Big Boy

Bill Gates must be so proud...

Ha, ha! Maybe they also have INTEL inside? (see pic right...)
WinErr: 001 Erronious error - Nothing is wrong
WinErr: 002 Multitasking attempted - System confused / WinErr: 003 Broken window - Watch out for glass fragments / WinErr: 004 Unexplained error - Please tell us how this happened / WinErr: 005 Window closed - Do not look inside / WinErr: 006 Unexpected error - Huh? / WinErr: 007 Operating system overwritten - Please reinstall. We are terribly sorry. / WinErr: 008 Error buffer overflow / WinErr: 009 User error - Not our fault. Is Not! Is Not! / WinErr: 010 This will end your Windows session. Do you want to play another game?

Successful publisher :-)

This Blogger message is always very encouraging to me. It is so nice to be a successful publisher! Now I only have to attract some readers...

Neal Morse's 'Secret Project' - another great discovery!

After hearing Neal Morse's Testimony and One prog rock masterpieces - I didn't have to think twice about buying his new cd entitled ? It's a masterpiece again - no question!

The cd starts and ends with 'The Temple of the Living God' and I can listen to this music again and again - each time enjoying it more! This album is really outstanding and the lyrics are just as intriguing as the mysterious title of this great cd...

I think that Neal Morse chose the question mark as the cd title (which can be seen in the smoke on the cd cover) because he is writing and singing about JHWH - the One and Only God Whose name is too holy to mention...

God revealed himself long ago to Moses and to the people of Israel. There could be no direct contact between the holy God and his sinful, disobedient people. Offerings, sacrifices and cleansing rituals were necessary and there always was a separation - a wall or a curtain - between God and his people. Only great prophets like Moses and Eliah had direct contact with God - but most people remained 'outsiders'. The people of Israel had to wait for the promised One - Messiah Jesus. His holy sacrifice on the cross finaly opened the way to the Fatherheart of God... For ALL people who believe in Him! Now nobody has to feel like an 'outsider looking in' - because we can all become a Temple of the Living God!

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Eph. 2:21,22

But I am lonely
And dead inside
Clearly God doesn't love me
So I'll just wait outside
Watching the procession pass
The glory streams to earth at last
(The Outsider - track 3)

In a world filled with people
There was only One
Whou could stand in the presence
Solid as the Sun
Solid as the Sun
solid as the Sun

But before you enter in
Nothing more can begin
All the darkness that we choose
Lay it down it can't be used
Burn it in the fire,
Burn it in the fire, burn it down
(Solid as the Sun - track 6)

This concept album is a musical journey for the soul - just like Testimony and One. Neal Morse has discovered the Way, the Truth and the Life and this is his way of sharing this greatest discovery with everyone who wants to listen. Search and you will find!

Affectionately known as Neal’s “Secret Project”, this CD is a musical landscape that has no equal. With startling performances by an unprecedented array of geniuses like the early Genesis legend Steve Hackett, mastermind Roine Stolt from Sweden’s Flower Kings, arguably the finest keyboard player alive today, Jordan Rudess, and the quirky genius Neal’s own brother Alan Morse from Spock’s Beard, this CD does not disappoint. Neal’s creativity is in full swing and his voice has never sounded better. Laid upon the prog solid foundation produced by Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater (Drums) and Randy George of Ajalon (Bass) this is 56 minute epic that never lets up. With Roine Stolt and Mike Portnoy present the Transatlantic comparisons are bound to be made, but this is an album all its own. After all the hype, all there is is the music. And there it is in all its glory. Listen for yourself and see…or would it be hear? Source

"If you show someone a door and say 'here's a door, walk through it' they'll probably say 'forget it'! But, if you show them a wall and say 'there's a door here somewhere…find it!' it becomes much more interesting. It is always more interesting when you find something for yourself". Neal Morse

Martin Smith [Delirious?] - interesting interview!

On August 30th 1995, Martin (Delirious?) was driving back from a gig at the Grapevine Festival in Lincolnshire when, in the early hours of the morning and only around the corner from home, he was involved in a serious car accident. (The song August 30th on the 'King Of Fools' album was written about this event.) The crash turned out to be an important moment in Smith's life and the life of the band. [Read the complete interview text here].

More pics? Check this out! © Photo: Brian Elings (published here with kind permission). Click here if you want to read my concert review in English. Click here for a concert review in Dutch by Harco Ploegman.

I'll fight to the very end!

“While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!”
William Booth, founder Salvation Army
Thanks to Jørund [Peacechild]

Vertaling nodig? / Need a translation?

Ga naar deze of naar deze vertaalsite en plak de complete adresregel (URL) van Panda's Ponderings in het opdrachtvenster. Kies English-Dutch en er komt een soort vertaling uit - inclusief grappige vertaalfouten... Probeer het maar eens!

Go to this or to this site if you want to read Panda's Ponderings in a different language. Just cut & paste the URL-line, choose your language and see what happens! (Be prepared for some very funny results!)

But God's Word is not chained!

