Abundant life, hard questions, ordinary Tuesdays.
Welcome. The name of this blog comes from Psalm 23, where David writes that the Lord prepares a table for him in the presence of his enemies, anoints his head with oil, and his cup overflows. That image — abundance breaking out in the middle of trouble — is what I keep coming back to. Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), and I've spent a lot of years trying to figure out what that actually looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. My Cup Overflows is where I think out loud about that question.
A lot of what gets in the way of an abundant life isn't the obvious stuff. It's the quieter erosions — bitterness, unforgiveness, outrage, the daily theft of our joy by the world, our own hearts, and the enemy of our souls. So some of what I write here is devotional and reflective. Some of it is harder-edged commentary on the ways our culture (and frankly, sometimes our own church culture) makes it harder to actually live the way Jesus told us to live. I try to do that with care, but I don't always pull my punches.
A bit about me: my name is Joel Tanzi. I have a couple of degrees, but none of them are in theology, biblical studies, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or apologetics. I want to say that up front so no one mistakes me for a credentialed scholar of Scripture. What I know about the Bible has come from reading it, sitting with it, and letting the Lord teach me about its layered richness, its many hyperlinks, and its centrality to walking closely with Him. Some of that has come through other people; some through simple meditation on the Word. I'm a layperson, the same as most of you.
What I've come to believe is that every one of us who knows Jesus personally has walked a different path, and we all have something to share that someone else needs to hear. If you became a believer yesterday, you still have something to teach me. For a long time I thought I had nothing worth saying past my own first step of faith. Over time the Lord made it clear that I had a responsibility to share what He's taught me — with humility, and with care for the person reading.
So whether you're seeking Him, just taking your first step, or you've been walking with Him far longer than I have, I'm glad you're here. I pray these posts bless you on your journey. If something here lands, stick around — there's usually more on the way.