Story Tellers: 「忍者兔」和「芽比兔」

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (白雪公主與七個小矮人), The Chinese Horoscope (十二生肖), The Grand Tiger (虎姑婆), The Little Mermaid (人魚公主) ...

The Wolf and the Seven Sheep (狼與七隻小羊), Little Red Riding Hood (小紅帽), The Ugly Duckling (醜小鴨), The Three Little Pigs (三隻小豬) ...

Pinocchio (小木偶), A fragrant Smell (賣香屁), Thumbelina (拇指姑娘), The Monkey King (孫悟空) ...

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (阿里巴巴與四十大盜), The Swan's Lake (天鵝湖), Cinderella (灰姑娘), Sleeping Beauty (睡美人) ...

The Little Match Girl (賣火柴的小女孩), The Emperor's New Clothes (國王的新衣), The Beggar Prince (乞丐王子), Alice in Wonder Land (愛麗絲夢遊仙境) ...

The Prince and the Swan (王子與天鵝), The Prince and the Frog (青蛙王子), Peter Pan (小飛俠), The Three Musketeers (三劍客) ...

And many, many other stories are equally interesting to adults like me, Mookoo Liang, and to little children like my grandchildren, Little Bee and Little Shine! -- I just believe that everybody is fond of such stories as mentioned above.

(Note: Jean bought two "story-tellers" for our grandchildren; 

she gave 芽比兔 to Little Bee and 忍者兔 to Little Shine!)

樹的醫生： Mr. Woodpecker

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「啄木鳥耶，奶奶！」
「是啊！你們看，那是樹的醫生 .........」

"Yes, it's a tree doctor. Look! He is busy working up there."
"And listen! ... Can you hear the music he is playing? ..."

咚咚咚，咚咚咚咚！........ 咚咚咚，咚咚咚----咚咚！............ 咚，咚，咚咚咚！

無花果樹的葉子 (Fig Leaves)

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Wuhuaguo shu shi Xibolai Shengjing (huo Jiuyue Shengjing) zhong suo tidao de di san zhong shu.  (Di yi zhong jiaozuo "Shengming Shu"; di er zhong shi "Fenbian Shan Er de Shu".) Yadang han Xiawa zai touchi-le jinguo zhihou, faxian tamen ziji quan-shen-ciluo (mei chuan yifu), jiu yong wuhuaguo shu de yezi bianzhi yiwu, zhebi shenti (Canyue Chuangshi Ji 3:7). 

Jintian wo zai Sheng Andelie Youeryuan (高雄市聖安德烈幼兒園) de tingyuan-bian kanjian penzai de yi zhu wuhuaguo shu, tade yezi xiang shouzhang yiyang (Canyue xialie zhaopian / see photos). Wo xiangqi-le Chuangshi Ji di 3 zhang di 7 jie de gushi, ye lianxiang dao Yeshu Jidu guanyu wuhuaguo shu de biyu (Canyue Matai Fuyin 24:32-35): 

³² 「你們可以從無花果樹學個道理。當無花果樹發芽長葉的時候，你們就知道夏天快來了。 ³³ 同樣，當你們看見這一切事發生時，就知道人子快來了，就在門口。 ³⁴ 我實在告訴你們，這個世代還沒有過去，這一切都要發生。 ³⁵ 天地都要過去，但我的話永遠長存。 (See Chinese Contemporary Bible; Matthew 24:32-25)

如今是神家裡的人

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(以弗所書 2:19-22 / Ephesians 2:19-22)

如今是神家裡的人

19 這樣，你們不再做外人和客旅，是與聖徒同國，是神家裡的人了。20 並且被建造在使徒和先知的根基上，有基督耶穌自己為房角石，21 各 [或作 全] 房靠他聯絡得合式，漸漸成為主的聖殿， 22 你們也靠他同被建造，成為神藉著聖靈居住的所在。 (Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation, Traditional)

19 從此，你們不再是外人或過客，你們與眾聖徒一樣是天國的子民，是上帝家裡的人了。 20 你們已被建立在眾使徒和先知們的基礎上，基督耶穌自己是房角石。 21 整座建築的各部分都靠祂巧妙地連接在一起，逐漸成為主的聖殿。 22 你們也靠著祂被建造在一起，成為上帝藉著聖靈居住的地方。 (Chinese Contemporary Bible)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (New International Version)

19 So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God's people and members of the family of God. 20 You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. 21 He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. 22 In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit. (Good News Translation)

19 You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. 20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. 21 Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. 22 And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live. (Contemporary English Version)

The Original and New Plans

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How to translate "人算不如天算" or "計畫趕不上變化" into English?

These two Chinese sentences mean almost the same, and it would be "no easy job" to find an equivalent saying in English.

A possible translation can be "Everything happens." -- or "Man proposes; God disposes." -- or, as someone has shared on the internet: "One never arranges enough to beat changes."

Oh, our original plans were that Jean's former student Jiayan Jiang (together with her daughter) was supposed to visit us at Wufeng yesterday (on Thursday) and that we would go with them to Sun Moon Lake for a relaxing trip today (on Friday). However, these plans had to be canceled.

My second grandson, a three-year-old boy, broke his collarbone on the evening of Wednesday while playing with his brother. So Jean and I came down to Qieding yesterday ... to see them and give them some help. Now, here in Qieding, we'll have to stay for a few days; at such a critical time, our new plan is to help our children by taking care of our grandchildren!

Note: Jean and I took a quick walk to the nearby seashore (see photos) while our grandchildren were taking a nap at noon, when our daughter-in-law was at home beside them.

《雨中即景》中文版

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原文請參閱： Walking in the Rain 《雨中即景》

《雨中即景》中文試譯如下：

在細雨中邊走邊聊
琴與我依舊喜歡織夢
誰說追求彩虹總是枉然？
藉由夢想進出過去和未來
我倆已將今日變得更精彩！

如今我倆擁有一項禮物：
就像心中的電影畫面那樣
雨天教人回想起諸般不同的日子
鮮明、生動，真實又浪漫！
無論什麼天候，我倆都會繼續向前走。

圖／文： Mookoo Liang

Congratulations to Craig M. Long

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Congratulations to our very good friend Craig Michael Long, who was baptized this morning -- on the first Sunday after Epiphany. (This is a special Sunday in our church; it's the Sunday we commemorate the Baptism of our Lord!)

How happy we were to see Craig receiving Holy Baptism! And, how excited we were to join with him who was committing himself to Christ and to renew our own baptismal covenant at the same time! ... May the Lord bless him and his family and all of us who are his good friends! Amen.