Give me a sign

On my way to work, I wanted to try a short cut suggested to me by colleagues to cut my driving time. So, I tried and instead of reducing my journey, I got lost!

'Not a big deal' I told myself, as it is a lovely countryside and so I kept driving to the next sign post to get direction. I drove for about 6 min, but it felt like a life time, then I saw a SIGN. Old, dirty and battered sign, but a sign none the less. I was so pleased and relieved.

Driving along this beautiful road without any signs to show me the way, was not comfortable at all. I enjoyed the beautiful autumn drive but I didn't like not knowing my exact location even for a short time. This is the same in every situation and in dealing with people around us. We have a need to know where we stand and where we are going. In the same way we are 'signs' to others whether we like it or not. When we see people we see 'Happy', 'Negative', 'Comlaining', 'Greatful' etc. Think of people you meet for the first time and after only 10 second you think to yourself "seem like a good person" or " she looked sad", "he is nasty", etc. Other people do the same about me and you as well. So, what sign are you giving out? and what do people see in you that is different?

So, when you hear of people praying "Give me a sign", you could be that sign....use the opportunity well.

It is only day 3 and I am bored to death already!

You know sometimes when life is very hectic and you dream of watching a whole movie without any interruption or finishing some letters before the deadline, this is happening to me now all because of my broken foot. I am sitting at home nursing my foot, and in my small space I have: my laptop, the TV remote control, my mobile phone and my land line phone too, i.e. a small communication centre but I am so bored. My daughter already decorated my plaster with smiley faces and wanted me to sit still to paint a portrait of me (of course no chance of me running away from something like that). I am trying to find jobs to do while sitting down, like finishing some letters and filling some bills and forms. There are also piles of papers and books that need sorting so I am doing my best. The irony is, the sun is shining and the weather is nice. However, I am living in hope that on Friday’s appointment I will be given some good news about how long should I stay like this, so keep praying.

What is next for Christians?

I received this article with just one example about Christians treatment in Egypt. The article is published in Arabic in Arabia Net and here it is in English. All i can say is that we keep praying.


Egypt Copt jailed.. 45 years after father's conversion

(AFP) — An Egyptian Christian woman has been jailed for three years
because her father's brief conversion to Islam 45 years ago made her
legally a Muslim while her official papers said she was Christian, her
lawyer said Thursday.

Shadia Nagui Ibrahim, 47, was charged with fraud for stating
Christianity as her religion on her marriage certificate, unaware that
her father's conversion to Islam in 1962 had made her officially a
Muslim, Michael Maurice told AFP.

Nagui Ibrahim left home in 1962 when daughter Shadia was two years
old, converted to Islam and took on the Muslim name Mustafa.

Three years later, after a reconciliation with his wife, he moved home
and re-converted to Christianity. In the process, he got someone to
forge his documents back to say he was Christian.

State reluctance to allow citizens to put their religion of choice on
national identity cards means many seek forged documents that can
result in criminal prosecution, New York-based Human Rights Watch said
in a report earlier this month.

In 1996, the man who forged Ibrahim's documents was detained for
falsifying dozens of documents and confessed to changing Ibrahim's
papers.

Authorities detained Ibrahim and also informed his daughter that on
paper, Ibrahim was still a Muslim and therefore so was she. Children
in Egypt automatically take their father's religion.

Under Egyptian law it is also illegal for a Muslim woman to marry a
Christian man.

She was charged with "providing false information on official
documents" for stating she was Christian on her marriage certificate
in 1982.

After a lengthy trial, she was sentenced to three years in absentee in
2000 but the case was subsequently dropped.

She was detained again in August this year and sentenced to three
years on Wednesday after just one brief court session, her lawyer said