Nanoo nanoo / Bono

I just have to share one more important thing with you before I go on a holiday*. I recently noticed that Robin Williams (aka Mork from Ork) is starting to look more and more like Paul Hewson (aka Bono from U2). Or do you think it is the other way around? Anyway, these are my personal conclusions: 1) time is the great equalizer, 2) you need sunglasses to look cool when you are a middle aged man. Let me know what you think.

Bono and Ali, Mork and Mindy.

* Of course I will also answer Art's interview questions this week!

Taking it slow

Posts have been sparse lately - but life still goes on all the same!
I am planning to answers Art's interview questions later this week and that will be my last blog entry for a while. We will take a short vacation next week (destination Sauerland Germany) and I hope to be back later in August. Auf Wiedersehen!

Dead Man Walking

Martha is worried about the bad odor that will spread as soon as the stone will be removed. But Jesus is not thinking about Lazarus' bad body odor, he is only focused on revealing the glory of God. Read more here.

What about this for a route description...

Click pic to enlarge! This is the hilarious route description from / to Lacey Theatre Company - founded by the late and great Rob Lacey (1962-2006), actor and author of the Street Bible / The Word on the Street. A must read! See also this posting on my old blog.

If you want to see and hear Rob Lacey reading / preaching in a shopping mall - just turn on your speaker set and click here. What a gifted man he was. But now he is rapping, singing, dancing and performing in the Father's House - I'm sure.

Oh yes, and don't forget to watch these videos too.

You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

You can read many comments on posts, but this is a post on commenting. Please take some time to read my thoughts on this important subject! (Click pic to enlarge)

I guess some bloggers share their ramblings, ideas, dreams, fears, beliefs, doubts, joys and sorrows with the rest of the world just to speak their minds. That's fine. But personally I think that part of the fun of blogging is visiting other people's blogs and leaving some comments there too.
Tell me, do you always read blogs without leaving comments? Could you make one exception for me and tell me why? Or, if you often leave comments - do you do this as a subtle invitation to visit your own blog so that I can return the favor (you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours)? No problem with that - just let me know where it itches.
I love receiving comments on my blog entries and I also like to read the discussions that are often going on in the comments section. Quite often comments are better than the original postings - if you ask me!
I also enjoy leaving comments on other people's blogs, although sometimes it is hard to add something new and meaningful to the discussion. If that is the case, I choose to leave a funny comment, I write something totally off topic, or I just comment that I couldn’t agree more. (As a Christian blogger, you can always say, ‘Amen to that!’).
I appreciate those loyal visitors who come here regularly to encourage and inspire me. I try to visit all the blogs mentioned in my blogroll and some of you know that I frequently leave a comment on your blog. If I don't get any comments on a certain entry, I always wonder whether I am the only one who is interested in that particular subject (hint, hint!) Do you mind if you don’t receive comments? Do you think that real bloggers should also be commenters? Do you often leave anonymous comments - and if so, why?

So, be a friend, leave a comment and tell me what you think about the joy of blogging and commenting. And ‘Amen to that!’ is not enough this time - share your deeper thoughts with me and my millions of blog readers. Well, at least there are a few highly appreciated loyal visitors and commenters here. Stay with me! ;-)

SCC is a Rookie (in blogosphere, that is)

Rodney wrote a posting about a new kid on the blog: SCC. Yes, that's the one and only Steven Curtis Chapman! So of course I wanted to be the first Dutch blogger to leave a friendly comment on one of his first blog entries. Just to encourage him - for a change...

Jesus Wept

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
Jesus wept.
Please read this...

Brazilian Blogger spreads the Good News too

Today I received this comment from Luis - a fellow blogger from Brazil (click pic to enlarge). Please have a look at his blog and his answers to the 'Five things I dig about Jesus' meme that is now spreading all over the English Blogosphere and the Blogosfera em Português! Check this out... And with the help of Google Translate or Altavista's Babelfish it is possible to read the answers of our Brazilian friends who don't blog in English but in their own native tongue. Just copy and paste URL and select translation Portuguese - English, and you will get the message (well, most of it).

The Privileged Planet: How our place in the cosmos is designed for discovery

This is the first part of a documentary entitled The Privileged Planet. You can watch all six parts on YouTube now (if you have some time left, it is certainly worth your while.) "It’s a remarkable coincidence that the kind of atmosphere that’s needed for complex life like ourselves does not preclude that life from observing the distant universe. It’s something that you wouldn’t expect just chance to produce. Why would the universe be such that those places that are most habitable also offer the best opportunity for scientific discovery?" Guillermo Gonzalez, author of The Privileged Planet (Please also check out the website)

“The most incomprehendable thing about the Universe is that it is comprehendable.” – Albert Einstein

“I have deep faith that the principles of the Universe will be both beautiful and simple.” – Albert Einstein

“If the whole Universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning.” – C.S. Lewis

Advocating Idealist

John challenged me to take the test and it turns out that I am an advocating idealist. Well, who am I to disagree? Mouse over any part of the box to learn more about the traits that the colours represent. Here you can read my personality description, and here you can take the test if you want to find out about your own personality traits.

