Let's use this power in a constructive way...

“You Christians have in your keeping a document with enough dynamite in it to blow the whole of civilization to bits...” Mahatma Gandhi

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)

When did we unlearn to have some childish fun?

Hello again! Now you can also read the interesting answers to the 5 meme questions that I've asked my blog pals Luis and Jonboy - but don't forget to come back here, because I have something to share with you as well!

By the way, Carol is just too busy right now, but I will click on her name every day until she stops painting and starts answering my meme (I'm just kidding Carol, take your time!)

Now back to the initial idea of this very original post. What am I talking about? I liked one of Luis' answers so much that I decided to quote him and write this special blog entry. Are you ready? This is the quotation:

When being with my children I learn again I should laugh and smile much more.

Amen, brother Luis! Kids can make you laugh and if I look at them playing and having some uncomplicated fun, I sometimes ask myself: when did I UNLEARN to behave like that?

Do you know Adrian Plass' View from a Bouncy Castle story? Please take my advice: if you see a book written by Adrian Plass - grab it and read! (And don't forget to pay for it, because publishers and authors need to pay their rent too). Enough said. Let's quote Plass in order to convince you that you must buy and read all his books and please drop me a line in the comments segment to let me know what you think.

Many a frustrated half-hour had I spent watching my offspring ricocheting wildly around on their inflated playground, while I smiled benignly, concealing my fierce inner desire to join them. Always I was thwarted by the unrelenting presence of the proprietor, usually smoking one of those eternally dangling cigarettes, and occasionally coming out with professional phrases such as: 'Nobody over eight!' or 'This lot off - that lot on!'
The contrast between the dispassionate tone of these utterances and the tumbling joy of the kids used to depress me somewhat.
Now, for the first time, it was possible for fifteen years of frustration simply to disappear as I indulged my deep-felt need.
I have to confess that it took me a while to shake off my dignity and my shoes, but once I did it was wonderful. What the children thought about 18 stone of middle-aged man bouncing crazily from one side of their paradise to the other, I don't know. I wasn't too concerned at the time.

From View from a Bouncy Castle - Adrian Plass.

Sentimental journey - revisited and updated

My father bought his first car - an Opel Kapitän Olympia - when I was just a little boy. I can still smell the car, feel the chairs, remember all the shiny accessories and all the family journeys. This was not just a car. This was OUR car. And when my father sold it, I secretly gave a goodbye kiss on the window screen... The truth!

Please share your own car memories with me and upload a pic of your first car (or your parent's first car) on your blog. I just can't wait to hear from you, so don't forget to leave a comment here!

Today I have replaced yesterday's pic by a better, more accurate one - after reading my brother's comment. Thanks, Frank! You are right, bro... Being 1,5 years older does make a little difference when it comes to our memories, right? ;-)

Five things to let my kids know before they grow up...

I asked Carolanne to give me some time to think about this meme a little longer, but why not be spontaneous and give you my answers straight from the (father's) heart? I also want to be a good sport (and who on earth is able to say 'no' to Carolanne?), but this time I will not invite any other bloggers to answer this meme too. You can always consider yourself to be tagged - just let me know, so that I can read your words of wisdom too!

Five things to let my kids know before they grow up:

1. You are loved. God wanted you to be here and He has a plan for your life. You are precious and I will always love you, whatever happens. That's a promise!

2. Something's terribly wrong with this world. No, I am not talking about global warming, AIDS and war. The biggest problem we all have is SIN. Look at the I in the middle of this word and give it some thought. God knows that you were born in a broken world and He has paid the highest price to set things right. We are in the middle of a spiritual battle, but we have joined the Winner. Although we are all part of the problem, the solution is only one prayer away. You don't have to carry the weight of your sins on your own shoulders, because Jesus, God's Son, did that for you a long time ago. You can be free - just say: "thank You, Jesus!" But even after you've said this thank-you prayer, life will be difficult sometimes and the world is still broken. But the Kingdom of God is here and we can now be a part of the solution. Love is the answer, forgiveness is the key, hope is real - God still reigns.

