Champs!

Of course nobody wants to know that the Dutch baseball team has become European Champions 2005. I will not pay too much attention to the fact that our arch-rivals from Italy were beaten 15-0 in the finals. Why rub it in? We'll just have a quiet celebration over here. For the Dutch national baseball team this is the nineteenth title in the history and the fourth consecutive. So what is all the fuss about? Come on, there are more important things in life!

YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
Please excuse me, I just couldn't help myself...

IL TITOLO EUROPEO RESTA ALL'OLANDA
L'Olanda ha battuto l'Italia con un pesante 15-0 in 7 riprese e si conferma Campione d'Europa. Per gli arancioni è il quarto titolo consecutivo.

Agree to disagree

Bono showed this message to the U2 fans in the Amsterdam Arena last Wednesday (see my former posting). I agree that we need to respect people, whatever their religious convictions or political ideas. This doesn't mean that we have to believe that all religions and political ideas are equaly true. I do claim the right to have a religious conviction - it's not just a hobby or a vague idea to live by.

We need to defend religious and political freedom and I also think that we should be kind to each other. But that doesn't mean that I have to agree with everybody - nor does it mean that I always have to be 'tolerant' (tolerance seems to be the highest standard to live by these days, but I prefer to live by LOVE - and although love is very accepting and forgiving, it can also be very strict and demanding). Please correct me if I'm wrong... because that is a loving thing to do! And if you can't convince me, let's just agree to disagree and let's live in peaceful coexistence together.

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 1 Peter 3:8-12 NIV

Unos, dos, tres…catorce!

Hello, hello! Well... I've got some catching up to do! This was a super week... Last Wednesday I was one of the lucky 50,000 screaming, singing and dancing U2 fans in the Amsterdam Arena - home to the best football club in the world (Ajax, of course). A great venue to watch a football match, but not the best place in this little country for a rock concert... But hey, who cares?? It was the best gig ever and we all had a great time!!

‘Ik houd van Holland’ - I love Holland - Bono told the excited audience in the Amsterdam Arena - and no doubt Holland loves U2 just as much. Of course all artists try to give you the impression that they have ‘a special connection’ with the country or the city where they perform (Hello... uhm... Where are we? In Holland? Okay, Hello Copenhagen, we love you!) - but I believe Bono was not kissing up.
U2's international breakthrough started in the Netherlands with their very fist #1 hit ‘I will follow’ and they also played at the PinkPop festival in 1981 - as a relatively unknown band from Ireland. Imagine that! So Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn is just one of the Dutch U2 connections.
I am not a fanatic fan - just someone who happens to love U2's music and I also admire Paul Hewson (Bono's real name) as a person (but he is NOT my idol, bucause I don't have any idols!)
I will write a bit more later - there are too many things for me to do right now.



‘We want to say so much tonight,’ explains Bono, almost lost for words at times. ‘Most of all we want to thank you for giving us a great life.’ The Netherlands, he continues, is a ‘place that still plays us on the radio, still wants to see us in your football stadiums’ a place that still sees U2 as ‘about the present.’ source

Set list Wednesday July 13, 2005 - Amsterdam Arena
Vertigo / I Will Follow / Electric Co. / Elevation / New Year's Day / Beautiful Day / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / All I Want Is You / City of Blinding Lights / Miracle Drug / Sometimes you Can't Make It On Your Own / Love and Peace / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Bullet The Blue Sky / Running To Stand Still / Pride (In The Name of Love) / Where The Streets Have No Name / One / Zoo Station / The Fly / With Or Without You / All Because of You / Yahweh / Vertigo

Our very own Watergate scandal

Tonight I told a little bedtime story to my daughters Sosha (11) and Pascalle (8). I am always making up stories about a big elephant and his little son, a funny monkey and a friendly giraffe. This time the little elephant had to bring a small basket with strawberries to grandma, who lives at the other side of the forest. Daddy elephant told his son to stay on the road and he warned him not to wander off into the woods. The little elephant felt like eating some of the strawberries, but he was an honest and courageous little elephant, so he didn't give in to the temptation.

Completely unexpected the big bad wolf turned up. He wanted to have one of the fresh strawberries, but the little elephant stood firm against the enemy and kept the delicious fruit in his possession. As we all know, the big bad wolf is a real creepy, slimy character. This time he told the little elephant to take a short-cut through the forest, so that he could be with his grandma a little sooner (yeah, I am such an original story teller).

