Celebrate the Small Things: Rosh Hashanah

Today is Friday. Another day to Celebrate the Small Things with VikLit, over at Scribblings of an Aspring Author.

What is Rosh Hashanah you might ask? Well, it's the Jewish New Year. It is held on the first or second day of Tishri, which on the American calendar is September. This is the time we blow the shofar, beginning ten days of self-refelction and repentance culminating to Yom Kippur.

It is also an appointed holiday by G-d, in Leviticus 23:24:

 'Tell the people of Israel, "In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with the blasts on the shofar,"

What is the purpose of the shofar in this celebration?

1. It is the anniversary of G-d's creation and G-d's return to the earth. Yes. Yeshua Moshiach will be returning. When He comes the shofar will sound.

2. It is to wake us up from our spiritual slumber. It also calls us to repent and turn away from our sins.

3. It is also a reminder of when the shofar was blown on Mt. Sinai when the Torah was given. It also reminds G-d of our commitment and sincerity.

4. It also reminds us of the Prophets of old, who like the blast of the shofar called upon us to correct our ways, follow God's commandments, and act properly with others.

5. The shofar's blast reminds us of the tears shed for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, galvanizing us to bring Moshiach and hasten the rebuilding of the temple.

6. Since a shofar is made from a ram's horn, it reminds us of the binding of Isaac, and the ram G-d provided as a sacrifice in his place. This also symbolizes the sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins. And that we too are to self-sacrifice in order to rid ourselves of our sins.

7. It also reminds us that the shofar will be blown on the Day of Judgement when Yeshua Moshiach comes back. It nudges us to examine our deeds and contemplate how we can improve them.

8. The shofar blast also signals the return of the Jewish people when Yeshua Moshiach comes. He is our salvation.

9. When Yeshua Moshiach comes, the shofar will blast, heralding a time of universal understanding and recognition of G-d's unity.

10. It also reminds us of the primordial scream, the eternal voiceless call of the soul expressing its desire to return to its creator.

So L'Shana Tov to my Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, and Messianic Jewish friends along with everyone else!

 Hopefully, we all can take time to self-reflect, repent, and do better this new year.

Hugs and chocolate, all!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Zombie Virus

I know. I'm way late posting today. Time hasn't been my friend this week nor has the Salon schedule. It's been brutal.

Anyway, thought I'd Celebrate the Small Things first with VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author .

This weeks celebrations:

* I had a wonderful time at last weeks wedding. Sharks, turtles, jelly-fish, and a variety of other fish came. It was soooo cool!

* Wednesday, I had a fun time spoiling my grandbabies. If my phone was working right, I'd share some pictures with you. But...yeah. Stuff happens.

So pick a topic, any topic! The news is full of Debbie-Downer info. It's enough to keep you depressed for the rest of your life.

The Ebola virus seems to be picking up speed. My gut told me that when it reared its creepy head this time, it would be one to watch. And being that I'm a writer with a wild imagination, I've been doing a load of research on it. What I found out would make your head spin. It did mine.

Did you know that the America government holds a patent on the Ebola virus? You can go here  and here to read it for yourselves. There is a plethora of info on this topic.

Did you know that the Chinese fear Ebola turns peeps into zombies? You can go here to read the article. But it left me questioning why would they thinks this? So I investigated further and found that it was possible. But not the once dead and reanimated kind. The National Geographic peeps wrote a piece on this topic back in 2010 on the possibility.  Go here to read. 

In summary, the creation of a zombie virus needs a host to be first infected with both the rabies an the ebola, and let the mutation begin. And yes, it could become airborne by introducing both the viruses to  any flu in the same host. Here are some very informative videos to watch when you have time.

Are we all infected like Rick from The Walking Dead said?

Or have we been set up to be infected? Could be the GMO's, overuse of antibiotics, steroids and antibiotic use in the herd meat we eat. Hmmm...Poor nutrition is definitely a precursor to getting violently ill.

And why did the CDC post a preparedness sight in case of a Zombie Apocalypse?You can read it for yourself here. I'm finding all of this really creepy now. How about you? Been looking into buying Hasmat suits for the Sweetman and I. They're 104 dollars on Amazon.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbat! And be prepared for anything!

Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Ego

I know I've posted at least once or even twice why I really write. And lately, I've been doing a lot of self-reflection and talking to God. And the word 'ego' keeps flashing at me big time. 

In the Oxford Dictionary ego means the following: A person's self-esteem or self importance, self-worth, self-respect, self-image, and self-confidence.

If I really peel back my personal layers, I find a certain amount of ego being one of  many reasons why I write. It's nice to be noticed. It's nice to read rave reviews about my talent. It's nice to be respected by those who have never attempted to do what I do. 

So yes, ego has something to do with why I write. But can this ego-thing be a destructive tool as writers? Definitely!

I see it everywhere. The EGO.  All of social media is filled with Buy My BOOk, READ MY WONDERFUL BOOK, LOVE MY WONDERFUL BOOK!

And I've also seen the peeps who begin writing their passion and then all of a sudden they turn a corner. They write something out of their moral character to gain the attention, sales, and the EGO strokes.

Killer Stilettos, which is the next book in Lila's Journey series, is sitting on my hard drive. It's somewhat of a mess. Chapter one needs to be rewritten. There are still several chapter thirty-fives without its ending sprinkled through the last part the book. These issues made me think maybe God is trying to tell me something.

So I'm working on two other ideas that have a strong moral message and might not be my best sellers. But really folks life isn't about the Almighty-Me. It's about the lives we touch with what we say, do, and write.

If there is one thing I don't ever wish to do is to sell my soul to the devil like a lot of celebraties have done for fame and fortune. And is certainly wouldn't want to lead anyone onto the path of hell.

Hope I wasn't too long winded and that I made sense. Now into my celebrations. Celebrate the Small Things is brought to you by VikLit, at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

Celebrating:

* feeling much better today.

* going to a nice Jewish wedding tomorrow.

* off today and tomorrow.

* Sir Poops is still here!

* going to see the grandbabies on Wednesday.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbat!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Celebrate the Small Things: Keeping It Short

Today, I'll keep this post short with little words. I'm still not feeling 100% and tomorrow is my last day on antibiotics. So did I get sick with a mega-sinus infection? Hope it doesn't kill me.

Nope! Not going to be a Debbie-Downer! Nope! Nope!

Here are my celebrations:

This post is one of many on behalf of VikLit's Celebrate the Small Things Bloghop. You can find her at, Scribblings of an Inspiring Author.

Hope everyone has a chocolate-filled weekend! Happy Shabbats if you practice!

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly