A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. We are in full "Ramadan is almost upon us" mode in my house. The kids are making all their grand plans for the Eid already lol and I've even found a couple of Eid outfits. However, as I have stressed to the kids, Eid is NOT the purpose of Ramadan. In my case, getting 4 kids dressed to the nines takes more than a little advance planning so I have gotten a head start. However I want us as a family to get the most out of Ramadan. Here's what we are going to do:
1. Make our list of goals. I made a list last year in this post; let's look back at it and see how I did (cringing already!)
a. Praying salaat as soon as it's called. Alhamdulillah, I made great progress!
b. Work on Arabic everyday. Negative. :-( I never work on it. OK goal not met.
c. Learn surat-ul-an nas. Negative. I learned no new surahs. :-( Goal not met.
d. Read English meaning of Qur'an in sync with taraweeh prayers. Needed more work.
e. Eat only halal zabiha meat. Woot-woot! Another win for team Jeanna!
Score: 2 out of 5 nailed, 1 with poor progress and 2 absolute losses. Wow I need to really step up my commitment this year. You know I did a revised list herewhich really was smarter considering my personal life last year. :-) Anyway I'll make a new list this year insha'allah soon. OK on with the rest of this post.
I told the kids to make their lists and we'll go over them tomorrow so we can come up with a plan. If they are too far-reaching they will get burnt out and make no progress. If they are too simple same thing so insha'allah we'll help guide them in their goals and how to best achieve them.
2. Make a schedule for attending taraweeh. My husband generally goes every night but it is best for all (not just women) to pray taraweeh at home. Maybe because you get to practice all the qur'an you know? However as most of us aren't hafiz qur'an we enjoy praying at the masjid so we can hear the entire Qur'an. You know, one of my shames is I have never listened to the whole Qur'an during Ramadhan. I usually help babysit half the nights but alhamdulillah now money does not dictate my schedule so insha'Allah I can participate more.
Sorry keep getting sidetracked. Back to the schedule. We will decide which nights we will all go as a family insha'allah. Also if we want to break fast there. Our masjid caters iftar for the whole community so sisters can concentrate on ibadah masha'allah. It's actually very nice and insha'allah I'll avail myself of that help often. Hmm maybe I should take a plate to make for Aaminah the next day so I don't have to cook just for her. :-)
3. I am toying with the idea of no electronics during Ramadhan but... big shame here... I really like being connected. I could say no movies, no tv but then what about me on my laptop? Even if I am not playing games, it still keeps me from ibadaat. Maybe no tv, video games or movies and I only use the laptop for email correspondance, bill paying, an blogs of a helpful nature? Hmmm need to discuss further with husband but I'll let ya'll know.
OK so it's becoming abundantly clear to me I can't finish this post til I talk to A about it. lol So let's just call this part of my tentative plan and then I'll update as things progress insha'allah.
Please if ya'll have some great ideas for family, ways to worship Allah swt together, share them! I am all ears and need the nasiha ya'll! And let's all remember the main goal of Ramadhan is to draw closer to Allah swt and increase our worship of Him.
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