Posts Tagged ‘Chuck Norris’

Never gonna be as big as…

Posted: April 6, 2015 in fizzy faith
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

We all have that crazy claim to fame. Our brush with semi-greatness that we like to bring up in conversation. You know what I’m talking about…”I was in an elevator with William Shatner” or “My kid plays soccer with Dale Earnhardt’s grandson” or “I know a guy who knows a guy who once detailed Kelly Clarkson’s car.” We like to name drop! It lets people know that we must be a big deal because we have brushed shoulders with the sometimes rich and marginally infamous.

I must confess, I’ve been guilty of this . I have a few fairly strange brushes with big that i wear like feathers on my hat. Stand back while I drop a few names…
It all goes back to that one time when my grandpa introduced me to Johnny Lee Wills at his rodeo ( he was the kid brother of Bob Wills and a big deal in Tulsa in the seventies) I was smitten with the claim to fame game.
Since then…
I’ve met Chuck Norris (he called my daughter sweetheart, which gave her eternal street cred).
I talked on the phone with Don Henley while he was at a wiggles concert.
I ran a go cart ride for Clay Aiken.
My wife and I babysat for Lisa Whelchel’s kids once.
I stood on a miniature golf course with a 6 ft. 9 in. tall Basketball player, Tyler Hansbrough. I’m 5 ft. 1 in tall, so it was already a strange sight, but, together, we watched a snake eat a frog…seriously, it was magical.
And, in a photo op gone horribly awkward with another very tall man, I once touched Mitch Kupchak’s butt.
And those are only a few.
These are fun to talk about.
When someone mentions their celebrity brush we usually ask them the same question: “were they a GOOD person?” Like, somehow our seven second encounter qualifies us to judge their character.
We like our encounters with greatness.
We get nervous, we get butterflies about the possibility of watching Beyoncé walk by on a red carpet.
But what if we got a brush with TRUE greatness? I’m not talking about Kanye.
I was thinking about this and it dawned on me that every second of every day I have a chance to, not only encounter greatness, but live there!
I have access to the Maker and Maintainer of all things.
I get to live in relationship with God!
He is the biggest deal of all and I have His attention.
I get the constant opportunity to have a brush with His greatness AND glory.
A daily dose of divinity.
I’m pretty sure I could never get a meeting with the president. The governor won’t take my calls. Even the mayor is too busy to hang out. BUT, the King of the Universe is constantly and completely available to me.
The Creator is both infinite and intimate!
It’s not a one time random encounter either.
I don’t just rub shoulders with God, He promises to take up residence with me and in me!
The Holy Spirit lives in me.
That is a very big deal.
I get to share space with the Creator of space!
And yes, I’ve met him and found Him to be very GOOD.
AND, when it comes to name dropping the only name that has any eternal muscle is Jesus.

the STRONGEST person I know…

Posted: December 29, 2014 in brain belches
Tags: , , , , ,
1

Who is the strongest person you know? I’ve met some pretty tough people, football players and fighters, pro wrestlers and soldiers. They were pretty impressive individuals, BUT, not the strongest person I know. I’ve even met Chuck Norris, he was a super cool guy, BUT, he wasn’t the strongest person I know.
The strongest person that I know is 4′ 11″, she sometimes walks with a cane and hangs out with a weenie dog named Stretch. It’s my mom, Marilyn Lang. She is the strongest person that I’ve ever met.
My dad was a tough guy, an all American MAN. He was John Wayne and Superman all wrapped up into one hairy package. He was tough, but he wasn’t as strong as my mom.
She was strong enough to beat the odds that everyone saw and the ones that nobody knew about.
The summer before she turned 8 she was diagnosed with polio. Her life would never be the same. It was often hard and painful. She was strong enough to beat polio, although, like Jacob in the Old Testament, her struggle left her with a limp. She was strong enough to live with the limp. True strength…real strength comes from living with weakness. What weakened her legs FOREVER strengthened her spirit.
She was strong enough to raise three kids, she birthed two and chose one (but, she did have labor pains the day my sister, Hope, was born 6,645 miles away).
She was strong enough to simply be herself and encourage her kids to do the same.
She was strong enough to, by her example, instill something in us that is unbreakable…a faith. By herself, she took…sometimes dragged…us to church. My brother, Mark, and I are ONLY in the business of changing lives because She was strong enough to change our lives.
She was strong enough to work hard at a school cafeteria, a bank and a pharmacy. Only to come home and work hard some more.
She was strong enough to get in the face of people twice her size if they were messing with the people she loved. Sometimes she even used a footstool to do this.
She was strong enough to love one man though good, bad and ugly. Then, just when things were getting beautiful, She was strong enough to carry on with life, when that man left the dance way too early.
She was strong enough to dance alone.
She was strong enough to make a new life.
She is strong enough to do the right thing, even when it wasn’t the easy or popular thing.
She is strong enough to tell the truth.
She is strong enough to love.
She is strong enough to forgive the hurters and the haters.
She is strong enough to dance like nobodies watching.
My little Mother is the biggest badass I know.
Life has thrown her some serious curveballs, sometimes it still does.
She will beat them.
She is just that strong.
Don’t mess with her.
She is THE strongest person I’ve ever known.