Life Is A Symphony

In an age where human interest stories are more popular to pull us from the fact our 401(k) is taking a nose dive, Secretariat is probably one of the greatest of those. Curious as to how critics responded to the recent film adaptation of Secretariat’s rise to fame, I was taken aback by one critics claim that the film was too predictable and eluded to the fact the struggle of Secretariat’s rise wasn’t as awe inspiring as that of Seabiscuit. Why does there always have to be a huge struggle in order to inspire us? Sometimes, people enjoy watching the 73-3 football game because it’s the way in which a champion completely imposes their will upon a victory that captures us entirely. Please don’t misunderstand me, the struggle is vastly important, but the fact Secretariat beat all of the competition during the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths to claim the Triple Crown is incredible. No horse has ever done that and likely never will again. During a time filled with scandal, Secretariat was the pure figure needed to inspire a nation and prove that even amidst war and horror, good things can happen.

From this day, until January 1st is my favorite time of year. The scent of cinnamon and other spices fill the air, firmly embedding itself into the mind of the beholder. I remember as a child, my mother would open an old cedar trunk of my grandmother's where she kept a few Christmas decorations, including the always important, stockings. That is why cedar will forever remind me of Christmas and all the time spent with my mother in search of Christmas decorations. Everyone has their family traditions during this time of year and one of the ones I remember most was helping my mother decorate the Christmas tree. She had her quirks when it came to decorating so one of the most important rules was "the ugly ornaments go in the back." The decorations she saw as ugly, were always the ones I liked best. They were old and had more personality than most ornaments, so I often took the time to study each of them. Imagine how humbling it was for me to discover that many of these decorations were quite a bit older than I was.

It's not Christmas yet, but it is Thanksgiving. Most of us see it as a day in which we ingest large portions of food that later stage a revolt against our stomachs that causes us to reach for the Pepto. Today is a time of thanks for all of the blessings in your life, the people in it, the fact you can pay your bills, and the simple fact that you can even sit down for a full meal. Not everyone is as lucky as we are and it's shocking to think that even the poorest of Americans are still richer than the rest of the world. Take the time before you eat to truly think about the fact you have people that love you, you have a roof over your head, and you have something as simple as a pair of shoes.

Even if you're not a Christian, most people know the story of Adam and Eve from the book of Genesis. God created the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were to live and said in Genesis 2:16b-17, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” That seems like pretty simple instructions right? You can eat ALL of this, but not the fruit from that one specific tree. What that tells me is that from the beginning, God gave us a simple choice and that's to obey Him or disobey Him. Unfortunately for all of us, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God after they were tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent.

Some of you might be wondering why would God have created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the first place? Think about it this way, if your friends were only your friends because they had no other choice, would their love mean anything at all to you? Love is so much more powerful when it's a conscious choice. God wants our obedience and our love. He's not looking for us to follow Him out of obligation. Everyday we have to make the decision to follow God, or not follow Him by obeying what He commands of us. How are you doing with that? I know I could be doing better. It's the little decisions that ultimately affect our personal walk with Christ.

During a very entertaining game of Harry Potter Clue, our favorite "gangsta," Willie Brown continually mispronounced names. Allow me to share a few:

Albus Dumbledore - Albatross
Alohomora - Aloe Vera
Petrificus Totalus - Peter Petrif
Expelliarmus - Expellawhatever

Willie is the jam. End of transmission.