Powerful message - needed to be reminded.  Praise be to the Lord.  God bless you Mike.

Everything that has happened in the past nine months I was  "EXPECTING"
the "UNEXPECTED" while having "HIGH EXPECTATIONS"  on this Journey.
What I expected from family, friends and GOD was beyond my "EXPECTATIONS"
I responded with "THANKSGIVING" and "LOVE". 
Sometimes I was difficult because of the Roller Coaster ride and had to apologize, that I expected from myself.
AMAZING LESSON MIKE.

Each of your comments touch me deeply ~

Jonathan, it helped me! (and I know it will help others....thanks for posting it brother!)

Pastor Chuck, I'd say that's exceeding the expected. When you don't feel so good, yet you get up to give, offering yourself to the Lord for his use, for the benefit of ppl you love, that just isn't expected. You've exceeded! (and I think you know it to be so)

Terry, how can we not have high expectations of God? And yet, speaking for myself, he always seems to exceed them. There's simply no end to his grace!

Doyle, Panda, thank you!! Sparky, I appreciate it, and wish you could give more, LOL!!! (just kidding!)

Thanks Liz, you dear!

Dear Mary, I feel I can live up to the expectations of the Father only b/c he knows exactly what I am capable of!
Rebekah....thank you, that one word means so much!  =)

Ok, this has to be Jesus, because...I get my kicks from the "second mile' and doing more than is expected. I truly have enjoyed the reaction. It is the reaction when you do small courtesies for strangers like random acts but magnified when you are stomped on and you respond with love especially for someone you know and they know you know them.

Hope that made sense. I am tired and yet couldn't pull away until I checked the blogs while grands are asleep. You are right on the money. So many times when someone is abrasive, they are hurting and we can love them into the fold or right relationship if they are slipping. 

Goodnight Mike, sweet dreams and you are much loved, juanita

Wow, what a great topic and question.  I think for me exceeding the expected is about mercy.  Allowing a wrong to be done to me yet loving the person in return even more.  But it's easy when the wrong is something small and accidental.  But lately I've been thinking about a more intentional wrong.  Like an accusation that I know is false.  Do I let that go?  How do I show mercy in that scenario (perhaps when the person accusing me doesn't even realize they need mercy)? 

How's that Mike?  A question with a question! :)  I know the answer has something to do with where you seek your reward.  Showing mercy to someone you know doesn't deserve it may not seem all that beneficial.  But it's just a disguise for a real opportunity to gain an eternal reward where it matters the most.  

Juanita, I imagine you excel at exceeding the expected. (NOT that I expect it though, mind you! lol)  Yes, it is a beautiful thing to see the look of recognition of GRACE on someone's face. :)

Wow Carebear, have you been eavesdropping on our family lately???? Your comments are so relevant, so right on the mark. Laura and I are in an extremely difficult position as a result of .... "Like an accusation that I know is false." We CAN'T let it go!! But how to respond? This is no small matter either. And yet, so far we've responded with patience, to follow with grace/mercy. But you made another strong point in your comment: perhaps ..the person accusing me doesn't even realize they need mercy. In our case, they most certainly don't. I'm sure we have much more pain to go through on this one, but as also you said, this is likely also "a real opportunity to gain an eternal reward where it matters the most." ....what an awesome comment you've posted. The Lord really spoke to me through your words, sister!

Preston, the amplified bible is great, really has helped me understand some tricky passages. Thanks for the post bro!

Great to see your comment Cindy. I think I understand what you're getting at.

Sarah (racunppoodle) - I think that I might look that passage up in Luke. I find it interesting to compare passages across the synoptic gospels. Thanks for your comment!

A good word Mike......Grace defies expectations

Coincidentally (Not), I am listening to "Only Grace" by Matthew West on my video player. Isn't it gr8t how our God works. U see, I thought I'd left a comment on this great blog yesterday and I see it came around again and no comment from me :-(

God's grace gave me the right moment.

"There's only grace, there's only mercy and believe me its enough. It's enough. Your sins are gone without a trace and there's nothing left now. There's only grace. So get back up again..."

 I am so blessed by the grace in my life and I want to extend it to others in Love. God bless you Mike!

Hi J.S.! (Penny) - Grace is such a lovely thing....I think it's why I love the Savior so much!!

(btw, your timing on this comment is PERFECT!)  Have a good rest of the weekend!

God's grace is perfect.   I am not.

Mike, great post (as usual).

I am constantly reminded that Jesus took the religious institutions of the day and turned them upside down - quite the unexpected.  He healed on the Sabbath, met with Samaritans, and spoke openly about the limitations of the religious leaders.  He established love - not service - as the dominant commandment and included women in His close group.  Forgiveness is still viewed as unexpected; especially in this current age where "justice" is still seen as punishment for transgressions.

I pray we can all be a bit more "unexpected" to the world around us.

I hug you, Mike!

I saw that movie, Jonathan. I can't remember exactly if he took his wife back but he gave her a watch back or something that let her know he knew. It was reaching beyond what was deserved, central theme, he was a better man, that was what I got from it.
 
Recently at work they did a food can drive for our food bank. They wanted 1600 pounds of food and did nearly triple that with 86 employees in 2 weeks. I remember thinking this is going above and beyond what our goal was and it was a beautiful thing to behold, young girls (we only have three guys there) bringing in their bags of cans. They were all dolled up with nice nails, heels, pretty clothes and bags of canned goods. It surprised me that they cared enough. Glad they did.