02 Mar 12 I do not box as one punching the air!
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. 26So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; 27but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
“I do not box as though beating the air,” says St. Paul, and all the boxers in the congregation say … Amen!
There was a great choice of readings to work with today – from Elisha’s healing of Naaman the Syrian to Jesus’ healing of the leprous man in today’s Gospel reading – but I don’t think anybody will blame me today for choosing this passage from St Paul’s first epistle to the Christians at Corinth – “I do not box as though beating the air” – when today we have baptized a lad of such prestigious pugilistic pedigree and who promises to be such a fantastic future fighter!
“I do not box as though beating the air”! You might have thought that I had dug through the Scriptures and specifically plucked this passage out today, but it is not so! This is the reading scheduled in our lectionary, believe it or not!
Evidently it was meant to be – predestined from before the foundation of the world perhaps – that on this auspicious day, when there are so many boxers in the house, that St Paul’s one and only reference to boxing would be read!
Of course, Paul wasn’t referring to the Queensbury-rules-style of boxing with which so many of us are familiar. In St Paul’s day boxing was far more brutal!
There are no shortage of people today, of course, who consider modern boxing to be barbaric. It might help put such things in perspective by comparing the type of sport-fighting to which St Paul was accustomed – namely, the ancient Greek Pankration, which was the original fighting art of the Olympic Games.
Even though it was considered a noble sport, the Pankration was a brutal form of no-rules fighting where too naked men tore away at each other until the one left standing was ultimately able to claim the wreath with which he would be crowned Olympic champion!
Legend has it that when Ulysses returned from the Trojan wars his own mother didn’t recognise him. I’m told though that when the Pankration champion returned from the first Olympics that his own dog couldn’t recognise him! First-century boxing was a brutal activity, which is why it might strike a to be a strange sort of metaphor to use with regards to the Christian life!
In our culture, being a follower of Christ is often considered to be a bit ‘girly’. Indeed, not only in our 21st century Australian culture but worldwide, Christianity seems to have taken on a certain feminine character.
I remember our dear friend Father Elias (the colourful Catholic monk who served us so well here as a part of our community a few years back) saying to me that in France now, where his community is based, you are considered a Christian if your wife goes to church!
Now … I am not regretting that it is chiefly women who are now leading the church into the future (and this despite the best efforts of certain elements of the church’s leadership to hold them back) but I am sensing a certain cognitive dissonance between the imagery of the Christian life that is current in our own culture and that which is here being propagated by St Paul.
“I do not box as though beating the air,” says Paul, and his point is that real faith is a hands-on experience, and there is an implicit contrast here between two ways of trying to follow Christ – one that is a hands on, body-on-the-line type of stoush, and another which is something more akin to boxercise, where you appear to be fighting but when, in fact, you’re only punching the air!
Now I’ve got nothing against boxercise, but as a boxing trainer and fight club manager I can tell you that I often have to make the point to our clients that “this is not a boxercise gym”.
Most people do recognise that of course when they turn up to ‘Father Dave’s Fight Club’. They realise that they are joining a fight club and not a boxercise class, but occasionally people do need to be reminded, because there is a big difference between the two types of gym, and people attend the two for very different reasons, just as people attend church for very different reasons.
Some attend because they want to look good, and because they are interested in self-improvement. Am I talking about the gym or the church? I’m talking about both!
I can tell you though that in our case people do not join because they want to look good nor simply for the sake of self-improvement. They join because they want to fight! Am I talking about the gym or the church? I hope, once again, I’m talking about both!
For this is the key difference between the Fight Club and the boxercise gym. When you come home from Fight Club you sort of expect that you’ll be a little bruised and bleeding.
As most of you would know, I’ve been training pretty hard of late, and I’ve been coming home bruised and bleeding pretty regularly. Indeed, as I look out on the congregation today I think I am in a reasonably unique position as a preacher, as I am looking at most of the people who are responsible for those bruises and blood loss! There’s quite a few of you in fact!
I’ve had the privilege of doing quite a few rounds lately with my brother, Lovemore, and I can tell you that I have come away bleeding on every occasion, though I must add that the only person who has actually stopped me recently (that is, the only person to have actually forced me to stop fighting and take time out before being able to continue) is young ‘Bruiser Dayal’ (16-year-old Irena).