Despite all the good advice from both of my daughters, who interrupted my perfect story line by telling the little elephant NOT to eat one of the strawberries and NOT to wander off into the dark forest - the elephant took the bad advice from the big bad wolf. Of course the little elephant got completely lost in the forest, became very tired and very hungry and almost started eating the strawberries after all.

In the meantime grandma made an emergency phone call to big daddy elephant, because by now she became VERY worried (about her grandson and about the delicious strawberries, of course). The big daddy elephant immediately organized a search and rescue operation in which all the animals of the village were involved. They even used a helicopter to find the little elephant in the woods and by using a walkie-talkie they were able to guide big daddy elephant, the monkey, the giraffe and all the other animals to him.

Of course this bedtime story has a very happy ending too (after all, nobody wants their kids to go to bed crying). The local baker decided to make a giant, delicious cake and all the animals of the neighbourhood were invited for cake with strawberries at grandma's house. Except for the big bad wolf, who hadn't deserved such a treat.

I was quite proud of this unique story line that I'd made up right on the spot without using any ingredients from other famous stories. Yes, there is a good chance that I will someday be known as the Hans Christian Andersen from the Low Countries, I thought to myself...

Hmm. But why were both of my girls laughing at me and what were they hiding there?

"I have taped it all!" Sosha suddenly cried out, while she showed me the little cassette recorder that she had hidden under her pillow.

I told my girls that this was a really good joke! But now, to bed! (Because daddy needs to go to the dark Internet forest to tell all the big bad bloggers out there about this unbelievable but true Watergate story which has happened in our very own house tonight...)

A lovely evening at the beach

Tonight we've had a great time at the Noordwijk beach - together with some members of our church cell group and our kids Robin, Sosha and Pascalle. By the way, I've joined Flickr (online photo service from Yahoo) so now I can store and show my photos on the internet. You can click on the picture badge just below my Blogger profile (right!) if you want to see some more family pics. You can also click on this link.

Just to give you an impression...

Sleeping beauties

This is what I see sometimes when I want to give my girls a goodnight kiss before I go to to bed myself. Both of them have their own bed, of course, but sleeping together is so much cosier...

My prayers are with the people of London

I am shocked by yesterday's events in London and I pray that God will comfort the families that have to deal with the horrific consequences of this tragedy. I also pray that the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon. But even if they are able to escape their earthly judges, they will NEVER be able to escape the verdict of the Almighty - JHWH is His name!

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." Romans 12:19

Pray for the Persecuted Church

How do you pray for the persecuted Christians?
Brother Andrew: First, by identifying myself with the Persecuted Church. I want to be part of that; I want to feel their pain and feel their joy. The thing we have forgotten is that there is terrible pain -- the poverty and the discrimination and all the fathers in prison and the people blown up in churches. It happens in all these countries -- China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, India, and Pakistan -- and practically all the other countries from Indonesia to Morocco. I identify with them so the Lord can search me to pray for specific needs that come to my desk every day. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I don’t know how to pray. But I’m always saying, “Lord, I’m willing to go there.” source

For the third straight year, the isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the annual Open Doors International “World Watch List” of countries where Christians are persecuted.

“Christianity is observed as one of the greatest threats to the regime’s power,” the 2005 World Watch List report states. Exact figures are difficult to obtain, but it is believed that tens of thousands of Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps, and at least 20 Christians were shot or beaten to death in 2004 while in detention.

“North Korea is the most repressive nation in the world…it certainly deserves its shameful ranking on the World Watch List,” says Open Doors USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. “It breaks my heart to hear some of the atrocities against our brothers and sisters there. The government will arrest not only a suspected dissident but also three generations of his family to root out the ‘bad’ influence. North Korea is suspected to detain more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world.

“Yet we hear reports of how the church in North Korea continues to grow. Let’s continue to lift up the needs of our fellow believers in North Korea and in all the countries on the World Watch List.” Click here to open a Press Release (Word doc) about the current situation in North-Korea.

Join me and thousands of other Christians around the world in praying for the people of North-Korea and other countries where people are persecuted because of their religious beliefs and political convictions. The statues will topple, the walls will come down and peace and justice will come - because I believe that God will answer our prayers!

