Shut down debilitating self-criticism

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. (1 John 3:18-20 The Message)

Not A Pretty Picture...

It is not difficult for me to show you a better looking self portrait than this photograph from a grumpy, tired 40+ male. But I chose this unflattering picture because I want to show the world what I look like if I don’t feel so great.

This picture captured me at one of my weaker moments. I had a tough day, I felt exhausted and I wasn’t in the mood for posing. So, this is how my wife and kids see me every now and then. And you know what? They still love me. I know: it’s a mystery!

Today someone said:

“Some things are loved because of their value
and some things are valued
because they are loved…”

Are your always trying to hide your true feelings? Are you giving everybody the impression that you are a happy, easy going, strong and self-confident person? Are you crying and hurting inside? Are you sick and tired of it all?

This is what Jesus says to you today:

I've loved you the way my Father has loved me.
Make yourselves at home in my love.
John 15:9

This is my command:
Love one another the way I loved you.
John 15:12

Kerstin Hack

Now that I have introduced you to Katrín from Iceland - I also need to tell you about Kerstin Hack from Germany. Click on this pic if you want to know more about her. Kerstin publishes her thoughts and ideas on several web sites and - if you are able to read German - I can recommend her Kerstin Pur blog which I added to my blog list yesterday.

I stumbled on Kerstin's blog - pun intended - while clicking through the German blogs list from fellow Dutch blogger Marc van der Woude. I just dropped her a line because it turned out that we are both Christians working in the book trade. Check out Kerstin's Berlin Rocks site (in English!) and her Down to Earth site about her publishing activities in Germany.

Talking about stumbling blocks, you might be aware that some Dutch people still hold a grudge against their German neighbours. Our little country was occupied by our big brother from the east during the Second World War. It strikes me that these terrible things from the past still come up whenever I talk to people from Germany.

I don't blame today's Germans for what happened in the past. I hope they don't hold me responsible for what our Dutch forefathers did in South Africa, South America and the Far East... There are so many things to be ashamed of (Apartheid is a Dutch word, remember).

I take the liberty of quoting a passage from Kerstin's message to me:

In the last months there has been a lot of interaction between Berlin and Rotterdam, mostly in the area of bringing peace to the fact that we destroyed Rotterdam a while back and a longing to work together on a new basis. It is very much on my heart that Germany and the Netherlands would learn to walk together in real partnership and do things together....

Kerstin is planning to visit Rotterdam next May, for the memorial of the bombing of this Dutch city during the Second World War. I am impressed by this gesture - it is an act of reconciliation in a broken world - filled with people desperately in need of forgiveness.


This statue from Zadkine is a symbol and a reminder of the bombing of Rotterdam in the Second World War. The hands in the sky against the bombs falling down and a hole in the body to show the center was bombed out of the city.


Rotterdam after the bombing...

I never had the opportunity to get to know my grandfather and my uncle (my mother's brother) because both of them died during the Second World War. But you know what? I have always enjoyed working with my reliable German business partners and I love our neighbours from the East with the love of Christ. How can I blame today's Germans for what some of their (grand)parents did?

Kerstin, you already know the stumbling Stone... He is the new basis for co-operation and peace:

The Stone
Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.
(1 Peter 2:4-6 from the Message)

A message of peace for Kerstin and for all visitors of this little spot in the blogosphere:

Peace and Joy
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

(Romans 5:1-11 from the Message)

Katrín Guðlaugsdóttir

I came across this weblog from Katrín Guðlaugsdóttir. Yea - you guessed it - she is from Iceland! I am only able to type her name thanks to the cut & paste option and I am pretty sure that she doesn't mind if I just call her Katrín (www.callmekatrin.blogspot.com).

Take some time to read her postings and the comments from today and yesterday... It really is encouraging! Just click on the picture and you will be in Iceland before you know it (virtually, that is).

Use your mind

Are you a smart Christian? No, I'm not kidding - they do exist! If you are one of them, don't waste your precious time reading my superficial thoughts. Check this out: www.smartchristian.com - it is awesome! Click on the image and discover a world of information. If you are a stupid Christian, go visit this site anyway, you still might learn something...

Double trouble

Suffering from amnesia and deja vu at the same time:
I think I've forgotten this before...

Kemi's dagboek

Eind dit jaar verschijnt bij onze uitgeverij een boek dat naar mijn verwachting de nodige aandacht zal krijgen: Kemi's Journal. Abidemi Sanusi is een veelbelovend auteur uit Engeland. Ze heeft een (fictie) dagboek geschreven dat wel wordt gezien als een christelijke tegenhanger van Bridget Jones's Diary (al moet je altijd oppassen met dergelijke vergelijkingen).