Anyway, the point is that the path of Christian discipleship is likewise a bloody experience. We wish it were not that way but it is.
We wish we could love others without having to make real and costly sacrifices but we cannot.
We wish that we could speak out against injustice without having people ridicule us, malign us, and deliberately misrepresent us, but we cannot.
We wish that it were possible to care for the poor without having to impoverish ourselves but it is not.
We wish we could care for the homeless without having to open our own homes or sacrifice our own privacy, but it is just not possible.
We wish that people weren’t so complicated, and that all our friends and family and children needed was just a few wise words, after which they would sort themselves out, but instead it turns out that family and parenthood and even friendship itself is a life-long commitment where those we love never seem to get things entirely right and where nothing ever seems to get ultimately resolved and where we are nonetheless expected to continue to pour ourselves out without ever necessarily seeing any results for our efforts.
We wish that Christian discipleship was not like this but it is! We wish that fighting the good fight was something more like a boxercise class, where we can go through the motions, look good, improve ourselves, and do so at a minimal personal cost, but this is just not possible. The path to glory is soaked with blood. Am I talking about the Fight Club or the church? Both!
I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it – I do the training. I put in the hard rounds. I put in the work in the gym and in the ring – so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
The path of Christian discipleship, like the path of the athlete, can be a hard and lonely path. And just as the boxer needs to train properly if she is going to survive in the ring, so the follower of Jesus needs to take her training seriously, to focus, and to put in the hard yards if she is going to make it to the final round.
I know that there are a lot of theories going about as to how best to accomplish that training (and I’m talking both about the Fight Club and the church).
In the world of boxing there are a lot of theories as to how to best prepare for a fight, and I’ve heard most of them. Most recently though, in my own training, I’ve been taking my lead from a wise indigenous friend and boxing trainer who told me that I should simply follow the example of the indigenous fighters of this country in my fight preparation.
Our indigenous sisters and brothers tend to excel in boxing like no other group in the country and this guy swears that all his indigenous fighters do in preparation for their fights is two things – they run and the box.
So that’s all I’ve been doing for the last 12 months in my own fight preparation – I’ve been running and boxing (trying to box at least 10 rounds per night and run a minimum of 10kms/day, six days per week). And I have found that it works!
And at the risk of being simplistic, I want to suggest that, spiritually speaking, there are really only two things we need to focus on in preparing ourselves for the spiritual fight too, and they are ‘prayer’ and ‘praxis’.
Prayer and praxis – those are the keys I believe.
Prayer is what we are doing now – meeting for prayer and worship, and we can’t expect to progress far as a Christian warrior unless we spend time with the commander in prayer and worship.
And praxis is the other key element in the training program. Praxis means doing. It means getting our hands dirty and vigorously doing the work of Christian ministry – feeding the poor, working for justice, sharing the Gospel of hope, and doing all the ordinary, every-day works of love that Christ calls us to do.
I often reflect on the words of Jesus recorded in John chapter 8: “If you hold to my teaching … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (vs. 31-32)
Doing the truth leads to knowing the truth (rather than the other way round). The more time we put in to actually doing the work of Christian ministry, the more we understand of God and of ourselves, and the stronger we become as Christian pugilists, just as the ring-fighter, the more times he boxes, the better boxer he becomes.
Prayer and praxis – that’s the exhortation I want to finish on today. That might not sound like much of a climax for the sermon but hard work is the flip-side of glory!
I always warn the boys in the Fight Club, ‘winning a fight is glorious, but training, for the most part, is just hard work.’ Perhaps that sums up how a lot of us feel about church at the moment too? Well, we don’t have to enjoy every session, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be there.
For we didn’t follow Christ for His entertainment value, or because we wanted to look good or simply because we wanted to improve ourselves. If those were our goals we would have joined the boxercise class at the local punching-the-air boxercise gym. No! We knew what we were letting ourselves in for when we chose to follow Christ. We knew we were getting ourselves into a fight.
For we don’t have to look to hard around our world today to know that there’s a war going on, and it’s not a fight for the faint-hearted.
We know that if we are truly going to follow Jesus in this world that it is going to cost us everything that we have. But we know, too, that if our resolve is firm and if we train hard, if we develop our spiritual muscle and self-control, if we can endure the pain and keep our cool that we will survive until the last round is over.