3. I am your father. I will always be your father and there is nothing that will change this. But I am also a human being, so - even when I try to be a good father - I will let you down sooner or later. But I hope that I have invested enough love in you, so that you can forgive me. Whatever you do, don't blame your heavenly Father for mistakes that I've made. He is perfect because He is God. I am just trying to be the father He wants me to be... And if you don't want to listen to me, listen to your mom - she's the best.

4. Don't give yourself away to someone without knowing for sure that this is the person that God wants you to be with for the rest of your life. I don't want you to think that sex is a dirty word. Sex is God's beautiful gift, but He doesn't want you to cheapen it by sleeping around. Be careful with your body, mind and soul - you are absolutely unique and very precious. Good sex is not just a physical thing. Good sex is also a spiritual experience between two people who become one - without losing their own personality. Yes - it's a wonderful blessing and a great mystery. And by the way, devout Christian girls can become pregnant too and faithful believers struggle with their sexuality like all other human beings. We are all confused and messed up and this is also a part of our brokeness. Please don't share all your secrets with us, but let us know if we can help you. And of course you can talk with us about contraception too. We don't have all the answers, by the way. Use your mind, guard your heart, protect your body, this world is a dangerous place - but there are still many things to enjoy.

5. Don't give up on your dreams. If you want to achieve things in life - don't let anybody discourage you. I am proud of you! You don't have to realise my dreams, you don't have to live up to other people's expectations. Look inside your heart, ask for God's guidance and learn to trust Him. His plan for your life is the best. It will be exciting, adventurous and probably dangerous. But you will find treasures that will make you happy for ever and you will have a life that's worth living and a perfect eternity to look forward to.

Some answers to my questions

Check out the weblogs from Little David and John for some excellent answers to my interview questions. Carol, Luis and Jonboy are still pondering about my questions... but please keep an eye on their blogs too!

New books!

Have a look at our new titles for Autumn 2007.
I know that it's all in Dutch, but just look at the colourful books and the great titles we have to offer! Click here for a PDF.
I work as a publisher at Ark Boeken, a Christian publishing house, part of an Amsterdam based Bible mission, and this is the time of year that most of our new titles are ready for the market. So this means several book presentations, some book fairs and many reasons to be thankful!

Impressions from our vacation in Winterberg

Just some holiday pics from our family vacation in Winterberg, Germany. We had a great time! Most photographs taken by Robin (click pics to enlarge) The pic above shows the view from our balcony one night.

Sosha and Pascalle prepared a nice meal for us! (Pasta)

Sosha liked the space and gave us her 'worship pose' (this is now the new wallpaper on my laptop)

Look what a low camera view point can do! And my girls are pretty too, of course.

If you want to go for a walk - this is the place to be.

Sauerland - this is the scenery we will remember!

It's so nice to do things together, and we had some sunny days!

Clouds can be so intriguing... and it looks like the wind had some fun with them. (Another free wallpaper - if you like. First click to enlarge; then click the right mouse button and select "set as background")

Robin and Sosha in an 'American' Road House restaurant

Pascalle loves her big brother too.

And when the kids are enjoying themselves... the parents are also happy (yes, it rained outside, you can still see it on my sweater).

Robin ordered 'all you can eat' spare ribs and that's exactly what he got. He did not ask for a second serving, by the way.

We wanted Robin to be in this picture too, so he gave his camera to the waiter. And the waiter gave him his cool hat in return. What a nice guy he was. No negative things to report about our German neighbours, they were all very nice and friendly (and so were we, of course!)

Time for some interview questions!

Okay, finally I am ready with my list of questions for John, Luis, Little David, Jonboy and Carol! It is sometimes said that a fool can ask more questions than a wise man can answer, but I do hope that my questions make some sense and I trust that my fellow bloggers will come up with some witty, wise and thought-provoking answers! Please don't forget to follow the strict rules as published at the bottom of this posting!

Five questions for John (The Shepherd’s Staff)
1. You are a pastor, a shepherd. Please tell us some things about this occupation. And let us know: who is shepherding you?
2. Are there any opportunities in life that you regret to have missed and are there any dreams of the future that you would like to see realized one day?
3. Is there a part of Jesus’s message that you find hard to understand or obey? If so, please let us know which part and why.
4. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? Please explain.
5. Please name your favourite a) actor / actress, b) author, c) musician / artist and d) sports hero. Of course we would all like to know what you admire so much in them and why.

