Columns/Opinions

   Paul told the church in Ephesus, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians1:13).
   Before the days of Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping and text updates from UPS, wax seals were an effective way to mail a letter. 
   The wax seal gave identity because they knew who it was from. It gave security because what was inside was protected from being opened. 
   Without it, you really don’t know if your letter has been tampered with. If you have been given letter from your king which said, “The British the are on their way, send help!” how would know this was true? 
   The seal was your way of knowing the true identity of the sender. In the same way, we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and can know our identity and security in Jesus.
      Do you ever feel insecure. Allow God to give you comfort and security today. 

    The latest installment In the Harry Potter franchise, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” debuted at No. 1 over the weekend and raked in over $253 million worldwide.
   As the second movie in the Fantastic Beasts series, it was better than I expected.
   Plus, it’s a little timely given all the things circulating in the world today.
   The film features an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp. 
   The plot follows Newt Scamander (Redmayne) and Albus Dumbledore (Law) as they attempt to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp), while facing new threats in a more divided wizarding world.
   In 1927, the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is being held prisoner by the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA). 

   I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for the drop in temperatures this week.
   Mostly because once it reaches the point of freezing, I’m optimistic that the mosquitos outside should just drop dead.
   The other bonus is that it helps usher in the holiday season much better than being muggy and hot.
   Speaking of, Thanksgiving is next week!
   Here at the Reddell house, we’re still unsure of how we’ll celebrate it due to conflicting work schedules.
   Mostly, the hardest part if coordinating my sister’s online retailer management job rather than my brother’s IT one.
   But, both of my siblings are coming home this weekend, so, we’ll be celebrating a week earlier.
   To be fair, I don’t know how we’ll celebrate it, exactly, but I know that we’ll be together and that’s what matters most.
   Though, I can guarantee you that it’ll include several hours’ worth of Christmas music and probably a lot of Christmas decorations.

   Well we survived the mid-term elections and not the worse for wear. 
   After the House of Representatives control moved to the Democratic Party and the markets woke up last Wednesday and added 500 points on the Dow. So much for any worry about what Congress means to the equities markets. 
   I would suggest that one should take little or nothing from the election results until something actually happens.
    This is like reading the tea leaves as to what the trade negotiations will mean. 
   Often, all of this is mostly just noise with few real facts and abundant speculation.
   Last week’s recovery was stopped short late in the week and put completely on hold this week with the Dow giving up over 600 points on Monday. 
   The culprits were the high-tech FANG stocks lead by Apple. 
   By the end of the day, Apple dropped below $200 per share and was trending below the 200 daily average price. 

   Thanksgiving is almost here.
   Of course, the idea behind this holiday is to share what we have with our loved ones.
   But if you want your family to take part in your abundance, you will need to look beyond one day in November and follow a detailed plan of action.
   For starters, review your estate plans, including your will, living trust and other key documents.
   If you haven’t drawn them up yet, consult with a legal professional to get started.
   Also, work to preserve your financial independence so your family, especially your grown children, won’t be burdened.
   One possible step to take: Explore options to insure yourself against the devastating costs of long-term care, such as an extended nursing home stay.
   Finally, communicate your wishes to your family.
   By doing so, you’ll prepare the right people for the roles you wish them to assume – power of attorney, executor of your estate, and so on.

   Because deer season has arrived, last night I settled in with my girls and planned on watching a movie. 
   After scanning the multitude of Direct TV channels we pay a high price for and finding nothing, they moved the Netflix box into the living room. 
   My plan was to watch one of “their” series. 
   Kids these days do not binge on cookies and cream ice cream or cheese dip like we did back in the day. 
   They binge on Netflix, sometimes watching an entire series in only a day or two. 
   A dog fight broke out right before we selected our series for the evening. 
   Sadly, about every two months, our Blue Heeler jumps on our lab. Belle is the Monico matriarch, our elderly lab. These two cuddle up to happily nap together often, and then Salty attacks her next for no reason at all. 
   Nature would call Salty the “Alpha Dog.” 
   Whatever you want to call it - it is heartbreaking; and I am incapable of breaking them up. 

   While Moses was leading the nation of Israel, God told him, “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8).
   What an amazing thought. As holy as God is, He wants to dwell with us. 
   He wanted them to know that He was with them. God has now made us, “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). 
   When we look to the temple of Moses, we see a visual representation of our identity in Jesus.
   The tabernacle of Moses was made up of these beautiful standing boards. 
   These were the temple’s walls. The boards were cut from Acacia trees. The Scriptures tell us, “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12). 
   We are like trees. These boards represent us as believers. 

   “Overlord” has taken third place at the box office, raking in $19.4 million worldwide over its debut weekend.
   The film stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Gianny Taufer, Pilou Asbæk, Jacob Anderson, Iain De Caestecker, and Dominic Applewhite.
   The plot follows several American soldiers who are air-dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Day and discover secret Nazi experiments in Seal Blanc – a quiet little French village.
   The movie is rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, language, and brief sexual content.
   The rating proves valid well within the first 15 minutes of the film where numerous casualties result from planes being shot out of the sky and paratroopers being murdered by German soldiers.
   On the eve of D-Day, a paratrooper squad is sent to destroy a German radio tower in an old church.

   Currently at home, we’re working on finalizing a theme for our Christmas tree this year.
   By that I mean mom and I are arguing over colors and ideas while she can’t make the end decision.
   A few weeks ago she and my sister settled on some sort of metallic theme featuring rose gold and maroon.
   I wasn’t a fan of the color scheme or idea at all and loudly voiced my opinions.
   After all, for the past three or four years we’ve done this icy and frozen tree with shades of blue, silver and white.
   I’ve loved every moment of it up until mom decides to put her silly beads on the edges of the limbs.
   And I know it’s a traditional sort of thing, but I’ve never liked it and have always thought it looked stupid and ridiculous.
   I’m always thinking, why ruin a good ornament display with “extra” beading like you’re over-frosting some poor cake.
   Naturally, since its mom’s house and her tree, she gets what she wants.

   By the time you read this, you survived the onslaught of political ads that rival the invasion of locusts. 
   I hope your candidate was successful and you are happy with all that will occur because of the election. 
   The outcome on the national level as it concerns the stock market will be fun to watch and to speculate as to the direction. 
   Some implied that a Democratic takeover of the house will cause a minor correction of less than 5 percent and a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate would result in a real correction of 10 to 15 percent.
   With money on the sidelines due to rising interest rates, a money manager indicated that they would invest after the correction. My point is that much may be made of the impact, but I dare say that little of consequence will occur over the next six to nine months.