The Garbage Bag

"Can you take the garbage bags out please?" That's a request 'order' i get quite often from Aline..well you can guess these are heavy bags full of....garbage and seems logic for a man to do...but i always didnt like it..probably because i am not that good in tying the knot and closing well these black plastic bags! 

When we moved to amsterdam, we got our fitst culture shock! Garabage collection happens only TWICE a week, bet2oulou eih ya wlad..twice a week! Not only that, you have to get out the garbage yourself (no matter rain, snow, storm, -15c.) to a specific designated spot (بلاطة محددة على الرصيف..ده بجد) few meters away from home on Tusday and Friday morning between 7:00 and 7:45 in a black well sealed plastic bag!! يا حلاوة!!What if i miss the garbage truck? Hard luck, youll keep your trash with you until the next collection day! And you can imagine what does it mean to keep some garbage for a week..happened once..and i can tell..only once was enough to make me not miss it again! At that moment, i missed back home عم ابراهيم البواب the porter who passed by everymorning at our doorstep to collect the garbage daily..what a great option and a great sensation!

This made me think, are we doing it the dutch way when it comes to cleaning out our heart and pouring out all our Garbage "in prayer" at His feet? Are we keeping these plastic bags inside until it starts stinking..and becomes painful and only then we decide to clean it out? Do people around me notice this smell of not taking my garbage out..as probably it shows..sooner or later? We have the option to do it DAILY EVERY MORNING EVERY MINUTE...not on a specific balata or sealed bag..but are we using it? Are making use of some breaks/days off to do that cleaning or we r just piling up more and more?

Dear God, I thank you that you are a God abundance, a God of daily presence, reaching out to us and asking us to come and pour our hearts at your feet..i thank that you said clearly

أَنَا أُحِبُّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَنِي، وَٱلَّذِينَ يُبَكِّرُونَ إِلَيَّ يَجِدُونَنِي. لِأَنَّهُ مَنْ يَجِدُنِي يَجِدُ ٱلْحَيَاةَ، وَيَنَالُ رِضًى مِنَ ٱلرَّبِّ، (أَمْثَالٌ 8:17, 35)

And you told us to come to you

تعالَوْا إلَيَّ يا جميعَ المُتعَبينَ والثَّقيلي الأحمالِ، وأنا أُريحُكُمْ. (مَتَّى 11:28

I want to come to you every morning and ask you to give me a clean heart like David prayed to you..i want it to be a Daily Option!

Thank you!

Bring your garbage out daily..and He ll bring you a new House daily!

Scary Night Watch

Playground! الفسحة! Who doesn't smile like me when he recalls his playground at school...it meant everything fun for us..it meant freedom, energy, breaking loose, football, basket, (سجاير في الحمامات for some people), it meant all that fun until that specific moment!
Once during those scout camps at school (معسكرات الكشافة) i had the duty of night watch (حراسة ليلية) at 3:00 am..the darkest hour..we just simply had to guard our camping site who was just in the heart of our playground (sounds silly i know..but it was THE peak of our adventurous camping..an honour to go through)! Suddenly this joyful place i knew each inch of it by heart, became, in this darkness, the scariest doom..the horror site of walking trees, shadows appearing on the walls, sounds of steps running afar, and ابو رجل مسلوخة waiting to eat his next terrified scout boy! And as you guessed it..i am still alive, not eaten yet, as it was all in my head, the playground was the same during night and day, it was darkness that stripped away my joy and replaced it with doubts and fear!

Isn't our Life a bigger playground, where we can walk through with a big smile on our face or with a fearing doubting heart...we can walk with faith knowing what awaits out there, or walk with worry and anxiousness questioning how we will survive all this! I believe, as in the playground, LIGHT is the changing factor..and yes, I thank God we know who said these powerful mighty words:

ثُمَّ كَلَّمَهُمْ يَسُوعُ أَيْضًا قَائِلًا: «أَنَا هُوَ نُورُ ٱلْعَالَمِ. مَنْ يَتْبَعْنِي فَلَا يَمْشِي فِي ٱلظُّلْمَةِ بَلْ يَكُونُ لَهُ نُورُ ٱلْحَيَاةِ». (يُوحَنَّا 8:12

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life. (John 8:12 AMP)
Dear God, I come at your feet today, opening my heart for your light to shine in the darkest places .God,i really want to walk in your light.., i want you to open the eyes of my heart Lord like you did open the eyes of the blind men..chasing away fear and darkness..knowing that even in the darkest hours, your light will keep shining..in me and through me!

