UCO Beirut Newsletter
January - February 2022
Reflection
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Happy New Year!
-Grace Khoury
New Year New ME, I want to take decisions! I want to be better! I want to take big steps! I want to change! Same chant every year, same train of none ending thoughts, but what about the decisions I took last year, what happened to those? Am doing something wrong?
Few years ago, I was in the household, and felt that I was drowning. My relationship with God was hardly there, I was barely passing in university, my friendships were at a bare minimum. And then it hit me! I am taking huge decisions and I am unable to sustain them. Huge decisions, that was the KEY; Huge decisions like I want to lose 10 Kilos, I want to read the whole Bible, I want to get full A’s this semester… Those were big ambitions that were hard to reach, and at the end of the year I would find myself back where I’d started. I’d look back and see that nothing had changed.
Then one day, I was watching a short video of a soldier who was saying that if we want to change our lives, we should start by doing our beds every morning. It hit me! A sense of conquering the first task every morning, of looking forward to the small things and overcoming them to feel accomplished.
Then and there I decided to start doing my bed every morning. This led to taking a 5-minute prayer time, that led to a prayer time and reading a small passage in the Bible every day, and after a year and a half I finished reading the whole bible for the first time. If I skipped a day, I would not give up because these were small decisions, and I can make up for the lost time as yesterday no longer holds immense burdens that I could not carry into today.
When I look back now, I realize that it is the small decisions that changed my life and made me who I am today. I started taking one small decision at a time, I started walking one step at a time with God. And after every step, I had a sense of success, confidence and faith in the Me of tomorrow!
Star of the Month
John Wesley
By Mario Chahrouri
John Wesley is a British theologian and evangelist who led a revival movement within the Anglican Church known as Methodism. It is based on a method of 4 elements: Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience.
Personal Sharings
Rita Murr
في مرّة، باجتماع صلاة، شجّعنونا بالآخر نفكّر بطريقة جدّيّة وبملئ حريتنا إذا بدنا نتبع يسوع المسيح ونسلمو كلّ حياتنا.
Rackel Dahdoud
Growing up, I was never really fond of the decision-making process unless I had ample time (which isn’t the case most of the time); turning thoughts into reality can be easier when the goal is identified and/or the instructions are set. Nevertheless, there are times in which a person cannot but plan the next step in life by deciding which option, out of many, to opt for.
Talents
Marc Dib
Blue Moon - Photo edit
We Recommend
Hello Reader!
During every edition, we’re going to recommend a book, article, movie, or anything that might help you get to know Christ better and to grow in faith!!
This time, we recommend… (by one of our editor’s favorite authors)
The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis
This book looks at the world through the eyes of the devil, who is writing to his nephew on how to be a better demon.
It’s like they say… “know your enemy,” right?
In every letter, Lewis tackles a different manner in which the devil might be working in our daily lives, and by knowing and being aware of these strategies, we would learn how to defeat them.
Even if you’re not an avid reader, you can finish the whole book in a month if you read 1 letter a day!
This book is satirical, entertaining, witty, and an excellent way to take a step closer to God.
Let us know if you’ve read it!
You can send a comment or review to: ucobeirutnewsletter@gmail.com
Game
Sudoku
Announcements
UCO Upcoming Events
Friday March 18: UCO Public Meeting
Monday March 28: Women’s Event & Men’s Event
Friday April 1: UCO Public Meeting
Thursday April 14-15: 24hr Prayer Time (UCO Lent Project)
The next newsletter is going to be about The Resurrection! So if you have something personal you would like to share, or if you would like to showcase a talent, send them in to: ucobeirutnewsletter@gmail.com
Meet the team
Rhea Fahd / Editor-in-Chief
Rackel Dahdouh / Resident Writer
Andrea Haddad / Graphic Designer
Contact
To participate in our upcoming newsletters,
you can reach out to us on our email: ucobeirutnewsletter@gmail.com
© 2022 UCO Beirut
