Quiz/questionnaire for Arab men

Saturday afternoon, Aspire park - beautiful day to reflect on many things and to make our own questionnaire for the men we meet in this Arab world (just to save ourselves headaches).

1. Are you married?

2. Have you been married?

3. Are you engaged?

4. Are you going through separation?

5. Do you have a secret wife (masayer)?

6. Do you have children?

7. Is this your real name?

8. What is your real age?

If you answered questions 1 - 6 with "no"you are eligible to talk to me! You have now finished Level 1!

Level 2

1. Do you have a job?

2. Is it a real job?

3. Are you aggressive?

4. Are you Tunisian?? (LOOOOOOOOOOLLLL)

Once you finish Level 2 you might be eligible to get my number insh'allah!

Update on situation in Egypt

This message comes from pastor Sameh Hanna (whom I've met a year ago - his daughter attends the school I taught at). I was glad to find out my friends are safe; glad to hear that Ehab and his family is ok (his son, David was in my class last year). It is crazy how these things happen and the place I called "home" for 2 years is now filled with rage and fire! I am thinking of all of my friends who are still there and lifting them up in prayer!

Dear family, friends and supporters,

From the bottom of my heart I thank you for all your messages letting me know how concerned you are for the people and situation in Egypt. Your prayers are heard by our Lord Jesus Christ who sits on the throne interceding for us to THE one and only true and mighty God. His will be done.

As I mentioned before, the jails were opened last Friday and over 10,000 criminals were released onto the streets and have been looting, attacking and destroying . It is the opinion of many that thugs were also sent out, in addition to the released criminals, from the secret police to kill, steal and destroy. This is the same time the police completely withdrew.

Until today the roads have been open in Cairo, but with the call for one million to come out into the streets today, all roads and freeways have been closed. Trains have also been stopped. The police are going back on the job today, trying to restore some order. Some foods like bread and milk are very difficult to find, and the people are buying up all the rice and beans, pasta and even meat, which is so expensive. They buy this with the assumption that they will be able to cook it, not thinking the power and gas could be turned off in days to come. In contrast, the ready to eat foods like peanut butter, jam, tuna are still on the shelves with very few takers. Americans are always trying to find peanut butter in Egypt, but now that they are being evacuated, there is plenty for the Egyptians, who do not want it!

I am on the phone daily with our dear friends, getting updates and trying to figure out how to take care of the families we serve. Most of our leaders in Upper Egypt are women, and it is too dangerous for them to be out on the streets traveling from one village to another taking food. Maged, our dear friend and servant in Upper Egypt, is buying food for ALL our families in ALL our villages, then taking it to our church in each village, where the elders of the church are hand delivering it to each family. By tomorrow our Upper Egypt families will all have food. Our seniors are the most needy, with no familly to take care of them. We are still working on how to get food to all our families in the Cairo area.

One of the main problems is that the Muslim fanatics are showing up in a big way, trying to take the lead in the demonstrations. When Mobarak steps down from the presidency the climate will be right for the fanatics to take over. Please, please pray this will not come to fruition.

Men are still working to protect their homes from looters, and most apartment buildings now have organized shifts of homeowners who take turns protecting theirs.

Our dear friend and coworker Ehab was able to get home to his family. He is working hard to keep Healing Grace moving forward and is sensitive to all our families needs. One story of interest happened today. Ehab was trying to get downtown to the Kasr church, which is located one street over from the large demonstrations in Tahrir Square. He knew as an Egyptian the authorities would not allow him to pass. So, he took our friend Sami,along with his new American wife Amy (standing in the middle between Ehab and Sami), as a decoy. Since they had an American with them, they were allowed to pass all barricades! He was able to do some much needed work at the church.

As many of you are praying for the future of Egypt, please consider the following prayer requests and pray as the Holy Spirit leads you.

