The Roundup: 06

A bingo, a new podcast, and lots of book.

The Roundup is my monthly column where I reflect on the month that passed and share some behind the scenes!

Remember summer bucket-lists?! I would intensely scroll on Pinterest to curate the most Phineas and Ferb summer adventures. It hyped me up and gave my summer structure. I wanted to do something of the sorts, cause adults can have fun too! Luckily, I found out my local library was hosting an adult summer reading club and signed up for it. The way it works, is there’s a bingo card with reading prompts such as read a book containing a map but also activity prompts like borrow a bird watching kit and explore a trail. I can draw to win prizes for completing activities and there’s a grand prize draw for achieving bingo. The bingo idea makes it so much more exciting and it inspired me to make a faith based bingo card of my own to share with you all!

Unfortunately, there aren’t any prizes at this time, but if you want a little challenge this summer, try out some of these ideas to get closer to Allah! I, myself, haven’t done all of these so I’m excited to try new things like salat-ul-tasbeeh, learning new salah dhikr, memorizing a qunoot dua, and researching a Muslim culture.

What would you like to try this summer?!

Books

In other news, I’ve read a few books the last couple months.

Of course, I heard all the internet rage on the attachment theory, but I wanted to read the book first hand anyway. I read Attached by Amir Levine which mostly revolved around the anxiously attached style. It did explore the other styles, like secure and avoidant, but in relation to anxiously attached individuals. I did like the actionable steps they provided and the stories to help us recognize attachment styles in relationships. Overall, it was pretty good, I enjoyed it!

I continued Tahereh Mafi's series: This Woven Kingdom, I read the second book this month and am currently reading the third. The tension is definitely high and I don’t know if it’s going to end the way I want it to.

Next, I read The Barakah Effect by Mohammed Faris which was my favourite read this month, Alhamdulillah. It was refreshing to read a self-help book that was more relatable and guided me to strive for my goals through Barakah culture as opposed to hustle culture. I liked the stories he shared about how others have experienced barakah in their lives, it’s so magical to see Allah’s plan unfolds and definitely increases my tawakkul.

Last but not least, I read Dr. Omar Suleiman’s book: Allah Loves. It was short and sweet with chapters dedicated to different things that Allah loves to help us embody those traits and become of those who are loved by Allah.

I would love to read more Islamic books, so if you’ve read any, please do share!!

Podcast

This month, I hit a jackpot with a new podcast. It’s not a science one, but something I’ve really needed. It’s called The Jefferson Fischer podcast and focuses on conflict resolution. He’s a lawyer and wants to help people “argue less so they can talk more”. I I struggle with conflict resolution and communicating my boundaries and approaching these areas always seemed daunting. His short episodes and simple actionable steps make it so much more approachable to become a better communicator, especially in conflict. I feel a lot more confident to have some tools in my arsenal and hope these will equip me to effectively navigate conflicts, Insha’Allah (I haven’t been tested yet 😅).

Substack

Finally, I’ve really been trying to embody this mind with any goals I have. Instead of feeling intimidated about getting to the finish line, I’m trying to focus on just spending a hour a day doing anything related to a goal.

An hour a day is all you need.

That’s all I have for this month, I hope you all enjoyed this reflection, as always, I’d love to know anything you have been up to as well!