American Muslima Writer -Daring to Work Towards Jannah

Thank you very much whoever made this layout and exceeded their bandwidth... just messed up many of my blogs!!!! And I LOVED this template!!!! arG!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gotta find a new one NOW!

I have been staring at these pics for quite a long time on people's blogs for over a year now and some of them make me wonder...why did they choose that picture? I know most of us choose it for beauty or symbolism but some stump me truly... like this first one...

Faith in Writing, please tell me about this, why you chose this picture. I cannot even begin to understand hehehe.

Habayeb, I love this Picture but why do you feel this represents you and your blog?

Is there a category to choosing pictures? Lets look at a few I picked off of my Follower's List.

These are obviously religious but with nice style. Sacrifice4Allah, Najea, Minty... why did you all choose these for your pictures.

These two women are not Muslims yet feature such in the picture. Why did Suzie of Big Adventures (in Arabia) and Lisa A Journey Westward choose these pictures? What does it symbolise or convey about them?

Some make statements like MyHijab, and Hell Fire Furious Muslimah with their pictures. But why did you choose these pictures?

others like Muslimah2Muslimah and Ms.Unique feature their blog name right on their picture. Do you think this helps people to find them better? Why did you choose this way sisters?

Other brave women like Cecilia put their own picture to fully represent who they are. Sister why did you feel the need to put your own face instead of a symbol of who you are?

Why do others choose symbolism instead of their own faces?

What do these pictures mean to Ange and Always in the Kitchen? Is it a reflection of who they are inside?

Let me know why you chose your Display Picture Icon. Do you think it helps others to appreciate what you truly stand for or feel inside? Do certain DPI's catch your eye more than others? Did you make your Picture with that in mind to attract everyone to you?

I will go first and share with you mine.
This was my first one. I wanted to focus on my Alias name of AMW. Especially Writer. The Quill and ink I use to symbolize writing. But I write under the influence of Islam so I placed it IN the hijab. I am a Muslim and what i write about reflects that. American Is not portrayed thus I made a new one:
This one I like better. I clearly shows first that I am American with the symbolism of the flag. I am Muslim with the placement of the flag as hijab and niqab. But on the Actual Picture there is not a symbolism of writing but I feel that with seeing MY eyes it shows ME better than a representation of a writer. I AM a writer and by clicking on this picture under followers you will come across my blogs where I write. that is why I chose it.

The first one I did not think about how attracting it is but for the second one I did. I like how the whole thing is really eye catching, perhaps I'm playing favorites but I always notice it right away on other's blogs hehehe. I hope others do to and come to visit me.

So even if I didn't feature you directly in this post come tell me why you chose the picture you did... and LOL please don't say "cause it was pretty" Why was it pretty to YOU?

*UPDATE* AGAIN LET ME STRESS: I could not put everyone's display picture icon in this post but I DO want you ALL to post why you chose yours. We will see your picture next to your comment so everyone will see it there. So please don't think I don't want you to add to the discussion just because you didn't get your pic on here. I chose them completly randomly then compliled them into an order. No offense to anyone because I Do want to know about ALL of them. I see them everywhere so feel free to just add about your own.

I'm playing around with new stuff forgive the mess!

There were at least 8 sisters who WISHed for "something like this" and said "if only..." Yet not one sister has put a resolution. Did I waste a good two weeks setting it up when I could have been doing puzzles with my children? I really thought more sisters wanted to encourage each other in islamic things and encourage non-muslims to become Muslim by learning about Islam and seeing what struggles we all deal with.

So what is it? Is it the colors? The way I wrote the content? The lack of OTHER people commenting and making those brave few first ones feel more vulnerable? Was it a bad idea?
I really thought about removing it.... just scrapping the whole thing. But what if one sister is looking for this and needing this and I prempted her chance to better herself.... it would be a shame. Plus I dunno it encourages me just looking at the topics it reminds me why I'm Muslim, what I believe in, How much I wanna be better.

Should I be the one posting my resolutions first to encourage others? Is that it? Are we all just a bunch of cowards sitting nervously behind our PCs afraid to speak up about what we are struggling with?

Is it the publicness of it? Do ya'll want it to be private? But I wanted it open for men, women, kids, and non-muslims...... I doubt they could benefit if they have to go throughthe chore of e-mailing me to be let in....

Please let me know... I'm a bit discouraged...

Got a small complaint that I'm taking too long to add a Sister's Blog to ALL MUSLIMAH.
So let me tell you a little bit about how I manage that blog.

