Humorous Wedding Speech by a Friend of the Groom -- Wedding Toasts Roa

Humorous Wedding Speech by a Friend of the Groom Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I would first like to thank you all for coming today and helping to make Marcus and Adrian's wedding such a memorable and special occasion. Personally, I wish you'd all stayed at home and made my job less nerve wracking. When I was asked to be in the wedding party I decided that I needed to know what the role entailed. I have now read several books, and all of them include a last minute checklist to guarantee a smooth wedding. So, to give you a feel for the pressure I’ve been under, here are some of the things I’ve had to remember from my checklist: 1) See that all ex-girlfriends are kept at bay. Now then, Marcus discovered girls a lot earlier than I did, because while I was worrying about English exams, he was copying my work, leaving him free to pursue girls to his heart's content. Put it this way - he'd discovered bike sheds before I even knew what bikes were. But, there is no chance of seeing any of his ex’s tonight because I understand that they are all out celebrating, which has denied us some quality entertainment as a result. 2) Bring a credit card for the payments that the groom may have forgotten. So far, Marcus owes me  £650 ($400) - which reminds me, this wedding nearly didn’t go ahead! The hotel manager was getting concerned as he hadn’t received the deposit. Thankfully, Marcus assured him that he... ...reach the bride and groom's home. So, if you would like to place all of the gifts that you have brought with you, (particularly the valuable ones), in the back of the green rental van, registration S653 GFR, I will personally ensure that they receive them. I promise. So that’s what my role entailed. Of course, I also have the honour of proposing a toast to the bride and groom. But, before I do that, let me first say, Marcus, you’ve been an excellent friend to be since I met you twelve years ago and Adrian, you look stunning today and getting to know you has been a real pleasure. Ladies and gentlemen, please could you now raise your glasses in a toast to the bride and groom. To Adrian and Marcus.

