Calm in the Storm

The Market has been an roller coaster ride. I believe the anxiety traders are feeling must resemble how the disciples felt in the boat in the middle of the storm. Yet during the storm Jesus was sleeping because he was at perfect peace. The disciples couldn't understand why he was sleeping, because they were being tossed around. As a Christian in the market I believe we have to pray and remember that God gives us peace that surpasses all understanding. The peace he gives us is not as the world give it. The peace of the world requires a good environment, but the peace that God gives us is irregardless of the environment. I have found that when the market is going crazy and my co-workers are screaming, it is best to leave the room for just a minute or two and find a quite place like a conference room to pray. In that time I find that God arrives and restores to us the peace, which gives us the calm in the storm to make the right trade decisions.

Finding God in Market Turmoil

August is typically the time of the year is when Hedge Fund managers go to their homes in the Hamptons for a little rest and relaxation, but this August has been anything but peaceful. The meltdown of the sub-prime mortgage market has caused multi-billion dollar companies like American Home Mortgage (AHM) to go bankrupt, Bear Sterns(BSC) to shut down some of its hedge funds and Goldman Sachs(GS) one of the most prestigious brokerage houses to suffer huge losses to their stock price. Yet in the midst of all this Market in turmoil how is it that we can have a peace that the Bible describes, "surpasses all understanding".

I was playing tennis with a successful executive friend of mine who ran a multi-billion dollar corporation and after the match he started telling me about a certain time in his life during which he found himself in a crisis. I expected him to tell me how God gave him comfort during this time but instead he described how challenging the time was and how he had a hard time understanding "Why" he was being put through this circumstance and "Where" God was hiding during this time?

It got me thinking that while there are many times in the Bible that God chooses to manifest himself in a Big way, but there are other examples where He remains silent. It occurred to me that almost all the great figures in the Bible experience periods in their life when God was "silent" and His presence felt far off. The Psalmist best describes this time in our Christan walk when he says, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death you are with me." I believe the psalmist wrote this because he is actually reminding himself that God is still there, even though he doesn't feel His presence. Incredibly even Christ for a moment in time felt separation from God's presence when He was on the cross and said, "my God, my God why have you forsaken me?"

God obviously loves his only son Christ, but at that moment even Jesus felt forsaken when probably needed God the most. If God allowed even Jesus to feel forsaken at the time when he needed Him the most it is likely that we too may feel alone in our greatest challenges. Why does He sometimes seems to disappear? The poem "Footprints" is very beautiful and speaks to the artist in me, but when I'm in trouble the more practical business person side of me emerges and I want to know where God is?

I believe that during our darkest moments when a trial is unbearable the reason God seems to intentionally hide is so we will do three things 1) recall our previous victories, 2) seek his presence even more fervently and 3) rely on His promise that "he will never leave us nor forsake us" and that He will never "give us any burden to difficult for us to carry."

So when everything is falling apart and the Market is crashing, my only hope is to follow Christ's example and cry out to God. It gives me comfort to know that on the cross He too felt forsaken and even though I don't understand "why", or don't feel Him there, He is in fact walking with me in the valley of the shadow of death.

I have come to accept that the "Why" is not necessarily for me to comprehend. The outcome is simply an increased faith and fortitude for the next battle.

Fellowship of the Unashamed -Commitment Statement

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed". The die has been cast, the decision has been made, I have stepped over the line. I won't look back let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure. I'm finish and done with lone living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame vision, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right first, tops recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on his presence, love with patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I can not be bought, compromised, detoured, loured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, and ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up and paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till he stops me and when Jesus comes for his own, He will have no problem recognizing me, my banner is clear, I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

Tossed Out of the Boat

Sometimes you are out of the boat because you feel like God has called you to something great and feel the faith to walk on water, but other times you are just tossed out of the boat and don't know what has hit you.

The latter is what happened to me recently. I was working for a Hedge fund where my manager and I were not seeing eye to eye and we parted ways. This is an amazing challenge for me, I had only started the job four months ago and my wife and I are only days away from closing on a house and it scares me to think about how we are going to cover the mortgage on only one salary, but I know that even when I'm tossed out of the boat, it is in God's plan.

