Immanuel Bible Church

Thankful to say I have already found a great church with great teachers near enough to attend every Sunday. Learning a lot from the book of Philippians being taught by Pastor Jesse Johnson. Only being 30 mins away (depending on the day), is nice to have something to do to get me out of the building and deeper into the Word of God.

Today we studied true joy from Philippians 4:4-5. This joy is a supernatural gift from God, which is our primary calling. If  I could share everything I learned from the sermon it would take twice as long as he spoke. Here are the primary points:
1. PRIORITY OF JOY: God's Calling
This could be the thing that separates us from all other religions. What other religions care about your heart while you're pursuing obedience? [Insert great CS Lewis & Augustine quote here]
2. PARADOX OF JOY: God's Work
Taste and see that the Lord is good, only the Lord can do that in your heart. You can't make your own heart do what you want, only God can make it do what it's meant to do for forever.
3. PRODUCT OF JOY: God's Yieldingness
Stronger person yielding to a weaker person- 2 Corinthians 1:24
4. PRODUCT OF JOY: God's Son
This isn't an abstract desire, you desire to know Jesus. We struggle with joy because we pursue joy as an end and not the Lord as an end.  [Romans 12:12]
5. PROBLEM OF JOY: We are not God
The same as we need crutches to walk when your legs are broken, the same we need to obey the Lord out of duty. When we believe it with our head, we experience joy in our hearts, that can be seen with our hands sharing joy with others.

I hope the rest of you enjoyed your Sunday. I got to go to a Jamberry party and get some new nails. Tonight we head up to Pikesville, Maryland for tomorrow's Northern Chapter Championship at the excellent course Woodholme. This will be the first tournament we get to go to on the road and work! I couldn't be more excited to get to see what my summer might consist of.

In Christ Alone,

Michelle

Hello Friends!

I know many of you are just as excited for my summer as I am! So I thought I would create this blog to make a single location for you all to turn to see what exactly I'm getting myself in to! But I've already gotten two weeks under my belt at the Mid Atlantic PGA Section. I am serving as a Junior Golf Tournament, meaning I work partially in the office and partially on the road at tournaments. Along with two other interns we make phone calls to the courses we're about to visit, we work on things like players numbers, and dealing with many many questions from parents. We also get to do fun things with Drive, Chip & Putt competitions and even playing the courses where we have tournaments.
But I'm stationed here in Stafford, Virginia. I'm learning to tolerate the traffic and I'm loving getting lost on the winding backroads. I am also settling very well in our apartment above the office with my three other roommates: Claire, Clare and Cassie. Don't worry it's not nearly as confusing as it sounds! We are getting along very well and are excited to see where this summer takes us.
But so far I've found a church I am excited to attend every Sunday. I've found bliss in Nextflix and the many distractions it offers. I've even learned to enjoy my coworkers and the many quirky things we do during a work day like, "Walking Club," tee times, nerf gun wars, and the inevitable Intern Lunch. To say the least this will be a great summer!

In Christ Alone,

 

Michelle Goda

 My very own desk! (With the slowest laptop ever!)

 Augustine Golf Club

 I'm really glad I got to catch up with my friend from EKU and go hiking with her at Shenandoah National State Park. I enjoyed Memorial Day weekend with her and her family in Jeffersonton, VA. Which I definitely fell in love with the neighboring small town USA main streets!