FRESH Official Podcast

It's a fact of life that you can be absolutely certain of something – certain to the core – until something comes along and pulls the rug out from under your feet, causing you to question everything you were once so sure of.   The truth is that we take a lot for granted – your health for instance. Everything's going along fine. Okay … maybe you don't feel a hundred precent but you're pretty confid...

As you look around at the leaders in this world, bluster and bravado seem to be something of a stock in trade, don't they? Even within your own circle, there are doubtless those who're absolutely convinced that they are God's gift to the universe. I have a confession to make. I used to be one of those people. Yes, with a higher-than-average IQ, a quick tongue, and seemingly boundless energy … in m...

I think we're all looking for things that'll make our lives better, because there are bits in all our lives that need making better, amen? We want more good things to happen to us than bad things. Of course the bad stuff is often unavoidable … but still, we want to discover good in the middle of it all, don't we? Good or bad, so much has to do with confidence – whether we trust in things that'll f...

So, question … do you like uncertainty? Do you relish not knowing what lies ahead when it really matters; when there's an uncertain health diagnosis, a financial crisis, a relationship teetering on the edge? I don't think any of us do. Nope, uncertainty tends to be somewhere between unsettling and excruciating. And yet, uncertainty is a fact of life. It starts at a very young age. I was recently w...

People in this world seem either to be organised or disorganised; tidy or messy. And given that opposites attract, husbands and wives inevitably seem to be at opposite ends of that spectrum. It's enough to drive anyone crazy! Now, full disclaimer here … my Germanic upbringing and ten years in the military have conspired to make me ultra-organised and ultra-tidy. So you can imagine how aghast I was...

Astrology, it seems, is making something of a comeback. Celebrities won't make a move without consulting their charts and everyone seems to know someone who's retraining as an astrologer. A recent news article on the subject reported that "You don't need to be an astrologer to see that the zodiac is having a moment. Horoscopes are so hot right now that a certain astrology app has grown to over 30...

So, on a scale of zero to ten, how strong, how robust do you feel? The answer likely depends on your natural makeup, your personality type if you will, and the circumstances you find yourself in right now. If you're a naturally stronger individual, as am I (which by the way, has as many downsides as it has upsides) or if everything's going well in your life, then it's pretty easy to give yourself...

The plain facts of the matter are that not everyone in this world can be trusted. Not everyone, even amongst those close to you, will keep something you confided to them in confidence. And that can lead to a lot of hurt and regret. So, I'm driving along the other day behind a van from a globally well-known elevator company with the words "Installation, Maintenance, Refurbishment" right there next...

People have been talking about the demise of Christianity for centuries. Inevitably though, it's simply turned out to be wishful thinking on their part. And whilst in some denominations church attendance has waned, in others it's absolutely booming. Eighteenth century French enlightenment writer and philosopher, Voltaire, absolutely hated Christianity and wrote often against it and the Bible. In 1...

You've doubtless come across the (paradoxical) three wise monkeys – Hear No Evil (with his hands over his ears), See No Evil (hands over eyes) and Speak No Evil (hands over mouth). But recently, I saw a picture with a fourth monkey which grabbed my attention.  A fourth monkey … really? What was he doing? He was looking down at his mobile phone and under the image was the inscription " the fourth m...

People can be downright pesky, can't they? They just don't do what we expect them to do. They don't deliver. They have a different opinion. And the closer you are to them, the more they end up rubbing you the wrong way. I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room recently. There were two receptionists – a younger one and an older one. Anyhow, the specialist came out to talk to the older one about som...

So, if I might ask, what are you waiting for at the moment? It seems that we're always waiting for some good thing to happen or some lousy thing to be over and done with. And the longer we wait, the more difficult it becomes, so the more likely we are to let our emotions get the better of us. You and I both know that discomfort makes us twitchy; suffering makes us anxious; injustice makes us angry...

