ve either seen happen for others, or have received myself. And I’v...
Mar 21, 2023•4 min•Season 5Ep. 56
Send us a text I was out for a walk one day and tracking my exercise on a sports app - I like it because I can see how my heart rate is doing, what my average walking pace is etc. However, on one occasion, when I checked my app, the map was just a horrible mess: imagine a 3 year old with a crayon and lots of sugar, and you’d have what I had on the screen of my mobile phone. For a really good fix on where you are at any point, you need more than one satellite to help locate you and your device. T...
Mar 20, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 55
Send us a text When you work as part of a team, that functions really well, it can be so hard when one team member is taken out of the loop. A well organised team will be able to step in to each other’s roles as necessary. Our usual day for filming new BerryBunch material – every Saturday - takes up around 4-6 hours each time. We work efficiently, and consistently - and all help out in different ways depending on what is being filmed. We’re all able to step in to cover each other as necessary, a...
Feb 07, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 54
Send us a text There’s a rather crude phrase in the UK about how P£*$ Poor Planning Produce P£*$ Poor Performance. (You can interpret those symbols for whatever works best for your innocence!) The basic point is simply that if we don’t put in the effort to plan something, it’s likely to go wrong. And planning poorly usually results in poor outcome. As humans, as parents, as friends, as children, as employers and employees we’re regularly planning something. Even if it’s our next break for a cup ...
Feb 06, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 53
Send us a text In the Film series, Ice Age, there is little sabre tooth squirrel. He always gets so close to being to safeguard his precious nuts, when disaster strikes. If I’m honest he’s my favourite character because he never gives up trying. Everything gets thrown at him. And, yet, he just picks himself up and gets going again. Sure, he suffers some typically calamitous disasters that requires the odd bit of hospital treatment. But, he keeps going! We’ve been through times in our life when w...
Feb 03, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 52
Send us a text Life can be so busy at times we might wish to scream for someone to stop the world so we can get off. And, yet, God’s plans are never for us to be that busy. A wise man once said how important it was to leave spaces in your day for the unexpected. I think there’s two reasons for this. Firstly, if we don’t leave any spaces in our day, we’ll be tired and exhausted because our pace is that of a machine. And, as good as we may be, we are not machines. Secondly, if we don’t leave any s...
Feb 02, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 51
Send us a text Isn’t It Amazing what Jesus did? He was the Son of God – of course. But He was also a carpenter, an older brother, a son. One thing remains certain about His life and that is that He obeyed His parents, and his Heavenly Father too. He didn’t just do what He wanted, but knew He was part of something bigger. He was Jesus Christ. And, yet, He was the world’s greatest servant too. As we progress through life we gain wisdom and understanding. We experience the highs and lows of a life ...
Feb 01, 2023•3 min•Season 5Ep. 50
Send us a text We’re always trying to make life just a little easier for ourselves, aren’t we? Well, mostly anyway! And, as we age and mature (again, mostly) we discover things that don’t work, and things that work better. But how are you with change? Personally I enjoy needing to change things – it stops things getting boring. It means I have to rethink things I thought I knew, or was certain of. It also helps me remain flexible. As a family we’ve learned how make videos of the material that we...
Nov 30, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 49
Send us a text Titles can help us in many ways because they can instantly help us understand the function of the person we are talking to, or interacting with. And titles in churches are just as important. If I’m honest I think the title ‘pastor’ has been thrown around far too liberally because if I’m talking to a pastor I want to know they’ve been chosen to lead the church, and have preferably been to theological college. Sometimes it almost feels as though we’ve taken that position of leadersh...
Nov 29, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 48
Send us a text “Everything new must be better”. This must be the mantra on anybody involved in selling anything – that the new thing is better than the old because it is newer. But as we’ve seen with new and old version of the same cars this isn’t true. Also, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Marmite Easter eggs? No thanks! When we think about styles of worship in churches, it’s easy to relegate robes and spoken prayers as so old fashioned and, therefore, no longer relevant. And yet ro...
Nov 28, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 47
Send us a text I wonder if you’re anything like me and feel like you spend so long praying for God to bless you with something, that you miss the moment when God actually blesses you with the very thing you were praying for. I think part of this is that we are not expectant enough of what God wants to do in our lives. Perhaps we have experienced false teaching about how blessings are always financial (they’re not) and shy away from expecting good things. Expecting God to be some sort of unlimite...
Nov 23, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 46
Send us a text Have you ever received a gift that was begrudgingly given? Perhaps it was merely someone who you beat in a game but their ‘well done’ felt more like a knife in the back, rather than a sincere congratulatory statement. It can, so easily, spoil our elation at winning! Tithing is something we often think as just an Old Testament thing - tithing is simply an old word for ‘tenth’, and tithing is the principle of giving God the first tenth of your harvest, if you’re a farmer, for exampl...
Nov 22, 2022•4 min•Season 5Ep. 45
Send us a text When we get involved in a project it’s quite possible for us to get so focused we can miss the most obvious of mistakes. That’s the reason why you’ll find the breakdown truck driver refuse your help when they load your car on to their vehicle – they need to make sure nothing has been left loose! It’s the exact same thing with driving a truck – the only person who can ever ensure the load is secure is the driver. I recently made some business cards for a time when I thought some ne...
Nov 21, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 44
Send us a text It’s easy to see all the gaps and fill them up. If it’s a dam, great. That same finger shoving effort may not be quite as helpful if it’s a colander you’re filling the holes in, while you’re trying to strain some cauliflower from the water it was just boiled in - for your dinner! Context, as ever, matters! We can treat our diaries, and our time, a little like this – we can fill every second available, and leave no spare capacity (or room for other people, or room for God). I once ...
Nov 17, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 43
Send us a text If you’re late for work, then rushing like a mad thing is rather a sensible course of action. Of course we shouldn’t break any speed limits doing so! But hanging about and taking our time to drink a second cup of tea isn’t appropriate either!! There are times in life when we simply need to get a hustle on, to get the job done…and keep our job, perhaps… As we switch across to some new video editing software, we’re taking our time. Sure, we’re pressing on to make the switch over to ...
Nov 17, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 42
Send us a text There will always be parts of our lives we’d rather forget – those moments when something traumatic happens to us, or those times when we’ve done something that may have ruined the life of someone else, perhaps permanently. Those moments define us, and they can be moments we’d rather not ever have to remember. But, having undergone a 15 month of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - for childhood trauma - I find it fascinating that the way to help someone...
Nov 15, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 41
Send us a text Have you ever heard the phrase ‘phone a friend’? While it may have been made more widely known by a popular British TV quiz show, I’ve used it and heard it for many years before that. The meaning is fairly simple – when you get stuck, you contact someone who may know more. We all need people we can talk to – either as some form of a sounding board (I have several people like this who are happy to listen to my Andy B thoughts spilling over) or as someone to whom we make ourselves a...
Nov 14, 2022•3 min•Season 5Ep. 40
