Prophecies for the Year 2012 AD: Truth is the Essence of True Prophecy

Addressing the question of prophecies for the year 2012 AD is not easy. Looking at the coming year, one might wonder what the year 2012 AD will hold for individuals, families, communities and countries around the world.

"The last New Year’s Day in human history is here," suggests an article in the washingtonpost.com.

The date on this article is December 21, 2012. Shall we believe that the world will come to an end on that date, because Mayan priests predict that will happen?  

Is 2012 the end of the world as we know it?

To respond to this question, look at the nature of prophecy.

According to the “New Advent" prophecy is “the foreknowledge of future events”. 

How can one have foreknowledge about the year 2012 AD?

What is foreknowledge?

“It is a Divine light by which God reveals things concerning the unknown future and by which these things are in some way represented to the mind of the prophet, whose duty it is to manifest them to others.”

Note that this is a Christian understanding of prophecy. Not all prophets are Christians or true Christians, even though they claim to be. There are prophets who are not believers in “the love of God and fellow man” as taught by Jesus Christ, in the Bible.

Be aware that while there are true prophets, there are also pseudo-prophets or false prophets. The words spoken by a true prophet convey the Word of God, through His chosen messenger to His people and they come true. The words of a false prophet who claims to be a prophet or a messenger, but in reality is not, do not come true.

Truth is the essence of true prophecy. The love of God in accordance with His divine will is manifest to His people through prophetic words and visions.  

“The gift of prophecy is an extraordinary grace bestowed by God.”

Everyone does not necessarily receive the gift of prophecy.

Addressing the question of prophecies for the year 2012 AD, one must suggest that there are those who have the gift of prophecy, as that has not changed over the course of history. One must also be cautious with respect to which prophecies or prophets one chooses to believe for the year 2012 AD.

At times, people act upon the prophetic words of those who claim to be prophets, but in reality are using fear to control them or to gain power, money or other assets from them. There are prophets who are doomsday prophets, naysayers and fear mongers who are preaching hell fire and damnation, instead of the love of God.

Which prophecies will come true in the year 2012 AD?

Perhaps it is wise to wait and see which people will actually prove to be true prophets bringing forth God’s Word.

If you are a person approached by someone who is a self-proclaimed prophet, it may be a good idea to check his or her credentials, as well as his or her record of previous prophecies. How many prophecies has he or she made over the years that have actually come true?

In other words, in the year 2012 AD, look to God and His Holy Spirit for true prophecies, as they will come true. Ignore false prophecies from pseudo-prophets.       

Health Tips for Teens: Are You a Teenager Living on Your Own?

Teens who strike out on their own often have a difficult time staying healthy. Many times, they are in college or university and have to live on a minimal income, at least until they are able to obtain appropriate employment. Even then, just starting out, they receive a minimum wage and the cost of rent, heat, hydro, etc. is high. Be aware that taking care of your health is not something that you can postpone until later. 

“Now is the time to take charge of your health,” suggests an article entitled “Teen health". This is also vital with respect to the prevention of disease, in later life.   

Consider the following tips about how you as a teen, can stay healthy.

Create a healthy budget.

How you learn to manage your money is one aspect of your new, independent lifestyle, as well as important with respect to maintaining your health status. Creating a realistic budget will ensure you have a roof over your head and that your fixed expenses are covered. With regard to variable expenses, you should have sufficient money to cover the cost of food, tuition, books, transportation, as well as what you may need to stay healthy, including medication, vitamins and supplements.

Purchase basic healthy foods, first.

Food is one of the most important things for teens who want to stay healthy. When you go into a grocery store, shop around the outside aisle of the store first. You will find bread, meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables that will help to keep you healthy. Avoid shopping in the center aisles, as the produce located there will likely be less healthy for you and more costly.

Plan to have three healthy meals a day.

In order to stay healthy, you need to feed your body regularly. Plan to eat three meals a day. You may enjoy a snack or two in between meals, but limit your snacks to healthy foods. Avoid buying any kind of snack food with a high sugar and caloric content. Purchase snack foods that are healthy for you and satisfy your cravings, like nuts, cheese, yogurt, etc. instead.       

