More than we Think or Imagine

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever! Amen. 

Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

So this post is going to be really short. I burned my finger this afternoon. I will be fine - but it still hurts and I have about 20 seconds that I can take it off the ice pack before it starts to throb. I am thankful that I did not burn more than one finger. You would not think a burn smaller than a dime would be so painful. 

I'm at my moms this week and we have been having a lot of fun cooking. 

 Everything is low carb with no white flours or sugar. I burned my finger on the waffle type iron that makes the shells for these stuffed Cannoli on the left, a wonderful Italian treat. The cake below is made with coconut flour. My kids said it was good enough to serve company.

Anyway, I am going to quit trying to do this in 20 second bursts or with one hand. 

My son Cai and I went bike riding yesterday down a gravel road and saw these tepee's. There was no one there and it was in the middle of a lot wild land. It almost felt like we were transported back in time. I have a pretty vivid imagination.  We road about 3 miles down a gravel road. We saw deer bounding over the tall grasses when we spooked them. It was a beautiful ride. I'm thankful for my bike and how well it rides on paved streets and gravel. 

Actually this is pretty cool, I have not been able to take my finger off the ice pack for 3 or 4 hours and I started working on this post and it hurt at first and I'd put my finger back on the ice and wait a minute and then type some more  and got to this point and it just stopped hurting. I kind of expected it might hurt for a day or so. At this point the big blister has dried up and I can put pressure on it with out it hurting. So this was immeasurably more than what I imagined. I would tend to say that when we move forward to do the things that God has called us to do even when we face obstacles, that God sees our faith and obedience and meets us at the point of our need.  I needed my finger to stop throbbing so I could type. When I started this post it was painful and not ok and at this point it feels pretty darn good. I will chalk it up to yet another little miracle of grace.  

So I would end this at this point but I feel like there is someone who's reading that is allowing the obstacles that are before you, to keeping you from moving forward with something God has put on your heart to do.  Start moving in God's direction and watch those obstacles fade away to very small things that you will wonder why you ever even worried about them. 

There were 12 spies sent to check out the promised land. Ten came back with amazing reports of what they had seen but looked at the giants and saw them to be a problem that God could not handle. Two guys came back and tried to encourage the people to trust God. Sadly Israel allowed the fear of the giants to be greater than their trust in God. In the end all the folks from that generation died off in the desert wandering over the next 40 years. Only two of that original bunch crossed over into the promised land and they were the 2 guys who trusted God in spite of the obstacles.    

Numbers 13:33

We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

I trust that God is at work in your life, doing immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. 

Maybe some of you will post in the comments and share how God is working in your life. 

Blessings, Margot 

Bold with Strength of Soul

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio 

Psalm 138:1-3(NKJV)
I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

We are looking at the verse of the day from Bible Gateway. Today it happens to be from Psalm 138. They actually only used verse 2 but I wanted to see it in context so I pulled verses 1 and 3 as well. 

I will praise You with my whole heart. This Psalm is attributed to David who has written a considerable number of Psalms. He says in Psalm 86:11"Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."  

Actually in Ezekiel 11:19 God promises to give His people and undivided heart. 

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them aheart of flesh."

David made an effort put his whole heart into the worship and praise of God. I think he also tried very hard to put his whole life in alignment with God's ways. 

He goes on to say that before the gods I will sing praises to you. Who might the gods be? Are their gods in our life before whom we like David could model a life of devotion and praise? According to the Reformation Study Bible, "The Hebrew word ’elohim (“gods”) is used of human judges in Ex. 21:6; 22:8, 9"  In David's case it might have been neighboring kings or the high leaders of the land. Who are the movers and shakers in and around your life. Who are the people who make things happen? It is before those people we must acknowledge the work of God's hand in our lives. David sang and thanked God publicly not just in his private chambers. Daniel prayed openly even though an edict had been issued outlawing praying to any other god than the king. He still prayed three times a day with his window open. It did get him thrown into the lions den. In his case God shut the mouths of the lions and king and kingdom were moved to acknowledge God. His buddies Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made a similar stand. I love what they tell the king in Daniel 3:18 " If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

There are things that I believe that God is able to do in my life but even if he doesn't I still choose to believe and follow Him with my whole heart. I am grateful for the people he has put around me and the blessings they each bring into my life. When I pray asking God to provide it generally does not come with a poof with a pile of gold or a money tree in the back yard. His answers come with inspiration and with ideas, and with strength of spirit and courage to take steps of faith, and often the sacrifice, kindness and generosity of others who help us along the way. I in turn must be the hands and feet that bring God's provision also to others as I see them taking positive steps of faith. I believe the law of reciprocity or sowing and reaping is happening all around us all the time. The things we plant will grow up. So it is important to make sure we are planting good things. If I sow good things into the lives of others, others will sow good things into my life. I must be planting good things in my own life as well. 

