Rejoice, Lord is near, Give thanksgiving, and peace of God

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

I am done with college. I graduated. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. God is good. I am back at home for a while.  If you have a job to be done I would happy to help for a small fee. We all have something to rejoice in. Along with graduating I know what I am going to do with two years of my life. However I don't know when I will get to start. I have been commissioned to serve the Capitol Hill Church of Christ as an intern through the HIM program. HIM stands for Helpers in Mission. It's much like Sunset AIM program but it's for after you graduate. This is a mission outreach from Memorial Road Church of Christ, who pays for 40% of the support. I am so excited for the opportunity however since it's a mission internship there is fundraising for support. Fundraising is not my strong suit. I will be in Tulsa for awhile so if you need any odd jobs done I am available. 

I have a job. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. Lord is near.  I have been described as gentle in moments in my life. However there are times that I know I that I am not gentle. Life at Capitol Hill I have met some of the gentle souls, sisters in Christ that I know. I have already only been gone for a little over a week and I miss them. There is something about Capitol Hill that gets under my skin and I can feel the LORD IS NEAR. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when I can feel the presence strongest.  I don't know if it's when we are singing and a group of kids will repeat the last word of each line to certain songs, making praise their's. Or seeing the Grandmas' bring thier car loads of grandchildren to church and showing them the joy of the Lord. Or the moments I see strong women be gentle when they are talking to the kids about their choices and behaviors. Let your gentleness be known. In Star Wars Yoda has a line that I feel similar to how I feel about Capitol Hill, "The Force is strong in this one. " 

I come from a line of worriers.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. If you have ever known me for a long period of time you may have seen me freak out on an occasion. There was a time in my life where I started to get panic attacks. I can remember two imes that they were very severe. The first was a week or so before I was supposed to take a month long trip to Japan and China. My anxiety brought me to realization that kind i could not go. I had a slight moments where I somewhere I knew that I could not go. I did not go and I owe my mother three money she spent on the trip . Second, panic attack I had the night before I broke up with my ex. I am not proud of my choices of how I did that but I was an emotional and spiritual wreck. I believe that God will use you in any situation but I also believe He will let you know if you are not fulfilling for the purpose he has for you. After those two instances of that summer, I had a beautiful summer and I learned that I cannot rush into anything. I also learned that I am a relational person. Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  At the end of the summer I was part of my churches Dramatime for VBS. It was the story of Jesus, Jesus is Lord. The group became close over the month or so. The story of Jesus is very powerful and I learned more watching it acted out. I was thankful them and the relationship I built. I still worry however I have been trying to take it to God more. 

I can finally read for fun again. No more chapters upon chapters for school such calming peace. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The first book I picked up is  Kisses from Katie, it's about  a beautiful sister who was called to Uganda and how God has blessed her life since she moved. I am about halfway through her book and it is such a large encouragement to me who is going to start on her own journey of faith. Not only does she move to Uganda and worked with the children there she also has been in the process of adopting thirteen little girls. At a very young age I knew that it was on my heart to adopt and foster. Reading gives me such peace this sister is only two years older and God has used her for so much. Have you ever read a book and immediately you think of others you want to recommend it to? That is how I feel reading this book. 

This passage has become something that is part of my life in each aspects. Much peace, love and prayers, brothers and sisters. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend. Keep me in your prayers. 

Your sister, 

Evynn