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“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”
—Winnie the Pooh
ANSH scavenger11 Winnie the Pooh day
(oddly enough this was the eleventh quote of 50)
Parenthetically and for the reader’s edification- it is not easy taking a picture of your own ear. Give it a go.
Another from my visit to the motherland, the Netherlands. This one is from the forest near Oisterwijk in the southern part of the Netherlands. I found this stand of Birches while biking around in the afternoon, and returned later that evening to catch the grove in the last minutes of sunlight.
Which do you prefer, this or the vertical?
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View the image at 100% after reading below, or you will go blind and learn nothing by looking at this small image above. lol
Premise: I wanted to know, unscientifically and for my personal edification, which of my 10, yes.. T-E-N Pentax mountable 50mm's is the best wide open. Secondarily I wanted to know about the bokeh of each, with emphasis on specular highlights such as points of light.
Method: I composed a simple yet attractive scene to challenge these lenses. A table in light with a dark background. I set a Kodak E100 box at frame center with my Konica Auto Reflex atop a photo album and another roll of film below them. In the rear by 3 feet an old white lamp and behind that by 10 feet a string of led Christmas tree lamps. Each shot was shot three times and the best shot picked for comparison snipping.
VIEWER"S GUIDE: What you see above are four rows of results.
The top row is CENTER sharpness at Wide Open. (blue film box)
The second row down is 3/4 to edge of frame sharpness at Wide Open. (camera body)
The third row is mid-frame bokeh Wide Open, with a small inset of the prism hump of the Camera for Chromatic Aberration (purple fringing) performance.
The bottom row is the same bokeh patch as the row above except that it is one f-stop down, again there is inset the prism hump sample.
Error: The f2.0 patch for the Pentax Super Takumar SMC f1.4 (third in from right) is incorrect, it is a needless duplicate of the f1.4 sample. :(
Note: the last two lenses were only shot wide open at f1.4 because they are automatic only and would require me gluing down the aperture pin for "stop down metering.
Gear: Pentax K100D 6MP CCD a ISO 200 mounted on tripod with I.S. turned off. K-mount-Screwmount adapter used for the 4 screw mount lenses.
Pentax-A 50mm f1.4
Pentax-M 50mm f1.4
Pentax-M 50fmm f1.7
Vivitar 50mm f1.8
Yashinon-DX 50mm f1.7
Sears 50mm f2
Pentax-M 50mm f2
Pentax Super Takumar SMC 50mm f1.4
Yashinon-DS 50mm f1.4
Yashinon-DS-M 50mm f1.4
RESULTS:
As expected:
1. The Pentax-A f 1.4 has some of the most pleasant bokeh, even stopped down thanks to it's 8 blades.
2. As rumored online, the Pentax-M f1.7 is a very sharp lens, even wide open!
3. The off brand lenses are not as sharp across the frame.
The unexpected:
1. The Vivitar f1.8 (fourth column) is extreemly sharp and contrasty at frame center. BUT is the worst performer away from the center. It also has very low CA (purple fringing) on the prism hump inset samples, even less than the Pentax-A & Pentax-M lenses.
2. The Pentax-M f2 is no joke. It's a solid but quiet performer and seems to have great CA control.
The weird:
1. I assure you the bottom bokeh shot for the Pentax-M f1.4 is at f2. It appears from the bokeh though that it is not and is for some reason producing smaller circles of light than the "A" version of the same lens. Hmm.
2. The bokeh of the Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 is a little unattractive in my opinion when stopped down to f2. It has a type of curved aperture blades which create a bit of a "toothed" appearance to the bokeh.
Conclusion:
If you want versatility, automatic aperture capability, maximum depth-of -field control (outside of splurging on a f1.2 lens) and bragging want general rights.....then the Pentax-A 50mm f1.4 is for you.
If you want center only sharpness and like a "swirlios" effect to your edge bokeh, then the Vivitar 50mm f1.8 is your wonky little buddy. Sharp and contrasty and cheap!
If you want a nice thin lens, with good sharpness across the frame and good CA (purple fringing) control and want an un-notable user experience, then the Pentax-M f2 is ready to please you, even at f2.
If you want a lens that gives you the smoothest barrel turn and most solid retro feel and "look" at the price of gaining more "glow" than more modern lenses...then the Pentax Super Takumar SMC 50mm f1.4 will give you the nice glow to your f1.4 people portraits.
If you want a "relatively unknown" lens that almost matches the legendary sharpness of the Pentax f1.7, and all this in a screwmount playful package...the Yashinon DX 50mm f1.7 will take you off to la-la land in a side-car of sharpness.
THE BOTTOM LINE - WHAT I WANT
I want what I don't have. A nice Pentax-A 50mm f1.7. Why? The Pentax-M 50mm f1.7 performance is impressive!. And think about it.... if I want shallow depth of field while staying away from CA (purple fringing) and the typical "wide-open glow", then a good f1.7lens shot wide-open beats an f1.4 lens that must be stopped down to f2 anyways.
P.S.- I hope the aperture blades of the "A"version of the Pentax f1.7 are a bit better designed because the bokeh, specifically specular highlights are a bit disappointing.
Oh, yes...one more thing.. I want a Pentax digital FULL FRAME camera so I can shoot these as normal lenses!!!!
"The unexamined life is not worth living." -- Socrates
I don't take many self-portraits, and the ones I do take will be few and far between. This one was inspired when I noted the light coming through our bedroom window and wondered if it might make for a good portrait. I would have very much preferred using some pretty woman as my model, but I had the day off work and was home alone because my wife and children were in Utah for a few days. Thus, I was the only subject available.
But as pictures of me go, I sort of like this one. I am getting older now, and while my hair is on the sparse side, I'm noticing more and more gray in what hair I do have, and it shows up in this image. And I have earned every one of those gray hairs, let me tell you!
Update for the "Portrait 50" group:
1. I once recited a lengthy passage from Dante's Divine Comedy, in the original Italian, during a job interview. (I was a member of the panel interviewing the candidate for the position.)
2. I'm terrified of heights, but love to fly.
3. I hated practicing law, but take comfort in the knowledge that while I did it, I helped a lot of battered women.
4. When I was 8 years old, my father made me memorize the names of all U. S. Presidents in chronological order, and I have never forgotten them, although I've had to add eight more names since then. (Kennedy was in office at the time.)
5. I took up ballroom dancing because I wanted to give my wife a romantic surprise, then became hooked on it myself.
6. I hate being photographed, even by myself, which is why there are few self-portraits in my Flickr photostream.
7. A friend of mine, who has lived in Rome for about the past 25 years, once told me I had done well to learn Italian because it was a language that lended itself very well to verbosity.
