NO Testers at the Tax-Free Shop!

Any of you noticed that? On my latest flights through Cairo airport, I had some time before my flight so decided to wander around a bit. I love scents and perfumes and this lead me to the Free shop just to check what´s new and enjoy some exquisite aromas before meeting the famous odd lemon zesty EgyptAir wipes 

smile emoticon To my surprise, the whole perfumes section had NO testers! Do not ask me why..there is probably a bureaucratic non sensereason behind it, that´s not the issue. But how do you expect me to buy a Perfume without even smelling it?! The 1 € perfume in a box is as good as the 100€ one...as you can’t smell what's inside. The sales man tried to explain to me some of the notes in the perfume: woody, long lasting, blah bla bla…Obviously you can’t describe a perfume…you SMELL it! Perfume without a tester is almost impossible to sell.

This is exactly what Jesus meant when He called you and me “Light of the World” and “Salt of this Earth”! He knew that if we live our days just talking about God´s love without showing it in our lives, giving sermons without being observed and experienced; we shall be no different than the perfume in the Box…WHILE just one press on a tester would be enough to fill the air with pleasant scents to the heart and soul.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 AMP
“فليُضِئْ نورُكُمْ هكذا قُدّامَ النّاسِ، لكَيْ يَرَوْا أعمالكُمُ الحَسَنَةَ، ويُمَجِّدوا أباكُمُ الّذي في السماواتِ.”
مَتَّى 5:16

Don´t live your faith without a tester, let people Experience what you have inside this Heart-shaped Box of yours!

Keep shining His LIGHT my friends!

Do you miss your Walkman?

I love music and travelling lately opened my eyes to a whole new fact: I never miss one song being away from home! Whatever I wanna listen to, I will have it on my phone, iPod, iPad, online, YouTube, you name it! I specially enjoy our gatherings at night with friends, chatting, laughing and probably having some music played in the background…and almost all the times we just take the whole array of music in one night, from Blues, Jazz, pop, Sha3bi, even classics and hymns! What a richness technology offers us. These gatherings around the wireless speakers and endless music choices reminded of the Old days of Walkman or Discman. I used to travel with 20 CDs or cassettes struggling every time which ones shall I take along on my travelling journeys! Funny enough, I was content thinking that I had it all..Cant be missing something with 20 CDs…200 songs (next to the fact that i had to change the cd every time I needed to listen to something different)! Now with the endless libraries of music at your fingertips (and lighter for sure), I realize how naive I were being content with just my heavy CDs I walked around with!

Are we that naive being content with just couple of good traits in our personality? Every person gives himself a label, one being patient, the other generous, a third gentle, a forth caring and so on…We just tend to be content with couple of good aspects and believe we are almost as pure as angels! Little we know about God´s Offering to us. We just do the same, being content with a walkman who having a full array of Heavenly gifts ready to be bestowed and set in us through the HOLY SPIRIT! Just read what is at hand offered to you by the Spirit:

“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence).” Galatians 5:22-23 AMP
“وأمّا ثَمَرُ الرّوحِ فهو: مَحَبَّةٌ، فرَحٌ، سلامٌ، طولُ أناةٍ، لُطفٌ، صَلاحٌ، إيمانٌ، وداعَةٌ، تعَفُّفٌ.” غَلاطيَّةَ 5:22-23

Lord, i pray today for eyes to be open and hearts to be hungry for more…more of You, Your goodness, Your Heart to show on us! Let this fruit hang from our tree to feed a hungry world…with abundance every day. Let us realize that the Fruit of the Spirit is all at hand once we decide to live and walk on the path of life guided by YOUR Spirit. All to glorify Your name! Amen.

Would you trade your iPod with a walkman now? I guess not!

Keep shining my friends!

Take Off your Goggles!

Just came back from a short stay on the shores of the picturesque Red Sea. The beauty of sea life and the amazing colored corals and fish put at shame any "Haute couture" designer. To entertain their guests, our hotel installed an inflatable Slide (زحليقة) there in the depth of the sea, at a 10 mins swim. Farida had one goal: Spending most of her time around that Slide, and obviously in that depth I had to be there with her. Finishing lunch she pulled me to go back to the slide as promised. On our way swimming, I put my goggles (نظارة مياة) to enjoy the beauty of the under water sights on the way..There I found the most stunning fish, shining its colours all over, it trapped me with its beauty and I decided to follow its path..Farida realized that we were deviating and drifting away from our path. She pulled me back and pointed at the slide in a way to tell me "Lets get back on track"! She was right...couple of minutes later I found an amazing coral formation...I stopped and went around it fully hypnotized...totally forgetting the Slide! Only then She lost her patience and found a solution to this distracted father, she asked me firmly to "Take off my GOGGLES" as she knew without them, this underwater world wont trap me again, and I wouldnt be losing sight of our goal, nor wasting time heading towards our destination, the slide! 

SIMPLE, EASY and IT WORKED!

Oh how many times we need to take off our Distracting Goggles of life...How many times we decided to fight temptation in our lives yet we put the goggles on just to act upon them...We make way for the weakness to conquer and for the sin to grow just by preparing the environment for it and putting the goggles on...and later wonder why did we deviate and wander away off The Road...Away of LIFE in its FULLEST FORM..Far from HIM!

May we Pray with David out loud: Lord, 

“Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity (idols and idolatry); and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways.” Psalm 119:37
“حَوِّلْ عَينَيَّ عن النَّظَرِ إلَى الباطِلِ. في طريقِكَ أحيِني.” المَزاميرُ 119:37

Whenever you are weak, TAKE OFF YOUR GOGGLES..They will just Distract you Further!!

Keep Shining my friends!

A Lucky Fish

Summer Time creates discoveries and memories to last specially when spent on the sea side. Couple of days ago, Farida and I went snorkeling in the middle of the sea, suddenly she started diving in and out of the water rapidly, every time her face comes up with a bigger smile!
- Farida, What is happening to you? Stop and catch your breath...
- Wait...(splash in and out again).
-Farida, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
- Pa, i just realized how lucky the fish are, they live in a very silent peaceful "home"...When I go down, all I hear is silence...when up again, all the noise on the beach hits my ears! Down There is like a Mute Button...no wonder the fish swim so relaxed smile emoticon

What a finding! Farida simply realized the power of her surrounding...with her head in the water, she found silence! Can we as well be careful where we keep our head hanging, which "home" (world) we decide to live in? Do we have the freedom to choose our soul's environment?

David, with the dangers surrounding him and the sin once committed hunting his mind, knew that his peace will only come by choosing the dwelling place (home) of his soul:
“Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place." Psalm 23:6 AMP
“إنَّما خَيرٌ ورَحمَةٌ يتبَعانِني كُلَّ أيّامِ حَياتي، وأسكُنُ في بَيتِ الرَّبِّ إلَى مَدَى الأيّامِ.” المَزاميرُ 23:6 

Which world do you choose for your soul? Do you keep your head hanging in the middle of a noisy harsh distracting and disturbing world non stop without enjoying the peace, goodness, mercy and unfailing love granted to you in the dwelling house of God's presence in your life? who and what are you submerging yourself into? Do you willing choose noise and then complain?

Stop, catch your breath and swim like the lucky fish in the sea of His love smile emoticon

Keep shining my friends!