Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio
   

1 Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the LORD, 

for he is good; 

his love endures forever.

Happy Thanksgiving for those of you who are reading this post on Thursday!
I'm a little late posting it - what can I say I've been trying to maintain a stress free kitchen. I've only had to kick my husband out once for going off on the dogs.  Its no wonder we do this meal only once a year. Its amazing how much prep work is involved in the traditional American Thanksgiving meal. Potatioes to peal, turkey to stuff, cranberries to cook, green bean cassarole to mix together. I think I've been in the kitchen since about 9am and its now noon and I am finally back to my computer to try and get this post written. Everything is prepped at this point and just needs to go in at the propper intervals to get cooked on time. In general I have tried to keep things pretty low key. Family memebers have all helped in various ways through out the moring to the back drop of the Macy's parade.

Our day will include playing some of our favorite games. I think we watched more movies than humanly possible yesterday but I was glad for old familar favorites that I could sleep through part of the movie and still know what was going on. I just needed to veg a bit yesterday.  I'm still a bit tired and I know I have been pushing myself to much in the past few months and will need to find some ways to find a more reasonable pace. Some things are done, I finished my coaching training, I will keep writing daily posts but I'm not too worried about actually hitting the 50,000 words for National Novel Writing Month. It will be interesting to see how many words I did manage. The Public Market,  I had thought I would try to be there every week through the holidays and I think I will scale that back to just one week in December and be there the 15th - 17th. Most of my actual mosaics are listed on my Artfire site for those who want mosaic gifts. I may do some specials that I post on my face book page.  So I am thankful that there are things that I can adjust up or down. I tend to be kind of scattered in my approach to life. It works for me. I have a circle of things that I rotate through. Writing used to be one of those things. This devotional has moved writing to being a everyday thing in my life. Working on mosaics has become a nearly everyday kind of thing. Music is kind of in the background presently, other than keeping up with piano at a kind of minimal level.  Homeschooling is in more of a matinence mode, the kids are pretty much set up to move through thier work on thier own most of the time. Other things move up or down depending on my energy and inspiration level.

I am thankful for the concept of pacing I learned as a cross country runner while in highschool. Learning to pace yourself has a lot to do with actually making it to the end of the race.  There are times that you have to slow things down a bit and other times when you need to run hard. I've been running pretty hard and I need to slow that pace down for a bit. Even when I slow things down I don't ever loose site of the goals that I am reaching for. Its important to keep moving in the right direction and not get off track chasing rabbit trails that lead to nothing. So I am thankful for lessons learned along the way that I am able to put to use as I continue forward.

It was suggested to me that I did not necessarily need to write long posts every day to accomplish the goal of writing daily for this devotional. Funny the things that can get past me.

I liked this quote by Harvard Professor and author, Shawn Achor

“Countless studies have shown that consistently grateful people are more energetic, emotionally intelligent, forgiving and less likely to be depressed, anxious or lonely. 

And it’s not that people are only grateful because they are happier, either; gratitude has proven to be a significant cause of positive outcomes.  When researchers pick random volunteers and train them to be more grateful over a period of a few weeks, they become happier and more optimistic, feel more socially connected, enjoy better quality sleep, and even experience few headaches than control groups." 

So I will encourage you to Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
Take some time to write down a few things each day that you are thankful for this past week or this past year. It really does help you look at other things with a more optimistic outlook.

So I am going to take that advise today, that it is ok to write a shorter post and call this one good.
I wish all of my readers a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your families or the friends you are spending this day with. I'm off to go enjoy mine. Thanks for reading!!!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, Today and everyday help us to cultivate a heart that is thankful. That we would thank you no only for the obvious blessings in our life but for the hard things that we face and the character that those difficulties are developing in us.


 

As We Enter Into The Holidays

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

 

What would you LOVE to EXPERIENCE over the Holidays?

Colossians 2: 6-8

 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  ⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Well the Holiday season has arrived. You may already be up to your eyeballs in preparing pies and turkey or at least the shopping for all those foods that make up your families traditions. If thats not your job perhaps you are having to deal with that dear over stressed loved who is doing all of that prep work. Maybe you are packing and traveling to visit family or friends. Whatever the case the Holidays is a bit of a change in normal day to day life. Personally I am hoping to rest and re-charge as I am feeling tired all the time lately. I may need to re-evaluate some of the things I've taken on and work towards a slightly slower pace to find the balance between accomplishing various goals and being exhausted. 

So here's the big question:  
What would you LOVE to EXPERIENCE over the holidays?
This is a question posed by my coaching instructor Mitch Matthews.
His instructions were to take a few minutes and jot down a list, or if you like to journal if you enjoy writing. Either way take a few minutes to think about what you would like your holiday season to be like. What do you want to do? Who do you want to spend time with? What traditions are important? What would you LOVE to EXPERIENCE over the holiday?

