Day 1

-Surprise me God.

"I would consider myself very much fulfilled if I could buy your dragon" (Pete's Dragon).

Have you ever seen this movie? If not, you are going to have no idea what I'm talking about but hopefully you have. It's great. An animated dragon in the midst of 'real people' makes me smile. I watched this movie as a child and loved it. Now my sister, age 7 (Tia), is watching it and loving it. I like that. I like that she enjoys the same movies I once enjoyed.

Anyways, a dragon for sale in order to guarantee happiness or, as the speaker of the quote put it, fulfillment. Seems a bit far-fetched to me but the two money-hungry villains in "Pete's Dragon" don't seem to think so. In fact, they go to some pretty incredible lengths to obtain this fulfillment. Kidnapping, violence, lying, and trickery are just a few of the tools they use to get their dragon.

Watching this movie I wonder what my dragon is. What is it that I seek after in order to gain fulfillment? I would love to think that God/Jesus/Christianity/loving people is my dragon. (Stay with me here). I hope that I constantly seek after Christ for all fulfillment but sometimes I think (I know) that I look to other things. Some of these things aren't even such a "bad" in my life, just not the source of true fulfillment. Friends, family, the search for my future husband, school, work, jr. high youth group, worship team...the list goes on. All of these things have become my dragon, quite accidentally, but that doesn't make it right. My daily struggle to put my relationship with God first is just that...a daily struggle. It's hard but I know it's worth it.

--My first day of this experiment started with me waking up at 3:30 am to go to work at Starbucks. Yuck. I was the first one of my co-workers to arrive so I sat in the parking lot and offered up my first-Surprise me God. I was scared. And nervous. God's idea of a surprise could be so monumentally huge or it may just be subtle. Either way, uncertainty has always been a bit frightening for me.

I worked. Work was fine. I worked with some interesting people. The best thing about my job is the interaction I get with the community around me. I meet everyone! Everyone loves Starbucks. I establish such good relationships through my job...and I get paid for it. It's great.

Anyways, I got off work at 11am, spent some time with my momma, and then took a little nap. It was nice. After working so early in the morning, I usually get tired about 4 or 5pm.

Bruce called. I teach Jr. high youth with him. That is definitely one of my greatest passions. I'm sure I'll talk more about my passions later. We made plans to meet and discuss our next youth extravaganza later on in the night. I think we met up at about 8pm and wound up driving to a larger town about an hour away in order to get some supplies. Let me tell you, this guy is one of the greatest blessings God has given me. He is a dear, dear friend to me. He sympathizes with my problems, gives me Godly advice, and is a great example of what a Christian leader should be like. I really cherish our friendship. I should probably let him know that.

So..I got home from our little outing at midnight, read a bit and then crashed.

I've been reflecting over the day. I realize that the biggest surprise I had was just how focused my mind was on God and the things he does and the people he puts in my life. I talked earlier about how sometimes I have a hard time focusing on God alone. It's not that I'm doing anything bad or wrong but all the good things I'm doing get in the way with my having a genuine relationship with God. It becomes fake. Yesterday I was almost constantly in conversation with God. I kept uttering little prayers to Him. I kept thinking about His power. His strength. His unending mercy in my life. I think that's what I need right now. I need humility. I need to relish in His love for me and demonstrate my love for Him.

Today is day 2. I'm excited about what will happen. Tonight, Friday night, we are going to be having a crazy water night with the jr. highers. We have lots of games planned, loud music, food...what more can they want. Maybe God will surprise me tonight in the service we have for the kids.

I'm praying for Bruce. For the words God will give Him and the wisdom. God definitely speaks through him to the kids.

-I love you Father. Can't wait to see what You have in store for me.