A Personal God

Have you ever been going through a hard time and needed someone to talk to? You go to a friend, expecting to at least feel better by getting it off your chest, and sometime during the conversation, you hear, "Well, you think that's bad! Let me tell you . . . " For the next few minutes, you are treated to tales so horrible, you'd think they were made up.

After you're finished with the compassionate conversation with your friend, you trail off, feeling even worse for mentioning your needs in a world of deadly problems. What could have you been thinking? How could you be so selfish? How could your little needs even compare to a sea of heartache?

Sometimes this mentality clouds our view of our relationship with God. I admit that sometimes I've been very hesitant to mention things in prayer because I thought they were too petty or insignificant, and many times they are not petty at all. They are tearing me up inside, like a wild animal trying to escape a trap.

I am extremely grateful for a God who sent His son as a remission for all mankind's sins, to provide help for the many hopeless souls on the earth. I am also thankful that He looks after His people. But I am most perplexed and humbled by the idea that He sees me through the crowd. See, I'm not the kind who struggles with the idea of God being so big - it's harder for me to comprehend He's also so small. He is a personal Savior.

Hebrews 4:15 states that, " . . . we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. . . " Other translations paint the picture a little further . . "to feel for us in our weaknesses" (Wey), "to be touched by the feelings of our feeble flesh" (Bas).

He was walking through the crowds one time when a ruler begged Him to bring His dead daughter back to life. There were people left and right. Voices all around. "Let me ask you a question, these miracles", "Hey, now I was wondering about lunch on Friday," "Remember me from Hebrew school?" So many voices and so many different needs. One woman knew she would be lost in the crowd, drowned out by others. But if she could touch Him, it would provide the strength she needed. For twelve years, her disease had placed her with the undesirables of society. She knew this was the Son of God and she knew He was busy. She needed strength .. not a show, healing .. not hero-worship, power .. not popularity.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she is able to touch a part of his robe, the hem. That was enough. When she did it, time stood still. All the needs, wants, greetings were temporarily halted. Everything turned black and white and the woman stood out in bold color. He felt the power of faith mixed with the anguish of disease. He saw the one lost sheep in the crowd of ninety-nine.

You know the story. Jesus recognized her in that moment and told her that her faith had made her whole. Then He traveled over the ruler's house and had a welcome back party for a young girl whose problems were much worse, in the world's eyes.

The woman had to have felt intimidated by her request. Was it selfish to want it to go away, to have a proper place in society again? Would she be taking time from someone who needed Him worse? Yet she reached out. She didn't make a spectacle but she made the step. And He cared.

I don't know if George C. Hugg thought about that woman when he penned the following lines to a familiar hymn, but it sure seems he did

"There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus/ No, not one! No, not one!/ No one else could heal our soul's diseases/ No, not one! No, not one!/ Jesus knows all about our struggles/ He will guide till the day is done/ There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus/ No, not one! No, not one!"

Thank you, Lord, for being my personal Savior, for knowing the real DeWayne, for leaving the door open to talk, and for being genuinely concerned about what troubles me . . . even the little things.

Princesses Meet

Mirror, mirror on the wall - there's a new fairest of them all. Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty for you guys) greeted Natalie on Saturday at Epcot.

Songs that remind you

A few years ago, I was driving to work and Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight" came on the radio. It was the first time I'd heard it in years and suddenly I was transported back to a time I was in the car with my good friend Michelle and were singing all the words, even the bridge where Whitney kinda' goes off - "you got the magic...." It was amazing that for a few seconds, I was sitting right back in that car seat, a teenager, laughing and having a great time with a friend who we'd lose in a car accident two months later. To me, she will forever be linked to that song.

Other songs evoke memories, too. Here are a few:

-Mariah Carey & Trey Lorenz "I'll Be There" - I was working at White Water amusement park for the summer when the radio stations were wearing this out. From the opening notes, my co-workers would call for me to pay attention so I could sing along, almost totally in falsetto. Good times.

-Amy Grant "I Will Remember You" - This song came out as I was finishing my second and final year at Tomlinson College. What a fitting song as I was saying goodbye to so many friends and closing that chapter of my life.

