I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”(Ps 91:2)
Hi,
I learned something new last week….something really big. I guess I think that I’m a positive person…I’m definitely a ‘glass half full’ sort of person, rather than ‘half empty’.I find happiness in creation, the land around me, the animals and birds, the plants, the animals. I love the different seasons (although I’m a bit suspicious of too much sun…but then I am Welsh so..!).I love the people around me. I love happy noise, music, chat, discussions, my friends, family, spare teenagers.I love the quiet around me, to sit quietly with Dilys and listen to the breeze through the trees, the birds, voles and mice in the undergrowth, the stream singing gently to itself.I love where I live. I love God.Last week I put a short prayer into the letter…

Generous God, for all that sustains us;air to breath, warmth and light,food to eat, water to drink,we offer our thanks and praise.

It was one that I had found in a book of ancient prayers. Those who have read these letters from the beginning know that I often use old Celtic prayers to pray on my own, I love the psalms of thanksgiving….but I hadn’t spotted the difference between the prayers I am drawn to and the prayers that this group as Rastafari use. I had never noticed that as Rastafari your prayer times are to ‘give thanks’. This week it was pointed out to me that the difference between Rastafari prayers and many Christian prayers are that Rastafari give thanks and Christian prayers are to ask. It was pointed out how like a Rastafari prayer the one in last week’s letter was.It’s changed the way I pray. As I enjoy all those things that I love, I have been thanking God for them and as I pray for the whole of your group, I have been thanking God (as well as for the group generally) for what I have learned from you!

This week Claude, one of the ginger back door cats, has mostly been very thankful for….sausages!My husband Pete takes his dog Anya out for 2 long walks a day….otherwise we would never cope with her. She is so full-on! Waaay too much energy. He walks her about 8 miles a day and does loads of extra training with her, just to take some of the energy out of her. He clips a dog treat pouch to his belt to train her to come back to him, to walk to heel, to stop at a distance and when he trains her to do those things he has to use treats she really likes….sausages!Claude, who isn’t quite as stupid as he makes out, has realised Pete carries a pouch with lots of sausages in it and can do the most beautiful ‘walk to heel’ I’ve ever seen a cat do. Then when they get to the fields, he runs ahead of Pete, jumps up a fence post and balances, staring at Pete til he gives him a sausage. Then, he jumps off the fence post, runs to the next one and it starts all again. Here he is, waiting for his treat…

I am feeling thankful this week….that I have survived the first week of my degree course. I’m also feeling a bit worried that I have to keep on going!I managed to read what I was supposed to read (notice I don’t claim to have understood it 😊). I took part in a tutorial and didn’t disgrace myself by sounding too stupid….all in all a good week. Now, I have to keep doing this…week after week….for six years!!!I’ve also started a big project….I’m re-decorating one of the rooms in my house.We are slowly doing up the house we live in. It was last decorated by the people we bought the house from, in the 1980’s….it’s quite grim! So much peach coloured paint, brown tiles, lilac flowered wallpaper, ginger floor tiles, artex ceilings, woodchip wallpaper.We have decorated the children’s rooms but never ours, so now it’s our turn. I’m going to paint it so dark blue it’s almost black, sand down and polish the floorboards, buy new curtains (not family pass-ons!) and maybe even buy some new chest of drawers (again, instead of the strange combination of old, tatty, mismatched furniture we’ve been passed on). I’m really excited to see what it’s going to look like with new furniture and the room not painted peach.Let’s get on with this…..
Kebra Negast 

