Flourish

Alison is an inspiration and shared with us her story of God opening doors for her to work as an engineer in the field of climate change , advising in the heart of government. She also wanted to offset her own lifetime carbon footprint so planted 1750 trees during lockdown!

Using the life of Deborah, Elaine shows us in this session how important it is to hear God’s voice for ourselves. She leads us through an exercise of writing a letter to ourselves from God. If you missed the live event, we highly recommend that you take time to listen to the podcast and do the exercise yourselves. We always hear about the importance of doing physical exercise, but it’s even more important that we work at exercising our ‘spiritual muscles’ too. This will cause our faith to strengthen, deepen and FLOURISH.

If you find yourself in a place of waiting for God to answer your prayers, then this message is for you. Using the life of Sarah, Fiona Saunderson encouraged us all to come to a place of trust in God because he is utterly trustworthy.

In this session Carole Rawley and Jan Watt kick off the conference and Sue Eldridge shares an encouragement on navigating uncharted waters. 

A huge thank you to Nancy Goudie for sharing today at our Flourish Christmas breakfast. She pointed us to the story of Mary meeting the Angel and saying Yes to God even though she didn’t fully understand what it would mean for her life. Nancy’s questions to us are: ‘ Are we willing to say Yes to God’s plan for our lives even when we don’t fully understand what it will entail?’ ‘Are we willing to trust God even when we don’t have the answers to all our questions?’

A huge thank you to Georgina Newton for encouraging us to think about our journey to where we are today, our early life growing up and how that influences us today. God has made each one of us unique with our own gifts and skills, all for a purpose. There is a link on the Flourish facebook group to take you to the analysis of your "creative type". Why not try it and start that careful exploration of who you are and what God has purposed for you to do today?

We had a wonderful time at our Flourish breakfast with Heather Rogers who continued our series on ‘Women and Work’. She shared with us how God gave her a download from heaven in writing the I AM series. Since then it’s been used in youth groups, young adult groups and with whole churches. It addresses the foundations of our identity in Christ.

In this recording, Abi begins our new series on ‘Women and Work’ talking about being salt and light in our workplaces. She defined work as anything God has called us to do or what we find ourselves involved in eg. Paid work, volunteering, being at home whether that’s with children or being retired. So it’s a very broad remit that we all fall into.

What a lovely breakfast we had this morning! A huge thank you to Abby King for sharing with us from Luke 8:40-48. It’s the story of a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, experiencing immense suffering and then she reached out to Jesus. Abby encouraged us to reach out to Jesus in the midst of our own suffering, vulnerability, disappointment and challenges. Jesus called her ‘daughter’ and he does the same to each one of us today. You are HIS DAUGHTER, loved and treasured!

In this episode, Georgina Newton joins us and discusses the different types of relationships we have in our lives, ones that energise us and ones that are more challenging. It was so helpful to have a chance to share our own experiences too.

On Easter Saturday, Emily Moran Spencer shared with us on what it looks like to be a worshipper in this season especially. She encouraged us to be authentic, vulnerable, honest and whole-hearted. Do take a moment to listen to the song ‘Sovereign Over Us ‘ which Emily has given us a link to in the facebook group.

A huge thank you to Kim Green for speaking at our Flourish breakfast. It was illuminating, challenging and encouraging all at the same time! As part of her role in working with children from different cultures, ethnic minority backgrounds and those in care, Kim trains teachers on recognising ‘unconscious bias’. She led us through a simple exercise today to reveal ours too! Jesus came to break down barriers that separate and form one new community of God’s people. Kim encouraged us to reflect on how we do this in our own lives.

At this Ladies' Breakfast, Sue Eldridge talked about how there is sometimes be a gap between receiving supernatural hope for a situation or someone, and actually seeing the answer to our prayers. It’s a season of waiting.

In this intensely personal and powerful talk, Sandra encourages us of God's wholehearted love and commitment to us, even in the painful and difficult times. 

This is a ‘word in season’ for so many of us. Rachael took us to John 20:19-22, pointing out when the disciples were in lockdown; fearful, grieving, uncertain of their future. And Jesus’ presence made all the difference! He gave them peace, purpose and power as they enjoyed his presence. Just what we need too! We pray this message will bless you.

Thinking about making your life more environmentally-friendly but not sure where to start? Jan Watt is sure to inspire you with ideas from sustainable coffees to mindful appreciation of creation in this 26 minute podcast.

In this episode, Irene Manley shares some of her experiences of life and work in Mongolia. What would you do if someone dropped a child on your lap? Find out what happened to Irene in this fascinating episode from one of the largest and most sparsely populated countries in the world.  You can support the Mary and Martha ministries by purchasing their gifts by checking the posts by Barbara B on the Flourish facebook page.

Join Caroline Anderson as she shares faith, vitality and how to be coached by God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this energetic encouragement. If you are able to, watch the video of Michael Card singing Waymaker, on this Youtube link https://youtu.be/XBQdImpKAjE when she refers to the song. 

In this episode, Rachel tells of her life lesson whilst tackling her first garden project and how she discovered that life does not go in a straight line.

This interview is another precious opportunity to hear from evangelist, missionary and friend, Connie Taylor.

This recording took place at the Flourish ladies' breakfast on 3rd October 2020. Don't forget to tune in on zoom for the next one in 2 weeks' time.

In this episode we hear from blogger, writer and teacher, Abby King, about the Breath Prayer.

Interview with author, musician, leader and overall inspiration: Nancy Goudie.