DAYS 28-30 - Surprising surprises...

So I just took another test today. There has to be some adverse effect to the amount that me and my buddies over in the science building have to study. Is someone looking into this?

So what did the last 3 days of my "Surprise me God" faith experiment have in store? Honestly, just more of the same stuff that the previous 27 days had thrown at me. It's interesting though. I've been lucky enough to live for 21 years without being around much death. Thirty days ago I started Surprise me God and for the last 20 days or so death has roamed throughout my life through one medium or another. My parents pastor passed away the second week of February. The following week I lost my granddaddy. On the day of Granddaddy's funeral I was told of Reggie's passing. I learned last Sunday that one of my mom's good friends and mentor is hopitalized at the age of 80ish and not doing well, and yesterday I heard of a good friend/old roommates mother who passed away early Monday morning, also of cancer.

Thirty days ago I wouldn't have guessed that many of my surprises would concern death and the host of feelings and realizations that come along with it, but here I sit, facing the brutal honesty that death is real. It's real and it's not something that many people don't have to experience a great deal of for 21 straight years. I don't know what that means. I've been told that it was a blessing to have two sets of living grandparents for so long and that not having to experience such lossess is a blessing as well. I certainly don't argue with that, but I wonder, is it just as much of a blessing to experience these things? I would love to drive back to Wichita Falls for spring break and be able to hang out with Granddaddy and laugh at his jokes and think deeply through the mysteries of the Bible with him again. I know Reggie's daughter so would have wanted her father to be at her wedding, and I know that my friend would turn back time to spend another day with his mother if only he could. But, wierd though it may sound, I feel blessed despite of the losses. I feel blessed to know that eternity is so real, to know that we are fragile and life IS short, and that this demands us to live it well and fully. I feel blessed to be wiser in the truths of life, which sadly and unmistakably includes death. Most of all, I feel blessed to know that death has no hold on us in Jesus Christ; that the cross did away with death's sorrow. It's been two and a half weeks since Granddaddy passed away and "though the sorrow did last for a time" there were so many times of joy in my day today. Soon the joy of Christ will again overcome the sorrow that my friend is no doubt experiencing. He's actually engaged. How's that for Joy?

Life's a funny thing. It's real. I don't really know if I can sum up anything from the last thirty days other than the fact that life is also a journey. Like any good roller coaster it has ups and downs. Maybe we can learn something from the roller coaster though. After all, going down has always been my favorite part of the ride, the most giving to my need for excitement. I think life is the most giving to my hunger for Christ and my understanding of Him when I'm "down." Don't get me wrong. I love it when I'm on top in life, but I get comfortable up there, and with comfort comes complacency and apathy. I guess I'll make the most of my "down" times. They'll come again becauase they're a part of the journey that lasts much more than 30 days. So surprise me God...be it "down" or "up."

DAY 26-27 - Revisited

I picked up a book that I had finished about a year ago and just started reading it again. Have you ever done this? It's crazy how much you can forget; how much GOOD stuff you can't even recall reading in the first place. God, if You want, You can surprise me with a photogenic memory tomorrow. I wouldn't mind.
I'll be brief tonight because I'm tired and 8 am comes quick when you've yet to fall asleep at 2. Here's a little something from that book that has come as a surprise to me before, but I think I may have pushed to the back of my mind. Something tells me this applies to a lot of us here in the Bible belt:

"The very scary thing about religion, to me, is that people actually believe God is who they think He is. By that I mean they have Him all figured out, mapped out, and as my pastor, Rick, says, 'dissected and put into jars on a shelf.' You've got a bunch of Catholics in Rome who think one way about God, and a bunch of Baptists in Texas who think another, and that isn't even the beginning. It goes on and on like this and it makes me wonder if God created us in His image or if we created Him in ours." -Donald Miller

I like that last sentence. How often do I make God who I need Him to be, and not truly seek after who He IS. No one's exempt. I wonder how far we ALL really are off from the truth. The book of Revelation mentions the angels that fly around Him FOREVER singing praises. I wonder, is this because every time they go around God gives them some new glimpse, some new perspective, on Himself? In their awe and wonder they continue singing and fly around for another look. I don't know. It would make sense though. God, surprise me with another "look" at who You really are, and PLEASE don't let me EVER believe that I have you all figured out.

DAY 25 - So Soon?