Cool & Funny

Maybe you didn't know this yet, but my daughters are cool and funny. Oh yes, and they are beautiful and sweet too. That is not just my opinion as a dad, these are the facts. Click on the pics to enlarge.

Great answers from North and South American friends!

Let me explain why I posted Carol L Douglas's answers on my blog. Carol is not really a blogger (although she did write one long posting here!), but she often leaves insightful comments on my Reflections blog. I recently wrote that her comments are often better than my postings, so as a sign of respect I tagged her too and copied her answers from this comment section and pasted them in this blog entry for all the world to see. Read them and you will know why!

Five things Carol digs about Jesus:

1. He first loved me. How does Jesus love us without qualification, forever? I’m pretty abrasive, shallow, vain. Some days my own mother can’t abide me. Yet Jesus is completely steadfast. If he feels that way, how bad can I be?

2. He was willing to die on the cross to save me. Being our savior was not exactly a cake-walk. He lived in obscurity in a tiny village for most of his life, without any of the trappings of success of an average Jewish striver—no house, no trophy wife, no kids, no linen toga, no turbo-charged donkey. Then he got to wander for three years, deal with crowds and supplicants with no rest, fast and pray, and joust with authorities. All in preparation for a ghastly death and three days in Sheol. Hobbes described the natural state of mankind as, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” (Tragically, this remains the case in much of the world.) Would you give up Paradise for that?

3. He is absolutely good. For most of the lower-case gods, deity is about power rather than about transcending the human condition. Take Artemis of the Ephesians, for example. On the one hand, she blessed the Trojans in their war with the Greeks; on the other hand, she murdered a lot of people for displeasing her. None of this complexity with Jesus—His thoughts are for us, not Him.

4. It’s not all about Heaven. Jesus offers us the promise of sanctification, the Kingdom of Heaven in this world. If we are willing and don’t protect the sore spots Jesus is willing to scrub us clean.

5. No “gnosis” required. It’s not necessary to have a secret handshake or secret knowledge to become a follower of Christ. Anyone who says differently is just jealous.

Please also take some time to check out the answers from my Brazilian bro in Christ, Luis Fernando, and please leave a comment on his blog to let him know what you think. Visit this site to read Mike's answers and keep an eye on John's blog too! I guess he first needs some time to recover from his mission trip to Guatemala. Read all about it on his blog. Thanks, friends!

Tough on the oustide

Today we went to the city of Leiden, not far from where we live. We saw many beautiful buildings, nice shops, and - like in every city - all kinds of people. I like to look at people and I'm always wondering what is going on inside their heads!
The people that impressed me most today where the teenage boys and girls that were hanging out in the monumental 'Burcht' (fortress) in Leiden's city centre. They were all dressed in gothic fashion style and they were chatting, having some fun and enjoying their music. The teens were sitting together inside the walls of this old fortress and they were surrounded by some framed poster-sized pictures that caught my attention. I had a look at all the pictures and noticed that some of them were severely damaged. The impressive pictures (portraits of these gothic teens) were made by photographer Albert Goossens, a man who obviously sees the outer and inner beauty of these kids.
I had a talk with some of these boys and girls and they were very open and friendly. I asked them why some pictures were damaged and they told me that some people just don't like them and ruin these pictures on purpose. I am upset by this behaviour because it tells me something about the way people look at these young people. Yes, most of them look tough on the outside (like the fortress where they have found some shelter), but they are all vulnerable individuals who need our love and deserve our respect. I don't know what I can do for these teens, but I needed to write about them here and I took the liberty of copying some small pictures from the photographer's web site so that I could paste them in this blog entry (I will let him know) and I ask you to take some time to look at these pictures in a larger size on Albert Goossens's own web site. (Please click on Burchtbewoners 1-7 and you will see all the pictures). Tell me what you think.

