We consider the problem of estimating the parameters of a Gaussian or binary distribution in such a way that the resulting undirected graphical model is sparse. Our approach is to solve a maximum likelihood problem with an added ℓ1-norm penalty term. The problem as formulated is convex but the memory requirements and complexity of existing interior point methods are prohibitive for problems with more than tens of nodes. We present two new algorithms for solving problems with at least a thousand nodes in the Gaussian case. Our first algorithm uses block coordinate descent, and can be interpreted as recursive ℓ1-norm penalized regression. Our second algorithm, based on Nesterov's first order method, yields a complexity estimate with a better dependence on problem size than existing interior point methods. Using a log determinant relaxation of the log partition function (Wainwright and Jordan, 2006), we show that these same algorithms can be used to solve an approximate sparse maximum likelihood problem for the binary case. We test our algorithms on synthetic data, as well as on gene expression and senate voting records data.
"... The determination of a list of differentially expressed genes is a basic objective in many cDNA microarray experiments. We present a statistical approach that allows direct control over the percentage of false positives in such a list and, under certain reasonable assumptions, improves on existing m ..."
The determination of a list of differentially expressed genes is a basic objective in many cDNA microarray experiments. We present a statistical approach that allows direct control over the percentage of false positives in such a list and, under certain reasonable assumptions, improves on existing methods with respect to the percentage of false negatives. The method accommodates a wide variety of experimental designs and can simultaneously assess significant differences between multiple types of biological samples. Two interconnected mixed linear models are central to the method and provide a flexible means to properly account for variability both across and within genes. The mixed model also provides a convenient framework for evaluating the statistical power of any particular experimental design and thus enables a researcher to a priori select an appropriate number of replicates. We also suggest some basic graphics for visualizing lists of significant genes. Analyses of published experiments studying human cancer and yeast cells illustrate the results.
"... Genome-wide expression profiles of genetic mutants provide a wide variety of measurements of cellular responses to perturbations. Typical analysis of such data identifies genes affected by perturbation and uses clustering to group genes of similar function. In this paper we discover a finer structur ..."
"... Interaction detection methods have led to the dis-covery of thousands of interactions between proteins, and discerning relevance within large-scale data sets is important to present-day biology. Here, a spectral method derived from graph theory was introduced to uncover hidden topological struc-ture ..."
Interaction detection methods have led to the dis-covery of thousands of interactions between proteins, and discerning relevance within large-scale data sets is important to present-day biology. Here, a spectral method derived from graph theory was introduced to uncover hidden topological struc-tures (i.e. quasi-cliques and quasi-bipartites) of complicated protein±protein interaction networks. Our analyses suggest that these hidden topological structures consist of biologically relevant functional groups. This result motivates a new method to pre-dict the function of uncharacterized proteins based on the classi®cation of known proteins within topo-logical structures. Using this spectral analysis method, 48 quasi-cliques and six quasi-bipartites were isolated from a network involving 11 855 interactions among 2617 proteins in budding yeast, and 76 uncharacterized proteins were assigned functions.


Many reputable resellers sell completely functional refurbished items at 20% or more off. A Galaxy S8 phone, for instance, can be purchased now for $490 new, but for only $390 manufacture refurbished. The refurbished phone might have some nearly invisible scratch that your new phone would have a week after you unboxed it, but is perfectly functional. Bargains can also be found on desktop computers, servers, TVs and most other equipment.
There are many good off the shelf packages out there. If you are going to reinvent the wheel, you should have a compelling reason for doing so. Many software development projects come in late and over budget. This is not primarily the fault of shady operators. Software development is hard and is also hard to make accurate estimates about. If there is something out there that can handle most of your needs, it is worth asking whether you can live with the parts it can't rather than go through the pain of customized software.
If you are doing project work that you have set budget for, you can shop it around or negotiate with your current MSP (managed service provider) to set a fixed price for a given scope of work. It is important when doing so that the scope of work is well defined (see 2), or you will be fighting with your vendor before the project is finished. Given the healthy margins in technical work, the vendor should be willing to accept some of the risk in a large project.
If you keep these four things in mind, you can save yourself money and frustration. Combining 1 and 2, for instance, I was able to buy a very functional computer for $254. If all else fails, get a second opinion. IT service providers want your business, and will often give you free advice to prove that they know their stuff. This can lead you to a better provider or at least intelligent questions to ask your current provider.


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Showstopper Architecture
Jonathan Schofield wonders if this is the most exciting new building in Manchester
Written by Jonathan Schofield. Published on April 16th 2007.
Which of the new Manchester buildings delivers the killer visual punch? Could it be Urbis, the Imperial War Museum North, the Lowry or Beetham Tower?
Arguably none of the above. Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall are putting the finishing touches to a building which could trump them all: The Civil Justice Centre. This is bold in form and striking in silhouette. Standing just off Bridge Street and set back from the river, it gives the west of the city centre huge architectural excitement.
And huge is the right word. This is a monster structure, 81m (266ft) tall on 15 levels over 34,000 sq m with 47 courtrooms (Technical, Family, County, Civil and High), 4 tribunal courts, 75 consultation rooms plus office and support space. It's the biggest court complex to be built in the UK since 1882 and the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The most eye-catching parts of the building are the protruding glass rooms floating one over the other. They look like the old Pearl and Dean cinema adverts crystallized in air. These contain the working courts and offices, and as described by Denton Corker Marshall themselves, 'establish a dynamic and distinctive building profile; a powerful sculptural interplay of light and shade, depth and complexity. The architectural implication is that the courts are not forbidding or concealed, but open and accessible.'
That's how architects talk about buildings by the way. Dinner parties are a ball. Still, we know what they mean.
There are a couple of niggles. The building scarcely has room to breathe at ground level, packed as it is amongst other buildings. That has always been a problem in our very constricted city centre, where maximum values are squeezed from every square centimetre of land.
A bigger concern is the grim grill on the eastern - city - side of the building. This is a 'filtering screen' which incorporates 'openable windows' (how very innovative), ventilation bits and bobs and sunlight controls, whatever they are. But it's clumsy, so let's be thankful that the wow factor façade with the glazed front and the side projections, as shown on our photograph, is the one that hits first and stays longest.
In the winning entry for the international competition with which Denton Corker Marshall won this commission, they stated that they wanted their building to be neither 'intimidating' nor 'monumental 'but to convey 'human scale'. Yuck, contemporary touchy feely wimpage of the worst kind. Fortunately they were having a laugh or the judges were daft, because the Civil Justice Centre is nothing if not monumental.
This is just as it should be. Major civic buildings need to have presence, they should dominate their area, proclaim themselves. Manchester Town Hall has that in abundance: this is exactly what the present Crown Courts from the sixties, and round the corner from the Civil Justice Centre, fails to provide. Does anybody who doesn't work there, even remember what the Crown Courts look like?
The Civil Justice Centre also takes us back with pretty symmetry to one of the first major civic structures of the Victorian age in the city. This was the Manchester Assize Courts - the law courts - designed by the architect of Manchester Town Hall, Alfred Waterhouse. Opened close to Strangeways Prison in 1864, it was demolished after Second World War damage. Now we have a modern building to stand comparison to the ambition and verve that classic of its age displayed. The Civil Justice Centre is a real beaut as those crazy Aussies might say.