We will hear that final bell, we will see the enemy at our feet, and we will receive that imperishable wreath that the apostle speaks of, reserved for those who have fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. Training is hard, but victory is glorious. Amen!
Fighting Father’ Dave – Parish Priest, Community Worker, Professional boxer, Martial Arts master, Father of three. Dave’s goal is to offer an alternative culture for young people, based on values of courage, integrity, self-discipline and teamwork. He is available to help work your corner as you fight the good fight. Visit http://www.fatherdave.org for more information.
01 Mar 12 Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian
I had the privilege last Friday night of being back amongst my friends at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre where we met to grieve the death of the father of my dear friend, Sheikh Mansour Leghaei.
And it was good to be back amongst those lovely people, and it was good to a part of the live Skype linkup with Mansour back in Esfahan (in Iran) and it was to once again enjoy the experience of being kissed by an enormous number of bearded men (an experience that [sadly] I just don’t get anywhere else).
And I was reminded very clearly, while I was there, of one particularly endearing thing that one of the members of that community had said to me on a previous visit. It wasn’t Sheikh Mansour who said it to me or any of his family members but one of the elders there – a retired professor from Newcastle University.
This man had been looking after me on one of the previous times that I’d been there and we had been talking very warmly and candidly, when said to me, “You know, before I was a Muslim, I was a Christian!” And I was taken aback and said, “Really?” He said, “Yes, and before I was a Christian, I was a Jew”.
Then I understood, of course, that he didn’t mean that he’d actually been a convert from Christianity, but that rather he was expressing our common spiritual heritage.
And of course I could not share his perspective – that Islam fulfils the Christian hope, just as we believe the New Testament Gospel fulfils all the hopes and dreams of the Old, but I appreciated that this elder in the Islamic community was basically just expressing his closeness to me, and I found that touching.
And I’ve thought of that man and his message to me often because I think the whole world needs to hear what he has to say!
I do sincerely believe that if we could somehow get rid of all the dirty politics, we’d find that the common heritage of the three Abrahamic religions is so great – at least in terms of basic ethics and values – that we really have no ideological basis for enmity, let alone for any ‘clash of civilisations’!
‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian, and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’ – it was an impressive thing to say, but it was also a statement that required a response, I felt – a response that I wasn’t able to give at the time, but I’ve thought of one since – a good response – and I got it from the story of Noah!
One thing that always comes to mind for me when I think of Noah and the Flood is an old Peanuts cartoon, featuring Linus and Lucy sitting at home, looking out of the window, and it’s raining!
Lucy says to Linus, “I can’t believe how long it’s been raining for! Perhaps it will just keep raining until everything is flooded and we are all drowned?” Linus replies, “No, in Genesis chapter 9 God tells Noah that He will never again allow a flood to take over the whole earth”. Lucy says, “Wow! Thanks”. Linus pauses and says, “Good theology is a beautiful thing!”
Good theology is a beautiful thing, and it’s the theology of Genesis 9 and the flood story that has interested me, as I think it’s a story with a very important message.
The Noah story is a tale of pain and passion – the pain caused by humanity on the one hand, through their violent and reckless behaviour, and the passion of God, who is grieved by His creation and seems to be ready to throw up his hands!
If you’re familiar with this part of the Bible you know that the Noah story is a component part in a series of similar stories that span the first eleven chapters of Genesis – starting out with the very beginning of creation – where things just seem to go from bad to worse.
First there is Adam and Eve and the incident with the snake. Next thing, there’s a murder in Adam and Eve’s immediate family, and things just seem to degenerate from there until, by the time of Noah, we’re told that “every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time”. (Genesis 6:5)
And I appreciate that that’s a very black and white way of looking at the world, but if you look at what’s going on in the world today, you could be forgiven, I think, for coming to exactly the same conclusion!
And it makes you angry! I find myself getting angry about things all the time! I’ve been getting angry this week about Syria, though not so much over what’s going on in the country itself, but over the way it’s being reported out here!
I’m convinced we’re being hoodwinked again by our media on this one, and I spent extensive time on Friday evening with a guy who had just returned from Syria, and he said exactly the same thing. He said that he and his friends would watch the foreign media coverage from Syria, where CNN or BBC would tell them what was going on in the area they were living in, and it was clearly entirely inaccurate!
