This Blog Has Moved!
Please visit my Dutch blog on WordPress and update your blog roll and links. Thanks!
Please visit my Dutch blog on WordPress and update your blog roll and links. Thanks!
Posted by Paul at 8:45 am View Comments
Posted by Paul at 10:50 am View Comments
Labels: inspiration, Pentecost
Posted by Paul at 1:42 pm View Comments
Labels: haarlemmermeer, horses, photography, service
What a great project! Check THIS out.
Posted by Paul at 2:56 pm View Comments
Labels: music, playing for change
Posted by Paul at 9:58 pm View Comments
Labels: age, beauty, elderly people, faithfulness, love, photography, poetry
Posted by Paul at 10:04 am View Comments
Labels: a n wilson, atheism, christianity, conversion, return to faith
Click on the picture to enlarge
Posted by Paul at 12:01 am View Comments
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
This is how we know we're living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He's given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we've seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.
1 John 4:7-16 - The Message
Posted by Paul at 8:13 pm View Comments
Labels: god's love, good friday, jesus, love
Sermon by S.M. Lockridge
Posted by Paul at 11:34 pm View Comments
Labels: easter, good friday
All Christians believe that the blessed are the poor and humble, and those who are ill-used by the world; that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven; that they should judge not, lest they be judged; that they should swear not at all; that they should love their neighbor as themselves; that if one take their cloak, they should give him their coat also; that they should take no thought for the morrow; that if they would be perfect they should sell all that they have and give it to the poor. They are not insincere when they say that they believe these things. They do believe them, as people believe what they have always heard lauded and never discussed. But in the sense of that living belief which regulates conduct, they believe these doctrines just up to the point which it is usual to act upon them.... John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Posted by Paul at 10:52 pm View Comments
Labels: john stuart mill, quotes
Challenge: write a creative blog post for Easter Sunday inspired by this picture and this text If you want to share your Easter feelings in blogosphere - please invite other bloggers to join in too! Do leave a comment or reply, so that we can refer and link to each other's blogs.
Upload the picture, post a reflection, poem, painting or whatever. Reply by tweet or leave a blog comment. If you think that this is a good idea, please share this initiative and invite other Christian bloggers to participate too!
Posted by Paul at 2:10 pm View Comments
Only the first time it's really a stunt - so all credits for this great idea go to Paul, John, Ringo and George. But U2 are today's Beatles, if you'd ask me. Never too proud to be inspired by musical heroes from the past & standing on the shoulders of giants. Amsterdam Arena tickets were sold out within 10 minutes, by the way. Next stadium concert announced directly after that. This was to be expected. Bono promised also some cheap tickets because 'this is a recession'. Yeah. It's in the middel of Summer - we will probably listen to U2 in our car or somewhere else on a camping site / in a hotel. We'll see.
Let me know what you think about No Line On The Horizon. My opinion? Magnificent! ;-)
By the way - U2 played live on rooftop BBC building near All Souls Church! (John Stott, Rico Tice, Christianity Explored... So cool!!) Next time a REAL stunt - what about LIVE @ the Vatican? Ha, ha.
Posted by Paul at 1:12 pm View Comments
Labels: prevention, terrorist attacks, threats, violence
Posted by Paul at 5:21 pm View Comments
Labels: david, god, jeff buckley, paintings, photography, praise, psalm 51
Posted by Paul at 12:09 pm View Comments
Labels: atheism, choices, emerging church, faith, options
You will probably know that this is the real message on some busses. I am a happy believer, so I don't have to be worried about God or (after)life at all. But if I was an atheist, I wouldn't be so happy with the 'probably' word. And Jesus already told us to stop worrying, so that truly is a Christian message - believe it or not. Especially good to be reminded of these encouraging words in these difficult times.
I like Eugene Peterson's The Message translation of Jesus' words:
"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself."
"Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." Source
Just try to find these desolate dots on Google Maps. It looks like this is one little island in a big blue sea, but you need to zoom in and pay close attention. Why bother? Because both South Korea and Japan claim that these tiny pieces of rock belong to them and to no one else. I don't want to be the judge of this, so I don't know whether we should talk about 'Dokdo' (South Korea) or 'Takeshima' (Japan). Yeah, let's start World War 3 because of these disputed desolate dots.*
Read more here (and have a look at all the other amazing pictures on this great site) If you really care about this 'big issue', you can also visit this blog.
* Just to make sure: I don't really think this is a bright idea.
Posted by Paul at 5:16 pm View Comments
Labels: controversy, dokdo, islands, japan, south korea, souvereignty, takeshima, territorial disputes
Today we had a nice day as a family. We went to Amsterdam to visit Madame Tussauds. We sure weren't the only ones visiting this place - I recognized many famous people - even some ones that I didn't expect to be alive anymore. They did look a bit stiff, by the way. But I am happy to say that all these famous people are excellent posers for portrait pictures. Just have a look and let me know what you think of these pics. (Click pics to enlarge). More to follow...
Posted by Paul at 11:45 pm View Comments
Labels: amsterdam, Family, famous people, fun, madame tussauds, photographs, the netherlands, wax statues
Posted by Paul at 9:04 pm View Comments
Labels: accidents, amsterdam arena, crash, netherlands, news, schiphol airport, turkish airlines
Posted by Paul at 12:50 am View Comments
Labels: accidents, collisions, satelites, submarines
Posted by Paul at 5:18 pm View Comments
Labels: asylumn seekers, Geert Wilders, hospitality, refugees, respect, strangers, xenophobia
If I listen to the news from around the globe, I guess that one part of my blog friends must be sweating like crazy because of the extreme heat (Australia), while the other half will be shaking and shivering due to the extreme cold (North America). I just want to know from you, my dear blog friends, what you experience personally from climate changes in the area where you live right now. Please do leave a comment here and tell me
Posted by Paul at 4:39 pm View Comments
Labels: blogosphere, climate change, globe, netherlands, temperatures
Many "reply all" fiascos result in mere embarrassment, but American diplomats have been told they may be punished for sending mass responses after an e-mail storm nearly knocked out one of the State Department's main electronic communications systems.
A cable sent last week to all employees at the department's Washington headquarters and overseas missions warns of unspecified "disciplinary actions" for using the "reply to all" function on e-mail with large distribution lists.
Posted by Paul at 11:23 am View Comments
Labels: communications, e-mail storm
British satirist Rory Bremner describes welcome note from Bush to Obama: “Welcome, Mister Osama, you might find some helpful things here. I’m afraid the Middle East is a bit of a mess, the economy is screwed and I’m afraid that Afghanistan is not looking too good. But on the plus side, Laura’s put some flowers on the kitchen table.” Watch this video.
Posted by Paul at 9:49 pm View Comments
Labels: barack obama, bush, humour, rory bremner, usa
Amsterdam |