I noticed in verse 2 that is says I will worship towards your holy temple. I think we can get the mistaken notion that we must be in the church to worship. When our entire life should be an offering of worship. God is not a building, or temple made of human hands. John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” When we decide to acknowledge the work of God in our lives and to live lives of gratitude and to be those who impart His grace and kindness. Our life becomes one of continual praise and worship before Him. We do not need a building because the spiritual house He is building is made up of living stones. Each person who chooses to follow Him becomes one of those living stones in a house that is alive with possibility as we work together to magnify His kingdom principles.  

I like this last part because I have seen it happen again recently in my own life. "In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul."

I have been seeking the Lord for a new dream and new vision, for the direction of my life. Sometimes we hold so tightly to old dreams that we can't receive the new one that God has for us. God has done a work of healing in my life allowing me to put to rest some old dreams that had long ago died but that I was knowingly and unknowingly still hanging on to. 

In letting go there is a feeling of being a drift, and out of control. In that place I have put my trust in the Lord to help me sort out my possible options. One day He helped me see an idea and gave me the strength of soul to begin to pursue it. As I have shared this idea, I have found favor in that people around me have affirmed it. "Yes, Margot that sounds like a right path for you." I have been blessed by those who would stand with me and help me. I am tremendously grateful for their kindness and sacrifice to help move me towards creating that new dream and making it a reality.  I realize that there is a long journey before me to get from the idea to the reality. You lay the rails in the direction you want to go and then let gravity take over and move you along the path of least resistance toward your desired destination. Right now I'm busy preparing for laying the rails. I've learned to apply the process of how I create works of art to my own life. It always starts with a glimmer of an idea. I think that is the spark that comes from God. From there we must work out the details to make it become something that others can also experience. Along the way, I'm not just doing it alone but I am in close communication with the Lord every step of the way. I have developed a life set apart unto Him and that life spills out into everything that I am and everything that I set my hand to do. 

Prayer:

I pray with in it you will find the little nugget that you need, the glimmer or the spark that God intends for you to move you along on your own journey. That you will look around and find gratitude in your heart and a song of praise for God's goodness in your life, even if there is work yet to do. I pray that God will answer your prayers and make you bold and give you strength of soul. 

 

And In That Day...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio


And in that day you will say: “Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4


I'm using the Bible Gateway verse of the day for today's post. My first thought upon looking at this verse was "What day?" So I pulled up the whole verse. It was just more of the same, good stuff that will happen "In That Day". So I went back a chapter where I found the answer.


"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:1-2


You may still be feeling lost if you have not spent much time reading the Old Testament stories. I happen to love them, believing from cover to cover the Bible tells the story of Jesus. So who is this Jesse guy, you may be wondering.  He is the father of king David. So David is the Rod from the stem of Jesse, but he's not who all the "In that day" verses are talking about. Our verse today goes on to say "a Branch shall grow out of his root." You might be thinking it must be his son Solomon. He was a great king. He was the wisest of the wise. You would be wrong. He got off track with his foreign wives and worshiped their gods. While God did not directly curse Solomon he did curse his son king Jehoiachin.
It is interesting to note that Jesus did not come through Solomon's family line. God cursed Solomon's descendant, King Jehoiachin, saying that none of his descendants would inherit the throne (Jeremiah 22:30) Maybe the note from that section from the Reformation Study Bible, will help open it up for you.

"Though Jehoiachin had children (1 Chr. 3:17, 18), none of them would reign as king over Judah. Promises of future Davidic kingship (e.g., 23:5, 6) were fulfilled beyond the scope of the historical Israelite and Judean kingdoms—in Christ the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13 and note), and the greater son of David (Matt. 22:41–46). Even the promise to Zerubbabel (Hag. 2:23), Jehoiachin’s grandson (1 Chr. 3:19), finds fulfillment in Christ, since Zerubbabel never reigned as king. Israel was abandoned until Christ came (Mic. 5:3)."