And it makes you angry, and people do crazy things when they’re angry. They take up arms and they strap bombs to themselves and they commit acts of violence.
But God is not exactly depicted as getting angry here, but rather as grieving.
“The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6:5-6)
And perhaps that depiction of God strikes you as sounding ‘all too human’, but perhaps that is the point!
The God we read of in these early chapters of the Bible is not one who sets the whole machine in motion and then steps back and lets it rip. On the contrary, this is a God who engages with his creation from the outset, and engages passionately!
And so this God gets frustrated, exasperated, and ultimately regrets ever having created the human race. And so the flood comes, not so much as an act of angry vengeance on God’s part, but more out of a desire for a fresh start.
Even so, the flood is a violent act, and there’s no getting around that. It’s exactly the sort of incident that leaves people shaking their heads and asking “why would God allow such a thing to happen?” to which we are generally respond by trying to excuse God from blame.
Here though God seems happy to take the blame, and yet the conclusion to the story is rather telling. God makes a covenant with Noah, and with all flesh through Noah, such that God will never allow another act of such universal cataclysmic violence to ever happen again.
And so God hangs up His bow as a sign to all flesh that such violence is never going to come from His hand again. Just as the modern-day farmer might lock away his rifle in the shed, or the master swordsman sheaths his sword, so the warrior-archer hangs up his bow! And this is what God is does – hangs up His bow above the mantle-piece (so to speak) as a sign that He will never be using it again!
And it’s a covenant. It’s a promise. And if you know your Bible at all you know that the concept of ‘covenant’ or ‘testament’ is a very key Biblical concept.
We divide our Bible into covenants (or ‘testaments’) – the Old Testament and the New Testament, which would suggest that there are only two covenants. In fact, Biblically speaking, I think there are five:
•#This one
•#The covenant with Abraham and his children forever (Genesis12)
•#The covenant with Moses and his people at Mount Sinai
•#The covenant with David – that one of his children will always reign as king
•#The ‘new covenant’ with Jesus
And in each case what we are dealing with fundamentally is a promise – a commitment on the part of God to His covenant partner.
And you can see that there’s a progressive narrowing of the focus of these covenants. They begin with Noah, with a commitment to all flesh. After that there is a commitment to a particular race of people, then to those members of that race that make it to Mount Sinai, then to one particular family within that group (the line of David) and finally to one particular individual (Jesus).
And my dad used to say that it was like a funnel, with the promises of God becoming increasingly focused – from the children of Abraham to Moses, to the specific line of David, and finally to an individual – Jesus, through whom the Grace of God becomes available again to everybody!
And that’s a good way of looking at it, with the funnel ending with a universal shower of love, and it’s appropriate too because it all begins here with Noah with a universal and unconditional commitment to ‘all flesh’, and it is a commitment of mercy – a promise on the part of God that He will deal gently with His children – with ALL His children, and with animals too!
God has hung up His bow. The days of divine violence are over. No matter how bad things get, God is going to find another way of working things through.
It’s a bit of a strange parallel, but I don’t know if you’ve been following the story of Khader Adnan Muhammad Musa –the Palestinian hunger-striker?
I find that story really fantastic, because Khader Adnan is a leader of Islamic Jihad, which is an organisation committed to armed resistance against the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. Islamic Jihad believes that dialogue and so-called passive resistance are useless. As I understand it, he’s openly encouraged people to strap on bombs and do whatever they have to in order to bring an end to the injustice.
And this guy has been arrested a lot of times, though it seems the Israeli authorities rarely have anything to charge him with. So this time when he was arrested, he insisted that he get a trial or be freed, and when they refused to do either he went on a hunger strike!
And he fasted for 66 days, which I believe is a world record (so long as you don’t count the famous Irish ‘terrorist’, Bobby Sands, who didn’t survive his hunger strike). Anyway, Khader Adnan was successful, and the Israeli authorities have said that they are going to let him go! Islamic Jihad, it seems, have one a victory though, ironically, it has not been through armed resistance but through using a form of protest that Mahatma Ghandi made famous!
Yes, there are better ways of dealing with evil and injustice than the resort to violence, and God Himself, according to this ancient story, has committed Himself to finding other ways of dealing with evil and injustice. God will not punish without mercy. God will be gracious because God has made a commitment – a solemn promise of love – to us and to all flesh!
‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian’, he said to me, ‘and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’. And my response is, ‘and before we were men of faith, we were men’ – brothers in the flesh (so to speak) and still, as brothers in the flesh, recipients of the promises of God and beneficiaries of His Grace!
For the Covenants begin here, with Noah, with a commitment from God to be merciful to all flesh.
And yes, we enjoy the Grace of God made ours through Christ, but let’s remember that the promises of God were extended to us first not as Christian people but simply as people – simply as creatures of flesh, for God has made a commitment of love to all creatures of flesh.
Good theology is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? And the story of Noah, while many elements of it may be difficult to come to terms with, is ultimately a beautiful story too, I think, for it affirms the fundamental equality of all flesh before God, and it proclaims the unconditional commitment of God to all flesh.
‘Before I was a Muslim I was a Christian and before I was a Christian I was a Jew’. And before I was a man of faith I was a man, and before being a man (in a sense) I am simply a human being – a creature of flesh. But that is nothing to be ashamed of. For on the contrary, it is creatures of flesh that God is committed to, and He has committed Himself to all of us!
Fighting Father’ Dave – Parish Priest, Community Worker, Professional boxer, Martial Arts master, Father of three. Dave’s goal is to offer an alternative culture for young people, based on values of courage, integrity, self-discipline and teamwork. He is available to help work your corner as you fight the good fight. Visit http://www.fatherdave.org for more information.
28 Feb 12 The Need Of Search Engine Marketing
A business website is a vital part of any businesses working tools and it ought to be as up-to-date as the company could run, without committing too much of your business budget to the effort. The website has an vital role to play in bringing individuals to the company and persuading them to stay long enough to ensure that they make a purchase, however so as to make utilization of the site and to be ahead of your rivals selling similar products, you need to have good web site optimization services.
Several people spend a huge deal of time browsing the web, and tablet computers permit them to do this in a variety of new places. If a website will not have an effective SEO strategy, then the business could easily lose these potential customers, who are ready to go elsewhere to get what they want. Businesses ought to consider the SEO of their website as similar to advertising a real-time shop, complete with information regarding the services they need to give, what they are doing, and how visitors could make the best utilization of the site.
It is not always simple for business leaders to create such information for a website from nothing and so they are much probable to employ a search engine marketing service which may assist them to build their SEO and satisfy their customers. Anyone who is thinking of opening an online business or who already owns a website like this needs to seriously think about whether the skills are up to the job of promoting the site. Or else they need web site optimization services that can help them to go up to the first page of the search engine rankings.
The first page is important for anybody who desires in making money from an online business and a search engine marketing service may really assist you to manage this efficiently. By creating a content strategy which has the full variety of web site optimization services, like web auditing, content creation, social media networking, link building and video messaging, the service can help you to keep your guests entertained and informed, and give you sensible and appropriate content for the site, which is what most search engine bots are looking for. By having someone else come in and do your writing for you, you may make a huge deal of difference to your website, and it does not have to be expensive at all.
27 Feb 12 Niche Reaper Is The Way To Go Online In Style
Making a successful online business could be probably the most difficult tasks to achieve simply because of the vast number of potential competitors which can be found online. Individuals believe they have the next great product to make them online fortunes only to discover many of other sites providing the same goods or services and dominating the promoting environment. Instead of abiding to battle with attempting to discover a brand new marketplace for you to enter with hours of infinite analysis, depend to a resource that will finish this work on your behalf. Simplify your online search through the unimaginable solutions provided by niche reaper.
The online atmosphere has thousands of websites promising you a chance to revolutionize your marketing efforts in order to create strong marketing and search engine optimization results. The difficulty many businesses ultimately discover is that such services will produce initial page Google search results, however at a cost. The companies choose the most obscure keywords that solely give your business with limited access to the large amount of customers who may be available. The concepts of niche research tools isn’t to produce you with the best keywords to hold your current business but to identify the newest niches you can build your business around.
Some of the most successful corporations found in the online environment are businesses which were able to get in on the ground floor of a brand new niche before it exploded. Instead of reacting to the popularity of a brand new product or service, imagine having the ability to identify these niches so as to be proactive and use the unexpected recognition which is about to occur. With a weapon such as niche research tools your business will be able to access a form of software planned not to discover generic keywords but the newest niches.
