In Everything, Give Thanks Book Release

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A Month of Gratitude: Launching the 'In Everything, Give Thanks' Devotional

In this episode, host Pastor Nic Williams, a pastor from Sarasota, Florida, addresses his podcast listeners after a brief hiatus. He discusses the challenges of balancing life responsibilities and reflects on the continuous support from his global audience. Nic introduces his new 30-day devotional, 'In Everything, Give Thanks,’ designed to cultivate a spirit of gratitude rooted in faith and relationship with Jesus throughout November. He encourages listeners to join him in this journey, details the devotional's structure, and invites them to purchase it and share it with others. Nic also offers to provide the devotional for free to those who cannot afford it. He emphasizes that gratitude should not just be a reaction to favorable circumstances but a constant state anchored in Christ. The episode concludes with a prayer and an invitation to make November a month dedicated to recognizing and appreciating God's presence.

00:00 Welcome Back to the Podcast
00:47 The Inspiration Behind the Devotional
01:47 Introducing 'In Everything, Give Thanks'
03:07 A Journey Through Gratitude
04:32 How to Get Your Copy
06:56 Final Thoughts and Prayer

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, podcasters, I'm back.
I'm your host.
My name is Nick Williams.
If you don't know me, I'm apastor in Sarasota, Florida.
I've been doing this podcast forabout a year and a half, and I
have slacked off over the lastmonth.
Just life has been busy withsports and sickness and running
an organization and church andall that goes into that, and
then raising two kids on top ofthat.

(00:20):
It has been a busy season andthis podcast is one of those
things I love to do.
But I do it alone, and sothere's a lot of editing that
goes into it and.
A lot of time spent, and so itjust became overwhelming.
But I also look at the stats andI know right now this podcast is
in 59 different countries, 638different cities.
Even without podcasting for thelast month the amount of views

(00:42):
that it is getting every day ispretty overwhelming.
And so I know I need to get backto it.
And so today I want to sharesomething with you that's been
on my heart for a long, longtime.
And when I say a long time,about seven years to be exact,
every November I felt this tug.
You know what November's like,we rush and we plan and we host
events and we blink, and all ofa sudden Thanksgiving becomes a

(01:06):
single moment at a crowdedtable.
I don't know what yourtraditions are, but often we sit
around and everybody at thetable says one thing.
We're thankful for, we pray andthen we eat and we move on to
the next thing.
But deep down, I've longed formore than a moment.
In fact, I would love for awhole month shaped by gratitude,
not the kind that depends on ourto-do list or our circumstances,

(01:29):
but the kind that flows fromknowing who Christ is.
So this year I finally said yesto that tug.
About eight months ago.
I was sitting down, planning outmy year, and as I got to the
calendar and saw November again,I thought, man, I can't believe
I'm gonna pass another year andnot do what I feel like I need
to do.
So earlier this summer I beganto write and today October 1st.

(01:52):
I released a new devotionalcalled In Everything, give
Thanks.
It's a 30 day journey, and Iwould love for you to do it with
me through the month ofNovember.
Honestly, you can do it at anytime.
You can do it every month but myheart is around this season and
I would love for you to do itwith me starting November 1st,
to cultivate a spirit ofgratitude rooted in our faith
and our relationship with Jesus.

(02:13):
It's really for anyone who everthought I want Thanksgiving to
be more than a day.
I want it to actually shape myheart.
For seven years, this idea metme right at the leaves turned,
reminding me of the missedopportunities to slow down and
genuinely give thanks.
And without it a devotional, wecan always give thanks, but
sometimes we need something,some cadence to keep us in that

(02:36):
mindset.
Earlier this year, I finallydecided to act this devotional
Is the fruit of that decision,an invitation for both you and
me to realign our hearts towardgratitude in Christ throughout
the month of November.
If you pick it up, what's insideis.
Each day is simple and focused,designed to fit real life.
There's scripture to anchor yourheart and who Jesus is.

(02:56):
There's a short reflection youcan read in just a few minutes.
There's a guided prayer andevery day has a practice of
gratitude a small, doable stepto embody Thanksgiving.
In your day across the month,we'll move through four themes
that build on each other,starting with gratitude for who
Christ is, his character, hisfaithfulness, his presence.

