家

星期天，一位姐妹問我甚麼時候回家。我不加思索就說，下午吧。原來她的意思是我何時回香港，但我的家現在是在美國。這幾天再想想這個問題，究竟我最渴望的家在哪裏？神的家，還是未來的天家？我的家在哪裏，我的心也會在那裏。

5 minutes singer

I am going to present this in Toastmaster some day but let me capture the points before I forgot.

The 3 important aspects of singing are Breathing, Pronunciation and Tone.

Breathing
1. Stretch your body and rib cage just like you warm up before exercise (I cannot illustrate here).
2. Breath in down to your stomach, not to your throat. Your throat must be relax or you will not sing in tune. You will feel your rib cage expanding on your back.
3. Sound is produced by splitting air. (Take a look at recorder or flute). Your soft palate serves this function. To learn direction air to the soft palate, try closing your lips with teeth not touching. Pronounce the sound "Hmm".
4. Your vocal chord vibrates but the sound resonance in your head through air flow. To keep the air flow and best resonance, keep your tongue forward touching your teeth and drop your jaw.

Pronunciation
1. Your lips and your tongue changes the pronunciation, not your throat.
2. You pronounce some words differently in singing. For example, Angel, Sing.
3. Pronounce the v sound in valley by bitting your lower lip.
4. The Wh sound in where should be pronounced as "Hware". The H sound starts the air flow for the word.
5. Be careful of the Th sound in Thy. It should never sounds like Die.
6. If the word starts with a vowel, you should add the consonant of the previous word. For example, Mary's (s)asleep.

Tone
1. Never tighten your throat or your will not sing the correct not. A tighten vocal chord gives you a different frequency of vibration.
2. Hear the note in your head before you sing it out. Do not try adjusting the tone
with your throat. Sing it correct the first time. If you know the note is out of tune, do not sing it. Do not settle for the wrong note.

Even though I can tell you how sing in 5 minutes, you have to practice on your own everyday to see improvements.

I stole the songs

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The Potter's Hand

Nice to see performance from a big choir. I am not sure if we can move our congregation in the same way. I hope my disobedient escaping will not affect the choir too much.

Not Judge, but Discern

Matthew 7 told us not to judge others in the very beginning. I have to confess that I habitually judging other. Last Sunday a brother was late for church and I immediately thought that he was getting up late. He actually got a flat tire on his car. I remind myself not to draw any conclusion without seeing the whole picture.

Jesus didn't ask us to close our eyes and block our ears and ignore what is going on outside. On the contrary, we have to discern what's right and what's wrong. With a lot of false teaching around, we must stand firm on what Bible says.

He Keeps Me Singing

We can praise our Lord when our lives are smooth. How can we keep on praising when we face an obstacle?

不住的歌唱
He Keeps Me Singing

　　這是一首活潑輕快的聖詩，很難令人推測作者寫作時的境遇。 羅馬書8:35-39「誰能使我們與基督的愛隔絕呢？難道是患難麼，是困苦麼，…靠著愛我們的主，在這一切的事上，已經得勝有餘了。 因為我深信無論是死，是生…是現在的事，是將來的事，是高處的，是低處的…都不能叫我們與 神的愛隔絕，這愛是在我們的主基督耶穌裏的。」
　　本詩的作者卜理杰（Luther B. Bridgers, 1884-1948）生於美國北卡羅來納州，他是衛理公會的牧師及佈道家，十七歲時就開始講道。他知道他的決志奉獻將使他與名利絕緣，且要不斷的走訪各地，和不停地面對各樣的挑戰與困境。 他甘願接受這樣的一個人生。 婚後，他和妻子經常過著拮据的生活，但伉儷情深，以基督為一家之主，同心事奉。 他們有三個可愛的孩子，是一個令人羡慕的快樂家庭。
　　1910年卜理杰應他城的邀請主領為期兩週的奮興會，他將妻兒安置在岳父母家。這是一次成功的奮興會，他也在會中時常提到妻兒的故事。 大會結束後，他急於與妻兒相聚，但不幸接獲噩耗，他岳父家失火，全家無一倖免。 當他趕回家時，他的親友都擔憂他如何面對這毀家之痛，有人擔心他會精神崩潰，有人想他會埋怨　神。 但他的信心沒有因這悲劇而動搖，反而安慰向他慰問的人。 葬禮後，在寂靜的寒夜裏，惟主相伴，他含淚寫下了這首生命中黑夜的詩歌，並譜上了優美動人的曲調。 雖然他不明白為什麼他會如此悲慘地失去他家人，但他並不責問　神。　神給他足夠的信心和力量，承受這一切，成為神僕的楷模。
　　1914年卜理杰續絃，妻子是一位音樂教師。 從此他專心佈道，在第一次大戰期間，曾赴蘇聯、比利時、捷克海外宣道。

