Bugs

We've had a lot of rain lately - typical for us for hurricane season - but with rain comes bugs. Bugs in droves. In various sections of our house are ants galore. Nasty! They are so small and in seconds there are millions. I had a dream last night that LD had food on himself from lunch and as i was cleaning up his high chair ready to grab him to wash his face and hands, i turned to pick him up and he was covered in ants. Yuck! The problem too is that bugs in the South don't discriminate - they don't care if your house is clean or dirty. They are usually either escaping the rain or looking for water. Roaches here are that way too. In the week after a big rain, it is almost guaranteed that a roach will appear. Usually, it's when you finally let down your guard and there will be one in the bathroom or on the bed. It's awful and if i have one major complaint against the South (the list is long!) it would be bugs. I know they have a purpose but really, i can take care of my own house, i really don't need their help.

Another thing bugging (pun intended) is the other day in a discussion on a yahoo group someone called me an extremist because i believe that prayer is required to get to heaven and that i said that you must pray five times a day to truly submit to Allah. I couldn't believe it. Because i pray five times a day i am an extremist. What the heck? It's written in the Qur'an a kazillion times that those that don't keep regular prayer will be the inhabitants of hell. I didn't write the book, i just use it as my guide and for that i'm an extremist. Amazing.

I look at prayer like this. I eat pretty healthy and i try to feed my family well. If i were to say that i believe eating healthy is good for you but don't do it what does that make me? A hypocrite right? Believing isn't enough. It's one thing to profess something, it's another to follow through. Following through is what prayer is. It's like insurance. If we don't pay our insurance, how do expect to be covered? There are five pillars in Islam. All are necessary to expect reward. It's really not that hard to do either. I just couldn't believe i was considered an extremist for believing what the Qur'an says.

Speaking of reading the Qur'an. I'm quite excited reading it lately. I have 6 surah's left for this round of reading. Six! I try to keep that kind of stuff to myself so that i don't sound bragging and because i think maybe there's more reward in what is kept private between Allah and I. It is He who i'm doing it for. And myself of course... but I'm so excited. It took a long time this reading because i read it straight through with the complete commentary and tafsir (by two people). The tafsir and commentary is usually longer than the verses. I just feel so happy to be finishing this go around. I was going to try and read the entire Qur'an over Ramadan but then i thought about it. What's the point in doing that if i'm not understanding 100% so i think i'll just do the same thing i'm doing now. Reread everything again and even if i don't finish, it'll be more beneficial. I also plan on listening to a lecture a day, learning 4 new surah's in arabic and in english and to give more in charity than i have in the past. Should be do-able, even with the LD wrecking havoc. :-)

What's your plan for Ramadan?