Walking to church

I decided to walk to church this morning. That is not so difficult, because it takes about twenty minutes for me to go there by foot. Or thirty minutes if I stop to take some pics :-) Our church used to be a farm. From this side (pic above) you can see our pastor's house (right), the youth church X-pact (large barn in the centre) with the wooden buildings for our 'Meerkids' (left). On the other side of these buildings - not visible in this pic but visible in Google map's satelite pic in bird's eyes view (click to enlarge) - there are two large barns, once build to store potatoes, but nowadays used to bring in an other harvest... On the right hand side you can see the parking lot. Our church is located in Haarlemmermeer - a polder that used to be a large lake. We live 4,5 meters below sea level.
This is our church website and now you can also watch a video from our Christmas celebrations (5600+ vistors in 7 services this year!). The sermon by Rev. Wigle Tamboer is in Dutch, of course, but you might enjoy listening to the opening song.

Boulevard and mannequin are Dutch words

The French word, boulevard was derived from the Dutch word bolwerk (before 1395), which is still in use today in The Netherlands and means ‘rampart’. The English word ‘bulwark’ is also a derivative of this Dutch word.
The French adapted several nautical terms from the Dutch around the late Middle Ages and sixteenth century when Holland was a world leader in shipbuilding and nautical science. The French word for the port side of a ship, bâbord, is from the Middle Dutch word for port, bakboord. The other side of the ship is called tribord in French and this comes from stuurboord, the Dutch word for ‘starboard’. Yacht has made it into French (and English and many other languages) from the Middle Dutch word jaght, a word connected to the verb jagen ‘to chase’. The Dutch word for yacht is now jacht. Even the French word, fret, meaning ‘freight’ carried by ships is from the Middle Dutch word, vrecht for ‘sea freight’
And who would have thought that mannequin, the French word for fashion model, came from the Dutch? It is from the Middle Dutch word (circa 1450) mannekijn, meaning ‘little man or puppet' (see picture). Source

Dutch words in the English language

Furlough: A leave of absence or vacation, alteration of vorloffe, furlogh, from Dutch verlof (Middle Dutch) 1. I think you can also recognize the German word for holiday 'Urlaub' in this word - the Dutch and German languages are closely related, of course.

Maelstrom: Dutch malen ("grind") + stroom ("stream")
Large and violent whirlpool, any violent or turbulent situation.
On Wikipedia I found a list of English words derived from our language - check this. And this is also an interesting discussion.
Have a look at my postings about the Netherlands - USA below if you are interested in this subject and let me know what you think!

Netherlands USA - part 2

The American language of today still contains some Dutch words. With the game kolf the word 'golf' stuck, with skating the word 'skate' from schaats. The Dutch seafaring tradition brought the words 'skipper,' 'marine', 'hoist,' 'yacht' and many others some by way of (British) English, some directly into American speech.
Some linguists believe that the word Yankee is actually a corrupted form of the Dutch name Jan-Kees (1, 2).

There are more 'American-English' words and names with a Dutch origin. Do you want to have some examples? Dollar = daalder (= old Dutch currency), boss = baas, waffle = wafel, cookie = koekje and Santa Claus = Sinterklaas.

The ancestors of Franklin D. Roosevelt, US president from 1934 to 1945, arrived from Holland in New Amsterdam in about 1649.

Various historians have argued that the American Declaration of Independence (1776) was inspired by the 1581 Plakkaat van Verlatinghe, in which the Dutch had once rejected the authority of the King of Spain. When the Dutch abjured the Spanish king in the year 1581, they had the same 'legalistic' approach as the Americans later and they declared to the world:

'As it is apparent to all that a prince is constituted by God to be the ruler of the people... and whereas God did not create the people slaves to their prince, to obey his commands, whether right or wrong, but rather the prince for the sake of the subjects... And when he does not behave thus, but on the contrary oppresses them... they may not only disallow his authority, but legally proceed to the choice of another prince for their defence...'

Aren't these words reminiscent of Jefferson's text in the American Declaration of Independence? (3.)

