To give or not to give

First, apologies for light blogging....life ehy

This is for you the reader. Your views please and what you do when approached by a beggar in the street. Do you give or not and what is your reasoning or overwhelming emotion as the case may be! Now, all views are welcome but I am specifically interested in views from people who live in countries that do NOT have welfare systems in place like our beloved Egypt

'Do not judge'

I've learnt this the hard way and it's basically because you don't know what environment that person was brought up in. You don't know the treatment that person by the people around them, the lost opportunities the abuse, the pain. If you weren't brought up in your happy middle class life but instead in a troubled home, it could be you turning to violence to stealing. God alone knows the whole situation of every person and therefore he alone can judge.

Everyone is capable of every sin. the bible says: there is no good in man. People say: I'm not capable of murder or adultery. That's what really bad people do. Except lots of 'good' people have found themselves saying that after doing those very same things. The fact of the matter is that each and everyone of us is capable of doing every sin if put in the wrong situations, with the wrong people, being subjected to injustice and pain. the fact that you are moral is not necessarily credit to you and God knows that. It could be that you were brought up in a moral home, brought up according to some kind of religion which instilled moral behaviour into you. Had you been brought up in a troubled home where you weren't taught right from wrong, and were not loved, would you be the same person? Let's not judge.

Let my people read!

I do like 'cool bookshops' but not so much a fan of paying extra for the 'coolness'. Anyway, I found myself in front of 'Diwan' the other day so I thought I would check it out. I liked the atmosphere in there, you know the whole spot light thing going on, the wooden floors, the majorly helpful assistants- it's all good. Anyway, I had a good time browsing all the different sections etc etc and I came across an english religion section. I was surprised. hmmm i wonder what they have in the religion section? Would they by any remote chance have any good christian reads? cool bookshop, you never know. NO, but they have books about freakin mediums and new age! What?! I mean which is gonna mess people up more? Contacting the dead or learning about repentance and forgiveness. Go figure

Egypt gone wrong

So a family member is renting this flat out to a company run by ex military guys:

Them: Yeah we want to rent this flat out because we don't like the current location

F: Why is that? Is the landlord giving you hassle or something?

Them: La2 ya madam, ehna kolena zobaat (No madam we're all from the military)

I believe because:

I'm always interested in why people chose their religious beliefs:

it's what my parents taught me to believe and I don't want to upset them

It's what everyone does and I want to fit in

I can't be bothered looking into anything else, this is the most convenient path

it helps me get through life's problems

there are millions who believe the same thing so it must be right

because it's the truth and it has been verified

I wish truth was easier to find and accept.

Egyptian dust?

It's obvious from the clues on here why i chose this name, but just to clarify:

Well Egyptian, because well er I'm Egyptian and actually proud of it.

Dust- comes from the various references to humans as dust in the bible. I am a christian first and foremost. I don't follow any man but God. I love this reference 'dust' because it reminds us of our mortality that things on this earth are passing and that at any time this show could end. This seems really heavy and it is but this is reality. It's also a humbling reminder that serves to show me that I am not my job, my education, my social status, I am just dust that will go back to the earth one day.

Tag time: Five things about Egyptian dust

sharaft ya grey. thanks for dropping in

1) I wish God would drop in sometime in person.

2) Fool and egyptian white cheese (ol' style) with a bit of 3aish balady (traditional egyptian bread) beats the 'continental breakfast' hands down every time.

3) Most interesting conversation I had today was with a bona fide Nubian guy who told me beautiful tales of Egypt's history.

4) Today I bought 5 lemons from a guy who was feigning parkinson's disease symptoms.

5) I think egyptian taxi drivers are the best, where else can you get a mix of humour, politics, religion and fatalism while being driven from a to b?