I recently heard a sermon that really spoke to me, it was by a minister that was trying to explain why even things we think are mistakes or errors might actually be God. The minister explained that the reason he was a minister today was because a door was left open. He explained, that he was inspireed to enter into the full time ministry because of a lecturer he hear in his college. However, the lecturer almost never spoke at this college because he was having visa problems. A classmate of the minister talked to the dean of the college because he believed that he could help the guest lecturer with his visa issues, the classmate happened to be the son of then sitting President Gerald Ford.

The son of President Ford contacted the right people and was able to help the guest lecturer get his visa. Well how did President Ford come into office, it was because Nixon left that White House because of Watergate and why was Watergate revealed? Because one of the buglers left a door ajar and the night watchman on duty noticed it. So leaving a door ajar was the reason this Minister entered into the full time ministry. So if you are enjoying this blog right now you can thank Watergate.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Even things I perceive as mistakes are in God's control and a part of his greater plan and that gives me peace.

Investing on Faith

This is an interesting article on Faith based funds. Faith based funds have outperformed key benchmarks in recent years. The Presbyterian Foundation which runs the New Covenant Growth fund gives holders the option to either reinvest thier dividends or to send their dividends or capital gains to chairty instead.

www.thestreet.com/_htmlbtb/funds/mutualfundmonday/10288261.html

Due Dillegence: Caring for Your Nets

The primary principle of Stock Casting involves seeking God in pray in evey aspect of our lives but in particular in our daily dealings with the stock market. While prayer is the primary principle of stock casting, prayer does not spare us from our other responsiblity; caring for our nets.

When Christ told the fishermen to cast their nets to the other side of the boat, their nets were ready to be used. Are your nets ready for when you hear the voice of God directing you? What kind of research and due dillegence have you done? What use would have Christ's fishing guidance have been for the disciples if they had left their nets on the shore? They would have been ill equipred to listen to the voice of God. Are you prepared? Are you ready to hear the voice of God and to use the talents he has given you?

Jesus speaks of preparadness in the parable of the ten virgins, five which had brought extra oil for their lambs and five who did not and were not ready for when the bridge groom arived. How prepared are you?

In the parable of the talents, God gives each and every one of us certain talents and he expects us to use those talents and multiple them. These talents are like the nets or fishing equipment we have to be prepared to use them, we have to be prepared to cast our nets. Fishermen spend a great deal of their time preparing and cleaning their nets so that there are no dead fish or holes in the nets. It is our responsiblity as Christians to be responsible. Go to our workplace prepared for the coming day. There is no slacking. Due dillegence and time spent learning and growing is our responsibility.

God has given us our nets and expects us to maintain them an use them properly. Nets have a function, the function of a net is to catch fish. If you are in the stock market it is likely that God gave you that talent to analysing and picking stocks. While prayer is the foundation of stock casting we can't forget it is still our responsiblity to constantly fine tune the talents that God has given us and continue to develop them.

Pathfinder Meeting

I know many of you are getting very excited about our upcoming Pathfinders session on Tuesday, April 25th -- Grazia and I certainly are!!!!!

This is a reminder that we will be meeting up again in 2 weeks to discuss your results from the strengths finder test, how they support or compliment your current work or the work you are looking to do and how they align more broadly to your personal life and your spiritual talents / serving within the church.

If you have not started reading the book, DO NOT PANIC or worse, elect not to attend. We advised you take the test from the book Now Discover Your Strengths because we found it personally invaluable and we still encourage you to take the test, read through what your top strengths mean and then perhaps a chapter or two on the theory / methodology. But the most important task is taking the test. So please don't feel the pressure to read the book in its entirety.

Please RSVP with graziasorice@gmail.com between now and Friday, April 21, if you plan to attend so we can nail down the location. If there are fewer people, we may move venues to our apartment on the upper west side. Your cooperation in this is appreciated.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Best,
Grazia & Gian-Carlo

The Power and the Glory

I want to be successful, if I wasn't I would be in another profession. Sometimes as Christians we feel think there is something wrong with glory or power. This is because we mistake glory and power for greed and pride. However, the Bible is filled with successful individuals, yet their success is always typically tied to their relationship with God. Joseph was second in command in Egypt, Daniel was third in command in Babylon, what is interesting about both Joseph and Daniel is that they both were in prison and from there God delivered them and brought them to the place of honor. Their glory and power were not because of their own doing but because of God in their life.