8. My favorite song is "O mio babbino caro," from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi."
9. I am convinced that country music is one of the plagues foretold in the Book of Revelation.
10. I love to cuddle.
11. My favorite TV programs of all time are "Bonanza," "M*A*S*H*," and "Touched by an Angel."
12. I was very skinny when I was young, and weighed 90 pounds between ages 9 and 13, even though I grew several inches in height during that time.
13. Ever since I was about five years of age, I have always loved old silent comedies, especially those starring Harold Lloyd.
14. I once spent most of a day wandering alone around East Berlin back during the Cold War era.
15. I have read the entire Bible, as well as the other scriptures of my church, in English, Spanish, and Italian.
16. I know several Mad Magazine parody songs by heart, and enjoy singing them occasionally, usually for the benefit and edification of my wife and children.
17. I dislike facial hair, and shave nearly every single day, including Saturdays. I also figure it makes my face more kissable.
18. I hate tattoos and body piercings.
19. I rarely get sick, and once went for three years without even catching a cold.
20. I love to travel, and wish I could do more of it.
21. I regret never having been a Boy Scout.
22. My best decision in life was to become a Mormon, and my worst was to become a lawyer.
23. I am quiet and reserved around people I don't know, but warm and effusive around those I do.
24. My wife once remarked that she didn't quite know what to make of a husband who loved Dante, AND "Calvin & Hobbes."
25. I once did a live, on-air ad (in Spanish) for a lumber yard on a radio station in El Salvador.
26. I had a very hard time with dating when I was younger, for reasons I now recognize were mostly my own fault; yet the overwhelming majority of my really close friends today are women. (They are all trustworthy, by the way, and my wife doesn't mind.)
27. A number of people want me to be a "Jeopardy" contestant, but the idea of appearing on national television absolutely horrifies me.
28. I once made up a song about Mao Tse-tung while I was taking a shower.
29. As a preschooler, my favorite obsession was cars, and I could look at a car a block away and correctly identify its make.
30. The human qualities I most admire are courage, sensitivity, and humor, in that order.
31. I once worked in a chicken slaughterhouse, as a result of which I was unable to eat chicken for more than a year.
32. My favorite fantasy is to be President of the United States and serve something really messy at an official state dinner -- tacos, spaghetti, or prime rib, perhaps.
33. My favorite kinds of music are classical (including opera), movie soundtracks, and "oldies" from the 1950s and early 1960s.
34. If I am late coming home, my wife never has to look very hard to find me, as I am most likely going to be at the public library, Border's, or Barnes & Noble. (She has recently added the nearby Fred Astaire studio to that list, and has in fact tracked me down there a couple of times.)
35. I have read from the scriptures of my church every single day for 11 years.
36. My favorite novels are War and Peace and Don Quixote.
37. I was past fifty when I took up photography and ballroom dancing.
38. I blush VERY easily.
39. The most enduring private joke between my wife and me involves me threatening not to shave.
40. I took a day off work to watch Ronald Reagan's funeral on television. Not only that, but the night before I had my wife lay out my best Sunday clothes, and stayed up late ironing them, as well as spit-shining two pairs of my dress shoes. (I decided, after polishing the first pair, that it wasn't good enough after all.) This was all done for a very specific purpose. I wore the entire ensemble the next morning as I watched the funeral. It was my way of honoring Reagan, who so revered the Oval Office that he never so much as removed his suitcoat whenever he was in it.
41. I only visit about a dozen Internet sites regularly, with Flickr being the most important one by far; the others mostly include news-related sites, plus a few blogs.
42. My idea of hell is an everlasting job search. Heaven, on the other hand, would be to spend eternity in Florence, Italy.
43. In my high school senior play, my principal role was as a German soldier.
44. My feet are EXTREMELY ticklish.
45. People who have seen me really, REALLY laugh have all told me it is quite the spectacle, although I have never seen it myself.
46. I like to serenade my wife with "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'," preferably by the Four Tops or Johnny Rivers, although I will thunder it at her myself if the original artists are not available at the moment.
47. My most successful and memorable prank of all time was to leave a note for a girl in my BYU ward, asking her to "call Jerry" at such-and-such a number. The number in question was the White House, and "Jerry" was Gerald Ford, who was President at the time. She fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. One of her roommates told me later that when my victim realized who "Jerry" was, she gulped, and her eyes became as large as saucers. She then slammed down the phone, muttered "Garry Wilmore did that," and was irked anew when the phone bill arrived a few weeks later and she had to pay something like 35 cents for the call. Man, it was beautiful!
48. My favorite cuisines are Italian, Chinese, and Greek, in that order.
49. I like to tell people that my mechanical IQ is far below retardation level.
50. I met my wife on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, which several people have told me seemed entirely fitting.
A construction worker takes time out from his work to pose for a photo. Three small children also pose. They are standing outside a school named "Hatam Hindu Madrasasi". Photo taken on July 09, 2012 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Some amazing lupine fields in the LA mountains from a few weeks ago. Thanks Dave and David.. this spot was incredible!
Larger version on my website: bigger!
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Prints available: http://artinnaturephotography.com/
Adventures for your entertainment and edification: http://artinnaturephotography.com/wordpress
"The man who doesn't relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on." ~Elbert Hubbard
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
I found this awesome, 3-in-one vintage United States map set puzzle on eBay. It has one puzzle map showing "Pioneer History," one showing "Products and Industries" and a third one showing the major geographical highlights of each state.
Most likely from the late 1930s or early 1940s, the puzzle does not include Hawai'i or Alaska. Each state is die-cut along its boundaries, and the set isn't missing any pieces at all! And the box, while worn, has gorgeous graphics, too.
Scanned and cleaned up for your edification and enjoyment, the products of Texas--beef cattle, grapefruit, oil and cotton, along with copious amounts of cactus.
San Marco in Lamis Gargano Puglia Italia© 2015 All rights reserved
FotoSketcher lively
Nikon coolpix p 7100
San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.
San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .
da wikipedia
San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.
San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia
In a locale called “The Fountains”, a Benedictine monk named Sentimirus founded a monastery with some companions around 780. Destroyed by the Vikings in the 10th century (they had come round Spain via Gibraltar on their way to conquer Sardinia, then Sicily), the monastery was substantially rebuilt, as attested by an act of completion drawn up on July 9, 981 by Lotharius, then-Carolingian King of France (which of course did not exist as such at the time, I could have just as well said “Gaul”).
Placed under the direct protection of the sovereigns, the abbey flourished and a prosperous village named Saint-Génis after a local saint (the abbey church was dedicated to Saint Michael) grew around it. An enlarged church was consecrated in 1153, and a late Romanesque marble cloister was added during the 1200s.
