Half & Half

No, we're not talking about the main ingredient in the evil-barista-invented "brevé" which has about three days' worth of your recommended fat built-in. We're talking about my lame-o efforts today. But we will get to that. First I wanted to say thanks for reading my blog. You don't have to, yet here you are. It really means a lot. I am doing this first for Allah, but you are a big part of my motivation to keep going and to post every single day, even if I only kinda sorta do the 20 minutes thing.

HUGS ALL AROUND!!!

I don't get why she took the free hug from Darth. I think the clone is just dreamy. 

EXERCISE
I totally copped out today on this one. I talked myself out of walking over lunch because it was "too hot" and I was real busy at the office today. Then I went to class and by the time I got home, it was 11:20 p.m. and the leftover curry and rice looked better than anything else. So after eating I did some "Chinese Schoolchildren Morning Exercises" in my living room and some stretches. It took exactly ten minutes. Sad!

These kids would be disgusted if they saw my bad form. 

Then I did 20 crunches. Mind you, I haven't done anything even remotely resembling a sit-up in probably 12 years, so you know, this was like, big-time for me. Somewhere my new co-worker, the personal trainer, is shaking her head.

Health Tip of The Day: Don't put off exercise until after work if you can help it. It gets exponentially harder to do convince yourself as the hours tick by, and your options seem to decrease in the evenings. Basically, don't be like me.

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ISLAM
I guess I did more than half on this one, time-wise. It was our weekly class with Sh. Hatem tonight and we are still studying the Al-Ubudiyya (how to be a true slave of Allah) book by Ibn Taymiyyah, raheem Allah, may Allah bestow mercy on him. One thing he said tonight really stuck out for me. He was saying how in order to DESERVE faith and obtain it, you must act in obedience to Allah and love Him above all else among other things. It's not like in some religious circles where they just tell you to "have faith" without explaining how to get it or maintain it. It's like saying to a baby, "Get a job." Well, he's going to need some help with that. And a U.S. Passport or a State ID and Social Security card or Birth Certificate.

Once we have earned the guidance given only by Allah, we also can't just lay all of the responsibility on others to legislate things to the exact specifications to fit our personal lives. The example of the Sunnah is not a point on a page—it's a circle, with a range of options. In order to choose the right options, we need to use the "taste" that comes with faith. For example, there's always a big debate over which colors Muslim women can wear as to not attract attention. But really, there's no list of approved or rejected colors—it all depends on your surroundings, culture, and other factors. Some use this as an excuse to wear a sparkly red hijab with a giant flower on the side, saying "I could make plain black sexy so the color doesn't matter". The wise woman will instead say "Does this attract attention? Am I wearing it to turn heads?" Because in the end, what good will it do to convince her friends that the tight clothing and flashy scarf that technically cover her skin are allowed? Allah isn't fooled by anyone. 

I just thought it was nice to hear the idea of faith put in context of both our responsibility and Allah's blessings so it didn't seem so unattainable or frivolous at the same time.

So yeah, I did more than half because the lecture was an hour long, but I was kind of in and out mentally after a long day so I am giving myself a 50% just to stick with the theme of this post. I hope you enjoyed it 100%!