Isaiah 4:2
In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped.  Jesus is beautiful and glorious. We who are bearing fruit in him are His appealing to Israel and to all who are lost with out Him.


Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, 

“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; 

A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 

 Notice that it is a branch of righteousness.


Zechariah 3:8
‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.  

Jesus came as a servant, he is the BRANCH.


Zechariah 6:12
Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; 

Look at how far Christianity has come from Jesus and 12 guys who followed him. He has built His temple and it is not built with brick and mortar. We believers are a temple built of living stones. 1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.


John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.


So I gave you the quick version, but you could certainly spend more time studying. In a nut shell Mary's family line came through David's son Nathan. It was a line of David that did not fall under the curse on Solomon's family line. There are a lot of hidden things to find if you spend time searching and studying your Bible. This one I think is pretty amazing. God always finds a way to fullfil His word and his promises. A remnant always remains that God works through.


Here's something you might not realize. We live "In That Day". Jesus has given you authority to be His agents in the earth. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;


Our verse today is a reminder to us that we, the people of THAT DAY are to "Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted."


• We praise Him
• We can call upon His name
• We declare his deeds among the peoples
• We mention that His name is exalted.


In Luke there is a story of Jesus going to the synagogue and being asked to read the Holy Scriptures from (Isaiah 61). Luke 4: 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus is the long awaited Messiah and He is the branch spoken of in our verse today. We His people are called to continue doing His work in the earth. Because He has sent us his Holy Spirit and he has anointed us to bring the good news to the poor. To heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. To help the blind to see, to bring liberty to the oppressed. We proclaim His love, favor, acceptance, and truths to the world.  

Prayer: Lord help each one reading to catch a deeper glimpse of your plan and purpose for their lives. I pray that you give them boldness and fill them to overflowing with your Holy Spirit. That your Spirit will lead them to deeper and fuller understanding of your word. That they will move beyond knowing the Word to knowing You, the author of the Word.    

Things I Realized During My Blog Vacation

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio 


I wrote most of the following post about mid way through the month of June. At this point I was still feeling pretty much adrift and was waiting for direction to become clearer. You can see that I was pushing myself to answer deep questions about who God had created me to be. A few days later on the 19th I was having my quiet time and for some reason I got distracted and went to search Massage Schools on the computer. I notice that one had an open house that week on Saturday. That motivated me to call the other schools and arrange appointements to try and determine if this might be the right direction for me. 
You might say it was a coincidence, but quite often I think my little distractions are actually the Holy Spirit nudging me. 

It is day 17 of my month off - and I realize I miss writing this blog. I actually realized it earlier but was not sure if that was just the habit of writing speaking. I think I am past that at this point. 

I have been reading The Path by Laurie Beth Jones - the questions in it often make me want to throw the book at the wall. I don't have an answer, I don't like my answer.... Is that my answer because I'm in a good or a bad mood. I have had to put it down, walk a way, and come back to many of the questions later after I have had time to consider them. Actually the book that has been the most stirring and helpful has been another by the same author called the Power of Positive Prophecy. Heres what I wrote in that blank front page when I had finished reading it. " This book has breathed life into me and helped me redefine my calling. I have made it my aim to be available to the Lords work no matter how trivial. I believe He is calling me to be less available for busy work and more available to see the vision that others can't see. My life is His art work. He shows me things as I see Him and spend time at His feet."

The other book I have been reading was sent to me by my dad. Its called "What Should I Do with My Life?  It is filled with stories of real people who decided to do something different. I'm just about done with that one but I think I will go back and highlight the questions or the revelation in each chapter and make more of an effort to answer them on the second pass.  I have a handful of other books and devotionals that I am reading a bit here and a bit there.  I think some things are a bit clearer. For example I know I want to get back to writing this blog. It somehow helps stabilize me and helps me process and to stay positive.  I don't think at this point I'm closer to answering the question What should I do with my life. I'm not convinced that being available to the Lord is the wrong way to approach life. I think I just need to balance it with having defined those things that are uniquely me because each of us only has so much energy to give to things. To do this thing, may mean I can't do that thing. Both may be good things to do, but I need to choose the one that is in line with who God has specifically created me to be. 

Ephesians 2:10

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do goodworks, 

which God prepared in advance for us to do."  

