Writer, Journalist
Dear Abba Father God,
In your perfect love, I have no fear.
You quiet me with your comfort in the midst of storm and turmoil.
You sing over me to cheer me up.
You delight in me with Your smile.
You lift me up when I am down.
You hold me tight when I stumble.
You are mighty to save me from the foes.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 ESV.
Dear child,
I call you and equip you.
I will never forsake you or fail you.
I have exalted King Solomon before he knew how to be a king. (1 Chronicles 29:25)
And I love to give him wisdom for his position when he asked for it with humility, knowing he couldn’t do it without Me.
Therefore, I desire your prayer, not because I don’t know what you need or want, but because I want to let you know how much I love you.
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how long, how high and how deep His love is.” Ephesians 3:18 NLT
Dear child,
Do you see what I see?
I see you perfect because I have cleansed you with My blood and My Spirit.
I see you as a stranger in the world because I have called you to be holy.
I test you as gold is refined so that you know your faith is sincere and your heart is pure.
As a result, you give yourself as a living sacrifice willingly and with honest intent.
And you have been rejoicing with what you have done for My Holy Name. (1 Chronicles 29:14-17)
You know I am pleased with your integrity.
My beloved child.
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV
Dear child,
Look at the Cross of Jesus Christ with wonder,
How I lavish My love on you.
I have called you and made you My very own,
My beloved child.
Look not what you don’t have. Look to what Jesus Christ has done for you.
Focus not on what you can do. But focus on what Jesus Christ calls you to do.
Father God loves you without condition about what you have or what you can do.
He delights in you and loves you because you are His precious child.
“Look with wonder at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that He has lavished on us! He has called us and made us His very own beloved children.”
1 John 3:1a
伊利諾州環境保護廳(EPA)在今年6月取得的全州水質樣本中發現，州內十多條河道因綠藻(algae)大量增生，造成水質污染，可能危急飲用水與人體健康。科學研究人員已經使用探測器、實驗室樣本、和衛星圖像來觀測水質，希望能提早預防綠藻過度增生。
伊利諾河的飢餓岩石水壩景點(Starved Rock Lock and Dam)沿岸是污染源頭，十幾個樣本中有一個甚至超過州立娛樂區景點的標準30多倍。其中含有微囊藻毒(Microcystin)，是伊州水域中最常見的毒素，人類接觸後可能有皮膚紅疹、腹瀉和咳嗽，暴露過量則導致肝臟受損。
專家說水中的藻類，例如藍綠藻(cyanobacteria)的滋生，是氣溫上升、陽光、土壤養分與微生物增加的綜合結果。
其中飢餓岩石水壩的上游，有從芝加哥及郊區五百多萬人所排出的廢水、偶發的下水道溢流與市區地面受雨水沖刷，加上下游的支流附近多為農田，暴雨將肥料沖入河流中，都造成土壤內養分增加。
伊州在2012年由於破紀錄高溫造成乾旱，使玉米農作物無法吸收養分，接下來的秋季大雨便將土壤內的養分沖入湖裡，造成藻類滋生。因此州府自2013年正式啟動監測系統，記錄有毒害藻類滋生狀況。
另外，根據湖郡(Lake County)衛生局的環境衛生主管亞當(Mike Adam)說，磷(phosphorus)可長年積存在土壤內，太多時會使湖泊河川中的有毒藻類增生。全美有40%的湖泊的磷(phosphorus)含量超標，EPA最新評估也發現藍綠藻和微囊藻毒都增加。
卡本戴爾南伊利諾大學 (Southern Illinois University at Carbondale)的土木環境工程系副教授劉佳(Jia Liu，音譯)，目前帶領研究團隊進行用太陽能和磁性奈米粒子(magnetic nanomaterials)的實驗，來分解藻毒素(cyanotoxin)和磷，試圖減少水中有毒藻類。
在伊州水域的含磷量最高的伊利諾河盆地，占地約3萬平方哩，範圍從威斯康辛州東南方到印第安納州的西北邊，州府將其列為重點監督地區，以改善水質。
Climbing up the wood stairs in the Theodore Wirth Park,
Listening to the rain tapping on the leaves,
Treading like a cat carefully on the wet steps,
I heard the knocking on the door of my heart.
“Who is there? Anyone?” I asked.
Squinting the eyes of mind, I saw in the reminiscence:
Mom was climbing the Shoushan with me,
Where is also called Mt. Monkey, famous for the wildlife of macaques.
On that cloudy day, our four eyes eagerly searched for their shades.
Never seen one before, so I prayed: “God, please show one to me.”
Walking slowly but desiring eagerly,
Suddenly, out of nowhere, one macaque appeared a little distance away from me.
