“DNA tests confirmed that a body found off the coast of Brazil is that of a priest who disappeared while flying over the Atlantic buoyed by hundreds of brightly colored party balloons, authorities said Tuesday.
The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli set off from the Brazilian port city of Paranagua on April 20 strapped to 1,000 helium-filled balloons in an attempt to raise money to build a rest stop and worship center for truckers. But the 41-year-old Roman Catholic priest soon lost contact with his ground team, and the cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was found in the water a day later.” Source
This news story really makes me think. Of course I feel terribly sorry for this courageous priest and for all the people he has left behind here on earth. But was this really God’s calling on his life – to be airlifted to the heavens above by 1,000 party balloons!?
Okay, who am I to judge this poor man... It is just another tragic story, but I can’t help thinking that this was also a silly stunt and a misguided, naieve idea.
In my own country we just heard about a group of young volunteers and the tragic ordeal that they’ve been through while they were working for a Christian aid and development organization in Kenya. They came there to rebuild a school and paid for this ‘vacation’ out of their own pocket. And this is what happened to them: five young Dutch women between the ages of 17 and 25 were raped by a group of Kenyan men. Source
Now I am outraged, shocked and sad at the same time. And of course I can’t help asking myself – why on earth did God allow this to happen? That is a tough question to answer and I truly don’t know what to say. I only know that bad things happen to good people all of the time all over the world and Christians are certainly not immune to violence, crime, war, persecution, abuse and disasters. Come to think of it, Jesus – God’s Son, was not immune to violence, pain and humiliation either. He gave his life for us on that horrible cross and God didn't stop him because this was a price that needed to be paid and Jesus was the only one who was able to pay it. Can’t understand it fully, but I wholeheartedly believe it.
So God took a huge risk when He allowed his Son to go down to this dark pit we call earth. Excuse me for mixing up these tragic non-related stories, but again I have to think about the Brazilian priest who decided to go in the opposite direction. There’s nothing funny about that. It just makes me wonder what we are called to do down here on earth, how much risk we can sensibly take and which price we are prepared to pay in order to help our fellow human beings in the service of our God.
“There is a 99 percent chance of California experiencing a quake of magnitude 6.7 or larger within the next 30 years, according to the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey and the Southern California Earthquake Center and published in Science Daily in April.” Source
Today I’ve heard about the ‘small’ earthquake in California. This again is a reminder that – from a geological point of view – that part of the world is a dangerous place to live. But… I live with my family in an area 4,5 meters below sea level and with rising oceans, where on earth can we be safe?
Well, to be honest, I believe I do know the answer to that question. Read these words and listen carefully if you want to know it too.
So, are you waiting for the Big One, or are you putting your trust in the Almighty One, just as I do?
Read Mike's interesting blog entry about light pollution. I agree with Mike, in a literal sense I think we need more darkness down here!
All three of our children are off to summer camp. They stay at the island of Schiermonnikoog, one of the Waddensea Islands north of the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen.
Robin, Sosha and Pasalle love to go there and they were really looking forward to meeting their friends again. They go to this Christian youth camp each year - which gives us time to do some projects in our house and spend some time together with 'just the two of us'.
Pics - Robin (16) is relaxed as always. He is looking forward to playing on his electric guitar with his friends... Sosha (14) never has a problem to 'fit in' - she will especially enjoy all the sports and games activities... It's easy to see that Pascalle (11) is very excited too - she was immediately reunited with a friend she got to know last year. She is a sensitive girl and the look in her eyes (picture above) tells you that she has some mixed emotions about leaving home for a week.
We are happy for them, but of course we can't wait to have them back home next Saturday!
Robin,
Sosha and
Pascalle
The eyes of the world will soon be on the Olympics. But the eyes of God remain on His children and especially those who suffer for their faith.
Despite what you may hear in the news, Chinese Christians who refuse to register with the government controlled church are being persecuted. Many have undergone horrific suffering. Read more here and get your free prayer band here (if you are living in the USA).
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3
Let me tell you something about the first cause. In the Netherlands we have something called "domino day". Each year they invite a VIP to push the first domino stone. Without a push of one finger, the first stone will not fall. Without cause, no effect. Think about that - it's very scientific.
I selected this YouTube clip because of the very appropriate Supertramp lyrics: At night, when all the world's asleep, the questions run so deep for such a simple man.
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-4 NLT)
PS This blog entry is part of my reply to an anonymous comment - check this
Today I went to Rotterdam with my son Robin. We had only three goals: having fun, eating and drinking something delicious and buying him a new acoustic guitar. We succeeded three times! I also wanted to take some pictures as part of the fun, but today was a wet and dreary day, so I switched my camera to sepia. The window of the music shop was decorated with old instruments (probably traded in by their former owners), so this was a nice addition to my nostalgic mood. It was a great day, no matter the weather. And Robin is very happy with his new Yamaha western guitar, of course.
Click pics to enlarge.
A busy day in Sarlat, France. The streets were crowded because of the local market. But not all streets. I went to the silent alleys, where all the loners go. This friend didn't even notice me - sighing, looking down, but slowly making progress. Anyway, I was happy to meet him. Check my photo blog for more pics.
