We are almost through with the basket of word lessons.

I have found this experience not only powerful but also challenging.
As a writer it is easy to write about what is familiar to you.
What is comfortable.
What is pressing on your heart for the day or
what the Lord is perhaps sharing with you.
It has stretched me to write about a word that is new.
It takes a lot of preparation, study and motivation to integrate it into a writing that makes sense.
I am finding this to be a wonderful learning process for me.
The next word we are exploring is:

Dictionary.com said:
it is overflowing fullness and benevolence as in
“abundance of the heart.”
affluence or wealth as in “the enjoyment of abundance.”
an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply.
In the bible it is spoken of thirty three times both in the Old and the New testaments.
For the purpose of this writing I am only focusing on a few.
Luke 12:15: Then he (Jesus) said to them, “watch out!”
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; 
life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
For many of us we have never had to live in a situation of dire need.
We can wake up in our warm comfortable homes.
Then open dresser drawers stuffed with clothing or closets too full of things hanging for us to choose from.
After that we open our full refrigerators or pantries and we can always have choice because of our abundance.
I like it when Jesus said, “Watch out! be on guard”.
Discontent breeds wrong thoughts and I often find myself
not satisfied
with the abundance of our stuff and I wish for more.
Rather than walking through the house and thanking God for providing
sometimes I complain.
I can go to the store and find abundant choices to put into my cart.
I can turn my television on and find abundant channels to choose from and still not find what I am wanting to watch.
What will it take for us to become grateful and thankful and even generous?
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much
it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”
Franklin D Roosevelt
“Abundance is not something we acquire.
It is something we tune into.” Wayne Dyer
“Doing what you love is the cornerstone
of having abundance in your life” Wayne Dyer
On the spiritual side of this word:
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, 
will enter your house, 
I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. Psalm 5:7
For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed 
compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 
Psalm 106:45
and I end with this prayer:
But as for me, my prayer to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. Psalm 69:13
Our challenge is to realize
the abundance of what we have been given
along with how much we have been forgiven and
the abundance of his powerful almighty love for us.