My Evening

Salam

Bismillah

Alhamdulillah today I was feeling much better, thank you all for your du'a and advice.

I made plans with my friend Dusty to spend some time together since it had been literally ages since I had seen any of my friends outside of jumm'ah. Dusty is from my hometown and converted to Islam just a few short months after me at the end of last Ramadhan mashaAllah. She is a real sweetheart and very sincere while still silly, lol. My kind of lady :-P

First we went to the mall and looked around a bit for long skirts. We found several at maurices of all places in dark denim, khaki, and brown.

Then we went to the masjid to pray asr and we stayed in the masjid library looking for books until maghreb (we both came out with stacks of free books alhamdulillah). Most of my books were about Christianity and explaining Islam as I am looking for materials to show my family to help explain Islam better inshaAllah.

After that we decided to eat dinner at Arby's. I had a large jamocha shake. I don't know if you know how huge that is, but I think i gained 10 lbs LOL.

Next we went to wal-mart so I could get some cookie sheets since my old ones rusted out.

Walmart happens to be next to the movies so we decided to catch a flick before we went home.

Overall it was a good night alhamdulillah. Me and Dusty both had a blast :-)

I think maybe my issue isn't overall loneliness, but I just feel that way when I am with my family.

Allah kareem, inshaAllah khair

feeling a bit low

salam

bismillah

hey ladies

i'm feeling a bit low

i've been having these intense feelings of loneliness even when i am in a room full of my family

i feel a bit set adrift

inshaAllah things will brighten up soon

Friday Khutba

Salam!

Bismillah

A few weeks ago a brother at our masjid who regularly gives the khutba talked about men's hijab :-) (what I mean by men's hijab is the covering that Muslim men are required to give)

I know, right! A dude bringing up the subject of men's hijab? It was so great subhanAllah!

He basically said "look brothers... you guys would talk endlessly about those sisters that you think don't cover correctly and yet you don't even come to the masjid in proper clothing."

He talked about how our brothers sometimes are so aghast if they see a sister who isn't covered and yet can't be bothered to properly cover their awrah when praying, let alone outside the masjid and in public.

He reminded the brothers of what areas they are commanded to cover and also that if the awrah is not covered, then salah is invalid.

mashaAllah it was great! This brother is one of my dear friend's husband and is a convert from Arizona. Allahu alem, he appears to me to be very sincere and intelligent. I always enjoy when he gives the khutba, especially this one :-)

Ramadhan the Flylady way :-D

Salam!

Bismillah

Eva at handmade beginnings just did a post about her Ramadhan Organizer and gave a link for this awesome(!!) site for Ramadhan planning the flylady way. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with flylady, but you can find her at flylady.net She teaches us unorganized people how to function as born-organized people. :-) Anyway, someone got the brilliant (mashaAllah) idea to adapt flylady for us Muslim ladies, especially during the potentially stressful time of Ramadhan prep.

The blog is Ramadhan Planner and I suggest you all go and take a look around, especially if you are in charge of planning for your family as there are a lot of resources there.

Award :-D

Salam!

Bismillah

A while back, my dear sister Rukhpar Mor gave me a blog award :-D

Our task was to write about where we see ourselves in 10 years time. I'm sorry this took my so long dear sister. Honestly, this really really threw me for a loop. I had no idea what to say! I still have no idea what to say... but I am going to give it a go anyway.

So in 10 years I will be 32/33 years. I would like to be married inshaAllah to go a good man and living somewhere where I feel accepted. I have no idea where that will be or if that place exists, but that is my goal.

I would like to have at least 3 children by this time inshaAllah. I have always wanted to have a lot of kids, mostly boys but I'm starting to think girls would be okay too. *dreamy look* My friends tease me because when they first asked how many I wanted I said "between 5 and 10" lol. I would like to take care of my kids at home, hopefully homeschool them.

If I am not able to stay at home, I think I would like to teach. Although recently I have given a lot of thought to getting an MBA... maybe working for a non-profit.

I would like to be fluent in Arabic or at least proficient enough to read the Qur'an with understanding. I would also like to have at least one juz memorized, preferably more.