So the trick is to be able to look at the things that are there to do and be able to determine which ones are truly mine and which one's I need to get out of the way so that the people who need to do them can rise up and fulfill their calling. So my job in the church office that ended, it's not that I did a bad job, it is more that there are better things for me to do with my gift mix than to answer phones and create bulletins. By getting out of the way some people have risen up to help and have taken steps of faith to serve in ways that are stretching and growing them.  What I will now do with my gift mix is still as of now undetermined. I do know that I love creating the prayer lofts and praying for people on Sundays. I see that there is plenty in the area of prayer and intercession that I could do to encourage others to a deeper growth in their prayer lives. 

So perhaps thats the next step. For the most part I am limiting my church involvement to Sundays because it is too easy for me to be busy with "church" all the time. 

Some other things that I have realized is that I want to spend more quality time with my children. So I am looking for ways to connect with each of them. I'm riding bikes with my youngest, doing computer design and various games with my oldest. We plan to do some sight seeing around the area towards a Washington State History class. We had a fun, family game night last night. 

I realize that I really enjoy teaching guitar, particularly to young beginners. So I am working on a book of songs and lessons for young children with small hands.  I've had fun playing with one of my students in several coffee house settings. 

I realize that I value the flexibility of my life and that I was not all that far off track in the things I was doing. I need to be better at marketing or promoting the things I love to do. So things like coaching, and creating art, and teaching lesons do work for me but I can't be so consumed with church that I let them drift. If the farmer does not til the ground and plant new seeds he does not have a crop later down the road. So I need to be more intentional about finding ways to let people know about the things that I do to make a living. 

So what does that mean for you blog readers. It means that I will continue to write these posts. I want you to know that I am available for e-mail and phone coaching so if something I write about stirs you up and you want to work on that area I would love to help coach you. The thing about coaching is that we work on the things you want to work on. You set the pace. I provide the accountability and the encouragement and the belief that you can with the Lord's help figure out your own life. That you can work on the problem areas and you can over time make them better. That you can add more of the things you love to do to your life. Sometimes you just need to remember what those things are. I may or may not be an expert in your particular change goal but I am an expert in the process of getting from here to there. Change is a whole lot easier if you have someone who will encourage you, and help you process by listening and being a sounding board. Most of the time we know what we want but we lack the courage to take the step because we fight our own feelings of self doubt. The other thing about having a couch, rather than a family member or close friend is that as much as they are rooting for you - your changes also effect them. They may not be able to be neutral and objective in helping you find the best answers for yourself. 

So back to the present. I've just finished working on Washington History with my boys. We read about how glaciers and volcanos and floods impacted this region. Washington really is a pretty cool place to live. I'm looking forward to some of the little field trips we will be doing as part of this Washington History class. If you are new to my blog we are a homeschooling family. My children do three days of work at home and two as part of an enrichment cooperative through the Spokane Schools. We have a wonderful advisor that we work with who helps keep us on track for graduation requirements. Some how we missed Washington History and we thought it would be kind of fun to tackle it this summer, giving us an excuse to go see some interesting things around the area. 

I am trying to complete my blog writing a day in advance of when they are to post. 
I find I have moved to writing later in the day rather than in my morning quiet time. Its not a hard and fast rule, it just seems to be what is working for me presently. 

I'm looking forward to visiting my mom from the 4th through the 13th. We will be doing a lot of low carb cooking together. Its always more fun to cook together. We have been talking daily about the recipes we want to try. Gathering ingredients and pans. I probably won't post on the 4th of July, because you and I will probably be busy with family celebrations. 

Prayer: Lord I lift up these readers. Some are heading to a weekend of family activities. For some that is joyous for other it is stressful. For some it is lonely. I pray that you would be present with each reader and meet them at the point of their need in this moment. If they are joyous, help them be sensitive to others who may be struggling. If they are stressed help them to know your peace. If they are lonely I pray that you would be their all and all. Maybe even surprise them with an unexpected blessing of some sort. 
Lord we do come to you and humble ourselves. We pray that you would bring hope and healing to our land as you transform each of us to be more and more like you. 

   

This is the way; walk in it

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, 

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

So my job at the church ended at the end of May. Even good change is always uncomfortable and takes adjusting to get used to. I love my church family and will simply be doing other things that better fit my spiritual gifts. I got to let go of the office busy work and most of the tech stuff at this point and am focusing on creating a team of prayer warriors and creative people who will help with future prayer lofts and various service elements.