Steve JohnsonApril 16th 2007.
Don't forget the music, thanks for that too. On the building, it looks like the inside of a computer, really not sure about it but hey, at least it's different.
Jonathan SchofieldApril 16th 2007.
I do like to enjoy myself. The city's a great big playground after all. Was that 22 hours a month?
ChrisApril 16th 2007.
This article is typical hogwash written by Manchester Confidential. Standards are slipping chaps. The article is clearly written by somebody that does not understand buildings or there funcation or brief. Where is the objective opinoin from someone "in the know"??
Gordo, a funcation is a type of dance music emanating from the Asian subcontinent.
AnonymousApril 16th 2007.
And in turn Sunlight House blocks your view of the town hall.
citizen saneApril 16th 2007.
It's beautiful, brave and exciting. Has guts too. Beetham Tower was neither stunning nore ugly. It was boring. Ugly with time can be considered beautiful. Boring is always boring. This however is stunning. Nice one.
pat karneyApril 16th 2007.
Not one of my favorites. Amazing how you make up your mind in five seconds and then it sticks. And another thing how do you get a job at your place --everywhere I go I see Mr Jonathan enjoying himself. We work 22 hr days here at the council.
I wouldn't get too hung up about it, there's plenty other builds coming. I too wondered what the other side was about, looks almost like they can do a 'lockdown' but no. Perhaps it means windows can open without people falling out! I am impressed by the building, at night it looks awesome, must be one of the largest uninterupted illuminated facades in the country, maybe the biggest. Buildings like the one on St. Mary's Axe have pillars blocking the light. This building claims major respect, as a court building should.
LozzApril 16th 2007.
Its Amazing, and awesome I Absolutely love it. I aggree with Jose about the Open Spaces.
JoseApril 16th 2007.
I am a fan of Jonathan Schofield articles and his incredible good eye to talk about this city and its buildings, but for once I have to disagree with him. I don't work at the old courts, and I remember them very well. I think it is a fine example of a good looking building from the sixties . I love the wide entrance with the canopy and the old-fashion communist look which I find has a charm that not many other buildings from the era have in Manchester... really reminiscent of Brazilia or some of the work of Le Courbusier in Chandîgarh (India).... However I agree that the new courts building in Manchester is quite striking... I just wished that instead of Spinninfields (which is not becoming bad looking) we would have had a wide boulevard descending from the town hall up to the courts, like in one of the post-war urban designs for the city... This place needs open spaces, and the council should grab the opportunities when they come around.... Thanks for your articles, Jonathan.
steveApril 16th 2007.
It looks ace!!
RichardApril 16th 2007.
It's an eyesore - I am normally a fan of modern architecture but the court building looks grim. Is the architect an alcoholic?
DavidosApril 16th 2007.
It has to be one of the ugliest buildings I've seen for a long time - the front looks as though it was damaged by the bomb and hasn't been repaired yet!
GazApril 16th 2007.
Jose says, "...I think it is a fine example of a good looking building from the sixties...". I hadn't realised there were any. Try visiting a city like Oxford which has spectacular architecture from each of the last seven centuries and try saying with honesty that eye-sore sixties architecture and design doesn't stand out - every time - for all the wrong reasons.As a lawyer I think the new building is really quite spectacular, too.
JamesApril 16th 2007.
Anonymous, bland and far too shiny.
RobApril 16th 2007.
I think the building looks striking, I've been driving past it on my way to work for what seems like years and it great to see it looking so great. I've always been a fan of shiny buildings since first clapping my eyes on the opening credits for Dallas.The picture in the article really doesn't do it justice (no pun intended!)
StephanieApril 16th 2007.
I think this building is horrible. It is one of the main views from my home and has blotted out what was a nice building to look at - Sunlight House. Also they must be very busy getting it finished as the lights blaze all night. Well, I hope that's the reason and they are not just adding more to the light pollution in Manchester.
GordoApril 16th 2007.
Chris, Gordo loves it when you guys spank the upstart Schofield, keep at it. BTW, what the **** is a funcation? C'mon Schofield, we should know.
Phil TaylorApril 16th 2007.
It looks like a filing cabinet with the drawers left out.Is that the building that a part blew off onto a pedestrian during the extreme high winds?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So they've let the beancounters loose on resilience now. Do we really have to measure everything?
Well, look at it this way: Oxfam projects are focusing more and more on helping people to build their resilience to shocks, stresses and uncertainty. If we want to evaluate the success of these projects and learn from them, then we need to know what outcomes we're looking for. This means we need a way to think about and to measure resilience.
But can't you see how resilient people are simply by looking at how well they've been able to deal with crises?
Sometimes, yes. Ideally, if we wanted to see whether Oxfam projects have succeeded in building resilience, we would wait and see what happens after people have experienced some actual crises. But often we are trying to evaluate projects that are still ongoing, or that have recently ended. In some cases a crisis may have happened since the end of the project and we can ask people about how they coped: whether they had enough food, whether they lost any livestock or other assets, and so on. But in most cases there has (thankfully) not been a major crisis since the project was carried out. So we have to figure out whether the project that is being implemented now or in the recent past will help people to deal with crises and stresses in the future.
Sure is. The best way we've found to deal with this is to identify some characteristics that we think will enable people to cope better with shocks in the future, and then look to see whether households or communities in the project area have those characteristics. Owning assets or having savings are obvious examples. But we also try to think more widely than that: Can people count on support from their neighbours when they need it? Are people aware of climate change and its effects? Do people participate in community groups? Considering these issues has proved useful in many of our previous evaluations of resilience-building projects.
How do you know what the right indicators are?
In a nutshell, we talk to a lot of people who know the local context well, and ask them what characteristics they think a resilient household has. Usually this means a combination of doing focus groups with local people, spending lots of time discussing with local Oxfam and partner organisation staff, and reading whatever reports or studies already exist on resilience in the area. This guides us on what questions we should include in our surveys in order to measure resilience effectively.
For example, when we were working in a peri-urban area in Bolivia, many people said that resilience depended mainly on whether or not they had a salaried job. Of course in other places, regular employment is much less of a factor: for example, in Somaliland, people were mainly concerned about having basic access to water, grazing land, and veterinary care – all factors that help to sustain pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods.
But hold on! If you are coming up with different sets of indicators in each place, you can't compare the results between countries.
Well, yes and no. We are not trying to create a universal standard measure of resilience. That would be much harder (some might say impossible). So, we cannot say whether people in peri-urban Bolivia are more or less resilient, in general, than people in rural Somaliland. However, what we can say is whether our projects have had more or less impact in each country where we do a survey. When we compare across countries, we effectively normalise or adjust our results according to the average levels of the specific indicators that we used in that context. We can, in fact, compare the percentage change in resilience that our projects brought about in peri-urban Bolivia and rural Somaliland. So even if we aren't aiming for a universal standard measure, we can at least pull together the results from our evaluations of resilience-building projects.
