『換個積極的角度去看、去想，一切都會更美好』

有時候我們都會有一個mind set：

一件事情的發生一定和“因果”有關——因為某人這樣這樣，所以事情才那樣那樣。

或許，當我們在表面看的時候，可以說『的確如此』。但，這是我們『俗世』的眼光，在上帝的眼裡並非如此『表面』。

回想你過往所『發生的事』，如今帶給你怎樣的影響呢？消極的度過你現在的日子；還是感恩那些事情的發生，讓你現在處事更成熟、更成長、更加信靠上帝呢？如果以『現在的你』站在『當時的你』的立場來看回這些事，你的想法還會一樣嗎？=)

一個普通的風景，

若以不同的角度、

正確的眼光以及正確的態度欣賞；

風景，不再是一個，

而是許多『美麗的風景』！

願大家都用積極的角度來面對現在、未來！=)

拍攝地點：KTF, UTM, Skudai, Johor

後記：
有些人把KTF當著一個普通的女生宿舍，我卻把它當成一個練習攝影的地點。當你留心去尋找角度拍攝的時候，你會發現——上帝創造的一切都是美好的！=)

雨。

10 Reasons to Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering

1. Suffering Comes with the Freedom to Choose

Loving parents long to protect their children from unnecessary pain. But wise parents know the danger of overprotection. They know that the freedom to choose is at the heart of what it means to be human, and that a world without choice would be worse than a world without pain. Worse yet would be a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without feeling any pain. No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others (Genesis 2:15-17).

2. Pain Can Warn Us of Danger

We hate pain, especially in those we love. Yet without discomfort, the sick wouldn't go to a doctor. Worn-out bodies would get no rest. Criminals wouldn't fear the law. Children would laugh at correction. Without pangs of conscience, the daily dissatisfaction of boredom, or the empty longing for significance, people who are made to find satisfaction in an eternal Father would settle for far less. The example of Solomon, lured by pleasure and taught by his pain, shows us that even the wisest among us tend to drift from good and from God until arrested by the resulting pain of their own short-sighted choices (Ecclesiastes 1-12; Psalm 78:34-35; Romans 3:10-18).

3. Suffering Reveals What is in Our Heart

Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts. Strength and weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character. As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstances. Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence of human pain and suffering (Job 42; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1 Peter 1:6-8).

4. Suffering Takes Us to the Edge of Eternity

If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn't fair. But if the end of this life brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those who discover, through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for. They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to the Lord of eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending joy why Jesus said, "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs" (Matthew 5:3; Romans 8:18-19).

5. Pain Loosens Our Grip on This Life

In time, our work and our opinions are sought less and less. Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear. Gradually they succumb to inevitable obsolescence. Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day, then the curse of old age is also a blessing. Each new pain makes this world less inviting and the next life more appealing. In its own way, pain paves the way for a graceful departure (Ecclesiastes 12:1-14).

6. Suffering Gives Opportunity to Trust God

The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job. According to the Bible, Job lost his family to "a mighty wind," his wealth to war and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged Job's motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologies for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God. Instead, God talked about the wonders of the heavens, the marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was reason to trust that same God in times of suffering (Job 1-42).

7. God Suffers with Us in Our Suffering

No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world. No one fas so continuously grieved over the pain of a race gone bad. No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sin in the crucified body of His own Son. No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched our His arms and died, showed us how much He loved us. It is this God who, in drawing us to Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering and when our own loved ones cry out in out presence (1 Peter 2:21, 3:18, 4:1).

8. God's Comfort is Greater than Our Suffering

The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away an unidentified source of suffering. But the Lord declined saying, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weaknesses." In response, Paul said, "I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Paul learned that he would rather be with Christ in suffering than without Christ in good health and pleasant circumstances.