With the passing of time and what some regard as a corruption of Christian faith, decline came to this abbey as it did to many others. Later, with the advent of the French Revolution in 1789, the monks were ousted and the abbey buildings were “nationalized” and sold to private owners like most others to finance the wars France had to fight against the European nations coalesced against her. The former abbey church was returned to religion as the parochial church in 1849, but the admirable cloister was sold piecemeal to antique dealers in the early 1900s. It took 50 years for the pieces to be sent back and reinstalled where they belonged.
Listed in 1966 as a Historic Landmark, what is left of the abbey today is most famous for its cloister (itself [or what was left of it at the time, see cloister description for more details] listed in 1924 and 1975), but also for its historied lintel which, rarest of things for a masterpiece of that period, is dated —of 1029–30, in this case. It is the oldest Romanesque sculpture in the world dated with certainty.
SPECIAL NOTE: the apse is the most ancient part of the church, still featuring the original Carolingian masonry. Unfortunately, on the day I was in Saint-Génis, access to the back of the church was not possible because of ongoing works. As that part truly is very interesting to behold, I decided to make an exception to my rule #1 (“Upload nothing but mine own photographs”) and use a Wikipedia photo. I corrected the perspective as it was very amateurishly taken, but otherwise it is more or less OK. I dressed it up a little bit. The inside of the church itself was not accessible either, and so I do not have photos of it.
This cloister capital features an equally explicit (and surprising, in such a place) illustration of the sin of Lust. Sirens were known to have only one tail, like a fish, but were often represented with two to accentuate the likeness with a woman, and the tails/legs would often be shown wide open with the Siren grabbing her “feet” in an obviously sexual posture inviting to copulation.
This sort of depiction is regularly seen in Romanesque churches where Capital Sins are often quite crudely shown for the edification of the congregation, but such explicitness is much rarer in monasteries, where monks were not supposed to need this sort of “education”.
Interestingness 291: 12-12-2008
It will indubitably surprise some people to hear me say this, but Mr. Brown Pelican's feral compeers exert themselves to muddy the water, obfuscate the record, and cover up, by sophistries and denials, all of Mr. Pelican's mudslinging contretemps. Perhaps before going on, I should describe Mr. Pelican to you. Mr. Pelican is frowzy, passive-aggressive, and snippy. Furthermore, he yearns to create a beachhead for organized separatism. He favors conquest not only by violence but also by the peaceful and delicate methods of cheating and lying.
I plan to work within the system to persuade my fellow citizens that Mr. Pelican makes no sense at all, not because I lack the courage for more drastic steps but because Mr. Pelican's attempts to use organized violence to suppress opposition are much worse than mere Bonapartism. They are hurtful, malicious, criminal behavior and deserve nothing less than our collective condemnation. I clearly cannot emphasize enough how much I resent his quips. For your edification, I should truly point out that on several occasions I have heard him state that the health effects of secondhand smoke are negligible. I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a comment. What I consider far more important though is that when all discoverable facts and experience fly in the face of Mr. Pelican's shabby world view, Mr. Pelican stubbornly holds onto his ignorance as his birthright.
Le château de Chambord est un château français situé dans la commune de Chambord, dans le département de Loir-et-Cher en région Centre-Val de Loire.
Construit au cœur du plus grand parc forestier clos d’Europe (environ 50 km2 ceint par un mur de 32 km de long), il s'agit du plus vaste des châteaux de la Loire. Il bénéficie d'un jardin d'agrément et d'un parc de chasse classés Monuments historiques.
Le site a d'abord accueilli une motte féodale, ainsi que l'ancien château des comtes de Blois. L'origine du château actuel remonte au xvie siècle et au règne du roi de France François Ier qui supervise son édification à partir de 1519.
The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King Francis I of France.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the châteaux of Blois and Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with some doubt, to Domenico da Cortona; Leonardo da Vinci may also have been involved.
Chambord was altered considerably during the twenty-eight years of its construction (1519–1547), during which it was overseen on-site by Pierre Nepveu. With the château nearing completion, Francis showed off his enormous symbol of wealth and power by hosting his old archrival, Emperor Charles V, at Chambord.
In 1792, in the wake of the French Revolution, some of the furnishings were sold and timber removed. For a time the building was left abandoned, though in the 19th century some attempts were made at restoration. During the Second World War, art works from the collections of the Louvre and the Château de Compiègne were moved to the Château de Chambord. The château is now open to the public, receiving 700,000 visitors in 2007.
Probarona Purnima, October 27, 2015, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Probarona Purnima, the second largest festival of the Buddhist community. Also known as Ashwini Purnima, the festival marks conclusion of the three-month long seclusion of the monks inside their monasteries for self-edification and atonement of their defilement.
According to legend, Buddha once clipped some strands of hair from his head and said that if he was qualified to attain supreme wisdom and enlightenment, the hairs would not fall down but go up instead, which they did.
To mark this event, Buddhists ignited and send up balloons made of coloured paper to flow towards the sky as a symbol of lighting up the sky which is the chief attraction of the festival.
Relic under my custody .
Early life[edit]
Francesco Possenti was born on March 1, 1838, in Assisi Italy, the eleventh of thirteen children born to his mother, Agnes, and his father, Sante. The family were then resident in the town of Assisi where Sante worked for the local government. Possenti was baptised on the day of his birth in the same font in which Saint Francis of Assisi had been baptised.[1] Shortly after Francis' birth Sante Possenti was transferred to a post at Montalta and thence to Spoleto where, in 1841, he was appointed legal assessor. In Spoleto the family was struck with a number of bereavements: the deaths of a baby girl, Rosa, in December 1841; of seven-year-old Adele in January 1842; and of Francis’ mother, Agnes, in 1842.[2]
As a child and young man, Francis Possenti was well liked by his peers and had a reputation for great charity and piety. He was also known for the great care he took with regard to his appearance and would spend hours in preparing himself for parties. Francis could be a difficult child and was liable to bouts of anger. Francis was deeply involved with the social scene of Spoleto and soon earned for himself the nickname of "the dancer".[3] He was a ladies man, and had several romantic involvements and on the night he left for the monastery there were still hopes that he might become engaged to a local girl. He was educated first by the Christian Brothers and then by the Jesuits in the town’s college and there excelled, particularly in Latin. In 1851 Francis became desperately ill and promised to enter religious life if he recovered. Once he had recovered, his promise was soon forgotten. The same thing happened when he narrowly escaped a stray bullet during a hunting expedition with friends.[4] His brother Paul had died in 1848 and his brother Lawrence committed suicide in 1853. In 1853 Francis again fell ill, this time afflicted with a throat abscess. He attributed his healing to the recently beatified Andrew Bobola, SJ. Once more he had promised to enter religious life upon his recovery and this time actually set the process in motion. He applied to join the Jesuits, but for some unknown reason never proceeded. Tragedy struck again when his sister, Mary Louisa, who had cared for Francis after their mother’s death, died of cholera.
