Today's guest post comes from Michael Guirguis - a dear friend and founding member of STSA who has since moved back home to Atlanta, GA. As an ordained subdeacon, Michael has invested his life to making Coptic hymns more accessible by recording them in English (see CopticHymnsInEnglish.com). He also just launch a new podcast called MEET & RIGHT, which aims to help you apply the Liturgy to your daily life. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
Read MoreIf Today Was Your Last Day...
The following guest post is written by Youssef Iskander - a high school student living just outside Toronto, Canada. Despite being young in age, Youssef presents a profound viewpoint on the recent bombing that took place at a Coptic church in Cairo. Very wise for an 11th grader! If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
This past Sunday, multiple people were killed as part of an attack on the St. Peter Church in St. Mark's Cathedral in Egypt. I don't know exact number of casualties as many are still in hospitals and their life still at risk.
Why is this relevant to us?
Read MoreBattling Against Spiritual Laziness
This is a guest post from David El Sabawy - a student from Mississauga, Canada who has guest posted on my blog before. In today's post, David writes about the internal battle we all face in life: the one against procrastination and laziness.
The absolute worst feeling in the world is to be unmotivated to do a task that you know you should be doing.
How terrible is it to feel, that you need to do something, but lack any self-motivation to get yourself to work on it? The regret that can build up in you after-the-fact is devastating because you begin to understand that there was more that you could bring to the table.
Procrastination, sloth and slacking off; all terms synonymous with LAZINESS
Read MoreWhen Life Turns Upside Down
This is a guest post from Minas Nehad – an office manager living and working in Cairo, Egypt. Minas works with a Coptic NGO that works to help the poor in countries throughout Africa and Asia.
As a graduate with high ambitions, I began my career with a large telecommunications company where I enjoyed the corporate life. I moved between several departments, gaining a lot of experience & real success
Then one day I realized what a nonsense cycle I am running in. A lot of effort… a lot of time… a lot of dedication… for what exactly?
Read MoreOur Father, The Painter
Understanding the concept of "The Father" can be bewildering. The challenge is being able to separate YOUR father from OUR Father.
If you think of how you came to be, there's a good chance that within your parents’ grand design there was a child. But what they couldn't design was how you would turn out: the color of your hair, the width of your smile, the sound of your voice… these were all things that weren’t within their control.
But when God added you to His grand design, every inch of you was intentional: the color of your hair, the width of your smile, even the sound of your voice.
Read MoreThe Mystery In Trials & Tribulations
There is a genuine and real joy in trials.
Genuine because it is an experience that involves the whole of your being - spirit, soul, and body. It is holistic, not partial. Full, not empty.
Joy - for the simple fact that there are myriad of gifts ready to be given, to those who endure to the end. There are revelations that He desires to reveal in the depth of your soul. About His Person, about who you are, and about your neighbor. To those who wait on the Lord and have there strength renewed.
It intensifies the intimacy between you and the bridegroom of your soul.
But many of us fail to discern this. If your eyes were opened to the working of our good God, you will begin to realize, as Father, He desires to continually give. Pour out. Think about it. If the Father of the Beloved has given us His Beloved, to be incarnate, die, rise, and ascend for you and me.
Read MoreJesus Dwells in Me – That’s My Selfie
A young lady once asked if she could take a selfie with me. After agreeing and getting ready for the picture, I noticed she was uncomfortable. I asked if she is ok and she replied “Can we swap sides because this is not my good side?” At first I thought she was joking, but quickly realized she wasn’t!
Read MoreOrthodox Afterlife: How One Afterlife Experience Changed My Life
One afterlife experience by a contemporary Egyptian Christian monk altered my life and allowed me to regain an eternal perspective on living. Formerly, as I busied myself satisfying my sinful desires, I knew God existed, but He was not relevant. Yet, as I heard my mom read to me the monk’s afterlife experience (translating it from Arabic to English), I imagined myself in his place having to face the repercussions of my decisions in life. It was then that my heart and mind flooded with the feeling expressed by the wise Solomon: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed,all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Read MoreWhen You Fall Over
Have you ever felt like you ran ahead of God and then made a “big” mistake?
Like a small child when learning to run in the momentary joys of running with the wind, inevitably trips and stumbles over his own feet and falls grazing his hands and knees. This pain inflicted causes him to cry out with many tears for his daddy to help him.
This is the very picture of us.
Read MoreMy weakness, His strength
Ever had one of “those mornings”? Where you can just tell it’s going to be a tough day?
You know the drill: your alarm rings, and you realize that you haven’t really slept all night because you were thinking about the pile of things you have to do. As you drag yourself out of bed, you feel the heaviness of your exhausted body weighing you down. You get ready in a hurry, hopeful that you can avoid the morning rush – which, of course, you cannot.
Now you’re stuck in traffic, and you haven’t moved for the past ten minutes. Now you’re going to be late, your shoulders are aching, you forgot to pack your lunch, your head is pounding because you didn’t get a chance to stop for coffee, and your phone is constantly ringing with reminders for you to check. This day cannot possibly get more stressful…
Read MoreGod's Most Amazing Plan for Your Life
God has a plan for your life. None of us are called to this life for no reason. Some of us are called to a family life or priestly life. What we need is to find God’s plan and live accordingly. It is not our will to live in this world but its God’s plan for us to live in this world. One effective way to observe what God has planned for your life is to see the skills that you have been blessed with such as singing, acting, preaching, caring others, nursing others, being a doctor, nurse, engineer, politicians, priests etc.
