Abundance. All too often we hear the word and immediately equate it with more. We believe that if we are living in abundance we have all the things, all the friends, and all the feels of a life "full of." But if there is anything we have learned over the last few months, it is that abundance can genuinely mean, "less is more." As we wrapped up our Flourish Digital Conference we could not help but be left with the understanding that abundance does not always mean we will have lots of fill in the blank in our lives bringing us complete happiness. We now know that true happiness is a choice, but happiness in this life is not the true desired outcome of the ABUNDANT LIFE. That outcome only comes from knowing and loving Jesus, which in turn leads us to a better end result - the joy of the Lord. You see, having the joy of the Lord is better than circumstantial happiness. Your circumstances can be sad. They can be lonely. They can be broken, leaving you with only the feelings that come with those life situations. But, when you walk in the abundance of the Lord, your joy is complete. His strength is made whole in you, and no matter the circumstances, you can live your best life, right here, right now!

More often than not, we struggle to recognize the abundance in our lives because we get stuck in the moment-to-moment situations. We forget to remember who we know, whose we are, and who we are in Christ Jesus. Pausing our hurried lives to simply remember the times where we turned to the Lord to provide abundance instead of focusing on the lack will help us shift our perspective. Remembering what He has accomplished in us, through us, and for us will supersede the lack and turn our focus to the One who brings true abundance. Making a habit of remembering the Lord is something Jesus commissioned us as believers to do when He led His disciples in the first recorded Holy Communion. He broke the bread and drank the wine symbolizing His body and blood being broken for mankind, and then said, "Do this in remembrance of me." (1 Cor. 11:24)

What did He want us to remember? What is it you are wanting more of? What does it mean to you to have a life "full of"?

The word, "of" is a preposition. A preposition relates a noun or a pronoun to another word. Most of us may have never considered the deeper meaning of the word, "of." This little word even has a definition: expressing the relationship between a part and a whole; typically one of belonging. The part is us remembering; the whole is Jesus- what He did, what He provided, and what He completed. “I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (Ref??) Our joy will be abundant. Our lives will be abundant.

Abundance can be found when we stop and look back over our lives; we will see it if we intentionally remember what He's already done and what He continues to do.

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." ~ Eckhart Tolle