Paul on Grace Essay

The purpose for this paper is to provide historical background on Paul and grace. I will also provide how it is applied to modern times, how it has changed my life as well as my learning goals from this paper on Paul and grace. Paul embraced God’s grace after his conversion and call and informed others about it. He expresses consistently how grace is the solitary reason that salvation is attained. Researches of articles of the subject as well as Paul’s epistles provide evidence of this. According to Paul, â€Å"by grace we are saved,† (Ephesians 2:8). Historical Information About Paul on Grace: There is no doubt that Paul was chosen by God to be the vessel to communicate His good news to others. Cornelius R. Stam a writer for www.bereanbiblesociety.org points out that Paul has more to say about grace than any other writers of the Bible. Stam says, â€Å"The Hebrew equivalent of Paul’s word for grace is found only 68 times in the whole Old Testament (which is nearly twelve times the size of Paul’s epistles) and then not always relating to God’s grace, and never to the dispensation of Grace.† In the four Gospels (nearly twice the size of Paul’s epistles) the word grace (Gr. charis) with its derivatives appears in the original only 13 times. Furthermore, in Paul’s epistles the word grace is nearly always used in association with â€Å"the dispensation of the grace of God.† Paul wrote greatly concerning grace. Each epistle signed by Paul opens with an assertion of grace and peace  "from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.† Paul’s epistles reveal that we are under grace rather than the law. In them we discover that we are â€Å"justified freely by [God’s] grace† (Rom. 3:24). He also informs us that â€Å"where sin abounded grace did much more abound† (Rom. 5:20). Paul asserts that â€Å"God is able to make all grace abound† to us in order for us to â€Å"abound to every good work† (II Cor. 9:8). â€Å"Grace† is used in the book of Acts 4 times before the raising up of Paul and 12 times afterwards. However, before his raising, the term was not used toward the dispensation of grace or toward salvation by grace. After his conversion is when the word is used often and toward the dispensation of grace and salvation by grace. According to www.gracepoints.com, â€Å"Paul was the first to refer by divine inspiration to â€Å"the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward† (Eph. 3:2), and to â€Å"the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God† (Acts 20:24).† Before Paul, no one had ever mentioned the dispensation or the gospel of the grace of God. Above all, Paul revealed the most important doctrine that concerns our salvation. And that is that â€Å"By grace we are saved† (Eph. 2:8). Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., asserts in an article that Paul’s definition of grace can be found on II Timothy 2:15 which says, â€Å"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that neededth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.† In other words, we are to divide the Gospel rightly so that there is no confusion among those we teach. Martin, expresses that â€Å"Paul was speaking of the fact that only a remnant of Israelites were then accepting Christ in the proper manner and he said this remnant was by the â€Å"election of grace†. Martin also asserts that from Paul he understood that salvation requires no works of a man. This seems strange at first, but it is until one reads II Timothy 1:9 that it makes sense. II Timothy 1:9 â€Å"Who [God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not ac cording to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.† †Paul is emphatic in stating that his ministry is a product of grace; he explains that his ministry is ‘according to the gift of grace which given to me according to the working of His power† Eph 3:7. The notion that Paul’s ministry is due to God’s grace is confirmed by his saying, ‘But I labored more than them all, and yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me†1 Cor 15:9-10,† www.embracehisgrace.com . In I Cor. 15:10 Paul says, â€Å"by the grace of God I am what I am. As stated before, Paul had loads to say on the subject of grace. Paul acknowledged how important grace was especially concerning his salvation. He wished grace upon the recipients of his letters at the start of his epistles as a means of letting them know he was wishing or praying good health upon them (Rediscovering Paul An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology pg. 58)All of his epistles are proof of that. They not only affected his time as they affect contemporary life as well. Application to Contemporary Life: For Christians, Paul’s words on grace are applied in contemporary life as a reminder of how we are saved and just how good God is. The apostle Paul insists that salvation is given to us only by grace. For us to have perfect righteousness by our good works is impossible. It is Christ’s good works that count. According to www.askelm.com, â€Å"God gives us salvation by grace as a gift.† In his letter to Ephesus, Paul said, â€Å"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast,† (Ephesians 2:8). The website also explains how grace and works are completely opposites. â€Å"Rewards come by the practice of works, but mercy comes by the application of grace.† Grace is a wholesome gift that is freely given. God gives it to us constantly, especially when we deserve the total opposite. Conversely, the law is always associated with works and deeds. The breaking of law results in wages being paid—the wages of death (Romans 6:32). As Paul said, â€Å"the law entered, that the offence [sin] might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound† (Romans 5:20). No matter how much believers mess up, God’s grace frees them from its severe penalties. No matter the good deed people try to do to make things better, it is ultimately His grace that overrides it all. Knowing this relieves burdens on the numerous Christians that consistently do wrong. It is knowing how gracious God is that informs them that everything will be okay as He is in control. Christ places salvation at our reach. It is up to us to walk by faith and grab it. Christ did what no man can do and that is maintain a perfect record of righteousness. Therefo re, the Father put Christ as the substitute to account for everyone’s righteousness. He paid the debt of all to God which is why all inherit grace from Him. Once again, to Paul, salvation is exclusively from grace. â€Å"But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made UNTO US wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,† (I Cor. 1:30) Through the acceptance of Christ and being in Him, God has made us to be in perfect wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He wiped the slate clean that all generations from back then to contemporary times may receive the kingdom of Heaven. According to searchingforgrace.com, Paul went to extreme measures to highlight just how significant and devastating this false teaching was, going so far as to say that it was actually disabling the grace empowered life within them. â€Å"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery,† (Galatians 5:1-2). This is a reminder as those of today read the Bible of how gracious God is. Specific behaviors, values, or preferences your research has brought you personally: Researching this topic has been a constant reminder of just how amazing God is. Without Him there is no me. Just because we are saved by His grace is no excuse to sin it up just for the fun it. Appreciating God’s grace is the best thing I can do along with do what is right to the best of my ability. There is always room to improve in my life but God’s grace lets me know that He still loves me no matter what. With Him on my side through His grace I know that I can overcome it all. Paul showed how much he valued and appreciated grace as he constantly talked about it and spread the Word to others. God was gracious enough to change Paul’s life for the better and allow him to inform others of the Gospel. He has certainly done the same for me. This is why I do my best to share the Gospel with others as much as I can. Paul reminds me that by His grace I am saved! Personal Learning Goals from Research: My personal goals from this research paper would be to keep the faith and always remember how gracious God is. I must embrace what I’ve learned more. In all that I do I must remember to keep Him first above anyone else. Finally, I must continue to inform others of the Gospel and His grace. Conclusion: In closing, Paul made it clear how valuable God’s grace is. He shared the news with everyone he could. His epistles have served as a constant reminder of this. Knowing of God’s grace and believing in it has changed my life! I can now share the news with others. May it continue to bless others as it has blessed me.

