Angusium World

How are the movies of our lives going?

landlord — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:48:24 +0000

How are the movies of our lives going?

Do we need to make any script changes on money, health, or relationships?

Is there any editing that we want to do?

Today is the day to make any changes to our movies that we want, because today’s changes will be screening tomorrow.

We are creating the movies of our lives and they are in our hands — every single day.

二代牧養：家庭是孩子們信仰傳承的基石

landlord — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:15:29 +0000

正當華人教會為第二代牧養大傷腦筋之際，為人父母除了辛勤供養子女，「望子成龍、望女成鳳」的心態更是每位父母的心聲。而對於基督徒父母，或教會長執、牧長等，更重要的是如何讓下一代傳承他（她）們的信仰，乃至為基督教會所摆上，這都是每個基督徒所心切面對的問題。

在《傳揚雜誌》二月號中，特別以「信仰的傳承」為題，透過系列的人物故事，以回顧和反省、檢討來道出上帝在家庭中、教會中的祝福。正如《傳揚》編者林信良所言：「你的存在就是孩子們信仰傳承的基石。」

在《美好的家庭祭壇》一文中引述了一項巴納調查「養育屬靈得勝者」的統計，發現「85%的基督徒父母承認自己應負起子女靈性教育的責任，然而三分之二的人卻拱手將這項責任交給教會」，而當中週間會與子女一起讀經、禱告或參與家庭服事的更是少之又少，而在這些教會的新生代當中，「70%上大學的第一年後就離開信仰」。

產生危機的兩個關鍵因素
這樣危機不僅威脅到北美華人教會的未來，而逐漸在各地海外華人教會出現。從中華福音神學院北美分校專任老師佘亞弘的撰文《世代間信仰傳承的再思》中，佘老師剖析了形成這個現象兩個成因：

一、「托嬰心態」的迷思
佘老師認為教會在整體事工中未能顧及到下一代的信仰傳承上，他稱為「托嬰心態的事工模式」，誤以為設定好節目、把孩子帶去教會接受各種的訓練，信仰傳承應該就會「自動」達成，而這種心態正好符合巴納調查的結果。

此外，父母倘若忽略了孩子們也是追求信仰的「主角」時，自然沒有提供他們足夠的空間，更遑論在信仰上的發展與成全。因此，一旦「他們離家上大學，在沒有『屬靈褓姆』的狀況下，信仰也隨之畫上句點，這是许多在教會長大孩子的寫照」。

二、忽略對子女屬靈引導的責任
许多愛主的信徒熱心於教會的事奉、工作中，但卻忽略了自身也是子女屬靈的榜樣。佘老師認為，父母若「沒有花時間精力，透過身教言教，帶領兒女經歷神，讓信仰能成為兒女『自己』的信仰」，那他們就是在信仰傳承上沒有盡責。

神的救贖計劃從家庭開始
许多父母都願意把孩子送到較好的學區，無可否認，孩子們整天與父母生活在一起，信仰在父母身上是怎樣的一回事，孩子的信仰也就如此；而劉昭瀛、孫台芳夫婦在《信仰的傳承》文中表示：「孩子們知道父母有许多不足之處，但他們親身體驗到這位神真好，值得他們把年輕的生命獻上。」關鍵在於如何從小培養他們與上帝的親密關係。

同樣在養育過程中，會發現「知識傳授還比較容易，但生命的塑造最為困難。」陳鳳翔在文中亦叮嚀许多父母常有「把自己當上帝」的錯誤。其實每位父母與孩子都一樣，都需要救主，「連我們自己都無法令自己百分百良善，怎會天真的以為孩子可以被我們教導成為百分百的完人？」但是，不能以此為借口輕忽所要摆上的養育天職。

在孩子成長過程中，不免會受到試探與罪惡的捆綁，但陳鳳翔認為，只要「靠著耶穌，並分享自己也曾跟他們一樣，但如何靠著耶穌，生命逐漸長大成熟」，最終「基督教家庭就是這樣靠著上帝，摸索掙扎前進，信仰就能一點一滴傳遞給孩子。」

