Feast of Trumpets - September 30, 2019

Today, Monday, Sept 30th is the Feast of Trumpets, an annual Holy Day to the LORD (Yahweh), the God of the Bible. It is an annual Sabbath, a 'high day', a commanded assembly and a day of rest from regular work, school, shopping, entertainment and other secular activities. It began at sunset last night. (As an aside, very day of the entire [Sacred calendar] year, according to Gen 1 and Lev 23:32, starts at sunset the previous day, not at midnight!)
The Feast of Trumpets is the 4th of God's 7 annual Sabbaths. (Yes, it's the middle one.) It falls on the first of Tishri, the seventh month of the Sacred calendar. Very little is said about its' significance in Lev 23:24-25 where it's first mentioned. Elsewhere in Scripture, more revelation about the meaning of this Sabbath is recorded for God's people to glean, examine and understand. We learn that trumpets are associated with war (ex. Num 10:9). In I Cor 15:52, we learn the dead in Christ will rise at the 'last trump', a yet future time when this present evil age of man will come to an end and the glorious 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ will begin throughout all the Earth. Much could be, and indeed already has been written about this major meaningful biblical Feast day. I suggest all those interested in knowing more read the following articles and Bible Study Guides. NB. Be sure to look up the Bible references to get maximum understanding of the messages.

https://www.cogwriter.com/trumpet-plan.htm

http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-plan/feast-of-trumpets-war-and-rescue.htm

https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/gods-holy-day-plan-the-promise-of-hope-for-all-mankind/the-feast-of-trumpets-a-turning-point-in-history

Poem recited by hot Cameron Diaz in 'In Her Shoes' (2005)

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)

BY E. E. CUMMINGS

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)

I am never without it 

anywhere I go you go, my dear;

and whatever is done by only me 

is your doing, my darling

I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)

I want no world, for beautiful, you are my world, my true

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows 

here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; 

which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in

Cam's character Maggie recited this poem at her long-suffering sister, Rose's wedding in a film called 'In Her Shoes'.  

This movie brings back some rare memories for me. I first saw it when I went to a cinema in Wellington in November 2005. I spent about 25 days in New Zealand that month. I took extra time off work to accompany my mother who wanted to visit family about an hours drive from Auckland. I stayed in a hostel in Auckland for five days during the first full week we were there. The second week was 'a bit' quieter. The third week, I traveled to Wellington where I stayed in a hostel near the train station. It was a cool time even though I was a solo tourist. On the plus side, I had complete freedom to go where and when I wanted, at a moment's notice. I explored the city centre every day and discovered a great Irish pub in Cuba street and other surprise places of interest including the awesome free museum Te Papa, and 'the Beehive' where I took a very interesting guided tour. My main regret was not taking time out to sail on the Inter-islander ferry to South Island. I bet the scenery is awesome on a good day. I hope to go back to Wellington again some day and I will not leave NZ's capital city until after I've traveled to South Island by ferry and taken lots of photos. 

By the time I got back to my then-digs in Aylesbury, UK, I'd flown on 10 planes from the start of my holiday. Five flights from UK to NZ (via Ireland, Singapore/Hong Kong and Australia) each way. I loved all the flying. I miss flying a lot these days. I have hardly flown since Nov 2005. Don't ask "why not" as I don't have a good answer.

I do have plans to fly to Spain next April however to embark on a new mega-ship for my first ever cruise 'vacation'. Hopefully there'll be very few youngsters and teenagers on my ship as schools will be in session.
Even more hopefully, MSC won't 'pull the plug' and cancel my dream cruise vacation due to the wretched coronavirus, Covid-19, that is turning up in many countries and causing people to cancel their holidays to avoid contracting it and even dying from it. I hope a cure is developed for it soon.

