Regrets , I've Had A Few

 I have been asked " Do you have any regrets "? I have been asked , " IF you could do things all over again , would you "? I always say no . Most people do .I believed that I had no regrets and wouldn't do anything in my life differently from the way I have lived it . But lately ,I have come to realize  that it is pure arrogance to say that you have no regrets in life . That it is a lie and if you say otherwise , you are lying to yourself . Why ? Because it means you have never made any mistakes in life . Or if you have , you never learned from them , which is even worse .

So , yes I have regrets I would change or  things I do over if I could . But having said all that , this is the happiest , most contented time in my life . Life is a wheel that turns constantly . The same things come back to you over and over until you learn Life's Lessons .That is why people say " Live and Learn ". Some times you are lucky and get a " Do Over " in life .Don't waste them .

Understanding

With the quick approach of Ramadan , one stops to take stock of ones faith . I find that mine is strong but I am unable to express my beliefs for fear of stepping on non Muslims toe's, in public, too often .The below post from author Ellen Appleby Keim's blog  Muslimah.Femagination  says just what I feel . I hope you will read it .

Reaching Out to the World

Belief, Featured, Society and Politics Add comments

Jul 262010

It’s one thing to witness to non-Muslims by being strong in our faith. We shouldn’t shy away from practicing the Five Pillars or being open about who we are. But how many non-Muslims will feel comfortable about approaching us if they see this impenetrable wall of  Muslimness? And how do we reach through that wall if we know nothing about non-Muslims’ hopes, dreams and beliefs?

Why did Allah make us all different?

The Bible implies that God made us all to speak different languages as a punishment for man’s attempt to reach heaven by building the Tower of Babel. Islam puts a much more positive spin on our differences. Allah means for us to learn from one another. People who have different experiences of life can add to our wisdom about how to live. I don’t think it’s incidental that Muslims are taught to seek knowledge. We should always be open to learning new things. And one of the things we will learn is that people are not so very different at the core.
It’s wrong for Muslims to think that they are better than non-Muslims. If anything, we are just more fortunate. To harbor hate or prejudice in our hearts toward those who don’t embrace Islam runs counter to everything Allah intends for us. Hate and prejudice diminish the person who holds onto them. The only way to make an impression on non-Muslims is to show charity and love toward them. Love is the most powerful force in the world.

What can we learn from the Bible?

You may think that I sound too much like a Christian when I write things like that. But why do we consider Jesus to be one of the greatest of prophets if we don’t listen to what he had to say? Muslims have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because we reject Jesus’ divinity, we tend to ignore his teachings. I know that Muslims think the Bible is corrupted, but that doesn’t mean that it has nothing in it that can teach us how to be better Muslims.
I was led to convert to Islam by a combination of knowledge and being loved. I didn’t come to Islam because I was afraid I would go to hell if I didn’t. In fact, I had to get over my fear of hell if I did. As a Christian, I was taught that the only way to God, and to eternal life, was through Jesus Christ. If I didn’t believe that Jesus was God and that he died as a sacrifice for my sins, I would go to hell. Even after I had stopped believing that Jesus was divine, I was afraid to stop going through him to get to God.

My conversion

But then I met Muslims who were secure and happy in their faith, who accepted and loved me even though I wasn’t a Muslim. They answered my questions about Islam, but left it totally up to me whether I would convert or not. And I know that even if I hadn’t, they would have remained friendly and caring toward me, because I’ve seen the way they are with other non-Muslims.
Non-Muslims think of Muslims as hate-filled and resentful toward Western culture. I won’t deny that there are some who are, just as there are some Christians who are hate-filled and resentful toward Islamic culture. But a Muslim—or a Christian—who is truly submitted to God isn’t like that. Submission to Allah means submission to His will, and His will is that we all come to Him. Anything we do as believers that causes non-believers to turn away from God is against His will, and therefore a sin.

Reaching through our Muslimness

Islam is simple at its core, but complicated in its practice. Sometimes I think that we make it too complicated. I know there are Muslims who believe that the simplest way is to follow all the precepts in the Qur’an and in Mohammad’s (pbuh) teachings. But what if you don’t know all there is to learn about Islam? You could become paralyzed wondering which way you should turn. Sometimes I feel afraid to do anything; it seems that the safest way is to reject anything that is not specifically labeled Islamic. But if you do that, you lose touch with the world, and I don’t believe that Allah wants us to do that.