Vocation[edit]
After the cholera epidemic that killed Gabriel's sister ended, Spoleto clergy and civic authorities organised a procession of the ancient icon of the Virgin Mary in Spoleto’s cathedral. Francis attended the procession and as the image passed by him, he felt an interior voice asking why he remained in the world. This event was the galvanising force behind the first serious steps in Francis’ religious vocation.[5] After the procession he sought the advice of a priest and resolved to enter the Passionist Congregation. As there was no Passionist house near Spoleto, it is most likely that Francis’ choice was based on a personal devotion to the Passion of Christ.[6] His father refused to give him permission to leave for the Passionists and enlisted several relatives to dissuade Francis from his course. Their attempts were unsuccessful and soon his father was convinced that Francis' intentions were sincere and not capricious.
Passionist[edit]
St. Gabriel
Accompanied by his brother Aloysius, a Dominican friar, Francis set out for the novitiate of the Passionists at Morrovalle. During their journey they visited several relatives who had been enlisted by Sante to encourage Francis to return to Spoleto, but this was to no avail. He arrived at the novitiate on September 19, 1856.
Two days later he received the habit of the Passionists and the name "Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows". The following year Gabriel pronounced his vows. During this time, and indeed until his death, Gabriel’s spiritual life was under the care of his director, Father Norbert of Holy Mary.
In June 1858 Gabriel and the other students moved to Pietvetorina to continue their studies. Local disturbances meant they would stay only a year and, in July 1859, the group moved to the monastery of Isola del Gran Sasso in the province of Teramo.[7]
Gabriel proved an excellent student and his excellence in academic life was only outdone by the great progress he was making in his spiritual life. At the same time Gabriel began to display the first symptoms of tuberculosis. The news did not worry Gabriel, who was, in fact, joyful; he had prayed for a slow death so as to be able to prepare himself spiritually. Throughout his illness he remained cheerful and kept up all his usual practises. He was a source of great edification and inspiration to his fellow students, who sought to spend time with him at his deathbed. Gabriel had proved himself an exemplary religious and a perfect follower of the Passionist Rule, being especially devoted to the Virgin Mary.
On his deathbed he ordered his spiritual writings to be burnt for he feared they would tempt him to pride. Only his letters survive, alongside his ‘Resolutions’[8] which map the spiritual progress he made in his few years as a Passionist.[9]
Before he could be ordained a priest, Gabriel died in the retreat at Isola del Gran Sasso the early hours of February 27, 1862, in the presence of the community, holding close an image of Our Lady of Sorrows and smiling peacefully. Those who were with Gabriel when he died reported that at the moment of death, he sat up in bed and his face became radiant as he reached out to an otherwise unseen figure that was entering the room. It was the opinion of Father Norbert that Saint Gabriel had seen the Virgin Mary at the very moment of his death.[10]
Canonization[edit]
Gabriel was buried the day of his death. His companion in the novitiate, Bernard Mary of Jesus exclaimed:
Tears come to my eyes and I am filled with shame for having been so far from the virtues that he attained in such a short time.[11]
Immediately thereafter Father Norbert wrote a biography of his life. In 1866, four years after the death of Gabriel, the Passionists were forced to abandon the monastery of Isola del Gran Sasso, an the church where Gabriel lay buried went deserted for 30 years. Since his death, the fame of Gabriel’s sanctity had spread through the local area, as well as amongst the Passionists.[12] In 1891 the Congregation decided to formally open proceedings for Gabriel’s canonisation and, a year later, a committee visited his grave to examine his remains. Upon the arrival of the committee at Isola del Gran Sasso, the townspeople surrounded the church, determined not to have the body of Gabriel taken from their midst.[13] Two years later the Passionist returned to resume their life at Isola del Gran Sasso near the city of Teramo.
The two miracles presented for the beatification of Gabriel were the inexplicable healings of Maria Mazzarella from pulmonary tuberculosis and periostitus, and the instantaneous cure of Dominic Tiber from an inoperable hernia.[14] Gabriel was beatified by Pope Pius X on May 31, 1908. Present at the ceremony were his brother Michael, his companion Brother Sylvester, and his director, Father Norbert. The outbreak of the First World War delayed Gabriel’s canonisation for a while, but on May 13, 1920, he was raised to the altars by Pope Benedict XV.[15]
Patronage[edit]
The Shrine of Saint Gabriel
At the canonization of Saint Gabriel, Pope Benedict XV declared him a patron saint of Catholic youth, of students, and of those studying for the priesthood. In 1959, Pope John XXIII named him the patron of the Abruzzi region, where he spent the last two years of his life.
Millions of pilgrims visit St. Gabriel's shrine in Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia near Teramo each year to see the saint's burial place and the monastic house in which he lived out his final years. The shrine of Saint Gabriel at Isola, is particularly popular. There's an ongoing tradition every March, when thousands of high school students from the Abruzzo and the Marche regions of Italy visit his tomb 100 days before their expected graduation day and pray him in order to achieve good scores on their final. Every two years from mid-July to the beginning of October, the Italian Staurós ONLUS foundation hosts at the Sanctuary of Saint Gabriel a celebrated exposition of contemporary religious arts. With average of 2 million visitors per year is one of the 15 most visited sanctuaries in the world.[16]
The cult of Saint Gabriel is especially popular amongst Italian youth; Italian migrants have spread the cult to areas such as the United States, Central America and South America. The Passionist Congregation also spreads devotion to the saint wherever they have monasteries. Many miracles have been attributed to the saint’s intercession; Saint Gemma Galgani held that it was St Gabriel who had cured her of a dangerous illness and led her to a Passionist vocation.
