Stock Market is going down, down, down...

I haven't traded stocks in quite awhile so decided to jump back into it again.

Last year the market kept going up at a supersonic speed, and all the analysts were screaming that it's not going to last and to get out. But the market just kept going up, up and away.

So I put my trading accounts into money markets and stopped trading. Mostly because I use to work at a website and could watch the market all day. But since then I've had a promotion at work and now I don't have the luxury of playing at work anymore. So now I am trying to just simply trend-trade when the market is close, and watch for good/bad headline news in the finance section at Yahoo.

Finally, the market is trending-down, all the bad news is still there: housing, foreclosures, subprime sharks, USDollar dropping, off retail sales for Christmas, etc.; finally the market is catching up with reality. In my opinion, it just goes to show how far the dollar can be stretched through inflation. And now finally, Paulson, at Goldman Sachs (the most powerful man on earth perhaps), is saying the market needs a correction, and yet at the same time, asking President bush for a stimulus package.

What Henry Paulson says, goes... I have all my accounts in QID. Which is an exchange traded fund that makes money when the Nasdaq 100 (all tech stocks) goes down--and QID goes up twice as fast. The Nas is a very volatile stock as it is, so to multiply it by two makes it a wild roller coaster ride at Six Flags Great America and not for the feint of heart! Very risky and I don't recommend anybody to try this at home.

I love the stock market, and wish I could daytrade, but hence, I believe with all my heart God has put me specifically in the current position I am in at my job. I've grown so much from enduring the challenges and tests of faith God has thrown at me, like a loving Father will do. If I were day trading all day I would be an emasculated wus. So praise God, and pray for me that my faith does not waiver.

Nigerian Mission Trip

1 Peter 4:11 ESV
...Serve by the strength that God supplies—-in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Dear friends and family,

Did you know that there are 15 million children orphaned by aids and that about 11 million live in Africa alone?

I have an opportunity in April of this year to join a team of missioners and travel to Nigeria. In the midst of severe poverty, illness and homelessness I believe God does His greatest work. We will be partnering with Global Christian Ministries, Inc. and the purpose of our trip is fivefold.

*First, we will be allowing God to work in our lives through the personal enrichment that comes from this type of mission trip.

*Second, we will be visiting orphans, and encouraging local Christians who are greatly encouraged by our mere presence.

*Third, We will be doing rehab on a seminary that is scheduled to open this Sept. called the Institute of St Augustine’s Advanced School of Christian Studies ( S.I.A.C.S.).

*Fourth, we will be taking a medical team with us to offer free clinics for adults and children

*Lastly, we will be assisting with the efforts to host and teach at an international aids conference for about 300 pastors in western Africa.

Would you consider being part of this trip, first by praying for us to be fortified everyday and be victorious as we subdue the enemy in the Name of the Lord and take captive our loved ones for the Kingdom of God? Secondly, I am also asking for financial support to meet the cost of travel and other expenses while there. All these will cost $2,950 (two thousand, one hundred dollars). Please make your checks payable to Global Christian Ministries address: P.O. Box 6733, Libertyville, IL 60048 with a footnote indicating, for Don Tjader.

Thank you so much for considering my requests! We’ll be leaving on April 11th and arriving home on the April 27th.

Sincerely,

Don

Read the Bible in a year

Okay, so I finally found it!

I was watching a DVD series from John Piper and he held up his Bible with 4 bookmarks in it with the Bible split up into 4ths with a reading plan. Pastor Piper explained how he has used this plan to read the Bible every year for the past 25 years--25 years! Front to cover reading the Bible! Thoughts of inspiration stirred around in my head. 25 years from now I want to say that I've read the Bible every year. Oh how broad a base of Bible knowledge I could have if I've read every single word in the Bible, over and over and over.

I use to mock the Bible year plans, saying that people are not getting deep profound truths from the Bible. Generalizing all, that they are only skimming and not delving down into the infinite wealth that only an infinite author can write. And this may be true to some degree with some people.

But I finally realized why reading the Bible in a year is so important. This is only one of many spiritual Disciplines. One discipline of which needs to be daily, and how important the daily discipline is, and so easy to forget, and may a forgotten day never go by! The benefits of this Spiritual discipline is endless.

Of course I am not going to give up the discipline of plummeting into the infinite worth of Scripture. In fact, my small group, I am a part of, is going to start studying the book of Romans, and we are going to spend, at the least, three years. Also, our goal is to have 4 verses memorized per week. So now, my small group has decided to follow this Bible in a year plan--and we found the perfect plan.

I ask everybody reading my little blog here to follow along with us, as we follow the plan from the Bethlehem Baptist Church's lead with their:

One Year Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

Click the link and scroll down to the PDF files (Adobe Acrobat Reader), and print them off, and cut the book marks out. I challenge you to put the book marks in the proper spots in your favorite battle Bible, and check mark the the list off as you read along.

This is a great way to get broad knowledge of the whole entire Bible into our cores. After years of investment I promise you this will pay off: including more peace, joy, and content with your life, as it is properly understood in the context of God's sovereignty.