Necessary food and medical supplies for the people
A quick end to this protest and the economic crisis accumulating.
Peace and security to return to the streets of Egypt.
A restraining of the Muslim Brotherhood and other political parties who have evil hidden agendas For the church to have a prophetic voice at this time. For wisdom and revelation from the Father to speak life and revealed truth to t he church and the nation.
The church to move propheticlly and know how to handle this difficult time with confidence and boldness.
That Egyptians will not be taken lightly or mistreated any longer.
That President Mubarak will leave with dignity and none of his family will be harmed.
A peaceful transition of power.

A Strong Woman Versus A Woman Of Strength

A Strong Woman Versus A Woman Of Strength

A strong woman works out every day
to keep her body in shape
but a woman of strength looks deep inside
to keep her soul in shape

A strong woman isn't afraid
of anything
but a woman of strength shows courage
in the midst of her fear

A strong woman won't let anyone
get the best of her
but a woman of strength gives the best
of her to everyone

A strong woman makes mistakes
and avoids the same in the future
but a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes
can also be blessings and capitalizes on them

A strong woman walks
sure footedly
but a woman of strength knows
when to ask for help

A strong woman wears the look
of confidence on her face
but a woman of strength
wears grace

A strong woman has faith
that she is strong enough for the journey
but a woman of strength has faith
that it is in the journey that she will become strong

Waves...

I've never been a beach fan - there's nothing more boring to me than sitting on the beach doing nothing, especially that I am not that great of a swimmer and besides that, I prefer swimming in a swimming pool rather than the sea or ocean; however, I found myself going to Bali for Christmas where people go to be on the beach, to surf, to do all these water activities.

I ended up enjoying sitting on the beach and reading eventually and I went in the water a few times just to play in the waves. Many surfers go to Bali, as it has good waves therefore it is a great place for surfing. I don't surf, I tried diving once, I snorkel a bit and that's about it.

I was in the water just waiting for the waves to come, so I can let myself carried away, my friend suggested I just dive under when the wave comes; I thought to myself: "there's no way I am doing that!! This is too scary for me!" She then said: if you dive under it, you won't even feel it, it is so calm and peaceful down! I am perfectly happy for the wave that comes and sweeps me off my feet, lifts me up and for a second I get this rush of adrenaline mixed with fear that I am not touching the bottom of the ocean and I could drown; then the second one comes (there's always 2 waves) and hits me in the face as I am still dizzy from the previous one, wiping my face and making sure the salty water doesn't get in my eyes; by the second wave I've lost all enjoyment and I freak out... no rush of adrenaline, no excitement .... I am just worried I could drown!

It took me a good half an hour to get the courage to go under and when I did, it felt peaceful... you couldn't see the rushing wave, you couldn't hear it breaking, no salty water in my eyes, no fear of dying, and actually still touching the ground! That is much better!!! I need to be touching the ground!

I couldn't stop thinking how often when life throws waves at me I just decide to stand there and confront it, and get hit in the face or worse get hit in the back when you don't expect it to come, when it would be so easy to dive, to anchor myself in God, to hide myself under and then let the wave go above me. Making a big deal of the life's waves has become a second job in a way - and when I look at it the wave only lasts for a few seconds .Why do I let those few seconds affect my whole day, week, month, year??

Time to rest

It is nearly Christmas and the advantage of being a teacher is that I get 2 weeks off work! This is an amazing opportunity to go somewhere nice, to spend time with family, to have time for one's self! I have chosen to come to Bali this Christmas, even though I would've loved to spend it somewhere with snow... Bali is wonderful, don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it!

I was talking to Maite last night about rest and we were questioning whether it's a good thing to spend 2 weeks doing nothing too productive in a place like Bali (which seems like heaven on earth). I did point out that our bodies need rest, we need to get away from the busy life at work, from the craziness of the city and that it is important for us to rest; the way I see it is that I am honouring God with my body, by taking care of it (therefore the previous post).

I've been reading a bit about rest this morning and I am going to post it below; these are not my words... they are Jodi Schumm's words.

