Exceedingly Abundantly
Another wonderful weekend here for the Blakey’s. Bobby and I have been looking for about a month and a half to upgrade to a bigger apartment. After few dozen phone calls and close to fifteen visits to potentials, we had not been able to find something that was both in our price range and in a good neighborhood. We became discouraged when we realized that our maximum price only had us in some of the more sketchy neighborhoods in our area…emphasis on the “hood.” It became clear that we were not going to be able to find a place so we decided we just needed to keep praying and have a thankful attitude no matter what, even if we had to stay in our one-room apartment. Many people prayed with and for us and we actually began to like the idea of staying, trying to focus on the positive. I shared my thoughts on this with a good friend of mine and she encouraged me to pray without doubting. She said that I shouldn’t pray that God would grant my request–which was preferably a two-bedroom at our complex–but to pray that His will would be done no matter where or what He provided.
I began to pray fervently along these lines and continued to check some online rental websites which are updated frequently with newly available or soon to be available rentals. On Friday I noticed a new rental for a reasonable price and area so I called the manager to set up an appointment to swing by. We were very surprised to find this place was in a nice neighborhood, had not two but three bedrooms and was somehow still well under the maximum we were willing to pay for rent. Thinking this was too good to be true, we brought some friends by on Saturday and they got excited with us as we realized this was a steal of a deal. We made some arrangements and were able to sign for the apartment that day. Every time this comes to mind I am amazed. I think I understand a little better why Paul said:
More than I’ve asked or thought of You
Help me to believe
Even when I cannot see
That these mountains in my way
Are overcome by faith that You do all You say
And I pray
You’ll open my eyes today
To see Your power’s enough
Cause Your plans are above all that I can dream of



September 20th, 2005
Wonderful news, Christa!
I hope you and baby are feeling well!
September 21st, 2005
We praise the Lord with you for His abundant provision. I’ve been in Ephesians 1-2 this week, and it’s overwhelming to see all that He has provided for us in Christ. Yet it’s not just so we will be happy, or feel fulfilled, or experience high self-esteem; it’s all to the praise of His glory. I look forward to seeing your new place.