Het is eerlijk gezegd niet 'mijn soort boek', maar dat mag geen verbazing wekken. Als 40+ man behoor ik niet echt tot de doelgroep van de zgn. meidenliteratuur (chic lit heet dat in het Engels), maar als uitgever zie ik wel goede mogelijkheden voor dit boek. Bovendien ben ik gecharmeerd van de vlotte stijl van de schrijfster - lees zelf eens wat op haar internetsites. Het is gewoon een leuk mens! Kijk maar eens hier en hier.

Scripture Union is de Engelse uitgever van Kemi's Journal.


Klik op dit plaatje en je komt vanzelf op Abidemi Sanusi's persoonlijke website!

Kemi’s Journal
of life, love and everything

The spiritual journey of a young professional highflier who has been a Christian for just one year. A slice of zany London life as only a twenty-something born-again believer might see it. Kemi struggles with her career, her mixed-race family, and her non-believing ex-boyfriend, until an unplanned pregnancy forces her to contemplate the unthinkable: abortion! But in the midst of it all, Kemi keeps wrestling with her faith and her Bible. A story of encouragement, hope and redemption in Christ; of grace, forgiveness and the way back to God. A book to encourage Christians struggling with sin and speak to those who have turned their back on their faith. Kemi's Journal will strike a chord with many young women today who find themselves struggling with life, love and everything. Abidemi Sanusi was born in Nigeria and educated in the UK. She is currently a human rights worker, based in London, specialising in gender issues and travelling widely. Kemi's Journal is her first novel.
Source: www.scriptureunion.co.uk

I heard the voice of Jesus say

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast.’

I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live.’

I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘I am this dark world's light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.’

I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I'll walk
till traveling days are done.

Words: Horatio Bonar, 1846

This is such a beautiful hymn... I just love it!

Forgive us our trespasses

On Dutch television I saw the Amercian Football players from Amsterdam Admirals praying The Lord's Prayer in their dressing room. 'Forgive us our trespasses...' - I guess they were referring to the fouls they committed during their games? Anyway, I think it is cool that these tough guys take time to pray together before their game.

Superpanda!

Klik hier voor mijn debuut op www.supergans.nl...

EuroPope or Pope Hannibal?

Am I the only one who sees this? I think Brussels is trying to take over the Vatican... Remember: I told you first!



Or do we have to fear Pope Hannibal
in the The Silence of the Vatican...?

Ware woorden

Etty Hillesum

Voor dwangmatige bloggers volgt hier wat stof tot nadenken:

Van één ding moet je nu toch eindelijk eens afstappen: van de voorstelling dat je, thuisgekomen van een belevenis die je heeft aangegrepen, achter een stuk papier moet gaan zitten en het beleefde meteen in een kunstwerk moet herscheppen. En ook je losmaken van de angst dat wanneer je het niet direct opschrijft, dat je het dan vergeten bent later.

Etty Hillesum (In duizend zoete armen)

In onze tijd schrijven we eerder op een beeldscherm dan op een stuk papier, maar deze woorden van Etty Hillesum blijven waar...

Stonewashed

Vanmorgen hebben we in de Meerkerk geluisterd naar de derde preek van ds. Wigle Tamboer over het thema 'Kracht om te leven'. Deze keer was het sub-thema: 'als een geliefde je ontvalt'. Bram & Esther van Dijk (samen optredend onder de naam Stonewashed gaven een bijzonder indrukwekkend getuigenis over het verlies van hun zoontje Joshua (dit kindje heeft maar twee dagen geleefd en stierf in de armen van zijn ouders).
Ik werd bijzonder geraakt door deze woorden van Bram: 'Je zoon zien sterven, dat is niet om aan te zien'. Ik moest direct denken aan de grote Joshua (JHWH redt, de naam van Jezus!) die onder het oog van zijn Vader gestorven is. Wat moet de Vader een pijn en een verdriet gehad hebben! Dit was het getuigenis van Bram en Esther: dankzij de dood en opstanding van Jezus zullen wij onze zoon ooit weerzien. Daarmee is geen 'verklaring' gegeven voor het verschrikkelijke verlies, maar het is wel een troostrijke gedachte die je boven het verdriet uit kan tillen. De boodschap van dit duo was indrukwekkend, maar hun muzikale optreden was ook van bijzondere kwaliteit. Ga naar deze pagina voor informatie over het interview dat Andries Knevel had met Bram en Esther van Dijk. Je kunt desgewenst ook het interview nog terugzien met Real Player.