When you think about it, life involves a lot of waiting. Whether it's waiting at the traffic lights or waiting on God for a miracle, like it or not, we spend a lot of time waiting. So, question then … how well do you wait? Yeah, an awkward question. How well do I wait? The answer, all too often, is … not that well. You're up next at the supermarket checkout. You chose this queue because the woman...

I wonder if you'd agree with me that busyness is ruining many a life. "Busy, busy, busy," has become almost a badge of honour. But at what price? What toll is this incessant busyness extracting on your life? I've always been someone who believed in hard work. There's nothing wrong with that, right? For decades I'd be up at 2:30 or 3:00 am and, after a time with the Lord, sitting at my desk working...

Before we kick things off today, let me ask you this: on a scale of 0 to 10, how content are you with your lot in life? Back in the 1 st Century AD, Roman Emperor Nero had immense power, lived in incredible luxury, and was the wealthiest man alive … yet, he was never content. He craved admiration, indulged in excess, growing increasingly paranoid. Rather than being grateful for his privilege, he s...

So, it's Sunday … is today the end of your week or the beginning of your new week? I like to think of Sunday as the last day of my week, before I launch into it all again on Monday. So I wonder if you'll allow me to share something encouraging, something mind-blowingly amazing with you to finish off your week? Well, whether you find it encouraging, whether you find it amazing, I guess depends on w...

It's not at all unusual to go through patches where you find yourself dissatisfied, stagnant, in a rut. I've certainly been there and what makes it so confusing is that you can't quite put your finger on any one thing that might be the cause of this all too common malady.  I was reading an article by Penny Timms in the press recently that provided some clarity about what's going on in the lives of...

There are so many different belief systems available to us these days –  religious, environmental, political, social … whatever. We tend to like to peg our own story, if you will, on some sort of framework, and then identify with that group. But what does it all mean? According to Statista.com around 31.6% of the global population identifies as Christian. That's around 2.6 billion people, projecte...

How we see ourselves, the stories we tell ourselves about where we fit into the bigger picture, the comparisons we make between ourselves and others, the degree to which our past failures and present foibles weigh on our minds, all have a massive impact on our lives – on our sense of wellbeing, on our relationships and on the degree to which we fulfill our potential. Wouldn't you agree? If I had a...

Humility, gentleness and patience are, for all of us I think, right up there atop of our list of qualities that we love to find in other people. I mean, who wouldn't like to surround themselves with folk like that? And yet, they're qualities – let's be honest – that sometimes fail us in our attitudes and behaviour towards others. Back in 1980, Texan country singer, Mac Davis, released a catchy son...

The difference between arrogance and humility is massive. They're worlds apart, aren't they!? Which kind of begs the question for each one of us – how do others see me? Am I arrogant or humble or somewhere in between? It's difficult to think of a more dramatic transformation from arrogance to humility in modern times than in the life of Nelson Mandela. Once a fiery, militant leader who believed th...

Can I ask you today to think back to the most testing time you've ever faced in your life? The most difficult trial. The toughest situation you've ever known. As you reflect on that time, what emotions does it conjure up for you? My toughest time was over 30 years ago when my first wife left me for one of my best friends. It was just awful. Though it's a long time ago now, the wound's healed, the...

Can I ask you … what keeps you going day after day, through the sunny days, the cloudy days, the stormy days … the days that really, you'd skip over if you could? What keeps you looking forward? Marie Durand was a 16 th century French Huguenot who spent 38 years imprisoned in the Tower of Constance for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Arrested at just 19, she endured relentless pressure t...

As we puddle along day by day, I think it's all too easy for us to take life for granted. For better or worse, we're living, breathing and doing all the things we have to do. Until … we're not. Each morning when I wake up, I thank God for my night's sleep, the breath in my lungs and the new day, whatever it may bring. It's my little form of resistance against becoming too complacent about the gift...

Wouldn't it be great to live through all life's ups and downs with a quiet, rock-solid strong confidence; a peace that passes all understanding, no matter what big, ugly, hairy, dangerous thing comes against you? That'd be something, wouldn't it? It sounds almost too good to be true. Perhaps it sounds near impossible when you think about all the things coming against you right now. I have a friend...