Back to School ... Again

"Back to School" will be the topic these days (next to electricity cuts of course)! Leila and Farida started their school year this week, and obviously as all proud parents like you, we joined them on the first morning after a series on endless photos  To my surprise, taking them through the list of students in their class to as a mean of encouragement, I still saw their concerned looks, they missed an important piece of info: Who's their teacher? Knowing it will be "Marc", a sigh of relief and glitter of content flashed in their eyes pushing them to admit "Papi, he plays guitar, we will learn a lot by singing, it will surely be fun coming everyday". An eye opener on how crucial is the knowledge seeder in the way they preview their year...and they are 100% right!

Dear friends, our life does not cease needing a teacher, a coach or a counselor. Unfortunately, we believe we stop learning once studies are over, but just a review or check of your first morning minutes thoughts will tell you how desperately you wish you had a teacher to guide you and tell you what to do when you are clueless (which I am in many many circumstances). We are created creative, smart and with a free will to seek learning, growth and guidance. Sometimes, we search so far to get advice, yet we forget that THE teacher is available, is as near as your breath to you...How many times, we decide skipping the class just to chat with a friend or whoever can help us through..before even checking what the teacher has to say. Our heavenly Father says it loud and clear: 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. (Psalm 32:8 NIV)
«أُعَلِّمُكَ وأُرشِدُكَ الطريقَ الّتي تسلُكُها. أنصَحُكَ. عَيني علَيكَ. (32 المَزاميرُ:8 )

I pray today that we set our chairs toward the podium, towards the teacher. If you believe that He is a promise keeper, if you believe that He has got the whole world in His hands, then just believe that as He said, He is the teacher we need to listen to every morning..or better said, every minute of the day..and I am sure He wont let us down. Just sit down close, get focused and listen!

Have a blessed "Life" school year my friends...

Sand Castle on a Salty Sea

Learning by experience is a powerful tool and my daughter Leila proved it right. This summer, on hot beach day, our parents, Aline and I were laying in the sun talking how "salty" the Red Sea is...you feel it sticking to your skin. Over hearing our discussion, Leila suddenly left the sand castle she was building and turned to us sharing this following simple fact "You know, The sea is made of Water and Salt..This is why it is salty..Papi showed it to me last year at home, where we poured in salt into water, it just disappeared but turned it into Sea water. So this is how they make it!".....turned her head and went back to her Sand Castle! I was just surprised that she kept this simple experience stored in the back of her head feeling so proud, leaving totally her play time, and sharing it in such a simple confident way. This scene confirmed a statement beautifully written about the concept of "experience" that you can hear an idea one hundred times and fail to make it a piece of who you are until you actually experience it, it rises from being just a CONCEPT to a TRUTH to you.

That is why I prefer the term relationship over the term religion. In a relationship, you need to go through a state of experiencing someone to build what you can call a relationship. No relation exists without experience, and our Book is filled with events in which people had the blessing to Experience Jesus and His love. Out of these I can never forget the Samaritan woman at the well...She has done what Leila have demonstrated perfectly. She met Him, experienced His encounter, The Messiah turned from a concept to Truth, and went to her village sharing Her story..She even left her most dear item she carried, she left her Jar at the well and went back without earthly water:

"Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did....Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” (John 4:28-29, 39 NIV)
فترَكَتِ المَرأةُ جَرَّتَها ومَضَتْ إلَى المدينةِ وقالَتْ للنّاسِ: «هَلُمّوا انظُروا إنسانًا قالَ لي كُلَّ ما فعَلتُ.
فآمَنَ بهِ مِنْ تِلكَ المدينةِ كثيرونَ مِنَ السّامِريّينَ بسَبَبِ كلامِ المَرأةِ الّتي كانتْ تشهَدُ أنَّهُ: «قالَ لي كُلَّ ما فعَلتُ » (4 يوحَنا:28-29, 39 )

Dear Lord, I do not want a RELIGION...I want an Experience-filled life with you, a life in which I encounter your presence, and hear your whispers, see your eyes watching over, and know that you are there closer than my breath to me. I know that this relationship I seek is the only way I will let go of my earthly breakable Jar, seeking Your ever flowing well of water, your Holy Spirit as you said. I pray for a relationship that shall make me strong and faithful in times of trial and tests, in times of standing on shacking knees...only then My life's experience with you will linger in my head and Raise me up to stand not just on concepts but on a Solid truth..on Solid grounds. In Jesus name, Amen!

Seek an experience, a relationship not a just religion my friends!

Hola, hablo español

"Vamos a la playa...يلا نروح البلاج" was probably the most complex sentence I could say in spanish:-) and suddenly i had to move my life to Madrid where only with one sentence, I wont go anywhere (!ثم مدريد ما فيهاش بحر اساساً). I started studying Spanish..since we are not in Amsterdam anymore where 105% of the population speaks English..in Spain..it is Spanish..even in every single moment at work! Friends, i can confirm that statement..Language is Practicing! Learning the verbs, studying the vocab, listening to the radio/tv wont get you any where if you dont practice it and put it to action!

I want to share with you an observation, Leila and Farida after 3 years in Amsterdam school, they went out with almost zero dutch words..their entourage didnt require it..almost all kids were french! BUT here in a school where 90% of the kids are Spanish..they had to face the tough moments in their playground الفسحة when all their surrounding was only interacting and playing in Spanish..was very tough change...but they had a choice..either practice their languange, face their world and blend in..or decide to keep their spanish only for the classroom and get broken, hopeless facing their outside real world (being their playground). Thank God they decided to put their learning to action!

Same is our faith, we can not just decide to read about it, or know about it, have someone read it to us, keep it for church time only...if we want to live a strong faith and have flexy spiritual muscles..we have to train and train hard..accept the tests you go through as training field, go out and practice what you believe is your faith..and most of all, speak about it, live it, talk it, sing it...Bring it to life..Make it a Life!

St. Paul wrote it perfectly in his letter to Philippeans (فيلبي)..Even him with all the spiritual strength he owned..he knew what training meant for his faith..

ليس أنّي أقولُ مِنْ جِهَةِ احتياجٍ، فإنّي قد تعَلَّمتُ أنْ أكونَ مُكتَفيًا بما أنا فيهِ. أعرِفُ أنْ أتَّضِعَ وأعرِفُ أيضًا أنْ أستَفضِلَ. في كُلِّ شَيءٍ وفي جميعِ الأشياءِ قد تدَرَّبتُ أنْ أشبَعَ وأنْ أجوعَ، وأنْ أستَفضِلَ وأنْ أنقُصَ. (فيلِبّي 4:11, 12)

And guess what..these verses come just before the famous verse of "i can do all things through Christ who strengthen me"..so throughout our training..we do have a great Coach!

Dear God, I thank you that you asked us to go out to the world and live our faith, thank you for being our strength and for the Holy Spirit that guides us daily..to put a faith in action. Amen.

Friends, may i ask you to pray for my aunt who is, in this moment, going through a critical operation..she as well as us are thrown in the training field. Your Cheers "prayers" will help us through it.