Saint Gabriel Possenti Society[edit]
The Saint Gabriel Possenti Society is a U.S. organization promoting the public recognition of Gabriel and lobbying for his designation by the Vatican as the "patron saint of hand gunners". The society was founded by gun lobbyist John M. Snyder, who began his effort in 1987.[17]
According to the society, Gabriel's marksmanship and proficiency with handguns allegedly saved the village of Isola del Gran Sasso from a band of 20 marauding bandits in 1860. This is in reference to a story mentioned in one biography of the saint,[18]:93 though the author admitted that some of the accounts in his book were invented to "enliven" the story.[18]:3 No account of the event is present in any other independently researched biographies, making it seem unlikely. Moreover, at the time of the alleged incident, 1860, Gabriel was in the later stages of tuberculosis, making such strenuous exercise impossible.[19]:37
Fondée au début du XVIe siècle sur le site de Croas-Batz (croix de l'île de Batz) par de riches marchands et armateurs, l'église fut consacrée en 1550. Entreprise vers 1520 par la nef, sa construction se poursuivit au cours du XVIe siècle par le poche ouest et le clocher puis, au XVIIe siècle, par le chœur (vers 1609), la sacristie et l'enclos (1639). Elle s'acheva en 1701 par l'édification de la chapelle nord dite "des Agonisants". Elle fit l'objet d'une campagne de restauration en 1777.
Founded at the beginning of the 16th century on the site of Croas-Batz (cross of the island of Batz) by wealthy merchants and shipowners, the church was consecrated in 1550. Undertaken around 1520 by the nave, its construction continued during 16th century by the western pocket and the bell tower then, in the 17th century, by the choir (around 1609), the sacristy and the enclosure (1639). It ended in 1701 with the construction of the northern chapel known as "des Agonisants". It was the subject of a restoration campaign in 1777.
Fluorescent minerals at night by a mine Steve Sieren and I took our recent Twilight Workshop for some shooting. It was a blast!
10 exposure blend, to overcome technical limitations. Everything you see is a natural phenomenon save for the purple UV beam, which was added in PS.
It's dark.. and thus better seen in a dark room against the dark back of my website.
Check out my blog for some details if you're curious.
----
Prints available: http://artinnaturephotography.com/
Adventures for your entertainment and edification: http://artinnaturephotography.com/wordpress
The Marché Couvert (in English: "Covered Market") right next to the cathedral Saint-Étienne de Metz in the old town of the Lorraine city of Metz (on a Sunday morning, when it was closed), Grand Est, France
Some background information:
The Marché Couvert is a historic market with permanent stalls and shops in a large covered structure in the historical centre of Metz. Originally built as the bishop's palace, the French Revolution broke out before the Bishop of Metz could move in. Subsequently, the citizens decided to turn it into a food market.
In 1762, the Bishop of Metz commanded the edification of his palace to Royal architect Jacques-François Blondel. The works began in 1785, but the French Revolution in 1789 brought the construction work to a halt. The partial building remained vacant until 1821, when it was bought by the municipality of Metz. The local architect Pierre-Sylvestre Jaunez reconfigured the edifice in order to install a municipal covered market into its walls, a function that it has kept until today.
With its more than 120,000 residents, Metz is a city in northeastern France. It was built at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. The city is the administrative capital of the French department of Moselle and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est region. Metz is located just about 50 km (31 miles) away from the French-German border and only 40 km (25 miles) away from the French border to Luxembourg. Hence, the city is situated at the tripoint of the three countries France, Germany and Luxembourg.
Metz has a rich 3,000-year history, having variously been a Celtic oppidum, an important Gallo-Roman city, the Merovingian capital of Austrasia, the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty, a cradle of the Gregorian chant, and one of the oldest republics in Europe. The city has been steeped in French culture, but has also been strongly influenced by German culture due to its location and history.
The first traces of settlement in the area of Metz can be found from 3000 BC onwards. At that time, the Celtic tribe Mediomatricum settled there, but in 52 BC, the Celtic settlement was conquered by the Romans. Being located at the important crossroads of the roads to Reims, Lyon, Trier, Strasbourg and Mainz, the site developed into one of the largest cities in Gaul. In the 2nd century, the city already had 40,000 inhabitants and was thus larger than Lutetia (today’s Paris).
In the 4th century, Metz became Christian and its first bishop was Clemens of Metz. But in 451, the city was destroyed by the hordes of Attila the Hun. In Merovingian-Franconian times, the city was the capital of the Frankish Eastern Empire Austrasia. During this period, the city of Metz flourished in religio-cultural terms.
But Metz is also the original ancestral seat of the Carolingians. Various members of Charlemagne's family, such as his wife Hildegard, his sisters, Emperor Louis the Pious and Charlemagne's own son Drogo, were buried in the monastery church of Saint Arnulf Abbey. During the Carolingian division of the empire after the death of Louis the Pious, Metz became part of the Lotharii Regnum in 843, and part of the East Frankish Empire in 870.
In 1180, Metz became a free imperial city. It created a dominion, the Pays Messin, and thus rose to become the largest imperial city in terms of area in the 14th century. Just like in the neighbouring free imperial city of Strasbourg, a city republic developed, led by the richest patrician families. Metz maintained active contact with the Italian trading cities and housed numerous Lombard trading stations, which brought the money and credit business from northern Italy to the Lorraine town.
Until the 16th century, the cityscape of Metz remained essentially dominated by monasteries. But the arrival of the French under King Henry II from the 16th century onwards put an end to this period. The city with a religious character was now transformed into a French fortress against the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, to which it nevertheless still belonged. King Henry II entered the city of Metz under the pretext of protecting it from the Duke of Lorraine, who was loyal to the Roman-German Emperor. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia, which set an end to the Thirty Years’ War, officially confirmed the French possession of Metz.
The fortress of Metz was substantially enlarged by the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th century and served as a hub for all of Louis XIV's campaigns in his reunion policy to the east. In order to be able to occupy the fortress of Metz with troops, the Caserne Coislin was built on the Champ à Seille between 1726 and 1730. At the same time, medieval Metz fell into oblivion.
In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871, General François-Achille Bazaine retreated with the French Rhine Army to Metz. After several weeks of siege by the Prussian army of Prince Frederick Charles, the French troops surrendered on 27 October 1870 and went into captivity two days later. Metz became the administrative seat of the newly created district of Lorraine within the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine and was developed into the strongest fortified city in the German Empire in the following decades.
As a result of the emigration of some of its inhabitants to France and, above all, the immigration and stationing of German civil servants and military personnel, the previously majority French-speaking Metz temporarily became majority German-speaking. In the 1900 census, 78% of the residents in the Metz urban district declared German and 22% French as their mother tongue. However, in the district of Metz, a majority of the population declared French as their mother tongue, although this majority was not very large.
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, all civilian authorities in the city were subordinated to the military, basic rights were restricted and around 200 residents classified as pro-French were immediately interned in the Ehrenbreitstein fortress in the city of Koblenz. Immediately after the outbreak of the war, some 15,000 residents left the city in panic, suspecting a siege as in the war of 1870/1871. But in November 1918, the French occupied Metz. And after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the city officially rejoined France.
