Charlie, Charlie and Egypt’s fascination with fate and fortune (July 2015)
July 2015“Charlie, Charlie, are you here?” One of the latest – and strangest – internet phenomena has been the Charlie Charlie Challenge: a curious game that uses something similar to a Ouija Board with yes/no answers, and two pencils to summon a demon named Charlie. Participants ask questions about the future and Charlie is said to respond with a “yes” or […]
Keeping up with the Nassers – June 2015
June 2015As I mentioned in my previous post, materialism plays a heavy role in Lebanese society. Here, “keeping up with the Joneses” takes on an entirely new dimension. Appearance is important; your reputation is everything. Wedding on the Beirut corniche (cwirtanen/Flickr Commons) Lebanese women are famous for being beautiful. A few years back, when I told a taxi driver in Cairo […]
Wedding bells in Bethlehem – May 2015
May 2015My parents just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary. Thirty-four years – year after year, more beautiful, more enriching and more satisfying. Whilst we were all sharing their delicious anniversary cake, I sat marvelling at the work of God in their lives. I remember very clearly how they brought me and my brothers up to love God and walk in His […]
Embracing the cross – April 2015
April 2015“The people of the cross.” Remember this statement? In the words of ISIS, it was the crime of which 21 ex-patriate Christians in Libya were found guilty and worthy of beheading by ISIS a few months ago. As we approach Easter, I cannot help but once again think of those brave 21 whose faith and final cries, “Lord… Jesus Christ!” […]
The beauty of Lebanon – April 2015
I have lived in Lebanon for almost three years yet I still feel I am discovering new things every day. This morning I took a different route to church suggested by my friend and we drove by an ancient Roman aqueduct, built into the cliffs rising above Beirut centuries upon centuries ago. Only five minutes from my apartment and I […]
The ways of life and death – February 2015
February 2015“ISIS’s mission is to enforce the sovereignty of God. Christ’s mission was to enforce the sovereignty of God.” This shocking introduction to one of Dr Maher Samuel’s recent televised messages (see clip below) speaks volumes in the light of the recent regional developments and international comments. Dr Samuel went on to explain the vast contrast between the two, for while […]
One family and 100 years of crossing continents – February 2015
My family’s relationship with the tiny Mediterranean country of Lebanon is probably as long and as complicated as the history of the country itself, although our collective memories only stretch back a hundred or so years. In the early 1900s, a Lebanese man arrived at Ellis Island in the Upper New York Bay. Fleeing Ottoman Muslim persecution, Boutros Salim Aziz, […]
Bleak mid-winter – January 2015
January 2015A snow storm is coming, be cautious! Quick, get all the bread in the stores, purchase all the food you can and store everything for the next few days. It is the 7th of January 2015, and it seems that everyone started panicking having heard the news of the imminent snow storm. With no one coming or going, life all […]