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这是一套在美国很受欢迎的教材，按年龄共分三部分：0-6岁学龄前儿童教程，6-12岁学龄儿童教程，和12岁以上青少年教程。我们将陆续翻译成中文，分享给大家。
这套教材里的每一篇，无论是教程还是各种活动，都独立成篇，没有先后顺序，大家可以按需要和负担选择使用。
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一个女孩因为追求完美，最后错过了最重要的活动的故事。

主题

相信、怀疑、作见证、行为、配得

时间

大约10分钟

故事

Jenny 刚转到一所新学校。午餐时，她一个人坐在餐厅里，好奇地看着不远处几个女孩。她们围在一起，正在欣赏几盆植物。有些已经开出了漂亮的花，有些看起来才刚刚种下不久。

忽然，其中一个女孩向她招手，请她过去。Jenny 走近以后，一个叫 Christy 的女孩微笑着对她说：“嗨，我好像认识你。你是 Jenny，对吗？”

“对。”Jenny 回答，“你们这是在做什么？是科学课的作业还是什么？” Lisa 接过话来说：“哦，不是！这是我们花园俱乐部的植物。我们加入俱乐部以后会收到一套种植工具，这些植物就是用里面的种子种出来的。你喜欢园艺吗？”

“有一点吧。”Jenny 说，“所以你们都参加了一个花园俱乐部？不会有点无聊吗？参加美术社、运动队或者音乐社，我还能理解，可是种花？”

“这可不是一个普通的俱乐部。”Lisa 继续说，“第一，加入完全免费，不像有些俱乐部要交很多钱。第二，这里不像体育比赛，没有竞争。我们只是看看自己种下的种子最后会长成什么样，会开出什么样的花。有些花非常漂亮，有些可能没有那么好看。但是，即使你的植物长得不太好，也不用觉得难过，因为你一开始也不知道自己拿到的究竟是什么种子。工具包上说，只要按照说明去做，它们就会生长。”

“听起来倒挺有意思的。那我要花多少钱才能加入？”Jenny 问。

大家同时转过头回答：“免费的！”

Christy 接着介绍这个俱乐部：“俱乐部总部在另一个州，俱乐部的会长就住在那里。据说他住的地方非常漂亮，还有一个极其壮观的花园。有时候，他会邀请会员去参观他的花园，而且全程都是头等舱，费用全部免费。”

“嗯，那我真的有点感兴趣了。我怎么加入？”Jenny 问。

“正好，我这里有一张会员申请表。只要诚实地回答上面的所有问题，你就可以加入了。”

Jenny 把申请表寄出去以后，很快收到了自己的种植工具包。她把说明一遍又一遍地读，生怕自己哪里做错。她下定决心，一定要让自己的种子长起来，开出漂亮的花。有时候，她会把自己的植物带到学校，和其他女孩一起谈论园艺。

几个星期以后，她发现有些植物长得并没有自己预想的那么快。她担心是不是自己哪里做错了，于是跑到几家苗圃去请教问题。后来，她又去图书馆读了各种有关植物和园艺的书。有时，她甚至还会和朋友一起参加园艺讲座。慢慢地，她越来越像一个种花专家了。

有一天，俱乐部发布了一项重要通知。会长非常高兴，因为越来越多的新会员加入俱乐部，园艺的快乐也在不断传开。因此，他决定邀请所有会员去参观自己那座壮观的花园，而且一切费用全部由他承担。就连刚刚加入的新会员也在邀请之列，即使他们的植物还没有完全长成，也没有关系。所有会员都兴奋极了。放学以后，大家聚在一起，谈论这次盛大的活动。Jenny 问：

“会长真的有那么有钱吗？他真的能替所有人付钱，让大家都去参观他的花园？他怎么可能那么富有？”