Adventures Indiana Jones Style

Hi ! Guess what ? The other day Moe and I were doing our usual coffee runs in the neighborhood while checking out some of the new roads that have been paved in Tagura . I drove down this new road that we hadn't been down before .We saw the normal things , houses , feilds , sheep and what not but then an unsuaul sight caught my eye just by accident . A pile of rubble along side of the road had been moved away from a old roof top of what looked to be a Roman villa buried in the sand . It looked as if when the rubble had been moved , the top layer of the dirt was scrapped off ,or a corner was exposed to sight .Someone had dug even futher down where the door to the house was and it looks as if part of it was excavated , maybe . I will definitly go back and take pictures for you to see . That was pretty exciting to see . It looks as if not too many people have seen this site so far .I wish I was able to crawl inside to inspect it for myself .So neato ! I felt like Indian Jones when I saw the house sticking up out of the ground .

Food For Thought

I can not tell you HOW many times I have seen this scenerio ...... Libyan guy goes to the bakery to by bread for the family .He comes out with AT LEAST 25 to 30 loaves of fresh baked french bread in his arms . The bread is hot . It burns his arms . A loaf or two falls onto the filty dirty..... tarmac/ sidewalk/ muddy gutter / street/ dirt . The guy does what ? Yep ! Every single time , no matter the age or apparent cleanliness of the person . The guy ALWAYS , really ALWAYS, stops and PICKS THE DROPPED BREAD UP , places it along side of all the other loaves of bread . Sometimes he will even take a bite of the bread . EVERY SINGLE TIME ! I swear to God ! And that is why I buy the bread in our family .

My World Shrouded In Fog

10:30 a.m., my world shrouded in fog . I sit waiting for the sun to bring clarity .

1 Month Later ... Near Divorce

Just 1 short month ago I was writing here on the blog HOW MUCH I LOVED MOE AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO HIM . Now , 1 month later and I am ready to divorce him .WHY ? Ha ! Don't EVEN get me started ....
BUT  ... it has something to do with :

1 very small motor
4 equally small wires
10 men
This all adds up to 4 days with out water in the Condo on The Seaside .

The water pump burned up last Wednesday .I told Moe then to go talk with the men in the building , which were all home for lunch, about replacing the water pump motor .DID HE DO THAT ??? OH NO !!!! WHY ??? Because ..... I told him to do it !WHAT WAS I THINKING ???? Never tell a man to do anything , he will just ignore you and do what he thinks is what he wants to do .

So , he didn't talk to the men in the building then . They seeing that the water was off and thinking that some one else would fix it , went off for a early week end , leaving those of us here with out water .Of course, one would think that SOMEONE ,i.e. one of the remaining men in the building , would get together with the other men still here and replace the motor , BUT NO , THAT WOULD BE TOO EASY, HUH ?  So, began the game of : " who would be the 1st one to crumble under the weight of the nagging wife" and go fix the motor .

10 men against, 12 or more kids , and 10 women ,that adds up to a lot of nagging .Some one , I am not saying WHO ,but someone, has given in and got the water on a hour ago !!!! Yeah ! No divorce !Baths were taken ,laundry done , dirty dishes washed ,floors scrubbed cleans, and water is flowing off balcony's like rivers . The Condo's On The Seaside are all quite and peaceful again .On my tombstone it will say .... " I Told Him To Do It And He Didn't Listen " .
 

Moe's New Ride

Yesterday was Friday , which is like a Saturday for the Western world ,in other words , our day of rest . Moe and I did nothing much . We slept late .We had a late lunch . Relaxed just watching TV . Later we decided we would go for our weekly Friday ride into town to cheek things out .

I brought along our camera ... just in case I saw something worth showing you .I did see a lovely purple house with a purple wall around it but Moe wouldn't let me take a picture of it . So , I will have to do that some other day when I am out on my own .

We stopped  to sample the coffee at several coffee bars that  are everywhere .Some where pretty good and some where just ok. But no matter where we went , we drew stares .At first I thought it was because of Moe's driving our new motorcycle , but then I decided it was because we made such a cute couple .Anyway , we got some one to take our picture and I thought you would like to see for yourself how cute we looked .

Granny's Girls

Sophia thinking about all the things she has to talk about  ! She is 19 months now ! How big she is getting .

Gail is 2 years old today . Here she is , already to go with her sunglasses , her hand bag , and her water glass. .

Happy Birthday America !

A very happy 4th of July to all ! Happy birthday America !

painting by Craig and Tanya Amberson , "For Our Heros- Fourth Of July Dalmatian Dog "