家庭祭壇：讓耶穌基督在家中作主
教會需要門徒訓練，而家庭更需要門徒訓練。受到社會多元價值觀的沖擊，夫妻和親子充滿著緊張關係，翁瑞瑛在《美好的家庭祭壇》文中一語道破箇中的迷思，「基督徒父母建立家庭祭壇，讓耶穌基督在家中作主，改善家庭氛圍和關係，是回歸復興家庭和傳承信仰的最重要途徑。」

翁瑞瑛認為踏出塑造新一代門徒的第一步，就是「讓孩子看見你如何活出信仰；和孩子分享你為了以神為中心所做的努力；你不需要完美，只要試著分享。」這也是作為基督徒父母最重要的工作──給予子女屬靈的教導。

家庭祭壇不僅是父母必須提供的一個生活環節，翁瑞瑛繼言「家庭祭壇是全家人相愛、醫治、赦免和接納的地方。」

最後，面對華人教會世代間信仰傳承的危機，佘亞弘總結出傳承的關鍵：「在於教會與家庭中主要領袖的視野與心態是否正確。」從更新視野與心態開始，實踐出神在人類社會設立家庭的心意，並「在兩代人一起的努力之下，得見神的榮耀彰顯，神手中的傑作完成。」

Kindness

landlord — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:43:37 +0000

Kindness in words creates confidence.

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love.

LAO TZU ( ~ 4th century BC)

Kindness is in YOU AND ME!!

I Promise Myself

landlord — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:00:12 +0000

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet.

To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

Christian D Larson

詩 Psalms 127: 1-2

landlord — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:25:09 +0000

若不是耶和華建造房屋，建造的人就枉然勞力；

若不是耶和華看守城池，看守的人就枉然警醒。

你們清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃勞碌得來的飯，本是枉然；

惟有耶和華所親愛的，必叫他安然睡覺。

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat –

for he grants sleep to those he loves

尋找媽媽的味道

landlord — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:36:27 +0000

媽媽巳經離開了我已經半年多，身邊的人和事都改變了。媽媽離開後，我們五姊弟每月都會聚餐一次。最初的幾個月，我們還會談到媽媽生前的種種事；媽媽如何愛我們，留下給我們很多美好的回憶。但是，最近我們見面的時候，談及的都是各人自己的事，已經沒有再提及媽媽了。隨著時間流逝，回憶會被沖淡，這是人知常情。不過，我嘆息的是，我們對媽媽的思念真是如此短暫嗎？我的心不禁有一種突如其來的失落感。

媽媽離開後，我開始要自己煮食。每天站在同一間廚房煮食…一間長時間媽媽活動和閒人免進的禁地…現在我終於可以看清它的神秘面紗後的真面目，但是媽媽的魔法已經不在，所有烹調出來的食物都好像失了味一樣。魔法消失了！！我惱恨自己沒有好好的記下媽媽生前教過的烹調心法，現在後悔已經太遲了。

這段時間我不斷向身邊的人，包括家姐，哥哥，嫂嫂，及認識媽媽的朋友，問他們媽媽有否教授過她的烹調心法。靠住零零碎碎的資料，我勉強可以將媽媽的番茄湯、豬肉煲等，弄得有點像樣，但是還是失去了一些媽媽的味道。上星期六，我邀請了太太的哥哥來我家晚飯，我特意買了幾只蟹做菜，我打算做「薑蔥炒蟹」，這是媽媽的獨門名菜，亦是我的最愛。我打電話給我的家姐及二哥問了他們是否知道媽媽這道菜的秘密，終於家姐回覆我，媽媽陳經告訴過她這道菜的做法。

當晚，我站在同一間廚房，用著媽媽留下的廚具，我做了這道媽媽的獨門名菜。當我第一口咬下去的時候，我的眼淚禁不住流了下來…我終於找到了妳…妳的味道了！！

媽媽…我好掛住妳呀！…我好想當面同妳講：「我其實好愛妳呀！妳知道嗎？」

Never argue with an idiot

landlord — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:54:12 +0000

Never argue with an idiot: They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

What happens in Heaven?

landlord — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:58:19 +0000

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, ‘This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.’

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, ‘This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them. ‘I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. ‘This is the Acknowledgment Section,’ my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed ‘How is it that there is no work going on here?’ I asked.

‘So sad,’ the angel sighed. ‘After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments .’ ’How does one acknowledge God’s blessings?’ I asked.

‘Simple,’ the angel answered. Just say, ‘Thank you, Lord.’

