Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Monday! All is well here at 811.  I completed my second paper and it is ready to be turned in tomorrow in class. YEA!! Bruce and I ran a few errands when he got home this afternoon. Today we needed to go to Home Depot. For a home repair man…that is his home away from home. We practiced trying to say Home Depot. It came out “Home Depair.”  It was so funny and we both laughed, I thought it was fantastic. God is good and love wins.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4: 6-7

After printing my paper today I felt a great weight lifted. And then I remembered I still had reading to do for class tomorrow.  I got some of it done, but not all. I found myself distracted. I have an interview tomorrow evening for a church music director’s position. I would really like to get the position. With all of these things to think about I did not feel very peaceful. I was anxious about the interview, did not complete my reading for tomorrow and hopeful that my papers will be found acceptable. And then I read this scripture verse tonight.  The opening sentence of my meditation tonight read, “MY PEACE IS SUCH AN ALL ENCOMPASSING GIFT THAT IT IS INDEPENDENT OF CIRCUMSTANCES.”  (God seems to know what I need to hear when I need to hear it.) I remembered the one of the final scenes in the gospels where the disciples and others were in an upper room and there was nothing but chaos going on. After Jesus resurrection He appears to this room full of folks and simply says, “Peace be with you.”  Jesus taught the disciples and other followers about peace prior to crucifixion and then appears to them to remind them of His teachings and the gift of peace.

The kind of peace Jesus offers is nothing this world can give. This peace is deep comfort that is present with us in the midst of any adversity we experience. The peace that is present within us is the ever present, unfailing love of God. This kind of peace is a gift we receive when we are open to receive it. I read today about how Jesus was treated in His own hometown. Those who knew Him when He was a child and growing up rejected Him when He came home. Jesus was unable to do any of His works of healing or even preaching because these people were not open to Him or His teachings. They were unable to experience any of His power because their hearts and minds were closed to Him. 

My friends, for a while today I was a bit overwhelmed and closed to the peace of God. I am better now. God knew I did not need a lecture or a dressing down for forgetting. He just simply said through the Holy Scriptures, “Peace be with you.”  God is good and love wins.  Take joy in the journey and receive the gift of God’s peace. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

 

Prayer request:  Please pray for me as I prepare for tomorrow evening's interview. Thanks. grace and pieces, gc