雲上太陽

wúlùn shì zhùzài měilì de / dí / dì gāo shān huò shì tǎng wò zài yīn'àn de / dí / dì yōu gǔ
无论 是 住在 美丽 的 高 山 ， 或 是 躺 卧 在 阴暗 的 幽 谷 ；
dāng / dàng nǐ tái qǐtóu nǐ jiānghuì fāxiàn zhǔ yǐ wèi / wéi nǐ wǒ ér yùbèi
当 你 抬 起头 ， 你 将会 发现 ， 主 已 为 你 我 而 预备 。
yún shàng tàiyáng tā zǒng bú / bù gǎibiàn suīrán xiǎo yǔ sǎ zài liǎn shàng
云 上 太阳 ， 它 总 不 改变 ， 虽然 小 雨 洒 在 脸 上 ，
yún shàng tàiyáng tā zǒng bú / bù gǎibiàn hā tā bú / bù gǎibiàn
云 上 太阳 ， 它 总 不 改变 ， 哈 ！ 它 不 改变

深觸我心

shēn chù wǒ xīn
深 触 我 心
Yēsū chénrán dàn / dān dāng / dàng wǒmende yōuhuàn
耶稣 诚然 担 当 我们的 忧患
bēifù wǒmen tòngkǔ
背负 我们 痛苦
Yēsū wèi / wéi wǒmende guo / guò fàn shòuhài
耶稣 为 我们的 过 犯 受害
wèi / wéi wǒmende zuì niè yā shāng
为 我们的 罪 孽 压 伤
yīn nǐ shòu de / dí / dì xíngfá wǒmen dé / de píng'ān
因 袮 受 的 刑罚 我们 得 平安
yīn nǐ shòu de / dí / dì biān shāng wǒmen dé / de yīzhì
因 袮 受 的 鞭 伤 我们 得 医治
wánquán de / dí / dì yīzhì
完全 的 医治
gǎnxiè Yēsū wǒde jiù zhǔ
感谢 耶稣 　 我的 救 主
wǒ dé / de píng'ān wǒ dé / de yīzhì
我 得 平安 　 我 得 医治
wǒde Yēsū ài wǒde zhǔ
我的 耶稣 　 爱 我的 主
nǐ de / dí / dì ēn diǎn shēn chù wǒ xīn
袮 的 恩 典 深 触 我 心

尋找

有人尋找學習機會。
有人尋找工作、事業。
有人尋找自己的舞台。
有人尋找金錢、權力、地位。
有人尋找神，尋找造物主。
同一時間，神也在尋找你。
你今天在尋找甚麼？十月十三日我們來尋找答案。

