A Gift Like No Other

I read something interesting in the recent biography,"Ali: A Life" by Jonathan Eig. It was a story regarding an old man and a young boy who showed up at Muhammad Ali's mansion in 1982. One of Ali's associates, Larry Kolb, answered the door and the old man explained that they had traveled from Tanzania to meet Ali. "We are here," the man explained, "because before I die, I wish to introduce my grandson to the great Muhammad Ali." 

Ali said to let them enter. He hugged the child, ate the gift of a Big Mac that the boy had brought Ali, and performed a magic trick for the young child. 

"Today we found you," the old man said, "Tomorrow we can go home." 

Ali gave them dinner and drove them back to their airport hotel. He embraced them both and told them to go with God. On the drive home, Kolb asked Ali why he had taken so much time for the two strangers. Ali explained that it was his belief that everyone had an angel watching them at all times, keep track of their actions and logging if they were good or bad. Ali called it a "Tallying Angel."

"When we die, he told Kolb, "if we've got more good marks than bad, we go to paradise. If we've got more bad marks, we go to hell . . . I've done a lot of bad things. Gotta keep doing good now. I wanna to to paradise."

September 21st

Do you have a favorite day of the year?

Now I'm not counting any of the Holidays, I mean who doesn't love either Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas. No, I'm talking about a favorite day of the year that has meaning beyond any other day of the year. 

For me, that date is September 21st. To be precise, September 21st, 2000. 

Before I go any further let me clarify a couple of things. Unlike some people, I can't tell you exactly when I made a decision to follow Jesus Christ. I made a public profession when I was young, but I'm not totally sure that date was the origin of my faith journey. In the days and weeks after that public proclamation, I began to truly understand what it meant to accept Jesus as Lord of my life. But I can't tell you exactly what day of the year that happened. 

And my own birthday, though I admit, holds some sentimental appeal, is not my favorite day of the year. It's a day that for me is filled with "Ying" and "Yang" and over the passing years it is impossible to separate the two. 

No, my favorite day of the year is my daughter's birthday. 

"The Duke"

My grandpa on my Dad's side of the family loved westerns. Not just watching westerns on TV, he loved to read and collect Louis L' Amour books, as well as pistols from that era. Saturday evenings at 10:00 pm were reserved for the western TV show Gunsmoke and distractions were simply not allowed. But like many people of that generation, my grandpa's favorite actor was "The Duke". 

John Wayne, also known as "The Duke", was the premier movie star in the 50's and 60's. Larger than life, he picked his roles carefully, to ensure that his movie characters aligned with his own philosophy about life and his cultural priorities. He starred in over 300 films and never once apologized for his pro-USA stance and old fashioned values. They say that some of the best ways to learn about someone is to listen to their views on life so here are some of my favorite quotes from "The Duke":

“All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else.”

“A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.”

“My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for.”

“I stick to simple themes. Love. Hate. No nuances. I stay away from psychoanalyst's couch scenes. Couches are good for one thing.”

The Gift Of Imagination

I've often pondered the gift of imagination. Is there a boundary that we cannot cross with our imaginations? Is there a future that we cannot imagine with this wonderful gift? And the opposite unfortunately is also true, is there a limit to the darkness that we can explore and unleash using this powerful tool that God has gifted to each one of us?

I believe that we are most like our Creator when we are creative. The Bible says that God imagined the entire universe and then it came to pass. His thoughts became our reality. And we have all been imprinted with that same seal of creativity, to be used for good or evil, in powerful ways that can influence people and alter history.

The reason you have this gift is because God imagines. And God gave you the ability to create with your imagination. When you use your imagination for good and for God, God smiles.