This approach is all very well for indicators about how people can cope with crises in the short term. But isn't the idea of resilience bigger than that?
Agreed. The examples we mentioned before could be indicators of people's ability to deal with crises when they happen. But just as important is whether people can adapt proactively, so they are less vulnerable in the future. That might depend on factors like access to credit, but also on personal, psychological characteristics, such as whether people feel able to take a risk by changing their livelihood or making an investment. It's harder to find indicators of these more subjective characteristics, but we've been experimenting with some different approaches.
Then there's the issue that resilience is also about transforming the systems that people live in – the village, the region, the country, or even the world… If our projects can change the way these systems work – for example, by advocating for policy change or protecting the environment – we can limit the stream of shocks and stresses that people face. In many of our previous evaluations, we have tried to measure resilience simply by collecting large-N data through household surveys. But if resilience is also about stuff that happens at the level of the system – the village, the region, and so on – then it also makes sense to collect small-N data at the system-level too. This is exactly what we have been trying to do. For an example of the kind of rigorous qualitative techniques we want to incorporate into framework for measuring resilience, see this previous blog post on 'Process Tracing' by Claire Hutchings.
This is all work in progress, and we are constantly feeling our way and trying to improve our methods for thinking about and measuring resilience. If you would like more detail, please read our new paper. And, if you'd like a deeper dive into Oxfam's resilience Effectiveness Review evaluations, including the newly published set, they can be accessed here.
I'm sure it is very complicated to determine the outcomes of work on resilience – when I talk to supporters and donors though I sometimes just use the empirical example of the cyclone that hit Orissa in 1999 (where there was limited preparation or preventive action by the state, communities were under prepared, 10,000 people died and there was limited community or state to deal with the aftermath) with the 2013 Orissa Cyclone (lots of preventive action in the days leading up to the cyclone hitting, fewer than 50 people and lots of community and state capacity to deal with the aftermath and rebuild livelihoods etc).
Have not yet reviewed the paper, but this post takes a practical approach to assessing resilience. Agree fully that indicators to assess resilience will vary significantly from one context to another. The process outlined above seems well within the capacity of staff of local organizations to apply. Although resilience is complex, we need to ensure that the ways of assessing it don't require highly specialized methods and researchers. But I have two major concerns about what is outlined above. The first is about targeting (i.e.equity). The post refers often to "people". The reality is that in any region, in any community, in any household, some "people" are much more vulnerable to context related shocks and stresses than others. This applies particularly to gender relations. In an already vulnerable household, women are almost always more vulnerable than men in that household. Resilience as a concept is supposed to be a way to bridge the divide between humanitarian and development action, particularly in chronically vulnerable areas. This means many things, but one key thing is that "development" actors have to do a far better job is adapting some of the tools used by humanitarian actors to identify those who are most at risk, most vulnerable, and provide specialized types of support to them, while also working with the wider community. Particularly in "chronically vulnerable areas" like the Sahel and the drylands of Africa, (where I work), we need to "focus like a laser" on the chronically vulnerable households that, good year or bad, slow or rapid onset shocks, are caught in a hunger/debt trap. The second major issue concerns the highly misleading narrative embedded in Figure 1. The implicit narrative is that the development process is progressively trending upward over time, and is set back only by stresses and shocks. Again, from my experience in the Sahel and the Africa drylands, this is false. The current development model is generating high, even robust rates of economic growth in the Sahel, averaging over 5% /annum since 2000. At the same time, chronic food and nutrition security has increased, not decreased. OCHA is calling for 1.8 billion dollars of humanitarian assistance for the Sahel. Since 2012, the number of destitute people who need humanitarian assistance has never fallen below 20 million. In short, the "development model" itself, is deeply flawed, generates inequality and marginalization, particularly for small scale farmers (men and women), is failing to address adaptation to climate change, or soil degradation. No point in trying to overcome stresses and shocks to get on the development line again, if the development model itself is "business as usual" generating reduced resilience, higher levels of chronic vulnerability and inequality (even within communities as the household economy assessments HEA) show. Well, I will now read the paper, but wanted to share these initial observations for the many who may only read this post, and not get to paper itself. Of course, I am biased by my experiences in the context of the Sahel, but would be surprised if similar concerns were not relevant in Asia or Latin America.
Peter – Those are great observations, thank you. It's certainly true that resilience can be different for different people in the same household. We talked about "people" in this blog post partly as a way to avoid referring to "households", with the idea that a household is a homogeneous unit. As you'll see in the paper, we are still some way from adequately capturing gender differences and other within-household inequalities in resilience in our surveys (partly due to the constraint that we can normally survey only one person in each household), but we are actively looking for ways to do this better.
We share your concern about Figure 1, which in fact is not a diagram we have used ourselves. Apart from whether it is showing the right development pathway, it also doesn't reflect that building transformative capacity should change our idea of what counts as a "shock".
Barney – The Orissa example is a great illustration of the idea of resilience, thanks! And it reinforces the point that there's no such thing as a "natural" disaster.
My bad on the diagram, won't use it again – promise!
Happy New Year! I am pleased to see that there are many who have not given up on the concept of resilience as just another fad or too nebulous for any real, meaningful impact on poverty reduction. Resilience gives name and face to ideas that we've all been thinking about and working on for quite some time. I appreciate the continued conversation on how we measure it and completely agree that its a noble and daunting endeavor. The more I study, as I'm sure you've found as well, the more complicated (and sometimes convoluted) it all seems. Particularly, the thought that gives me most cause for concern is that when a community is faced with a shock or stress, the social, economic, and even sometimes environmental contexts shift/transform/morph under the new pressures of the shock or stress. This, often fundamental, rearrangement of these systems sometimes bares very little functional resemblance to their pre-shock state. So, when we discuss measuring resilience pre-shock or pre-stress, we are examining and measuring systems that may look and function one way now, but will likely not function the same post-shock or even during a prolonged stress (drought, famine, conflict, etc.). As you can imagine, my fear is that we're investing a lot of time, energy and resources in measuring something that may fundamentally reorganize itself when it encounters a shock or stress. How do we really know that the capitals (human, social, financial, etc.) will be available and/or utilized the same way to recover from the shock or stress?
Am I missing something? Am I overstating it? Have you seen any research or anything else written on this topic? It is, quite frankly, something that discourages me from investing too much into measurement.


Pour dry mix into hole and soak with water. Use for applications greater than 2-in thick. Good choice for setting posts and making small pads when fast set times are desired.... Then trace a 4-1/2 in. circle and drill a series of closely spaced holes around the circumference with the 1/4-in. masonry bit and hammer drill. Break out the masonry with a cold chisel. Snip the wire mesh back if you�re chipping out stucco. Then drill through the wood sheathing and framing with a 4-1/4 in. hole saw.
On the narrow side of the 11 1/4" long piece, drill two 1/4" holes through the board about 1 3/4" apart. The first hole is spaced 2 3/8" from the front of the board. The second hole is spaced 4 � how to make pandora play the song you want 9/03/2012�� I recently drilled a 25mm hole through a clay (single) brick wall for a conduit. I used a diamond tipped core drill. By the time I had finished, the core drilled was stuffed. It's amazing how tough fired clay bricks really are.