I hope and pray that in 10 years we are all happy and fulfilled, ameen.

I'm not sure who has been tagged at this point and who hasn't, so if you haven't done it, please tell me where you would like to be in 10 years in the comments or on your blog or in an e-mail :-)

with love

My Daddy

Salam

Bismillah

My dad doesn't care that I am Muslim. He doesn't care that I believe in God. He doesn't care that I live a more clean life now.

All he cares is that I do not believe that Jesus is God.

For several months now, my Dad has quit talking about religion. Honestly, I was really relieved because I HATE the feeling of disappointing my daddy and I knew that my beliefs would be disappointing to him.

But today he gave me some papers he printed from the internet entitled "Is Jesus God?" and talked about those "cults" that don't believe that Jesus is God.

It gave a lot of Bible verses that supposedly explain how Jesus is God and also tried to answer some more popular arguments against the trinity (although it did in no way try to explain the trinity, why there should be a trinity, how the trinity is different than polytheism, etc.).

How do I explain to my dad that even if he could provide verses from the Bible that say Jesus is God, or can be interpreted/twisted to say that, that I will still most likely not believe them since I have so much doubt about the authenticity of the Bible in the first place?

I don't know if this will be the beginning of more conversations or arguments or what. Honestly I hope it wont be. Not because I am scared of argument or changing my mind or anything (Allah keep us on the straight path, ameen) but because I hate to see that look of disappointment when my daddy realizes he still didn't convince me.

Also on another note, my bother is becoming more and more conservative in his beliefs. Now he has decided to reject science completely since it contradicts with a literal reading of the Bible.

Ya Rabb, Ya Raheem, have mercy on our families and show them the straight path ameen.

Me Myself and I

Salam!

Bismillah

I like to think that I am the same here online that I am in real life.

I would probably say all the same things in real conversations and stuff.

..........

But of course I don't broadcast my faults here on the world wide web.

I make a lot of mistakes, may Allah forgive me.

......

And most of the time these posts are reminders to myself about stuff I am struggling with or trying to learn and incorporate into my life.

But I feel like I am real.

.........

Anyway, I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea about who I am.

This is me!

VIVA LA FURIA ROJA!!!

Thats All :-)

MSN

Salam!

Bismillah

soooo hey ladies! I wanted to let you all know that I opened up an MSN account for finding guidance so that I could receive/send e-mails and also chat with you if you want :-D

so the address is findingguidance (at) hotmail (dot) com

if you would like me to add you to my msn chat thingy, just send me an e-mail with your blogger name on it and stuff so that I know it isn't some weirdo, lol. I wont add anyone in general unless I know who you are.

so... YAY! hoping to have some conversations outside of blogger with you all

Naseeha on Naseeha

As-salamu alaikum,

Bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem

After witnessing some interesting conversations, I would like to give some gentle naseeha on the subject of gentle naseeha. I am not an expert or anything, and as always this reminder is for myself first. Allah save us from intentionally or unintentionally pushing others away from our beautiful religion, ameen.

I found this quote that pretty much sums up the topic I wanted to discuss:

Shaykh Kamil Mufti writes in his article Directions to Giving Naseehah:

Naseehah is a wonderful weapon, but like most weapons, if the user does not know how to use it properly, it can cause more harm than good.

We should all be aware of the dangers of giving naseeha in the wrong way and the guidelines for giving effective advice.

1. Be sincere. Give advice for the sake of Allah and the love of your brothers and sisters in Islam. It is important, before you give naseeha, to check your intention. Are you doing it to make yourself feel better, or to please Allah and help a fellow Muslim? Be truthful!! This is really really important.

2. Be kind. Anger or rudeness is a quick way to guarantee the person you are advising will not listen to you and could be pushed farther away. Always Always Always Always Always use kind and understanding language with your brothers and sisters. As the saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey.

3. Give it privately. I know this one is tough online since our problems are posted publicly and so we feel compelled to correct people publicly, but this is a sure way to turn your naseeha into criticism and embarassment for the person you are trying to help. When possible, send an e-mail or give the person a call to discuss the issue calmly.

