A Name to Remember
When my daughter was a year old, it became very clear that I would not be able to satisfy her companionship needs. She needed someone whose only responsibility was to play with her. She needed a sibling. It was wonderful when my husband and I found out that our daughter would soon have a brother. As with our daughter, we made a list of names that might suit our son. It may seem cliché to s...

Building Human Beings
It was a small white frame house with a huge back yard and five ancient, towering pecan trees that lined the outside of its semi-circular drive.  From the road, one could see the entrance of the building behind the trees.  The black paint on the wrought iron columns of its tiny porch were pealing, but on the door was a newly printed out sign welcoming all to this house being used as a s...

Taking it to Heart
The purple ring... that was the favorite from her stackable toys as a toddler.  Her parents gave her everything they could to enrich her life and ensure that she mentally and physically developed as rapidly as possible.  Hour after hour, day after day, they played with her trying to teach her how the world works. She learned quickly.  Sometimes more quickly than her parents wanted ...

Why Risk It?
I love you and want to trust you completely.  I don't want any doubt in my heart about you.  I know you love Allah and want to please Him.  But don't you realize that if you lie all that is jeopardized? I want my love for you to grow for the sake of Allah because you love me for His sake.  We pray together and that love grows.  But don't you realize that if yo...

Make Up For That
From the time my church banned the wearing of make-up, its purpose and uses have been a topic of reflection for me.  Why do women wear make-up?  "Make-up" is an interesting word indeed calling to mind fantasy and some sort of enhancement.  This leads one to wonder and what kind of fantasy and what form of enhancement is being sought.  What compels one to cover up the...

Consider the Source
As it is our duty to abide by this wisdom, it is our responsibility to support forms of media that adhere to this standard and abandon those that don’t. So let us consider the source of our news and entertainment. Let us be conscious of the messages being conveyed. Let us establish good and forbid evil in the best of ways in every aspect of our lives including the media. Tenth ...

Keeping in Touch
It had been a long week already, and it was only Wednesday.  I was exhausted.  But for a long time, I had been trying to arrange for some activity that my teenage daughter and I could do together.  When she accepted to start English riding lessons, I was thrilled to have the chance to spend time with her and work with such an exquisite animal.  And even though some might say t...

Five Little Fingers
It had been a warm summer day in Istanbul when we arrived at the home of a family we had long wanted to visit.  It was late afternoon.  Stepping onto the patio of their ground floor condominium, we were greeted by an open door in anticipation of our arrival, the laughter of a precious four year old being chased by her two older sisters, and then the sincere greetings of peace from their...

The Best News
When I arrived at the class, some students had already taken their seats.  Finding an empty place near the front next to a seat someone had saved with her jacket, I sat down.  A short time later, an elder lady came in and sat beside me, introduced herself, and had just started asking about me when another younger lady in her late twenties walked into the room and over to us looking a bi...

The Final Countdown
  The first snows have fallen on the mountaintops.  Cold winds have started to blow.  Sweaters and coats have been pulled out and little by little put to use again.  The leaves have turned from green to gold and snapped loose by the torrents of icy gusts. Winter has arrived. For many in the world that means "it's party time".  Decorations go up. Trees are ad...

Stopping in Time
Final check.  Okay got a red light. Plug it in. Trring... green light flashing... Trring Trring.  It just never seems to stop.  It's late, and he's had enough.  Finally, he let's his weary head rest on the pillow deciding to ignore the incoming emails on his work cell phone.  The alarm goes off, and he wakes to another day in a grueling month of constant inter...