12/08/2013�� Hi, previous owner cut out a hole to install wall air-conditioner in the double layer brick wall. That's really very old style and I want to change to currently split system air-conditioner. However, I really don't know hot to patch the big hole and who can do that. how to make a floating wall 9/03/2012�� I recently drilled a 25mm hole through a clay (single) brick wall for a conduit. I used a diamond tipped core drill. By the time I had finished, the core drilled was stuffed. It's amazing how tough fired clay bricks really are.
If the wall is of 4 inch block work for example, with half an inch of plaster on either side, a 4 x 2 inch timber + a sheet of 3/8ths (9.5mm) plasterboard each side, plus skim plaster, will make up the exact thickness of the wall.
30/04/2009�� Take your hammer drill and use a 1/4" long masonry bit to drill a series of small holes through the brick about a 1/2" apart along the line of the new 8" hole. Take a hammer/chisel and "connect the dots".
12/08/2013�� Hi, previous owner cut out a hole to install wall air-conditioner in the double layer brick wall. That's really very old style and I want to change to currently split system air-conditioner. However, I really don't know hot to patch the big hole and who can do that.
9/03/2012�� I recently drilled a 25mm hole through a clay (single) brick wall for a conduit. I used a diamond tipped core drill. By the time I had finished, the core drilled was stuffed. It's amazing how tough fired clay bricks really are.


text:
E: info@mif-events.com | T: +32 (0)496 86 73 28
HOMEGo to the Homepage of the Paper Money Fair 2022
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Launch of the 0 Euro banknote 'Maastricht' during the MIF Moneyfair 2018!
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Our notary picked out 5 winners of the 2017 Limited Edition African Wildlife ounce prize competition which was held during the MIF2017
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The MIF organisation would like to thank our exhibitors, traders and visitors for there presence
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Mgtow Response- Freezing my Eggs!
Mgtow Response- Why Do Guys Keep Letting Me Down?
Mgtow Response- Is a Good Man Really That Hard to Find?
Mgtow Response- Where have all the Men Gone?
Mgtow Response- The Huffington Post Spinsters Are Upset!
Mgtow Response- What Happened to Chivalry?
Mgtow Response: The Alt-Right Doesn't Understand Mgtow of Biology!
Mgtow Response Video- Tipping Your Waitress is Sexist!


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UMD women return for second half of season
Published: Dec. 29, 2021 at 6:37 PM CST
DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - The UMD women's hockey team returns this weekend to start the second half of their season. The Bulldogs will hit the road for Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take on the Harvard Crimson.
In a Bulldog sweater, no current UMD player has matched up against the Crimson. Although transfer forward, Elizabeth Giguere did play them when she was at Clarkson.
It's an uncommon opponent, but with the expanded NCAA tournament this season, it'll be a massive series for the pairwise position because it's their last non-conference series of the season.
"We haven't played now in what, three weeks? so I think all of us are very excited to be back on the ice again, so we're just going to bring that into our series this weekend," said Soderberg.
"You know when we pick non-conference matchups, we try to bring our team places that they can get a good experience at, as well as a great hockey experience, so we'll get that this weekend for sure," Maura Crowell.
Crowell and some players also talked at length this morning about their disappointment with the IIHF, about canceling the second straight Women's U-18 Worlds.


This 21-page booklet is designed primarily for parents but may also be useful for older teens. It covers many topics, including working, budgeting, figuring out if a purchase is a "need" or a "want," banking, writing checks, savings, credit cards, credit reports, driving and cell phones. The booklet contains illustrations and examples of a weekly spending evaluation, a paycheck stub, how comparison shopping can save money and how to write a check. It also contains a list of helpful web sites for parents and kids.
From a parent's perspective, it's just a few short years from lemonade stands to college credit card come-ons. But these transitional years are a perfect time to help your children build sound money management skills.
As parents, you play a key role in shaping your children's values and attitudes about money management. While you might not think your teen wants to learn these lessons, the Schwab 2011 Teens & Money Survey found that three-quarters of surveyed teens said learning about money management, including budgeting, saving and investing, is one of their top priorities.
Very few young people want to be dependent on their parents as adults. Even fewer want to find themselves deep in debt. But there are many pressures in today's society that cause people to get in financial trouble.
Teens—always under pressure to conform with their peers—also must contend with high-pressure marketing.
If your neighbor gets a new car, do you want one, too? Such behavior used to be called "Keeping up with the Joneses." Now the phrase "affluenza" is used to denote money problems such as overspending, misuse of credit and falling into debt. Unfortunately, affluenza can be contagious—your children learn from you. If you're a shop-a-holic, chances are good your kids will be, too.
Sometimes kids want to buy things because of peer pressure, sometimes out of boredom, sometimes just to see if they'll get their way. Help your kids understand that there is more to life than trips to the mall by looking at your own habits and asking if your actions are sending the wrong messages.
Having a job helps your kids prepare for adult life. It teaches them responsibility, gives them job experience, puts money in their pockets and keeps them off the streets.
Work habits formed as a teenager follow you the rest of your life. Some kids naturally want to work, others need encouragement. If you have a comfortable income, you might feel it's not important for your kids to work—but that's not necessarily best for your child. No parent wants their children to work so much that their grades suffer, but teaching financial responsibility can be difficult if your child doesn't know what it's like to earn his or her own money.
Teens 16 and older generally can work full time, although some states may limit the times of day they can work. Teens aged 14 and 15 can work 18 hours a week but no more than three hours on school days. In the summer, they can work 40 hours a week, eight hours a day.
Younger teens can do odd jobs such as running errands, babysitting, dog walking or lawn mowing.
Many teens work to pay for clothes, video games, gas or cell phones but overlook the added benefits of job experience and seeing what adult life is like. Even a fast-food job can give you some transferable skills such as handling money, using a computer system and dealing with customers. No job is a dead end if you know how to market yourself.
Familiarize your kids with job hunting tools. Go over the basics of resume writing—there are many web sites and books on the subject. Gather some job applications from local businesses and review the information they ask for. Read help wanted ads in the local newspaper. Play-acting a call to a potential employer or a job interview can raise your child's comfort level for the real deal.
Discuss some of the often overlooked traits that please employers, such as neat grooming and dress, politeness, being on time, doing what you're told, paying attention and asking questions if you don't understand. Remind your teen that many employers check job applicants' online presence before making a hiring decision. Manage your social media accounts so that they don't reveal anything you wouldn't want a college admissions officer or prospective employer to see.
Urge your teen to start looking for a summer job early, instead of waiting until May or June when positions may be scarce. Rather than just dropping off an application, suggest they ask when the manager has time to meet with them. Many teens want a job they consider cool so they have blinders on when it comes to what's out there. Brainstorm together about possible jobs—depending on their interests, teens may find jobs as camp counselors, tutors, tour guides, lifeguards, receptionists, landscapers, day care workers, auto mechanics, construction crew members, maintenance workers, sales help and library aides.
