Give me the Calculator!

Studying with your kids can make you learn new stuff on the way! Given I am a finance guy, the kids believe their father is the Math know-it-all, at the end of the day, I am all day adding and subtracting as they say. Couple of days ago, doing some math homework with Leila, staring at her exercises sheet: 

Leila broke the “Study Focus Silence”: Papi, can you please give the calculator please. I saw you using it. It is much easier.
Me: Leila that´s not the point.
Leila (with a disappointed tone): But Why should I spend too much time trying while I can get the answer right away.
Me: You know Leila, you need to understand how it is solved and the concept behind it. The calculator won’t help with that. I am next to you here to explain how we shall solve it. I am not leaving you alone with it.
Leila (excited back again): Yes, better, because if the calculator is out of battery I won’t do anything, and I won’t be even able to explain to the rest of the class how I solve it.
Me: Exactly!
………………………..

Me: Oh God, why do I have to go through this pain, through this pressure, test, problem. Just Take it away now. Don let me go through it. You have the calculator, Give it to me.
God: Do you remember Joseph, before reaching high up in the Egyptian kingdom ranks, was betrayed by his brothers, was put unjustly to Jail, left there for a while. I didn´t hand him the calculator, but I was there with him all the way, and Joseph did not deny the work of my Hands. Just read this carefully, after he was sold in Egypt as a slave:

"The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master." (Genesis 39:2 NIV)
وكانَ الرَّبُّ مع يوسُفَ فكانَ رَجُلًا ناجِحًا، وكانَ في بَيتِ سيِّدِهِ المِصريِّ. (39 التَّكوينُ:2 )

and when he was put in Jail:
"The Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden." (Genesis 39:2, 21 NIV)
ولكن الرَّبَّ كانَ مع يوسُفَ، وبَسَطَ إليهِ لُطفًا، وجَعَلَ نِعمَةً لهُ في عَينَيْ رَئيسِ بَيتِ السِّجنِ. (39 التَّكوينُ:21 AVDDV)

and After all that He knew the lesson, and brought back the praise to Me in front of his brothers, to the One who didn’t leave him alone:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20 NIV)
أنتُمْ قَصَدتُمْ لي شَرًّا، أمّا اللهُ فقَصَدَ بهِ خَيرًا، لكَيْ يَفعَلَ كما اليومَ، ليُحييَ شَعبًا كثيرًا. (50 التَّكوينُ:20 )
………………………….

We always ask God to hand us the calculator, blinding our eyes to the fact that tests are for our strength, our growth, and for us to experience what problems others one day can face. He didn’t promise a Full Spring, but He promised He is always with us even through the Toughest Storms.

Get your learning today, rest assured that The Master is not leaving you alone, but wants you to know how to face it with Him, so others ask you and you shall have the answer, the know how, The Key!

Keep shining my Friends!

Your Daughter's Friend's Dog Name!

Do you know the dog name of your daughter's friend? You are probably laughing just at the idea of the question...but guess what...It matters to her, same as knowing the name of her friends, her interests, the songs she learnt at school and the drawing she messed up during her last painting lesson! All of this I got to know and much more thanks to a weekly one to one time I have with Leila. We both drive Farida to her Music lesson and enjoy some quality time at a cafe near by. It was weird at the beginning, thought would be boring, I used to equip her with a coloring book and me with my IPad...but now I just actually wait for this one-to-one were we both don't need books nor IPad or phones, we just engage in face to face discussion even if it's about tiny trivial matters as her friends dogs names! This weekly Rendez-vous suddenly created a bonding and more common grounds and experiences to share! The One to One set up is always a great soil to bring an assured close mind to mind discussions and a heart to heart openness. I personally believe that it the most effective mean of communication between any two persons. At work, my one to one meeting with my boss is usually the most effective usage of time where we sit, review, align and discuss openly ideas and directions. At home, my Tête à Tête time with Aline revives and renews our relationship and my latest discovery is my time with Leila!

Do you know that Jesus adores this kind of "Tête à Tête" conversation. 