Soon Ok Lee is a North Korean refugee who was imprisoned and tortured for many years. She now lives in the USA and is the author of Eyes of the Tailless Animals (read more about this book on Soon Ok Lee's website). Not a pleasant read, but if you really want to know more about the plight of North Korean prisoners, this book tells you the horrible truth. You can order this book here. Soon Ok Lee asks Christians to pray for her country - so please set aside ten minutes to pray, preferably each week on a fixed time. Dutch link Open Doors

Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die. Psalm 79:9-11

FAMILY UPDATE JULY 2005

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. [1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV]

Last Sunday Lydia and I were officially introduced as members of De Meerkerk – the Evangelical (Baptist) church in our hometown Hoofddorp. We are attending this church since September 2004 – after our former church ‘dissolved’ (i.e. all the members of this small congregation in Haarlem decided to join other Evangelical churches – this was God’s timing, we believe. For us, as a family, it was time to join a new church in the place where we live).

We are happy with our ‘new family’ and we already feel at home. In our former congregation we didn’t have a formal membership – it consisted of a small group of Christians that gathered every Sunday and during the weeks at home for Bible studies and prayer meetings. Now we attend a small home group (cell group) as well and we like being part of a big church with small home groups!

Robin (13) is also part of a group of teenage boys from church. We feel it is important for him to have Christian friends in the place where we live and he enjoys meeting his new friends. Our daughters Sosha (11) and Pascalle (8) didn’t have any big problems with the transition to another church. Pascalle always needs some time to adapt, and she still misses the ‘old’ Sunday school, but we believe that she will do just fine.

Robin, Sosha & Pascalle
All our children are healthy and they have good grades at school (they are all promoted to the next class after the Summer holidays). We have many reasons to be thankful!

I am recently elected in the participation council (in Dutch: medezeggenschapsraad) of the primary school where Sosha and Pascalle go. I think this is a good opportunity to help the school, the parents and the pupils. I will give it my best shot!

At Ark Boeken (the publishing house where I work as publisher) we have a busy period - trying to reach many deadlines just before the holidays begin. It's a lot of fun though, because we are looking forward to publishing exciting new books, calendars and greeting cards.

Next month we plan to go on a holiday to Finland – the country where my eldest brother Bob, his wife Leila and their (grand) children live. Bob is a pastor and a teacher at a theological seminary (International School for Bible and Missions) from the Evangelical church in Finland. We are all really looking forward to having this family vacation! We will travel by car and boat (a long boat trip from Rostock in Germany to Hanko in Finland – which happens to be the place where Bob & Leila live!)

I will keep you posted. Feel free to comment or ask questions!

Not created by coincidence

Bert Bakker, a member of the Liberal Democratic party (D66) in our Parliament, has proposed to leave out the Genesis creation account in Biology classes. This proposal is clearly a reaction to all the fuss about intelligent design recently in our country. Unfortunately (for Bert Bakker) his proposal did not have a chance to be accepted by a majority, so he withdrew it.

I like the comments made by Christian MP’s Tineke Huizinga (ChristenUnie) and Bas van der Vlies (SGP) in Parliament. Tineke Huizinga asked Bakker if he intended to keep pupils ignorant by not telling them about creation. Good question!



Bas van der Vlies had a nice present for Bert Bakker: a CD from Haydn’s “Die Schöpfung” (Creation). “All the notes from this musical piece didn’t fall into place by sheer coincidence”, Van der Vlies told Bakker when he presented his gift.

I think Bas van der Vlies did the right thing and I really like his gesture. It is a nice, respectful way to make a point! Let’s pray that Bert Bakker will soon learn about his loving Creator before he has to meet Him one day face to Face.


From left to right - also in the political sense :-) - Bert Bakker (D66), Tineke Huizinga (ChristenUnie) and Bas van der Vlies (SGP)

Now is the time to be reconciled with God, through Jesus Christ, his only Son! An honest prayer is all it takes.

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 5:6-11 NIV]

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. [Acts 17:24-27 NIV]

Google Earth: it is AWESOME!

If you have a fast Internet connection and a good PC - I can recommend downloading Google Earth It really is a fantastic piece of software! You can look at the earth as if you are flying in a Space Shuttle. Zoom in and you can see many details - cities, football stadiums, air fields, large buildings and breathtaking nature.

The white circle in this picture indicates the place where we live in the Netherlands: Hoofddorp, Haarlemmermeer (you can also see Schiphol Airport). Click on the image if you want to enlarge it. Warning: using Google Earth can be very addictive...

If you've also installed Google Earth - please send me a similar JPG picture to show me where you live on the globe. Just for fun! If you can't install the program and you have a request, you can also let me know. I will try to find your home town and send you an image if possible (JPG).

