Houses of Wood and Stone

My wife and I went to a Christmas play, which was held at a local Christian Church. While the performance was decent, even impressive, considering the extent of costumes, props, and cast, I felt a deep sense of anxiety for the 'Church', the Body. This disquiet was the result of the architecture; the materials chosen, colors, layout, elevations and roof lines, etc, of the newly built structure. It hit me that some of the most elaborate construction in the country consists of government buildings and banks. What we believe to be important, whatever is precious to us, we put in fine enclosures and we protect it well. The predominant Statist mindset of out culture is reinforced by the architecture which houses it. And money is so preeminent to us that it can only reside in protective houses of fine stature. Both of these are centrally located and easily accessible, conspicuous monuments; but God, the Creator of all things and the Savior of the world, on the other hand, can be shut up in a warehouse on the outskirts of town. I understand that there is an element of expediency controlled by budget, but that only further fueled the sorrow in my heart for the House of the Lord. King David, during a period of God’s blessing, was not at ease so long as men dwelt in houses of wood and stone, while the Lord was put in a tent. This whole scene cut me deeply, because of the condition of the people of our God.

Times and Seasons

Every year is marked with various highlights from different corners of our world, from politics to movies; national news to a new book series. Right now, Twilight is the novel on center-stage, which has caught many in its web, much the same way the Harry Potter series did. It was in more places than you could find Visa; it was in places you didn't want to be. When one much-beloved vicarious life dies, we are forced to possess another. Each fictitious life we haunt becomes a little more uncomfortable, a little more evil, yet it feeds a side of us which has been growling for some time. For a very poignant commentary on this, I would send my readers to one who's much more capable of pulling truths into the light. Here is Douglas Wilson, published in Credenda/Agenda magazine. Take a look.

http://credenda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131:twilight-6&catid=101:reviews&Itemid=122

Culture Makers

When the word 'culture' is mentioned, most people gravitate toward images of popular figures, music, movies, New York, etc. But the word 'culture', comes from the Latin, 'cultus', which literally means worship. The idea here is that your worship defines, or shapes the way you live. For Americans, we are still living in ways that were predominately shaped by our grand-parents and great grand-parents, even our great, great, great; you get the idea. What was the object of worship by the majorities one hundred years ago? How did their "religious" activities effect their day-to-day lives? More importantly, what and how do we worship today that will change the way our children and their children live years from now? Will the change be for the better? Would you say, that based on this premise, the future looks bright for the next generations?
About fifty years ago, a movement broke out, which has been given the name, Existentialism. This is the idea that there is nothing worth living for, objectively, so each individual must create a purpose and a meaning for the life they were randomly handed. The major component of this reasoning is, because there is nothing established and objective, there is no right and wrong; each person is entitled to believe whatever he has generated out of his own thought and experiences. Consequently, there is no firm, immovable standard, and the highest level of authority is the one holding the biggest guns. If this reasoning is run out to its necessary end, you arrive at only one reasonable place, which is Statism; the idea that government and law have produced the ultimate standard for right and wrong. Of course that would require being reasonable, and who's to say whether it is or not? Many people who fall into this category consider themselves 'non-religious'. This is an utter fallacy, because every last person worships something or someone; whether or not they acknowledge it.
Personally, I am of the mind that people are far more reasonable than they let on to be, and fortunately, quite a bit more inconsistent than they are aware. I say fortunately, because most people who have adopted this 'religion'of relativity have not thoroughly considered the historical construct and heritage they are held to, nor have they considered the full outcome of their beliefs. An old proverb reads, "Men are prone to destruction, as the sparks fly upward". Our ways seem right to us, but it's end is the way of death. If you can identify a problem in humanity, it was likely caused by people. More specifically, by people who are acting according to their own set of agendas and ideas of morality.
Until we are willing to acknowledge the standard given by the One who made us, the issues confronting humanity will only continue to grow. There is nothing that human kind can do to relieve itself of its problems. The only way to ensure a path of correction and peace is a complete, true heart of submission to The Creator, God. Past generations worshiped this God, granted with much to be desired, but their focus on Jesus Christ empowered them to become what they could not have without Him. What they became was what strengthened them to build the cultures we enjoy today. I think it is widely accepted that if each and every person were to become loving, selfless, truthful, clean, wise, and peaceful, then the world would be a perfect place to live. The only way to this end is to give every person the One who can make this a reality; Jesus Christ. Let us worship that like which we hope to become.