Does your child know how long it takes to earn $50 to buy a video game? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average annual earnings of executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants was $50,220 in 2012. It would take a person with this salary a little more than two hours to earn the money for the video game.
Young people who receive their first paycheck are often surprised that their take-home pay is less than they expected. They are expecting the full—or gross—amount of their earnings instead of the after tax—or net—amount.
Federal and state income tax is the largest deduction. Make sure your kids understand that they can avoid withholding too much by claiming additional allowances on the W-4 form they get from their employer. However, they must withhold at least the amount they owed in taxes last year or 90% of what they expect to owe in the current year, whichever is smaller. Let your kids know that they'll receive a refund of excess withholding when they file their tax returns between January 1 and April 15 of the following year.
Social Security (FICA) and Medicare (MedFICA) taxes are withheld to pay for government retirement and health care benefits for seniors who reach the eligible age. Explain that employees pay one-half of these required taxes and employers pay the other half, and that taxpayers don't get refunds for these taxes when they file a tax return.
A budget is a spending plan to help forecast and control expenses. By watching what you spend and carefully allocating their money, your kids can save to buy things they want but can't afford at the moment. Most people just can't go out and buy the things they want without some planning.
A budget doesn't have to be fancy—keep cash receipts and bills in an envelope and use bank statements to see where the money goes. Planning ahead helps your kids see how much they can spend each month.
Suggest that your teens jot down everything they spend for one week and then evaluate the results using the weekly expense worksheet shown below. After one week, go over the worksheet together. Is the "bottom line" a positive (plus) or negative (minus) figure? Did your child's income—from an allowance or working—cover the outlays? Are there any areas that can be trimmed? Which of the expenditures are things they need and which are things they want?
Help your kids develop a budget based on the information and insights gained from the worksheet. Then, for the next few weeks, suggest they do weekly spending evaluations to see how well they're staying within their budgets.
What have I learned by tracking my spending?
Get your children to think about priorities and stimulate discussion with this simple exercise. Ask them to list five things they need and five things they want but can live without, with a price tag on each one.
Concentrate on things that you use or require every day—even if your parents usually pay for them. Suggestions: lunch, bus fare, clothes, shoes, grooming products like shampoo, soap and deodorant.
Five things I need How much does it cost?
In the next spaces, write down things you would love to have but can live without. Suggestions: music downloads or computer games, your favorite snacks or soft drinks, or new designer fashions.
Five things I want How much does it cost?
You have $500. Prioritize what you'd buy from the items on the two lists.
Why did you choose the things you did? Can you think of any way you could stretch the $500 to get more of the things you want?
Your mom loses her job. You have to help pay for your needs. Cross off some things on either list you can do without.
How could you save money on the remaining things?
How do you think your lists of needs and wants will change when you are five years older?
Your fairy godmother grants you one material wish. Would you choose to have any of the things on your "wants" list?
If you answer no, perhaps the things you wrote down are not really top priorities for you. Would buying them just be a waste of money?
Are these needs or wants?
Enlist your kids in preparing a household shopping list. Ask them to come with you to your favorite superstore—it's a great chance to show them how to comparison shop. The store brand version of a must-have item is often made by the same brand-name manufacturer that advertises on national TV—but it may cost much less.
Comparison shopping can have a big payoff for just a small amount of work—especially if you use the Internet. Online shopping services known as "bots" (www.pricegrabber.com or www.bizrate.com) can help you start the shopping process by allowing you to compare prices on specific goods. Even if you don't purchase the item you are interested in online, you will be armed with information that can help you make informed purchasing decisions.
People are shopping in droves at flea markets, yard sales, secondhand stores, thrift shops and businesses that sell "gently used" goods on consignment. Take your kids along on the hunt for a good deal—maybe they'll get bit by the bargain bug when they find some cool vintage clothes or funky furniture for their rooms.
Using the Internet to compare prices—even if you don't buy online—can help you be a more informed consumer and know when to bargain if necessary. Among these three items, a savings of up to 55% was found.
By teaching your kids to manage a checking account, you can also pave the way to good financial habits such as careful money managment, paying bills on time and handling credit cards well.
A bank account—savings or checking—is handy for cashing paychecks.
An ATM or debit card, which comes with many checking accounts, can serve as "training wheels" for using credit cards.
ATMs are convenient, but stick to your bank's ATMs. Using other banks' ATMs exposes you to hefty fees. According to Bankrate, a free online financial information service, the average fee for using other banks' ATMs is $2.50 from the owner of the ATM plus $1.57 charged by your own bank. At these prices, one withdrawal per week adds up to more than $200 per year.
In many communities there are banks and credit unions offering special accounts for young people. Avoid accounts with fees, service charges and minimum balance requirements that quickly eat up deposits.
Suggest that your teenager call some banks. Bankrate allows you to find and compare checking and savings accounts by ZIP code or by city. Online bank accounts are listed, too.
Also check out the accounts offered at local credit unions, non-profit financial institutions that are owned and controlled by account holders. Credit unions are founded to serve groups that share something in common, such as where they work, live or go to church. Credit unions generally provide lower-cost checking options than banks.
To find local credit unions that you may be eligible to join, visit aSmarterChoice.org, a directory of the nation's credit unions.
Most youth accounts are "custodial"—an adult must open the account on behalf of the minor and the adult is responsible for the account. When you and your teen go to open a bank account, you'll both need to bring identification—a driver's license or a state identification card—and your Social Security numbers. If your teen doesn't have a Social Security number, contact the Social Security Administration to apply for one.
Special accounts for youth usually require a low minimum balance ($1 to $5). Some banks may limit the number of checks you can write per month. Look for "free" youth accounts that have no minimum age requirement or monthly service fees and offer unlimited check writing with no per-check fees. Some banks offer a slightly higher interest rate for youth accounts.
Bouncing checks can be very expensive—up to $35 for each bounced check. Stress to your kids that it is important to keep track of checks and ATM withdrawals so that they don't overdraft their accounts.
Explain how to handle a bank account properly. Let your kids know that if they bounce a check and don't pay it back, their names will show up in a national database called ChexSystems and they won't be able to open another checking account for five years.
Make sure you have enough money in the bank to cover the check.
Review your bank statements promptly.
Record all the checks you write in your checkbook register or use duplicate checks that create a carbon copy of each check.
Deposit paychecks and other checks in a timely manner—most checks cannot be cashed after three months.
Use a pen—never a pencil—to write checks.
Write your checks legibly—scribbling can cause problems when the check is cashed.
Fill in the check amount and payee well to the left to prevent someone from adding numbers to make the check larger or altering the payee's name.
If you need to correct a mistake on a check, tear up the check, enter it as "void" in your checkbook register and write a new check.
Don't sign blank checks—they can be stolen or used by someone else.
Know where your checkbook and ATM card are at all times and report missing checkbooks, checks or cards to your bank immediately.
The check below belongs to Cody Sampson. Cody is going to buy a CD at Music Megastore. Follow the directions below to write a check to Music Megastore for $14.98.
To see what this check should look like when it is filled out properly, refer to the example below.