Right! Again a brother from the HOLY HIP HOP scene in Holland is going to join the gang... Joshua Kotadiny will also be present on Fool's Day in Hoofddorp! It all started with a deep desire to reach lost people with the love of Christ and - no doubt - God is going to make this happen! Come over and help us!

Thanks R.I.V., thanks Mic Joshua and Jay! I don't know you guys, but I do know that we all are following the same Master. This is an exciting journey, God knows where it will lead us...

Just to avoid any misunderstandings: this meeting is NOT about HIP HOP or music (although I do like to hear some noises and see some moves) but it's about Tony Anthony's testimony. However, I am praying that this will also be the kick-off of a music ministry within prisons. Pray with me that this dream will also be realised soon! This is the goal: bringing the living Word of God in places where it's most desperately needed. Join us!

See you in Hoofddorp on Fool's Day! And yes: I do want to be there in Amsterdam on May 6th to return the favour... keep me posted.

To all of you in the Netherlands: think about the month of June (23-28). Tony is willing to come back to Holland and to go to prison as a free man - only to captivate the audience with his gripping testimony. If you want Tony to come to your church, your prison, your university, your school or your youth group: just let me know and I will see what I can do!

This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. (Paul - formerly known as Saul - 2 Timothy 2:8)

VORM MIJ [Shape Me]

Voor Nederlandse bloglezers: VORM MIJ staat op GMI site. Zie ook hier!

Short, sweet and way to shocking for some

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)

Dear Father,
These are the prophetic words of your faithful servant Isaiah. Your Son, our Messiah Jeshua, read this same passage from the scroll when he was asked to read and teach from the Scriptures in the synagoge. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down, Luke writes. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Wow, this is by far the strongest and sweetest sermon I’ve ever heard! No more words needed! Please come Jesus, and speak in our churches too!

Read on and check out the other MONDAY BOOSTERS here

I AM THE IDIOT IN THIS STORY - JESUS IS THE HERO

[Nederlandse Blog lezers: zorg dat je erbij bent!]
Saturday April 1 - FOOL'S DAY (how appropriate) there will be a press conference @ 10:30 and a public meeting starting @ 13:30 in Hoofddorp NL. Location: MEERKERK IJWEG. You can find a route description here (sorry - it's all in Dutch). This is NOT a joke!

British author TONY ANTHONY - three times World Champion Kung Fu and top bodyguard - will tell the media and the public his incredible story. Tony was raised by his strict grandfather as a Kung Fu fighter in China. He studied the fighting techniques of the tiger and became a master of the martial arts. As a young man he was working as a top bodyguard for the International Kung Fu Federation based in Geneva, Switzerland. He instructed other bodyguards in close protection and man to man combat.

Tony had a difficult upbringing, to put it mildly. It seemed like everything was going much better after he was engaged to a Swedish girl. During an assignment in Italy, Tony hears that his fiancée has died in a car crash. This is too much for him to handle. He starts to use his fighting skills in a wrong way and accepts illegal 'debt collecting' jobs from his VIP clients. Tony becomes a very violent man and a ruthless criminal.

One bad day Tony is arrested and detained in Nicosia's State Prison on the isle of Cyprus. This penal institute is more like a medieval dungeon where 'normal' criminals, political prisoners and violent psychopaths share their crowded cells. This place really is like hell on earth.

Tony is able to defend himself with his martial arts skills, but there is not much left of his self-discipline, Buddhism and high morals. The tiger within has taken full control. Until a stranger starts to visit him day after day, week after week, month after month. Little by little Tony starts to open up...

Read the rest of the story in his bestselling autobiography TAMING THE TIGER - CBC Book of the Year 2005 - and already translated in 14 different languages! Read this book review.

Tony Anthony visits the Netherlands for the presentation of the Dutch translation of his book: GETEMDE TIJGER (published by Ark Boeken).

After the press meeting Tony will talk to the public about the dramatic events and radical changes in his life. He is now working as an evangelist for Avanti Ministries in the UK.

Dutch HIP HOP ARTISTS NOA will also make some noise during this meeting. Be there and bring your friends if you want to see and hear something special!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. [ROMANS 8:1-4]

Worship Warriors GET READY FOR THE FLOOD

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [John 4:23]

Just One Day Later...

YES! Holy Hip Hop from Holland! Today I received an email with some information about NOA (Nomadische Onaantastbare Alliantie = Nomadic Untouchable Alliance) consisting of Rivelino (Alias R.I.V.) and Mic Joshua. I am praying for final confirmation, but I do hope that these guys will be present at our presentation on April 1st in Hoofddorp. Tony Anthony (see earlier posts) will give his testimony and I do expect that many people will attend. I really believe we are on a mission from GOD and He is confirming every step so far! (And I am not a blues brother).

Please pray with me for this event! I do want to see many broken people kneeling before Messiah Jesus! And how appropriate this is: NOA cooperating with ARK Boeken... Maybe some people will not believe me, but I am expecting a FLOOD of WORDS!

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews (= Nomads / Strangers!) 12:22-29

Check out da'Truth!

This is my dream: Holy Hip Hop in my own language - speaking da'Truth of God's Word - but not in Double Dutch!