While your company can create websites around niches which are regarding to explode, niche reaper will offer three major advantages. The first advantage is to discover this market ahead of time so your company could be established when the new client interest starts to grow. The second benefit is from finding out a list of productive keywords so your company dominates this internet based market rather than a competitor. The third advantage is that the reaper system could go ahead to find new niches so your company can regularly develop new sites and products so as to remain beneficial.
The current oversaturation of the online environment makes it fairly tough for a business to enter any modern market and discover real promoting sources such as efficient keywords.
24 Feb 12 Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
Every day I receive emails supposedly sent out from fatherdave.org, and sometimes they even have ‘a message from the team at fatherdave.org’, embedded in the email body! Some days I get hundreds of these, and if I’m receiving hundreds, there must be millions that are being sent out!
A couple of years ago, I never would have dreamed of writing an article, warning anybody about the dangers of identity theft. Mind you, back then I never expected to ever receive emails from someone pretending to be me, selling me viagra!
There are plenty of unscruplous people around who will try to adopt your identity in order to get what they want (normally money). And while it doesn’t help if you do what I do – publish not only your email address and phone number on your website, but also a map on how to get to your house on foot – trying to conceal your identity from everyone is not the answer either.
I appreciate that some people feel that they shouldn’t give any personal details to anybody, for fear that these details will be used against them, but that’s a bit like never getting into a car because you’re aware of dangers on the roads.
In truth, I hate the ‘privacy’ push. C’mon! We live in a community, which means that we need to work together, and if we’re going to work together, we’ll need to know something about eachother. Even so, the problem is that the mechanisms we’ve set up for the sharing of information are open to abuse, and my goodness, have they ever been abused! The Internet is a sad case in point!
It never ceases to amaze me how this great gift to human kind – the Internet – that has the potential to bring people together from around the world, seems to function primarily to spread B-grade jokes and porn around the office, and to sell viagra! And the painful thing for me is not only the number of people trying to sell me viagra, but the number of viagra-sellers pretending to be me!
Every day I receive emails supposedly sent out from fatherdave.org, and sometimes they even have‘a message from the team at fatherdave.org’, embedded in the email body! Some days I get hundreds of these, and if I’m receiving hundreds, there must be millions that are being sent out!
In truth, limiting the number of spambots that can harvest your email address is not difficult. Just make sure that you scramble your address before you allow it to be published online. I’ve got an excellent email scrambler you can download for free right here. Unfortunately, email-author impersonation is not the worse form of identity theft around, and I’m afraid you need someone more knowledgable than me when it comes to the more serious forms of identity theft.
Some of these more serious forms of identity theft include:
• people running up gas or electricity bills on your account
• hi-jacking your telephone account and using it to make long-distance phone calls
• criminals getting hold of your credit card details and making purchases
As I say, this is not my area of expertise, but I can certainly refer you to the ‘Inside Identify Theft‘ report if you want to be better prepared against these sorts of criminal invasions. I’ve even got a video review on the book that you can take a look at if you’re keen.
Of course, even the techniqes taught in the Inside Identity Theft report can’t protect you from the most serious forms of identity theft, such as when a government agency assassinates a foreign diplomat and then frames you for the murder. It happens on 24 all the time! We’ll just have to trust the Lord above that He will protect us from that one (possibly with some help from Jack Bauer) .
Fighting Father’ Dave – Parish Priest, Community Worker, Professional boxer, Martial Arts master, Father of three. Dave’s goal is to offer an alternative culture for young people, based on values of courage, integrity, self-discipline and teamwork. He is available to help work your corner as you fight the good fight. Visit http://www.fatherdave.org for more information.
23 Feb 12 Trading News To Get You Better Returns
Working on the Forex (foreign exchange market) is always an uneasy place for a newbie to begin learning how the stock market works and several have fallen out of love with trading since they discover that Forex is simply too tough for the beginner. Some turn to computer software to help them track the rise and fall of exchange rates, whereas others instead turn to a trading magazine that is concentrated on Forex in order to discover what’s going on and what they must do about it.
Though it is easy to be carried away in Forex and become lost amidst the rise and fall of different currencies, it is not always easy to know exactly what is going on and if you have turned to trading from a totally different profession, without any form of training, then you may feel left completely in the dark.