31. Concerning the sign which SOLOMON gave the Queen

And the Queen rejoiced, and she went forth in order to depart, and the King set her on her way with great pomp and ceremony. And SOLOMON took her aside so that they might be alone together, and he took off the ring that was upon his little finger, and he gave it to the Queen, and said unto her, “Take [this] so that thou mayest not forget me. And if it happen that I obtain seed from thee, this ring shall be unto it a sign; and if it be a man child he shall come to me; and the peace of God be with thee! Whilst I was sleeping with thee I saw many visions in a dream, [and it seemed] as if a sun had risen upon ISRAEL, but it snatched itself away and flew off and lighted up the country of ETHIOPIA; peradventure that country shall be blessed through thee; God knoweth. And as for thee, observe what I have told thee, so that thou mayest worship God with all thy heart and perform His Will. For He punisheth those who are arrogant, and He showeth compassion upon those who are humble, and He removeth the thrones of the mighty, and He maketh to be honoured those who are needy. For death and life are from Him, and riches and poverty are bestowed by His Will. For everything is His, and none can oppose His command and His judgment in the heavens, or in the earth, or in the sea, or in the abysses. And may God be with thee! Go in peace.” And they separated from each other

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Reasoning (From H.I.M. Church)

Command:

Deuteronomy 29 v10-1210  Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; Emperor Haile Selassie I, your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,11  Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawers of thy water:12  That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God, Emperor Haile Selassie I, maketh with thee this day:

Will:

Psalm 92 v1313  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God, Emperor Haile Selassie I.Desire:Isaiah 66 v22-2322  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, Emperor Haile Selassie I, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your nameremain.23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, Emperor Haile Selassie I, saith the LORD.

Desire:

Isaiah 66 v22-2322  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, Emperor Haile Selassie I, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your nameremain.23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, Emperor Haile Selassie I, saith the LORD.

Wish:

Joel 2 v15-1715  Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:16  Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.17  Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, weep between the porch and the alter, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
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(From H.I.M. Church website)*
On this day… September 27, 1916 Dejazmatch Tafari Makonnen elevated to Crown Prince Ras Tafari and Regent Plenipotentiary
On the 27th September 1916 (17th Mäskäräm 1909) Archbishop Abuna Mattewos, Etchäge Waldä Giyorgis with the priests and the nobles with the army appointed Dejazmatch Tafari Makonnen; Ras Crown Prince and Regent Plenipotentiary of theImperial Ethiopian Empire.Source: The Church of Haile Selassie Inc. Ourselves, by virtue of Our descent from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, ever since We accepted intrust, in 1909 (1916), first the regency of the Ethiopian realm and later the Imperial dignity, right up to the present, We have set out to the best of Our ability to improve, gradually, internal administration by introducing into the country western modes of civilization through which Our people may attain a higher level; hence Our conscience does not rebuke Us. The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I(volume 1)
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Psalm

መዝሙረ ዳዊት 91	Psalm 91
1 በልዑል መጠጊያ የሚኖር ሁሉን በሚችል አምላክ ጥላውስጥ ያድራል።	1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 እግዚአብሔርን፦ አንተ መታመኛዬ ነህ እለዋለሁ አምላኬናመሸሸጊያዬ ነው፥ በእርሱም እታመናለሁ።	2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 እርሱ ከአዳኝ ወጥመድ ከሚያስደነግጥም ነገር ያድንሃልና።	3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 በላባዎቹ ይጋርድሃል፥ በክንፎቹም በታች ትተማመናለህእውነት እንደ ጋሻ ይከብብሃል።	4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 ከሌሊት ግርማ፥ በቀን ከሚበርር ፍላጻ፥	5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 በጨለማ ከሚሄድ ክፉ ነገር፥ ከአደጋና ከቀትር ጋኔንአትፈራም።	6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 በአጠገብህ ሺህ በቀኝህም አሥር ሺህ ይወድቃሉ ወደ አንተግን አይቀርብም።	7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 በዓይኖችህ ብቻ ትመለከታለህ፥ የኃጥኣንንም ብድራትታያለህ።	8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 አቤቱ፥ አንተ ተስፋዬ ነህና ልዑልን መጠጊያህ አደረግህ።	9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 ክፉ ነገር ወደ አንተ አይቀርብም፥ መቅሠፍትም ወደ ቤትህአይገባም።	10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 በመንገድህ ሁሉ ይጠብቁህ ዘንድ መላእክቱን ስለ አንተያዝዛቸዋልና	11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 እግርህም በድንጋይ እንዳትሰናከል በእጆቻቸው ያነሡሃል።	12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 በተኵላና በእባብ ላይ ትጫማለህ አንበሳውንና ዘንዶውንትረግጣለህ።	13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 በእኔ ተማምኖአልና አስጥለዋለሁ ስሜንም አውቆአልናእጋርደዋለሁ።	14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 ይጠራኛል እመልስለትማለሁ፥ በመከራውም ጊዜ ከእርሱጋራ እሆናለሁ አድነዋለሁ አከብረውማለሁ።	15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 ረጅምን ዕድሜ አጠግበዋለሁ፥ ማዳኔንም አሳየዋለሁ።	16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation

(From Rastafari-Groundation website)

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Song:

Jahmiel- Jah over Everything 

Intro]
YeahMost HighHey

Through the sad times and bad times, oh Jah
You never leave I alone, yeah (yeah)

NeverFather
[Verse 1]
Me see weh dem a try
But dem could a never get me a out, oh Jah,

You’re too powerful

And a you a watch over me
So all the trap dem a set,

you remove every obstacles
The devil waan be against I’Cause him couldn’t tempt I,

You keep me head high

Jah a you answer me cry

Dem cyaan conquer the I
[Chorus]

Cah You deh deh fi me

Jah, You deh deh fi me
You deh deh fi meJah,

You deh deh fi me
When I had no shoulder to lean on, me keep strong
Cah You deh deh fi me (deh deh fi me)

Jah, you deh deh fi me (yeah)

Oh oh, oh, oh oh, ohOh oh, oh, oh oh, ohYeah
[Verse 2]

Me Jah never sleep and Jah Jah, You never late
And if a never fi You, me could a never be great
Me see dem a pray fi see me carried away
A nuff mek bad talk and now dem sorry fi say itJah,

You put me ‘pon higher ground
Fi see everything around, me tell me how dem a go stop me now
Dem think we done, but tell dem not fi now
Yeah, me learn from the bad, but now me ready and me on the go
So when dem think me soul shattered
Jah, You build mine up
Glory be to the Most High,

You fill my cup (my cup)
Outro]

Deh yah a think ’bout me past
Jah, me come a far way
You deh deh fi me, so me can deh deh fi others and me family, yeah
Deh deh fi meJah,

You deh deh fi me, never figet,

You deh deh fi me
Through the sad times and bad times, yeahJah…

deh deh fi me
Oh oh, oh, oh oh, oh (you deh deh fi me)Oh oh, oh, oh oh, oh

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Prayer/ Give thanks

This time I have found a beautiful Jewish Thanksgiving Prayer by Rabbi Naomi Levy…

For the laughter of our children,

For my own life breath,

For the abundance of food on our table,

For the ones who prepared it.

For the roof over our heads,

The clothes on our backs,

For our health,

And our wealth of blessings,

For this opportunity to celebrate with friends,

For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,

In any language,

In any faith,In this great country,

Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.

Thank You, God, for giving us all these.

Amen.

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This letter has taken so much longer to write than it should have….every time I walk past my room I’m doing a bit more scraping of the wallpaper. The children are just as bad….it’s addictive!All the swallows have gone now, even the younger ones from the hay barn. The berries are ripening on the mountain ash and hawthorn trees, there are blackberries and sloes in the hedgerows. Pete’s dog, Anya, is learning about blackberries….she has learned to very carefully avoid the prickles and pick the berries with her teeth. She loves them!

I have a feeling that we are going to go back into lockdown. The cases are rising and they seem to be out of control. We shall see. I won’t be able to carry on coming into Berwyn if the cases continue to rise because of the risk to my daughter. 
I will continue to write to you all if it does happen and in the meantime, I will hope it doesn’t come to that!

Blessings,