-Survivor "Eye of the Tiger" - This was the ultimate song when I was going to skating parties. As soon as we'd get to the rink, me and my friends' main goal to see who could request it first and when it played, it didn't matter if you were winning at "Space Invaders" or "Pac Man" or had just ordered a pretzel with cheese, you dropped everything and got out on the rink. We were too cool for our own good.

I may think of more and add them to this but, in the meantime, what are yours? What songs make you think of specific times and people in your life?

Buck Rogers in the 20th Century

One of my absolute favorite shows of my childhood was Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I guess it had the right mix of action,sci-fi and comedy. I even had a few toys based on it. I've often wondered what Gil Gerard and Erin Gray are up to these days - besides sci-fi conventions - and was delighted to see them appearing in this new version of 'Buck' as Buck's parents. This is the beginning of a web series and it looks like it's off to a great start. Kinda reminds me of 'Smallville' for some reason. Enjoy.

Happy baby

How about a cute baby video tonight?

Spilled Milkshakes

Back in a simpler time, when children of the 80s were incorporating words like "rad" and "totally" into their brains, heated arguments and disagreements weren't settled with blows or bullets but with milkshakes. As proof, I point you to many fine cinematic efforts like Meatballs and Back to the Future, where nerds were kept in line with pasteurized humiliation.

Going back a few years, we also remember how Rizzo let Kinickie know in no uncertain terms they were through. If you include Slurpees, you can even see Robert Downey Jr and Anthony Michael Hall suffer at the hands of bullies at the mall in Weird Science.

So what happened to this world? When did we decide there were better ways to settle disagreements and pick on nerds? It's not like there's a shortage of milkshakes. I'd venture to say there are more milkshakes now than ever. What if you count cool smoothies and/or ice coffees? The possibilities are endless. You don't have to chew someone out or get your hands dirty, just give 'em a facefull of vanilla!

I know what I'm talking about. I didn't just watch the action -I have my own milkshake story. As a freshman in high school, I too dumped a milkshake on the head of an upperclassman during a lunch period. It was chocolate and I have witnesses. It was a bold move on my part but I'd had enough.......

Alright, I'll confess. I spilled it but not intentionally. I was actually a bit of a klutz and it didn't help any that there was a banana peel on the floor (have you ever actually met a real-life person who really slipped on a banana peel?) I stepped on the outside while the squishy side slid on the floor, I lost my balance, my food tray popped up and my milkshake landed on the guy's head - right on the top of the scalp, like it was planned. He looked almost as if he'd sat under the milkshake dispenser, it was so perfect.

Aware that the next move of this act meant either I was going to get punched or a milkshake in my face, I went into overdrive "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" waving my hands about. He had mercy on me, probably thinking I was on a different mental level....and I was. :-)

First Impressions

I met two people today for the first time*, shaking hands, kissing babies (or is it shaking babies and kissing hands?), the whole bit, but these people were already aware of who I was. When I met one, she finished my introduction with my last name and the second person tonight said, "I imagined you'd be six feet tall and bulletproof from what I've heard." Still trying to figure out if that's a good or bad thing.

So it just got to me to thinking about first impressions. I say this with all seriousness but alot of my first impressions turn out to be the real deal. I mean, if a person creates enough of an entrance into my life, immediately I realize whether we'll click or not. And others do the same, believe me. I was told by one of my closest friends how badly I was looked upon when I came to his attention. Thankfully his first impressions aren't so on-the-money.

I've had people who came on way too strong for me to be able to put that aside (think "Cable Guy" or "Single White Female"). There have also been some that I've met, who for some crazy reason have followed an open door of friendship with the liberty of telling me what I need to be doing in life or questioning some decision I'd made.

You almost feel bad when you've put some amount of energy trying to be friendly to someone who's your personality equivalent of the opposing forces of a magnet and then decide to stop the effort. Then I wonder, are we really supposed to be friends with everyone that comes our way? I'm not running for office or selling anything.

What about you? Do you trust your first impressions? Typically, what is your first impression on meeting someone?

How do you create good first impressions?

*This blog is a repost from 2006.