“O, did you see it?” we gasped.
Like a glimpse of a shooting star, Mom and I excitedly but quietly nudged each other.
A few minutes later, surprisingly, another macaque jumped into our sight.
I told mom that I prayed to God for seeing one.
“Me too,” Mom acclaimed.
One macaque showed up for answering Mom’s prayer;
Another one came to visit for answering my prayer.
***
I counted the stairs to the top, seeing no image of Mom and macaques,
Only thing I found was the abandoned little hut.
I recalled that day of seeing macaques and our hearts going pit-a-pat,
As rain pitter pattered on the umbrella at this moment in the park.
I turned around, strolling the stairs down.
I took out a pencil and started to sketch the green meadow before me.
Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, two deer appeared a little distance away from me.
One walked ahead and the other one followed.
The two deer reminded me of the two macaques Mom and I peeked.
The two deer resembled Mom and me.
Sweet memory was lingering in my heart,
So was Mom’s love.
***
In my imagination, I seemed to hear the doe calling from behind:
“Slow down, my little fawn.
The time will come;
You will leap big and jump high.
Until then, I will let you go and you will not have me by your side.
Just like Mom and me, sadly being separated by the sea.
At this moment, I seem to hear myself whispering from the deep:
“Take heart, my big kid.
The time will come;
You will extend your wings and fly high.
From now on, I will let you go and you will always have my prayer:
May God bless you to soar freely above like an eagle;
May God bless your feet to stride out confidently like hinds’ feet.
Just like me and my kids.
The generational change is like the tide’s ebb and flow.
But our hearts will bond in the spiritual realm, where there is no bounds by time or zone.
網路資訊安全專家提醒社交媒體用戶提防網路詐騙，根據聯邦貿易委員會(Federal Trade Commission)統計，今年駭客入侵個人社交媒體帳號，再謊稱重病而向親朋友好募款的詐騙，已累計收到1萬1000件舉報。專家表示，只要使用社交媒體，就可能遇上要錢或偷取個資的不肖駭客，建議民眾謹慎管理帳號密碼，且不要隨便打開來路不明的網路連結。
伊利諾州奧斯丁(Austin)地區的居民羅德古艾斯(Adan Rodriguez)說，他收到朋友來電詢問他癌症治療情況後，才發現原來駭客使用他的臉書帳號，廣發信息給他的朋友要求捐款。他說，朋友向臉書反應後已經把錢拿回，但對帳號被駭感到震驚，也因此學到要必須設定不容易被破解的密碼。
資安專家提出以下建議民眾防範社交媒體帳號被駭：
●馬上啟動臉書提供的雙重認證(2-factor authentication)設定，可防止90%以上的駭客入侵。
●使用與臉書不同且難以破解的密碼登入其他的網路帳號。
●可考慮使用密碼管理軟體(password manager)，產生獨立且複雜的密碼提供用戶自動登入系統。
●當收到朋友寄來的交友連結時，或要求加入新帳號或第二個帳號時，可聯絡朋友確認是否為他本人。
●對透過社交媒體與你聯絡的陌生人要提高警覺。
另外，駭客還透過網路釣魚(phishing)連結的方式誘導民眾輸入個資，例如有人以為收到Instagram寄出要求重設密碼的連結，結果一按連結輸入密碼後，密碼就被盜取。
還有民眾瀏覽Instagram時，收到信息告知個人帳號有可疑的登入活動，因此被要求輸入電話號碼來確認是否為本人，結果輸入後其個人帳號就遭駭而無法使用。
資安專家說，不要隨意開啟別人寄給你的網路連結，因為社交媒體絕不會自動寄送連結要求你重新輸入任何敏感個資，也要提防駭客可能入侵朋友帳號寄來詐騙連結。
任教於明尼蘇達州得勝高中(DeLaSalle High School)的中文教師葛如璋(Ju-Chang Wang)，日前獲得明尼蘇達語言和文化教學協會(Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures，簡稱MCTLC)評選為「2021年度教師」(Teacher of the year)，她也是MCTLC有史以來第一個獲得此獎的中文教師。
葛如璋深受學生喜愛，在獲知其得獎消息後，學生及家長均稱讚她獲獎是實至名歸。
葛如璋畢業於台灣師範大學美術系，來美後取得明尼蘇達大學電腦學士學位，並擔任軟體工程師長達九年。後來辭職在家照顧小孩直到孩子上小學三年級，因朋友介紹她開始在公立高中兼職教中文，從此累積了12年的中文教學經驗。
