My Cup Overflows

God is so good! And He abundantly blesses my life on a daily basis. About a month ago I was on a retreat called Fan into Flame. This is an amazing retreat, where on Saturday we very intentionally pray with a small group and each of us gets in the middle of a circle, we lay our hands on each other, and call on God to pour his blessing upon, for a specific intention. This was my fourth Fan into Flame, it is an annual retreat put on by St. Paul's Outreach (a national Catholic organization, check them out here). I went into this retreat with an open heart and an open mind. I didn't really know what I wanted, and I definitely didn't know what I needed, but the Lord knew, and He provided.

During a small group discussion we talked about what we wanted to get out of this weekend and I decided that I probably needed to be renewed and refreshed in my faith, and that thought stuck with me throughout the weekend, so Saturday that's how I asked God to work in me - to renew my faith.

In a time of adoration I came to Psalm 23 found here. Verse 5 says "my cup overflows".

Since the weekend of Fan into Flame, this line has been a theme in my life. I have continually see the Lord work and move in my life, where I feel fulfilled, where I feel satisfied, where I experience joy and peace on a regular basis. Also, after this retreat I found myself having a greater desire for the Eucharist, which lead to my lent sacrifice - one of the things I am doing is going to mass or adoration every day, sacrificing my time by giving it to the Lord, and seeking him, to be in his presence in a concrete way. In addition, I'll be giving up wearing sweat pants to class, except Tuesdays because that is my lab day and my nursing lab is much easier if we're wearing sweats.

This past weekend I was on a retreat as a leader for the high school youth group I help out with, and it was an amazing experience. Sleep was sacrificed, of course, but it was so good. One of the leaders had a cold and we were chatting Friday night and she was telling me that she made her sickness her prayer - Lord, let me be so that their souls may not be sick. And this really called me on to offer up my trials this weekend. As you probably have picked up on by now, I have a headache problem, and so Friday night I had a hard time sleeping, and my head hurt, but instead of being frustrated I took that time of suffering and offered it to the Lord for the salvation and healing of the souls of so many people who were on retreat this weekend.

We stayed in a lodge at hocking hills, because of this we had to provide our own food, so I took on that task, and had 2-3 student helpers. Therefore, I spent most of the day Saturday on my feet cooking food, starting with a hot breakfast Saturday morning and ending with spaghetti and meatballs (from scratch) for dinner. But the entire weekend I was so filled with joy. I was overwhelmed by love to spend my time serving these students, and the leaders.

I have never left a weekend where I gave so much, feeling so filled. The Lord truly satisfies. If we give him all we have, he provides beyond expectation. I could not have asked for a better weekend. I could not ask for the Lord to fill me more than He already is, as I opened this post I shall close it - my cup overflows.