Bret, the 350% guy.

I am a dude, who is willing to admit, i love another dude. For those of you who know Bret Marshall I'm thinkin you feel the same way. I look up to Bret and thank Bret in so many ways. To sum Bret up, to me, would be to say, Bret is 50% father figure, 50% Brother, 50% Best Friend, 50% mentor, 50% psychologist, and 100% gift from god.

Wait, that makes Bret, like, 350%. Its true. He is more then a 100% dude, he is 350% awesome.

Let me explain.

So during our Mexico trip i got to work with Bret on the house we were building and really started to feel comfortable with him. Shortly after, we set up meeting each other once a week for a little discipleship fun. Here is where the percents come in. Since then i have really taken a liking to our relationship and put some thought into why i enjoy meeting with him so much, and i think, its because i get a little bit of everything from him.

50% father figure : You see i have come to realize that i can talk to Bret about anything (more on that later). But there are some things i just don't want to. Fortunately for me Bret is like a father figure in a way that he asks those tough questions that I never really wanted to answer in the first place. Or when i do something, i know i probably shouldn't have, i sometimes think "aww man, now I'm gonna have to tell Bret this", and i get that feeling of disappointment like i let him down, just like the way i feel when i do something i feel will have let my own father down. OH! And when he See's or finds something out, that i probably shouldn't have done, he calls me out on it, in this loving-you probably should be doing/saying that kind of way. And just as my own father, i know that Bret's not really going to judge me or disown me for my mistakes.

50% Brother: Through the time spent with Bret we have talked about quite a few different traits that we share. Be them good things or struggles. And i can relate that to how Tyler and i share many of the same traits, passed down from our father. We also only see each other once or twice a week. Like my brother and I. And like Tyler I'm sure that's because seeing me more then twice a week would drive him insane ha ha. But for me its like i kind of experience what its like to have an older brother. Even more so then a father figure. He's Someone who i can talk to about things to come, things he has experienced. I can talk about things i am looking to do in the future and he can give me advice based on his past. And these are things that are in the not so distant past, so they are relateable to today. I look up to him in many ways and aspire to be like him in many ways. Much like i hear many younger brothers do. (not so sure about mine though ;p)

50% Best Friend: As i mentioned earlier, I feel like i can talk to Bret about anything, just as i can my best friend. I feel like it doesn't matter what the subject is i can talk to him about it. And though i feel like i could talk to some people about anything, i wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. But with Bret i do. I could talk to the guy for hours about anything and everything and it just feels like I'm talking to a lifelong friend. He's also always their for me. Ive been in some pretty tough situations be it money, girls, and any other stress not related to the two, and its amazing how Brad (the best friend) and Bret have not only had the same reactions, but offered the same kind of help. You know, whatever kind of help i needed he offered it. We also talk about bro stuff too. Like hey bro i did this the other day, oh way cool man i did that the other day. Ha ha its all good times.

50% mentor: The whole point of us getting together was to do some discipleship. And boy does Bret do that well. We have gone through a couple books in the bible and he has helped me to understand them far more then i ever probably would have. ( Leviticus for example) He held me to dates that i needed to have memorized verses. He has been able to answer anytime i have questions, and he has showed me that the bible is more then just words that make a cool story. And most importantly he has been the type of christian man that i need to influence my life. He glorifies god every time we meet and i am so thankful for that. He is the kind of christian man that i look up to and aspire to be one day, maybe in the same position he is in, helping some odd kid like myself find his way.

50% psychologist: Ha ha this one is kind of funny. Sometimes i feel like i should be sitting there, propped back on the couch staring at the ceiling, as we try and figure out how i really feel. Take the other night for instance. We were on the phone as i was venting to him about my angst towards the church and people in it(which is two blogs down) and instead of hitting at the basic on the cover issues, he was asking about deeper things, things i hadn't really put much thought into. He got me to think about those deeper issues and how it may be affecting my thoughts and perceptions. And while it didn't necessarily change my mind about things, i understood my feelings more. Its kinda weird, and not something i expected when i first started meeting with him.

100% gift from god: Need i say more? Isn't it already clear as to why i say he is 100% gift from god? Well i will add more anyways. When i first came to the nav's i saw and met some really good men of god. They were a push for me to become like them. Bret is another one of those guys. Meeting with Bret has helped me in more ways then anyone could care to read. God has really used him to help mold my life and I'm so thankful that he came to ASU navs. He has given me an outlet, someone who will listen to me vent for an hour, and constructively sort out what i just said, in a glorifying way. He has pushed me in ways i have needed to be pushed, and he has been the kind of reliable friend i need in my life. Thank you God, for Bret.



Randall's lyrics of the day:


I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface of who I've been known to be

Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I've become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can't do this myself
You're the only one who can undo
What I've become


Randall's verse of the day :

John 15:15

15 I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.