I was sitting in a submarine – the Nautilus – submerged under water. Pitch black. Pale blue light. 20 people crammed in and staring out a small round window at sea life, underwater mines and Nemo. Wait. What? Sorry – I forgot. It was a Disneyland ride.

The captain of the submarine came over the speaker as we came back up to the surface: “Please wait until we have come to a complete stop”. And then: “We have a number of different submarines that take our guests around, but the one you are on right now, Nautilus, is the only one Walt Disney himself boarded.”

My daughter looked at me with wide eyes. “Really dad?” “Yes, I guess so honey”. For her it was magical.

Spending the day at Disneyland inspires me in a handful of ways. To be more present with my kids. To be more creative. To run an inspiring church. To shoot for excellence and create magic for people as I serve them. Sitting on the same boat Walt himself sat on, many years ago now, stopped me in my tracks. I felt the magic. For too long I have put off what the captain’s announcement sealed: reading the best two biographies on Walt Disney himself (see here and here) . I placed my order for both today. Why?

I am inspired by him. His grand vision. His business acumen. His creativity. For me, I am interested how these things can be leveraged and used for the glory of God, to reach more and more people with the message of Jesus!

Oh that we, God’s people, could live with the same passion as this man! So that people could meet Jesus and let him transform and change every aspect of their lives. Our experiences of joy, pain, hope, and everything else that orbits these things day in and day out.

Can you feel the magic in that?