Garden in the palm of your hand

Summary/Jian Hailan

Picture provided/Zhang Lingxi, Lin Wenxin, Lin Minwen

Starting from September 27, 2009,
The "telephone talks" with Penn Joy Reading Camp alumni have been going on for more than a year.
The voice on the phone sometimes became excited and high-spirited as the reading materials were shared.
Sometimes he laughs happily, sometimes he prays thoughtfully...

Part I: Sharing

"Hello, everyone! Warm reminder: This phone reading sharing session will start at 9pm ET tomorrow, Sunday. You are welcome to call to participate. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday." Turn on the computer and enjoy reading the camp monitor's article The letter from my heart jumped into my eyes, and the time we were looking forward to meeting in the air has come again!

I have been addicted to books since I was a child. When I was young, I read all kinds of books, including theory, philosophy, Chinese and foreign classics, and romance novels. The famous writer Mr. Peng Ge once said that to become a good writer, you must first become a good reader. For my dream of becoming a writer, these words became my motto. However, I didn’t understand the point of my reading and didn’t gain much.

In 2009 and 2010, I attended two consecutive literature appreciation classes given by teacher Chen Huiwan (Mo Fei) of the “Kingdom of God Resources and Culture Practice Camp” - “How to be a Christian and a Pleasing Reader”, and I began to enjoy the joy of reading.

Fellowship time after the camp—Yuedu phone conversation
Zhang Lingxi:Have you seen gold bricks? Specially made gold bricks from the Ming Dynasty; golden in color, smooth and delicate. Unfortunately, the production method has been lost because there is no record to share the secret of brick making with others. (See the theory that the practice of gold bricks is lost in the book "Wind and Snow Dingling".)

After returning from the "Reading Camp", I want to continue reading good books. But there is a lot of work to do, and time is limited. You have to study hard under a solitary lamp alone. It is better to invite classmates to continue building this process together to enrich your life. I also want to shed some light on the topic and hear more about the experiences of teachers and classmates in learning, writing, and writing.

Nowadays, many company employees use the simplest "tele-conference" to establish networks and consolidate relationships when discussing matters, church ministers leading Bible studies, or preaching gospel messages. When I was undergoing "pastoral training", I also particularly appreciated the cross-state special studies and lectures, which benefited many people through "telephone conversations". At that time, I didn’t have to work by boat. I only had to spend some time to participate, listen, think, and take notes, and I would benefit. So, I also started inviting students from the "Reading Camp" to have monthly phone conversations.

▲Happy reader—Pastor Zhang Lingxi, facilitates a monthly phone reading sharing meeting through "telephone talks".

For more than a year, thank you to every student who has participated regularly and ignited the fire in us to read good books, appreciate literature and art, and be willing to serve!

Lin Wenxin:After participating in the first "Reading Camp", Lingxi initiated a monthly "Sky Reading Club". Please send me a meeting notice and briefly record the content of each meeting, and then forward it to the students for reference. I thought I could do this, so I agreed.

Unexpectedly, it started on September 27, 2009 and has lasted for more than a year. For me, in addition to sharing my reading experience, monthly meetings are also a time for fellowship with brothers and sisters in various places.

The most important thing that can last for such a long time is: Lingxi’s incomparable enthusiasm and Hailan’s warm encouragement have always inspired me to send monthly invitation notifications. Brothers and sisters' reading and sharing also greatly opened my horizons and strengthened my motivation to continue taking the record.

I cherish every time we get together in the air. The voice on the phone, along with the readings shared, is sometimes excited and high-spirited, sometimes whispering slowly, sometimes laughing happily, and sometimes praying thoughtfully. It is a moving sound picture. I hope that I can continue to "draw", and I also hope that more brothers and sisters will participate, so that the Air Reading Club can gather more different voices and bring richer sharing of "pleasant reading".

▲Lin Wenxin, monitor of the 2009 Pennsylvania Happy Reading Camp, shared her reading experience on the air and quickly recorded it.

Lin Minwen:For me, a bookworm who never puts down his books, reading is a pleasure and an important thing. It's a pity that in the past, I just read the books. No matter how incisive and substantial the content is, if I don't sort it out and taste it, it won't have any effect on my own knowledge and thoughts.

In order to speak meaningfully in the book club, you need to carefully judge whether this book is worth introducing to everyone, what is it good about, and what kind of essence can you draw from it? Only with this precipitation process can we truly say that we are "reading" books.

I read several novels by Jodi Picoult: "Change of Heart", "My Sister's Keeper", "Handle With Care" Care) etc. I found that she not only raised some moral issues that are difficult to determine in black and white, but also portrayed many mothers in the book who tried their best to seek medical and legal means to protect their children. As a Christian reader, I can feel her compassionate heart, but I also hope that she can find a God with abundant love and infinite grace.

▲ Judy Picoult is good at dealing with highly morally controversial subjects in her novels. "My Sister's Keeper" topped the New York Times bestseller list as soon as it was published.

Because I love reading, I am extremely thirsty for good book information. I have followed the bestseller list, or I have read all the works of a certain author, or I have randomly selected them from the library bookshelf like a blind cat killing a mouse. However, opening a book is not always beneficial. Even if the words continue to come into view, the spirit and soul may not be fed.

▲Lin Minwen was chatting on the air in the book-rich study room.

Book clubs are now a reliable source of book news. With readers’ introductions and endorsements, you can feel free to read it. Some people like novels, some prefer prose, and some recommend spiritual literature, which aroused my interest in exploring many aspects.