One of the most important financial lessons is how to balance a checkbook. If you fail to keep an accurate record, you could bounce a check. Bounced check fees from your bank can be up to $35 per check. Most merchants also add an additional penalty of up to $30 on checks returned for lack of funds.
4. What's your balance after you wrote a check to Music Megastore on Aug. 6?
5. How often did you use your debit card to make purchases in July?
A good way to demonstrate the power of savings is to play with one of the many online calculators. Just type "savings calculator" into an Internet search engine and you come up with dozens of easy-to-use tools. Plug in a few numbers—potential deposits, a realistic interest rate and years to maturity—and you'll be able to show your teen how regular deposits into a savings account make money grow.
It's important to make frequent, regular deposits. If your 14-year-old begins to deposit $20 in babysitting earnings every week in a savings account that pays 1%-2% interest, by the time your child enters college the account should be worth about $5,400. On the other hand, if your child deposits only $20 per month for the same period, the account would be worth about $1,250.
Commit PIN numbers and passwords to memory—don't write them down.
Watch your surroundings when you withdraw money from an ATM.
Be cautious about giving out your Social Security number—it can be used by an imposter to get credit in your name.
Shred credit card solicitations, bills, old checks and bank statements before throwing them away.
Don't give out your bank information to salespeople who call on the phone—they could be scam artists.
Don't leave outgoing mail containing checks and other personal information in unlocked mail boxes or where strangers can pick it up.
If you lose your ATM, debit or credit card, contact your bank immediately.
Good credit is important in obtaining a favorable interest rate on a car loan or home mortgage, renting a place to live, paying competitive car insurance premiums, getting homeowners' or life insurance and applying for many kinds of jobs.
To familiarize your kids with the concept of credit, go over your credit card statement with them. They're probably used to seeing you pull out your card to pay, but have they ever looked at the statement's bottom line or watched you write a check to pay the bill? Concepts like paying with plastic can be abstract without a reality check.
Teach your kids to read the fine print on credit card offers. The all-important details about interest rates, late fees and how much cash advances cost can all be found there.
It's a good idea for college-age children to have one credit card—this can help them build a good credit history. Ask them to give you the account number to keep tabs on the account so that you can head off any trouble. You will have more control over the card if you make them an authorized user on your credit card, and in most cases this will still help them build a credit history.
Three quarters of college students have at least one credit card. Some kids see credit cards as free money and use the card until it's maxed out. Failure to manage their first credit card accounts has caused many students to endure years of damaged credit or even bankruptcy.
With credit cards, looks can be deceiving. Just because a card has a cool appearance or a flashy photo, or is issued by your kid's school or favorite sports team, does not mean it's a good deal. Teach your kids to compare several cards to find one with really important characteristics: a low interest rate, low or no annual fee and lower-than-average late fees. To avoid over-limit fees, advise them not to let the card company approve charges above the credit limit.
The CARD Act, in addition to making sure that your child has the ability to repay any line of credit extended by a credit card company, also restricts credit card marketing on campus and prohibits giving gifts (such as t-shirts, caps and gift certificates) to students who apply for credit cards. Colleges are required to publicly disclose marketing agreements for school-branded credit cards.
Let me know if you apply for or receive a credit card.
Try to limit yourself to one credit card while you are in college.
Try to use your card only for emergencies or larger purchases we agree on in advance and that you will pay off in a disciplined way.
If you need to use your card for meals, movies and everyday purchases, keep track of the charges to control them and pay the bill in full before charging more.
Keep your credit limit at a manageable level (perhaps $500) and your balance low (perhaps $200). Don't make purchases that you know will exceed your credit limit.
Make sure your payment has time to reach the company by the due date or you'll be hit with a late fee.
Pay the balance in full each month whenever possible.
If you are carrying a balance, always pay more than the minimum monthly payment shown on the statement.
Penalties for late payments and interest charges on credit cards can add up fast. Make sure your kids know that they have to pay credit card and other bills by the due date. Most lenders charge late fees that can be as high as $39 if the payment isn't there on time. Payments that are late by more than 30 days are reported to credit reporting bureaus. The black mark caused by the late payment stays on your credit report for seven years.
Most credit cards require cardholders to pay a monthly minimum payment of about 3% of the outstanding balance. Paying just the minimum will cost you a lot more in interest and keep you in debt much longer.
If your child has an average credit card balance of $1,000 at 17% interest and pays only a 3% minimum payment each month, it would take more than nine years to pay the debt. The interest alone could add more than $700 to the balance.
On the other hand, if your child makes a fixed payment of $100 each month, the debt would be paid off in 11 months with $86 in interest.
Graduating college with bad credit impacts more than just the ability to get loans or credit cards. The information in credit reports can be used by employers to screen applicants. In certain fields—financial services, technology and law enforcement, to name a few—credit checks for job applicants are the norm. No matter how good your grade point average was, or which degrees you've earned, bad credit can cost you the job.
People with bad credit usually have to put down cash deposits in order to get phone and utility service, which can add to the cost of establishing a residence.
Make sure your kids know that they can check the credit information that is on file about them at the three major national credit reporting bureaus. Each year, you may request a free report from each of the three major credit reporting companies. (See "Annual Credit Reports" below for contact information.) Everyone who has had a credit card or a loan will have a record with one or all of these companies. First obtaining these reports when your child is around 16 allows you to check for identity theft and make corrections before your son or daughter needs to apply for a student or auto loan, apartment or job.
People who are turned down for credit can get a free copy of their credit report from the company that supplied the information, or you can buy a copy anytime for about $10-$15, depending on the company.
By mail: Print out the order form from the web site and mail it to the address provided on the form.
When it comes to cars, many kids focus on the monthly loan payment—but ownership costs can more than double that figure. (See "Monthly Cost of Owning a Car".) Running through some of the costs of auto ownership with your child is an important reality check.
You want your children to have a safe vehicle, but with new car prices so high a used vehicle is a more likely choice. A new car will lose 20%-40% of its value in its first year.
Many dealers now sell "certified pre-owned" cars—late model trade-ins and lease-end cars that have been thoroughly inspected and come with warranties and extended protection plans. But when buying any used car, even certified pre-owned vehicles, do your homework and get an independent mechanic to check the car. New and used car values as well as car-buying tips can be found online at the Kelley Blue Book site (www.kbb.com). For a small fee, you can learn the car's history by checking its vehicle identification number (VIN) at CarFax (www.carfax.com).
The cost of auto insurance for young drivers can give you sticker shock. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for each mile driven, the risk of being involved in a crash is four times higher for teens aged 16-19 than for older drivers. Drivers who are 16 present the highest risk, with a crash rate almost three times that of 18-year-olds. These statistics give insurance underwriters a reason to charge the highest premiums for young drivers.
Teenaged girls are not considered as high-risk insurance-wise as teenaged boys and generally qualify for lower insurance rates.
"Safe" cars can be less expensive to insure. SUVs, for instance, have a history of rollovers, which can result in higher premiums. The safest cars—find a list at SaferCar.gov—are not going to make your teen the center of attention in the school parking lot, but they should be somewhat cheaper to insure.
