Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
I was supposed to be out this morning, to go to my usual Friday thing, speaking to the Junior and Senior High kids – who am I kidding, they dragged the entire school to join in Chapel Time. I was supposed to talk to them – starting off with a recap, of all we’ve been talking about. We were talking through Psalm 139, and we established during one Friday that not only does God love us (as we’re all so used to telling each other in the body of Christ), God also likes us – That is, He prefers us, He enjoys us, He takes pleasure in what we take pleasure in, as creations made new in Him.
That seemed to be the point that was birthed out, as I was intending to tell them of what was really being said in the first verses of Psalm 139 – That is, that God knows everything there is to know about us. He knows all the details of all the aspects of our being, and sees us from all perspectives within and beyond the realm of possibility (if that makes any sense); He’s seen our past, and all the things we allow from the past to stick in our minds – as such, He knows what we are thinking about in the present – all that we’re prioritizing, down to the things we’re avoiding to give any thought to, and even the things we’re completely oblivious about; Finally, He knows what concerns we have for the hours, days, and years to come, if any.
He knows all of these things, and He still chooses to lay His hand upon us, to bless us. You can forego all that I’ve said in the last paragraph, because I’m sure, or at least I’m hoping that that last sentence sticks to their minds, for a long time.
The following Friday we talked about how God not only knows what we are thinking, but He is present with us, no matter where we are, what we’re doing, or who we’re with. He is with us always, in the literal and figurative top of the mountain, or in the bottom of the valley. He is with us always, no matter what we’re up to – whether what we’re doing is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, which explains why when we, as new creations in Christ, do anything in line with righteousness that leads to life, it feels natural; and on the other hand, when we do what we used to do before Christ – all that leads to sin and death – it feels less pleasurable, and far more awkward.
We skipped a Friday, only to come back on the 24th of November, right on time to talk to them about Thanksgiving, again. I deviated from Psalm 139, and spoke to them from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, telling them that we may not always have reasons to rejoice always, nor would we have the time to pray without ceasing, but thank God, because in everything, we CAN give thanks. And consequently, if we do give thanks, I brought them to consider that when they DO give thanks, they’re also automatically rejoicing, and praying. Thanksgiving is a 3-for-1.
Today, the first of December, I was supposed to continue with Psalm 139, but I found myself cancelling, oh, an hour before the actual allotted time. I was told that traffic going to the venue was horrible, and I also had a 2pm formal event in my mind. I cancelled, because I didn’t think it was feasible to go to them, drive back home and dress up, and head back out (possibly in horrible traffic) before 2pm.
Looking at the calendar now, and considering the upcoming Fridays, it seems as if I held off on seeing them for the last time this year. It’s fine. What I did instead was to send some of the more prominent folks a message through Facebook, and I think that’ll serve as our communications while we don’t see each other.
But on the the real reason why I started typing all of this – it’s to get everything out of my head, and onto another medium, just so I could organize my thoughts… for the speech that these folks in the formal event are having me do. I guess I couldn’t hold out on it any longer – it’s a wedding I’m going to, and I’m a principal sponsor, not only assigned to open what I’m assuming is the reception event with a word of prayer, but also to speak to the future newlyweds, as is my duty as said principal sponsor.
I’m not complaining. The groom is a younger brother of mine, and we’ve been in the trenches regarding investments and forex trading… But while he’s gone off and dedicated more of himself and his time to the craft, I’m here… still profitable by the grace of God, but more ‘dabbling’ than actually trading.
When it comes to investments, flashing the money only comes later – and FAR later in the process. Making an investment (whether it be in the form of money, time, and/or any other resource) involves data – You need to see the numbers, talk to people, and seek any relevant events, and from there you decide whether to proceed or not, and if you are to proceed, you decide how much time and/or money to entrust. Forex traders generally categorize their data analysis into two – Fundamental Analysis, and Technical Analysis. Fundamental Analysis takes current events and sentiment into consideration, while Technical Analysis involves numbers, graphs, and trending.
