9/4/2026 Friday
Replaced the 2nd (upstairs) HVAC Compressor's capacitor (bought from Home Depot) today. The 2nd one is a smaller capacity unit, requiring only capacitor 35+5, instead of the first's 40+5.
Also bought some bead ball chains for 3 toilet flush flappers, replacing the old chains to prevent entanglement.
9/2/2026 Wednesday
Just watched Kate Beckinsale's 2025 Stolen Girl based on true story, on Amazon Prime. So I looked up the facts of this 1992 international kidnapping case by family:
🎬 Hollywood Fiction vs. 🔍 Real-Life Facts
| Feature | The Movie (Stolen Girl) | The Real Story (Maureen & Nadia) |
|---|---|---|
| Character Names | Maureen Danning & her daughter Amina | Maureen Dabbagh & her daughter Nadia Alexandra Dabbagh |
| The Kidnapping | Amina is snatched from an Ohio grocery store at age 6. | Nadia vanished during a court-approved custody swap at age 2½. |
| The Destination | Ex-husband Karim flees with the child to Beirut, Lebanon. | Ex-husband Hisham fled to his native country of Damascus, Syria. |
| The "Snatchback" Mission | Maureen teams up with an ex-Marine (Scott Eastwood) for a dangerous rescue operation in Beirut. | Maureen did meet former CIA director Bill Colby and attorney Mitch Rogovin, entering the shadowy "snatchback" industry. However, she did not pull off a tactical raid. |
| The Resolution | A thriller-style climax dealing with covert operations and the CIA. | A long, administrative and diplomatic legal battle. Maureen actually gained legal custody of Nadia through Syrian courts in 1996, though she couldn't physically bring her home until a mutual reunion in 2010. |
In real life, did Nadia's father also had no choice because of working for USA government as information or something similar, but to leave his wife?
No, that is completely false. In real life, Nadia's father, Mohamad Hisham Dabbagh, was not a US government informant, spy, or asset, nor was he forced by any government agency to leave his wife or flee the country. [1, 2]
The actual facts of his background and the motivation behind the abduction are well-documented:
- His Actual Profession: In the United States, Hisham Dabbagh worked entirely civilian jobs in healthcare. He met Maureen while working as a medical lab technician in Florida, where she was a nurse. [1]
- The Real Motivation: According to Maureen and court documentation, the breakdown of the marriage and the subsequent kidnapping stemmed from a severe culture clash and a custody dispute. Hisham wanted Maureen to adhere to a submissive role and had explicitly mentioned wanting an arranged marriage for Nadia with one of his cousins in Syria. When Maureen divorced him, he chose to illegally abduct 2-year-old Nadia to Saudi Arabia and later Syria to keep her from her mother. [1, 2]
- The Intelligence Connection Misconception: The reason "government informants" or "intelligence agencies" are heavily associated with this story is because Maureen had to navigate that world to find her daughter. Frustrated by the lack of help from standard law enforcement, Maureen partnered with former CIA Director Bill Colby and high-profile attorney Mitch Rogovin, entering an underground network of ex-spies and bounty hunters to track Hisham down. [1]
Hisham Dabbagh was a fugitive wanted by the FBI, Interpol, and the State Department for international parental kidnapping. He was never a forced government operative. [1, 2]
What a fascinating case. The real reason seems to be something I think is common: severe culture clash (the loser culture taking the illegal route).
8/30/2026 Sunday
I must say, since moving to Jersey, I've never been to a Independent fundamentalist Baptist church that I would love so much. Nadia was having headache due to recent stress from work and not in a good mood to go to Crossroads, probably due to anticipating J. Fischer's sermon which she likes least of all at Crossroads. So, I took the opportunity to check out churches I haven't been before. The Chinese churches are mostly starting at 10am, which I missed. So I remembered that I kept getting this flyers in our mails from a Garden State Baptist Church. Thought it was some modern charismatic leaning church, based on flyer design, if memory serves, 10:45am was the service time. I hoped on the Tesla and headed there rather excitingly. Apparently there was a Sunday School, led by some Filipino, seemed boring. Only a handful of older male listeners, I think the topic was on the Holy Spirit. Do they separate male and female classes? I don't know. But the lesson was boring. Teacher kept lecturing. Went past 10:45am service hour for a few minutes that I began to wonder what did I get myself into.
