柳家梅園 (The Liu Family's Orchard of Plums)

#2014-0103

不經一番寒徹骨，焉得梅花撲鼻香？

The above proverb means "No pain, no gain." A literal translation from Chinese could be: "Without suffering through the extremely cold winter, how can plum trees produce their best fragrant blossom?

Jean and I want to improve ourselves both physically and spiritually. So we have now come to Liu Jia Mei Yuan, the plum orchard owned by the Liu family, located in Xinyi, Nantou County. (柳家梅園位於南投縣信義鄉牛稠坑。) You see, mei, a particular kind of plum tree called 梅 in Chinese, is a symbol of courage and steadfastness for us. And meihua is our "national flower." I think we can learn something significant from this kind of plum tree, mei (梅).

New Year's Resolutions

#2014-0101

Many people have their New Year's Resolutions at the beginning of a new year. When I asked myself what I would plan to do especially in 2014, I found it hard to give a good and "specific" answer.

Jean and I have thought of rebuilding our (or, more precisely, my) "lao jia" [= old house] in the village of Shuichangliu, in Guoxing, Nantou County. She and I are also praying for our family and friends, especially for my father, who is presently staying at Green Pine Nursing Home due to his poor physical condition; we hope that we'll be able to meet all our friends as well as our relatives more often in 2014.

And do I have something special to do as one of my particular "dreams" to make true in this new year? Oh, as an ordinary man at the age of 60, I seem to be much less ambitious than before. I wish I could really follow some principles as follows:

[Click and see the chart/diagram: "The 3-in-1 Philosophy of Life"]

Regarding Knowledge of Wisdom:
I'll make good use of my common sense. (善用常識)
I'll keep learning all my life. (終身學習)
I'll read and learn from the Bible. (讀經)

Regarding Sincerity with Love:
I'll understand and love myself. (律己)
I'll love and/or respect others. (益人)
I love and trust in the Lord. (榮神)

Regarding Fulfillment through Action:
I always have beautiful pictures in my heart. (常懷美夢)
I'll cherish the present. (把握現在)
I'll pray to the Lord. (祈求)

St. James' English Christmas Party, 2013

#2013-1228B

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

On the evening of Saturday, December 28, we had an English language service of Lessons and Carols at St. James, starting at 6:00 p.m. After the service we immediately moved from the Chapel to the 7th floor of Jiaoyu Lou (Building of Education) to start our Christmas party, which we had really looked forward to for months.

This Christmas party was much more enjoyable than I had expected. Jean and I had invited Sophia and her son (Jacky) to join us. Sophia is my youngest sister, 15 years junior to me. [I have three brothers and four sisters, all of whom are younger than I.] It made me very delighted and happy that Sophia and her son came and joined us in the "Christmas festival of lessons and music." --- Praise to the Lord! This evening I did feel that my heart was dancing all the time like a happy bird!