昔日文章

At the dining table, Mum was still talking to Rose, William and Daisy about who broke the glass. Looking at the orchids and the broken glass, Mum continued to show her patience and gentleness. With a pair of trusting eyes, she was putting her trust and faith onto her children.   “I was playing with my soldiers,” William said. “It wasn’t me,” he declared.   Rose, William and Mum looked at Fluffy. Surely a cat could not express itself by talking, it could only miaow, and purr. “Fluffy, you broke the glass!” Rose scolded fiercely.   Fluffy looked innocent and miaowed again. The room echoed with the miaow of Fluffy. Suddenly, Daisy said softly, “It wasn’t Fluffy. I broke the glass. I’m sorry, Mummy.” William and Rose were shocked. Except for Mum, she smiled and kissed Daisy.   “Mummy… aren’t you upset?” Daisy asked hesitantly. Mum patted Daisy’s shoulder and held her close. Then Mum said, “No, I’m actually very happy because you told the truth.” William and Rose knew how forgiving Mum was while Daisy understood how precious it was to tell the truth. They all smiled at one another warmly.   Message Love always trusts. Love tells the truth.   Bible verse: Lord God, you who are always merciful and tender-hearted, slow to anger, always loving, always loyal.(Psalm 86 : 15)   Action Have you hid yourself in the corner after doing something bad? May you have the courage to say, “I’m sorry!” Forgiveness brings healing. Love one another as yourself.   Glossary Faith (noun) : great trust or confidence in something or someone Declared (verb) : to announce something clearly, firmly, publicly, or officially 堅定地說 Miaow (verb,US: meow) : (of a cat) make a high crying sound of a cat（貓）喵喵叫聲 Innocent (Adjective) : (of a person) not guilty of a particular crime; or having no knowledge 無辜，單純的。   The Story is taken from CEO Project 1.0 – Love (Level 1) Unit 11 Broken Glass Part 2

Once upon a time, in a magical land called Happyville, there lived two children named Lily and Max. They were best friends. They were always together, playing and laughing, and their friendship was as strong as a castle made of dreams.   One sunny day, while exploring the enchanted forest, they found a special book. It had a power to remember all the mistakes and wrong things people had done. Lily and Max were curious and they took it home.   At first, they thought it was exciting to know about people's mistakes. But soon, they realized that keeping a list of wrong doings made them sad. It hurt their friends and family too.   So they decided to use the book's magic in a more positive way. They wanted to help people learn from their mistakes, instead of holding onto their wrongs.   They started by helping people forgive each other for the little things that bothered them. People in the Happyville forgave their friends and family, thus spreading love and understanding.   As time passed, the book's magic changed . I t turned into a book of forgiveness, filled with stories of love and second chances. Lily and Max learned that love doesn't keep a record of wrongs. Forgiving others made their hearts lighter and happier.   They shared their book with everyone they met, teaching them about forgiveness and love. In Happyville, where love and forgiveness were cherished, everyone lived happily ever after.   Message We forgive one another.   Action Everyone has a book of forgiveness. Forgive and forget. Fill it with stories of love. Always give people a second chance, like what Jesus does to everyone.   Glossary Wrongs (noun) : what is considered to be morally unacceptable 錯誤 Forgiveness (noun) : the willingness to forgive 寬恕   The story is taken from CEO Project 1.0 – Love (Level 1) Unit 9-Do Not Keep a List

Do you remember the evil man in the story published on《Joyful Youth》Issue 2 ( 2023.09.24 ) ? He was furious when he learned that nothing he did could destroy the love and bonds of a caring family. He ran home desperately. To his surprise, when his parents heard about what he had done, they embraced him and said, ‘We do not like the things you do. We do not want you to hurt others, but we love you and we forgive you.’ The evil man was amazed by his parents’ love for him. He felt regret for his evil deeds and made up his mind to do good.   Message The story shows us the power of forgiveness. The parents of the evil man forgave him because of their love for him, and it was this unconditional love that gave the evil man the power to change and do good. Sometimes we find it hard to forgive others even if they are our family. Think about what Jesus did when he was being crucified. He prayed to God, " Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."   Action Next time, when your brothers and sisters hurt you or mistreat you, put your feelings into words and tell them. Then forgive them. You can make a difference. Jesus will help you.   Glossary Furious (adjective) : extremely angry 非常憤怒 Desperately (adverb) : in great despair 絶望地   The story is taken from CEO Project 1.0 – Family (Level 1) Unit 9 The Evil Man Part 3

   The strongest of all warriors are these two - Time and Patience. ── Leo Tolstoy  所有戰士中最強大的是這兩位：時間和耐心。 ── 列夫‧托爾斯泰    The above quotation is taken from the novel “War and Peace”（《戰爭與和平》） by Russian（俄羅斯）writer Leo Tolstoy. The novel was published in 1869, and is regarded as Tolstoy’s great epic. Today it is still one of the greatest novels in the history of world literature. In 2003, the book was listed at No. 20 in a BBC（英國廣播公司）survey on the best-loved novel in the United Kingdom.  The novel focuses on the fates of five Russian noble families during the war against Napoleon（拿破崙）, the famous French military and political leader. It covers many themes such as love and forgiveness, war and patriotism, and success and failure.  The author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was born into a wealthy noble family. However, his parents passed away when he was a child, so he was brought up by his relatives. Tolstoy did not do very well at university and left without a degree.  He spent time travelling in various cities, and led a corrupt life, gambling and drinking. Later, his brother convinced him to join the army. During this time, he started writing. Years later, he left the army and focussed on writing.    Tolstoy was not only a great writer, but also a moral thinker and a social reformer. When he was about forty years old, he reflected on the meaning of life, and religion. Eventually, he broke from his noble class and developed a simple and strict lifestyle. His ideas of non-violent resistance influenced Mahatma Gandhi（聖雄甘地）, a famous political figure in the 20th century. Tolstoy also built schools for his peasants’ children, and offered free meals for the poor.     Epic： 長篇巨著 Noble： 貴族 Patriotism： 愛國主義 Corrupt： 腐化的 Moral thinker： 道德思想家 Social reformer： 社會改革家 Non-violent resistance： 非暴力對抗     Peasants： 農民