Abundantly more!

Well, here I am. 

ha I wrote that line and sat staring at it for about 10 minutes because I honestly for once am speechless, I do not know where to begin. I guess Ill start with my first day of TREK, last Sunday. 

Erin helped me move in. We moved into the Mark Centre which is a retreat centre based on the Gospel of Mark, a truly beautiful book. Each room here at the retreat centre is named after an event or moment in the book of Mark. My room name is "Expectancy" and it is based on the story of a woman who pushed through the crowd just so she could touch the robe of Jesus, having faith that if she could just touch the robe of Christ she would be healed. This woman had faith and an expectancy in Jesus. Its a very cool story and I am excited to be living in a room with this type of meaning because thats exactly how I am coming into trek, Im expecting God to blow my mind, I am expecting him to be hear living and active because thats what I have experienced thus far in my life, a God who shows up. Bill used to say "expect a miracle" so its just really cool for me to be in this room :) All that to say, the very first day I showed up, Erin helped me move in then she left and I went downstairs to the common room to hangout with my fellow "trekies" there was actually no one there yet but one of the 3 interns (3 wonderful people who help run this program) We were just sitting and talking, not even about anything special or anything but I just had this shiver down my back and I got goose bumps and I just felt God tell me that this was exactly where he has called me to be. I have never been more sure of where my heavenly Father has brought me and it feels so good to be able to, though I fail often, walk in the will of my Lord, it is bringing me to a place of abundance.

A lot has happened this week, we have been to a lot of sessions, we have heard from a lot of people and God has been working a lot. Through everything I have just been completely overwhelmed with how good and how faithful our God is. I cant describe it because there are literally no words to express how abundant our beautiful Lord has been to me!! Its overwhelming in the most wonderful way imaginable! This week every person on trek shared a part of their story. I got to share a bit about the way God has been working in my life too. When each person was done we were quiet for a bit of time just waiting to see if God would put something on anyones heart for the person who had just shared. After I shared one of the lovely girls thats here too gave me a verse which coincidentally  (or not so coincidentally) was one that I felt God put on my heart already this summer. Its Ephesians 3:14-21 and it says this:

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or imagine.Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."

These verses have just come to such fulfilment begining this summer and then since then. I feel like finally God is living in my heart and though I fail all the time I am trying to give him free reign in my life. I feel like my roots are finally in the right source and are finally grounded. I feel like, though it is just one grain of an entire beach of sand, I have finally begun to understand the love of my Father!! and because of all of this I am experiencing such fullness in my life!! Whether plans fall through or work. Whether things go my way or not. Through disappointment, joy, heart ache, confusion, and more, through it all I feel like I have "abundantly more than I could ever have asked or imagined" My God is so big and he has conquered so much for me, all I can do is lay my life at the foot of the cross and ask and pray that he would use me in whatever ways he needs. In whatever ways it might look like I want to beat to the heart of Jesus and as I strive to do this I experience abundatly more than I could have ever hoped for! We serve an amazing God!