Please take some time to read this article on Floyd & Sally McClung's blog. Thank you.
Yes! We had a great holiday in France (Dordogne) and it's good to be back again! I want to give you some photographic impressions... click pics to enlarge and see the details! Please do come back soon to see some more photographs. I did use my new Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS camera quite often and to be honest, I can't wait to share some of my best shots with you here and on my photo blog!
Just want to thank my blog readers for visiting and sometimes even leaving comments while I was away with the family. Thanks for keeping this blog alive, guys.
The picture above is dedicated to an anonymous commenter - please check the comments section below (in my former blog posting). My question for this commenter and for all of you is... did these rolls get there by accident or did somebody put them there on purpose? And how do you know this?
By the way, we have no complaints about the weather in France. We've had sunshine and blue skies most of the time. And when it rained (one or two nights) I was grateful for some new photo opportunities the next morning. Life is great.
It will be very quiet here for a while because of our holidays which are due to begin. But don't worry, there's plenty of cyberspace left to explore... In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line abspoel at gmail dot com - and I will reply later.
Whatever you are planning to do this Summer: have a great time too!
Dutch football hero Ruud van Nistelrooij looks into the camera during our national anthem. I didn't go to Switzerland to take this pic, I was sitting at home on the couch, watching the game and taking a screen shot with my new Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS camera.
I haven't been blogging for a while, because I was too busy living my life :-) And of course I wanted to see the games with our great orange football team. The Dutch did well during the first round, beating Italy (3-0), France (3-1) and Romania (2-0) and finishing on top of the 'group of death'. But a great team from Russia, coached by Guus Hiddink from the Netherlands (thank you, Guus) kicked us out of the tournament yesterday and I have to admit they really deserved to win. So: come on, Russia!
I like football, but I am not as mad as some of my neighbours (see picture below). 
The day after the night before...
Now I am hoping that the Russians will win the European Championships. But Spain and Turkey have great teams too. We all know of course that Italy or Germany will have the last laugh - as always. Playing bad games but winning tournaments is also a quality, I guess.
But you know what? This week I will go to France for a vacation with my family. And the French people don't want to discuss football either, so we're okay.
Check out my photo blog for some new pics and as always, feel free to leave a comment here or over there!
Last Sunday, June 8, we celebrated Pascalle's 11th birthday. To quote Stevie W: Isn't She Lovely? Yes, she is my beautiful 'little' girl!
Everything comes from God alone. “Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory” (Rom. 11:36). The breath you just took? God gave that. The blood that just pulsed through your heart? Credit God. The light by which you read and the brain with which you process? He gave both.
Everything comes from him . . . and exists for him. We exist to exhibit God, to display his glory. We serve as canvases for his brush stroke, papers for his pen, soil for his seeds, glimpses of his image.
Cure For The Common Life – Max Lucado
Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and grey; we wouldn’t have known the difference. But he didn’t. He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you’ll see that too. Did he have to make the squirrel’s tail furry? Was he obliged to make the birds sing? And the funny way that chickens scurry or the majesty of thunder when it rings? Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste? Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?
Max Lucado - He Chose the Nails
Dear blogging friends, I have made some changes in my bloglist. Some fellow bloggers are not updating their blogs anymore and sometimes I just lose contact with them. I have deleted the links to some of these blogs and added some new ones.
I am excited about some new contacts that I have made through VerveEarth. And I am also excited about the fact that my photo blog has entered the top 100 of this blogging community!
As a Dutch blogger, writing in English, I am especially interested in finding bloggers from around the globe. Many of them are Christians too, so we already share something that is very important to me. But I want to be open minded and I know that having a certain world view is also to a high degree determined by the place where you are born. So I think it is also good to exchange views and opinions with bloggers with different cultural and religious backgrounds.
I hope to add some more bloggers from Asia, South America and Africa to my favorites, especially if they are also blogging in English. Keep an eye on my bloglist and let me know if you want to be added too, so that I can have a look at your blog to find out whether your blog will be a good addition! Unfortunately I am not able to visit all the blogs all of the time, but I do try to stay in touch with most of the people that are included in my blog list. Of course I appreciate all feedback in my comments section and IN-box (abspoel at gmail dot com). Drop me a line or give me a shout!
I captured some lambs on video during their secret training session for the world championships sprinting for junior sheep. The images are a bit vague, I'm sorry about that, but remember this is a stealth recording... Enjoy - I think it is funny. And oh yes, I've posted some new pics on my photo blog too.
I am reading the book of Daniel from the Message translation right now. Wow. Just read the passage below and see how exciting and inspiring these old stories are when you read them in contemporary English! I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna bow for the idols of this world, whatever the consequences. Let's all pray for the persecuted Church, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world. They are certainly not alone!
Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. 1 Peter 1:6,7
Robin, Pascalle and Sosha (left to right) had their pictures taken as a surprise for their mom and both grandma's. And dad is very happy and proud too, of course, as you all can see.
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