“THE LIGHT”

Two weeks following CHINESE NEW YEAR is the LANTERN FESTIVAL! For many years we lived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan ♥ and attended the HUGE Lantern Festival at the Love River. It is a fun time filled with lots of brilliant lanterns and creations. The student competition creations are amazing.

It has become an important festival. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples or community events carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles. Even churches have special events including food, riddles and other games.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been decorated with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals, super heroes, and many other things. This is the year of the dog, and without a doubt there will be many dog creations.

In Hong Kong and Taiwan, it is commercialized as the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s Day.  There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival. However, its roots trace back more than 2000 years ago and is popularly linked to the reign of Emperor Ming of Han. Emperor Ming was an advocate of Buddhism and noticed Buddhist monks would light lanterns in temples on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. As a result, Emperor Ming ordered all households, temples and the imperial palace to light lanterns on that evening. From there it developed into a folk custom. 

Another legend tells us that it was a time to worship the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings. Beginning with the first emperor of China, who named China, all the emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi, the God of Heaven to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people.

Actually, there are many legends about the Lantern Festival. Click HERE to find more about LANTERN FESTIVAL legends.

Jesus tells us that he is THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. In a world of people who are filled with the fearful worship of spirits, pray for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, THE TRUTH, to pierce through the darkness.

Thanks for joining us on the journey. BE THE LIGHT!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

THE GOOD NEWS?!

The Chinese zodiac is a classification plan that assigns an animal and its attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. The 12-year cycle is an approximation to the 11.86-year orbital period of Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system, It and its variations remain popular in several Asia countries including Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia as well as other Asian countries like Vietnam, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand . . . along with the Buddhist calendar.

Now it’s important to understand that this practice has a large impact on many Chinese families and actually serves as a prediction for their lives in the new year.  Many people are superstitious and buy and burn “paper spirit money” AND take other actions in an attempt to avoid evil and bring blessing on themselves and their families. 

According to common beliefs the year of the dog affects everyone — not just people born in the year of the dog. However non dogs actually have it better under the year of the earth dog in 2018 than their canine counterparts. “It’s generally believed to be bad luck if the zodiac animal of the current year is the same as the year you were born in. So people believe that those born in the prior dog years should be especially careful, warns a prominent Hong Kong Feng Shui master.” Basically, 2018 is going to be an uphill battle for dogs, and everything you seek out or try to achieve — whether it be career advancement, love, health, or wealth — will not come without a lot of frustration and hard work.

The good news is that, much like their namesake, dogs are persistent, so, if you get up each time you’re knocked down, you can still come out as top dog, but not without a few battle scars. If your intentions are pure, you’ll have an easier time than self-centered dogs. Familial relationships will be of importance during this year. It’s also a good time to make lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or starting a new business, though it may also be a time filled with short periods of loneliness or melancholy.” So, if you do get the year-of-the-dog blues, it’s totally normal. For non dogs, Horoscope.com reported that because 2018 is the year of the earth dog, most other signs will enjoy a more grounded and stable year. “Where last year may have had you scrambling to keep up with all the opportunities coming your way, this year you get to settle into one or more of them, and start feeling confident and at ease.”

BUT WAIT, WHAT REALLY IS THE GOOD NEWS?

We as followers of Jesus Christ do have GOOD NEWS. Christ came to set us free and as we receive HIM, we are free indeed. The stars, horoscope predictions, well you name it, CANNOT control our destiny. So as the Bible shares in John 8: 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Pray for Chinese people throughout this year to have opportunities to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way in which they can understand it. Pray for Chinese Christians to love God, their neighbors and themselves. Like the Bible says, They will know we are Christians by our love!

We pray that God’s love will spread quickly.

SOME TEXAS CULTURE

Keeping people updated about Hokkien Harvest ministry is a weekly pleasure for us. However, this week we will take a twist and turn to share some local Texas culture with you. We were invited by good friends to attend the local Stock Yard Rodeo Show in Fort Worth, Texas not far from our house. The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, known commonly as the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo is the oldest continuously running livestock show and rodeo.  It has been held annually in Fort Worth, Texas since 1896, traditionally in mid-January through early February. A non-profit organization, the Stock Show has provided millions of dollars in grants and scholarships in its tenure and continues to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to assist the future leaders of agriculture and livestock management. This is definitely TEXAS culture. We had a great time and there were some special “take aways” for me from an event like this.

As the program opened, we began with a very meaningful prayer by a local chaplain and the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. It was a real celebration and a spirit of thankfulness for what we have, and desire for all of us and our nation to be challenged to be the best that we can. I loved it, and I was very touched to share this time together with friends.

Without a doubt we are blessed, and I hope we never get tired of sharing our blessings with others.

We saw wagon races, steer roping competition and cowboys riding bulls and bucking horses. AND of course there were clowns to add to the excitement. It was a good reminder that we ALL need to take a little time for ourselves to have fun in the middle of our busy lives.

We hope you all have a great weekend with a little fun along the way!

ENJOY THE VIDEOS BELOW OF OUR RODEO ADVENTURE.