Societal Cancer

A little over four years ago, my mother died of cancer. During the last few months of her life, I began to read a bit on what cancer is and how it generally works. What I discovered amazed me, as I saw what was happening to my mother's body was happening in our country. Why my thoughts were drawing this correlation was beyond me, but I thought it quite interesting that the most common cause of death in America, was actually killing America.
Basically, cancer is this: weak, under-developed, and/or mutated cells of the body reproducing faster than good, healthy cells. Every human body has cancer cells; only the strong, healthy body's immune system can identify and destroy these cells before they reproduce. What surprised me more, was that every cell in the body communicates with every other cell it come in contact with. They exchange every piece of information, i.e. type and function, mineral/vitamin content, water content, even needs that other parts of the body may have. This process of communication, whether weak or effective, is the basis for how cancer spreads. In a cancer patient, when a good cell makes contact with a cancer cell, the good cell identifies it as a good cell, rather than a bad cell, and often, the cancer cell identifies the good cell as bad, and tries to destroy it. Consequently, the immune system is not made aware that a bad, weak cell needs to be eliminated, so it is allowed to reproduce.
So, how does this show that our society is in the same condition? Let's draw an analogy; society is the body, individuals are the cells; the legal system, along with law enforcement is the immune system, and violent criminals, of various kinds and degrees, are the cancer cells. Are you with me so far?
Our Criminal Justice system has taken a humanitarian approach in treating the disease by creating rehabilitation centers. This humanitarian effort has not done what it was created to do, which was to take dysfunctional people out of society, and process them into functional members. It's a nice concept, but it has completely backfired. Repeat offenders don't want to be made into anything different. They instead, they learn to use the system as a support for their lifestyle at the expense of the nation. If you have ever taken the time to learn the number of registered sexual offenders in your neighborhood, you would probably be aghast. I found that, in a neighborhood of roughly 1250 homes, there were 92 registered sexual offenders. Published in the Wall Street Journal, a California legislator confessed, "What we’re up against is the kind of criminal who, just as soon as he gets out of jail, will immediately commit this crime again at least 90 percent of the time.", and quoted later in the article, “Not only are they almost certain to continue sexually abusing children, but some eventually kill their young victims”. These are types of societal cancer cells. Why is our body (society) not willing to do what is needed to defend itself from within? How is the individual strengthening him/herself to produce a socially healthy next generation? Again, this has to do more with the integrity of the majority of cells, the individuals, than it does government, or any other organization.
Just as a side note, the same condition can exist in any organization. It can be seen when the productive, dependable employee is terminated by a corrupt and vengeful manager; i.e. the Peter Principle.

Dollare Store Securities

The past couple of years have shown us all that when people are unsure of or lacking confidence in the national or international state of the economy, spending decreases. Now, let's be real here; as Americans, we don't buy less so much as we don't buy as expensive. Everyone want to wear the latest fashions, have the newest iPod, drive a recent model car, and own big performing stocks. But when the markets crumble, lay-offs are threatening, and national debt is increasing, consumers and investors alike head to where the prices for comparable products are lower. This is confirmed by the escalating discount retail sector, such as Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and other deep discounters. We begrudgingly go from shopping at specialty retailers in the mall to shopping at Wal-Mart. This allows us to buy just as much 'stuff', only at lower prices. And as I watch various industries and ticker symbols, I have found that the same hold true with securities. Of course this doesn't mean that everybody stops buying BIDU, AAPL, or CME, simply because they're expensive stocks, but it does mean that there is a lot more volume in cheaper stocks now then there was 6 months ago. I have seen the 10 day average volume slightly decline in stocks priced over $50.00, while the same average has increase dramatically for stocks in the $5.00 - $20.00 range. When I first noticed it, I thought it was just a daily imbalance, a fluke. So I began watching more closely to see if what I encountered was real. Over the last four months or so, I have tracked many different stocks ranging in price, sector, industry, and fundamental integrity. To my surprise, I was seeing that very phenomena. So, my assessment of this reaction to the market is that, first, many investors/traders had been burned by the Blue Chips and other over-priced shares as they fell from their towering heights; and second, the psychology of the bargain shopper has effected even those with expendable funds. Everyone love a great deal, that includes hedge fund managers. All those cheap stocks existed before the recession began, and most of them weren't effected nearly as bad as those that were in the limelight. Eventually, people began to realize that these 'penny stocks' weathered the storm better (only because there was little volume to begin with), and that maybe they are worth buying. Well, it's true that many are worth buying, and many are actually responding to the increased demand just like your Economics 101 professor told you they would.

There are many companies fitting this profile which are likely to benefit the investor. To know which ones they are is the difficulty. If you already own an online brokerage account, you probably have access to a screener or a filtered stock search. The ones to look for are those of any CAP size, who's earnings and return on equity are higher than the competition, and the price is under $20.00 (under $10.00 will give you more tech and med NASDAQ quotes, which is great). In my opinion, it matters little what industry or sector, yet some parts of the market have more momentum than others. I would advise steering clear of OTC BB trades, since getting in is far easier than out. Do not settle for average daily volume under 100K unless you are comfortable doing so. Look into the historical volume and see if it has increased since January 2009. Once you find some of these companies, you are likely to find that the volume has doubled and the stock price tripled or greater since the date referenced above.

I welcome any feedback. Please let me know if you like the material, or if you think I'm off my rocker.