IP Address Schema Design for a Medium-Sized Business Essay

IP Address Schema Design for a Medium-Sized Business The following IP schema is designed to fit the needs of the Warehouse Company. The company has purchased and installed all of the required equipment for the network infrastructure. After consulting with their design team and gathering the required documentation and network designs, we are ready to proceed. The network design requires an IP schema that will minimize the cost of public IP addresses. Due to this requirement we will use a Class B IP address solution with a default subnet mask of 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000 or 255.255.0.0. I am calculating the need to have 2 possibly 3 public IP addresses. In order to meet the IP requirements for the company’s 367 devices that include 260 hosts for Boston, 80 hosts for Dallas, 12 hosts at Seattle, 4 general servers and 3 DMZ servers, I will use the network address 172.16.0.0/23. The broadcast IP address is172.16.1.255. The subnet mask will be 255.255.254.0. The /23 will support 512 hosts, leaving 145 available hosts. The IP address ranges are assigned as follows: Boston (280) 172.16.0.10 through 172.16.1.40. Dallas (80) 172.16.1.50 through 172.16.1.140. Seattle (12) 172.16.1.160 through 172.16.1.180. General Servers (4) and network equipment 172.16.1.190 through 172.16.1.205. The DMZ servers with out-going rules set will be 172.16.1.210 through 172.16.1.220 The link-local unicast IPv6 network address will be fe80::ac10:0, the broadcast address will be ff00::ac10:1ff. This equals 119 bits and the host range will be from fe80::ac10:1 through fe80::ac10:1fe.