Christy 说：“我真的很喜欢这个俱乐部，也很感激它带给我的一切。我现在认识了好多新朋友，他们关心的事情跟我一样，也都喜欢园艺！既然会长说旅行免费，我就相信是免费的。说不定，他看见我用工具包种出来的漂亮植物以后，还会给我一个奖呢！不过，那其实并不重要。光是能去那里，就已经很好玩了。”Jenny 有些吃惊地问：

“你的意思是，我们还得把自己的植物带去？” Lisa 立刻说：

“当然啦！这毕竟是花园俱乐部。你当然会想把自己的植物带去。种子都已经给你了，你总不能什么也没种就空手去吧。即使这并不是硬性规定，作为会员，你也应该愿意让大家看看自己种得怎么样。”

Jenny 摇了摇头：“Lisa，我很抱歉这么说，可是你的植物开得不是特别好。”

“我知道。”Lisa 说，“我已经按照说明做了所有该做的事。我能做的也只有这些。那些我控制不了的事情，总不能怪我吧。” Jenny 说：

“我真希望我能帮到你。我参加过讲座，也读了好几本书，还非常认真地研究了植物。可事实上，我自己好像也总是做不好。我真的很喜欢园艺，可有时候我觉得特别没有希望。有些种子开出了非常漂亮的花，有些只是普普通通，还有一些几乎根本没长起来。我肯定是哪里做错了，只是我不知道究竟错在哪里。自己的植物长得不好，真的很让人难为情。”

Lisa 摇摇头说：“Jenny，你这些已经完全可以了。你还是可以去啊。我可没听谁说，一定要把植物种得完美才能去。你看我的！我的植物远远没有你的漂亮，但我还是要去。” Jenny 说：

“我真的不知道。我从小就被教导，做事情一定要做好。我不能接受自己没有努力赚来的东西，更别说这样一次免费的旅行了。我也不能带这些植物去，因为它们不完美。我加入俱乐部的时候，以为自己一定做得到，可现在我只觉得自己很失败。至于这次旅行，我也不太相信它真的完全免费。说不定到了最后，还是会发现有什么代价需要自己付。也许我可以自己慢慢存钱，存够飞机票的钱。这样我去看那个花园的时候，就不用有任何担心或怀疑了。”

“Jenny，你对自己要求太苛刻了。”Lisa 说，“通知里根本没说要带完美的植物！反正我要去。也许到了那里，我还能真正弄明白这些种子到底是怎么回事呢。”

终于，那个重要的日子到了。花园俱乐部里的每个人都准备好了，带着自己的植物登上飞机，前往那座美丽壮观的花园。每个人都去了——除了 Jenny。她始终没有存够自己买机票的钱。

而到了出发那一天，她仍然觉得自己不够好，因为她的植物并不是每一盆都开出了漂亮的花。

可是 Jenny 不知道的是：她所有的植物，其实都已经完全按照它们本来应该生长的方式长成了。

花园俱乐部的会员，就像许多成为基督徒的人。他们心里有喜乐，也有热情，并且真诚地爱主。故事里的种子代表神的话。神的话被栽种在每一个基督徒的生命里，要在那里生长。这些种子也让我们看见，我们可以把神的话分享给别人，但是使它生长的是神。遗憾的是，有些基督徒就像 Jenny 一样。他们接受了神的话，却往往想依靠自己的努力来获得成长和救恩。于是，怀疑就渐渐进入了他们的信心。

*** 英文版 ***

The Garden Club

A story about how one girl's desire for perfection prevented her from participating in the big event.

Suddenly one of the girls waved at her to join them, and as Jenny approached, a girl named Christy smiled at her. "Hi, I think I know you, Jenny right?”

”Yeah,” Jenny replied. “What’s going on here, is this for a science class or something?”

Lisa spoke up, “Oh no! It’s for our garden club. We grew these plants from the kit we received after becoming a member. Do you like gardening?”

“A little bit,” Jenny admitted. “So you’re all in a garden club? Isn’t that a little lame? I could see being in an art club or playing sports or music, but growing flowers?"