Waiting desperately

Today we would make some quick phone calls, but the only thing Martha and Mary could do was sending a short, ‘telegram style’ message to their friend and Master. It was a message that would surely cause Jesus to get up right away and travel back to Bethany as soon as he could: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” But instead Jesus stayed two more days and only send an encouraging reply with a mysterious promise. Read more here

Jeremy Camp - Give Me Jesus

Eight Random Facts That You Really Don't Need To Know About Me

Thanks for tagging me, Pam. And sorry for keeping you waiting so long! If you have some time left, please also read my answers to Little David's meme that I posted right below this blog entry.

The idea of this meme is to list 8 Random facts about myself. Here are the rules, first.
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Random Fact #1
I come from a family of 8 (6 boys, 2 girls) and Haarlem is my place of birth.
Random Fact #2
I love to sing and play on my acoustic guitar. I have two guitars: a black 6 string Ibanez western and a dreadnought natural 12 string Fender. But I never play on the Fender because it’s too much work to tune 12 strings and my finger tops are starting to hurt when I play on this guitar. Robin, my son, also plays a black Ibanez guitar – not acoustic, but electric. And he can make more noise than a Boeing 747 during take-off.
Random Fact #3
Outside the Netherlands, I have visited 11 European countries so far: Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. I live in the Netherlands and I went to the USA with my family in 2003 (Florida). I would love to go to Australia and New Zealand.
Random Fact #4
I married Lydia - my first and only love - on 6 March 1987 and I promised on that day to be her faithful husband until death do us part. I have no regrets and I will stick to that promise. Still love her to bits. God gave us 3 beautiful kids and they are all special, precious and deeply loved. But this is not just a random fact, on second thought.

Random Fact #5
I hate horror movies and senseless violence on screen and in real life. However, like most healthy men, I am attracted to movies and websites with beautiful sexy women and I don't want to look away when they take off their cloths. Can't help myself. If you are still with me now - I want you to know that I am actively fighting sexual temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit, an Internet provider called Filternet and my weak and feeble conscience. I want to be more like Jesus, but he is perfect and I am most certainly not. It's hard to be holy.

Random Fact #6
I only bought German (Volkswagen) and Japanese (Toyota and Mazda) cars so far. I am only interested in cars when I need to buy one. Same with computers. Cars are for transportation, computers are for communication. I don’t like gadgets or games.
Random Fact #7
I love the smells of petrol, tar, wood, leather, coffee, fresh bread, apple pie, cinnamon, hyacinths, lavender, red wine, baked onions, ink and paper. I hate the smell of cheese. Cheese just stinks - period. And yes, I am 100% Dutch.
Random Fact #8
I don’t like telephones and cell phones. Telephones are always ringing or beeping when I am enjoying myself, and I am always enjoying myself so don’t interrupt me while I'm having fun! And if you want to be my friend, don’t call me before, after or during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Don’t call me when I'm sleeping unless there is a real emergency situation. Visit me, send me a letter or an email message if you want to get in touch with me. I love people, I do enjoy your friendly company and I will always write back to you. Please only use the telephone for short conversations. (“Can we have a meeting tomorrow?” “Tomorrow’s fine.” “Okay, see you at ten in my office.” “Yep. Cheers, mate!”)

That is the end of my Random Facts. Now, I tag: Ben, Conny and Manuel in the Netherlands (feel free to write in Dutch or in any other civilized language – we all know how to use Babelfish).

Five things I dig about Jesus

Little David tagged me for this posting and it took me some time to think about my answers. I do hope that you will all enjoy reading them - feel free to let me know what you think. The rules and my selections are below the list.

Five things I dig about Jesus
(just to name a few)
1. His willingness to leave a perfect place called Heaven. We all admire Jesus for what he did here on earth, but it all started when he said "Here am I. Send me!"
2. His awesome questions. Jesus knew exactly how to ask a question that cuts right through all defenses and smoke screens. If Jesus asks a question, he pins his opponents down with so much ease and eloquence that even the best debater runs for cover. Read the Gospels for a series of good examples.
3. His circle of friends / team selection. Jesus didn’t ask the high and mighty people of this world to join him, he started with humble people from the working class. And he never asked PR agents or spin doctors to give him good advise – he was the best of friends with prostitutes, tax collectors and young rebels; he openly opposed the religious hypocrites and cured a man from leprosy by touching him with his hand. You have to love this Man.
4. His Shepherd's heart. Jesus courageously faced, verbally attacked and exposed the false shepherds of his days. His passion for his Father’s business was strong enough to do some radical house cleaning. But the tender love for his lost sheep brought Jesus to the cross where the innocent lamb was slain. Truly Shepherd, truly lamb… truly God, truly human! My Superhero! Just wait until he returns - on that day everybody will find out who's in charge of the universe.
5. His resurrection power. Look what Jesus did with his dead friend Lazarus! “I am the resurrection and the life,” he told Martha (Lazarus’ sister). “Take away the stone,” he commanded, and “Lazarus, come out!”. And there he was, the dead man walking, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. “Take off the grave clothes and let him go,” Jesus said. And this was only a foretaste of things to come! Jesus is living proof of God's love for all of us! Do you know him? He's my King.

