Saturday, October 30, 2010

一派胡言:上層為自己自以為是的所作所為而自圓其說的一派胡言

林瑞麟否認偏幫建制派 (明報即時新聞)

政制及內地事務局長林瑞麟否認「超級區議員」提名門檻和競選經費上限太高,亦否認偏幫建制派。
他指,其實除了泛民,建制派對有關建議也有不滿的地方,這證明政府的提案已顧全了政治光譜的各方。又說:「我們已照顧不同的『意見』,但是否完全照顧不同黨派的『利益』呢?那就另計了。」

政府今早向立法會政制事務委員會特別會議,提交2012年行政長官和立法會選舉辦法的本地立法建議。

根據政府建議,立法會方面直選及功能界別議席,各由30席增至35席。當局建議地方直選維持由5個分區選出。

其中備受關注的焦點是,建議5個「超級區議員」(新增的5個區議會功能界別議席)以全港為單一選區,由320萬名現於其他功能界別無投票權的選民,透過名單比例代表制選出。只有民選區議員才可以參選,並必須取得最少15名民選區議員提名,不設上限。競選經費上限定為600萬元。選舉資助額為12元一票,上限維持在競選經費五成。

有議員要求降低有關門檻,也有議員批評提名門檻不設上限,可能出現一些團體獨攬大量提名者、對小團體和獨立人士不公的情況。也有議員批評,競選經費太高。泛民議員指有關設定,是偏幫建制派。

但林瑞麟堅持,將提名門檻訂於15人是恰當的。他指,在諮詢時,各方提出的建議是10人至20人,現在決定15人,是其中間數。

他表示,目前全港民選區議員有412人,把提名門檻訂為15人,已經可以組成廿多張名單出選,競爭會很大。

他又指,諮詢時各方建議的競選經費上限,是400萬至800萬元,現在定為600萬元,也很合適。他特別指出,由於是以全港作為單一選區,候選人要接觸320萬選民,需要一定的經費。

至於提名門檻不設上限,他指這是因為單一選區遍及全港,參選者需要組織廣泛的網絡,因此在機制上,提供「最廣闊的空間」。




Sunday, October 17, 2010

給神蹟留空間 ◆ 摘自《天天有恩典》10.10.18

天使豈不都是服役的靈、奉差遣為那將要承受救恩的人效力嗎?
希伯來書1:14

我非看見祂手上的釘痕……,又用手探入祂的肋旁,我總不信。約翰福音二十25
我們住的世界到處都是預算、長程計畫、電腦,要去信靠那令人難以相信的,實在很難,不是嗎?我們不都常常眉頭深鎖,認真思考人生,每一步都小心謹慎地走?我們很難想像神竟要給我們驚喜。如果要我們留點空間讓神蹟發生,好像很不可靠,讓人很不安心。

我們犯的就是多馬所犯的錯誤:我們忘了「不可能」(impossible)是神最喜歡的字之一。
你呢?最近你的想像力怎麼樣?上一回你讓夢想跑在現實邏輯之前是什麼時候?上一回你夢想那遙不可及的夢是什麼時候?⋯⋯上一回你宣告神「超過我們所求所想」的應許(弗三20),是不是已經有一陣子了?

No Wonder They Call Him the Savior...!





Friday, October 15, 2010

問卷分析報告

生活品質
您剛才完成的問卷中有一部分是由世界衛生組織(WHO)的一個附屬團隊研發的,主要目的是為了測量你的生活品質。一個人的生活品質是他以所在地的文化和價值體系作為基礎,聯繫他的個人目標、期望、生活準則和一些個人關心的事, 並且綜合以上各方面的因素,所得出對自我生活定位的主觀感受。生活品質是一個相當多元的概念,包括了身體健康狀況、心理狀態、社會關係,以及和外在環境之間的聯繫。具體細分,生活品質牽涉個人的日常活動、是否對醫療有所依賴、自主性、工作能力、外貌、自尊心、人際關係、經濟來源、社會福利、學習新技能的機會、外在環境等等。

在23至130分的量尺上,您的得分是:72分

您目前對生活的體驗較差。也許這是因為在過去一年您過得不太順利。環境中未必事事皆能由我們來左右,有時我們要稍為調節目標。當面對困難時,您可以嘗試迎難而上,利用它們來提升自己。一些科學家發現,積極的態度可以幫助人們體驗到更美好的生活。深願您的人生觀更積極,生活漸趨美滿。願您能為您所擁有的一切感恩。


抗逆力
抗逆力這個性格特徵,是一種對抗精神壓力的保護性因素。它是一個人應對生活中的變化或者不幸事件的能力,又是從逆境、不確定性、衝突和失敗中迅速恢復和回升的能力。它包括了一個人的樂觀精神、自我控制力和自尊。抗逆力強的人能夠清楚地認識現實和接受現實,並且有很高的靈活性,能夠適應變化和臨場發揮。人的抗逆力一部分源於朋友和親人無條件給予的支持。

本問卷對您的抗逆力進行了簡要的測量,在4-20的分量尺上,您的得分是16。

您的抗逆力略低於平均水平。當您遇到毫無預警的問題時,您偶爾會變得焦慮。這個時候,便更宜注意睡眠休息,在平日,多點與朋友、親人交流。




Sunday, October 10, 2010

Brian Burke reveals his method for Leafs success - thestar.com

Brian Burke’s approach to making the Leafs a respected contender is simple. He soaks up something important from almost everyone he meets, and seeks out those he can learn from. Some of the most important lessons he’s picked up along the way: be decisive, realize assets come in many forms, and while you can’t always be compassionate, fairness is not negotiable.

“As you walk along the path, you have to be willing to find something on the side that helps you.”

“I called Bill Polian (Indianapolis Colts president). This is eight or nine years ago probably, well before we had a salary cap. I said, ‘We’re going toward a salary cap, I know we’re going to have one.’ I (didn’t) have the first idea how to handle a salary cap, how to manage a salary cap and I certainly don’t want to learn on the fly. I don’t want to hit the ground walking on this. If they put in a cap, what do I do? He said, ‘C’mon in. Talk to our cap guys.’ So I spent the better part of a day going over how they manage the cap.”

“Later on in the day, I’m sitting in Bill’s office and he had a depth chart and there was a little red box on three of the offensive linemen. I said, ‘What’s the little red box?’ He said, ‘They’re all unrestricted free agents.’ Of course, I’m thinking old system NHL where you’ve got to get something for everybody. And I went, ‘Oh my God, what are you going to do?’ and he looked at me like I had two heads. ‘What do you mean, what am I going to do? I’m going to replace them.’ I said, ‘You’re not going to get anything for them?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get back all the cap space.’ People say to me, you’ve got to get something for Tomas Kaberle. No, I don’t. I get $4.2 million back if he decides not to stay at the end of the year.”

“He’s a valuable contributor and he’s a real good guy. If we keep him for the year and he walks, he walks. I get $4.2 million back. I let Ruslan Salei walk in Anaheim. We didn’t get anything for him but I needed him to make the playoff run we did when we went to the conference finals (in 2006). I told him at the deadline, ‘I’m not moving you. I need you to play the next 20 games, have the spring of your life, then I’ll help you get the big dough somewhere else.’ He did.”

“Lesson learned, in the cap system first things first. You do not have to get a return on every asset like you did in the old system. The cap room comes back to you, that’s an asset. There’s an example.”

“My two outside guys, the guys I would rely on most for advice, would be Bill Polian and Ned Colletti. Ned Colletti (L.A. Dodgers GM) was there when we won the Cup in Anaheim. I was happy that he was there. Bill Polian and I won our championships the same year, which was really cool.”

“I remember calling Bill Polian before I did the Pronger deal (in Anaheim). I said, ‘I think I can get Pronger from Edmonton but it’s a horrible, horrible price. We’re overpaying badly.’ And Polian said, ‘You can get Chris Pronger? Hang up the phone, call Edmonton and make the deal.’ I said, ‘It ties up so much of our cap on defence.’ And he said, ‘No one has ever won a championship in the NFL without spending on defence. Hang up the phone and call.’ I was going to make the deal anyway, it didn’t push me over, but there’s a seasoned, championship executive in the most popular sport in North America and that’s the decisiveness a guy like that has. That was a lesson: Boom. Do it.”

“With Colletti, it was the same thing. . . . He said, ‘Do it, get him.’ These guys are valuable . . . if you’re having a dispute with ownership, and we haven’t had one here and we didn’t have one in Anaheim. Guys frequently have friction with their owner. Call a guy, ask what he would do, how he would handle it. Problems with the media . . . ‘We’ve got a problem guy here, what do you do with your guy if you have problems.’ They’ve been great influences and great help.”

“I used to drive up to Manhattan Beach and have coffee with Ned at 6 in the morning. I could leave my house at 5 o’clock. Up at 4:30, shower, drive up to Manhattan Beach, meet Ned at this little breakfast place and talk about what we’re trying to do with our teams. I went to spring training with them. I went to Vero Beach to see them in spring training. I went up to see games at Dodger Stadium, met with his key people. His key people met with us last year during the Edmonton/Calgary trip. I think he’s coming here this year over the New Year’s break to see the world junior and see us play two home games.”

“I was asked to be in a think tank at Wharton this summer, at the University of Pennsylvania. It was mind-boggling, the people they had in the room. People from all of sports. It was kind of like Sesame Street. Three of these things belong together, one of these things is not the same. I was like, ‘How did I get in this room?’ They were talking about issues that face sports — the economy, sponsorship dollars — and (team president/CEO) Mark Murphy was there from the Packers. I’ve always admired Mark Murphy. He was a great player, an important player in the NFLPA and now he’s on the management side, struck up a friendship, exchanged e-mails . . . To me, I think you can always learn.”

“There’s lots of lessons. Working for Pat Quinn was like getting an MBA. He’s a brilliant guy and a great teacher.”

“You know what I’d really like to do? I’d like to be able to speak French. I keep telling myself I’m going to learn and I haven’t done it yet. It’s a function of time more than anything. As far as hockey goes, you can do everything better. The day you stop learning, the day you stop improving is the day, really, you’re on the back nine. As long as you’re willing to learn and think you’re going to learn, then I think you’re still climbing the hill.”

“I think most GMs become friends with the GMs in their town . . . I have struck up a friendship with (Blue Jays’ GM) Alex Anthopoulos. I’m really impressed with him. I think he’s a really good guy, a really smart guy. Paul Beeston is a wonderful asset in terms of bouncing things off of, a very bright guy. I really like Bryan (Colangelo, the Raptors GM). He’s a really good guy but I don’t like to be seen with him in public. He’s taller than I am. He’s better looking than I am. He speaks better than I do and he dresses better than I do. So whenever I appear with him, I come off looking short and barely literate and not well-dressed. I like Bryan but I don’t like getting on stage with him.”

“I know what I don’t know, which I think is a key to be successful. There’s 30 teams and 30 farm teams. Each team in the NHL has somewhere between 40 and 50 contracts. There’s always unsigned draft choices in junior and in Europe. There’s no way you can mentally master the database as a GM. Anyone who says he knows every player in the league – knows in terms of how he plays, which way he shoots, what his propensities are – any GM who tells you that is lying. This year, there’s going to be three, four new guys on every team. Some of whom, I’ll have seen in junior, some of whom I’ll have seen in the American league but some of whom, I’ll have never seen. You got to start by conceding that you’re not going to know every player. So you darn well better have people who do. I place great weight in the people that work for me. I do take their recommendations and when they say, this is what we ought to do, that’s what we do.”

“I do believe in star power in the front office. I do believe it’s critical to have heavyweight candle-power in the front office. I had Bob Murray in Vancouver with Dave Nonis. These are GM-calibre guys working underneath me. Here, we’ve got Dave Nonis again. Dave Poulin, again GM-calibre guy. Claude Loiselle, same thing. I think it’s a top-heavy group and I think that’s important. You want to be successful, look at Kenny Holland (in Detroit). He’s got Jim Nill who is a GM-calibre guy.”

“The blueprint is never going to change for me but you inherit different assets everywhere you go.”

“If you’re picking 24 to 30, that’s not much different than a second-round pick. Everywhere I’ve gone we’ve tried to add free agents. We tried to add assets that don’t cost the team any corporate assets. I place great stress on coaching. We have an integrated system as far as our farm team goes. Our farm team plays the exact mirror-image system that our big club plays, which is amazingly not true everywhere. So when a kid comes up and plays for the Leafs, the only thing different is the building. He knows the forecheck, he knows the PK, he knows all that stuff. I believe in strength in coaching at the minor-league level. I think Dallas Eakins is just a top young coach.”

“Basically, I take the assets I have, who can play in this system, who can be a top six, who can be a bottom six, give them a chance and start putting people on airplanes.”

“The assets you have in a cap system are players, draft choices, cash, cap room and tagging room, which is the ability to sign players into future years. You need to have cap space in future years. You need to have contracts available too if you want to add players so you have to be under 50 contracts. Those are all assets.”

“Compassion is not the right word. What you owe your players is fairness. You can’t always be compassionate. You sometimes have to trade a guy whose wife is expecting, which is not compassionate. But I think if you say to the player, ‘Look I don’t have a choice. We need to do this deal’ and you explain it, which is fair. You owe your players fairness. The standard player’s contact, the word ‘compassion’ does not appear in there, but fairness is something every employee is entitled to. I value that with my non-playing employees too. The Christmas break is an example of that. But also, if there’s a rumour in the paper tomorrow . . . if you write that so-and-so is going to be traded and there’s nothing to that, I go right to that player and tell him, ‘Look, we’re not talking to anyone about you.’ I can’t guarantee you’re not going to get traded. Stop sweating it. You are not on the market here, this guy is full of crap. Compassion is something you always want to have for your players and you try to provide. Sometimes you can’t. But fairness, you owe them all the time, 365.”

How Brian Burke intends to build a winner - thestar.com

Call it the Brian Burke Method, the plan to make the Maple Leafs a respected contender once again. Burke’s approach hasn’t changed much since he was part of a belligerent Maine Mariners squad that won the Calder Cup as AHL champs in 1978, or since he was a young general manager in Hartford seeking advice from the legendary Bill Torrey.

“The most important decision a GM makes is who coaches the team. I’m fortunate that we had a great coach in place here. That’s truly where it all begins and ends. It doesn’t matter how many good players you give the guy if he can’t coach. Then my philosophy is real simple, which is build from the net out … if you don’t have goaltending you can’t win.”

“The second most important position is defence. I’ve always spent more money and more effort on defence than any other position. I think it’s like pitching in baseball. You can have eight all-stars, eight Hall of Famers in the field, and if they’re not behind a pitching staff that’s competent, they’re not going to win.”

“Everyone thinks I was a defenceman because I’m big and my statistics were very poor. I was a forward. If you look at Stanley Cup winners in general, their defence corps was solid, if not spectacular.”

“Then, the rest of it for me is, we want to have a certain attitude. We want to play an entertaining style. We don’t trap. We pursue the puck in all three zones. We hit in all three zones. We fight. And we try to score a lot of goals. We’re not afraid to trade chances because our D is good because our goaltending is good, we’re not afraid to trade chances, which leads to an entertaining hockey game.”

“Then we go top six, bottom six. The top six are my skill guys, my speed and my first power play. Then the bottom six are the hard-hat guys. The blue collar guys, the lunch pail guys. Use whatever analogy you want. These are the guys who do the unglamorous jobs that are necessary to win a hockey game, kill penalties, block shots, win faceoffs, basically they’re the grunts but you can’t win a championship without grunts that are proficient.”

“My teams play a style that’s designed to entertain. I am in the entertainment business and I think star power is important. If you look, everywhere I’ve gone I’ve always had star players and I’ve always had a stud on defence. So with (Dion) Phaneuf, I think people would have seen that one coming because I’ve always had a stud back there. But as far as Phil Kessel, I’ve always had a star up front too. I do believe in terms of generating interest in selling tickets, you do need to have a star player so there’s no coincidence that Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf are here.”

“I think the draft is critical to rebuilding, don’t get me wrong. You look at this year’s draft, without a first (round pick), I think we really did a good job putting assets in the cupboard. I think our scouts did a great job. So I’m not downplaying the draft, the draft is vital. I don’t intend to keep trading first-round picks. We felt we needed to do that to add Phil Kessel and we felt we had the ability to do it because of the other free agents we had signed. I don’t intend to keep doing that. I think long-term successful teams keep their picks and draft.”

“I’ve never consciously said, let’s have an M.O. Let’s have something the writers can say, this is what he does. I would say, I’ve always given my players a chance. I’ve never come in and blown the team up right away. I’ve always given the players a chance. Second thing is, I’m not a big trade deadline guy. If I’m in contention, I try to add small pieces at the deadline. I like my team to get together earlier in the season. I do place great value on belligerence. I think if two teams are otherwise equal, the tougher team is always going to win. And I do believe in treating players fairly. We have a different Christmas trade deadline here. I think we’re very honest with our players here. I think the players here are treated fairly and know they’re treated fairly so that’s it, that’s my philosophy.”

“My whole philosophy of building teams, I owe to Bill Torrey (legendary Islanders GM). After we won (in Anaheim), I called him and thanked him. I asked him once, you won four straight Cups — people can argue that might have been one of the greatest teams ever — I’m a young GM, can you educate me on this? He said, it’s very simple. You have to win four playoff series to win a Stanley Cup, 16 games. He said, your whole team should be built for 16 games. He said, in the course of those four series, you’re going to play a big team. You’re going to play a really fast team. You’re going to play a team that relies on special teams, more like a trap team might in Jersey, a team that has great special teams. Then you’re going to see a hybrid of one of them. In no particular sequence. You’ve got to be big enough to beat the big team. Quick enough to beat the speed team. Special teams have to be good so you need power play specialists and PK specialists. Then, the hybrid, you need a blend of all it. And goaltending, obviously they had great goaltending.”

“I evolved it with Bob Murray and Dave Nonis over time to be even more tightly defined. And someone will come along after me and define it even more … but, to me, it’s top six, bottom six and top four, bottom two on the D. That’s what I’ve used since I got to Hartford. I never elucidated it there. I never talked to the media about the blueprint there but that’s clearly the way I thought we were going to go. As a rookie GM, you don’t want to be making bold statements about how you build a team. It’s your first day on the job, you keep your mouth shut.”

“I tell the team this when we go to training camp. We actually talk about this analogy. I tell them, you go to the symphony and in the front row is the first violin and she’s elegant. She’s got a beautiful long dress on and there’s a spotlight on. She’s got nice earrings and everyone came to listen to her. But there’s a guy built like me in the back row blowing on a tuba. They don’t start till they both sit down. Now she’s going to make a lot more money than I do. She’s probably going to have a longer career than I have. But if we’re going to get picked up and put on a record label, they need me too.”

“Then after we all leave, someone cleans up the hall and moves the chairs back. So there’s a job for everyone. A successful organization has to have contributions at every level.”