Sometimes I feel that the phone book reading club is really a bit like a book market in the sky, where readers set up stalls and shout out the beautiful works in their hands. You will gain a lot from this trip!

Promise a life of reading

Teacher Chen said in class that as a Christian, you must learn to be a good reader; from this, it can be inferred that a Christian who is constantly growing must also be a continuous reader. She said that reading helps us master language and enrich our lives. She mentioned that reading literature helps us understand the world, culture and times, relieves our souls, defines and refines ourselves. It also helps us get in touch with the world beyond ourselves, expand our horizons, and deepen our inner nature. Therefore, we can learn from other people’s wisdom and experience through reading, and at the same time, we can better understand ourselves and update ourselves.

Teacher Chen encouraged us to have a day of reading. When I am awake, I can read ten pages a day. Some words are chewed a little, and some thoughts are slowly settled. When I went to bed and closed my eyes, there were at least ten pages of text butterflies flying in my dream.

You can promise a life of reading. According to the Bible, we can all live to be at least seventy years old. If we are middle-aged, we can conservatively read two to three hundred books in the rest of our lives. If these two or three hundred books are all good books worth reading, then you are a very impressive person, with a broad vision, meaningful words, well-spoken words, and a very meaningful life.

Every time you open a good book, it will be beneficial.

PartⅡ：Experience

On the last Sunday of every month, the "Air Reading Club" starts at 9pm and lasts until at least 10:30, before everyone reluctantly says good night to each other and says goodbye. Wen Xinzong issued a notice before the meeting and invited everyone to participate on time, while Lingxi came in five minutes in advance and waited. As for us, after dialing the number, we announced our names along with the relaxing music and received a warm welcome. The following is a live broadcast of a certain reading club to share our reading pleasure.

The Shack
I finished reading the novel "The Shack" this month and loved it very much. Appreciate the author's honest disclosure of various thoughts about God, such as doubts, unfairness, complaints, etc. Reflect on yourself, you may behave like this occasionally. "Cottage" actually represents the dark place inside where no light can be seen. The protagonist of the story is warmly received by three people in the cabin: a kind black lady, a gentle Asian woman, and a Mexican man who manages the garden. These three people respectively represent the author's understanding and feelings of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son, and describe how he received God's warmth and encouragement in pain. During this period, they also challenged the doubts that ordinary people have about God. The Asian woman who represents the Holy Spirit reminded me of God’s love for the Chinese people, and I was particularly moved. The most painful trauma in the author's heart was when the father saw the blood of his missing daughter, and was later led to the hut to face it and was healed. The text and plot of this book are very exciting, rich in content and far-reaching significance. You may read it several times.(Shared by Jian Hailan)

"The Cabin" was on the bestseller list in 2008. Shin Hye has introduced this book before. Recently, she saw a TV interview with the author William Paul Young, which further deepened her interest in reading this book. The author said that this is a modern version of "The Pilgrim's Progress". He was able to publish the book because of his wife's encouragement, and he wanted to use the novel to convey the God he knew in his heart.(Zhang Lingxi responded)

After reading the English version of "The Little House", I feel that the author's motivation in writing is to bring people to God. I was very nervous when I read the anonymous letter, and when I described the scene of the garden to the author, I felt like heaven. When reading this book, it is like walking from a door to another world, and I have a lot of inspiration.(Luo Cunxin responded)

For Whom the Bell Tolls
Rereading Ernest Hemingway's (1899-1961) novel "The Bells of War", I feel that the writing is clear and concise, and it is worth thinking about and savoring slowly. I also read Teacher Chen Huiwan's "The Legendary Scent of Roses". The article "Love Banquet" tells the story of an international student who returned home alone for the holidays after working in a laboratory. He met a kind-hearted man who led a Bible study class and invited him to his home as a guest. . It turned out that the couple had prepared a banquet, but there were not enough guests, so the husband drove outside to invite passers-by, and finally a group of unrelated people ate at the same table. This is reminiscent of Jesus’ famous parable in the Bible.(Shared by Zhang Lingxi)

Hinds' Feet on High Places
This book is written by Hannah Hurnard, translated by Wang Hanchuan, and published by China Workers Publishing House. The title of the book comes from Chapter 3, Verse 19 of the Book of Habakkuk in the Bible: "The Lord God is my strength; He makes my feet as fast as the feet of a deer, and keeps me on high places." The author is told that he suffered from stuttering since childhood. However, he miraculously returned to normal after he decided to become a missionary. The book describes the heroine "Miss Horror" who strives to overcome psychological and physical obstacles, obeys the guidance of the "Shepherd", and with the help of the "Suffering" and "Sad" sisters, step by step ascends to the "Kingdom of Love". What an amazing experience with a new name and a new life. The whole book represents a Christian's growth process of trusting the Lord Jesus more and more, which is very enlightening.(Shared by Lin Wenxin)

In the "God's Kingdom Resource Cultural Practice Camp", I received the completion certificate of the "Christian Joyful Reading Camp" from teacher Chen Huiwan (Mo Fei). It reads: "A book should be a garden the size of the palm of your hand. Words with petals of various colors, stems of strength, roots of truth. Turn the page to change the season, read the sentences and enjoy the roses." This is Max Lucado's famous saying and also Chen's Teachers’ expectations of us. All the partners in the Reading Camp also encourage each other:"I hope I can always carry the garden in my palm. Turning the pages is like turning through the seasons of life, appreciating the beauty of life and exploring the depth and richness of life."I pray that every Christian can become a happy reader. (The book and shadow are taken from the Internet)