What it did mean was that I needed to re-think my job possibilities and where I was spending time and energy that might be better used. I needed to discover who exactly God has created me to be. I have done a lot of things, and gained a lot of skills just because things needed done. I have approached ministry from a stand point of being available to do what ever God needed done. So after years and years of doing things that way- you can't just take a spiritual gifts test to figure it out  - because you've become good at a lot of things.  I did feel pretty strongly that God was calling me to something out side of the church.

Much of the month I felt like I was just drifting with no clue where I might be headed next. I thought about lots of different occupations. Honestly most of the time it felt like there was a big wheel with a spinner  - pick a job any job. Butcher, Baker and Candlestick maker are not in really in demand these days. I thought about nursing and counseling and art therapy all of which would mean a lot of school. At age almost 52 the thought of a lot of school, even with grants and scholarships I'd be looking at loans to then pay off for a career that I might not even be able to begin working in for four maybe even six years.

So I have spent the month reading books like the Path, Jesus Career Counselor, and The Power of Positive Prophecy all by one of my favorite writer coaches, Laurie Beth Jones. My dad sent me a wonderful book called What Should I do with My Life by Po Bronson that was filled with short stories of people who had decided it was time to follow their dreams or do something completely different with their lives. Actually my favorite quote came from that book. "Here's my point" all we get is a glimmer. A story we read or someone we briefly met. A curiosity, a meek voice inside, whispering. Its up to us to hammer out the rest." So I have spent the month thinking about the common threads, the glimmers and the things I locked away because at various points because I just couldn't deal with them. One day I felt like the Lord said to me "Margot go back and visit your granola bar roots." So in my young pre Christian life I was into alternative everything. I had a lot of new age ideas, and a lot of interest in all things wellness. The problem was that when I became a Christian, I was not able to sort out what was good and what was junk from my old life so I pretty much left it behind. Not to mention there was some heart break that I didn't want to think about so I locked it away and just kept moving forward. I was a new creature in Christ after all so I found new things to do. Music and art never got completely locked up but I rarely sang old pre-Christian songs, and my art ventured into more of the graphic design side of things or production work. I really didn't paint much anymore. So parts were locked up and left behind and some things found their way into my new life as a believer.

A few years ago all that locked up stuff started to rattle their chains. I really did not even know what all was there anymore. I had come across some verses that talked about the secret place. I had always read those verses and  thought that God had secret places where He wanted to meet us. One day I looked at them from another angle. What if I had secret places and the Lord wanted me to invite Him into them. Thus began a very long journey of uncovering layers and layers of painful stuff. I had spent much of my life avoiding anything painful.  I found out that as I invited the Lord into some of those dark, broken, wounded, damaged places that He did not condem me or shake His almighty finger at me and say "I told you, that was a bad choice..." He met me with compassion and understanding. He took the time to clean my wounds and allowed me to see where I needed to repent and where I needed to forgive. Sometimes he would want to deal with an area and I would tell Him I will, but I can't do it yet. He was wonderfully patient. I would think I had gotten through everything and He would give me a season of rest. Then we would start again and I would find out that there was more stuff I had not even looked at. Honestly even now I am still sorting somethings out.

Anyway about half way through the month of June, I started to notice a glimmer. As I have thought about my strongest spiritual gift it has to do with intercession and prayer and laying hands on people. I can't always explain it but when I lay hands on people to pray for them God shows me stuff. Over the years I have learned to go with those nudges from the Holy Spirit, little words of wisdom or knowledge. Most of the time it ends with the person crying and saying how did you know. Or I pray for them and they would say after wards that was exactly what I was struggling with - how did you know. So I started to follow the bread crumbs and little clues along the path that the Lord seemed to be dropping for me. I knew the next step was something outside of the church. How could I use my gifts in a way that would not freak people out, in a secular setting? Where might I use pastoring gifts and encouragement outside of the church. Coaching makes sense so I will continue to build on that but I knew there was more. I started to think about the possibility of Massage Therapy - now there's a way to lay hands on people.

I have visited several schools and found one that I really like. I have talked to some of the people closest to me to to see if they felt I was moving in the right direction. All have been very positive and felt it would be a good fit for me.  Then I have kind of let it sit and rest. There is the initial excitement over a new idea and I have kind of wanted to let it rest and wear the idea for a bit. I've been reading books and visiting various websites. At this point I am working through how to pay for it so I can start in September. I am working on picking up new guitar students, and coaching clients during the times I won't have classes or need to be studying and I have family who has offered to help once I figure out what I want to do, that I still need to talk to. So little by little I keep taking  steps of faith. I had asked the Lord to give me a new dream and I am starting to see one along with a direction move in to get there.

