Reflection on 2007

Traversing the distance

A few days before ringing in a brand new year, I always enjoy looking back at the previous 12 months. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Sometimes we might feel we're not moving, we're not traversing the distance. That is... until we stop and look back and notice where we've come from! I encountered that many times in the natural, while hiking difficult mountain trails. I encounter it also in my work. I feel I am only at the very beginning of my journey as an author; yet when I look back, I can clearly see the long and winding trail I have been following. 2007 was the year in which I had my 2nd book published while my 1st book came out as audio book. It was the year in which the production of my 3rd book began and a contract for another audio book has been signed. It was also the year in which I carefully entered the world of free lance writing. I am very thankful that I was given a monthly column in a National Christian Magazine in Holland. It inspires and encourages me to move more boldly towards writing on an international level as well. All in all I can look back at a productive year again. I am slowly getting established in the world of writing and publicing. It sure is not an easy thing to do but I know that I am not alone in this. I am always reminded of Jesus' words in John 15:5, apart from Me you can do nothing. Everything I do is because of Him! This word and His Word alone is the assurance for my victory!

About the Christmas Buzz

Is peace on earth wishful thinking?

Believe it or not; if you are celebrating Christmas this week you are doing so in remembrance of the birth of Jesus, the Son of the living God. His arrival on earth changed the world forever, which is the reason we still celeberate this more than 2000 years later. Jesus came to earth for a reason, not just as a display of divine power but as a messenger of peace. God set it up a certain way, which the bible explains in Colossians 1:20

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son's death on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

Wow, it was through Jesus that the whole universe came back to God, all things, both on earth and in heaven. That was God's way of making peace. Not a written statement, not a treaty, not a peace plan, but the miraculous birth of His Son among people. God desires reconciliation, He desires a spiritual relationship with every human being. That is why He has put a void in every one of us, a void that can never be filled with human love alone. No relationship will ever be sufficient, no human relationship will ever be perfect. If human relationships were perfect, no one would ever come to Him! No one would ever feel the need for Him! Sin seperated us from God ever since Adam and Eve, but somehow God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself! The peace we sing about each Christmas therefore is not the absense of war, but the coming together of God and men by means of Jesus. Do you merely celebrate or do you truly believe this?

What's on Your Wish List?

Something better than gold and silver

Christmas is celebrated different in every country. In America gift giving seems to be the major focus. So the other day I asked myself, what would I like to receive? What would I put on my wish list if I was going to make one? Proverbs 16:16 says,

It is better, much better, to have wisdom and knowledge than gold and silver.

Well, that would eliminate the jewelry, haha! No, seriously, if the Bible says wisdom and knowledge is better than material stuff, I believe that to be the truth. Nothing wrong with making a wish list, but let's keep it balanced!