Great Friends, Reviews, and Middle East Studies

Great Friends

We did some fun things this last week. And we had some good friends come help us get the house ready to sell. I won't embarrass them by saying who they were online, but I am so grateful to those two families. Because of them, I think we will be able to put our house on the market this week!

My Name Used to be Muhammad

We have been studying the Middle East this summer with some other families. Lately, we've been learning about Islam and Muslims. We finished the book "My Name Used to be Muhammad" (very good, but I did need to edit out a few parts as I read out loud to my kids). It gave great insight into what drives some Muslims and what a blessing it is to live in a place where we are not persecuted for our beliefs. Christians all over the world are going through some tough things because of what they believe. I want to find some way to help.

Guest Speaker:

We had a guest speaker come talk to us who converted to our church after being raised a Muslim. He was disowned and it took him a long time before his family would speak to him. Sometimes he'd wonder if it was worth it, but he knew it was what God wanted him to do. He was so inspiring. He told the kids to not take their opportunities for granted and to study hard.

Lawrence of Arabia

We also watched Lawrence of Arabia. It was a beautiful movie to look at. The kids thought it was a little slow, but I really liked how it brought up questions like, "What is the value of a human life?" "Do people have a destiny and is it just to serve someone's agenda?" "What is the value of war?" "Do people prefer peace or pride?" 

I think I will draw on it when we are choosing contention and pride over love and peace. Or when we are seeing people as objects instead of beings with eternal potential and destiny.

She Loves Me

We (the girls and I and friends) streamed a live recording of  the Broadway play "She Loves Me" one night. Besides a couple of not-very-wholesome songs, I liked thinking about the safety of sarcasm and walls vs the joy and depth of vulnerability and love. This couple experienced both without knowing they were using both toward the same person, then they saw the difference and chose vulnerability and love in the end.

Outings:

We love going to the duck pond near by. It is one of our favorite places to be. We went with some friends while our older kids went to the temple. It is so peaceful and wholesome there. And we got to brainstorm about what we want to do as we study different areas of the world through the year. We are studying Israel and Palestine next!

The next day we had a "Nature Day" at Pineview reservoir. It was a beautiful day to be there. I love watching my children laugh. Everyone says we need to go back very soon.  It is so good to take a day off and just enjoy nature and each other sometimes.  And Sara and I were able to get more plans solidified for the year. Let me know if any of you want to study areas of the world with us this year! We can share resources.

What a blessed week!