9. In Times of Crisis, We Find One Another

No one would choose pain and suffering. But when there is no choice, there remains some consolation. Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of bringing us together. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, illnesses, and accidents all have a way of bringing us to our senses. Suddenly we remember our own mortality and that people are more important than things. We remember that we do need one another and that, above all, we need God. Each time we discover God's comfort in our own suffering, our capacity to help others is increased (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

10. God Can Turn Suffering Around for Our Good

Through Job's suffering we see a man who not only came to a deeper understanding of God but who also became a source of encouragement for people in every generation to follow. Through the rejection, betrayal, enslavement, and wrongful imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone who eventually was able to say to those who had hurt him, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good" (Genesis 50:20). When everything in us screams at the heavens for allowing suffering, we have reason to look at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" (Matthew 27:46).

Adapted from 10 Reasons To Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering (c) 2011 RBC Ministries. Read more at http://discoveryseries.org/ten-reasons/

每天讚美一個人

雖然我們家是個典型的小康家庭，但我的父親卻『給』了我很多東西。我很喜歡他講話的方式，且覺得非常值得我學習。舉例來說，如果他看到我有什麼不夠好的地方，他會先說：『以諾，你A的部分做得不錯，不過很可惜，你B的部分有些缺點。』接著，他會用一種帶著興奮的的口吻對我說：『如果你能夠把B的部分也作些改進，你的未來將會無可限量呢！』

其實，他的重點是要批評我不好的地方，但他一定會順便先讚美我表現好的部分，這當中沒有命令句，也沒有說教式用詞，讓我不會產生排斥感。所以，從小到大，即便是在最易叛逆的青春期，父親對我的批評與教誨，我幾乎都是『照單全收』，不會有任何的反抗，並很樂意朝他所欲引導的正面方向去努力改進，所以我說：父親成功地『給』了我很多東西，成功地給了我很多他想要我學習的事物。

他就是一個這麼懂得用鼓勵來建造別人的人，甚至有時我們全家上館子吃飯，如果菜燒得不錯，他一定會特地把服務生給叫過來，對他（她）說：『你們餐廳的菜燒得真好吃，待會兒一定要幫我進去告訴你們的廚師，說今天有一家人來，全家都吃得很開心。』

事後他常說：『如果適時地講兩、三句鼓勵的話，就可以讓辛苦工作的人高興個兩、三天，甚至因此更上進，那我何樂而不為呢？』有一次，我還聽到他禮貌地對104電話查詢專線的小姐說：『謝謝你們的服務，幫了我很大的忙。』

聖經上說：『要隨時說造就人的好話，叫聽見的人得益處。』（以弗所書四章29節）讚美的功效何其大，何其美啊！你知道嗎？據說享譽國際的攝影師史代群（Edward Steichen）原本只是個攝影傻瓜，他在十六歲那年，曾為他家人拍了五十張照片，沖洗之後，竟只洗出了妹妹彈鋼琴的拿一張，其餘的四十九張全部失敗。

他父親很生氣，直說全部都被他搞砸了！唯獨他母親一反常人，一直不斷地稱讚他唯一成功洗出來的那張，說：『你這張拍的真好，光著一張的價值就抵過其餘失敗的四十九張了！』就因著這句話，史代群保住了對攝影的偏好，並把攝影當作終身努力的方向，而成為享譽全球的攝影家。讚美的力量由此可見。

好不好？讓我們一起來推動一個運動——『每天讚美一個人』！不必限定是誰，可以是你的家人、同事，甚至是計程車司機、早餐店老闆，不必多，哪怕只是說個一句，只要每人每天都開口說出一句好話，一天之內，台灣社會就會多出兩千三百多萬句讚美的話，一個月之後，就會有六億九千萬句，若持續一年，這個社會就會多出八十三億九千五百萬句讚美的話。

想想攝影師史代群的例子，你能想像八十三億九千五百萬句讚美、造就人的好話，會對一年之後的台灣社會有著怎樣的良性影響嗎？學習每天至少讚美一個人！不單可以使聽見的人得益處，就連你本身的心情、聲望，乃至所處環境的氣氛，也都會跟著產生意想不到的化學變化呢！

贈人以言，重於珠玉；

傷人以言，甚於劍戟。

——孫子

——《氣質，是最好的名牌》，施以諾

讚美人；讚美神。