‘What blessings should they acknowledge?’ I asked.

‘If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.’

‘And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.’

‘If you woke up this morning with more health than illness … you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day .’

‘If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation … you are ahead of 700 million people in the world.’

’If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world .’

‘If your parents are still alive and still married …you are very rare .’

‘If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you’re unique to all those in doubt and despair.’

Ok, what now? How can I start?
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

ATTENTION:

Acknowledge Dept.: ‘Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with.’

If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been blessed with, how can you not send it on???? I thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends!!

How to make friends and influence people (by Dale Carnegie)

landlord — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:07:22 +0000

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six ways to make people like you

Become genuinely interested in other people.

Smile.

Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.

Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Win people to your way of thinking

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”

If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

Begin in a friendly way.

Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.

Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.

Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.

Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.

Appeal to the nobler motives.

Dramatize your ideas.

Throw down a challenge.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

A leader’s job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

Begin with praise and honest appreciation.

Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.

Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

Let the other person save face.

Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”

Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.

Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.

Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

一個故事

landlord — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:24:09 +0000

有一個人在森林中漫遊的時候，突然遇見了一隻飢餓的老虎，老虎大吼一聲就撲了上來。他立刻用生平最大的力氣和最快的速度逃開，但是老虎緊追不捨，他一直跑一直跑一直跑，最後被老虎逼入了斷崖邊上。站在懸崖邊上，他想：「與其被老虎捉到，活活被咬、肢解，還不如跳入懸崖，說不定還有一線生機。」他縱身跳入懸崖，非常幸運的卡在一棵樹上，那是長在斷崖邊的梅樹，樹上結滿了梅子。
正在慶幸的時候，他聽到斷崖深處傳來巨大的吼聲，往崖底望去，原來有一只兇猛的獅子正抬頭看著他，獅子的聲音使他心顫，但轉念一想：「獅子與老虎是相同的猛獸，被甚麼吃掉，都是一樣的。」
當他一放下心，又聽見了一陣聲音，仔細一看，一黑一白的兩隻老鼠，正用力地咬著梅樹的樹幹。他先是一陣驚慌，立刻又放心了，他想：「被老鼠咬斷樹幹跌死，總比被獅子咬好。」
情緒平復下來後，他感到肚子有點餓，看到梅子長得正好，就採了一些吃起來。他覺得一輩子從沒吃過那麼好吃的梅子，找到一個三角形樹丫休息，他想著：「既然遲早都要死，不如在死前好好睡上一覺吧！」他在樹上沉沉的睡去了。睡醒之後，他發現黑白老鼠不見了，老虎、獅子也不見了。他順著樹枝，小心翼翼的攀上懸崖，終於脫離險境。
原來就在他睡著的時候，飢餓的老虎按捺不住，終於大吼一聲，跳下懸崖。黑白老鼠聽到老虎的吼聲，驚慌逃走了。跳下懸崖的老虎與崖下的獅子展開激烈的打鬥，雙雙負傷逃走了。

由我們誕生那一刻開始，苦難．就像飢餓的老虎一直追趕著我們，死亡，就像一頭兇猛的獅子，一直在懸崖的盡頭等待，白天和黑夜的交替，就像黑白老鼠，不停地正用力咬著我們暫時棲身的生活之樹，總有一天我們會落入獅子的口中。
既然知道了生命中最壞的情景是死亡，唯一的路，就是安然地享受樹上甜美的果子，然後安心地睡覺，只有存著這樣單純的心、少慾望、多一點赤子之心。
最近常常聽到朋友的親友去世的消息，除了安慰了幾句外好像什麼都不能做了。恐怕有一天自己亦會成為別人口中的壞消息。所以你們有沒有好好的享受你在世上的每一分每一秒 ?
如果剛才你和家人或是同事為了芝麻綠豆的事鬧翻了，現在頭頂還在生煙的話，請你看看那晴朗的天空和那飄渺的白雲，其實你又錯過了美好的一天呀 !
有些朋友雖然不常聯絡，卻偶爾寄個 E-mail 、也許是一些笑話、溫馨小品，或是小遊戲給你，這表示他一直在關心著你，他將你放在心裡，也珍惜彼此的友誼。因此，要時時心存好意！腳走好路！身行好事，惜緣種福 …… 。
願所有收到這封信的朋友都能平安．健康．幸福．