"In love of liberty and in the defense of it, Holland has been our example." Benjamin Franklin

The Dutch in America
The USA and the Netherlands

Netherlands USA - part 1

I am now reading a very interesting book written by a Dutch journalist, Max Westerman, who lived and worked in the USA for 25 years as a reporter for Dutch TV stations and as a correspondent for several newspapers and magazines. (He also wrote articles for Business Week, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal).
In 13 essays Westerman gives an overview and description of the American society and way of life (the American dream), politics, economics etc. He also dedicated one chapter to Dutch immigrants in the USA and the Dutch background of 'American' places, ideas and words. This chapter is called: 'You Ain't Much If You Ain't Dutch' - I would never say that, of course! :-)


Westerman writes that many things - like free entrepreneurship, religious and political tolerance, and the basis for the American constitution are inspired by the Dutch immigrants. He also writes that the American history books often neglect these facts and that they all focus on the English Pilgrim fathers and 13 British colonies - without mentioning the biggest one: Nieuw Nederland which was taken over by British soldiers in 1664. Westerman mentions the research by Charles Gehring about the Dutch history in the USA - fascinating stuff. Check this article and have a look at this web site.

This book inspired me to search the Internet for some more information about the Dutch influence on American history. Of course I welcome everyone's thoughts, questions and opinions on this subject - just leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Christmas 2007

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. (1 John 1:1-5 from The Message)

Receiving the Gift

When all we had left was fear and despair
Your light broke through our darkness

But only if we turn to you
We will reflect your glory
And be warmed

By you

When all we had left was utter loneliness
Your hand reached out to us in love

But only if we accept your gift
We can enjoy your presence
And be reunited
With you

When all we had left was total emptiness

You decided to become one like us

But only if we believe it
We can receive it
And be blessed

In you

.
Picture: moon and mars sharing the sky last night... source

What did I say?

Cars queuing up for one of the three Christmas services in our church tonight. Tomorrow we will have four more services... Compare the same road two days ago in my video recording. By the way, the small road where I am walking in the video is only intended for pedestrians and bicycles, the bigger road is for cars but normally this is a two way street. Because of the amount of traffic it is a one way street during Christmas. One Way Jesus and no turning back - that's the implicit message that we want to share with all these visitors, of course.

Blue skies, white trees

All the trees give glory to God. Whether people notice it or not. CLICK

Sosha made these beautiful pics

But to our awesome Creator be the glory for the beautiful trees, the white snow, the bright sun and all the great skies that He provides.

Two cell phone pics made by my daughter Sosha. This is our street - believe it or not! The picture below was made in the centre of Hoofddorp, the place where we live.

Ice dancer

Do you recognize this man? Yes, it's the same guy again. But this time it looks like he is an ice dancer skating through the night, surrounded by snowflakes.

I couldn't see any snowflakes when I took the picture, so at first I thought that there must have been some dust specks on my lens, but on second thought I think these are the reflections of my flashlight on little ice particles in the air. But it makes a nice pic again, don't you agree?

Christmas blessings from the Netherlands!

Please have a look at my first video blog posting - recorded with my cell phone on an empty road near our church! Have a look at it and let me know what you think. You need to have the Quick Time video application installed on your computer if you want to watch this clip.

Christmas lights - looking up

.

I bought a memory card for my new digital camera in the Hague Central Station today. I wanted to make a test picture and this is the object I selected, a window surrounded by curtains of blue christmas lights, hanging down from the roof... You will not notice this when you are in a hurry to catch a train - but I'm glad I did stop, looked up and took this picture!

Click pic to enlarge and have a look at my photo blog for some more recent pics.

Woestijnpost book presentation

Today I was in the Hague for the official presentation of Woestijnpost (= Desert Post), a book published by us (Ark Boeken) in close co-operation with NCRV, a Dutch Christian Broadcast Organisation.

The book consists of a collection of radio columns from Dutch chaplains - militairy pastors who provide spiritual guidance for the Dutch soldiers based in Uruzgan - and is illustrated with full-colour photographs showing Dutch soldiers, Afghan civilians and policemen working together for peace and stability in the Uruzgan province.

The Dutch soldiers are part of a NATO force and it is their task to maintain order in Uruzgan province. They will also attempt to develop political and economic infrastructure and to train the Afghan police. Read more here.

Pic below: Leo Born (left, chairman NCRV) presents the first copy of the new book to Eimert van Middelkoop (Dutch Minister of Defence).

Click on this link if you want to listen to some mp3 files (streaming audio in Dutch).

Comparing the Palace Gates

Queen Elisabeth's palace gate (Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom) and Queen Beatrix's palace gate (Paleis Noordeinde, The Hague, Netherlands)





"Je Maintiendrai," "I will maintain," is the motto of the House of Orange and Nassau, the Royal Family of the Netherlands.

What can I say?