Super Tuesday Definition - Date and States That Vote

Super Tuesday Definition - Date and States That Vote Super Tuesday is the day on which a large number of states, many of them in the South,  hold their primaries in the presidential race. Super Tuesday is important because a large number of delegates are at stake and the outcome of the primaries can elevate or end a candidates chances at winning their partys presidential nomination later in the spring.   Super Tuesday 2016 was  held on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton emerged with the most number of delegates on Super Tuesday 2016, thrusting both toward their eventual nominations at that years conventions in Cleveland, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Twelves states  hold primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday. Voters in those states  go to the polls about one month after the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus are held.   Super Tuesday 2016 was  the first presidential primary day under Republican National Committee rules designed to give states that vote later in the year more influence in the nomination process and at the GOP convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in the summer. Why Super Tuesday  Is a Big Deal The votes that are cast on Super Tuesday  determine how many delegates are sent to the Republican and Democratic national conventions to represent their respective candidates for the presidential nominations. More than a quarter of the Republican Partys delegates are typically  up for grabs on Super Tuesday, including in the top prize of 155 delegates in Texas. More than a fifth of the Democratic Partys delegates are up for grabs that day. In other words, more than 600 of the 2,472 total Republican delegates to the partys national convention are awarded on Super Tuesday. Thats half the amount necessary for the nomination - 1,237 - up for grabs in a single day. In the Democratic primaries and caucuses,  more than  1,00 of the 4,764 Democratic delegates to the  partys national convention in Philadelphia  are at stake on Super Tuesday. Thats nearly half of the 2,383 needed for the nomination. Super Tuesday Origins Super Tuesday originated as an attempt by southern states to win greater influence in the Democratic primaries. The first Super Tuesday was held in March 1988.   Super Tuesday 2016 Delegate Rules Under the Republican Partys new rules, states that hold their primaries and caucuses on March 1 through March 14  awarded delegates on a proportional basis instead of winner-take-all. That means no candidate can likely win enough delegates to secure the nomination before late-voting states get to hold their primaries. The rule is designed to prevent states from  trying to leapfrog each other for influence and attention during the primaries. List of States Voting on Super Tuesday The number of states holding primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday 2016 was  larger than in the previous presidential-election year, in 2012. Only ten states held primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday in 2012.   Here are the states that hold primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday, followed by the number of delegates being awarded to the party conventions: Alabama: 50 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 60 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryAlaska: 28 delegates at stake in the Republican caucuses (the 20 delegates at stake in the Democratic caucuses are awarded on March 26, not on Super Tuesday)Arkansas: 40 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 37 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryColorado: 37 delegates at stake in the Republican caucuses, 79 delegates at stake in the Democratic caucusesGeorgia: 76 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 116 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryMassachusetts: 42 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 116 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryMinnesota: 38 delegates at stake in the Republican caucuses, 93 delegates at stake in the Democratic caucusesOklahoma: 43 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 42 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryTennessee: 58 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 76 delegates at stake in the Democratic primary Texas: 155 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 252 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryVermont: 16 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 26 delegates at stake in the Democratic primaryVirginia: 49 delegates at stake in the Republican primary, 110 delegates at stake in the Democratic primary

