18.3.05

Lost in translation?



Another great translation job by Altavista's Babel Fish!


Thoughts and musings from a down to earth follower of Jesus

Gedanken und Überlegungen bilden einen Abstieg, um Nachfolger von Jesus mit Erde zu bedecken.

For those of you who feel lost in translation, I have unearthed some Lenny Kravitz lyrics...

If you could feel what I could feel
Well then you'd know His love is real
If you could hear what I could hear
Well then you'd know the King is near

The resurrection is here to stay
And He's coming back again
The resurrection is here to stay
And He's coming back again
To reclaim all His souls and set us free
The resurrection is here to say
That He's coming back again

Eat our dust, you stupid Babel Fish!
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ><}}}'> ~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 Reasons why I don't swear

  1. It pleases mother so much.
  2. It is a fine mark of manliness.
  3. It proves I have self control.
  4. It indicates how clearly my mind operates.
  5. It makes my conversation so pleasing to everybody.
  6. It leaves no doubt in anyone's mind as to my good breeding.
  7. It impresses people that I have more than ordinary education.
  8. It is an unmistakable sign of culture and refinement.
  9. It makes a very diserable personality among women and children and in all respectable society.
  10. It is my way of honoring God who said: 'Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain'.

(The Johnson Print Shop - London - quoted here)

17.3.05

London Book Fair 2005


From Sunday 13th through Tuesday 15th March I've been in England to attend the London Book Fair - which took place for the last time in the Olympia Exhibition Centre. Next year this event will move to a new venue (and I can see why). Both the Exhibition Centre and the Hotel 'Majestic' reminded me of the grandeur of days past... Let's say that the pictures give you a classy impression, but I guess the hotel hasn't changed much since Queen Victoria's reign (1837 to 1901). It was nice to be in London, though, and I had several pleasant and useful meetings with my foreign publishing partners. My first experience with easyJet was quite good: modern airplanes, friendly flight attendants and I arrived ahead of schedule, both in London (Luton) and in Amsterdam. Not bad for € 92,22! (Add £9.00 for a return ticket with Green Line for a special bus service between London Victoria Tube Station and London Luton).


Olympia Exhibition Centre

Majestic Hotel

12.3.05

Images of Christ - stunning art work by Luc Freymanc


Tonight I discovered some beautiful art work from an exceptional good artist on the Internet.
Click on the titel of this posting if you want to see the breathtaking 'Images of Jesus Christ' by Luc Freymanc!

Joshua The Movie



Last week we have watched the DVD 'Joshua' - a movie based on a book by Joseph Girzone

A mysterious man named Joshua (Tony Goldwyn) arrives in a small town and starts working as a carpenter. He helps rebuilding a local Baptist church and inspires the whole community to work together. I don't want to spoil the plot, so watch this movie for yourself!

Click here for the official movie website. Music by Michael W Smith, Third Day, Jaci Velasquez, Point of Grace and several other Christian musicians. Highly recommended!

11.3.05

What about God?

He is not an angry old man with a beard. He is GOD. He is LIGHT. He is LOVE. He is LIFE. He is your MAKER and He longs to take you in his arms. He is waiting for you like the FATHER waited for his prodigal son...

Please read this parable: Luke 15:11-32

Two Sons
Jesus also told them another story:
Once a man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, “Give me my share of the property.” So the father divided his property between his two sons.
Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat.
He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs.
Finally, he came to his senses and said, “My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.’ ”
The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.
The son said, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.”
But his father said to the servants, “Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.
Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” And they began to celebrate.
The older son had been out in the field. But when he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing. So he called one of the servants over and asked, “What's going on here?”
The servant answered, “Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your father ordered us to kill the best calf.” The older brother got so angry that he would not even go into the house.
His father came out and begged him to go in. But he said to his father, “For years I have worked for you like a slave and have always obeyed you. But you have never even given me a little goat, so that I could give a dinner for my friends. This other son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes. And now that he has come home, you ordered the best calf to be killed for a feast.”
His father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we should be glad and celebrate! Your brother was dead, but he is now alive. He was lost and has now been found.” !

9.3.05

CultureWatch (from a Christian perspective)


Interested in a Christian view on contemporary culture? I can recommend this site: lots & lots of information! (Please click on the title of this posting if you want to visit CultureWatch).

Priester on-line



Op 10 januari 2005 besteedde ik op mijn blogspot aandacht aan de rooms-katholieke priester Antoine Bodar (mijn posting ging over het boek 'Bodar' van Petra Pronk). Gisteren was deze spraakzame / spraakmakende priester te gast in het televisieprogramma van Andries Knevel (op de EO-site kun je met Real Player het interview nog bekijken). Ik hoorde dat Bodar sinds 24:00 uur vannacht een eigen website heeft. Klik op de titel van deze posting en je komt er vanzelf. (Alle wegen leiden naar Rome, maar vanaf mijn blog is dit dus de snelste weg naar de site van Bodar!)