Five questions for Luis (Check list for a Jesus Christ disciple in Brazil)
1. The Church in Europe and North America is going through difficult times. What about the Church in South America in general and Brazil in particular?
2. What do you like most about kids and why? Is this a quality that we can still have or strive for as grown-ups?
3. Did you ever hear God or Jesus speaking to you in an audible voice? If so, please tell us about this experience. If not – how do you understand God’s will for your life?
4. If you could suddenly have a talent / gift that you don’t have right now, what talent or gift would that be and how would you use it?
5. Why on earth did God make mosquitoes?

Five questions for Little David (Gallimaufry)
1. Why do you call yourself ‘Little’ David? Are you really a small guy or just very humble?
2. What is the biggest challenge for the church today and what can individual Christians do about that?
3. You visited all the continents, except South America. What’s wrong with South America? ;-) And: if you had to move to South America, please tell us the preferred country and explain your choice.
4. The North Pole is melting. Do you care about this and do you think Canada, Denmark or Russia are entitled to claim the melted ice / the part of the globe where the ice used to be?
5. You have rescued a highly talented artist out of a life-threatening situation. As a reward he offers to make something for you – for free! Please dream with me – what kind of artist would you like this to be and what would you like him / her to make for you?

Five questions for Jonboy (My Prosopopoeia)
1. Just imagine. You’ve won a price and you can select one of these free options: a) a parachute jump, b) a hot air balloon flight, c) a guided deep sea dive. Tell us about your choice...
2. What is the best piece of advice someone has ever given you? Please expand on it.
3. Please comment on this statement: ‘Atheists are living in denial’.
4. Is there a material thing that you’ve lost and really want to retrieve / repossess? If so, tell us about it. If you can’t think of anything, please tell us what material thing you would like to lose or which annoying habit you would like to get rid of.
5. What is your personal dream and what is stopping you from realising it?

Five questions for Carol (Watch me paint)
1. Please comment: ‘God is an Artist, but his art is not very accessible’
2. Who do you consider to be the greatest Dutch painter: Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Vincent van Gogh, Pieter Mondriaan or Karel Appel? Tell us what you like about these famous Dutch painters and give us your explanation for the fact that there are so many artistic highpoints in the historic scenery of my flat little country.
3. What is your favourite Psalm? Please also tell us why.
4. What special qualities do you appreciate in your husband and children?
5. Outside this interview, what's the best question someone has ever asked you? If you don't know a good answer to this question, please feel free to select one of the questions that I have asked John, Luis, Little David or Jonboy and let us know your answer!

Real Dutch Madrid

Hi, we are back from our short vacation in Germany and still taking it slow this week. I will read the new comments and answer my email messages this week, but bear with me please.
Just before our holiday I went to see Arsenal, Lazio Rome, Atletico Madrid and Ajax in the LG Amsterdam tournament - together with my daughter Sosha who is a huge Ajax fan. Wesley Sneijder is her favorite player and we saw a fantastic goal (click here) that he scored against Atletico - which happened to be his last goal for Ajax, because tonight we heard that Wesley Sneijder will join Real Madrid for 27 million euros... Sad news for Ajax fans like us, but it's nice to see that Real Madrid is slowly becoming a Dutch football team (Ruud van Nistelrooij already joined their ranks and recently Feyenoord player Royston Drenthe moved to Real Madrid for 13 million euros.)
Have a look at the video to see why Madrid wanted to pay so much money for the Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder...

Q&A with Art Ruch

Art: Paul, you live in the Netherlands. Dutch is your native language but you speak (or at least you write) English very well. Where did you learn English and does blogging in English help keep your language skills up?
Paul: Thanks for the compliment! I learned English at school. Dutch people need to speak foreign languages because most foreigners refuse to learn Dutch - don't ask me why. I used to work for an international company about ten years ago in marketing communications. Working in an international environment helped me developing and improving my language skills. Now I work as a publisher in the Netherlands but I still have many international contacts so I do need to speak my languages.
Blogging in English is very helpful - I do pick up some new expressions and words like sanded drywall. I'll admit I had to google that one.
I blog in English because I enjoy the international contacts and I like to know what is going on in the rest of the world.
My English is good enough to communicate, but I can't express myself as good as in my own language of course. I am always a bit worried about making grammar mistakes. I don't mind if people point them out, because that's the only way to learn from them.