A Forex trading magazine may actually assist here, because it can give you insights into the world of trading, based on articles by people who are in the business for a long time. This means that, even for someone who is simply beginning, the magazine can give them better concepts regarding what to do and what not to do. Giving you tips and hints which have been learnt from a lifetime of trading may enable you to get a step up and will also make you comprehend the trading game fully.
You do not have to be a newbie to begin reading a trading magazine which has plenty of information about Forex trading, because even professionals can learn something from each other. People who have retired and currently work on these magazines, could provide you simple, basic information which is a real profit to somebody who has been working in Forex for a long time and has forgotten how to do the easy stuff.
Picking up a trading magazine which will show you the right way to deal with your investments, whereas keeping an eye on world news that may affect how your shares pay off, could ensure that you just never lose the ability to play the market.
22 Feb 12 Computer Software Will Help You Get More From Stocks
The current jobs market, with many people becoming unemployed and losing what they had saved, has been a motivating factor in the rise in individuals coming into the stock exchange looking for a new means in making cash. Such people often have no guidance in business and are just going off what they have picked up in former jobs or are totally starting from scratch.
Whereas in some instances this has revealed individuals with a natural talent for trading on the stock exchange, for the most it has come as something of a shock to discover that trading could be a complicated business and not as easy as it had appeared. These individuals are really trying for a technique, a system of trading which is guaranteed to make them a profit.
One of such strategies is automated trading. This uses computer software to predict the rise and fall of shares, in a reliable and steady manner that enables even newbies to make a stab at trading shares. Using stocks trading software could be a easy procedure, and suggests that you can move directly from knowing nothing about trading to recording a profit without having to take classes, attend seminars or join cults that claim to know the key of the stock exchange. With stocks trading software, you may avoid those experts who claim to know something about what would happen in stocks, however in fact end up costing you money.
The benefits of using automated trading are immense, but they start with reducing on the effort and time that you have to take with evaluating stock data, and calculating the future prospects for your shares. Some people are afraid of the implications for using stocks trading software, believing that it takes the ability and talent out of working on the stock exchange. Most beginners, and people without the years of financial education behind them, believe that it could change the way that they trade stocks, forever. This can only be a good thing.
The other advantages of automated trading lie in the fact that you may set your software to notify you of any important rise or fall of your stock. Your system may inform you what is happening and you do not want to know regarding trading or study the history of your particular stocks. Allowing the computer to read through the data that you give takes a lot of the strain and anxiety out of trading.
22 Feb 12 Use Tracking Software To Keep Updated With Changes
As a trader, the worst issue that may occur is that an investment undergoes a sudden drop in value in the night. No trader may be awake 24 hours at a time, just watching what occurs with the stock and however at times it looks like that is precisely what is required in order to get a good earnings on the money you have put forward. It is not possible to keep up with all the modifications that occur to your stock, particularly if you are working in futures, which are notoriously unstable and thus futures trading software may appear like a nice idea.
The thought of investing in futures, where anything could occur at any time of day or night, is tough enough, but reading the data on the futures can even be extremely hard. Traders use a published report referred to as the Commitment of Traders to work out exactly where they ought to be investing, except for beginners this is often not a light read and the most struggle without help from any other broker.
Instead, people often depend on myths or cult-type teachers, who assure to show them a way to manage futures trading, however actually give them nothing but a few tips about how to work like a trader. Those coming in without having been trained on the stock market often do very badly in the early years.
This is often where a futures trading software package may make the difference between getting the results you need, and getting the question wrong. The data you obtain from the report can be put into the computer system and it could assist you to locate distinct patterns in the manner that futures trading has occurred within the last week. Considering these patterns could allow you to see beyond your skill level and begin trading as though you had a lifetime’s worth of skill behind it.
Once you understand how the futures market works and the way the data you use can be applied to it, you will then be ready to get suitable stock to invest in. Since the futures trading software would allow you to put in all the data you need and then arrange for it to set your own personal perimeters. It could then inform you if something influences the stock in the serious way, so you can take the decision to either buy or sell, relying upon the movement. These measures would mean that you may always handle your stocks effectively and efficiently.
21 Feb 12 Utilizations Of Web Marketing Tools
Having the right tool for the job is an old expression defining the comfort of accomplishment done possible by having the right equipment for any task you have in life. Within the business environment having the correct tool for the job aids in developing business clarity, maximizes marketing options and drives sales for long term success. While advertising is part which is eluding your company’s achievement, it could be that you’re not utilizing the best web marketing tools. These shows three tools each online business will embrace to aid in company success.
