Under, Head Lines, in the May 2008 issue of Christianity Today, we read that Armond Morales is being taken to court by his son over who has the right to use the name Imperials (as a name for their singing group). Armond says, “They have set out to really put me out of business…”, and his son says, “He’s hurting our business on a regular basis.” Way to build the Kingdom of God!

Mike S. Adams, a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts “Womyn” On Campus, recently wrote a short article for TownHall.com entitled, Five Great Cigars And Why I Smoke Them. The article provides not only Mike’s impetus for smoking each cigar, but also a short review and flavor profile of each. The most interesting celebration is that of the conversion of one of of Mike’s detractors to faith in Christ. Mike writes, “I celebrated my reader’s conversion with an Edge. Jesus would have liked the Edge. After all, he lived on the Edge.” I wish I had thought of that when I was asked “What Would Jesus Smoke” the other day!

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My wife sent me to Indianapolis for a Nub Cigar event as a birthday gift this year. It was an incredible day! In attendance were Sam Leccia, the creator of Nub Cigars (and a flat out great guy), and Jose Oliva of the Oliva family, the makers of Nub and Oliva Cigars. I came away with a box of 464 Cameroon Nubs signed by both Sam and Jose, and a few other goodies. The cigars were great, and having a day to myself was great, but the best part of the day was toward the end when Jose Oliva sat next to me, and we started chatting.

Jose Oliva is a member of the Oliva family which produces some of the finest cigars in the business. Oliva cigars are rolled in Esteli Nicaragua and are sold at any worthwhile tobacconist. Jose lives in Miami Florida, and represents the Oliva family in the states. He rubs shoulders with some of the most famous men in America in the course of his work and charity activities, men like Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marvin Shanken, Francis Ford Coppola, etc. He told me a story about drinking a glass of wine from a bottle that was won at auction for $30,000 (I think by Marvin Shanken, but I’m not sure) during the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s, A Night To Remember. I asked him how it was, and he said, “It was wonderful! Someone gives you a glass of wine that cost $30,000, and all objectivity is gone.”

So here I am talking with Jose Oliva about family (he is about my age, and has two kids), politics (he is what I would call conservative, and studies history with a passion), and of course cigars, when finally my favorite subject is brought up and we start talking about Jesus. We talked for a long time about the church and its relationship to science, marriage, wealth, and a bunch of other areas. It was simply one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. Birthdays come and go, but this year has been the best one in my 32 years.

A few months ago (few meaning over a year ago) my wife told me she wanted to start playing the piano again. She took a few lessons when she was young, and she wanted to pick up where she left off. To that end I got an old piano from her aunt, bought her some lesson books, and waited for the music to fill the house.

Turns out the piano needed some rather expensive repairs, and oddly enough my wife just didn’t spend much time practicing (it must have been the low quality of the instrument). Well, the kids are getting older, and the wife still insists she is going to learn to play, so today we bought the Yahmaha CLP-220M from Samuel Music through a piano sale for Alumni of Lincoln Christian College. If everyone goes crazy with playing we can trade in the CLP-220 for its full value for up to 12 months (just in case we need that baby grand). Only time will tell what wonderous tunes will soon fill our home.