A Spiritual Retreat Again (參加牧區議員退修會)

#2018-0317

Jean and I attended the Spiritual Retreat of St. James' Vestry again. The so-called muqu-yiyuan tuixiuhui (牧區議員退修會) started yesterday in the late afternoon, and ended this afternoon at about 5:00 p.m. This important annual retreat for the vestry and other "key members" of our church was once again held at Sheng'ai Shanzhuang (聖愛山莊, The Villa of Sacred Love) this year, 2018.

Many thanks to our rector, the Rev. Lily Chang; also to our rector emeritus, the Rev. Charles Chen! And what's more, we, including Jean and me, would like to give our thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ!

相關文章 / See also:

1)  寫於「退修會」後（七絕／三首）
2)  牧區議員退修會 (A Retreat at Dakeng)
3)  Another Retreat Held at "The Villa of Sacred Love"
4)  2014 退修會 -- Our Retreat at "The Villa of Sacred Love"

Note: The last photo is shared by Mr. Samuel Chen, our senior warden.

老兵不死

#2018-0311

本 (2018) 年度首次教友「領袖高峰會」(The Global Leadership Summit) 研習暨心得分享

主題：老兵不死

時間：三月十一日／大齋節第四主日
地點：台中聖雅各堂 教育樓 6F 會議室

看影片、聽講筆記：比爾 ● 海波斯 (Bill Hybels) 談領導（綱要如下，餘略）

1)  種下領導的種子
2)  在分歧與無禮的年代發揮領導力
3)  接班計畫
4)  給自己新挑戰

個人心得：

Gang kaishi, kanjian zhe ci yanxi de zhuti "Lao Bing Bu Si" (老兵不死), hai yiwei duoshao yu Maike-Ase (Douglas MacArthur) de mingyan ("Lao bing bu si, zhi shi diaoling!" -- Old soldiers never die; they only fade away) youguan. Qishi bu ran. Kan-le yingpian-zhong Bier-Haiposi (Bill Hybels) duiyu lingdao de xiangguan yiti kankan er tan (canyue shanglie zhi "gangyao"), women sihu dou "zaici-chongdian, chongxin-deli" (再次充電, 重新得力; recharge and renew the strength), yuanyi yi zhengmian de taidu, yonggan miandui weilai, gei ziji yixie youyiyide, xinde tiaozhan! (願意 ...... 給自己 ..... 有意義的, 新的挑戰！)

Before the Ending of the Day (適合睡前吟詠的詩歌)

#2018-0310

A quote from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, page 82 --- 以下取自英國聖公會所使用的 Common Worship 第 82 頁；該書第 81 至 87 頁是「寢前祈禱」An Order for Night Prayer (Compline):

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That you, with steadfast love, would keep
Your watch around us while we sleep.

From evil dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Tread underfoot our deadly foe
That we no sinful thought may know.

O Father, that we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ, your only Son;
And Holy Spirit, by whose breath
Our souls are raised to life from death.

=     =     =

The same hymn in traditional language, which is seen on page 90, in the above-mentioned Common Worship; 這是上述詩歌的傳統版，見於 Common Worship 第 90 頁，該書第 88 至 98 頁是「寢前祈禱」的傳統版 An Order for Night Prayer (Compline) in Traditional Language:

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world we pray,
That with thy wonted favour thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our eyes,
From nightly fears and fantasies;
Tread underfoot our ghostly foe,
That no pollution we may know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

=     =     =

週三讀書會：Coffee Hour at Lobsang Books

#2018-0307

今天，農曆過年後的某個星期三下午，我們「讀書會」【狗年】新春第一次聚會，地點在烏日區溪岸路 8 之 3 號「羅布森書蟲房」(Lobsang Books)。

對我和月琴來說，這應是第三次來到「羅布森 」。印象中，藏語 Lobsang 有「吉祥、平安、喜樂」之意，深具祝福的意涵。

第一次跟「四度Ｃ」的朋友來，第二次跟二妹、二妹婿、和三妹來，都已是 2015 年夏天的事了。......... 但就像前兩次來 Lobsang 一樣，這次來，內心也充滿了濃濃的幸福感。（感謝主！Praise the Lord.)