“Sit down!” I ordered my 2-year-old. He walked across the bathtub and grabbed more toys before obeying me.

I wanted Brock to enjoy playing in the tub; I just didn’t want him hurt trying to get toys on his own. He needed my help.

For a while, he pushed his little boats. Then he stood up again.

“Sit down!” I repeated. “If you stand in the tub again, you’ll have to get out.”

“But,” Brock stated, quite proud of himself, “I’m Jesus, and I’m walking on the water!”

At times we try to do things on our own. Like Brock when he grabbed his toys, we follow our plan without realizing the dangers of our independence.

God, a father who watches over his children, sees our need for his help. And he tells us to “sit down” with the biblical commands to rest.

Resistance to rest

Even as adults, we don’t like to rest. We try to complete our to-do list without God because we think resting will delay our productivity.

Instead of resting, we try harder and work longer. Yet even work we enjoy becomes burdensome when we don’t take time to rest.

God’s people rested one day each week in Old Testament times.

We don’t live under Old Testament laws, since Jesus’ death on the cross offers us the grace of the New Testament.

Some people use that as a reason to resist resting. Yet God’s view of rest is not just an Old Testament command. The New Testament also instructs us to give our burdens to God so we can enjoy rest.

A time of rest is a time to set aside distractions and focus on God. Resting is relying on God’s help to accomplish our task in his time.

When looking at how and why we rest, Keri Wyatt Kent’s book “Breathe” states, “If I gave you three easy steps, you would miss out on experiencing God’s guidance for yourself.”

Keri is right. Our focus shouldn’t be on following someone’s instructions on what rest should look like in our lives.

Our focus should be on what God tells us about rest through his word.

Resting ‘how-to’s

Jesus said that rest is not just a spiritual exercise – it is a gift: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Resting in him is not a reward for accomplishing our tasks or something we enjoy when the holiday season is behind us. It’s a gift he wants to give us today.

When we recognize resting is a gift from God, we’re more willing to enjoy it without the guilt of feeling lazy.

Jesus’ discussion on rest revealed that it is not the same as being idle: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NIV)

Rest is more than just enjoying a time of relaxation. Taking his yoke means we trust God with our burden so we can enjoy doing what he calls us to do. 2 Thessalonians 1:11b states: “and we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds.”

Relying on God’s wisdom and power to complete tasks removes the sense that work is a burden. We realize that the results of our efforts are in God’s control.

Finally, resting is learning from Jesus’ example. Jesus was busy with an important to-do list that included healing the sick and feeding the hungry. Yet he rested regularly: “Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place” (Mark 1:35 NIV); “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountain to pray” (Luke 6:12 NIV).

The world didn’t fall apart when Jesus rested, even though he created it. Our world won’t fall apart when we rest, either.

As we obey God’s instruction to rest, our responsibilities will not change but our spirits will be transformed. Like Brock, we can act like “I’m Jesus” and face our responsibilities on our own. Or, we can obey God and become more like Jesus by resting.

HONOR GOD WITH YOUR BODY

The next time you sit down to a thick, juicy steak dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy , white rolls and butter, and homemade apple pie, ask yourself this question: Am I honoring God with my body? When you run to the store late at night for your favorite flavor of Haagen Dazs, ask yourself this question: Am I bringing glory to God with my body? When you get to the bottom of a new bag of Ruffles while watching the tube, ask yourself this question: Am I worshipping God with my body?

What does it mean to honor God with our bodies?

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19,20 NKJ)

Most Christians know and believe that fornication and adultery are out with God. We usually agree that illegal drug use is a sin. Drunkenness and pornography are routinely condemned by the church. Why? Because these things go against Scripture and are harmful to human beings.

Is it possible to sin, or fail to please God in our eating?