I was specially touched reading what He did with the blind man in Mark 8, He actually took the man by his hand, walked all the way out of the city to have him face to face and restore his sight:

Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. So Jesus HELD the blind man’s HAND and LED HIM OUT of the village. (Mark 8:22-23 ERV)

وجاءَ إلَى بَيتِ صَيدا، فقَدَّموا إليهِ أعمَى وطَلَبوا إليهِ أنْ يَلمِسَهُ، فأخَذَ بيَدِ الأعمَى وأخرَجَهُ إلَى خارِجِ القريةِ، وتَفَلَ في عَينَيهِ، ووضَعَ يَدَيهِ علَيهِ وسألهُ: هل أبصَرَ شَيئًا؟ (8 مَرقُسَ:22-23 )

He did the same with the deaf in Mark 7:
The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him. Jesus led the man AWAY from the people to be ALONE with him. (Mark 7:33 ERV)
وجاءوا إليهِ بأصَمَّ أعقَدَ، وطَلَبوا إليهِ أنْ يَضَعَ يَدَهُ علَيهِ. فأخَذَهُ مِنْ بَينِ الجَمعِ علَى ناحيَةٍ، ووضَعَ أصابِعَهُ في أُذُنَيهِ وتَفَلَ ولَمَسَ لسانَهُ، (7 مَرقُسَ:32-33 )

He wants to have his One to One with you...He wants to deal with you PERSONALLY. In this Holy "Busy" week, don't get too crammed with the crowds, don't get only satisfied with the mega gatherings, it is good to get together yet let Him Hold you by the Hand and take you for a personal healing conversation. He is interested in all your trivial matters as I m interested in my daughters friends dogs names.

Make a decision now, Book your One to One THIS week, Every Morning, MAKE it a different Easter celebration...a Personal Healing celebration. He'll be waiting!

Keep Shining my friends!

"Change Management" Fasting

In the last couple of decades, we saw the rise of "Change Management" concept in businesses. 

It's common now that all big projects include an essential branch of change management up to assigning an official "Change Manager" role during the project. You might have read lots of books about it and I recommend to read the funny fable of "Who moved my Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. One thing is clear: Change Management has a key goal of steering, and getting the organization to accept the change and most of all, challenge a pre-defined human thinking that change is all about loss and letting go of your comfort zone. It conveys that it is not about what you will lose but rather what you will gain after this process of change, a period after which you rise in a much better shape, efficiency gained, better equipped and highly ready to reach your organization's objectives. It is the about the "NOW" and "THEN"...The vision...It is not what you let go of, it is what you will gain!

How many times I have approached fasting and lent in this same loss focused mentality! When starts this time of fasting and preparation leading to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we all start talking about what will we let go of, be it food, habits, actions, lifestyle, etc. We think of lack rather than abundance, we think of stop rather than start! While this simple earthly business concept of Change management opened my eye to a new perspective: It is about the Now and THEN...It is a change process we go through Now to Then Grow different..changed and Stronger in Him. A process of gaining new relation with HIM, we deprive ourselves to receive the abundance of His Love to take the change further...to the world around us! It is simple and Clear in what the Holy Spirit wrote through Prophet Isaiah-most beautiful passage on Fasting:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? THEN your LIGHT will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; THEN your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. THEN you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, THEN your LIGHT will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:6-10 NIV)

أليس هذا صَوْمًا أختارُهُ: حَلَّ قُيودِ الشَّرِّ. فكَّ عُقَدِ النّيرِ، وإطلاقَ المَسحوقينَ أحرارًا، وقَطعَ كُلِّ نيرٍ. أليس أنْ تكسِرَ للجائعِ خُبزَكَ، وأنْ تُدخِلَ المَساكينَ التّائهينَ إلَى بَيتِكَ؟ إذا رأيتَ عُريانًا أنْ تكسوهُ، وأنْ لا تتَغاضَى عن لَحمِكَ. «حينَئذٍ يَنفَجِرُ مِثلَ الصُّبحِ نورُكَ، وتَنبُتُ صِحَّتُكَ سريعًا، ويَسيرُ برُّكَ أمامَكَ، ومَجدُ الرَّبِّ يَجمَعُ ساقَتَكَ. حينَئذٍ تدعو فيُجيبُ الرَّبُّ. تستَغيثُ فيقولُ: هأنَذا. إنْ نَزَعتَ مِنْ وسَطِكَ النّيرَ والإيماءَ بالأصبُعِ وكلامَ الإثمِ وأنفَقتَ نَفسَكَ للجائعِ، وأشبَعتَ النَّفسَ الذَّليلَةَ، يُشرِقُ في الظُّلمَةِ نورُكَ، ويكونُ ظَلامُكَ الدّامِسُ مِثلَ الظُّهرِ. (58 إشَعياءَ:6-10 )

Dear Lord, I pray that after every fasting for a change of mind seeing Gain instead of loss, Abundance in place off deprivation, Change that would go beyond 50 days...a shift from NOW to THEN...a THEN that would last...A relationship that starts NOW and Grows into THEN without fading away! I pray for YOUR VISION of change into EACH one of us, to be the LIGHT of Dawn bringing your LOVE to the World that screams for it! In Jesus Name, Amen.

Keep Shining...like the Break of Dawn my friends!