I think I just experienced my surprise of the day.
As I was signing on to blog I realized that I only have 5 days left! Whoa. Where'd the time go? This brings up something that we hear often, but I think it's one of those things that you only truly realize every once and a while. Life is short. Think about it. This is more than some cheesey slogan that tries to motivate you to "play hard" or "seize the day." Life really is short. It seems like only yesterday we started this faith experiment and here I find myself at blogging for Day 25. My girlfriend and I have been together for almost 11 months now...really?! That seems so crazy because it feels like it was only yesterday that we were enduring through all the "get to know you" awkwardness and all the other fun stuff that comes along with a new relationship. In my mind it must have been just a few days ago that Steph and I were getting back into town from my sister's wedding in Iowa and dropping my granna off at her house. There we were entertained by my granddaddy who was watching t.v. while he waited for his bride to get home safely. He had a host of jokes and funny things to say about his week alone in Wichita, doing everything that Granna wouldn't let him do while she was around. The truth is that that was January 1, 2006, and now Granddaddy has passed away. Where does the time go? This must mean that I enjoy my life; that though each day may bring its problems and situations that I have to overcome, as a whole, things are good and so time flies by. Life is short. Thanks for that surprise, God. But, please, don't let my life seem so short that I forget to slow down and find You. Don't let me forget to just STOP sometimes and enjoy the moments that make life what it is. The moments that You give us. I guess this goes full circle with my realizations from last week that we should make every day everything that it can be. I hope I'm not contradicting myself here, but rather, that I'm coming about the same conclusion via two different roads. Now I'm just thinking myself in circles and getting tired in the process. Thanks for life God...I'll just leave it at that.

DAYS 23-24 - Thanks Dad

I must be brief.
I've got a physics test tomorrow that I still don't possess the knowledge of two chapters for. Eeeeeeek. (yeah, I just typed that). As you may have guessed, this is also the reason that I am yet again blogging for more than one day. Yesterday included studying, studying, and a little more studying.

So on to today...
I have to admit. My dad has always been the kind of guy that doesn't wear his feelings on his shoulder. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that he probably doesn't wear his feelings at all. They usually remain tucked away somewhere that is out of sight for anyone not REALLY looking. As you may know if you've been reading my blog, my granddaddy passed away a little over a week ago now. This is significant yet again because granddaddy was my dad's father so last week my dad's feelings weren't tucked away as usual. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't a wreck or anything like that. Dad's a strong man. I guess that comes with 30+ years as a police officer which included time in just about every "job" that cops carry out. He was, however, more transparent than usual.
Today as we talked on the phone he told me to check out the Times Record News' (Wichita Falls newspaper) website and check out the letters to the editor because he "may" have written one. Honestly, I assumed that he had written a letter nailing them for mispelling "Wichita Falls" in a paper from one day last week while me and my sister were at home. We had all gotten quite a kick out of the fact that our local newspaper couldn't even spell the city which they're located in and write for correctly. No surprise there though. They've made countless silly mistakes over the years. I guess it happens. I GUESS. Anyway, I went to the website and checked it out. Surprise. Dad had written a "goodbye" letter to my granddaddy thanking him for everything that he had been to dad and my aunt and uncles. He also thanked all of the people who have been so great to and for our family over the last week. It was great to read some of the things that Dad had written, and to see a side of hime that I don't get to often. He's a pretty cool guy and I'm proud to say that he's my dad.
Thanks God for an amazing family. Thanks for physics too....I GUESS.

DAY 22 - Mercy

Today began just like any other day I suppose. Except for the fact that my girlfriend happened to call at nine am and proceed to take my AM donut breakfast order...surprise, and a good one at that. Two glazed donuts and a hug and I was off to school. I won't mention the apple fritter crumbs that were left on my bed....Stephanie.

Mercy 1:
I arrived just in time for my ten o'clock only to find my classmates walking down the stairs of the science building. What? Dr. Dose cancelled organic chemistry? Now, this may not come as a surprise to those of you who's lives haven't been privy to a Dr. Dose course, but rest assured, surprise it was, and a BIG one at that. This just doesn't happen every day. As a matter of fact, it has NEVER happened....Ever.

Mercy 2:
I have a scheduled physics exam tomorrow that I'm supposed to be ready for. Shyeah...right. Lets just say that I'm a little bit behind, and in physics the words "a little bit" take on a whole new meaning. Have you ever been channel surfing and come across the Spanish channel? You perhaps feel a bit ambitious so you leave it on Telemundo and begin to try and pick up on what's being said only to find 5 minutes later that you no more know what's going on or being said than you know what the President ate for breakfast that morning! Maybe not that exact scenario, but you get my drift. Well, that's how I'm feeling about physics right now. Enter Mercy. Dr. Stephens (physics extraordinaire) let me know this afternoon as I struggled through trying to understand one of his explanations to a problem that I was free to take the test on THURSDAY as opposed to tomorrow if I preferred. WHAT?! Are you serious? He said he understood that last week was an "interesting" week and it would be perfectly fine to wait. Wow. Thanks Dr. Stephens, and surprise.