怎樣作好的見證

我經常覺得很難在家人的面前作好的見證。
有不少在家中的事使我很困擾，例如我家的餐桌，最多只可以放一個大湯碗，其他地方都放滿了不知名的膠袋和紙袋。我趁在今天垃圾收集日把多餘的袋丟掉。
今天大清早，我姐姐問我把寫有「Thank You」的膠袋放到那裏，我把事實的全部說出。當她發現垃圾已被收了，她便開始大罵，問我為甚麼沒有問過她就丟掉她的膠袋，她只是未得閑收拾而已。
一連串的為甚麼我都無言以對，但是我還是不明白：
一、放在桌上多日的膠袋代表對你重要嗎？如果我覺得重要的，我一定會第一時間收好它。
二、得閑才會做的事是永遠不會做的，因為我們沒有真正得閑的時候，也代表那件事在你的優先次序是最低。
三、膠袋裏的幸運曲奇未有動過，難道你有真的看過這些膠袋嗎？
四、膠袋上有你的名字嗎？
每天回到家中，有一種不能形容的depression。你有沒有想過，家中一半以上的公用地方已經放滿了你的物品，在家中是沒有可能舒舒服服看電視或者是吃一頓飯。如果換轉是你，你會快樂嗎？
我真的無能為力，我沒有辦法做一個好管家。

Mary Did You Know

25 在耶路撒冷有一個人，名叫西面，這人公義虔誠，一向期待以色列的安慰者來到，又有聖靈在他身上。
26 聖靈啟示他，在死前必得見主所應許的基督，
27 他又受聖靈感動進了聖殿。那時，耶穌的父母抱著孩子進來，要按著律法的規矩為他行禮。
28 西面就把他接到手上，稱頌　神說：
29 “主啊，現在照你的話，釋放僕人平平安安地去吧！
30 因我的眼睛已經看見你的救恩，
31 就是你在萬民面前所預備的，
32 為要作外族人啟示的光，和你民以色列的榮耀。”
33 他父母因論到他的這些話而希奇。
34 西面給他們祝福，對他母親馬利亞說：“看哪！這孩子被立，要叫以色列中許多人跌倒，許多人興起，又要成為反對的目標，
35 （你自己的心也會被刀刺透，）這樣，許多人心中的意念就要被揭露出來。”
路加福音2:25-35

Choir Rules

If that is the rule for our choir, I have broken most of them.

必須認真學習，遵守指揮、負責人及職員會的指示，同心緊密合作。
練習或獻唱時不可喧嘩或私下傾談。
練習或獻唱時必須關掉傳呼機或手提電話。

Singing Class

Here are some exercise the teacher used.

1. Singing round with 4 groups.

Group 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 . . . . . .
Group 2:     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 . . . .
Group 3:         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 . .
Group 4:             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2. Singing chord

Group 1: 1
Group 2: 1 2 3
Group 3: 1 2 3 4 5
Group 4: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

3. Singing intervals

8 ( 7 6 5 4 ) 3
We muted for notes inside the bracket and see how accurate the interval is.

The teacher said any notes should start with the brain, not with the throat. She added that she can teach the singing skills in 15 minutes but it takes a life time to master it.

為死人受洗

摩門教有一項傳統，他們會為死人受洗。他們的根據是：

29 不然，那些為死人受洗的，是為了甚麼呢？如果死人根本不會復活，那麼為甚麼要為他們受洗呢？

從上文下理來看，我們應該如何解釋？

弟兄姐妹

為什麼我們會叫「弟兄」, 但又不叫「妹姐」?

聖言光明

Let's see what we can learn from other choir.

恐懼森林

人生就像踏上旅遊巴士

Like this blog: 人生就像踏上旅遊巴士

Receiving Holy Spirit Twice?

I was following the Bible Reading schedule and I found an interesting point on Holy Spirit. When did the disciples receive tht Holy Spirit? How different are the two "holy spirits"?

[So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."]
And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22)

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (Acts 2:4)

My early Christian mentor

http://sammycafe.blogsome.com/2007/06/19/my-early-christian-mentor/

Father's day questions

Someone curiously asked me: Why the group of the fathers preformed choir on Father's day? Should they be rest and enjoy other people singing to them? My answers, two points:

1. It shows fathers serves and entertains their families all times
2. The fathers are singing to the Father up above

Evolution vs. Creationism 2

Actually I finished the whole blog from the start. I have several hundred more words, putting together the arguments and examples. But my arguments could be a bit extreme which challenge some common understanding of the Bible. So, I decide not to post it. But anyway, my conclusion is to give some breathing room for the study of Evolution; let the scientist do their research. My opinion anyway.