The journey toward your Big Dream changes you. In fact, the journey itself is what prepares you to succeed at what you were born to do.
And until you decide to pursue your Dream, you are never going to love life the way you were meant to.     ~ Bruce Wilkinson

So to sum this all up I've had to sift through a lot of stuff, believing that the Lord would lead me and help me to figure out and answer the question, What Should I Do With My Life? I'm sure there is still a lot of refining and greater understanding that I will gain as I go along. For now I have this glimmer and I am working to hammer out the details.

Prayer: I pray that the Lord will help you to uncover what needs to be uncovered in your own life. That you will find that glimmer of hope to move towards. That you will hear His voice behind you saying "this is the way, walk in it." I pray you will have the courage to let go of things you no longer need, and even good things so that you can reach for His best for you.

If My People...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio 

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

A Sneak Peek at A new e-book I'm working on. 

Well I am back from my month long blogging break. I'll tell you more about it in future posts. It is the 1st of July and as we move towards America's Independence Day celebration it seemed like a fitting time to talk about prayer. 

I think sometimes we can get too caught up in some of the end times possible scenarios. Some of it makes for really suspenseful fiction books and movies, but we can get a "end is near mentality" and assume oh well the world is going to Hell and there's nothing to be done about it. 

Sometimes like Jonah, we don't really want to take the message to the un-Godly. We would rather see them judged for their evil lives. They deserve it....right. Yet God cared enough for the people of Nineveh to send Jonah with a warning. He said to Jonah,“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  The story can be found in the book of Jonah located in the Old Testament.   Its a great story and I hope you will take the time to read it. Rather than getting into the bit about three days in the belly of the whale and Jonah's rebellion, I want to talk about our own rebellion. Who has God told you to go to? Are you still fussing about talking to your neighbor, or your co-worker. Here's who He said we are to go to...Acts 13:47

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The very people we wish God would strike with lightening or have the ground open up and eat for lunch, are the very people we are called to go to. We live in a world filled with very broken, damaged and hurting people. Some have come from generations of disfunction. They don't know any better way to live. Most of them have not met very many "real" believers, the kind who will pick up their cross and follow Jesus. The kind who will follow his example and lay down their lives for the sake of others. The kind who will do more than put notch their belt because someone said another sinners prayer, and really take the time to walk with and disciple that new believer. Sure they have seen church folk, the ones who put on their Sunday best but the rest of the week live just like everyone else in our culture. Ouch - I'm probably stepping on some toes. By the way the people of Nineveh repented, check out Jonah 3:5 "The Ninevites believed God. 

A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." 

So lets take stop and take the log out of our own self righteous eyes. 

Today's verse says...

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Step one: You need to be His people, called by his name. Hummm... does that apply to you and me or it that just written to ancient Israel?  Originally this verse was written to Israel, but we are called by the name of Christ. We are Christ-i-ans. So if you call yourself a Christian, this verse is for you. You have an opportunity to make a difference in your world rather than to just rant and rave about how bad things are getting. 

Step two: ...will humble themselves. God is not going to humble you. There are things that are your own responsibility. Humility considers the needs of others. It does not diminish our own worth but it chooses to treat others with dignity and respect because they too are part of God's precious creation even in their sinful broken state. It is God's heart of mercy that all would turn to Him. I'm sure you know John 3:16 but do you know verse 17? "17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Quit praying for God to make you humble - its your job to decide to make purposeful steps to become humble.  Go be humble and pray and reach out to someone with His great love. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance. 

Step three: So what are humble believing people to do? They acknowledge their dependance on God and take time to bother to pray and seek His face. I look at our world and I have to wonder what percentage of those called by His name are actually bothering to pray about the condition of our world. I think a lot have just decided it is a lost cause and are busy running from meeting to meeting to experience God's presence and blessing while the sands in the hour glass of time slip away, while opportunities to minister to the broken and dying pass us by. We are called to go to the ends of the earth and most of us can't manage the neighbors across the street. 