I love how God uses people. Now, am I saying that God MADE Dr. Dose sick today just for ME or that He MADE Dr. Stephens patient with MY circumstances. No, not really. Honestly, I can't say that I understand God well enough to know EXACTLY what He's doing up there all the time, but He did help to mold Dr. Stephens into a patient and understanding guy and those characteristics have been a part of my day's surprises. As far as Dr. Dose goes, well, who knows? All I can say for sure is that I got to catch up on copying some notes from class that I missed last week which means I was able to knock one more thing off of my "Things I Gotta Do to Get Caught Up" list. I guess what maybe I'm trying to say here is that today I just made it a point to make the most out of my surprises. Instead of being awe inspiring, they were work motivating. I'll take it God, and if that's not what You meant them to be, throw something at me and set me straight.

DAY 21 - Pheeeeew..........

For those of you that may not understand my onomatopoeia ("pheeeeew"), it's that noise that you make after you've just done something exhausting. You know, that breath of air that you accent as you exhale that, in all truth, is nothing but an over exaggerated way of letting people know you're tired. Well that's what I was going for. So what have I done that was exhausting. Well, ummm....today. I was surprised at how much work it actually was to move our service (the gathering) over to our churches main campus for tonights combined service. PHEEEEEEEW! But it was awesome. God was good. People were supportive, and God was good. Yeah, I know I already mentioned that. To be brief, because I'm exhausted from a long day and need rest for a long day that's coming tomorrow, I was surprised today just at God. He's so good. I really can't wrap my mind around a God that never turns, or forsakes, or gives up on ME. It's awesome. I think I'll sleep on that tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and it will all make sense. Nah, love that unconditional really doesn't. I guess that's why it's so revolutionary...so groundbreaking. I want to love like that God. So will You surprise me tomorrow, and keep working on making me more like You?

DAYS 19-20...

Saturday's are great. Of all the days of the week, Saturdays are the most accommodating to my laziness. Maybe they're not great after all? I had a lot of things I could have been doing all day today, as I do most Saturdays, but it was drizzling outside, my bed was warm, and this week has been an irregularly long one. At least that was the excuse that came to mind as I woke up for the first time at 8:30. So in bed I laid, all morning as a matter of fact. Being in and out of sleep, I finally willed myself out from under the covers at 12:00. "Surprise me God," and away I went. Here's what the day brought:
Well shoot, I guess since I'm cheating again and blogging two days I should rewind to yesterday. It's simple really and so I'll explain Friday's surprise in one word. R-A-I-N. It was great and very much needed in this part of the world. Thanks God. Okay, back to today...I ran into a football coach from my high school in Wichita Falls. Random. He recognized me and we chatted for few outside of Best Buy. Turns out his son is coming to ACU next year to play football and so they were taking a recruiting visit and just passing some time and getting acquainted with Abilene. News flash Coach Garfield: "It's JUST LIKE Wichita Falls." I'm a math/science guy so here's how it looks in my head. WICHITA FALLS - (RAIN + TREES) = ABILENE. I wonder if they saw it that way? It was good to see and talk to Coach Garfield outside of the "football coach, student at high school" relationship we had had. He seems like a really great guy and was always one of my football buddies favorite coaches. Moving on...I bought a printer. Now, these things aren't cheap, but after milling around Best Buy for some time, acting like I was actually doing some wise shopping so as to make a smart buy, I found one. It's a beauty. I thought so anyway until I got home and began unpacking it only to find that there was no USB cable included!!! Really?! Turns out none of them come with cables anymore! This may tell you how long it's been since I bought a computer, but I don't care. I'm not ashamed. Can you really believe it though. Looking back it's really no surprise, but sometimes the extent to which capitalism reaches amazes me. Argh!
Ok, enough of that. Surprise number tres: GIRLS AND BOYS ARE WAAAAAAAAY DIFFERENT. I'm sure you guys know this, and it's no new surprise to me, but we really are. I mean, have you thought about this. It's amazing and perplexing and intriguing all at the same time. I think this is probably God's most creative art work. Crazy. It's so good though all at the same time. The way that we compliment each other is so perfect. I don't know. I really can't completely wrap my mind around this yet. After all, I'm only 21 and 1/2 years old. I'm still in grade school when it comes to this subject so I'm going to leave it alone here. Thanks God for making life's mysteries so enjoyable. Thanks for being surprising every day.

-brad(ley)