Get sufficient healthy exercise.

Plan your exercise program so that you have a minimum of an hour of active exercise daily. Ideally, this should be outdoor exercise, as it stimulates your breathing and circulation. It is easier to control your weight and regulate your body functions properly, if you exercise. You will feel better about yourself. Even your skin will appear healthier. 

Develop a habit of good hygiene.

Good hygiene is important for you as a teen, particularly when you are on their own without anyone to remind you to wash and comb your hair, bathe and brush your teeth on a regular basis. Get an easy to manage hair cut. Wear appropriate clothing that is clean, at all times. While this takes extra time and effort on your part, you will feel better if you do. Washing your face well, several times a day can prevent skin problems.

Avoid over-indulging.

While over indulging on food, pop or alcohol may seem to be fun, be aware that it can lead to addiction and other, more serious, health-related or social problems. The same is true for nicotine and substance abuse. Avoid drinking excessive amounts of soft drinks because of their high sugar content. Enjoy chocolate and candy, chips, etc. occasionally, but do not overindulge. Moderation is the key to good health.

Make certain you have sufficient rest.

Getting at least eight to ten hours of sleep each night may appear to be difficult because as a teen there are many demands on your time, including academic, employment and social ones. You will be happier and healthier if you have sufficient rest. At times, it may be a good idea to take a nap when you are tired, as it will refresh you.     

Maintain a positive, healthy attitude towards life.

Be a positive, constructive and independent teen. It is important to have a healthy attitude towards yourself and your life in general. At times, you may feel overburdened by homework, your part time or full time job, your finances or other things. You may feel despondent, lonely and unhappy, but staying active with your family and friends, as well as being part of your community is a healthy way to live.

Seek health counseling and guidance when necessary.

There are many different kinds of teen counselors able to offer appropriate advice to teenagers about staying healthy. You may be able to talk to your parents or other adults who can advise you about different aspects of your life, like teenage sexual relationships. Any time you are aware of health-related problems of any kind, consult your family doctor immediately. College and university student counselors will also be able to assist you.     

As a teen, you can stay healthy simply by taking care of yourself properly.

  

How New Words Come Into Being: You Can Create New Words

Have you heard any new words lately? New words come into being in many different ways, often quite unexpectedly.

Life happens. Suddenly, there may not be just the right word that states what has just happened. A new word may be spoken, accidentally. At times, that new word is appropriate, even perfect for what is happening. 

For example, ‘earthquake’ becomes ‘earthquiver’, a combination of two words.

At other times, a new word is not appropriate and it disappears, as quickly as it comes into being. Anyone can coin a new word or try to do so. Sometimes, words come into being purely by accident. They can be coined intentionally when someone is writing.

Not every new word is necessarily accepted or approved. Many words never go into dictionaries, much less into online dictionaries. Some new words are never re-used. At other times, the same new word can have different meanings to different people or in different parts of the world. New words come about when people do not understand other languages, but try to explain something in terms of concepts.

Children often contribute to words that families use. You hear young children talking to one another in what appears to be some kind of babble. They use words that may not make sense to you, but the children seem to understand each other. Some of these words, their parents and other family members understand, but not always. Families may continue to use these words indefinitely, with respect to their children. 

Words continually evolve and devolve, often coming into a language and then disappearing from that language again, over time. For example, consider the words, thee and thou. We still understand these words today, but words like these are disappearing under the guise of being obsolete.

“Old words don’t die; they just wait to be rescued. Dictionary-makers should know better than to say that words ever become extinct.”

Perhaps the most recent and largest influx of new words has come about through the advent of the Internet and the use of computer e-mail. Now, innovative smart phones are instrumental in the introduction of new words that only people who are text messaging, at that moment in time, create and understand.

At times, words begin as short-forms, like biz for business or are abbreviated forms of a collection of words like biz fax for business fax. These are new words created in an attempt to convey some kind of meaning.

New words may originate from the first letters of the words in a statement. On the Internet, the expression OMG is an e-mail expression or a text message meaning, “Oh my God”. OMG, what is happening to our words!

