You mean... a FREE gift? Yep.

Hey... you lucky blog visitor - this is your opportunity to get something for free. Yeay!
I've just read about this idea at David's Here I Stand blog. Okay, here goes!

Be one of the first five to leave a comment on this post and I will send you a gift by year’s end. In order to respect privacy as much as possible, we can work out shipping matters via email. It won’t be an expensive gift mind you, but it will be one that I hope will remind you that God loves you and is active in your life each and every day.

Like all other memes, this one comes with guidelines: 1) Be one of the first five to leave a comment on this post and you will receive a gift. 2) The gift must be a tangible item. A donation to charity, for example, does not qualify. 3) Make the same offer to five other people on your blog.

That’s it. Leave a comment and I’ll send you a gift.

Worth the wait

Check out Carol's excellent anwers to my 5 questions meme! If you want to know a bit more about some Dutch master painters - you can't afford to miss this free art lecture...

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!

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!

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).

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!

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