On to Completion

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry

 it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6 NIV

Tea Set From The Perkins Home

As part of our Washington history summer project, we visited the historic Perkins homes in Colfax Wa. The family started out in a small one room cabin. Mr Perkins did alright for him self. He started a saw mill and then sold it and later became the town banker. They later built a very large, very fancy two story home. The cabin and the big house are on the same piece of property and they contrast between them is pretty significant. Mr. Perkins was one of the founders of the little town of Colfax where my mother and aunt live. We are here visiting for 10 days.

After

Before 

Today besides creating yummy low carb baked goods and avocado chicken salad, we worked on organizing my moms cooking supplies. We added a shelf to help make it easier to find items when she needs them. My mom's kitchen has counter space but not a lot of places to put things so things that are used frequently all land on the counter.  Anyway we were both pleased with how it all turned out.

Our lives can become kind of like the cluttered counter. We add in new activities and projects and don't really have space for them. We can exist in a jumble moving one thing aside to make room for the next. When we did our organization project today we realized that there were a lot of things that were no longer needed. There were multiples of some things and stuff we did not realize was there that was great to find. We removed all of the items from the counter and brought in the shelf. Then we began putting back the things that were actually needed. Which in the end left a bunch of things on the dining room table that needed to be stored elsewhere or given away. 

When I look at my own life. I realize that I will soon be starting Massage Therapy School in the Fall. I had a some things that ended earlier but I was not sure what was next, so it made it difficult to decide what things needed to be kept and what thing I needed to let go of. I'm glad I have the rest of the summer knowing the direction I'm heading to work on organizing and streamlining. I think periodically we need to allow Jesus to come in and help us clean out the clutter. 'Look here's an old way of looking at things, that you no longer need. You don't even use it any more. Let's let that thing go.' We don't want to be horders saving every last things because you never know if you will later need it. I'm here to tell you that Jesus is able to supply what you need to do what He is calling you to do. Some of you are living on old moldy stale bread. You need to dig into the word for yourself and allow the Lord to serve you up a fresh meal. Are you living off the crumbs of revelation from someone else's meal with the Lord. He has fresh and wonderful things just for you. 

I like our verse today, because the Holy Spirit is continually work in our lives. None of us has arrived at perfection yet. We all have areas that we could use some work or some refinement. Our verse today reminds us that if Jesus has begun a good work in you. He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun. You may be off track at this moment due to the busyness of daily life and you may be in a place of spiritual deficiency. It might be time to clean out some spiritual closets. I know in my own life I had a lot of stuff that I had hidden away in mine. Moving forward meant I needed to deal with the closets to make room for the new things that the Lord has for me. The good news is that He is ever gracious to go through things with us. I'm not saying you need to be ultra focused on the past, living in the land of regrets. Nor am I saying to live in the land of future dreams. They are good to give us a destination we are shooting for. Where we need to live is in the present. This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Are you living today fully alive or are you just existing and hoping for someday when you hope things will be better. The truth is someday won't be better unless you take action today to do the things that God has set forth for you to do now in this day and in this season of your life. Some of you are spending way too much time using the past as an excuse. Allowing past pains to define you. You have bought in to a victim mentality and are busy serving salty tea and soggy cookies at your pity party. While others of you have been so busy dreaming of someday that you have allowed the present to be lost.
Either way the present is lost because our focus is in the past or in the future rather than in today.

Check in with Jesus, he knows what He has planned for you. He can help you to sort our what is important for today and what is stuff that is old news or future that your worrying will not bring about any sooner. Live today, live fully. Find things in the present to be thankful for. Look for things you can do to make a difference in the lives of the people who presently grace your days.
Yes some of them are frustrating to deal with. Even so, each brings to you the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Perhaps God is calling you to pray for them rather than gripe.

One of the things I love about coaching is that it is about moving forward. "I believe that God is already active in the lives of others, and that they can take responsibility and solve their own problems much better than I can. They most need me to believe in them and to provide support, encouragement and accountability as they act on what they know." ~Tony Stoltzfus
You know the stuff that you need to work on in your own life. You know what closets need cleaned out. You know what projects you could work on that will make your life better.  Quite often what we need is not someone to tell us what to do but someone to hold us accountable to do the things we want to do and know we need to adress.  I would certainly be honored to be that person for you, if you have a life project that you are ready to tackle. I do have some openings for coaching clients in my schedule. I do phone and e-coaching with people anywhere in the country. Add a bit of accountability, encouragement and belief and you will be amazed what a difference coaching can make in accomplishing your goals. E-mail me if you want more info about coaching. Princessmargot@hotmail.com

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you have begun a good work in each of us. Thank you that you will carry it on to completion. Help us to do a little summer organization with you of our spiritual closets. Help us make room in our lives for the new things you plan for us in the coming season.