“You go by a job site. There’s a guy digging a ditch, a guy pounding nails, a guy stringing wire and a guy welding pipe. Four different jobs, four different pay scales but the building doesn’t go up unless every one of them shows up for work. It’s the same thing I tell our players. If you’re a fourth-line guy, if you’re Colton Orr, you have great value on our team. If you’re a third-line guy who kills penalties, takes faceoffs, blocks shots, you have great value on our team. There’s a spot for you on this team. Everyone is valuable. Everyone is important. But you’ve got to be able to do one of those jobs. You’re no good to me unless you’re a top six or a bottom six. If you’re not good enough to be a top six, you’d better bring some sandpaper or a skill specialty or some courage to it. Like a Freddie Sjostrom is an important player on our team because he can kill penalties and he’s fearless blocking shots and he’s got character. That’s an underlying thing to all of this. I want people with character.”

“I’ve been fortunate, I’ve had two great mentors in hockey. Lou Lamoriello who I played for (at Providence College) and Pat Quinn who I worked for the first time (at Vancouver). This isn’t self-learned. I worked for two giants. The other guy who was a great influence in my professional career was Gary Bettman but that was on the business side. Between those two guys, Lou and Pat, I didn’t have to pick up a book and learn hockey all on my own. I had two great teachers.”

“Are there things I thought were true that aren’t true now? I don’t think so. I played on a championship team (Maine Mariners, the Flyers’ affiliate) in the American league. I played a very minor role on that team. I’ll make that disclaimer up front. But we had all the elements. Keith Allen was the GM of the Flyers at that time. We had an excellent coach; we had great team toughness. We had clear special teams guys who were terrific. We had the MVP of the league that year (Blake Dunlop), we had the best defenceman in the league that year (Terry Murray) but we also had grunts that killed penalties and blocked shots.”

“That’s where it started. I remember thinking, we played the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in the second round, and I remember talking to Dennis Patterson who was our captain — he now scouts for the Flyers — and I remember saying, if we beat these guys, we’re going to steamroll New Haven. That’s who we played in the finals. We beat then 4-1 because we were so much bigger and so much tougher. We matched their skill and we were much more belligerent. Lessons learned.”

The conversation continues on Sunday, as Burke talks about star power, the salary cap, and who he goes to for advice.

Friday, October 08, 2010

女人心事 -- 等待

羅乃萱(電郵:shirley.loo@familyheartware.com)

如果愛一個人,他變了心,要等他回心轉意嗎?

在電郵中收到這樣一個問題,令我苦思良久。

起初的反應是,大家又不是談婚論嫁。男若無情,女的也沒有義務要等下去,是嗎?

總覺得,死有輕於鴻毛,有重於泰山之別。等待,又何嘗不是一樣?

漫無目的的等待,只是浪費與虛耗寶貴的青春。

「他說從來沒愛過我,但我不信!」說的那麼斬釘截鐵,背後卻是一種無法稀釋的執狂與意亂情迷。要明白,一個男人能開口這樣決絕說「不愛」的話,他「說謊」的成分其實很低很低啊!

「坊間不是說過真愛要等待的嗎?」對啊!但問題是,單方的付出與執迷,只會是一場糾纏不清的苦戀。

聽過這樣一個故事。她在大學時代跟同窗的他拍拖,兩個人相愛相親,她認定他就是未來的結婚對象。豈料,情海猝然翻波,他說要跟她分手,藉口是:「大家還年輕,認識多些異性朋友再看看。如果對方是真命天子的話,一定有緣可以再會!」實情卻是,第三者介入,他移情別戀去也。

那段失戀的日子,她曾哭得死去活來,覺得「沒有他的日子活不下去」。後經摯友提醒:「如此不負責任的男人,值得妳為他流眼淚嗎?」思前想後,決定要忘記背後,重新出發。最後,上主為她預備一個絕頂配偶,兩個人婚後育有一對子女,其樂融融。