On 14th June 1940, in the course of World War II, Metz was declared an open city. And on the afternoon of 17th June, a motorised patrol of the 379th Infantry Regiment of the Wehrmacht entered the deserted city. Troops of the German 16th Infantry Division occupied Metz without a fight. Adolf Hitler demonstratively celebrated the first Christmas after the victory over France in 1940 in Metz. But in November 1944, the capture of Metz by troops of the 3rd US Army was the main event of the Battle of Lorraine. After four and a half years of German occupation, Metz finally became French again.
Today, Metz has a great historical, cultural and architectural background. Because of that, the city has been submitted on France's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Metz features noteworthy buildings such as the Gothic Saint-Stephen Cathedral with its largest expanse of stained-glass windows in the world, the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains being the oldest church in France, its Imperial Station Palace displaying the apartment of the German Kaiser, or its Opera House, the oldest one working in France. Furthermore, the city is also home to some world-class venues including the Arsenal Concert Hall and the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum.
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
De style roman et gothique, ses parties les plus anciennes remontent au XIII siècle. Des traces subsistent de l'usage défensif opéré par le connétable Olivier de Clisson. Classée Monument Historique, elle renferme un vrai trésor : ses orgues proviendraient de la célèbre Abbaye de Westminster.
Le clocher dont l´édification a entraîné la destruction du côté droit du porche ouest fut probablement construit au cours de la deuxième moitié du 14e siècle. Les baies du premier niveau, présentent une modénature caractéristique, à ressauts et chanfreins pénétrant directement dans les ébrasements. Ce trait de style que l´on l'intérieur dans la chapelle des fonts, sur le porche sud ainsi que sur plusieurs des arcades de la nef est directement emprunté à la nef de la cathédrale de Tréguier. Les hautes fenêtres de l´étage des cloches, à traverses et lancettes trilobées, leurs chapiteaux à corbeille lisse dédoublée, les arcs à ressauts et chanfreins, que l´on retrouve aussi sur les baies du troisième niveau, appartiennent sans conteste au répertoire du 14e siècle, et plus particulièrement à celui du Trégor. Enfin le traitement du dernier étage et son raccord avec la flèche méritent une attention particulière. Son garde-corps à quadrilobes ajourés, interrompu au milieu de chaque face par la partie inférieure d´une baie à meneau et traverse, baie implantée dans l´axe des quatre ouvertures médianes de la base de la flèche auxquelles elles devaient être reliées par de petits gâbles aigus caractéristiques du style trégorrois. Cette disposition reprend ici celle prévue à l´origine au sommet de la tour de croisée de Tréguier et qui fut inachevée. La réfection de la flèche dans les années 1820-1830 a respecté, sans la restituer complètement cette disposition élégante, qui faisant l´économie des habituels clochetons d´angle, évitait la surcharge sur une tour de faible surface.
Built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles, its oldest parts date back to the 13th century. Traces remain of its defensive use by Constable Olivier de Clisson. A listed historical monument, it houses a true treasure: its organ is said to have come from the famous Westminster Abbey.
The bell tower, whose construction led to the destruction of the right side of the west porch, was probably built during the second half of the 14th century. The first-level windows feature characteristic moldings with projecting moldings and chamfers that extend directly into the embrasures. This stylistic feature, found inside the baptistery, on the south porch, and on several of the nave's arcades, is directly borrowed from the nave of Tréguier Cathedral. The tall windows of the bell tower, with their trefoil transoms and lancets, their capitals with smooth, double-layered corbels, and the stepped and chamfered arches, also found on the bays of the third level, undoubtedly belong to the 14th-century repertoire, and more specifically to that of the Trégor region. Finally, the treatment of the top floor and its connection to the spire deserve particular attention. Its openwork quatrefoil balustrade, interrupted in the middle of each face by the lower part of a mullioned and transomed window, is positioned in line with the four central openings at the base of the spire, to which they were intended to be connected by small, pointed gables characteristic of the Trégor style. This arrangement echoes the one originally planned for the top of the crossing tower at Tréguier, which was never completed. The restoration of the spire in the 1820s-1830s respected, without completely restoring, this elegant arrangement, which, by saving on the usual corner pinnacles, avoided overloading a tower of small surface area.
"Stephen, son of Geza, great-grandson of Arpad who led the Hungarians into the Plain of Pannonia, was a remarkable man on any Showing. Brought up by Bishop St Adalbert, his Christianity was that of the abbots of Cluny, informed by the spirit of revival and reform the great Benedictines introduced. Like them, Stephen had a strong character, great ability and deep religious faith. And he lived up to his religion. He was indeed a good administrator of his domain: rex recte regendo; defender and missionary of the faith; supporter of and obedient to the decrees of the Church; "just, pious and peace-loving": iustus, Pius et pacificus; ruling by the grace of God: Dei gratia rex; suited for ruling: idoneus; a real Christian king : rex christianus. It was said in his time that "no one could have been kinder to those he had defeated, or gentler to the meek.
His admonitions to his son, Imre are remarkable for a ruler of the eleventh century. One of its most famous sentences is: "Treat kindly Christian guests and newcomers, for they have a wealth of use to offer; they bring with them different languages, customs, weapons and knowledge, which serve to the edification of all countries and to the greatness of the King's Court, and overawe the conceited hearts of strangers. A country that has only one language and one morality is a weak country." Nothing could have explessed more clearly his concept of Christian universalism...
St Stephen's thinking was well expressed in his request for a crown made [c.1000] to Pope Sylvester II, a Frenchman and Benedictine monk steeped in the spirit of Cluny. The golden circle (the base of the holy crown as it is today) was brought to Hungary by a German monk. Only the Pope could grant Stephen a crown and the title of king without his having to swear suzerainty—thereby preserving the independence of the Hungarian people.
St Stephen ensured Hungary's independence of either the western or the eastern emperors (there was no one else who could have claimed its submission); then he offered Hungary—through the holy crown—to the Virgin Mary, promulgating the doctrine that Hungary belongs to the crown, and the crown to the Mother of God" - from The Tablet Archive (1978).
Today, 16th August is the memorial of St Stephen of Hungary who was canonised in 1083, and this marble relief of him presenting the Crown of Hungary to “Nagyboldogasszony” (“Our Lady”) is in the Hungarian chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.
Exterior of Mir-i-Arab Medressa and Kalon Minaret. Two tourists are sitting at the entrance to Kalon Mosque. Photo taken on July 08, 2012 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Pinecones, flowers, and a small plant, no idea what, in Sequoia NP.
View large, thanks!
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Every year 10's of thousands of land locked Kokanee Salmon make their way up Taylor Creek from Lake Tahoe to spawn. It was an incredible sight to see!