• First I either come across a blog on my own, through a sister's blog link, through e-mail, or on my large list (52 pages long) of blogs to add soon.
• I add them to the "to be added list".
• When I don't have any other pressing matters of Children, Husband, Cleaning, Praying, Organizing my Life so it's not Chaos, Expressing myself through my other Blogs, Commenting to all my beloved fellow sisters out there, THEN I can add a few blogs!
• I open my list of Blogs that I have added. Where I have also saved my automatic replies.
• I open the sister's blog that I'm adding, read through the first screen to make sure she's Muslim and a SHE. Also to get a feel of the Blogs content for categorising. Which takes a good 5-10 minutes.
• I then open my Blogger make sure I don't have any comments to publish. 1 minute.
• I open the Layout screen for ALL MUSLIMAH and have to think about a category for this sister. if I just don't' know I put her in the "you pick" category. 2 minutes.
• I have to type in her URL and her blog name. 1 minute.
• I have to save it and then copy it to my list of added blogs.
• I copy my automatic "you've been added to ALL MUSLIMAH" comment and comment on her blog making sure to add something nice about her current post. I don't usually like it when someone just goes HI THERE COME SEE THIS, and doesn't even say "nice post"... lol... so I try to make sure to comment with my Automatic reply. (which takes a good 3 minutes)
• Then I have to go to the e-mail they sent me if that is where i got it from and copy the automatic reply to that informing them of the category. (2 minutes)
• Then I check the main Blog ALL MUSLIMAH to make sure the link works. 1 minute.

Lol ok I've made my first real entry come check out the craziness!

Excerpt: "pull aside the curtain and reveal the "guest" is still in the shower and have a comedic scene of guest embarrassment"



My Calm Chaos!

I'm making a new picture for my sidebar but I really can't choose which one would look the best. So I though why not let me beloved readers choose! You can either use the poll above for anonymous choosing or use the comment to let me know. OR BOTH! Just let me know either way. You have until March 15th. Then I'm going to choose the one with the highest votes.

By the way I'm not nationalistic in any way nor do I believe America is better than any other country in the world. When choosing a name for my blog I wanted something that reflected who I am. i AM an American. i AM Muslim. i AM a writer. So the flag is just a fun thing not something I take wholly seriously. So please don't get all uppity about it lol. It's just a fun thing to do.

So without further blathering... I present you the choices: (numbered for easy reference)

Thanks for voting!

The beauty of the Blogs that I enjoy most is being able to write something that affects my emotions and sharing it with others instantaneously. Many times during my week I run into something and tell someone or say to myself "That's Bloggable!". Meaning I just had an interesting experience and I'm sure someone else in the world would find it interesting too.

For me personally I don't always get the time to write in my novels and I can't even have time to prepare to think about the characters and switch modes from real life to fantasy. But with blogs I can just stretch my writing brain, using words to describe something not newsworthy but still important to me. I also like the fact no matter what time of day it is you can see immediate responses because people all over the world are on at different times.

Without blogging I'm sure my brain would be down to three worded sentences that I use daily. No-no don't touch. Go get shoes. Gimme the spoon. You want num-num? I love you.

I really enjoy having a way to link to the world and discuss a myriad of topics that affect us all. Sometimes people post things that inform me or open my eyes to a different way of life. Mostly though I enjoy the posts that inspire me to better myself and my life and make me realize that not everything is always as difficult as it seems. These are the post I TOO aspire to write but again part of the fun of writing as I please is writing about whatever I please no matter the audience.

Some have commented before that I blog such an odd assortment but that just comes from suddenly me seeing or feeling something and saying "That's Bloggable!" So what inspires you to make a blog topic?

Well MY CALM CHAOS is where I will update (sporadically) about how to deal with ADD/ADHD, Chaos in the home and life, Home Management Notebooks, and general tips on how to streamline your life.
I will also be adding cool Islamic charts to help you with your life later on. I do use them myself :D

Brandy A. Chase is where I'll be typing my general thoughts and info on which I'll export from this blog. and maybe keep AMW for my writing thoughts. We'll see how it goes insha'Allah. I'm just trying to organize everything so I'll let you kow when it gets going.

Well be patient with me I DO have ADD and it will take me a long time to manage all the things that are juggling up in the air.

I also figured out the problems with Jummah Resolutions and Jennah Standards International Homeschooling and COMMENTING! ARG what a pain to do all that work and then the comments weren't working. i tested them and now they are fine so I hope that they will both be good resources to improving your and other's lives. So go on and let us know your resolutions now. (I'm still playing with a background for JR cause the font is too small i think.)

Be sure to check in on all my other blogs insha'Allah ONE will benefit you somehow.
XOXOX to all my dedicated readers and future readers.