某天,她忽然發現,那個曾愛過的他,在她的博客留言:「我仍單身,你呢?」

「我的生活很愉快。有一個愛我的丈夫,一對活潑可愛的兒女,更重要的是,找到愛的源頭,就是讓我委身一生的上主。我會為你禱告,願主祝福你!」


基督教時代論壇 第一二○六期.二○一○年十月十日




Monday, October 04, 2010

面前的牌子

何靜 <國證網絡--給您,同行者>網絡編輯


一個失明的男孩坐在路邊,擺了一頂帽子在腳旁,面前放了一個告示牌寫著:

「我是一個可憐的瞎子,請幫助我」。帽子裡只有幾枚硬幣。

一個男人經過,停下腳步,從口袋裡掏出了幾枚硬幣投入帽子裡。然後,他拿起牌子把它翻轉過來寫了一些字,再放回男孩的面前。男孩也察覺了。

奇怪地,開始有很多人在看過牌子後往帽子裡投錢,帽子很快開始裝滿了錢。

午後,改寫了告示牌的男人來看看事情發展得怎麼樣了。男孩認出了他的腳步便問道:

「你就是那個改寫牌子的人嗎?你到底寫了什麼?」

那人說:「我不過是寫事實,跟你原來的意思差不多,只是用了另一種說法。」

他寫的是:「雖然我的眼睛看不見,但你的幫助,能讓我的心靈看見生命的美好!」

兩個牌子,說的都是事實,卻流露著截然不同的人生觀。

第一個牌子告訴人失明的男孩多麼不幸,只聚焦在他所失去的東西上。

第二個牌子告訴人男孩雖然失去了視力,但仍能擁有和享受生命中美好的事物。而人們的幫助,能發揮正面的影響力。

今天的社會,充滿了各種不幸和苦難。人生也難免遇到挫拆和逆境,我們需要正能量──以正面的思想來看事物,以積極的態度來過生活。同一個處境,換個角度來看,能帶來完全不同的感受、行動和影響。

耶穌的教導也是充滿正能量的,祂曾說:「不要為明天憂慮,因為明天自有明天的憂慮;一天的難處一天當就夠了。」(馬太福音6:34)這是因著相信神必看顧而對生命生出的安全感。祂又教導我們面對生活要「常常禱告,不可灰心」。對於面對試探或困境,聖經教導我們要深信神必會開出路,我們必能忍耐得住。這不是充滿樂觀積極的思想嗎?可是對基督徒來說,這種正向思維並不是靠自己而來的,而是因著對神的信心和認識,相信祂是一位慈愛豐盛的神,無論在任何處境中必會看顧我們,保護我們,因祂是我們的父親,我們是祂所愛的兒女。

耶穌的使徒保羅也是正能量的表表者,他曾說:「我知道怎樣處卑賤,也知道怎樣處豐富;或飽足,或飢餓;或有餘,或缺乏,隨事隨在,我都得了祕訣。」(腓立比書4:12)這是何等豁達的人生觀啊!「我靠著那加給我力量的,凡事都能作。」這是何等超凡的信心啊!

在國證網絡事奉的日子,也不全是風平浪靜的,也有經歷困難的時候,特別是經濟上的經常不敷常教人擔憂,人力和資源上的欠缺常教人疲乏;然而,換個角度來看,神的恩典蓋過了一切的不足,祂讓我們經歷了看似不足卻是豐富的境況。在經濟最壞的時候,我們從沒有打出一個牌子說:我們不夠錢用啊,弟兄姊妹們,奉獻給我們吧。我們面前的牌子所說的是:我們仍有很多神所託付的事工要做,你的支持,能讓更多人走近神,親近神。

你面前的牌子寫著甚麼呢?無論你在那一種生活境況中,請常常默念神的愛、生命的美好,在內心思念每一個你所愛的人、數算每一件值得感恩的大小事情。如果你面前的牌子寫滿了自憐和苦澀的句子,把它改寫過來,讓你的生命充滿從神而來的正能量!