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Wavy altocumulus clouds like fluffy cotton balls spreading out in the sky 高積雲像棉絮鋪在天空

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(中文在下半部分 Translation function available at the side bar)  altocumulus clouds in Hong Kong sky 香港的高積雲 Clouds like fluffy cotton balls In the afternoon of 11 Dec 2018, I witnessed an unforgettable scenery. Clouds, which were like fluffy cotton balls, were widely spread in wavy patterns across the sky in many areas.  Why are people commonly attracted to this kind of natural phenomenon? Maybe, human beings share impressions and feelings in common, e.g. white clouds in a blue sky, clouds with interesting patterns, etc.  Actually, abundant sunlight also plays a significant role. The functions of sunlight are not just giving warmth, photosynthesis, and giving colors to this world. Sunlight in fact affects human beings both physically and psychologically, e.g. to regulate the biological clock in our brain and to make us feel happy and activated. A researcher has even pointed out that outdoor sunlight could delay our aging process! How amazing is sunlight, with so many functi...

試煉中何以大喜樂?─《如何面對人生困境》讀書札記

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早前讀到一段經文,甚難明白和覺得矛盾: 『我的弟兄們!你們落在百般試煉中,都要以為大喜樂』 (雅各書一章2節,中文和合本聖經)。最難明白的,當然是如何能夠「在百般試煉中」,「以為大喜樂」吧! 這句的下理是: 『因為知道你們的信心經過試驗,就生忍耐。 但忍耐也當成功,使你們成全完備,毫無缺欠。』 (雅各書一章3-4節) 在百般試煉中,要有喜樂之心,似乎遺反人的自然反應吧?誰會因為試煉而喜樂呢?試煉大多是令人感到困難甚至痛苦的,何來喜樂?喜樂究竟基於甚麼? 近期看一本小書 ' When the Going Gets Tough',竟然也解釋這點,使我明白。上網搜尋,見有中文譯本《如何面對人生困境》,將英文版的大部分內容譯出。 作者 Joe Stowell是 慕迪神學院 的院長。這研經用的小書,內容取自他的著作 'The Upside of Down' 《柳暗花明》。 在引言 (英文印刷版p.6-9) 中,Stowell指出:使徒 雅各 用了試煉 (trials) 這詞去解釋人應該如何理解患難 (trouble)。他又指出試煉 (trials) 的意思,是一種檢驗(test),是為特定的目的而顯明某些事;雖然我們可能覺得試煉令我們感到失望、氣餒、羞辱、痛苦,甚或心碎,但以神的眼光去看,試煉的其中一個原因,是反映我們的真我,令我們知所改進及成長  ─  在患難中,真我老我很快「原形畢露」。患難是神用以檢驗我們生命狀況的其中一種方法。 Stowell提出人生至少有7種患難或試煉(The trials of life),或者是試煉的原因: 1.      Trials of place and race 人類與世界的試煉 (因為人的罪性及世界的不完全或問題) 2.      Trials of temptation 試探的試煉 3.      Trials of identification 身分的試煉 4.      Trials of discipline 管教的試煉 5.   ...