“This is not an ordinary club," Lisa continued. "First of all, it’s free, not like some clubs that cost a lot of money. Secondly, there is no competition like in sports. We just get to admire what becomes of the seeds we plant, and see what kind of flowers they produce. Some turn out beautiful, others not too great, but you don’t have to feel bad if your plants don’t grow well. You never know what kind of seeds you planted in the first place. The kit says if you follow the instructions, they will grow."

“Well it sounds intriguing. How much would it cost me to join?” Jenny asked.

Everyone turned and replied at the same time, “It’s free!”

Christy continued talking about the club. “The headquarters for the club is somewhere out of state. The president of the club lives there. It is said he has a beautiful place, and a magnificent garden. Occasionally he will invite members to see his wonderful garden and they get to travel first class, free.”

“Well, I think I’m interested. How can I join?” Jenny asked.

”I just happen to have a membership application here, answer all questions sincerely and you’re in.”

After sending in her application, Jenny received her kit. She read the instructions over and over to make sure she did everything just right. She was determined that her seeds will grow and produce beautiful flowers. Occasionally, she would take her plants to school and talk with the others about gardening.

After a few weeks, she noticed that some of her plants weren’t growing as fast as she expected. She felt she might be doing something wrong, so she decided to go to some nurseries and ask questions. Then she went to the library and read all kinds of books about plants and gardening. Once in a while, she would even go with some friends to seminars. She was becoming an expert on how to grow flowers.

One day, a big announcement came to the club. The president was very pleased that new members were being added to the club, and that the joy of gardening was spreading. So he wanted to have all members come to visit his magnificent garden, all expenses paid. Brand new members were also invited, even if their plants weren’t fully grown. There was a lot of excitement among all the members. They gathered after school to talk about the big event.

“Is the president really that rich to pay for everyone to come to see his garden?” Jenny asked. “How can he really be that wealthy?”

“Well, I love the club and everything it has done for me,” Christy admitted. “I have so many new friends now who care about the same things I care about, and who love gardening! If he says the trip is free, then I believe it. Maybe he’ll even give me a prize when he sees some of the beautiful plants grown from my kit. But that’s really not important. Just going will be fun.”

“You mean we will have to bring our plants?” Jenny asked a little surprised.

“Well of course,” Lisa piped in. “After all, this is a gardening club. Naturally you would want to bring your plants. You were given the seeds, so you wouldn’t want to show up with nothing. Even if it were not mandatory, as a member you should want to show how you did.”

Jenny shook her head, “Well, I’m sorry to tell you this Lisa, but your plants didn’t bloom too well.”

“I know. I followed the instructions and everything. There is only so much I can do. I can’t be blamed for something I can’t control.

“I wish I could have helped you,” said Jenny. I went to seminars, read several books and studied hard about plants. But the truth is, I can't seem to do it right either. I really like gardening, but sometimes I feel so hopeless. Some of my seeds grew into beautiful flowers, but others just so-so, and still others hardly grew at all. I must be doing something wrong, I just don’t know what it is. It’s so embarrassing when your plants don’t grow well.”

Lisa shook her head and replied, “What you have is more than acceptable Jenny. You can still go. I didn’t hear anyone say you had to have perfect plants before you could go. Like you said, look at mine! They aren’t anywhere near as pretty as yours, but I’m going.”

“I just don’t know," Jenny replied. "I was always taught to do things the right way. I can’t accept anything for something I didn’t work hard for, much more this free trip. I can’t bring these plants. They’re not perfect. I joined the club because I thought I could do it, but now I just feel like a failure. As for the trip, I’m not really sure I believe it is free either. Somehow, somewhere, it may turn out that it will really cost me something. Maybe I can save up for the plane fare so I can enjoy seeing the garden without any worry or doubt.”

“You are too hard on yourself Jenny. The announcement didn’t say bring perfect plants! As for me, I’ll take my chances and go. Maybe when I am there, I can learn the real story about the seeds."

——————

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