Here's why... it is so easy to be swept up in the expectations of others, the traditions, the parties, and all the things that get added to our lives, that all you experience is stress. Then there is the over spending and over scheduling...we can get so grumpy as a result that we miss the blessings that God has for us.

How can we decide not to miss out on the joy, the peace, the beauty, the laughter...and to not get  sucked into the Holiday Rat Race.  One way is to take the time to answer the question, and write it down and keep it before you so your focus is on what you want. your holiday season to hold. As a result you will make choices to move in the direction of what you want. You can begin to sort out what is important and shift your focus to accomplishing those things this Holiday season.

So stress is not something I want to put on my list.
On my list are things like rest and recharge. Which means I will have to say no to some things and work to protect some time to be able to rest and recharge.
Also on my list is to enjoy some focused time with my family. I think I will have them all answer this question and try to do some of the holiday things that are important to each of us.
Also on my list, to enjoy some beautiful music. I was given tickets to the symphony a year ago during the holidays. It is now a special memory. I will be looking for some way to add a special musical experience to the holidays. We have a piano carol recital in two weeks - boy do I need to practice.

I want to celebrate the birth of Christ in some meaningful way. I've chosen the advent readings for our services and I will enjoy the singing of carols and being with my church family.

I want to do some special things just with my husband. (Nothing big dinner and the movies would be fine)

I've wanted to do that sleigh ride down town - but never made time to do it.
We've talked about going sledding on Mt. Spokane. I need to decide to make these kind of things happen.

I'll probably add to my list - but I did give this question a few minutes of thoughts. My holidays don't have to be stress filled. Your's don't have to be either.

What might happen if we were able to shift our focus from all the obligations to creating a holiday season filled with the things we would Love to EXPERIENCE.

Keep your list somewhere that you will see it. Like your car visior or the bathroom mirror or in my case my desk.

What if we took it a bit further and asked the same question of some of the important people in our lives. Could we put a positive spin on the Holidays. What if you compared lists with the people you spend the holidays with.  - It just might shake things up a bit.
Mitch writes
"You might find out some gatherings might get smaller and more intimate.
Other activities might get bigger and louder
You might find yourself spending less on gifts and agreeing to spend more time together instead.
You might go out less and spend more time around your own kitchen table.
You might agree to venture out to see people who you haven't see forever"

Who knows.... I dare you to take even five minutes to consider what you would really LOVE to EXPERIENCE this Holiday. You could make a list of 100 things I love to do during the Holidays and try to do more of those things you love doing.

In our verse we are reminded to not get sucked into the rat race of this world and is traditions. We do that by remembering to live like verse 7 suggests.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, (Just because this time of year is busy don't let it cause your quiet time with the Lord to erode)

⁷ rooted and built up in him, (what will you do to be rooted and built up in him?)

strengthened in the faith as you were taught, (how will you strengthen your faith?)

and overflowing with thankfulness. (Thankfulness is the focus of this current Holiday but it is also a powerful thing that unlocks faith and trust in God. It is something that as a believer, should be part of every day of our life. Its funny that we have a day to remember to be thankful.) 

Prayer:

Dear Lord, 

We come to you with thankful hearts as we remember all the things you have done for us. Help us to focus on you in this holiday season and to focus on the things we would like to have be part of our holiday experience this year. Help us to not be swept away by the holiday rat race and to be purposeful about the things you have put on our hearts to expereince this year. 

Go before us as we enter this season and help us to want the things that you want for us.

100th Devotional Post

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Open publication - Free publishing - More 100 list

I started thinking about things I could do to celebrate my 100th Devotional Blog Post. So I started to make a list of possible things I could do - clearly I can't do it all.  I'm writing this on Monday to post on Tuesday. I am really tired from being at the Spokane Public Market with my mosaics Thursday - Saturday and then being at church all day for the service and then cooking pork loin chops for the homeless and poor folks in our neighborhood. It was pretty late in the afternoon before I started to feel human again. So I was thinking of lofty and grand ideas for things I could do for this post.

So I started a 100 list. You can do Hundred lists for any number of things. They are quite helpful the first 20 things are generally pretty obvious as you have to keep going you have to think harder and reach deeper. You uncover things you might not have realized where there to be discovered. 
So I made my list, you will see it below. Some of these things are ideas that I might want to work on to have ready for my 200th post. I realize that this is a milestone post for me I am roughly 1/4 of the way to my bigger goal of having written a year long daily devotional. It feels to me like something that I should celebrate in some way. I have grown to be able to write on days when I feel tired or un-inspired. The dailyness of writing has been very good for me.

