Cup Size

So our family loves going to the movies and we're often guilty of finishing off the large sized popcorn even before the previews have ended. Of course, the previews in Miami are countless as the theater knows how late we can sometimes be here in SoFlo, even when it comes to getting to the movies. It must be the traffic. To accommodate the six of us, we usually purchase the 5-gallon paint bucket size of popcorn that we graciously pour into little tubs so each member of the family has their own. Me...I get to rule over the pouring duties, and the paint bucket stays with me. And Mary, don't tell her I told you, but she loves to mix her popcorn with Buncha Crunch. Must be a Southern thing.

As we gobble down the mammoth portion of popcorn, the salt pits in our mouths need a good refreshing and so with our purchase we usually pick up a few gallons of our favorite beverage. If we're lucky, the drinks will come in these huge, plastic, movie promoting cups that our son Christopher has begun collecting. I guess he remembers his days at McDonald's and all the collectable toys that came in his kid sized happy meals. Now, this collection of his is not that big, matter of fact there's only 3, but they're collectables nonetheless, and we both have our favorite. His is Captain America and mine is the classic, Pirates of the Caribbean. The girls and Mary fight over the Disney Cars cup.

I love my cup because every night when I'm headed to bed, that cup gets filled with ice and water, and after I've drowned my melatonin down with a cup of milk, I'm out cold. Every so often, I'll find myself waking up thirsty in the middle of the night and guess what's waiting for me on the night stand? You guessed it, my reliable Pirates of the Caribbean cup, ready to meet my need.

As I rolled over the other day to check out the time, I caught a glance of my big cup and I heard God say to my spirit: "How big is your cup of expectation today Steve?" The more I thought about that question the more I realized that sometimes my expectations of God can fit into the tinniest, shot-sized cups of blessing, and God in His faithfulness fills them every day. And when it says in His Word that He's an overflowing kind of a God, it is so true because His blessings abundantly exceed my small cup of expectation to the max. But what could I be experiencing if I just get a bigger cup size? What greater, more abundant blessing would I get to walk in if I increase my cup of expectation?

On this PrayDay, ask God to increase your cup of expectation and watch how He'll fill it to the overflow. Remember, He's an exceeding, abundantly kind of God. I think I'll start collecting my own Cups of Blessing. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Ephesians 3:20)

One more thing, come join me and let's share some popcorn this Saturday, October 8, 11:00 AM, at Sunset Place, as Metro goes to the movies. I'm very proud of my sister, Deborah, and her debut Produced film, The Machine Gun Preacher, with Gerard Butler. Tickets can be purchased for $6.00 by calling the Church office at 305-592-5100.