Then, there is the discourse element that allows for the introduction of new words into political realms.

“SOPA, PIPA Opponents Celebrate, but Say Work Isn’t Done”, a recent article on “CSO Data Protection” has new words that might be of interest to those who like collecting them. The words, “SOPA” or “Stop Online Piracy Protection Act” and “PIPA” or “Protect Intellectual Property Act” have recently appeared on the horizon in conjunction with data protection on the Internet.

Here is a new word, from learn-english-today.com, this time one created from the combination of two different words.

“Affluenza” is a “a blend of ‘affluence’ and ‘influenza’: A social disease resulting from extreme materialism and excessive consumerism: earning more money and consuming more, which can lead to overwork, debt, waste, stress, anxiety, etc.”

Many of the newly created words appear to be appropriate in certain circles. 

For example,

For Internet users, “weblish” is “a form of English that is used on the web (use of abbreviatons, small letters, absence of punctuation and hyphens, etc.) … webspeak, netspeak, internetese.”

Here is another new one for Internet users. “Wordle,” is “words of a piece of text arranged into a sort of graphic. The more frequent a particular word appears in the text, the bigger its size in the wordle. (Also called word cloud or text cloud."

Those two expressions are not entirely new.   

While it is not possible to stay in tune with all of the continual changes in words, it is interesting and fun to learn a new word every day, or if you have the gift of creative ingenuity, begin to coin some new words of your own.

Peculiar People With Peculiar Ideas Over the Years: What Does Peculiar Mean?

What do peculiar people with peculiar ideas have in common? A better question might be how they differ.

What is unique about them? Is being peculiar something that is new and innovative, or is there more to it?

Peculiar appears to be a word that originated in the 15th century, from the Middle English word ‘peculier’ or Latin word ‘peculiaris’ according to the merriam-webster.com dictionary.

The word peculiar has several different meanings. The first refers to “the characteristic of only one person, group, or thing” that makes the person or thing “distinctive”. The second suggests that it is “different from the usual or normal” or is “special, particular, odd, curious, eccentric or queer.”

What do the following people have in common? 

Consider the following quotes about each one of them

William Shakespeare:

“In his poems and plays, Shakespeare invented thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French and native roots. His impressive expansion of the English language according to the Oxford English Dictionary, includes such words as: arch-villain, birthplace, bloodsucking, courtship, dewdrop, downstairs, fanged, heartsore, hunchbacked, leapfrog, misquote, pageantry, radiance, schoolboy, stillborn, watchdog, and zany.”

Thomas Edison:

“Thomas Edison was more responsible than any one else for creating the modern world ....  No one did more to shape the physical/cultural makeup of present day civilization.... Accordingly, he was the most influential figure of the millennium...." 

Samuel Hahnemann:

“Homeopathy by today’s standards is not a science since it is a medicine that does not seek to create a science. It remains an art and the attempt to create a scientific basis for it will most likely be fruitless.”

Martin Luther King:

“In the new nation and the new creed of which the King holiday serves as a symbol, all institutions, values, heroes, and symbols that violate the dogma of equality are dethroned and must be eradicated.”

Amelia Earhart:

“How would you like to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic?”

These five names were picked at random for no specific reason other than the fact that at some time during the course of history, each one represented a contemporary figure ahead of his or her time.

A box-maker who only makes boxes and markets them successfully, will probably get rich, at some time. 

Not one of these contemporary figures appears to have gotten rich. Instead, they all seem to have been visionaries of some kind, unique individuals with voices. They were innovative brave souls, heroes and doers. Each one exceeded the boundaries of their day by taking a leapfrog kind of jump over everyone else and heading into the darkness only present in the realm of the unknown.

Indeed, they are peculiar people with peculiar ideas. Such is the nature of contemporary thinkers.

Think outside the box is an open invitation to contemporary thinkers of today who might be regarded as bold, innovative and creative, but definitely thinking outside the boundaries of traditional thinkers. In that regard, they may be geniuses by nature, definitely distinctive and peculiar.