Art: You are a committed Christian living in a country and on a continent not known for having a strong Christian base. Is this true, and if so, how does the Dutch Christian community deal with being a minority?
Paul: How can you say that this continent doesn't have a strong Christian base? Where did Luther come from and where does the pope live?
But seriously, I think that in Europe there are still millions of nominal Christians - but more importantly, there are many real followers of Christ too! Many people do hold on to traditional Christian values and ideas, even if they don't attend church regularly or don't consider themselves to be 'Christian'. I think it is important to rediscover the ancient roots of Christianity in Europe and I hope that more people will go back to the Source of living water: Christ himself.
Two months ago I quoted Sadhu Sundar Singh here, who wrote about the West,"They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is."
As a publisher, a writer and a blogger I want to share my faith. I try to inform people about what Christianity really is by pointing them at the Master who is not just the founder of an old religion, but the Creator of the universe and the eternal Source of love and life.
It is true that Christians constitute a minority in Europe as a whole and in the Netherlands in particular, but we are still a force to be reckoned with and - like salt and light - we can still have a strong and positive influence on society.
I don't think that we must try to impose our Christian views on secular society - Jesus never asked us to do that. We are called to lead by example. All to often Christians are only protesting and complaining about 'the world'. I believe that it is better to try to live as followers of Christ day by day. We must care for the people around us, be a positive force in our communities and show people what it means to be loved and changed by Christ.

Art - You blog about spiritual issues, offer devotions and thoughts on your faith. You also work in Christian publishing and writing. Obviously, you have many thoughts to share. Have you ever thought of going into the full-time ministry?
Paul: Well, if you define full-time ministry as a professional pastor's or preacher's job, than I have to say that I never considered that option. I think that you must have a real calling to be a minister in that sense. But as followers of Christ we are all called to be full-time witnesses and light-bearers. If you call yourself a Christian, people will look at you and you have a responsibility to live up to that name. Maybe you are the only 'bible' people will ever read. It's quite an impossible task to represent Jesus in this world, though. I do hope that people will realise that I am - at best - just a poor reflection of the Original.

Art: You are a parent of children who are quickly growing up. What is your advice to them? What hope or fear do you have for the world they will grow old in?
Paul: I am worried about the future of this planet and when I think about climate change, global political and religious tensions and the devaluation of values, morals and ethics (to name just a few things), I sometimes wonder what the future will hold for our kids. But by raising them with love and respect and by showing them the power of our faith in Christ, we can give our children the best preparation for life.
We are blessed with three healthy and bright kids - two of them are doing bilingual education (Robin, 15 and Sosha, 13) and the third one (Pascalle, 10) is also a girl of many talents. I trust that God will take care of them and that He will guide them in all their ways.
I am more excited and curious than worried about their future, to be honest. I hope that they will stay with us in our house for (at least!) ten more years, but of course we don't know what the future holds for them. My advice for our kids comes straight from the Master: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

Art: Your photo blog is quite impressive. What do you like so much about photography and, please tell me, what is the secret of taking a good photograph?
Paul: Thanks, but I am not really a good photographer so I don't have any special secrets to share. I like photography because it gives you a simple tool to capture beautiful memories, faces and sights. I do think that I have an eye for colours and beauty and I enjoy watching people and landscapes, but the pictures on my photo blog are my lucky shots. Of course it also helps that I am living in an interesting little country! Whenever I visit sites like Flickr and see the stunning pictures that some people make, I really feel inadequate as a photographer. I hope that my pictures give an impression of the way I view life. There are many beautiful things to see everywhere - if you just stop for a moment and take good notice.

Thanks for the interview, Art and sorry for keeping you waiting so long. I do hope that my answers are as good as your questions. And by the way, do you play chess?

Paul would like to thank Art for the interview. In addition, anyone who would like to be interviewed by Paul, should follow these rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.