Lookalike


For most Christians it takes ages before they show the image of Christ. But what about (self-proclaimed) baby Christian Brian 'Head' Welch? Perhaps he heard the song: 'Lord, I want to be mistaken for You'. OK, maybe Jesus doesn't have a tattoo like Brian - but, hey, Jesus is the Living Word and needs no tattoos to proclaim the truth. Jesus speaks and it exists - which also shows that He is truly God. The tattoo in Brian's neck shows He is dead serious about it and wants to be a committed follower of Jesus for the rest of his life. You can post your own testimony on his site now!
Something is going on in the world of hard rock music. Maybe these guys are attracted to Jesus because He is the Rock? I guess so.

MTV brings the Good News



Click on the title of this posting if you want an update from MTV on ex-Korn guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch's conversion to Christ. By the way - I have a suggestion for his new band name: Korn Again. (Sorry, stupid idea)

8.3.05

Five Great Guitars



Last Friday I went to The Five Great Guitars - a guitar concert in my home town Hoofddorp - together with two of my brothers in law (Rob Koster and Ronald Bood). Rob invited us for this evening and we had a great time. Thank you Rob - I owe you one!
I think the guitarists were too modest to call their concert The Five Great Guitarists, although that name would have been very appropriate as well.
Digmon Roovers played bass on an acoustic guitar (!) with some amplifier effects
Eric Vaarzon Morel played Spanish acoustic guitar (nice name and a great flamenco maestro!)
Jan Kuiper played acoustic guitar (initiator of this tour and a true guitar virtuoso)
Harry Sacksioni played acoustic guitar (6 and 12-strings) and needs no introduction for guitar lovers - he is fabulous and I admire his skills and his enthusiasm!
Zou Diarra played a red electric semi-acoustic guitar (as cool and collected as BB King himself - always smiling while producing some terrific guitar and harp sounds. This guy also makes his own string instruments!)

If you ever have the opportunity to check out one of these great guitarists: don't miss it!

6.3.05

Mijn lief gelooft / Mijn lief gelooft niet

Mirjam Bouwman en Regina Romeijn maken voor de Evangelische Omroep het uitstekende televisieprogramma Zij gelooft, zij gelooft niet. Minder bekend, maar zeker zo interessant, is de website www.mijnliefgelooft.nl van Liesbeth Ton-Middendorp.



Met de URL www.mijnliefgelooftniet.nl kom je overigens op dezelfde site uit! Daarmee is direct duidelijk dat Liesbeth op een respectvolle manier omgaat met de kwestie wel/niet geloven.



Ik heb Liesbeth ontmoet in verband met mijn werk als uitgever bij Ark Boeken. Ik verzamelde teksten - onder pseudoniem Panda - en zij maakte er vrolijke illustraties bij onder haar 'werknaam' betje.com (bezoek haar site als je meer wilt weten en zien). De boekjes Lach eens! en Kop op! zijn te koop bij de erkende boekhandel en via deze site.

2.3.05

Holy Hardware Part Three

Click here to read an interesting article about Commercialized Christianity, written by Dick Staub who's site (where "belief meets real life") is certainly worth visiting. Especially if you are interested in Christian Faith and contemporary culture, like I am.

Brian Doerksen concert



Yesterday Lydia and I attended a concert by Brian Doerksen in Hoofddorp. It was a joyful experience! We did want to buy Brian's new cd Today, but unfortunately there were no copies left... However, we didn't leave empty handed (and certainly not with empty hearts!). We bought You Shine - Live from Dublin - recommended if you love praise & worship music. This morning I had to drive through busy traffic, due to a lot of snow on our motor ways in Holland. It took me 1,5 hours to drive to the office (normally this takes approx. half an hour). Anyway, enough time for me to enjoy my new cd!

1.3.05

Holy Hardware Part Two

I've mentioned holy hardware (a.k.a. Jesus Junk) in my posting from Friday 25th (Holy Hardware Part One). Well, if you want an overview of the rubbish on sale - try this. This link will bring you to Doug Beaumont's site. Doug is - believe it or not - a Bible study teacher and a graduate of Southern Evangelical Seminary. In his own words:

Having come from a highly skeptical background prior to my conversion to Christianity, I knew that someday I would have to be ready with an answer when someone came along demanding one for my faith (1 Peter 3:15).