What's wrong with Condoleezza?

I was expecting a very smart move. John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, was surely going to surprise us with a brilliant running mate... Condoleezza Rice, of course! But wait a minute... I've just heard that he's now running with Sarah Palin! Sarah Who?
I haven't made up my mind about the US presidential elections yet - don't have to, being a distant Dutchman - but I am honestly impressed by Obama. Don't understand why he didn't select a strong female dance partner for this ball, but maybe he wanted to compensate his lack of experience in foreign affairs by asking an expert in this field (Joe Biden) to join him. Unfortunately Condoleezza wasn't an option for the Democrats... But my goodness, why on earth is John McCain dancing, excuse me, running with Sarah Palin? Okay, she's smart and beautiful, she's a mother at home and a governor in Alaska too. And let's not forget one major qualification: she is pro-life. Let's wait and see. But I still can't believe that McCain didn't ask Condoleezza Rice to become his strong, smart and beautifuly coloured female vice-presidential nominee.

Dutch blog

Yes friends, I'm still bloggin' on. In English, because I like to stay in touch with the rest of the world, but from this day on also in Dutch. My English language skills are okayish, but it's so much easier for me to express myself in my own mother tongue. So, I am making a brand new start today and this time I am betraying my faithful friends at Blogger / Google. I am going to use WordPress for my Dutch blog, but don't worry - I will keep this blog too. VRIJSPRAAK is the name of my Dutch blog - which literally means free speech, but also absolution. This name refers to grace and mercy, of course. Curious? Have a look here - maybe it will make some sense to you...

Let Freedom Ring

"With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

Forty-five years ago today, Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech. What a great example of courage and faith this man still is! Read more here

The beautiful fight and the full reality of grace

I am reading 'The Beautiful Fight' by Gary Thomas. This book is packed with insights and food for thought. In Chapter 8 the author writes about setting our minds on God. He stresses that we are in control of our minds and that our will can be stronger than our emotions and passions - if we allow God's Spirit to guide us.
"Neurologists tell us a startling truth that has major implications for spiritual formation: Our choices and experience shape our brain, both literally and physiologically. What we choose cognitively helps make us into who we are. (...) In a neurological sense, our character is the sum total of the moral decisions we have made. In a theological sense, our behavior and our thinking are interconnected. Here's how the apostle Paul describes it: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God." (The Beautiful Fight, p. 110)

Another quote that I want to share with you: "I have seen men who don't practice holiness start preaching nothing but grace - forgetting all about real change and transformation. I have also seen men who are deeply convicted about unrepented sin preach with anger and venom, forgetting all about forgiveness and mercy. Both camps miss the totality of God's grace, because they see it from only one side. They are led into either misunderstanding forgiveness, which exalts 'tolerance' over transformation, or misunderstanding God's judgment, which leads only to condemnation. Because their souls have grown weak, their minds can't grasp the full reality of grace that pardons and transforms.
What we do affects how we think. There is no getting around this truth. Right living supports right doctrine; right doctrine helps us to keep living right. We desperately need both." (The Beautiful Fight, page 111)

Panorama Pics II

Click pics to enlarge

These pics are all taken in and around Hoofddorp, Haarlemmermeer - the place where I live with my family, near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The panorama pics in the former entry are all taken during our holidays in France. Just let me know what you think!

Panorama Pics

Some pics I made during our holidays in France - using the panorama function of my digital camera Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS. The camera stitches 3 pictures together. I did not use a tripod. More pics to follow. Click to enlarge!

My rain picture on website national TV!

It rained today. And it rained a lot! I took this picture out of my office window and uploaded it on a website of our national TV-station (NOS) where people from all over the country can place their weather pictures. Some time later I received an e-mail from an editor informing me that she had used my picture on the news front page and their weather report page. How cool is that? Ha, ha.
PS Update August 8 - The pictures are already gone... :-( That's what happens with yesterday's news. But I did make this screen dump...

He's not remote, he's near

"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him!"

Acts 17:24-28 from the Message (Bible in contemporary English)

Picture taken in France, but the sky looks the same almost everywhere, doesn't it? And we're all living on the same planet, under the same sun. Look at the moon tonight and you and I will see the earth's only natural stable satellite reflecting the sun beams and stabilizing the earth's rotation axis to give us seasons and tides while we are moving through space with a speed of 108,000 km/h or 30 km/s. Imagine that.

The ratio of distance to the sun to that of the moon is same as the ratio of their respective sizes (source) and that's why we can have a total eclipse of the sun on earth. Some people call this a coincidence... But I believe we all look up to the same Creator. The One and Only. Seek Him and you will find truth, grace, love and strength. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him!

Complacent to God

We’re complacent to God. Churchgoers pack the pews and sing to the back of someone’s head. Fellowship is lost in formality. One, two, three times a week people pay their dues by walking in the door, enduring a ritual, and walking out. Guilt is appeased. God is insulted. Are we so naive as to think that he needs our attendance? Are we so ignorant that we put God in a box, thinking he can be taken in and out at our convenience?

Max Lucado, On the Anvil, p. 26, Tyndale 1985

Beijing beware!

I do think that we must use the Beijing Olympics to show the Chinese government that we are watching them closely and that they can't distract us from human rights issues by putting up a spectacular show.
In the Netherlands we have developed a special training program for our contenders. I did give you a sneak preview some weeks ago (sheep sprinting training session, check this), but soon we will send our full grown secret sheep to China in order to change this huge country from the inside out. Like lambs among wolves, that's right!
I have captured these two secret sheep on camera yesterday, but soon they will be heading for Beijing / Peking or 北京 if you want to be 100% accurate. Please also read this serious entry.