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Students study the Malay language as one of the subjects of Thai Hong Primary School in Johor Bahru on 26 July 2011. Children in Malaysia begin primary schooling at around 7 years old.
Read more on:
A boy who is about 10 years old has his hand in the air trying to gain the attention of the teacher in an open air class in a small town adjacent to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The boy's clothes are ragged and torn. His classmates also have their hands in the air. Photo taken on February 22, 2008.
Scarlet Tanager posing in Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, NY.
This is from 2007, figured I should beef up my bird folder..
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Le Carmel de Beaune s'installa en 1619 dans l'ancien prieuré bénédictin de Saint-Étienne, fondé vers 1005. Le prieuré (dont des linteaux du 13e s. ont été remployés) étant en mauvais état, l'église du 16e s. fut d'abord réparée sommairement ; le 7 mai 1639 fut posée la 1ère pierre de la chapelle de l'Enfant Jésus. Le monastère fut entrepris en novembre 1640 et l'église en grande partie reconstruite de 1654 à 1657, date gravée sur la clé de l'arc du portail. Une chapelle dite de l'Ermitage de Bethléem fut édifiée en 1715 dans le jardin. Après la Révolution, l'ancien couvent connut différentes affectations qui entraînèrent des remaniements de la distribution intérieure d'après les devis de Quinard, Caristie l'aîné et Forest ; il abrita une salle d'asile pour enfants et une école de filles dans l'église, la gendarmerie et une prison dans les bâtiments du cloître. Entre 1819 et 1824, le sculpteur Bonnet transforma en Renommées les statues d'anges de la façade. Le percement de la rue du Tribunal entraîna la démolition de la partie du cloître contiguë à l'église et l'édification de nouvelles façades par P. Champonnois en 1823. Les bâtiments du cloître, occupés par la gendarmerie jusqu'en 1974, sont devenus en 1978 le siège de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Beaune. L'ancienne église, restaurée en 1996, abrite une salle d'expositions au rez-de-chaussée et les bureaux du SIVOM à l'étage.
The Carmel of Beaune settled in 1619 in the former Benedictine priory of Saint-Étienne, founded around 1005. The priory (of which 13th century lintels were reused) being in poor condition, the 16th century church was first summarily repaired; on 7 May 1639 the first stone of the chapel of the Infant Jesus was laid. The monastery was started in November 1640 and the church largely rebuilt from 1654 to 1657, a date engraved on the keystone of the portal arch. A chapel called the Hermitage of Bethlehem was built in 1715 in the garden. After the Revolution, the former convent underwent various uses which led to changes in the interior layout according to the estimates of Quinard, Caristie the elder and Forest; It housed a children's asylum and a girls' school in the church, the gendarmerie and a prison in the cloister buildings. Between 1819 and 1824, the sculptor Bonnet transformed the angel statues on the façade into Renommées. The opening of the rue du Tribunal led to the demolition of the part of the cloister adjoining the church and the construction of new façades by P. Champonnois in 1823. The cloister buildings, occupied by the gendarmerie until 1974, became the headquarters of the Beaune Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1978. The old church, restored in 1996, houses an exhibition hall on the ground floor and the SIVOM offices upstairs.
(pretty similar to the other one... but I like this one more, the clouds are more dynamic, and I found the colors in the sky to be too distracting in the previous one. This was from 5-10 min later. There were some issues with processing this one, but they got worked out :) Any thoughts on this vs. the other?)
Ancient Bristlecone Pine in the Schulman grove, with the Sierras in the backdrop, at sunset.
This is probably the most famous of the trees, and I finally decided to get my shot of it this past trip.. at lot shorter of a drive than the Patriarch grove!
View large!
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Marmot taking in the sunset over the Sierra Nevada.
For you skiers/snowboarders - those hills in the distance is mammoth.
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Le projet d'édifier une mosquée à la Réunion date du début des années 1890. Il est le fait de commerçants originaires du Gujarat arrivés dans l'île deux ou trois décennies auparavant en provenance notamment de Surat. Le 20 avril 1892, six d'entre eux (agissant au nom d'environ 120 autres) acquièrent un immeuble au 111, rue du Grand-Chemin, devenue depuis rue du Maréchal-Leclerc. Il servira de lieu de culte informel pendant dix ans. En 1897, le gouverneur Beauchamp autorise l'édification d'une mosquée à cette adresse. Financée par une caisse alimentée par une somme forfaitaire prélevée sur les bénéfices des commerçants impliqués, sa construction selon les plans d'un ingénieur indien dure sept ans. Inaugurée le 28 novembre 1905, soit 21 ans avant celle de Paris, sa façade principale fait 15 mètres de long et la salle de prière peut contenir 150 fidèles. En 1960, des travaux d'agrandissement sont entrepris après acquisition d'une parcelle mitoyenne. Le nouveau bâtiment, inauguré le 3 août 1962, est partiellement ravagé par un incendie probablement déclenché par un court-circuit à l'étage d'un local commercial voisin le 12 octobre 1974. La façade en bois brûle complètement. La communauté musulmane de Saint-Denis se mobilise à nouveau pour financer de nouveaux travaux. Doté d'une façade commerciale longue de 38 mètres de long, le nouveau bâtiment est livré en 1979. La photo ci-dessus le représente donc peu de temps après son ouverture.
The project to build a mosque in Reunion dates from the early 1890s. It is the work of traders from Gujarat who arrived on the island two or three decades ago from Surat. On April 20, 1892, six of them (acting on behalf of about 120 others) acquired a building at 111, rue du Grand-Chemin, which had since become rue du Maréchal-Leclerc. It will serve as an informal place of worship for ten years. In 1897, Governor Beauchamp authorized the construction of a mosque at this address. Funded by a fund fed by a lump sum levied on the profits of traders involved, its construction according to the plans of an Indian engineer lasts seven years. Inaugurated on November 28, 1905, 21 years before that of Paris, its main facade is 15 meters long and the prayer room can hold 150 people. In 1960, expansion works are undertaken after acquisition of a semi-detached plot. The new building, inaugurated on August 3, 1962, is partially ravaged by a fire probably triggered by a short circuit on the floor of a nearby commercial space on October 12, 1974. The wooden facade burns completely. The Muslim community of Saint-Denis is mobilizing again to finance new work. With a commercial facade of 38 meters long, the new building is delivered in 1979. The photo above represents it not much time after its opening.
[Photo prise avec un Nikon FG-20]
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
Twin houses in this style stand near the foot of the grand street in Merida which has been called "Yucatan's Champs d'Elysees".
From:
yucatan.travel/welcome-to-merida/merida-city/paseo-de-mon...