Read MoreGod's Grace Fills the Void
A good friend and I once had a conversation about sin and temptation, and he said something to me that I will always find incredibly profound. He said, “If you deem yourself unworthy of God’s grace, then you are judging the just Judge.” That phrase hasn't left my mind ever since.
It's true. God sent His son to die on the cross so that we may all be able to live in paradise forever, so who am I to say that I am not worthy of this love? Yes, you do need to be humble and not act like you are more privileged, but at the same time, we need to understand that forgiveness and grace are GIFTS, and not RIGHTS. I feel many times people blame God because, in a terrible and twisted way, we feel entitled to His grace and love.
But we aren’t. We are gifted so greatly with His unconditional love.
Read MoreDoubt as an Element of Faith
Sometimes it’s easy to see our God only as someone who likes playing a game of hide and seek with the world. He hides, we seek; some find Him, others don’t. He hides in obscure places, that only those who are really determined can see Him. Otherwise, like a child, if you’ve been looking for long enough you eventually give up.
To a certain extent, this still remains true in my heart. God commanded us to seek Him, and promised those who do so with all their heart will find Him. But, unlike the child that remains still in a cupboard for 10 minutes hoping that the seeker won’t catch him- He longs for us. He tells us He is everywhere, within us and around us. He shows us He isn’t found or heard in noise and clutter, but in stillness and softness.
Read MoreA Foretaste of Heaven
I don't know about you, but if there's one thing I long for it's this: the biggest, fattest hug from God and for Him to look us deep in the eye and say "Well done – welcome home, my daughter (or son)!" I don’t know about you, but I can imagine myself crying oceans on that day.
Every time I think about it, it makes me feel kind of sad that we actually have to live life with all its hardships to get there, but I found myself thinking: Why not live heaven on earth?
I came across recently that says "God is not where heaven is, heaven is where God is."
And that made me think...
Read MoreLove Does
After His resurrection, Christ asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And every time he answers "yes," Christ says:
“feed my lambs”
“tend my sheep”
“feed my sheep”
Because love is more than words.
Love does.
Often we assume that love is implied. We assume other people are secure in their own worthiness and we assume that they know our love for them. So at times when we admonish another, we are left feeling confused as to why they would lash out and walk away.
Read MoreOn Christ’s Suffering and Death
The Lenten Season – which concluded last Sunday as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection from the dead – is usually seen as one of the most sacred times of the year for us Christians. This season is at the core of our dogma and our faith, and epitomizes the beautiful story of Christianity, establishing hope for the eternal joy and peace as opposed to the earthly pain and distress. Because of its literally life-changing nature, we are called to engage in more intense daily exercises during Lent, both physically and spiritually
Read MoreWhy Did They Want to Kill Lazarus?
Has anyone tried to kill you recently? I certainly hope not.
As Fr. Anthony wrote about earlier this week, we in the Coptic Orthodox Church are now preparing to enter Holy Week. Believe it or not, it actually begins tomorrow with Lazarus Saturday. After that is Palm Sunday, then the events of Holy Week through Covenant Thursday, Good Friday, Bright Saturday, and what many church fathers call the ‘Feast of Feasts’, the Holy Resurrection
Read MoreFaithful in the Little
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” (Luke 16:10)
Back in 2013, Fr. Anthony wrote an awesome blogpost about Faithful Stewardship. Today I want to share some thoughts about being faithful in the little.
A couple of weeks ago I attended a conference about “The God of the Old Testament“ and got to know a very special person – a man in his forties, who traveled all the way down to this little Vienna (Austria) to share his knowledge with us. He was one of the most lovable and humble people I ever met
Read MoreThe Missing Ingredient for Prayer
Recently, Fr. Anthony wrote a great post on why we don’t or can’t pray very well. Every word written there is true for me. It’s uncanny! Perhaps the same is true for you. I tried recording all the excuses we come up with to not pray… there’s too many… lack of concentration, laziness, I’m tired, no time…and the list goes on and on.
“God knows what I need. He knows my heart and my good intentions.”
“I talk to God all throughout the day. He’s with me everywhere.”
“I’ve had a long day. I deserve some rest. I don’t want to push too hard or else I’ll break.”
“Of course I pray! When I feel God’s Presence and my emotions well up more than ever, that is my prayer. And those are the most heartfelt and fervent prayers of all!”
Read MoreGive a Little Grace (at the Gym)
This January, like thousands across the country, I made a resolution to lose weight and be healthy. So after doing some online research, I made my way to the neighborhood gym to meet with the sales team. Having read a lot about how gyms try to rip you off with random fees and entice you with perks, I went in skeptical but feeling prepared.
The staff was welcoming, they gave me the best deal they could, and I signed up. However, not fully convinced that I would be the 10% that keeps up with their resolutions every year, I decided on a month-to-month membership. This allowed me an easy “out” when things got tough, but still made me feel like I was committed to my health.
Let me just say that this is not the first gym I’ve joined, or my first attempt to get in shape. Like most women, I’ve tried about 5 gyms and 5 other “at home” work out programs in an attempt to get in shape. This time, I told myself, it would be different.
Read More