What a Joy!

#2018-0306B

Learn to use the word "joy":

Joy is a feeling of great happiness. (My friends and I shouted with joy.)

A joy is something or someone that makes you feel happy or gives you great pleasure. (I think you'll find it a joy to read ... What a joy! ... Just watching her move is a joy -- she's quick and energetic but also efficient and economical.)

If you get no joy, you do not have success or luck in achieving what you are trying to do. (British English, informal use! -- They expect no joy from the vote itself ...)

If you say that someone is jumping for joy, you mean that they are very pleased or happy about something. (He jumped for joy on being told the news.)

Someone or something that is your pride and joy is very important to you and makes you feel very happy. (The bike soon became his pride and joy.)

=     =     =

This evening my wife and I chatted happily with our friends for hours. And what I really want to say at this moment is this: Just as chatting with our old friends is a great joy, it is such a joy for us to take a close-up selfie (自拍) with an iPad (see the photo).

誰家的櫻花？

#2018-0306A

今年最燦爛的，是誰家的櫻花？

Ah, jinnian zui canlan de, jiujing shi shei jia de yinghua? (啊！今年最燦爛的 ......)

Wo zhidao; wo zhidao. (我知道 ----- )

Name, qing gaosu wo, jiujing shei jia de yinghua jinnian zui yaoyan? (那麼，請告訴我，誰家的 ..... 最耀眼？)

Wo zhidao, wo qinyan kanjian le. Shi hao you Lao Zhan jia de nake yinghua ...... (我知道，我親眼看見了。是好友 ......。)

(轉分享) An Unusual Way to Learn A, B, C ...

#2018-0305

Through LINE, I was shared with such an interesting film: Prince George learning A, B, C, D .... This film is not only interesting but also very meaningful to me, an ordinary Christian.

What an unusual way to learn the alphabet! I hope more people will see it and hear it!

And I'd like to jot down what he says/recites:

A -- "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find."
B -- "Be kind to one another."
C -- "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you."
D -- "Do no be anxious about anything."
E -- "Every good gift and perfect gift is from above."
F -- "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith."
G -- "God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble."
H -- "He alone is my rock and my salvation."
I -- "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
J -- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
K -- "Know that the Lord is God; it is he who made us."
L -- "Love the Lord our God with all your heart and all your soul."
M -- "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him."
N -- "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
O -- "O God you are my God; earnestly I seek you."
P -- "Praise the Lord, oh my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name."
Q -- "A quiet spirit is of great worth in God's sight."
R -- "Rejoice in the Lord always and say it again rejoice."
S -- "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne."
T -- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
U -- "Under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield."
V -- "Very truly I tell you: the one who believes has eternal life."
W -- "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
X -- "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Y -- "You are the light of the world."
Z -- "Zion hears and rejoices."

思念

#2018-0303

昨天是元宵節，俗稱「小過年」，代表農曆的新春假期已告一個段落。

明天是禮拜天，元宵節過後第一個星期日，我們遵循本地客家人的習俗，要到墓園去「掃墓」。

明兒一大早，我會跟三位弟弟前往先父的墓地，獻上我們的禮敬與思念。雖說我是基督徒-----家族中的「第一代基督徒」-----很清楚本身乃「新造之人」(Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come)，在教會中講究「敬祖」(紀念祖先) 而不是「祭祖」(祭拜祖先)，但身為「長兄」的我，明天的「家族掃墓」活動，還是不會缺席的。我將配合弟弟們約好的時間，親自到墓園去，與他們協同進行「追思先人／紀念先父」的盛事。

喔！主啊！求您教導我，如何用美善的心思意念，以合宜（妥貼）的方式，來表明我敬愛祖先（特別是懷念先父，他於 2015 年二月離世）的一種「飲水思源」的濃厚情感；求您用您的大能與慈愛，祝福我的生身之父，讓他在天之靈，擁有超乎想像的平安與喜樂。.......

天父上帝啊！我要如此告白：您洞察我的心，我的父親雖然離開我們三年了，但我對他的思念........