"This is really not an issue of politics, this is an issue of morality"

"This is really not an issue of politics, this is an issue of morality" (Bob Geldof)

"This is not Live Aid 2. These concerts are the start point for The Long Walk To Justice, the one way we can all make our voices heard in unison. This is without doubt a moment in history where ordinary people can grasp the chance to achieve something truly monumental and demand from the 8 world leaders at G8 an end to poverty. The G8 leaders have it within their power to alter history. They will only have the will to do so if tens of thousands of people show them that enough is enough. By doubling aid, fully cancelling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa, the G8 could change the future for millions of men, women and children."
Bob Geldof source

"So no one is talking about aid in the old sense, the money down a rat hole thing. No one wants that. It makes matters worse, not better. This is new targeted aid. Now, there will be some countries where mercy is needed and aid has to go--certain levels of aid have to go. You can't hold people responsible, the populace responsible for their dictators. But in those instances, you just root the aid away from the governments and through the NGOs on the ground. That's the modern way." Bono source

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Jesus Christ Matthew 25:37-40

Make poverty history! Find out what you can do here and here and read what God will do here!

You don't HAVE to blog

I am not going to make excuses for being a lousy blogger myself. Instead I intend to collect quotes from lousy bloggers who are making up excuses for being such lousy bloggers. Ready?

Lousy blogger # 1
sorry it's been so long without posting. i've been so busy at work and am exhausted when i come in that i just haven't had the space in my head to post. life is plodding along nicely here.
source

Lousy blogger # 2
i will blog more often
i will blog more often
i will blog more often
source

I am NOT an obsessive blogger
I am NOT an obsessive blogger
I am NOT an obsessive blogger

But I have to admit I did write a similar excuse recently... Oops!

Lousy blogger #3 (Yep, that's me)
I've been a bit quiet for a while. Don't worry - I am still alive and well. It is just a very hectic period and I've been busy with my publishing work and blah, blah, blah...
source

Now let's be honest: do you feel guilty for not writing a new entry today / this week / last month? But WHY!? Are you afraid that people might discover that your life isn't that exciting after all? If so, please don't write about it, because I will certainly cut & paste your excuses to make sure that I always have something to post.

Did your write similar excuses yourself or did you come across some funny / stupid excuses from lousy bloggers - just let me know and if they are funny / stupid enough, I will most certainly post them.

And for all you bloggers out there: You must live your life but you don't HAVE to blog about it. Get a life!
(Yes, and that includes THIS lousy blogger)

Scoring for Jesus

Players of the the Brazilian football team got some media attention this week with their JESUS LOVES YOU T-shirt messages, after winning the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany (see my previous entry). I did some Googling tonight and found this amazing story on a German website. Read this and find out how the very brief T-shirt sermons started in the German football competition some time ago...

Jesus loves you anyway!

During a football match in Germany two Brazilian players from opposing teams showed a hidden message on their T-shirts to the public. Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto a.k.a. Cacau - in his first game for Nürnberg - scored first and showed his T-shirt with the text JESUS LIVES AND LOVES YOU! Zé Roberto scored the equalizer for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and had a similar message: JESUS LOVES YOU! source

Cacau, where did you get this idea of showing T-shirts with 'Jesus messages' ?

I saw it in Brazil first. When I became a Christian, I wanted to share this news with all the fans: "Jesus loves you".

You started your T-shirt mission after scoring your first Bundesliga goal. What did you think when Zé Roberto scored 1:1 and showed his T-Shirt with "Jesus loves you" ?

At first I was sad, because of the equaliser. But as soon as I saw his Jesus-Shirt, I was happy again.

...in fact, you were so happy that you went on and scored 2:1. Don't you think it must be difficult for God to answer prayers from players who are competing against each other?

No, because I never pray for victory. I pray that God will protect us against injuries and I pray that His will may be done.
And what is God's will?

I don't know... and that's exactly why I am praying! Because God loves me and He knows what's best for me. So it doesn't matter whether we win or lose.

Source: www.fussball-gott.com

Brazilian football champs showing their true colours

The Brazilian football team celebrated their victory in the Confederations Cup last Wednesday in Frankfurt, Germany. The players were wearing their famous yellow shirts - and after the match they put on some white shirts with a clear message to the whole world!
Read this off side comment on www.jesus.de (in German...) about a dumbfounded German TV commentator...

Playing well and praying well... and not ashamed of the Gospel at all!

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
[Romans 1:16 NIV]

Are the Brazilian football players alone in their enthusiasm for Jesus? No, not quite... Below you can see pictures from the March for Jesus in Sao Paulo Brazil in 2004 and 2005 - with more than 2 million people walking the streets to show their commitment to Christ! source