A while back, I heard a Christian make this comment: "We don't smoke, drink, or fornicate, so all we have is eating." Since then, I have often heard the same sentiment, usually from overweight believers. Some people even laugh about the way they themselves or other believers eat, thinking it's funny. We, as Christians, proudly put off the heinous sins of the world and think of ourselves as righteous, while in private (and some feel no shame doing it openly) we'll eat an entire box of doughnuts, or whatever, and pack on the pounds. We sit down to meal after meal after meal, snack after snack after snack, eating in ignorance, or to the contrary, in absolute rebellion.

Consider theses tidbits:

• The average American carries 8 pounds of material on the walls of his colon due to the foods he eats.
• Fatty deposits that lead to atherosclerosis are being found today in 3 year olds.
• Many, if not most, sicknesses and diseases, including mental and emotional problems are, directly or indirectly, caused or exacerbated by poor diet.
• Healthy or so-called "diet" foods often contain ingredients more harmful to health than the foods they are meant to replace.

"For you once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Eph. 5:8,9 NIV)

It's up to us as individuals to find out what the best, most healthful way to eat is and then do it. Don't wait until your pastor tells you to change. He might not ever do it. But God has made it plain in His Word.

I've had people tell me that God doesn't care what we eat, so long as we are moderate, so long as we don't get too fat. What is too fat anyway? Ten pounds, 20 pounds, 100 pounds overweight? What is moderation? How can you set the limit, when it takes sometimes years for certain foods to have their full impact on health? Most disease takes long enough to develop that the connection to diet is lost or overlooked.

Why does God care about what and how much we eat? Because He's mean and He doesn't want us to enjoy anything? No, because He has a plan for your life, and you need to be fit and full of energy to perform it. And you need to be alive. You can't serve the Lord on the earth from an early grave. You won't do all you could for Christ from your sickbed or sleeping off the sugar blues. You won't serve the Lord to full capacity if you're too ashamed of yourself to minister to others. Our health is vitally important to God. Christians, more than any other people, need to eat to live, not live to eat.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." (Rom. 12:1 NIV)

Eating right, like doing anything else right, involves sacrifice. But, as we know, sacrifice is a necessary part of the Christian life. Remember the supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, who "for the joy set before Him endured the cross." If we will but follow the example of our Savior, and focus on the joy--the joy of a long, healthy life, the joy of the security we can offer our loved ones, the joy of helping others and touching many, many people's lives, and the joy Paul described in 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." --then we will find the changes much easier to make and stick with.

Now don't come under condemnation and make a mountain of new rules for yourself that you can't live up to. Some of us know very little about health and good nutrition or have attitudes surrounding eating that need uprooting. Many of us have flesh that has been out of control for a very long time, and it's going to take time and diligence to reign it in. Change is often synonymous with process. First, make a commitment to learn and to grow. Then ask God to show you what you need to do, or stop doing, and to give you the willingness and strength to perform it.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31 NIV)

This was taken from http://www.livrite.com/nc/honor.htm;

Qatar 2022

Yesterday became a historical day for Qatar. They have won the bid to host the World Cup in 2022. As I turned my computer on in the morning I was surprised to see that google had this image on!! Well done!!

When I arrived in August there were sign everywhere, big posters with the logo "support Qatar's bid for 2022"; I didn't pay too much attention to it at that point. It wasn't until I actually put a sticker on my car that says: "I support Qatar's bid for 2022" that I got in the spirit of the whole thing.

The emir and his wife, the sheikha were thrilled!!

2022 is in 12 years from now - I asked myself where will I be in 12 years?? Definitely not in Qatar anymore, though it would be fun to experience the world cup here. Who knows, maybe I will come back! :)

Anyway, it is quite amazing that I got to experience history yesterday, even though I was in my flat - I could still hear the honking and the excitement of all the people. The interesting thing was that the people honking and cheering were not Qatari - most of the population here is expats, but we all felt happy for the nation that is hosting us! We all hoped they will win the bid and it was nice to see so many people, from so many countries rejoicing for one thing!