Until today I didn't hear about the shootings in Colorado Springs where five people, including a gunman, died in the attacks at New Life Church and at the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the Denver suburb of Arvada. Five others were wounded.
Please also have a look at this video from Persecution blog (I found out about this tragedy through Stacy L Harp's email newsletter).
My prayers are with the families of the victims and the relatives of the gunman. I feel upset and angry about yet another senseless act of violence, but I am too impressed by the testimonies of my brothers and sisters in Christ to stay angry about this. What can I say? Look at this video and you can see the love of Christ in action - no power from hell can overcome the grace of Jesus. We have an eternal perspective, we have a hope that will become reality. We have a Lord and Saviour who has overcome the world. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
Background information

Funny

"My CV is so impressive the only person whose name you won't recognise is mine." Mal Pope

No worries, I'm still alive and well

As a matter of fact, it is my 46th birthday today! Yes, thank you! ;-)

Some blog readers and friendly commenters started to get a little bit worried about the silence on this blog.
I'm sorry about that, but I feel more quilty for not reading other people's blogs recently... There's a lot of catching up to do!

Is there an explanation? Yes, I've been a little bit ill (just the usual cold) and very busy with work and church activities - we are preparing an Alpha in Prison course for January 2007, for example! - and Sosha's and Pascalle's newly build bed rooms also need a lot of my spare time and attention. I am happy to say that the building activities are finished now, so I only have to do some painting and decorating. The wall papering and painting is finished now and I hope to start with the laminate flooring next Saturday. I will upload some pics soon - and at the end of this month (around Christmas) I will have some more time for my blogging activities.

Christmas blessings from the Netherlands and stay tuned my friends!

Spread your wings

I made this pic with my cell phone some weeks ago. An outlined figure of a man is spreading his arms like he is taking off above the water near a school of aviation in Hoofddorp (the place where I live, near Schiphol Airport). It is funny that 4 aalscholvers - as we call them in Dutch, or great cormorants as they are called in English - were sitting on this figure with their wings spread. When I approached them only two of them were spreading their wings, but 2 out of 4 still makes a funny picture - don't you agree?

You can see the fourth bird more clearly in the last of the next 2 pics... (please click to enlarge)

Cheer up, England fans!

Last night my TV screen was so disturbed by the red and white checkered Croatian football jerseys (see pic left) that I had to take some drastic action. I shouted at the referee, grabbed another beer, fine-tuned my TV set – but all to no avail. The game England vs Croatia was a terrible spectacle to watch... if you support the England team, that is. And the strangest thing happened, because as long as I held up my hands with the remote control, the British were winning, but whenever I lowered my hands, the Croatians were winning. Can you believe that? I have to admit that at the end of the day my arms were too tired and due to a lack of local supporters I finally had to give in and switch to another channel.

So, English football fans, please don’t blame goal keeper Scott Carson and coach Steve MacClaren – poor guys – they were not the only ones letting you down last night.

Some words of encouragement for all the England fans:

Always look on the bright side of life! There will be plenty of other sports to watch in the Olympic year 2008. But if you can’t afford to miss the European Championships (on TV, I mean, of course) you can always support the Netherlands. Our cool new shirts do look much better now – see below: Dutch strikers Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Yep, they are as sharp and dangerous as they look.

Pear Trees

Today I visited the Betuwe region, well-known in the Netherlands for the cultivation of fruit trees. These pics are made in Buren, a beautiful enwalled old town. (Funny, there were no leaves on these trees, just delicious pears ... hanging out of my reach!)
More cell phone pics here.

Bono talking and singing us through his unreleased song "Wave of Sorrow"

I guess it took years for Bono to find the right words to express all the horrible things that he and his wife Ali saw during their visit to a famine-stricken Ethiopia. This is a poet making beauty out of ashes. This is a contemporary prophet ans psalmist with a message that touches my heart. I don't think Bono has the answers, but he sure asks all the right questions. I can see and hear that this man is sincere. Look how passionate he is about what he witnessed in Ethiopia and about the song that finally helped him to express his feelings. Yet another masterpiece. Just listen to the beatitudes at the end of the song. These lyrics are awesome. Blessed is the spirit that overcomes.

"Wave of Sorrow is one of several rare and previously unreleased cuts which feature on the bonus audio CD of the remastered Joshua Tree." Source: ilike (Facebook application)

Opportunities for spiritual growth

If painful things happen to us, we can learn to trust our Father, the gardener, who is constantly at work in and around us – through his Word and through his Spirit. God creates opportunities for spiritual growth. If we stay connected to the true vine, our Lord Jesus Christ, if we drink in his words and allow him to poor out a constant stream of love and grace in our lives, we will bear much fruit. Read more here.

Oxford impressions

From Wednesday through Friday I visited Oxford, England. It was a business trip (together with colleagues from our publishing house), but of course we also took the time to do some sight seeing in this old university city! You can see more pics on my photo blog.

