Danny Ray
7 min read ⭑
“Find a group you can do life with. I’m not talking about joining a Bible study for a 10-week series. I’m talking about a group of people who stick together year-round. Those kinds of people help us through the most difficult seasons of life.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There's much more to food than palate and preference. How does your go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
I grew up in San Diego (Mira Mesa to be specific), and I live in Yucaipa, California, now. These two worlds are vastly different. When I was growing up, my favorite food was lumpia (some Filipino grub!). I still love it! These days, when the family eats out, we are pretty eclectic. Yeah, you might find us at the local In-N-Out or Chick-fil-A, but our default is Thai food. There is a place called Thai Chili which has some amazing Pad Thai, Pad see ew, and some epic yellow curry. That's definitely my favorite!
Klim Musalimov; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called "nonspiritual" activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
We live by the mountains and I love to run. I have two dogs a Bernedoodle (Harvey) and an Aussiedoodle (Chloe), and we go running together all the time. I also love a ton of board games. My favorite is simply chess.
We’re an hour from Los Angeles, so we often hit up the local modern art museums, bookstores, and LA market. They have food from all over the world, and we will often try something new as a family.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So, what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
My biological father left when I was about 5 years old. I only have a few memories of him, and several of them include waking up at different women's houses. My brother remembers prostitutes coming and going. My father was also a compulsive gambler until the day he died. More than any other person, he hurt me without ever saying a word. It would be 27 years before I would see him again.
In light of that, it probably won't surprise you when I say my favorite superhero is the Hulk. I had a lot of anger issues as a kid. My father's absence defined my early years.
There were times in my childhood when I would wake up from a dream or nightmare of my father and me reuniting. When I would ask my mom where he was, she would say, "Probably off with some woman or in jail." It wasn't until I was 18 that I found out he was in prison for some horrible crimes.
His absence revealed the type of father I didn't want to be. As a father, I have actively worked on being present in every way that I can in the lives of my three children. Being present is extremely important to me.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
I have had the privilege of doing what I love for the last 20 years. I get to travel, doing magic shows and sharing God's love with people. Currently, I am working on a brand-new project that takes all the things God has been teaching me through the pandemic and wrapping them into a show.
Whatever we do, it's important that we are constantly adapting to meet the needs of the people we serve. Developing a new show requires that I get completely focused so that I can bring new ideas to life.
That’s the only way I was recently able to write a new book on a topic that matters a lot to me—marriage. It’s called No, I Can’t Make Your Wife Disappear: A Magician’s Guide to a Magical Marriage. In it, I pull back the curtain and share biblical truths that have helped me throughout my career to build an enduring, magical marriage with my wife, Kimberly. I talk about how to experience effective communication, overcome impossible situations, and thrive in your most important human relationship.
But I have to warn you—this isn’t your typical book on marriage. I definitely brought my personality into this project. (Can you tell by the title?) So it’s more of a light-hearted, practical, and sometimes hard-hitting guide to building a strong marriage. It’s set to publish on November 16, but you can pre-order it here.
Constantly coming up with and fleshing out new ideas over the years has taught me how valuable ideas can be—they’re powerful enough to transform others’ lives. So I regularly encourage people to listen to the ideas that come to them, no matter how impractical they might seem at first. What ideas have you had that can change your family, your community, or your world that you need to bring to life?
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
Almost every day for the last 30 years of following Christ, I have woken up early to seek him. I have hundreds of journals from my time with God. I have learned to trust that if I have an idea during this time of prayer and reading the Bible that it's God revealing something to me. Sometimes it's an idea for a new message, a new book concept, a new trick, or a new way to communicate a truth in a magical way.
These times with God are incredibly fruitful, but usually they’re just the beginning. The idea normally needs days, months, or years for it to come to life. Most recently, I had the idea to do a book on buckets—buckets of joy, buckets of encouragement, and so on. Currently, I am researching to see if this idea will end up as a blog or a magic trick or if there’s enough substance to it to write a book!
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?
Wow! I love this question. And the answer is...too many things! I will answer by sharing some of the things I love to do to get close to God.
1. Silence. My favorite radio station is off! Finding a place to just be still and hear from God is always good for the soul.
2. Long drives with worship music and no destination.
3. Getting up early before the craziness of the day and just enjoying some coffee and Jesus!
4. Going for a run with my dogs off their leashes. It reminds me of the freedom we have in Christ. I seldom take my phone so I can just enjoy time with God.
5. Reading a good book.
Okay, that's enough for now!
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
I love all of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings, but The Cost of Discipleship is by far my favorite. His understanding of grace is simply profound.
Also, Louie Giglio has a video called Indescribable that reminds us not to trivialize the Creator of the universe.
Finally, a lot of people ask me who my favorite magicians are. My favorites are those of whom most people have never heard. Magic is meant to be seen live and cannot be appreciated in the same way online or on television. With that said, I highly recommend seeing Derek DelGaudio live. I believe his storytelling and mastery of the craft will inspire you.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it's done for you.
This isn't a resource I can technically “share,” but my Bible study group has been indispensable to me. Those of us in this group have spent the last 20 years together.
My suggestion? Find a group you can do life with. I’m not talking about joining a Bible study for a 10-week series. I’m talking about a group of people who stick together year-round. Those kinds of people help us through the most difficult seasons of life.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I have new shows, new books, and new film ideas, but the thing that’s stirring my heart the most these days is creating a new space to speak and teach on marriage with my wife. My wife hates public speaking. She said, "The only way you will ever get me on stage is with a paper bag over my head!"
Recently, she spoke on stage with me for the first time. And—no lie—she had a line of 25 people who had questions for her afterward. I have spoken thousands of times and have never had that happen! We are praying about this partnership and what it might look like for both of us to speak together.
Have you ever said, “I’m just not creative!” or “Sure, I have ideas, but they would never work in real life.”
It’s easy to think this way, especially if our life experiences have trained us to undervalue our impact on this world. But the truth is, your ideas matter. You matter! And God made you to be uniquely creative—and to impact this world with that creativity.
We love the question Danny posed in this interview: “What ideas have you had that can change your family, your community, or your world that you need to bring to life?”
Don’t let that question be rhetorical for you, friend. Instead, let it force you to dig deep and ask yourself where God is leading you with that great idea you have. You don’t know how many lives it could change!
Danny Ray, who will be featured on an upcoming episode of a popular reality show Penn & Teller: Fool Us, is one of the world's premier illusionists and has amazed thousands of audiences. From churches and youth events to appearances on national television and The Magic Castle, audiences everywhere are amazed by his sleight of hand. And yet he is far more than entertainment—Danny brings powerful and transforming messages of the gospel. Married for 25 years to his wife, Kimberly, he helps others unlock the secrets for living remarkably in his latest book, No, I Can’t Make Your Wife Disappear. Learn more about Danny at DannyRayMagic.com.