100 Things I could do For My 100th Devotional Post

1. Write about the things I've learned during the 100 days.
2. Celebrate and give something away.
3. Create some downloadable content
4. Re-package the previous posts into 10 books of 10
5. Write about the value of 100 lists.
6. Look at Psalm 100
7. My 100 favorite verses
9. Printable Gift Tags
10. Printable Book Marks
11. Encouragement cards
12  Create Printable Top 5 lists
13 Create some mini e-books
14. Shopping List
15 Journal pages
16. Do a VLOG post rather than a typical blog
17. Photos with verses.
18. Printable journal pages.
19. Printable Calendar Pages.
20. 100 things I love about Jesus
21. 100 things I love about the Holy Spirit
22. 100 things I love about my Bible
23. 100 Small acts of kindness.
24. 100 things to journal about
25.  100 things I would like to accomplish
26. 100 ways to bless others.
27.  100 Things Activity  Pages
28. Crate a Beloved Project re-cap e-book or pp presentation.
28. 100 things I'd like to write about
29. My 100 favorite Quotes
30 100 Scripture Book Marks
31. 100 Ways to be more creative.
32. 100 Photos
33. 100 Songs I'd like to Share
34. 100 Tips for a Happier Holiday Season
35. 100 Ways to Help My Readers
36. 100 Practical Ways to Pray
37. 100 Practical Ways to Spend more time in the Word
38. 100 Ways to Relax
39. 100 Ways to Share The Love of Jesus
40. 100 Ways to Abide in Jesus
41. 100 Ways to better connect with my readers.
42. 100 Dinner Table Discussion Ideas
43.

Well thats how far I got before I decided I better pick something and try and get it done.
So I do have two things to celeberate the 100th Devotional Blog Post.
At the top you will see 100 Things I Love To Do and below you will see 100 Things I'm Thankful For.
I hope you will enjoy working on them.

Open publication - Free publishing - More 100 list

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for 100 days of this devotional, I pray for my readers that you would touch them deeply through it. That you would draw them to hunger and thirst for your presence. That you would be their peace in the midst of the storms they face. Help them to remember to celebrate the milestone in their own journeys.

Counting Your Blessings

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Psalms 40:5

Many, O LORD my God, 
are the wonders you have done. 
The things you planned for us 
no one can recount to you; 
were I to speak and tell of them, 
they would be 
too many to declare.




Did you catch in todays verse where it says..."The things you planned for us no one can recount to you: were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare."  Have you stopped lately to count your blessings. All the undeserved things that happen each and every day in our lives. There are so many things that we take for granted. Yet God has lavished His love upon us in the beauty of the sunset or sunrise.  The wonders of creation. The smile of a friend, a kind word. There are thousands of little ordinary miracles that happen each day. Perhaps you can explain many of them away to natural causes and perhaps they are just little gifts of grace that touch our lives in a million little ways.

Proverbs 17:22  The Message "²² A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
   gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

Amplified Bible 17:22²²A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.'

 Thankfulness is a powerful thing. There have been difficult seasons when I would make a point to wake up and think of things I was thankful for. Thankfulness sets your mind and heart on a different path than a complaining or grumbling heart. We need to stir up the gifts that God has put inside us. We need to stir up our thankfulness. Its easy to get weighed down in depression, discouragement to the point that we wear it around like a wet blanket. We stand there pitiful, wet and cold and wish someone would come join us in our pity party. I don't mean to make light of anyones troubles but often the biggest adjustment that needs made is to our attitude. 
Put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.  Which reminds me of this song that I am too tired tonight to try and record. So here is a link to a nice version someone did on you tube. I like the flags at the end.


If you are getting this in your e-mail you will need to click the blue title to get back to the devotional site to view the video.

Some more verses to think about today. Note that "And be thankful." at the end of Colossians 3:15
Don't just let Christ rule your heart and live at peace. Those things are followed by a very strong "And be thankful" You can start with being thankful that the peace of Christ does rule in your heart.

Colossians 3:15 NIV 1984  "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Philippians 2 reminds us  ¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

I like it in The Message starting with 13b Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
 ^14-16Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing. 

I believe as we go through the ups and the downs of life that people around us are watching. If we can begin to cultivate a lifestyle of thankfulness, and joy not just in good times but in the hard times as well. Our lives become a testimony of the power of God at work in us.  I love the line in the verse above that says That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.  Our God is a gentleman and waits to be invited by us into the situations of our life.  God is doing the work in us, he wants to provide the energy and the will to do the things he desires for us.


What are some things that you are thankful for?

Is there anyone or anything that you have been taking for granted?

Why might it please God for us to come to him with a thankful heart?

Are there things that you are complaining about that you might want to look at from a different vantage point. Maybe ask God what He is using it to work in you?


Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You do so much for us every day. There are so many things that we have grown accustomed to that we over look them or take them for granted. Lord help us remember those things. Help us more and more find reasons to be thankful for all that you do. Even in the midst of the trials we are facing help us to see the fingerprints of your love and mercy. Help us to be doers of the word and not those who just let it go in one ear and out the other. Help us more and more put it into practice in our lives. Help us catch ourselves when we might begin to complain and turn it around and find a reason to thank you.