If your teen has a B average or better in school, you might get a small discount for good grades.
Adding your teen driver to your own policy might cut costs if you qualify for good-driver discounts. This can also qualify you for multiple car discounts. This doesn't mean you have to pick up the whole tab—you can pro-rate the premium and ask your child to pick up his or her share.
Encourage your teen to take driver safety classes that result in eligibility for insurance company discounts.
When purchasing auto insurance (or any other insurance) shop around among companies to compare premiums and consider higher deductibles. The more you are willing to pay out of pocket for claims, the lower your premiums will be.
This chart estimates the approximate monthly cost of purchasing, financing and operating a $10,000 auto to be driven and insured by a 17-year-old male. In this example, the buyer makes a $2,000 down payment and finances the balance at 6% interest for 4 years.
*12,000 miles, 25 miles per gallon, $3.40 per gallon.
Teenagers, known for their love of the phone, make up an important, fast-growing segment of the cell phone market. Many parents pay for cell phone service to keep track of their children and to make sure they can get help in an emergency.
Carriers have family plans and pre-paid accounts designed for the teenage market, but these might not offer the best deals. Family plans let you add multiple lines to one account and share the plan minutes between the phones.
Older teens usually want a personal cell phone—but because they don't have a credit history, you might be asked to co-sign. While it will take some doing to distract your teen from the phone's color or ring, you might fend off hundreds of dollars in extra charges by exploring prepaid cell phone plans.
Most wireless plans charge for minutes when you make and receive calls. Often, family plan users are not charged when calling each other's phones.
On a cell phone, even toll-free numbers cost money.
The charges for directory assistance and connecting calls can be surprisingly high. If you have a Web-enabled phone, you can avoid those costs by looking up contact information on the Internet.
Prepaid cell phones are worth a look because the monthly charges have dropped drastically and the plans require no credit checks. Many prepaid cell phones have plans that include unlimited texting and data downloads.
Custom ring tones, voice mail and other optional services usually result in additional charges.
Burning questions: Kiplinger's online archive of "Money Smart Kids" columns (/www.kiplinger.com/fronts/archive/column/index.html?column_id=2) contains dozens of articles of interest to parents looking to give their kids solid money advice.
Fun finance: The Motley Fool's "Teens and Their Money" (www.fool.com/teens/teens01.htm) presents the novel viewpoint that it's fun to learn how to save, earn and invest money.
Reality check: Jump$tart's web site (www.jumpstart.org) is full of guidance and tips on money—all of it geared to teaching young people. The "Reality Check" interactive quiz helps teens learn what it costs to live on their own.
Be your own boss: YoungBiz (youngbiz.com) features stories about teen entrepreneurs who've started "fresh, funky and financially rewarding" businesses. Also check out Independent Means (www.independentmeans.com).
Money can't buy everything: The Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) promotes responsible consumption with the goals of protecting the environment, enhancing quality of life and promoting social justice.
Advice is nice:Family.com (http://www.family.go.com/parenting/pkg-teen) offers all kinds of parenting advice and strategies focusing on the teen years.
Snag a job: You don't have to be an adult to use the Internet to conduct a job search. Check out sites geared especially to teens www.teens4hire.com, www.snagajob.com), as well as the big job sites like Monster.com and those of national retail and food service chains.
Where's the money? FinAid (www.finaid.org) is a trustworthy site packed with "how to" guidance on getting student financial aid.
Test this: Surf over to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov/investor/tools/quiz.htm) and "Test Your Money $marts" with its challenging interactive quiz.


I keep seeing the part in 1 Kings 17:1-7, where Elijah the Tishbite hid by the brook called Cherith. Here he dwelt as God fed him every morning by ravens. They brought him bread and meat [flesh] in both morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. Soon after, the brook dried up from having no rain. I continue to see this. The waters are drying up as the bread and meat in both morning and evening is no longer, and will no longer be coming. It is not coming back.
I keep getting this strong sense of knowing that we will be gone and forever home with the Lord.
Today, as I walked about on the deck, I looked out at the mountains in their greatness and the icy cold waters softly flowing by. I recognized what a gift from God these are – something to see last of all. I hear my thoughts… these thoughts. Yet, I am not troubled at all.
In addition, I wonder if I am the only one, or are there others like me with these same thoughts.
There is, as I can deeply feel it, a getting ready to go. It never leaves me. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in this cabin the day I got here. I knew He would speak to me. However, not one-hundred percent, but the greater part of me felt so.
I dreamed last night that someone came to me and began to sing and worship the Lord. Then I saw more and more surround me, all singing. They were from heaven. In fact, it was as if all heaven descended down upon me, encapsulating me on every side. The power of heaven was so powerful. It was nothing like even the most anointed earthly worship I have ever experienced. My whole being was flowing with power of the endless life.
Though I was so grateful, I then became sad because I had no idea how really starved I was for the anointed sound. I feel that very soon we are going to experience what we have all been waiting for. Heaven is drawing nearer and is now surrounding us all.
"Do not look any longer upon this world as your home. It never has been. There is now an entering in. A great door is opening in heaven, and it is not for the faint of heart or the weak, but for those whose hearts have been brave, strong, and bold – those who have satisfied their souls in Me and kept in My constant shadow.
The light of this world is shutting off as quickly as if one put their finger to a switch to shut it off. It will never be light again. Only a thick darkness of lamentations and woes.
The meek are ripe and ready. The meek are soon to be rewarded in Me. The harpers are harping. Throngs are coming in with exceeding great joy and singing with crowns upon their heads.
Those of you who have waited so long for Me will not be waiting much longer. I am the sound of the rushing, mighty wind – rushing to get My Bride. Can you hear the sound of My wings? [Angelic host]. Behold, I come"!
Last night, Jon dreamt he was standing in a big open field. He saw in the near distance an army of children. Among the army of children was an ancient looking man described as an Abraham-type figure, old and full of days.
Jon drew near to see. He said that all the children were wearing white robes and that each of them were coming to this man to receive an anointing one by one. The man would lay his hands on each child and they would fall forward upon the ground under this anointing.
Jon described the children as being, "brand new, fresh, and just so brand new". I asked if that meant being born again, but he just kept saying, "I do not know, they were just brand new".
Then he said that there were two children with him and he wanted to bring them to where the army of children were so they could also meet the man.
Jon then walked the two children up to the man. The man laid hands on them and they fell upon the ground under the anointing. Jon said that he himself did not stop walking when he brought the children to the man. He just kept walking as if to just go on his way.
He also mentioned that this man had regular clothing on, but was wearing white robes over his clothing.
When Jon was about to pass by him, he reached out and touched Jon. When he did, Jon fell down upon the ground just like all the children. He said that the anointing was so powerful, he just fell down on the ground.
"The time of this empire is over, as with all the other empires of this rotten, filthy world. A great crashing will be heard from the hills.
The earth is now ripe for both harvest and judgment – the harvest of nations of peoples.
A swift judgment will fall. I am coming.
The harvest is truly great and the laborers are few. However, right now I am raising up many whom I will use to gather as many to Me as possible. Be careful. Do not look for them as Samuel did to David's brothers. Those that will appear to be those I have chosen are not the ones you will think.