4. Be mindful of time, place, and setting. This includes privacy, giving yourself time to cool off if you are upset about the issue, and the mode of conveyance (e-mail, msn, phone, in person, etc.) Think of the best time and place to have the conversation and make sure that the mood is light and everyone is clear on the purpose of the discussion.

5. Be patient. The person may not implement your naseeha right away, but know that if you have done it correctly, there is a greater possibility that they will eventually change for the better. Don't keep pushing.

6. AVOID CHASTISING THE PERSON. Contrary to popular belief, naseeha is not the same thing as chastisement. It is not your job to "scold" others as if they are children.

7. Do not EVER EVER EVER question their faith. No matter a person's outward actions, only ALLAH knows what is in their hearts and you have no right to judge their level of previous, current, or future iman or their status as a Muslim.

8. Follow up. Show concern for the sister or brother outside of the initial naseeha. Praise them if you notice them doing something good. Express happiness if they achieve a goal. Let them know that you continue to think about them and care for them, even if they are still struggling to move forward.

If any of you have any other pointers to add, please feel free to discuss and leave comments below

Note: Some of the ideas in this post come from an article I read here, and the rest is from my own experience here online and in real life :-)

Paraguay vs Espana!!

Salam!

And the MAIN EVENT!! lol

For Paraguay: http://simplejilbabs.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=134

I actually quite like this one :-) InshaAllah I may get it later for Barca games HAHA

And for ESPANA!!

Something Spanish inspired ;-)

Hoping this game goes well inshaAllah! Viva la furia roja!

Germany vs Argentina

Salam!

Here we go for Germany and Argentina!

For Germany: http://www.modestlook.com/french-nobility-trendy-modern-abaya.html

Something classy. Throw in some red accessories and you are good to go!

For Argentina: http://www.essenceofblack.com/images/ca27fullblue.JPG

Something laid back and relaxed :-) Add cute white sneakers!

I'm definitely rooting for Argentina in this game, so InshaAllah we will see how it goes!

Remember Allah in the World Cup

Salam!

Bismillah

Lets face it ladies... we live in this dunya. We should strive for balance in this life of remembering Allah while also living our daily lives.

Daily life for a lot of people right now consists of World Cup action, but again we have to find the right balance!

Some Tips:

1. Make dhikr when play is slow

2. Make wudu and pray voluntary rakaat during half-time

3. Make the intention to dedicate the same amount of time to Allah that you spend watching games each day or reading about games (this will be more time than a lot of people usually spend). You can read Qur'an, pray sunnah prayers, make dhikr, read books or articles, etc.

4. Avoid watching games in mixed company. Get some girlfriends (or guy friends if you are dude) together and watch at a friends house instead of going out to the cafe, bar, or restaurant.

5. If your team doesn't win, avoid throwing a big fit or yelling and screaming etc. Say "Alhamdulillah 3la kul shay'" All praise belongs to Allah in every circumstance. Practice our anger steps: if you are standing sit, if you are sitting lay down, if none of that works make wudu and pray :-)

Any tips?

Brazil Alternative

For a girlier look for Brazil, go with floral ;-)

I'd keep this one for an all ladies event, but that is my personal preference. If you wear it outside, make sure your arms are covered

from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcr6p0L1lNV05mtB765G9ceqpBBZzBmP9i18gxIfVJ1U4sR3PoHyNXtoDjhyphenhypheng_dVEfLlEJ264LiBlA8YXHG496nHc0APbr7CHIkHT1rjn2fWnUL5CelvrHzDm-Fh3fEucfyU1qi9XMvw0/s400/KA2008062004608+GREEN+Batik+Cotton+Caftan+Kaftan+Dress+USD45.00.jpg

Netherlands vs. Brazil

Salam!

Bismillah

This one is for my dear HalfCalf ;-)

Brazil and the Netherlands are going head to head on the 2nd as well! Their match history is pretty even, with Brazil only slightly ahead.

For Brazil: designer Eman Joharjy, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=121314521888

For Netherlands: http://2hijab.com/abaya_samar_style_010.asp

I'm picking Brazil for this match, but the two different styles of ball will make for some excitement on the field!