Evolution vs. Creationism

I read this news, saying 25% of American believe both evolution & creationism. This news makes me think.

It seems to be an untold expectation for every Christian: if you believe in Bible, you must not believe in Evolution. The reason: Bible says very clearly all lives are created by God, but not evolved by themselves.

This seems to be a fair enough argument. As an engineer, I do see many faults in Evolution theory. One killer weakness: the theory can not be verified by experiment. So people can only derive the "fact", but can not 100% prove it. This does not up to the standard of any strict science.

On the other hand, I have a relatively rebel-thinking: it may be still a good idea to let people continue the study of Evolution, even though eventually it may be proved incorrect. Evolution is a study that helps so much in modern medical advance. It also helps to explain common relationship between animal and human, fulling people's curiosity. Even though its fundamental may be flawed, for engineering perspective, it works!

To be continued ...

聽歌學國語

我的心你要稱頌耶和華

我的心，你要稱頌耶和華，不可忘記祂的恩惠。
祂赦免你一切過犯罪孽，醫治你疾病復原。
我的心，你要稱頌耶和華，不可忘記祂的恩惠。
祂以仁愛慈悲為你冠冕，為受屈的人伸冤。
天離地有何等的高，祂的慈愛也可等的深，
東離西有多麼的遠，祂使我的過犯也離我多遠，
耶和華有憐憫的愛，且有豐盛無盡的恩典，
從亙古直到永遠，耶和華祂是我的神。

父親節獻詩

Now I understand why Felix uploads choir music in this blog, because it is my turn this time.

[1] <全能父上帝>
全能父上帝，晝夜掌管天地萬邦。
全能父上帝，晝夜掌管天地一切。
萬國也讚美主，光輝普照在世間；
我要敬拜祂，屈膝稱讚上帝恩。
要讓全地歡騰榮耀主，國度全屬祢。



[2] <祢真偉大. How Great Thou Art!>
主啊我神﹗我每逢舉目觀看，祢手所造一切奇妙大工；
看見星宿，又聽到隆隆雷聲，祢的大工，遍滿了宇宙中。
我靈歌唱，讚美救主我神：祢真偉大，何等偉大 (2)。
當我想到 神竟願差他兒子，降世捨命，我幾乎不領會；
主在十架，甘願背我的重擔，流血捨身，為要赦免我罪。
我靈歌唱，讚美救主我神：祢真偉大，何等偉大 (2)。



[3] <主凡事引導. All the Way My Saviour Leads Me>
救世主凡事引導我，我何需別有所求，
主愛憐我何用多疑，我一生蒙主眷佑，
我憑信在主裡安居，享天上平安喜樂，
我深知無論遇何事，主為我安排穩妥 (2)。



All songs are orignated from these references : [1] [2] [3]

He Lives

This is probably the first Christian Song I learnt (excluding Christmas songs). Our high school music teacher is a Christian. She shared her faith with the students even though we were not in a Christian school. I don't think I know her much but I still remember this song she taught.

He Lives

I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

Chorus
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

Church News

Two is not better than one

Can you think of a situation that two is worse than one?

After being told that my car had some weird burnt smell, I took my car for oil change this morning. As usual, the job was done in an hour. I was on my way back to work. Before entering the freeway, I noticed that the engine oil light was on. I immediately found my way to the nearest parking lot and parked my car. There was no engine oil left in the engine.

I did several things right at the moment.
1. I called a brother for advice.
2. I called the shop about the situation.
3. I insisted not driving the car back to the shop.
4. I prayed.

The technician from the shop came and he found two oil filter gaskets on the oil filter. It was because the old one was still attached to the engine. Oil was leaking from space between the gaskets. He removed that extra gasket and filled up the engine with oil. My car is on the road again. Hopefully I did not over stress my car.

Das Lied der Deutschen

That is, the song of Germany. I just know that we all learnt the melody.

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地球深度行--耶路撒冷

If you missed it on TV, here you go.

向世界出發‧蔡少芬‧以色列

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday passed quietly but the songs are still lingering in my mind. I really should have understand the lyrics deeply but time was quite limited. Here is one of the transition I did not catch.