Kees Kraayenoord, aanbiddingsleider in de Meerkerk, zong en speelde met een van de nummers van Stonewashed mee. Aan het eind van de dienst zong hij zelf: It is well with my soul - een bekend geestelijk lied:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul!”

(Refr.)
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul!

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His Cross, and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend –
“Even so, it is well with my soul”

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live;
If dark hours about me shall roll
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Wigle Tamboer vertelde tijdens de dienst over de achtergronden van dit lied. Lees het ongelofelijke verhaal achter deze hymne hier.

NB Ik heb twee mooie uitvoeringen op cd: van Audio Adrenaline en van Brian Doerksen.

Abspoel kids

Onze meiden: Pascalle (7) en Sosha (11) ...


...en hun grote broer Robin (13)

Toppertje!

Sosha heeft vandaag met de meiden van SV Hoofddorp (ME3) met 5-0 gewonnen van Concordia Hillegom. Zelf scoorde zij het eerste en het derde doelpunt. En wij zijn allemaal heel erg TROTS!

All for a good cause, of course...

I didn't want to brag about it, but it's so nice to be a modest servant... If you are interested in making a donation to support me, please feel free!

UPDATE: this is a joke, dear friends. Please visit www.churchsigngenerator.com if you want to become a well known pastor as well ;-) It's so easy!

Is religious humour an oxymoron* ?

* Oxymoron = the juxtaposition of 2 mutually-exclusive concepts. Examples: ‘airline food’, ‘secure software’, ‘military intelligence’ :-)

Voor Nederlandstalige bezoekers: de aanleiding voor deze posting is mijn discussie met Supergans bij 'Left Behind / Right Behind' - van 8 april (zie hieronder). Klik daar op comments en laat desgewenst ook je mening achter! Kijk ook naar de informatie hieronder over 'Wilma zoekt God' - een tv-programma waarin Aad Peters een bijzonder cadeautje weggaf...

Steve Lawler, an Episcopal priest who advises organizations on ethical questions, believes the humor-impaired are the ones that truly lack faith: "Laughing at oneself and one's own beliefs shows a kind of faith that escapes the literally minded," he observes. "Too many of the humorless have lost the fullness of their humanity. They stand stone-faced and scared before God. The sad thing is that they think the rest of us should as well."

Robert Darden, editor of 'The Door', says: "Religion needs humor if only to burst a few overinflated balloons."

Garrison Keillor, writer: "God writes a lot of good comedy, it's just that he has so many bad actors."

OK, but is this also funny?


On the satirical Christian website www.shipoffools.com you can buy this so called 'Bobblehead Jesus'. Personally I don't think it is really funny and I wonder whether they are serious about this. I guess not. They also make fun of a lot of rubbish that is for sale on the 'Christian' gift market (check out my earlier postings about so called Holy Hardware. You can find them in my February and March Archives). Look at this if you want to see this for yourself and please let me have your opinion... You can use the comments option below to have your say!

Also have a look at The Wittenburg Door, a satirical website founded by the well-known evangelical youth worker and author Mike Yaconelli (Yaconelli tragically died in October 2003 due to a car accident).

Do you need some inspiration? Read this article about Bible Humor from Jews for Jesus!
Please let me know whether you also want to put the fun back into fundamentalism...

Voor de Nederlanders:

Bekijk het cadeautje dat Aad Peters aan Wilma Nanninga gaf (in het tv-programma 'Wilma zoekt God') klik hier voor meer info (Aad Peters ziet er dus de humor wel van in, maar ja, hij is Jezus-fan én poppenspeler...)


Aad Peters gaf Wilma Nanninga van Privé een opmerkelijk cadeautje...
© Photo: Brian Elings (published here with kind permission)

Sosha is jarig!

Van harte gefeliciteerd, Sosha!

Hier staat Sosha met twee van haar vriendinnen: Marjolein en Christina. Samen vormen zij een echte meidenzanggroep: de Superstars... Ze hebben zich ingeschreven voor het Junior Songfestival. Wij weten niet of ze echt mee mogen doen, maar wij zijn natuurlijk nu al grote fans!

Longing

Please read this quote and think about it today!