Sisters with our pretend halos on our heads. We are not Angels though. We try and try to be oh so good but we all have our faults. Yet you would never know it looking over the blog world. Our blogs seem to be divided in two. Those who aren't afraid to tell their failings and those who are. Those who aren't tend to go after the tough questions in life in an attempt to better oneself and others but those who are afraid tend to ignore their failings under a banner of Privacy. I'm not saying everyone should blurt out their deepest darkest secrets or tell us all how many times they slept with their husband or whatever. But sometimes when we look at these squeaky clean blogs we need to realize there is a sister under that beautiful mask that is hiding pain.

haven't you seen those beautiful ballroom masks they wore in the days of Olde? They were so flawlessly beautiful and you could be anyone you wanted to be while you wore them. Yet under them you are a turmoil of emotions.
I will use myself as an example so no one thinks I'm pointing fingers.
I have now how many blogs!?!?! 5! Oh my! If a person who hasn't known me online for very long trips up onto my steps of words to visit me and says WOW how does she do it all? She's got this Directory and this AMW Blog! Oh and there's the new Jummah Resolutions! Later she's gonna do some good for Muslimah Authors and can you believe she does all this and still homeschools with a new blog, cooks and cleans, and irons and takes care of her husband.

Well don't believe it honey. Not for one minute. It is my beautiful glittery mask of perfection.
I have my issues. Lots of them. I have my pain. Deep Pain sometimes. I have my disorganized fritzy days where I'm staring at my blog page with glazed eyes then turn it off ignored. I try to make my first priority my kids. Then my husband's wants like a clean house and nicely cooked food. Then my kid's schooling, THEN it comes down to my free time. i break it up between my billions of projects.

I don't know why the past month or so I haven't felt like commenting to many people on this blog or on anyone else's blog. It's weird and i apologise. But recently I've been forcing myself to get out there again and mingle more and be more open again to meeting new bloggers. And it helps. The more I like talking to them the more I remember why I loved Blogging to begin with. Meeting awesome new people everyday. But as I jump blog to blog I'm realizing how careful we all are online not to expose ourselves too much in case someone tries to burn us online. Sometimes we try so hard and succeed that we look flat. As un-personable as those masks. Sure I love the "how-to-help-yourself" blogs that lead you step by step into a more organized and flowing life but on these blogs you don't see the real person deep under. you don't know their fears. You don't know why they shed their tears. They are flat blog people stuck in cyberspace.
Sometimes I'm constrained by my own limits on my blog It makes me want to scream. WHY CANT I BLOG ABOUT THAT!!! I wanna yell. Ahhh, because if you say that the blog world will take a collective gasp and burn you down the invisible hole. Also I constrain myself by what my family and friends read. Hubby says: Don't say this. Friends will say: She said WHAT! Etc... So sometimes I read bloggers who hide their identities and are free to say whatever they like and I envy them. they are free to take off the mask and show their real souls. Souls that tell a real tale. A tale that others like me flock to so that we can feel our Humanity.
What about you guys out there? Do you feel sometimes your blogs are too goody goody? or do you think you can add more depth without compromising your identity safety?

http://jummahresolutions.blogspot.com/

We all have need to improve our deen in Islam. We need to work hard to encourage each other and this is why after reading about a private group that S for Sadia is part of, and reading many people wishing and pinning to join them [which they can't because it wouldn't be private], that I decided it might be good idea to start something like their group but online.
I know that I myself need lots of encouragement and I can't always find that with my real life friends. Sometimes we feel too shy or nervous to admit we have a problem. So I'm offering this blog to help not only myself but other brothers and sisters out there who may find they need help.
Discouraging or hateful replies to anyone striving to have a Jummah Resolution will be deleted and if the same person continues to bother everyone they will be no longer accepted on this blog. It's not a place for politics and religious debate. Just for encouraging others.

Although I haven't completed all the post topics you're free to start placing comments on the subjects. (I still want to add quotes and texts, and pictures and such).
Most important is have fun and enjoy encouraging others! Any suggestions of topics or such please feel free to e-mail me americanmuslimawriter@gmail.com .
Salam to all.

[image not loading later then insha'Allah]


Inspired Muslimah & Shaalom 2 Salaam

Awarded me with the coolest Blogger Award.

Masha'Allah Thank you so much dearest sisters.

I want to nominate sooo many because every day I'm finding more and more awesome sister's blogs to add. These following 10 though are the ones I visit regularly and I think deserve this. Even if they have already gotten the award and gave out theirs :)

Marahm An awesome writer who give her time selflessly for others and masha'Allah always makes my thinker think.

A Learning Muslimah -Habayeb Not afraid to stand up for the rights of others and through her Learning she's teaching us. Can't wait to meet you insha'Allah next time I get to Dubai.

