Open Season

Today I went to the movies to see Open Season with my youngest daughter Pascalle (9) and her school friend Jolieke. Great to have kids for an excuse if you want to see such a movie :-) We had lots of fun!

Learning to be patient

Please Lord, don’t give me a quick answer when a better solution is waiting for me.
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'Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel...luckily' -Bono

Sad, thankful and united

Today we had a family meeting in our house. One year ago my father went to meet his heavenly Father. Of course we miss him very much, but most of all we are thankful for his life and for the great example he has left us. It's good to have such a strong family around you when you have to go through difficult days like these. Many family members couldn't be with us physically, but through our prayers we can draw together - even when we are worlds apart! We all take much comfort in these words from the Bible - Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Source

My little corner of the world...

I like to travel around the blogosphere - just to see on my laptop screen how other people are living and what it is that makes them tick! Every now and then I click on the links of some of my fellow bloggers (you can find them on the right hand side) to find out how they are doing. It's great to communicate with like-minded people, or to learn from bloggers with a different take on life.

Anyway, I guess that foreign visitors to my blog also want to get an impression of my little corner of the world in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, so I have uploaded some pics here. I made these photographs recently, during a walk on a Sunday afternoon. I like to go walking for an hour or two, just to stretch my legs and refresh my brains (or the other way around).

Hoofddorp, the place where we live, is a small but fast growing town with a relatively young population. I'm glad that there are still some spots left where you can enjoy the scenery and find some rest. The picture above is taken at the former Floriade terrain (a once-a-decade horticultural exposition / flower show which took place here in 2002. The next event will take place in Venlo in 2012!).

The earthen pyramid on the first pic is called Big Spotter's Hill (well, big for Dutch standards. This hill gives you a view of the former Floriade exhibition terrain and you can also see some planes taking off and landing at nearby Schiphol Airport). The second picture shows the so called Haarlemmermeer pavilion... I think this building is well-designed. It looks vacant now, but there used to be a small restaurant and an exhibition with some historic background information about this area.

Story, Recapture the Mystery

Next Spring we hope to publish the Dutch translation of Story, Recapture the Mystery - a great book written by Steven James. Story is 'a poetic retelling of the redemption story for a postmodern audience' - as one of the customer reviews at Amazon aptly describes. Another reviewer is also 'spot on':

When you string enough wasted moments together, you get a wasted life. I don't think there are too many followers of Jesus around anymore. There are plenty of churchgoing admirers, but most of us would rather not leave our nets behind and follow him. Instead we prefer dragging the nets onshore with us so we can have the best of both worlds. Believe the story and you'll finally enter it for yourself.

Majestic song

I heard this beautiful song on BBC's Songs of Praise - last Sunday. The melody and the words stay with me and I am humming this song all day...

King of Kings, Majesty
God of heaven, living in me.
Gentle Saviour, closest friend
Strong deliverer, beginning and end
All within me falls at your throne:

Your Majesty, I can but bow
I lay my all before You now
In royal robes I don't deserve
I live to serve Your Majesty.

Earth and heaven worship You
God eternal, faithful and true
- who bought the nations, ransomed souls,
brought this sinner near to your throne.
All within me cries out in praise:

Your Majesty, I can but bow
I lay my all before You now
In royal robes I don't deserve
I live to serve Your Majesty.

(W&M Stuart Townsend)