Life of Praise.

Songs of hope shall fill the night.
Words of faith shall mark the day.
Hymns of joy shall lift my heart;
this, the life of praise.

Songs of hope will fill our nights.
Words of faith shall mark our days.
Hymns of joy will lift our hearts;
this, our life of praise.

Century Praise 世紀頌讚

We finally find a page with songs from Century Praise.
The index can be found in
http://www.christianstudy.com/century_praise.html

When Terminator met Jesus ...

4/1 Hymns

Christ Arose
Because He Lives

Hey, are you a Chirstian too?

In my new working environment, I find a couple co-workers may be Christian, based on the books and decoration in their offices. Sometimes I want to ask them: "Hey are you a Christian too?" But I hesitate to speak out because I am not sure if this is "office political correct"? Perhaps I am over sensitive.

CCCAC HKSTM

Nine

I participated a Bible game last week. Each team randomly picked a number from 1~12, then described a Bible story or term related to the number. My team picked "9". This was a tough one. For other numbers, I can quickly think of a story.

1. One God
2. Five loaves, two fish
3. Trinity
4. Four Gospel
5. Five loaves, two fish
6. 6-6-6
7. Seven day to finish the creation
8. Eight beatitudes from Jesus
9. ??
10. Ten Commandments
11. ??
12. Twelve disciples

Well, so I guess nine and eleven are a difficult ones. Any ideas?

Happy Birthday, CCCAC

The anniversary celebration came to an end. Suddenly I feel so relieved. I don't think I have taken up too much responsibilities but I am glad to be part of it. Although I am not in the church for long (compared to others), I will miss all of you. Hope I will be refreshed after the short break.

What is our stand on G.W.?

Just wonder, conservative Christians are "Religious Correct" to support traditional marriage and reject abortion. How about Global Warning? Do we have an unify stands on this? Should we support mandatory pollution control in the industry? This is a hot topic nowadays. Although this seems to be an economy question, personally I believe this is a moral issue as well. A delay of action could cost human lives silently on a daily basis. And a wrong decision could hurt our children for generations to come.

Reference: White House rejects mandatory CO2 caps

Garage Opener

Thank you for all your prayers. I did make it. My fingers are still with me and I didn't have any electric shock. I fixed the "black box" in the garage. I would never imagine that the white gear had worn out like that.


I am the one with little faith. I always asked myself if I should work on the opener or what tools I should buy. The worries lingered around me for a few days and now God sets me free. Special thanks to the handy man who helped me putting everything back in place.
"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's troubles is enough for today." Matthew 6:34, NLT

查經 彼得前書一章1-12

• 我們都是寄居的人。
• 聖父揀選，聖靈使我們成聖，聖子為我們贖罪。三為一體？
• 耶穌復活使我們有永生的盼望。
• 天上的基業是永存的。
• 試煉中的難過是暫時的，而不是試煉本身。
• 被試驗過的信心比精金更寶貴。
• 我們沒有見過耶穌，但我們信祂，愛祂。多馬？
• 靈魂得救是甚麼？
• 先知基督的靈和聖靈有甚麼分別？
• 天使為甚麼不能知道這些事？救恩？

Doomsday

I have heard this word in a span of one week. First someone worried our church will not be around 25 years later, because he thought as the world become worst and worst, Jesus is about time to come back. Then the doomsday clock move forward partly due to terrorism. And my friend in UK, who is not a Christian, really worries about global warming and believes the world is about to end.

While all of these are real concerns, we see doomsday precaution from time to time. And then comparing the world history of last two millennium , are we really in the lowest point globally and morally? Somehow I still feel optimistic. I am not saying that I don't welcome Jesus coming back though.

New Year Resolution

I asked God to teach me to be humble. It is not our strength or wisdom that God values most. Our wisdom is not comparable to His. He likes to use our weakness to teach us and to help others. Please don't allow Satan take control of our weakness and make us Satan's slaves. Let us explore our weakness and say no to temptation.