葛如璋是基督徒，她相信每個孩子都是上帝創造的寶貝，因此她不以學生的行為或學習成果來論斷個人，而是用教學當媒介來逐步建立學生品格，期望他們培養多元文化的世界觀。她說一些行為有偏差的學生上她的中文課後，因學習進步而接納肯定自己，使她甚感安慰。
葛如璋教學時，會先觀察卡住學生的障礙出在何處，因為她相信語言和溝通是人類的天賦本能。她自己在台灣客家村長大，從未學過台語，但小時候因看布袋戲，而潛移默化學會了台語，後來她的台語發音還被人稱讚很道地。
至於中文教學方式，她說，為人師者可從學習者角度出發，強調用耳朵學習，不急著教漢語拼音。例如第一堂課時，她用「全身反應法」(Total Physical Response, 簡稱TPR)的互動方式，營造輕鬆專心愉快的氛圍，讓學生善用感官來聽、看、說，並配合肢體動作，很快就有會聽說中文的成就感，之後再搭配漢字學習。
她表示，快樂學習才能持續進步(Social Emotional Learning)，因此她的課程設計多結合學生的日常生活和興趣。
由於學生家庭都沒有中文背景，因此她的評量方式，是把課程錄音讓學生能在家練習，也讓學生以錄音當作業。她還充分利用電腦軟體，讓學生拼音打字、熟悉漢字。
葛如璋不僅熱心教學，平常也熱心分享教學心得，她希望能藉此拋磚引玉活絡中文教學的社群。
聖徒的禱告與鼓勵如春雨，滋潤我疲憊乾渴的心，比冬風般的指責更加使我得著力量面對人生低谷。因此上帝與愛祂的聖徒教我學會了：
聖徒是屬靈爭戰的同袍，不是敵人。
求神原諒我的罪，除去我眼中的樑木，斥責任何控制、指控、論斷、揣想的靈離開我。
求神給我愛心，快快地聽，慢慢地說。求神給我祂的眼光，看見對方的優點，因神的形象在他身上。
欣賞他，鼓勵他，使他得著力量，能重新出發，因為他自己要擔當自己的擔子。（加拉太書6:5）
神把聖徒召聚在一起，要使鐵磨鐵生出刃來，能互相彌補(complete)，而不是爭競(compete)。
我不是他的上帝，
我不必因為擔心自己沒有替神伸張公義而去指責他，因為主耶穌的寶血已經為他伸張公義，
我不必因為揣想(assume)別人的動機去告誡他，因為查驗人心的聖靈已經在他心中做他最好的保惠師。
但是我的鼓勵可以引導他去到上帝面前呼求，我的代禱可以為他推開撒旦的攔阻謊言。
使他不因我的話語來依賴我，而要因上帝的話語全心倚賴神。
我的工作是愛他、享受他，上帝的工作是改變他的心。
我因立志活在屬靈國度，靠靈，不靠肉體行事。
所以我連於神，為人禱告，不憑自己的邏輯分析，去告訴別人該做什麼，不做什麼。
因為我不是他的上帝，而是他走天路的同伴。
Note:
跌跌撞撞走過30年的信仰歷程，我從上帝和鼓勵我的聖徒得到成熟長進的喜樂，因此我提醒自己不要揠苗助長，要鼓勵其他聖徒有從神得著第一手安慰的喜悅，能親耳聽見神對我們說話，是心靈最大的滿足。
Holiness fits the saint,
Who has been justified by God’s righteousness through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
It cost Christ Jesus His precious life,
Telling God’s truth slant:
Father God aggrieves over His children’s wandering in darkness of sin.
Without making them holy, He can never embrace them again.
For at the moment He touches them, they will be consumed by His Justice like wood is burned down by fire.
Not terrifying the audience but just truly reporting about the spiritual reality,
Jesus, the Son of God, eagerly points the sinners to perceive the True God,
Is not only the fearful LORD but also the loving Heavenly Dad.
Not is Jesus, the Master, lacking wisdom,
But His disciple’s sin-warped mind needs time to be transformed.
So, Jesus, the Bridegroom, has been patiently waiting,
For His beloved bride to willfully put off his/her old flesh gloomy rags, and dress up with the new spiritual resplendent robe,
Tailored for him/her by His nail-pierced hands on the cross,
Where He also tore down all the accusation slips by the law and the devil.
Since then, the saint records what Jesus has been teaching him/her,
Tracing back to see how far He has directed him/her–
Through the valley of doubt and depression,
Along with His peace and compassion,
The saint finally arrives to sit beside the Fountain of life,
Drinking from the living water of delight,
Humbly building an inner altar to worship God alone,
Then the King Jesus gladly comes in to sit enthroned,
Leading the saint to enter the Holy of Holies through His blood.
Holiness fits the righteous saint,
Who sees Father God’s dazzle of integrity face to face,
partaking His glorious divinity day by day.