I can't go to the place where this man was born. Nobody knows exactly where it is. I can't go to the place where he died. Nobody knows where that is for sure, either. I can't enter a house where he lived. I can't step inside a fishing boat he used on occasion. I can't look at any of his clothing under glass in a museum. There are no strands of hair pressed between the pages of a book. No documents have ever been discovered bearing his handwriting. There are no recordings of his voice and there are no photographs taken of his likeness. I have not one single point of physical contact to satisfy my longing to make connection with the greatest hero of my life. But then, I really don't need to connect to some object of the past, because my hero is alive today. Jesus defeated death. And all I need to do is accept his promise that he is living in me. That is more than enough to satisfy my longing.
- Dan Stuecher (When I'm Coping With Loss)

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Romans 8:37-39 from The Message

Left or Right Behind?

Left behind?
Right behind?

Lang zal ze leven, lang zal ze leven!

Vandaag is Lydia 40 geworden!

Zou je niet zeggen hè?
En ik houd nog altijd even veel van haar...

Hieperdepiep Hoera!

Geen balk in je oog, wel op je scherm...

Als je nog een plekje op je beeldscherm over hebt: installeer dan de bijbelbar! (NB dit is geen bar waar je een bijbel kunt bestellen, maar een handig balkje dat je eenvoudig kunt installeren). Klik op het plaatje en het venster gaat vanzelf open...

Nu we het toch over online bijbels hebben, dit zijn ook goede plekken om te kijken:
www.denieuwebijbelvertaling.nl (klik in dit scherm op online bijbel)
www.willibrordbijbel.nl (de katholieke bijbelvertaling)
www.bible.gospelcom.net (heel veel Engelstalige vertalingen, waaronder de door mij zeer geliefde The Message van Eugene Peterson!)
www.bibleserver.com (site van International Bible Society met 'Het Boek' bijbels in diverse talen. Je kunt gebruik maken van een gastaccount, maar je kunt je ook gratis aanmelden).

Pope John Paul II

My thoughts and prayers are with all people who loved and respected Pope John Paul II as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

As an Evangelical Christian I only recognize Jesus Christ as the Head of the world wide Church, but I do think that this Pope was a good example for all believers. I will never forget that he went to a prison cell to visit the man who shot him in 1981 - and he offered him forgiveness. That was a true act of grace!

I can't help wondering what Karol Jozef Wojtyla and Peter the disciple of Jesus will say to each other in heaven...

Review: The Passion of the Christ

I have added some text to my posting about The Passion of the Christ. If you want to read it, click here!

André Troost in Boekenwijzer

André Troost is morgen en volgende week zondag 10 april te beluisteren in radioprogramma Boekenwijzer van de EO. Hij spreekt met presentator Arie Verhoef over zijn boek Praten met Prediker. Eerder was Troost te gast bij Andries Knevel - klik hier om meer te lezen en/of dit boeiende gesprek te beluisteren.

Voor de site van boekenwijzer kun je hier klikken. Via internet luisteren naar de uitzending kan ook (bijvoorbeeld wanneer je in het buitenland zit!). Om on-line naar 747 AM te kunnen luisteren moet je hier klikken.

Uitzendingen: radio 747 AM, 22.35 uur.



NB Door de grote belangstelling moet het boek nu al - 2 maanden na introductie - worden herdrukt!

Lees ook mijn posting van 20 maart 2005!

Overgenomen van de 747 AM site:
22:37 - 23:00Boekenwijzer (EO)Praten met Prediker (1). Ds. Andre F. Troost gaat graag in gesprek met schrijvers van bijbelboeken. Dat blijkt als je zijn bibliografie bekijkt. In zijn boek Morgen zal het Pasen zijn is hij in gesprek met Job over het lijden. In Ik, Tertius is dominee Troost in gesprek met de secretaris van Paulus. En in zijn jongste boek gaat Troost in gesprek met de Prediker. In deze en de komende aflevering van Boekenwijzer praat Arie Verhoef met Andre F. Troost over Praten met Prediker (Ark Boeken).

Where are the little sparrows? Waar zijn de kleine musjes?

We prefer not to think about the problems with the ozone layer and the tropical rain forest. We ignore alarming messages about the green house effect. The environmental problems are too big for us. But have you noticed that all sparrows have disappeared? I miss my little friends! Where are they?

Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave and notice. (Matthew 10:29)

We willen liever niet nadenken over de problemen met de ozon laag en het tropisch regenwoud. We negeren alarmerende berichten over het broeikaseffect. De milieuproblemen zijn te groot voor ons. Maar heb je al gemerkt dat alle mussen verdwenen zijn? Ik mis mijn kleine vrienden! Waar zijn ze?

Wat kosten twee mussen? Zo goed als niets. Maar er valt er niet één dood neer als jullie Vader het niet wil. (Matteüs 10:29)

Read this

I couldn't agree more...

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
(Eleanor Roosevelt)