But patiently enough, it ended and more attendees are showing up for the real service. I was greeted by everyone. Nadine, the very skilled pianist, is a black young lady, also greeted me, then some younger black children followed her. So this is a rather diverse church. Quarter Blacks, quarter Asians, quarter Hispanics, quarter Whites.
They sang from "Bible Truth Hymns" Hymnal book. Plenty of hymns were sung (more than 10 I would say). And I loved it. Then Pastor Jim Gent preached the sermon. I also loved it. Here's the Granola summary of it:
Scripture Foundation: Witnesses and the Promise
- Luke 24:48-49: disciples called as witnesses, commanded to wait in Jerusalem for power from on high
- Acts 1:4-5: Jesus commands them not to depart until baptized with the Holy Ghost
- John 7:39: Holy Spirit “not yet given” until Jesus glorified, confirming the Spirit came in fullness at Pentecost
- Key principle: no one should witness for Christ until endued with power from the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit at Pentecost
- Acts 2:4: all filled with the Holy Ghost, began speaking in other tongues (languages)
- 15+ nations represented; every man heard in his own language
- Tongues = known human languages, not unintelligible speech
- Pentecostal missionaries who tested this in Japan/Korea failed; no repeat of the miracle
- The gift was a one-time sign of the Spirit’s arrival, not an ongoing practice
- Holy Spirit now permanently indwells believers (1 Cor. 6:19: body is the temple of the Holy Spirit)
- Prior to Pentecost, the Spirit could come and go; now he indwells permanently
Three Gifts the Holy Spirit Gives Witnesses
- Power (Acts 1:8)
- “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”
- Same Greek word as Ephesians 3:16: Paul prays believers be “strengthened with might by his Spirit”
- Power not for worldly success, but for faithfulness, even unto death (Stephen’s example)
- Utterance (Acts 2:4, 4:18-20, Ephesians 6:19)
- Utterance: ability to speak forth the word boldly
- Paul in prison asks Ephesians to pray for his utterance (Eph. 6:19)
- Peter and John told to stop preaching; replied “we cannot but speak” (Acts 4:20)
- Boldness (Acts 4:31)
- “They spake the word of God with boldness” after being filled with the Spirit
- Holy Spirit overcomes timidity; many Christians draw back from witnessing out of fear of judgment
Peter: From Denial to Boldness
- John 18:25-27: Peter denied Christ three times, even denying being in Gethsemane
- Gethsemane denial called “the ultimate of timidity”
- Repented and wept bitterly after Jesus looked at him
- ~50 days later at Pentecost: bold, powerful preacher; thousands respond
- First word of his sermon: “Repent”
- The difference: Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, indwelt, baptized, sealed
How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Today
- Ephesians 5:18: command to all believers, “Be filled with the Spirit”
- Two things that block the Spirit’s fullness:
- Grieving the Spirit (Eph. 4:30): sin in life, bitterness, wrong speech, unloving spirit
- Quenching the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19): ingratitude, unconfessed sin, throwing “water” on the Spirit
- Prayer is always associated with being filled
- Acts 1: disciples in continuous prayer before Pentecost
- 1 Thess. 5:17: “pray without ceasing” means being a disciplined person of prayer, not casual prayer
- Suggested daily prayer: “Lord, help me not to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit today”
Witnessing as Evidence of the Spirit
- Clearest evidence of being Spirit-filled: being a witness for Jesus Christ
- Acts 1-4: the Spirit’s work consistently produces witness, not tongues or spectacle
- Elvis Presley illustration: four Christian backup singers, sang in churches and revivals, yet never witnessed to him
- He died of a drug overdose; no one who claimed faith stepped up to help him
- “He never had a friend” who cared enough to speak truth
- Challenge: surveys show most Christians do not witness
- Biblical reason: not controlled by the Holy Spirit
- Unwitnessing Christian = evidence of grieved or quenched Spirit, sin unconfessed
- Holy Spirit mentioned 55 times in Acts; the book is fundamentally about the Spirit’s witness-producing work
If I got a chance, I would certainly visit this church again! They appear to have an Wednesday evening Bible study at 6:30pm.
I think the pastor's son is Jimmy Gent who pastors another Baptist church in NJ (Grace Church in Maplewood). His wife's name is Helen Dorothy Gent who passed in 2016.