How To Write a Business and Personal Letter in Spanish

How To Write a Business and Personal Letter in Spanish Whether youre writing a letter to a Spanish-speaking friend or preparing a formal business letter, the greetings and salutations in this lesson can help give your letters credibility. Greetings to Use in Writing a Letter In English, it is common to begin both personal letters and business correspondence with Dear ___. In Spanish, however, there is more variation depending on how formal you want to be. In personal correspondence, the equivalent of dear is querido or querida (the past participle of querer), depending on the sex of the person. Querido is used for a male recipient, querida for a female; plural forms queridos and queridas can also be used. In Spanish, it is the rule to follow the greeting with a colon rather than the comma used in English. Use of a comma is seen as an Anglicism. Querido Roberto: (Dear Roberto,)Querida Ana: (Dear Ana,)Queridos Juan y Lisa: (Dear Juan and Lisa,) Note that in Spanish the masculine form, queridos, is used if the recipients include people of both sexes. However, querido is too casual for business correspondence, especially when you arent a friend of the recipient. Use estimado or estimada instead. The word literally means esteemed, but it is understood the same way as dear would be in English: Estimado Sr. Rodrà ­guez: (Dear Mr. Rodrà ­guez,)Estimada Sra. Cruz: (Dear Mrs./Ms. Cruz,)Estimada Srta. Gonzlez: (Dear Miss Gonzlez,) Spanish doesnt have a true equivalent of the English courtesy title Ms. (and in Spanish, the distinction between seà ±ora and seà ±orita, traditionally translated as Mrs. and Miss, respectively, can be one of age rather than marital status). It normally is fine to use the courtesy title of Sra. (the abbreviation for seà ±ora) if you dont know whether a female recipient of the letter is married. Good advice is to  use Sra. unless you know the woman prefers Srta. If you dont know the name of the person youre writing to, you can use the following formats: Muy seà ±or mà ­o: (Dear sir,)Estimado seà ±or: (Dear sir,)Muy seà ±ora mà ­a: (Dear madam,)Estimada seà ±ora: (Dear madam,)Muy seà ±ores mà ­os: (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams,)Estimados seà ±ores: (Dear sirs, dear sirs/madams,) The Spanish equivalent of to whom it may concern is a quien corresponda (literally, to the one responsible). Closings to Use in Writing a Letter In English, it is common to end a letter with Sincerely. Again, Spanish offers a greater variety. Although the following closings for personal letters may sound overly affectionate to English speakers, they are quite commonly used: Un abrazo (literally, a hug)Un fuerte abrazo (literally, a strong hug)Carià ±osos saludos (roughly, kind regards)Afectuosamente (affectionately) The following are common with close friends or family members, although there are many others that can be used: Besos y abrazos (literally, kisses and hugs)Besos (literally, kisses)Con todo mi carià ±o (with all my caring)Con todo mi afecto (with all my affection) In business correspondence, the most common ending, used in much the same way as sincerely in English, is atentamente. That can also be expanded to le saluda atentamente or les saluda atentamente, depending on whether youre writing to one or more persons, respectively. A more casual ending that can be used in business letters is Cordialmente. Longer salutations include saludos cordiales and se despide cordialmente. Although this language may sound flowery to English speakers, it is not unusual in Spanish. If you are expecting a response from a business correspondent, you can close with esperando su respuesta. As is common in English, the salutation is typically followed by a comma. If youre adding a postscript (posdata in Spanish), you can use P.D. as the equivalent of P.S. Sample Personal Letter Querida Angelina: ¡Mil gracias por el regalo! Es totalmente perfecto.  ¡Fue una gran sorpresa!Eres una buena amiga. Espero que nos veamos pronto.Muchos abrazos,Julia Translation: Dear Angelina,Thanks a lot for the gift! Its totally perfect. It was quite a surprise!Youre a great friend. I hope we see each other soon.Lots of hugs,Julia Sample Business Letter Estimado Sr. Fernndez:Gracias por la propuesta que usted y sus colegas me presentaron. Creo que es posible que los productos de su compaà ±Ãƒ ­a sean à ºtiles para minimizar nuestros costos de produccià ³n. Vamos a estudiar la propuesta meticulosamente.Espero poder darle una respuesta en un plazo de dos semanas.Atentamente,Catarina Là ³pez Translation Dear Mr. Fernndez,Thank you for the proposal that you and your colleagues presented to me. I believe it is possible that your companys products could be useful for reducing our production costs. We are going to study the proposal thoroughly.I hope I can give you a response within two weeks.Sincerely,Catarina Là ³pez

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood Research Paper

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addiction to smoking - Research Paper Example A better understanding of factors associated with adolescent readiness to quit smoking prior to receiving any intervention may provide guidance when tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this population. Proposing of this study was to examine if the majority of adolescents believed that smokers agreed and felt that smoking was addictive and may cause death. All seemed of the opinion that this was for most people who are smoking. When nailing down the optimism viewpoint that adolescents were equally of the opinion that they would not die from smoking. Nonsmokers were of the opinion they would die from smoking. Overwhelming, the adolescents who did not smoke thought that the people who smoked for 30 to 40 years would die from smoking. Most of the people questioned believed they could smoke for a certain number of years and quit. Adolescents agree that smoking was addictive. What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addic tion to smoking? 1. Rationale Preventing smoking and to help adolescents quit smoking have been met with limited success. This is a preventable disease. Smoking is the number one cause of death in the United States. The purpose of the study was to show that there remains a great deal of optimism when visiting with adolescences while they filled questionnaires (Apodaca, 2003). Smokers are more optimistic about not dying from smoking behaviors than non-smokers. The hypothesis would state, does motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. In the health care field, nurses are much in demand. Nurses compared to doctors are about four to one. Nurses continue to contribute to critical inpatient care. They are in demand in outpatient care, central to palliative, hospice, home, and long-term institutions (AMA, 2009). The general purpose of nursing is to deliver excellent ca re to each patient through the management of resources and to maintain a professional work environment. The purpose of nursing is also to maintain a professional work environment that ensures the nursing association is competent and has a high satisfaction rate. This plays right into the necessity that nurses will experience diseases from smoking and that smoking prevention plays an important role to adolescence behavior (AMA, 2009). Prevention of illness and promotion of health always have been important to the nursing profession. A recent Gallop Organization reported that Americans rate nurses at the top of that professional list (Gallop, 2009). Florence Nightingale saw as far back as 1859 that nursing consisted of those activities that put the patient in the best condition that nature can act upon that patient. The added goal of today can be to restore the patient's independence. Nurse's work has much to do with immunization, education, environmental safety and disease screening (White, 2010). Our hypothesis is nurses can assist with motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions in to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. Because the nursing organization must already perform five functions, it makes sense that a nurse would help with this provision of excellent adolescent patient care. Nursing also provides the bulk of patient and family education and much of the community health education. Therefore, motivational interviewing (MI) could be the first step in any intervention of the adolescence population in a brief smoking intervention in a hospital setting which adolescents