Constant flow

Like radio waves and wireless internet, this connection is very real but also very mysterious. Yet you can rely on it, tap in to it, hook up with it and download thoughts and feelings from the Father’s heart. This flow is a constant flow – there are no technical obstacles or interruptions. If there is a connection problem, ask yourself: What is wrong on my side of the line? Read my reflections and prayers here

Virtually everywhere (hope you don't mind)

My blogging here is slowing down a bit, probably because I also write here, here, here and here (for our church). But you can also check my pages on MySpace and Facebook - if you are signed up!
I sincerely apologize to the rest of the internet community for claiming so many bits and bytes in cyberspace... But hey, it's all free and I'm Dutch, remember?
Pastor David is a good man. He knows that this talkative blogger lives in a small, overcrowded country and needs lots of space to speak his mind. If you want to read my contribution to his blog, you can have a look here - but, in all honesty, I think that you may find Pastor David's own thoughts and the contributions of the other guest bloggers more interesting. We all were invited to share some thoughts for a series of posts on pastoral and theological reactions to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in observence of All Saints Day. Or, as Pastor David eloquently puts it himself, "to remember those who cannot remember themselves."

Also on Facebook now

If you are also on Facebook and if you consider yourself to be one of my (blog) friends - let me know! ;-)

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.

No time for the Maestro

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"

Good question. Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell makes $1,000 a minute when he plays in concert halls. But on January 12, 2007 he took his $3.5 million Stradivari violin and performed in a metro station as a street musician. In 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by.

"In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run -- for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look."

"It was a strange feeling, that people were actually, ah..." - the word doesn't come easily - "...ignoring me", Joshua Bell told the Washington Post.

Have a look at this video clip that I first saw in our church. Our pastor used this clip to make a good point about another Maestro with a Joshua-like name who is trying to get our attention. Do we stop and listen to him? Or are we just too busy to take any notice?

Check MySpace

If you also have a page on MySpace - check this and drop me a line!
Hé, Hollanders! Je kunt ook op m'n Hyves page kijken, hoor...

But a poor reflection or no reflection at all?

Airco outside

Funny comment from Jedidah, 6 year old daughter of my friend Gedion and his wife Yadira from the Netherlands Antilles, during her first time visit to the Netherlands: “This is a nice country with airco outside.”

Note: The Netherlands Antilles have a tropical climate, with warm weather all year round. Pic: Gedion and Jedidah

And the winner is...

Me (of course). Check Vicki's blog for the official announcement. Wow, what a competition this was. I'm glad it's over, because I could barely stand the tension and excitement. And I didn't really try to get in touch with the people on Easter Island. I think they are too busy carving new sculptures anyway. But hey, it was fun.

Keeping track

This is my fast-paced world of
Laptops and cell phones
Where people in a hurry
Try to attend meetings
Where they can make
Their next appointments
Or sign new contracts
To do more work

Every now and then
I stop, sigh, smile
Shake my weary head
And ask myself:
Where on earth are we going
And for heaven’s sake
Why are we going there?

Back from Frankfurt Book Fair

Hi - I'm back from the Frankfurt Book Fair. And guess what? I used my new cell phone to make some pics. Not bad hey? More pics here.

My Very Own Easter Island Moai

So, here it is: my very own Easter Island Moai - made out of a gigantic Dutch potato and photographed twice against the background of a real Easter Island scenery on my laptop screen. You all have just a couple of days to beat me (until October 15, 2007 to be precise.) You still have a chance to claim this fantastic price: eternal fame in blogosphere! Vicki will be the Judge and Jury - so you better make sure that you come up with something really impressive and artistic! Click on the labels below to find out all about this. Come on, blog friends - don't let me down! Make a Moai statue and upload a pic on your blog. Leave a comment here to let us know about your contribution to this global fun project.
I will be in Frankfurt for the next couple of days to attend the Book Fair. I hope to be back on Saturday and of course I do expect to see some new entries for this exciting competition. What are you waiting for? And maybe Mike can try to get in touch with some islanders?

Live in the Light

Jesus says: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46

If we are pursuing our own plans, when we are trying to manipulate Jesus into doing our will, we will lose sight of Him and of the One He represents. We need Christ’s light to shine upon us, to show us God’s way and to liberate us from this world’s darkness. Read more here.

Two options

In theory our Lord did have two options. His prayer to the Father could have been: ‘Father, save me from this hour’, but he rejected this attractive option and chose to pray the other prayer instead: ‘Father, glorify your name!’

Read more here