Here are the rules:
(a) Those tagged will share “Five Things They Dig About Jesus”.
(b) Those tagged will tag 5 people.
(c) Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.

Here's who I tagged:
Mike, Carol, Luis Fernando, John and Phil

Kurt Cobain joined Hillsong United

If only it were true. Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain was elevated to icon status after he took his own life back in 1994. Truly a sad story. I think Cobain was a great singer and I still wonder whether somebody ever told him about Jesus. "Break my heart for what breaks yours..."
Anyway, have a look at this Hillsong United clip and you will see why I had to think about Kurt. The beautiful lady needs to comb her hair as well (yep, I'm such an old fashioned man). Her name is Brooke Fraser and she has the stunning good looks of Princess Cleopatra in her haydays (believe me, I can still remember.) But I think Brooke's voice is way better. Hossanah in the highest! And let's hope that we will see Kurt Cobain again one day - rocking in the heavenly choirs. God only knows. (Don't forget to watch Brooke's videos.)

Money Matters

“People buy things they do not need with money they do not have to impress people they do not even like.” George Fooshee

I just finished reading a great book about money. I am not too interested in money (honestly!), but I do believe that this is a valuable book.
The book is entitled Your Money Counts and is part of a program developed by Crown Financial Ministries. Howard Dayton is the author. I could quote many interesting thoughts and ideas from the 168 pages of this excellent book, but this is something you really need to read for yourself in the complete context and - if possible - as part of the whole program.

This is not a how to become a millionaire book, but a biblical guide to earning, spending, saving, investing, giving and getting out of debt - which also happens to be the subtitle of this book ;-) No name & claim / health & wealth prosperity gospel here, just plain biblical teaching about the right attitude towards money and material things. Highly recommended reading for Christ followers who don't want to be possessed by their possessions!

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10

Money will buy:
A bed but not sleep;
Books but not brains;
Food but not an appetite;
A house but not a home;
Medicine but not health;
Amusement but not happiness;
A crucifix but not a Savior.

Anonymous, cited in YMC, p. 148

God Has No Grandchildren

“In 1904 the country of Wales experienced a remarkable revival. Thousands of people were introduced to Christ, and the results were dramatic. Bars closed because of a lack of business. Policemen exchanged their weapons for white gloves as crime disappeared. Horses did not understand their drivers because profanities were no longer uttered. Wales sent missionaries all over the world.
One of those missionaries traveled to Argentina, where on the streets, he led a young boy to Christ. The boy’s name was Luis Palau. He has since become known as the ‘Billy Graham’ of Latin America. Out of gratitude for this Welsh missionary, Palau traveled to Wales during the early 1970s to express his thankfulness to that nation for helping lead him to Christ. What he discovered was astonishing. Less than one half of one percent of the Welsh attended church. Divorce was at an all-time high, and the crime rate was escalating rapidly. Many churches had closed and been converted to bars, and rugy had replaced Christianity as the national religion.
As a result of this experience, Palau produced a film entitled God Has No Grandchildren. The thrust of the film is that each generation is responsible for passing on the faith to the next.”
Source: Your Money Counts – Howard Dayton, p.118

Pic above: Welsh Revival preacher Evan Roberts. Click this link.
Pic right: June 2005, Luis Palau in Madrid for a crowd of 70,000 people (3,500 of them made a decision for Christ.)

Follow the Rabbi

There was an old Jewish saying that said to follow a rabbi was to "be covered with the dust of his feet."

I came across an interesting website for people who want to follow Jesus so closely that they are covered with the dust of his feet. Check it out - and don't forget to look at the animated Follow the Rabbi logo! The pic right is not from this site, but it is a bumper sticker that I really like.

Tagged Twice

Okay, thanks for tagging me, Little David and Pam! I just need some time to answer your questions - please bear with me!

Interview Manna Vandaag

If you want to know a little bit more about me - and if you are able to read Dutch - have a look at this interview taken by Conny from Manna Vandaag. Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Ecclesiastes 11:1
UPDATE see my translation in the comments section of this entry

Feast of Lights

It is winter in Israel. Jesus, the Light of the World, enters the temple area and walks in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jewish religious leaders gathered around him, ask, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." An intriguing exchange of questions and counter questions follows. Jesus provides enough light for those who really want to see, but some people prefer to close their eyes. Read more here.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody