"Flabbergasted" by Ray Blackston

I'll never forget the day in June 2004 in Pryor, OK, when I brought this book home from the library by accident. By accident. Look at that bright cover! I don't know how it was possible that I took it off the shelf, walked it up to the desk to check out, brought it out to the car, and drove it all the way home before I realized which book it was. I had thought I picked up the Terri Blackstock novel next to it. But home was 15 miles away from the library and I had no reason to go back and exchange it. I might as well read it, right? Even though the back cover copy made me groan: "Jay Jarvis just moved east. His dating life's gone south. What else is a guy to do but go fishing?"

Now I'm not sure how well you know me, but that doesn't sound like me at all. What I didn't know then was that God had arranged to get this book in my hands, and that it would be exactly what I needed.

In this zany tale, Jay Jarvis has just completed a work relocation to South Carolina. In order to meet eligible females, he decides to start attending church, even though that is not something he has ever done before. His eye is immediately caught by unassuming Allie, a young missionary home on furlough. When he hears that Allie is helping plan the singles' retreat to the beach, he decides to join in and hopes to spend time with her. As Jay becomes more involved in the church, he meets all varieties of Christians: the hospitable ones, the legalistic ones, the secretive ones, the eccentric ones, and more. But he soon recognizes that they possess something inside of them that he does not, and he's pretty sure he wants whatever it is.

When Jay does come face to face with Jesus, he realizes that it has been God orchestrating these events all along. And as Allie is known to say, "God often has very different plans than what our earthly brains think is best for us." As the book continues, Jay seeks God's will for his life, his job, his relationships, and his location... and is flabbergasted by God's plans.

When I first read this book I was very much in a place of transition. 2004 was the year we lived in four different states. I didn't know what God was doing in my life, and I certainly had no idea what was around the corner, or that it would be as blessed as it has been. This book is laugh-out-loud funny and you'll never think of the color lime green the same way again. It was a bright spot in an uncertain time, and was an encouragement to my spirit. Now I've had the chance to be flabbergasted myself at God's work in my life, and I still love Jay Jarvis and the part he played in my journey. That was why I chose to do this 10th Anniversary reread, although it's far from the first time I've opened its pages again. I've bought this book in paperback and hardback. I've bought the audiobook. I have it on my Kindle, too! Ray Blackston's debut (and best!) novel shines in all mediums. It will never stop being one of my favorite stories.