"These mansions, located at no. 45 of Paseo de Montejo, between Calles 45 and 43, are twin constructions with French Renaissance features. They are the work of European architect M. Umbdenstock and their building was carried out under the supervision of engineer Manuel Cantón Ramos, who was also in charge of the edification of Palacio Cantón, where the Regional Museum of Anthropology and History is located. Brothers Ernesto and Camilo Cámara Zavala brought the plans for these residences from France at the beginning of the XXth century. One house was acquired by Mr. Fernando Barbachano, who had it decorated with the latest style of those days; it is preserved that way. The other remained unfinished for many years and was completed by its current owner, Mr. Mario Molina Méndez.
Located on the west side of the street, one block from the beginning of Paseo de Montejo, these small palaces have Frenchified architectural elements, visible even on the wrought iron balconies and entrance doors, which are among the few reminiscences of the period of splendor Yucatán enjoyed during the first decade of the XXth century."
Burned remains of the devastating Station Fire, under a hopeful sunset.
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Le château de Chambord est un château français situé dans la commune de Chambord.
Construit au cœur du plus grand parc forestier clos d’Europe (environ 50 km2 ceint par un mur de 32 km de long), il s'agit du plus vaste des châteaux de la Loire. Il bénéficie d'un jardin d'agrément et d'un parc de chasse.
Le site a d'abord accueilli une motte féodale, ainsi que l'ancien château des comtes de Blois. L'origine du château actuel remonte au XVIe siècle et au règne du roi de France François Ier qui supervise son édification à partir de 1519.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord
The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King Francis I of France.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the châteaux of Blois and Amboise.
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
For your edification:
I have heard through his Parish Priest that a member of the Westminster Lourdes Pilgrimage, who suffered a stroke 5 years ago which has imprisoned him in a wheelchair ever since, was able to walk unaided into Mass the day after coming back from Lourdes this year.
Praise be to God!
Our Lady of Lourdes Pray for us and for all who invoke your aid!
Saint-Stephen Cathedral Metz, France, is a Rayonnant Gothic edifice built with the local yellow Jaumont limestone. Like in French Gothic architecture, the building is compact, with slight projection of the transepts and subsidiary chapels. However, it displays singular, distinctive characteristics in both its ground plan and architecture compared to most of the other cathedrals. Because of topography of Moselle valley in Metz, the common west-east axis of the ground plan could not be applied and the church is oriented north-northeast. Moreover, unlike the French and German Gothic cathedrals having three portals surmounted by a rose window and two large towers, Saint-Stephen of Metz has a single porch at its western facade. One enters laterally in the edifice by another portal placed at the south-western side of the narthex, declining the usual alignment of the entrance with the choir. The nave is supported by flying buttresses and culminates at 41.41 metres high, making one of the highest naves in the world. The height of the nave is contrasted by the relatively low height of the aisles with 14.3 metres high, reinforcing the sensation of tallness of the nave. This feature permitted the architects to create large, tall expanses of stained glass. Through its history, Saint-Stephen Cathedral was subjected to architectural and ornamental modifications with successive additions of Neoclassical and Neogothic elements.
The edification of Saint-Stephen of Metz took place on an Ancient site from the 5th century. The construction of the Gothic cathedral began in 1220 within the walls of an Ottonian basilica dating from the 10th century. The integration into the cathedral's ground plan of a Gothic chapel from the 12th century at the western end resulted in the absence of a main western portal; the south-western porch of the cathedral being the entrance of the former chapel. The work was completed around 1520 and the new cathedral was consecrated on 11 April 1552. In 1755, French architect Jacques-François Blondel was awarded by the Royal Academy of Architecture to built a Neoclassical portal at the West end of the cathedral. He disengaged the cathedral's facade by razing an adjacent cloister and three attached churches and achieved the westwork in 1764. In 1877, the Saint-Stephen of Metz was heavily damaged after a conflagration due to fireworks. After this incident, it was decided the refurbishment of the cathedral and its adornments within a Neogothic style. The western facade was completely rebuilt between 1898 and 1903; the Blondel's portal was demolished and a new Neogothic portal was added.
Middlebury, Vermont (January 9, 2019) - Winter scenics of the Middlebury College campus. (Photo © 2019 Brett Simison)
Students in an Islamic seminary (madrassa) relax by playing volleyball. In the background large portraits of Ayatollah's Khomeini and Khameini look on. Photo taken on July 30, 2008 in Shiraz, Iran.
CHATEAU DE PUYGUILHEM VILARS Northern Dordogne
The construction of the castle of Puyguilhem starts in 1513, sponsored by La Mondot Marthonie, first president of the Parliament of Paris. The man is a relative of Francis I and his mother Louise de Savoie. It administers the kingdom when the king goes to war.
It seems that the building has taken place in two stages: the first ending in 1524, including foundations, part of the corner tower and the hexagonal tower, the second following closely, seeing the castle s' completed in 1535. The design is between two eras, medieval and renaissance. Several elements are reminiscent of the Gothic style of the Middle Ages, including the lack of symmetry of the building and the inner parts while the outer facade evokes those of the Loire castles that its owner knows well since frequent the court of King.
The castle is modest in its dimensions. Mondot de La Marthonie intended it to serve as a second home and hunting lodge. Its design includes the parts strictly necessary to the life of a nobleman of the time.
Wikipedia
La construction du château de Puyguilhem démarre en 1513, commanditée par Mondot de La Marthonie, premier président du Parlement de Paris. L'homme est un proche de François Ier et de sa mère Louise de Savoie. Il administre le royaume lorsque le roi part en guerre.
Il semble que l'édification se soit déroulée en deux étapes : la première s'achevant en 1524, comprenant les fondations, une partie de la tour d'angle et la tourelle hexagonale, la seconde suivant de près, qui voit le château s'achever en 1535. Sa conception oscille entre deux époques, médiévale et renaissance. Plusieurs éléments rappellent en effet le style gothique du Moyen Âge, notamment l'absence de symétrie de l'édifice et les parties intérieures tandis que la façade extérieure évoque celles des châteaux de la Loire que son propriétaire connaît bien puisqu'il fréquente la cour du Roi.
Le château est modeste dans ses dimensions. Mondot de La Marthonie le destinait à servir de résidence secondaire et relais de chasse. Son aménagement comporte les pièces strictement nécessaires à la vie d'un noble de l'époque.
Wikipedia
Mt. Rainier at sunrise with a young lenticular cloud, from last summer. This was an absolute beast to process - shot it with both a 2-stop hard and 3-stop reverse filters, but neither could handle the dynamic range.. so the bracketed shots came to the rescue. I'd really appreciate any feedback on this one - both processing and otherwise, thanks!
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Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/