First Tool: Search Engine Optimization
For any beginner online patron, one of the most overlooked marketing tools is found with the possibilities of search engine optimization. Such a resource permits you to make a strong presence in search engines, that could be a tool utilized by nearly every client on a every day basis. The creation of a strong SEO presence is not easy to accomplish, involving many elements such as website development, social profiles and keyword efficiency. The utilization of a web marketing consultant is extremely suggested therefore you can achieve this essential effectiveness in shortest time period likely, as well as identify successful keywords relevant to your business.
Second Tool: Social Networks
Online communication may be a essential for any company looking to draw in new customers and maintain open lines of communication with existing clientele. The generation of a social network profile could supply your company several unique benefits that could help in the success of your business. From such a profile you may gain an alternate website from which you may promote your business. You will even gain access to a popular online resource which clients advertise their interests and capability for direct interaction. This represents probably the most necessary web marketing tools a company could use while trying to reach clients.
Third Tool: Professional Assistance
The internet is well known for providing opportunities of independence for individuals seeking to flee the traditional working environment and follow the own entrepreneurial efforts. Whereas this possibility may be a major reason for the pursuit of an online business, it does not signify you must abandon necessary resources such as a web marketing consultant. With professional help you gain access to an incredible resource of knowledge that can be applied to your businesses success as you look to boost marketing results and reduce advertising expense. The use of professional assistance represents a required tool to easing your business woes and improves overall results.
Having the right tool for the job is a business necessity and taking advantage of as many web marketing tools as possible will only help to support your online company efforts. Find a leading consultant to aid in your companies marketing efforts by going to http://www.infoyogis.com
17 Feb 12 Discover Benefits Of Permanent Makeup
Personal look plays a extremely vital role in daily life from the time you wake up till you go to sleep. It starts with taking time to put on makeup in the morning, your look at work, time to reapply makeup during the day, buying costly makeup product, looking your best for you significant other and in fact removing all the makeup before you go to bed.
Whatsoever path your life has taken one of the most troublesome and time consuming elements which influence your life each day is seen with the necessity for putting on makeup. If you have grown tired of this daily routine, one distinctive solution you may be able to take benefit of is permanent makeup. With this solution you will discover a tremendous variety of advantages together with being prepared at a moment’s notice, freeing yourself from the high cost of makeup and the great quantity of time you may recapture no longer having to reapply makeup repeatedly all through the day and night.
If you could like to further enrich your natural beauty, remove wrinkles and roll back the aging process you can exploit opportunities like Botox treatments. Each year consumers pay out thousands of dollars on products that are designed to assist fight the numerous signs connected to aging. Whether you are bothered by crow’s feet, dark circles, saggy skin or a lack of elasticity, such signs leave an individual feeling older and lacking that youthful look. In making matters worse the use of the majority of the creams, moisturizers and serums promoted to help reduce the signs of aging have little impact and take an amazing amount of time while you see results if any at all.
For the person who is done with the poor results found with several of these high cost solutions, one of the best alternatives to take advantage of exists with Botox wrinkle removal and facial filler treatments. Through these solutions an individual could be able to get an anti aging treatment which gives real results for extended periods of time. No longer can you have to wait for results to develop over time as these treatments offer instant outcome. Furthermore, the investment into these treatments easily matches or may even be lower than the investment you make into ineffective products that claim to impact the signs of aging. Best of all the solutions found with permanent makeup and Botox treatments merely scratch the surface of all the probabilities available to an individual from resources found in high quality and professionally run medical spas.
The resources of laser hair removal could aid a person in removing all their unwanted hair from areas which are unappealing like the underarms, legs, bikini areas along with several other areas. The solutions of laser skin resurfacing would help a person eliminate unwanted blemishes, age and sun damage spots, fine lines and wrinkles that have developed over time or could be the result of acne or surgery. Also the treatments offered by skin rejuvenation could assist in altering facial appearance as you bring new life to your skin, improving elasticity and look. All of these treatments are offered to anyone looking to take benefit of ways to enhance their appearance.
To find the best resource to help you in botox treatments simply go to http://www.prettyfacemedispa.com