Step four: Who is it that needs to turn from their wicked ways. Is it those awful, sinful, worldly people or is it God's own people? In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it is God's own people who are told to turn from their own wicked ways. Dang it, here's another case of needing to take the log out of our own eyes. What areas in your life need some shoring up? Are you living fully for God or are there places in your own life where there is compromise, where you are giving God lip service rather than really doing what the word says. Please... I'm not negating God's wonderful grace. We all fall terribly short and the blood of Jesus cover us. My point is if you are not making purposeful steps to grow up in Him, you are probably slowly slipping back to old dead ways of living and behaving. 

At Last: ...then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. It is pointless to fuss about the problems in our world if you are not willing to become the the ground where change can begin. If you see sinful attitudes and behavior out there in the big bad world. Stop and take a look in the spiritual mirror, those very sins and behaviors are probably in you too. You may have disguised them under your Sunday best, self righteous robes. If you are honest right now - you already know the very area that God's desires to transform in your own life. To change the world you need to commit to your own transformation. Its time to stop blaming those bad people and take responsibility to be an agent of positive change in your own life and in the world. 

If my people...begins with you and me. Change is hard. You don't have to do it all alone. It helps to have someone who will encourage, coach and believe that you can make those changes and figure out your own life. I am available for phone coaching and you are welcome to e-mail me at princessmargot@hotmail.com if you are interested in taking steps towards growth and positive transformation and I will send you information about my coaching service. I have weekly half hour and hour sessions available. 

Prayer: Lord we come and choose to humble ourselves before you. We choose to bother to seek you and to pray. We are making the decision to change. Help each of us see the next area you are waiting to work on in our lives. 

Journal: What action steps do you need to take in response to what you have just read in this post?      

     

Tip: You might want to put your first name and the change you are committing to work on in the comments so other readers can stand with you in prayer. Don't let this urge to make a change slip away - e-mail me and let me walk with you from here to there. Without a coach or an accountability partner good intentions tend to stack up and add to the growing pile guilty feelings.  

Posts You May Have Missed To Enjoy During My June Posting Break

Fun - Me with one of my students doing a Coffee House Performance

I am taking a break from posting during the month of June but I don't want to leave you with out some daily inspiration. The following are some posts you may have missed, they only got a few views. At this point I have written and posted M-F for one month less than 2 years so I am going to take a break.  There are over 500 posts to choose from at this blog. 

I hope if you are encouraged and inspired by them that you will pass them along to your friends. Also if you have not already become a follower of this blog you will find the follow this blog to the right of the blog page. If you are reading from your e-mail click on the post title to go to the actual site. It really encourages me to see your smiling face in that box. 

I'm off to have fun with my family, to re-tool, re-evaluate, re-fresh, re-think and to re-confirm what the Lord wants me to do moving forward. To also re-cieve clarity of vision, mission and purpose. ... I could probably think of more re-sons to re-joice. Have a great June I will be back in July to celebrate our 2nd Blog Birthday. 

~ Margot   

Some posts you may have missed  - there are enough for M-F for the month of June. 

Layers:
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/05/layers.html

The Strength of My Heart:
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/05/strength-of-my-heart.html

All Kinds of Prayers:
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/03/with-all-kinds-of-prayers.html

Settle Down and Just Try
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/02/settle-down-and-just-try.html

Dreams That Test You
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/02/dreams-that-test-and-try-you.html



A Beautiful Act of Worship
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/02/beautiful-act-of-worship.html 

Habits (oops seems I miss spelled the title originally)
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/01/habbits.html

The Noble and the Wretched
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/01/noble-and-wretched.html

Open Wide Your Hearts
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/01/open-wide-your-hearts.html

Six Things to Remember as a Believer
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/01/six-things-to-remember-as-believer.html



Looking for Peace in all the Wrong Places (This one has a list of how each apostle died)
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2012/01/looking-for-peace-in-wrong-places.html

Drift
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/drift.html

Were You on that Flight?
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/were-you-on-that-flight.html

The Gift Makes A Way ( A look at the poems of Christina Rossetti)
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/gift-makes-way.html

Running and Leaping in the Light
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/running-and-leaping-in-light.html



Removing Obstacles and Road Blocks
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/removing-obstacles-road-blocks.html

Two Trees
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/two-trees.html

Tips on Commenting and Sharing (I'd love to hear from you)
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/12/tips-for-commenting-and-sharing.html

The Wells of Salvation ( This one has a video of me singing The Well)
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/11/wells-of-salvation.html

Reconciliation
http://devotionals-margot.blogspot.com/2011/11/reconciliation.html