(03:17):
Gratitude in the ordinary,finding grace and errands and
emails and everydayconversations.
At my first church back in theearly two thousands, I was a
youth pastor and I began towrite my first book that never
got finished and got erased whena computer crashed.
But it was about seeing God inevery ordinary moment that God
is showing up all over theplace.
And so that second week we'llfocus on having gratitude in the

(03:40):
ordinary.
Week three, we'll look atgratitude in the hard places,
letting lament and thanks.
Thankfulness coexist withoutpretending or minimizing pain.
We'll talk about community.
We'll talk about gratitude thatoverflows, allowing thanksgiving
to become generosity and witnessand worship.
This isn't about perfectattendance or flawless quiet
time streak.

(04:00):
It's about returning again andagain and again to the source of
our gratitude.
I wrote in everything, givethanks because I needed it.
I needed a framework to remindmyself every day to give thanks.
For everything in God.
I needed the reminder thatgratitude is not a reaction to
the easy days.
It's a response to a good Godwhen schedules get full and the

(04:23):
season gets loud.
I wanna fix my eyes on Christand let Thanksgiving grow from
there.
And if that resonates with you,let's walk this out together.
Now, people always ask me aboutwriting books and how much money
I make, and let me just tell youI've never really made a penny
off a book.
The amount of money it takes toproduce a book never comes back
for small authors.

(04:44):
It is more of a, a love requestthan anything.
And so, I would love for you tojoin me now, if you can't afford
the book, and this is one of thereasons I don't make money, I'll
give it to you.
So just come to my office, shootme an email, whatever it is, and
I'll make sure that you get acopy because I would love for
you to join me on this journey.
So here's my invitation.
Let's spend November learning tosee and savor Jesus.

(05:07):
Grab your coffee and everything.
Give thanks.
You can find it on Amazon rightnow.
Set aside five to 10 minutes aday, your morning coffee, your
lunch break, or even rightbefore bed.
Invite a friend, a small group,or your family to read it with
you.
I really, truly believe thatgratitude grows in community.
I had a friend shoot me an emailthis morning.
He picked up three copies, onefor him, his spouse, and his kid

(05:31):
because he wants to get theirhearts all aligned in the same
place.
And then again, if you picked itup today and you bought it on
your Kindle, or you alreadybought a paperback, start today
if you want.
But I'm gonna encourage you tostart with me on November 1st,
even if you've already gonethrough it.
And if you're coming in late, noproblem.
Jump in today.
Start where you are.

(05:51):
Here's what a day looks like.
You'll read scripture thatpoints your heart to Christ,
reflect with a short, honestreading, pray a guided prayer,
and then take one small practiceof gratitude like pausing to
name three ways you saw God'sfaithfulness or writing a note
of thanks to someone whoreflected Christ to you that
day.
Small steps, small rhythm,producing deeper roots for you

(06:14):
and I.
So.
Purchase your copy today.
Share it with someone who coulduse a general Christ-centered
rhythm for November.
And after you start, do me afavor.
Leave a short review whereveryou bought it.
That helps more people find thejourney.
It's the best gift that youcould give to an author.
And each day you read take onestep, pray the prayer, do the
practice, and watch howgratitude reshapes your November

(06:38):
from the inside out.
And what I think is gonna happenis as you enter December, your
heart's gonna be in a new placewith God.
Your focus on gratitude, yourdesire to live out a godly life
is gonna shift as we focus on 30days of just having gratitude
with Christ.
Now, before we close, I'd loveto pray for us.

(06:59):
Jesus, thank you for beingsteady.
When our calendars aren't, as westep toward November, teach us
to see you in the big momentsand the small ones.
Form in us a humble, honestgratitude.
Not because everything is easy,but because you are near align
our hearts with yours and usethis journey to make us more
like you in your son's name.

(07:20):
Amen.
Guys, I can't wait to begin thiswith you on November 1st.
Pick up in everything, givethanks.
Using the link in the shownotes, invite a friend and let's
make this November a month ofgratitude, not for what we have,
but because of who Christ is.
Until next time, may you havegrace and peace.
And I promise I will get moreregular with these podcasts.
I hope to see you again nextweek.