Success is independent of your employer. Daniel severed under more than one king and under each kingdom God raised him up. Likewise your success is independent of who you work for. Your success and your glory ultimately comes from above. Psalm 84:11 says, "The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." If God is giving you the glory, there is nothing wrong with it, as long as we don't fall into pride.

Embrace the power God has given you because like Daniel or Joseph it was probably for a purpose remember power also comes from above, Deuteronomy 8:18 says "Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God' for it is he that giveth thee the power to get wealth." In Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, "As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God."

When You Are Down, You Are Not Out!

The Market is invariably a series of ups and downs no matter how good you are as a portfolio manager, trader or analyst, you are going to have some downs. The biggest challenge is to not take yourself out of the game because just because you are down does not mean you are out. Same is true in your walk through life. The bible guarantees that there are going to be valleys, yet in these times God is with you. Being down can be an opportunity for God to step in and for you to rely on Him and not on your own ability. We all have our own talents and skills, which God has given us, however there are times when our abilities are not enough and it is during these times that God has the opportunity to operate.

When you are down and you don't know what to do and you are second guessing your every move, that is the time to take a step back and ask God to help you in the situation. God is a gentleman, he is not going to do the trading for you, but if you ask him he will lead you. In Proverbs 3:5-7(Peterson version) says, "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go, he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all."

In John 10, the Bible talks about the sheep knowing God's voice because they are "familiar" with his voice. It is important for us to familiarize ourselves with God's voice, so that when we are down and in need we are able to distinguish it from other voices. There are predominately three kinds of voices that we hear, our own voice, God's voice and the enemy's voice. The enemy's voice is typically the easiest to discern because it is usually going to suggest to us to do something that is a short cut that is ultimately corrupt and for selfish greed driven results. I would like to suggest that it is more of a challenge to distinguish between our own voice and that of God's. Many times God's voice doesn't make sense and is not necessarily rational. It is like Christ telling the fishermen to cast there nets on the other side of the boat. There is no rational reason for there to be any more fish on the right side of a boat than on a left side of a boat. Many times our own voice tells us what we want to hear. Our voice tells us what we think is going to be best for ourselves, however God knows better.

In order to familiarize ourselves with God's voice so that we listen to it when we are down, we have to practice being in constant communication with him. Try seeking Him in the little things in life and as you learn to listen to His guidance you will learn to hear him in the big things. Why do baseball players who have been playing for years still go to batting practice before a game? You would think that they have been swinging at balls for all there life and could probably skip batting practice, but they go to batting practice so that at the time of the game, when the distraction of the roar of the crowd and the pressure of the game is at its pinnacle, they don't take themselves out of the game, they go to the familiar. Our prayer life needs to be like batting practice. Praying is something we should be doing as often and as frequent as possible so that when the market is going against you and the pressure is on, you automatically go to your place of prayer and know how to hear God's voice.

Now, Discover Your Strengths

In the parable of the talents, God give one person ten talents another person five talents and the third person one talent. While God's distribution of talents were not equal, His expectation was the same for all three; doubling their assets or 100% return. The key to the 100% annual return on assets is found in using your talents. Focus on what God has given you and not what you lack. Our society actually teaches us to focus on our weaknesses and trying to improve on them. This is the opposite of what God teaches us about our talents. He has given each one of us certain talents and he wants us to use them.

In the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton describe two major flawed assumptions.
1. Each person can be competent in almost anything.
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in his or her areas of greatest weakness.

The truth is:
1. Each person's talents are enduring and unique
2. Each person's greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her greatest strength.

To understand our strengths we must understand that one's strengths are made up of three things:
1. Talents are your naturally recurring patterns of throught, feeling or behavior.
2. Knowledge consists of the facts and lessons learned.
3. Skills are the steps of an activity.

The largest problem we all face is not knowing the strengths that God has given them and that causes them to spend 90% of their time in the market working on what they don't know, instead of what they are good at. If this is you go out and buy the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" because in it there is a test that they give you that allows you to discover your strengths. Once you have discovered your strengths, focus on applying them over and over again to different problems confront in your analysis or trading.