The point here is, before you take the very first step in moving any money, you need data to invest; investing without data is gambling. Side note, the reason why we have a lot of scams in this day and age is because people will get other people to gamble their money, thinking that what they’re doing is investing.
My good friend the groom? He’s no gambler. If anything, he knows a whole lot more than I do when it comes to trading and investing. And I’m pretty sure he did his own meticulous data analysis before he got down on one knee, asking his now bride to marry him.
I’m not married (yet), but I’ve had my share of gambles, and investments that didn’t turn out as expected, and I think I’ve seen and felt enough to understand that the blessed union of a man and a woman is FAR more than a gamble, and, guess what… it’s FAR more than an investment, too: It’s a commitment.
(Shifting to 1st person)
You guys made your vows earlier this afternoon, and you mentioned that you would love each other in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part. And the catch here is that, both of you may have done your own share of data analysis, and even projections to how it may look for the both of you in the future – and even with all the risks you are and aren’t aware of, you’ve made the choice that you would stick together, and support each other. Much so, that even when you guys have your differences, and when you guys fight (and you WILL fight), you will still stay – because you guys love each other.
Granted, over the passage of time and circumstance, there may be the thoughts of giving up, or the realization that you may just be going through the motions – but I suppose I’m here to tell you guys some inside information. I’m here to remind you guys of some really good data – I’m here to share the Truth.
There’s no greater Trader, no greater Investor than Christ – He knew all there was to know about the human race; the Creator certainly knew all there was to know about all of Creation – from our victories and triumphs, down to our own sick and twisted minds, and the darkest thoughts and machinations we could ever conjure…
On the other hand, when you look at it from another angle, there’s no worse Gambler than Christ – in spite of knowing how hopeless we are, and in spite of understanding that we would not respond to all He would give, He STILL stepped down from heaven, He STILL lay down HIS body for us, because He STILL thought, in spite of the overwhelming certainty that He will not get a return to His great investment, He still thought we were worth it.
Long story short, if ever any of you are questioning the commitment you guys made to one another, remember how Christ, in His birth, invested in you, remember how Christ, in His death, went all-in for you… but remember how Christ, in His resurrection and ascension, committed to be with you; in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death – and beyond.
Update
It’s the next day, and far after the actual speech. I just focused on how the groom was an excellent investor, and because of his integrity I encouraged his bride, that he made a good investment in her and her family. I reminded him, though, that unlike an investment, he couldn’t pull out of this deal as soon as he saw it wasn’t profitable. I then told him that this was more than an investment, but a commitment… and if, at any time, they see that the commitment is hard to uphold, they would remember the everlasting commitment that Christ made to them.
The nice thing is, the emcee and other folks who spoke after me caught on the ‘investment’ perspective and finagled that into their own speeches. There was quite the deviation between what I intended to say and what I actually said, but in the end, value was added, and I am satisfied, and thankful.
I don’t know, I guess I just wanted this here – huge chunk of this was just me splatting all my thoughts here, and I’m thinking it helped me, and all who heard. Personally, I was just reminded of the value of relationships, as seen in how it takes more than money, but time and much more of our being, to establish and maintain them. We can tally and keep track of our physical assets pretty quickly, but it’s the value we generate, give and leave in the hearts of men that stick for way longer, beyond what an Excel sheet can record.
If you made it this far, thank you. As mentioned earlier, there’s a lot more for me to type: More November thoughts, and a wrap-up of all we’ve been talking about regarding Andrew Farley’s book God Without Religion.
I’m just happy that today, I don’t think I have anything else to do outside of the house. Will be cleaning clutter up, but will be taking more time to type. Until the next posts coming very soon, God bless you and keep you.
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#WeddingSpeeches #TalkingToStudents #PersonalThoughtProcesses #Marriage #Commitments #Investments #Relationships
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