Smörgåsbord

Today's serving of the 20/20 Project is going to be just a mish-mash of different things I want to talk about because that's what you get to do when you have your own show.

You want chicken fingers? Ok. We have a cold shrimp salad with boiled egg.

I'm going to type whatever strikes my fancy today.




ISLAM
First, I didn't post yesterday but there was some cool "Islam" going on so I will share now. We had our first meeting for counselors of the "2nd Annual Al-Isra Retreat Sisters' Camp organized by Building Blocks for Muslimahs". Basically it's an all-girls Islamic camp for one weekend (NEXT WEEKEND!). I was a counselor last year and had so much fun I am doing it again insha Allah (if Allah wills). I don't know what came over me during the first camp—it was oppressively hot, I barely slept, and I was in charge of 5 girls and two ladies which can be a challenge but somehow I rose to the occasion (I think) and didn't complain a bit. I should try being a counselor at work or for other events—maybe if I had it in my head that I have to always set a good example (and I should) then I would tolerate a lot more foolishness. It would only be to my benefit.

Anyway at the meeting we talked logistics but also came up with some cool ideas for activities that go along with this year's theme of "ihdinas siraat ul-mustaqeem" or "lead us to the straight path". This is something from the Quran that we say in every prayer, and 17 times a day if we just pray all 5 required prayers. I can't give the ideas away because some campers might be reading this, but lemme tell you: It's COOL. I'm REALLY EXCITED for camp! The other day I went shopping and got some sensible elastic waistband pants, light pastel-toned tees, and a floppy hat. Basically I am packing for retirement in Florida.


Today there was more Islam at the Midweek Halaqa. I will just share one quote from Sh. Hatem that really stuck with me even though his whole talk on sincerity and avoiding the different types of "enslavement" in this life was really good. He said, "If your prayer is not refining you, it's not working. Go and fix it." So if you are praying 5 times a day but still cheating on exams, stealing money from your sister, and getting sucked into activities with others that are no good for you, then you aren't getting anything from the salat. It's like plunking a quarter into a broken vending machine every couple of hours and pushing the button, but nothing ever comes out. Insanity, right? Fixing your prayer might mean looking at the physical steps of the prayer itself, correcting your intention before you pray, or making sure you are creating an environment where you can concentrate and have quality in your prayers. One thing said by our last AlMaghrib instructor rung a bell for me. He said, "Allah turns to us when we pray and even answers us back in all His Majesty. How insulting is it then when we don't even give Him our attention?" So many of us get easily distracted in the prayer because we've just put down our phone after reading tweets (guilty!), or we're hungry (yep!), or we want to go back to bed (the worst!). But it's up to us to make sure we're focused and ready to pray because we are the ones in need of the prayer, not Allah.

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BREAKING NEWS AND YAY!!!
My Arabic teacher and his wife had their first baby! She was having trouble last night and the baby was in distress so they did a C-section. Muminah is healthy, beautiful, and her head is covered in tons of silky black hair. This couple has gone through many years of struggles trying to start a family so we are all very excited and thankful to Allah that everyone's doing okay. Mom is still having some blood pressure issues but we're hoping that everything will calm down. Please pray for the family. :)

Hey Mashood, call me when she's got the cankles and I am so there.