Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E28 | Everyday Eurasia | Kristin Burchfiel

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S1-E28 | Everyday Eurasia | Kristin Burchfiel · Eurasia Region Podcast

• 0:06
  Welcome to the special Advent series of the Everyday Eurasia
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  podcast, Inspiring Faith for every Day.
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  In the coming weeks, they'll be journeying together toward
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  Christmas, A season of anticipation, reflection, and
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  light in the darker days. During this special season of
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  Advent, we will journey through the Advent themes of Hope,
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  Peace, Joy and Love. This second week of Edfund, we
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  will join Kristen Birchfield. She grew up in Medford, OR USA.
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  She spent her life surfing both locally and globally.
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  Kristen serves now on the Eurasia region where she and her
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  family have lived since 2020, first in a Mount Jordan and now
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  in Lisbon, Portugal. Kristen will speak this week
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  about the team Edfund Peace. Hello everyone, and welcome
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  back. In our last episode, we talked
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  about how God reconciles himself to us through Jesus Christ and
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  the ministry of reconciliation that God has given us.
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  But before we can take peace and reconciliation out into the
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  world, we have to make sure that we have peace in our own hearts.
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  So that's what we're going to be talking about today.
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  Let me start by reading our scripture for the day from
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  Philippians 4, verses 6 and seven.
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  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation
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  by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your
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  requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all
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  understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
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  Jesus. I think Christmas is the perfect
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  time to talk about and reflect on peace within ourselves
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  because it can be such a busy and full season.
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  There are dinner parties and school programs, special church
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  services and service opportunities.
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  Finding the perfect gift, baking, planning and travel.
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  So many good things all happening in a relatively short
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  period of time. And if we are not careful, these
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  good things can start to feel, well, less than good.
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  Well, We are filling our calendars with activities, our
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  homes with people, and our stomachs with food, all things
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  that we love. Sometimes it can all feel like
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  too much. But in this passage of
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  Scripture, the Apostle Paul provides us with practical steps
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  we can take to find peace within our own hearts.
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  This week we are celebrating the Prince of Peace, who brings a
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  peace that transcends all understanding.
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  We don't have to sit in the chaos of busy seasons, Christmas
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  or otherwise, experiencing anxiety instead of peace.
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  We can take that anxiety to God in prayer, giving thanks and
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  allowing God's peace to guard our hearts and our minds.
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  I have found that in this season, finding a calm place to
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  practice this kind of prayer has been essential.
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  I personally find warm white Christmas lights to be very
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  calming, and sitting in a room lit up only by strands of these
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  almost golden twinkle lights helps me to open my heart and
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  clear my mind in a way that I just can't under big, bright
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  fluorescent lights. And I know that many people in
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  our region and around the world right now are living in places
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  that are not peaceful, and finding even a little space for
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  peace is a tremendous challenge. But I also know that we have a
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  God that gives us peace beyond our circumstances.
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  True peace comes from faith in Christ.
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  Even in the midst of everything happening in our lives and in
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  our world. And in a world full of conflict
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  and anxiety, we can find peace through prayer and trust that
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  goes beyond our own understanding.
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  And in this Christmas season, as we slow down and give our
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  anxieties and worries to the Lord, as we trust in the promise
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  of peace, maybe those around us will notice something different
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  in US. Maybe they will see an
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  alternative way to go about and celebrate the season.
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  So as we end our time together today, I would challenge you to
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  examine what you have going on in this season, all of the good
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  things that you love to do at this time of year, and see what
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  may need to be put on hold or set aside so that you can make
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  room for prayer. Our passage today from
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  Philippians 4 offers us the means by which the promised
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  peace of the coming Christ can be experienced in the present
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  moment. And when we have peace with God
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  and peace in our hearts, we are better able to be the
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  peacemakers in the world that God has called us to be.
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  As you go about the rest of this Advent season, may the Lord
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  bless and keep you. The Lord make his face shine
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  upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards
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  you and give you peace. Let's pray.
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  Heavenly Father, as we conclude our devotional time today, our
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  hearts turn toward you in gratitude for the gift of your
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  Son, our Prince of Peace, whose arrival we anticipate during
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  this Advent season. We thank You for the promise of
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  a peace that transcends all understanding.
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  We confess that we often allow the good things in our lives to
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  crowd out the best thing, time alone with You in prayer.
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  Forgive us for our anxieties and our attempts to manage life and
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  our own strength. Teach us to practice Your
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  presence daily, making room for You, and that's the demands of
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  the season and the circumstances of our world.
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  We ask for your empowering work of Your Holy Spirit to transform
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  our anxious hearts, guarding our minds in Christ Jesus and making
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  us instruments of peace where you have us.
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  We pray all of this in Jesus name, Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Fate for everyday. For more Everyday Stories,
• 7:20
  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
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  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter Snapshots.
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  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
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  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.