Those I have chosen and are raising up, are my mightiest workers who will not do so out in the open. That has never been their practice and that is what makes them mighty. They will be like Nehemiah who went out at night to spy out the destruction of the wall and the Temple.
My people that will be key in My harvest are not in the public eye. They do nothing at all for eye service and answer only to Me. They have many years in Me and they are very mighty. They are few in number, but have power by Me to bring down kingdoms and the hosts of mighty kingdoms. When I give the Word, not only one or two of them will know it, but they will all know it from the least unto the greatest.
The glory of the kingdoms are fallen and will no more rise up again forever. I have decreased the power of the rulers of the nations. I have taken away and removed their crowns. I am diminishing every attempt on their part to re-exert government authority.
The peoples of these nations are, and will shortly be, rising up as a destruction against their own rulers. They will turn their own nations upside down. Rulers of nations will turn and run in fear from their own people. Their hands will be stripped of power. Their power will rot.
"The rich of this world will fall. They will be in essence hit the hardest from which they will never recover. They will feel it the most. They will be hit the hardest because they have more to lose. They will lose it overnight. They will lose everything the fastest.
The rich whom are prepared are but few, and they will hide out in the holes of the rocks. They will not share any of their supplies with anyone. Their fear will eat them alive and they will attack and devour each other. They will become like wild animals because they know their wealth will never come back forever.
I am avenging My elect.
They [the rich] have lived sumptuously and richly upon the earth and have been thankful for nothing. Because they have been thankful for nothing, nothing is what I am going to give them.
The poor will have more than they will, even the poor who have never believed in Me because they have been thankful for having almost nothing. The poor will have more than those who stockpiled wealth, and those who stockpiled their wealth will only see it evaporate in a stroke. Therefore, nothing will become the possession of the rich.
Just as the Hebrew slaves, when they ate quail until it was coming out of their nostrils, in the same way have the rich of this world done so. They are nothing more than fatted calves marked for slaughter, for they fattened their own selves in the presence of the poor. They licked up what was left and withheld it from those that begged for help.
You rich who have lived in excess, My excess, you appointed your own selves to the slaughter. You have heard the cries of the hungry every day, and turned away. You saw the desperation of the starving, the widow, and the fatherless, and turned away. You have no compassion. Everything you have is Mine. Everything you own I allowed you to possess.
Your wealth has corrupted you and sealed you into a never-ending, perpetual destruction. A destruction I never planned for you, but purchased for yourselves. You fear nothing. Therefore, a fear, My fear, will become your fear. AND YOU WILL FEAR ME.
I am going to turn your nation upside down and shake it, even toss it like a ball. When I do this, it will be like giving a blind man sight where as he has lived his entire life in pitch-black darkness; and that darkness being all he has known was his light. Yes, you who have blasphemed Me every day and every night, you will be like the blind receiving sight. Except you will not be like the naturally blind who would see and be filled with joy. Instead, you will see it and there is no way out of it. You will feel it most. I will make you see it in its fullness and you will not rejoice. You will grieve and mourn.
What I will do will weaken the strong of this world. Those that know Me that are the weak, will become strong like mighty men; like a great and terrible army. You live among them every day. My strong ones that will arise, they will arise out of their close places, and you will not know it until the very moment I raise them up all at once.
You will be in shock to see who are My mighty ones. Many of them live next door to you. Many of them live in your homes and those you work with. Many will be those you laughed at, mocked, and made fun of. Nevertheless, they kept praying for you and remained faithful, though you maligned them and cast them out of your presence. Their faithfulness to Me on your behalf kept you alive. I kept you alive because of their cries for mercy for you.
These mighty ones will be like lions who will rise up prematurely out of a sound sleep. Their faces will be bold like lions. There will be no mistaking it.
Be prepared. Stand firm. Anoint the shield. Furbish your weapons.
These days are fast approaching and will be upon all humanity, upon all people, all over the earth… all at once.
The earth is going to rock. It is going to rock and shake so hard it will be knocked off its axis. The weather will become stranger and the skies will become darkened. The sun will not give her light as it once did. Everything will become completely unpredictable. The seasons you have enjoyed, summer, spring, winter, and fall, will become impossible to differentiate.
There will be no more seasons.
There will be an increase of heavy rains so great that areas will be swept away. Violent lightening will increase with great noise from the heavens that has never been seen or witnessed. Buildings with the tallest stories [the pride of man] will come down like walls with untempered mortar. They will come down like when a little child barely touches his tower made with toy blocks and it falls at once.
There will be great and intensified shaking coming upon all the lands.
Get ready to see mountains fall… My mountains fall. Those that will witness it will be in pain – in the shock of pain. They will be paralyzed with such intense fear that they will not be able to run for their lives, though everything within them is screaming for them to run. But, they will not be able to"!
This is what I saw in a waking vision as the Lord spoke to me.
I saw the country of Malaysia. He also showed me the surrounding countries of Malaysia. These countries, as well as Malaysia, are going to rock and shake very hard. I see violent, cataclysmic destruction appointed for that land.
He showed me the faces of the people beholding the total destruction of their lands. Their faces were pale. I saw mountains around the areas I mentioned slamming down to the ground. Not only these nations. The Lord showed me that this will happen all over the earth. I see mountains crumbling like crumbs in the sight of all the people.
"The great and violent shaking will be so great, it will overwhelm the people. They will all be unable to do anything. Psychologically, millions will be affected by this great shaking of the earth. Madness will be widespread and all safety will be gone.
When this will happen, everyone that is left will reminisce and remember all the good they once had – whether they had much or very little. They will remember the freedoms and everything that I handed down to them from Me. This will be the cause and means by which many will turn to me. They will do it en masse all over the world. They will run to Me!
This is what I meant when I said that the harvest is truly great and the laborers are few… You will see what I mean shortly. It will not be as it has been over these last centuries of My workers looking for ways to catch men like fish. No, in fact, My workers will not have to do anything to bring them in… For they will run in enormous people group's right into My nets all on their own.
My workers will be overwhelmed with this great catch. Nevertheless, I am and will be among you, working with you and giving you the power to accomplish this task. Once this starts, I will finish it.
Dearest readers, I feel very much inclined to share what the Lord is placing within my spirit to tell you. That though this is a hard Word, and many may not even understand it to its fullest… take heed. The Lord would tell you "Do NOT fear, you who are hidden beneath My wing. I AM your shield and buckler. I AM your rod and staff. I AM your STRONG TOWER of safety. In Me, there is NOTHING to fear. This is My plan. Those who have been with Me from time's beginning have LONGED for these days. Heaven is gearing up for My return. There is a stirring in heaven as never before as the multitudes anticipate the time at hand. Fear not. I AM with you always and have called you by NAME. You are Mine and I AM YOURS! Nothing can pry you from My hand as long as you stay close to ME. Get before Me as NEVER BEFORE. Pray CONTINUALLY. Stir up your spirits just as all of heaven is stirred! You are seeing My perfect plan unfolding. REJOICE in ME…Again I say, REJOICE"!!!


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