Problems of Managing Joint Ventures in China Essay

Problems of Managing Joint Ventures in China - Essay Example The enterprises are busy in making their products and services more and more attractive for the consumers all around the world. They make changes in their products and services in order to meet the requirements of their culture and society. The cultural changes, throughout the world, act as a strong challenge to the enterprises. Efficient cross culture management can guarantee flourishing worldwide operation of international enterprises in the multi-culture and region. The worldwide business dealings are also flourishing in Chinese enterprises. Chinese enterprises have made it an aim to progress and make their name all around the world. Chinese enterprises are making progress in their fields of expertise to promote their abilities and talents throughout the world market. Foreign companies have been working in China for many years, frequently by joint ventures with local firms and usually in the more developed coastal areas. Nowadays, however, Government is now developing the areas with poor infrastructure and encouraging investment in those areas. The poor infrastructure, illiterate public and employers with less knowledge about market economy concepts made it very difficult for the firms existing there and even for th e firms making joint ventures to progress. In the central Shaanxi province, fifty four interviews were planned with the managers in twenty four join ventures clearly shows the prospective hazard in the way of a thriving join venture. As Chinese market is becoming the centre of attention of more and more foreign investors the pitfalls of Chinese market, management and hurdles in its way to success are given proper thought and suggestions are made to solve these problems (Ahlstrom et al. 2003; Beamish, 1993; Child, 1994; Goodall and Warner, 1999; Peng, 2000). It is already known that in the previous twenty five years, almost 85 percent foreign firms, located in China, are sited along the Coastal belt of China (SSB, various years). Since late 1990s, the Chinese government is busy in the developmental process of the areas with weak infrastructure and poor growth rate in order to get rid of the local regional differences. "The Great Western Development Strategy (xibu da kaifa)" was commenced in 1999 with a motive to encourage local and international investment in the country. It was a categorical effort to increase investment in those regions of China, mainly in need but least likely to attract support on their own. U nder its persuasion, an increasing number of foreign firms and joint ventures entered in the underdeveloped hinterland. In 2002, 31,822 foreign ventures had been set up in China's 18 interior districts and one municipality (SSB, 2003, p.678). All the regions carry some importance. In the same way, China's interior is of great importance, without development of those regions China wouldn't be able to progress in the international market. All facilities and technologies must be equally provided in the underdeveloped regions. For this reason, under the 7th Five Year Plan (FYP) (1981-1985), China's economies were separated in to three regions, namely, the Eastern region, the middle region and the Western region (Linge and Forbes, 1990, p.68 and Chen, 2000, pp.9-10; Wei. 2000, p. 1). Traditionally, the Middle and the Western areas have been considered as one large part, the interior (Chen, 2000, p. 10 and Wei, 2000, p. 1). As stated in the 7th Five Year