Aalia -Chasing Jannah Masha'Allah always brave to stand up to those who fight against islam and the way of the Prophet. I wish you wellness and greatness here in AbuDhabi dear Aalia.

Shaalom 2 Salaam SubhanAllah no matter where I go online I see kind and knowledgeable words from this sister to others. She's always helps me no matter my silly problems and masha'Allah I too want to be like her when I'm older. Plus she's an awesome moderater for the Islamic Writer's Group for Women.

Culture Shocked -L_Oman This woman always makes me laugh. I know when I go to her blog I can chill out and learn some new quirk about her or where she lives. She's very warm hearted masha'Allah.

Is there food on my Niqab? SubhanAllah I always learn something benefitial on her blogs. Everytime I'm eating in my niqab I'm thinking about her and her blog name lol. I find myself asking IS there food on MY niqab? Then I stare at it upside down until my eyes cross. LOL.

My Hijab I always love to see what's new with her and her cute kids. She always has some interesting tale about people harassing her about her hijab. I love these posts the best.

Tea Break Thoughts I really do feel like I've taken a break from life when i go here and chill out reading for a few moments. Sometimes I even wish I had made some tea and cookies. Plus I always see her active on commenting on other's blogs and the things she say are insightful.

Unique Muslimah Mostly I find myself nodding my head in agreement with what she says n her blog. I always feel like not only she is Unique but she reflects within myself what I feel is unique. She makes each of her readers feel special and unioque too. Every time I get so busy and I go through my bloglist and I smack my head "How could I have forgotten to check in on Unique! I love her blog!" *click*

iMuslimah Masha'Allah this sister really has no end to her talents. She always makes me feel closer to her and her family with whatever she writes about. I love reading her comments to others too whenever I blog hop.

Though I can only list ten I have to further nominte......

All sisters who are supporting *ALL MUSLIMAH* by e-mailing me about their blogs and putting the icon. And I support ALL MUSLIMAH BLOGGERS and I give each and every one of you sisters this award because you all deserve it, for letting your voices be heard and for letting your minds be opened. So if you havent recieved the award by name then you've now been nominated right here. Copy the picture and list your own favorite 10 bloggers with the coolest blog!

I was happy to see new names I'd never come across before in my "Followers" List. There are new Muslimahs I've never come across and it's always nice to see more people from around the world. I've found some very wonderful non-Muslim bloggers too who make me laugh and who I can relate with. But Sadly I've had to add my first block.


But because of a commenter who reads my blog who reminded me nicely of proper adab(manners) in speaking to others I really felt shameful and removed my words because I've seen many times blog wars and fights and thought myself why didn't they take it offline it looks so bad.
So now Lisa if you're reading this feel free to e-mail me at AmericanMuslimaWriter@gmail.com and I will reply to your comment you left me before.
If you refuse to e-mail me well then I remain my block. If we sort this out perhaps we can come to an understanding.

The comment which saved us both is:

Salaam alaikum,
I'm an avid follower of your blog and check in every day to read your new posts.
I don’t usually like to comment.
I'm am quite shocked at what you posted and asking myself why couldn’t this dispute have been discussed in private.
I understand that your upset with Lisa because she has chosen a different path [ AMW note: this is not the entire reason I blocked her ] but isn’t it our job as Muslim sisters to help her back on track and give her support and guidance.Some of the first thing I learnt when I reverted were;
• If I committed a sis to keep it between myself and Allah, not to share it with people
• Not to judge or humiliate people
• To be kind and compassionate with everyone
• Not to talk bad about anyone because I will take their sins and they will take my ajar.

Maybe I am wrong! Now everyone who reads your blog knows about Lisa’s choices.Can we call it cyber bullying? Are you just as bad as her? Islamically are you correct? Why do you want Lisa to remove you from her blog role? Aren’t you trying to spread Islam.
At the end of the day its not really my business and that’s why I don’t usually comment. You may think I have taken sides but these are the comments that came to mind at the time of reading your post.
I am not judging either of you but when discussing an argument you have to include all points – I cant even look at Lisas or Hijabees posts and comments because you have not included links or screen shots
You don’t have to answer to my comments or post them, they are something I was thinking about.
Yours Sincerely,Kadaya
I have posted anonymously because I don’t have blogger ID, let me know if you want my email or mobile number I would be more than happy to forward it to you.

Kadaya, Salam and thank you for reminding me of good adab. Though if you wanna get technical you should have e-mailed me this if you felt privacy was best between sisters with problems. I agree though and so thus the post has been changed. I didn't feel I should remove the whole thing but I edited so that my problem with her was not stated.
Salam and I'm happy to hear that someone reads me everyday heh I thought I was just talking to myself sometimes.