Tips and advice from the new Cork Advertiser magazine

I picked up a copy of (The) 'Cork Advertiser' last week in Douglas, Cork; date of issue: 30 August.
It's a free 52-page glossy magazine that comes out every month.
At the foot of every inside page is a tip, a proverb or a piece of advice for the reader to consider and try out.  I hope you find some of them work for you. Here goes:

Page  2:  Best way to escape from your problems is to solve them
Page  3:  Inside every problem is an opportunity
Page  4:  Intolerance is one of the greatest problems in the world
Page  5:  Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines
Page  6:  Running away from your problems is a race you'll never win
Page  7:  Happiness is the ability to deal with your problems
Page  8:  Problems can always be solved by a person not frightened by them
Page  9:  Whatever the problem, be part of the solution
Page 10:  It is what it is, learn from it, and grow from it
Page 11:  Keep your mind clear, and your heart at peace
Page 12:  Overthinking can ruin your life
Page 13:  Don't let little struggles break you, let them make you
Page 14:  We waste time waiting for the ideal moment to appear, it never does
Page 15:  Have faith that life will work out
Page 16:  Know your worth, never settle for less
Page 17:  No one is too busy, it's all about priorities
Page 18:  In the culture that seeks instant results, we must be strong, patient and steadfast
Page 19:  No matter what our problem, God is the solution
Page 20:  Keep silent and speak only when you must
Page 21:  Any person capable of angering you, becomes your master
Page 22:  It is how you react to a situation that matters
Page 23:  You should act without the approval of others
Page 24:  Do not give people free lodgings in your head
Page 25:  Keep company with people who uplift you
Page 26:  Good things come to those who wait
Page 27:  The best way out is always through
Page 28:  Never let your past decisions determine your future
Page 29:  Our character is defined in hard times
Page 30:  Make a difference
Page 31:  Our lives matter, God created everything for a purpose
Page 32:  Retirement gives you time literally to recreate yourself
Page 33:  Retirement is a new beginning
Page 34:  Believe that your greatest contribution is always ahead of you
Page 35:  Age is only a number
Page 36:  The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention
Page 37:  Be kind and compassionate
Page 38:  We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give
Page 39:  Inspire with your actions, not with your words
Page 40:  Count your blessings, not your troubles
Page 41:  Can all your worries add a single moment to you life?
Page 42:  Don't count your years, have your years count
Page 43:  The most important things in life aren't things
Page 44:  Antidote to depression is gratitude
Page 45:  He can who believes he can
Page 46:  One thing I can't recycle is wasted time
Page 47:  Live a life that is well balanced
Page 48:  It's never too late to have the best day of your life
Page 49:  Don't put off the important things in life till tomorrow
Page 50:  Without a struggle what is your success anyway?
Page 51:  Spend less time on what is urgent, and more time on what is important

The names of the wives on board Noah's Ark

I had a thought recently about finding out the names of Noah's wife and his three sons' wives as they are not mentioned in the Bible. I went to visit my friend 'Prof Google' to see if he could satisfy my curiosity. I went to the Wikipedia link where the four women's names were given. The source of the information was the Book of Jubliees.

It gave the name of Noahs' wife as Naamah;

Shem's wife's name was: Sedeqetelebab;

Ham's wife's name was: Na'eltama'uk

Japheth's wife's name was: 'Adataneses

There are several alternative names for the four women who survived the historical world-covering deluge as you will see if read the entire article. It's possible they might all be incorrect but don't get too 'hung up' on not being 100% sure of their correct names.

Another woman who is somewhat famous and who is not named in the Bible is Lot's wife. In Luke 17:32, Jesus said "Remember Lot's wife". He was warning His disciples against allowing the cares of the world to control their actions and decisions. Because she wanted to go back to 'the world' (in this case, Sodom, God turned her into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19 esp. v.26; the Hebrew infers she didn't want to turn her back completely on the evil city of Sodom and so God punished her as an example to others.) Again, I referred to Wikipedia for my information.
According to some Jewish traditions,

Lot's wife's name was either: Ado or Edith or some other name no-one today knows about.