Darkness is a state of faith, my friends!
Note: funny enough, i lately checked our official class graduation pic taken near one of the school gates, saw the statue of Jesus Christ being the center of the pic..and guess what, three words were engraved under it, this same verseانا نور العالم ..if i only just read it carefully on that night...كان ابو رجل مسلوخة خاف مني اليوم دة :-)

Olive Oil in Jars of Clay

I love olive oil...in salads, with fish, on labnah, even law ghamesto lwa7do! Lucky that i am livinh now in the biggest oil producing country world wide :) Last night refilling our olive oil jar, made me look back when this product meant business..it was again one of these state controlled commodities during Roman times. It was used for eating, annointing, religiuos rituals, even for oil lamps. It was VITAL!

To my wonder, i read about its history, and came to find about a small hill in Rome called "Monte Testaccio"..probably you havent heard of it yet as well! it s an artificial hill in Rome with a circumference of nearly a kilometre and stands 35 metres high, though it was probably considerably higher in ancient times, composed almost entirely of fragments of broken amphorae (clay vessels-fokhar) used for olive oil transport dating from the time of the Roman Empire, containing the remains of an estimated 53 million empty useless vessels! It stands a short distance away from the east bank of the River Tiber, near the Horrea Galbae where the state-controlled reserve of olive oil was stored in the late 2nd century AD.
!يعني من الاخر كان اكبر مقلب زبالة في هذا الزمن

Basically, with all the production/imports they had during the Roman empire, they had quite a problem of recycling their packaging material! These vessels at the end didnt mean anything, it was cheaper to throw them away..eventually creating this hill! Cause their value is in WHAT THEY CONTAIN and the SOURCE it came from!

Wow..this brought a total new perspective of what Saint Paul refers to, talking about what we really are..and where our power/value comes from. He wrote it perfectly in his letter to Corinthians:

"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7 AMP)"

(ولكن لنا هذا الكَنزُ في أوانٍ خَزَفيَّةٍ، ليكونَ فضلُ القوَّةِ للهِ لا مِنّا. (كورِنثوس الثّانيةُ 

It was that clear to him that the value created in you and I..the value we bring to others around us, the good works we struggle to spread and the unhuman forgiveness we are to offer..is coming from our God..dwelling in us, through His Holy Spirit..it can not just come from these fragile clay breakable vessles!

Dear God, I thank you today knowing that it does not depend on me, but the power comes from a Higher source, i pray that I am filled everyday with your Holy Spirit, the Oil of your presence making it known that this vessel is just uncapable ALONE of going the extra mile you asked us to go. In Jesus name, Amen!

King-size Bed!

A King size bed is a blessing all parents know..or a queen size too..or a prince size (doesn't exist i guess so)..el mohem, serir kebir! You surely know why..it is just to fit the kids when they decide to come sleeping next to you in the middle of the night! Feeling about to fall out of bed at 3am is something usual in a life of a parent..being kicked, waking up with a foot in your face, or without a cover cause some little one took it all...that's what my lovely Leila and Farida do at times..and they are getting bigger and bigger every year..but the bed is not!

It seems that i never get the lesson cause i always ask them the same question and get the same answer!
Me: why did you come ya banat into our bed?
Them: because we felt (uncomfortable..afraid...cold..anxious..etc) and we felt safer next to you..so We Run to your bed!

They know exactly where their comfort, safety and peace is! They love lots of things in the house and loads of other room to go to..yOu can guess..living room=TV , kitchen=FRIDGE, plaroom=TOYS..but at times of need, they know where to head to..they head to their parents room!

Made me wonder, when I am feeling (uncomfortable..afraid...cold..anxious..etc), to whom or where do I run? With these feelings, i know that i used to run to people and to things, or even actions..some of us run to a friend, others to the fridge, others to smoking, to sports, to drinks, a relationship..loads of options! Wish i could learn from my kids...in the darkest hour of night, to run to the right room..to where my Father is..and guess what..His room is NEVER locked!

Dear God, on this special day I pray from the deep of my heart to always know where to go to..to choose the right option..to come closer and closer to You..like wrote in proverbs (امثال) The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong. (Proverbs 18:10 AMP)

Knowing that in You we find our real selves again..like You said loud and clear

تعالَوْا إلَيَّ يا جميعَ المُتعَبينَ والثَّقيلي الأحمالِ، وأنا أُريحُكُمْ. اِحمِلوا نيري علَيكُمْ وتعَلَّموا مِنّي، لأنّي وديعٌ ومُتَواضِعُ القَلبِ، فتجِدوا راحَةً لنُفوسِكُمْ. لأنَّ نيري هَيِّنٌ وحِملي خَفيفٌ». (مَتَّى 11:28-30

Let me in this year LIVE THESE WORDS! In Jesus name, Amen!