On April 1, 2006 we will have a book presentation and a press conference with Tony Anthony, author of 'Taming the Tiger' (CBC Book of the Year 2005). Tony used to be a three times World Champion Kung Fu, a professional body guard and - after everything went totally wrong in his life - a long term guest in Nicosia's state prison on the isle of Cyprus.

Tony is not a rapper (as far as I know), but as a changed man he now wants to bring da'Good News of Jesus Christ in all places, and especially in prisons! I know that Hip Hop music is very popular among prisoners in the Netherlands and it is my desire to produce some ORIGINAL Gospel Gangsta's Holy Hip Hop in our very own Dutch language! I am talking to some people from the Christian music scene in the Netherlands right now and I strongly believe that God will use Christian singers, rappers and dancers to spread da'Good News on the streets of our cities and in all the dark places of our society. Let's bring some joy and let's speak some positive words to the people who desperately need to hear about Messiah Jesus - the Champion of the Universe!

Please pray with me that this dream will come true. If you have any suggestions, drop me a line and let me know. Yes, on Saturday April 1 (Fool's Day, no kidding) I want to see people dancing, rapping and preaching in my church. This must be the kick-off of Holland's Holy Hip Hop Revolution. Any ideas? We need to hear da'Truth in Dutch! So speak up all of you brothers and sista's out there!

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (MC Paul - formerly known as Saul - in 1 Cor. 9)

Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. (MC Paul - formerly known as Saul - 1 Cor. 14)

What a week!

Last week was very exciting! On Saturday I went to London Stansted with an Easyjet flight - together with my son Robin (13). We had a fantastic day in sunny London (!) and did all the typical things tourists do in a city like this. So here are some sightseeing pics - just to show you how great it really was!
Robin had received special permission from school to stay with me until Tuesday - he is attending a bilingual school - so this was also a great opportunity for him to talk English! Robin stayed with my nephew Kari who lives in Sutton with his wife Helmi and their kids Patrik and Kiara.

On Sunday I went to Notting Hill to meet British author Abidemi Sanusi (Kemi's Journal) and to visit her church Kensington Temple. After sharing lunch together (actually, a very late British breakfast), we went to the London Book Fair - which took place in a new venue in the London Docklands area: the ExCel Exhibition Centre.

Let me show you some pics from Saturday... (Robin took the camera with him during the other days, but didn't take any pictures... but these images will give you an impression).

On Monday I had an appointment with British author Tony Anthony (from the bestselling and award winning book Taming the Tiger - the true story of a former three times World Champion Kung Fu - READ THIS BOOK!) - Dutch title: Getemde Tijger.

I came back on Wednesday to hear that EO (an Evangelical Broadcast Company in the Netherlands) is planning to make a documentary about Tony's story which will be broadcasted on national TV this year! This documentary will be in English, so other (Christian) channels in the world will be able to show this documentary as well. Isn't that great? Tony will come to the Netherlands for a press meeting and for a presentation to Christians who are working in prison ministry. Please let me know if you want to have more information about this!

From Wednesday night until Friday afternoon I have attended the Marketsquare Europe convention - a gathering with representatives from the Christian book trade. I had many interesting meetings with publishing partners from all over Europe and I even did a presentation about the Future of Christian Publishing in Europe (a Word doc and PowerPoint presentation are available if you want to know more about this - just drop me a line!).

Today I visited a Christian book shop in Haarlem - where they had decorated the shop window with my latest book VORM MIJ (= 'Shape Me' - posters, cards and other material about the Potter and the clay...). A CD with beautiful Dutch songs about this same potter & clay theme will be available soon. I've heard the songs already and the CD will really be great! The Lord is doing some incredible things in my life right now - it's just too much to write about on this blog, but if you really want to know more: feel free to ask by leaving a comment or sending an email message. Blessings from the Netherlands!

Bijbel-in Haarlem - VORM MIJ shop window!

Gritty, deliberate obedience

"Hearing the testimonies from the Persecuted Church we are confronted countless times with the challenge that the Gospel is worth living for. Once you find something like that it changes the way you live. This is it, the gauntlet is laid down. Dare we pick it up? Dare we surrender our lives into the hands of God that something of eternal significance can be worked through us?"

"The Persecuted Church isn't all excitement and emotion; it isn't the romance that we often believe - reciting the Bible cover to cover from memory and sea-parting faith. It's gritty, deliberate obedience, choosing God's will even if it costs them their status, credibility, job, family, freedom. life."

"Where did they learn this lesson from; this counter-culture learning? From Jesus Himself who did only what the Father showed Him and spoke only what the Father told Him (see John 5:19 and 8:28). Nowhere is His obedience to the will of the Father made more evident than when in Gethsemane. He knew what suffering was ahead of Him and He prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. YET NOT AS I WILL, BUT AS YOU WILL.' It was a cold, deliberate choice for Jesus to be obedient. And that's where it starts for us. Choice by choice, foregoing what we want for what the Father wants."

Source: Crossrhythms

Stand for the cause: support the persecuted church!
Please visit Open Doors Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs