In Everything, Give Thanks Book Release

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

Transcript

0:37

Hey, podcasters, I'm back. I'm your host. My name is Nick Williams. If you don't know me, I'm a pastor in Sarasota, Florida. I've been doing this podcast for about a year and a half, and I have slacked off over the last month. Just life has been busy with sports and sickness and running an organization and church and all that goes into that, and then raising two kids on top of that. It has been a busy season and this podcast is one of those things I love to do. But I do it alone, and so there's a lot of editing that goes into it and. A lot of time spent, and so it just became overwhelming. But I also look at the stats and I know right now this podcast is in 59 different countries, 638 different cities. Even without podcasting for the last month the amount of views that it is getting every day is pretty overwhelming. And so I know I need to get back to it. And so today I want to share something with you that's been on my heart for a long, long time. 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 of a sudden Thanksgiving becomes a single moment at a crowded table. I don't know what your traditions are, but often we sit around and everybody at the table says one thing. We're thankful for, we pray and then we eat and we move on to the next thing. But deep down, I've longed for more than a moment. In fact, I would love for a whole month shaped by gratitude, not the kind that depends on our to-do list or our circumstances, but the kind that flows from knowing who Christ is. So this year I finally said yes to that tug. About eight months ago. I was sitting down, planning out my 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 and not do what I feel like I need to do. So earlier this summer I began to write and today October 1st. I released a new devotional called In Everything, give Thanks. It's a 30 day journey, and I would love for you to do it with me through the month of November. Honestly, you can do it at any time. You can do it every month but my heart is around this season and I would love for you to do it with me starting November 1st, to cultivate a spirit of gratitude rooted in our faith and our relationship with Jesus. It's really for anyone who ever thought I want Thanksgiving to be more than a day. I want it to actually shape my heart. For seven years, this idea met me right at the leaves turned, reminding me of the missed opportunities to slow down and genuinely give thanks. And without it a devotional, we can always give thanks, but sometimes we need something, some cadence to keep us in that mindset. Earlier this year, I finally decided to act this devotional Is the fruit of that decision, an invitation for both you and me to realign our hearts toward gratitude in Christ throughout the month of November. If you pick it up, what's inside is. Each day is simple and focused, designed to fit real life. There's scripture to anchor your heart and who Jesus is. There's a short reflection you can read in just a few minutes. There's a guided prayer and every day has a practice of gratitude a small, doable step to 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, his faithfulness, his presence. Gratitude in the ordinary, finding grace and errands and emails and everyday conversations. At my first church back in the early two thousands, I was a youth pastor and I began to write my first book that never got finished and got erased when a computer crashed. But it was about seeing God in every ordinary moment that God is showing up all over the place. And so that second week we'll focus on having gratitude in the ordinary. Week three, we'll look at gratitude in the hard places, letting lament and thanks. Thankfulness coexist without pretending or minimizing pain. We'll talk about community. We'll talk about gratitude that overflows, allowing thanksgiving to become generosity and witness and worship. This isn't about perfect attendance or flawless quiet time streak. It's about returning again and again and again to the source of our gratitude. I wrote in everything, give thanks because I needed it. I needed a framework to remind myself every day to give thanks. For everything in God. I needed the reminder that gratitude is not a reaction to the easy days. It's a response to a good God when schedules get full and the season gets loud. I wanna fix my eyes on Christ and let Thanksgiving grow from there. And if that resonates with you, let's walk this out together. Now, people always ask me about writing books and how much money I make, and let me just tell you I've never really made a penny off a book. The amount of money it takes to produce a book never comes back for small authors. It is more of a, a love request than anything. And so, I would love for you to join me now, if you can't afford the book, and this is one of the reasons I don't make money, I'll give it to you. So just come to my office, shoot me an email, whatever it is, and I'll make sure that you get a copy because I would love for you to join me on this journey. So here's my invitation. Let's spend November learning to see and savor Jesus. Grab your coffee and everything. Give thanks. You can find it on Amazon right now. Set aside five to 10 minutes a day, your morning coffee, your lunch break, or even right before bed. Invite a friend, a small group, or your family to read it with you. I really, truly believe that gratitude grows in community. I had a friend shoot me an email this morning. He picked up three copies, one for him, his spouse, and his kid because he wants to get their hearts all aligned in the same place. And then again, if you picked it up today and you bought it on your Kindle, or you already bought a paperback, start today if you want. But I'm gonna encourage you to start with me on November 1st, even if you've already gone through it. And if you're coming in late, no problem. Jump in today. Start where you are. Here's what a day looks like. You'll read scripture that points your heart to Christ, reflect with a short, honest reading, pray a guided prayer, and then take one small practice of gratitude like pausing to name three ways you saw God's faithfulness or writing a note of thanks to someone who reflected Christ to you that day. Small steps, small rhythm, producing deeper roots for you and I. So. Purchase your copy today. Share it with someone who could use a general Christ-centered rhythm for November. And after you start, do me a favor. Leave a short review wherever you bought it. That helps more people find the journey. It's the best gift that you could give to an author. And each day you read take one step, pray the prayer, do the practice, and watch how gratitude reshapes your November from the inside out. And what I think is gonna happen is as you enter December, your heart's gonna be in a new place with God. Your focus on gratitude, your desire to live out a godly life is gonna shift as we focus on 30 days of just having gratitude with Christ. Now, before we close, I'd love to pray for us. Jesus, thank you for being steady. When our calendars aren't, as we step toward November, teach us to see you in the big moments and the small ones. Form in us a humble, honest gratitude. Not because everything is easy, but because you are near align our hearts with yours and use this journey to make us more like you in your son's name. Amen. Guys, I can't wait to begin this with you on November 1st. Pick up in everything, give thanks. Using the link in the show notes, invite a friend and let's make this November a month of gratitude, not for what we have, but because of who Christ is. Until next time, may you have grace and peace. And I promise I will get more regular with these podcasts. I hope to see you again next week.