WELCOME! or Welcome Back!

& MERRY CHRISTmas 2016-17 !

12/2/16 Greetings friends, & thanks for checking back in either because you received a prompt card in the mail or you randomly happened upon this blog or because you periodically check back because you like me or my blog. Whatever the case may be, thanks, God bless you , and hoping you have another blessed Christmas season.
And this is where I sort of summarize my year and my family's year and my ministry's year. That's a lot of "me" and "my" but really it is "we" and "us" and ALL glory and praise to God, none to me. I am but a humble servant, flawed as I may be, thankful to God for grace, and the chance to be redeemed from sin . As they say, "I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see...."

anyways, I continue to work as an "evangelist" and am proud to call myself an evangelist despite some wishy washy leaders afraid to use the word. It comes from "ev angel" meaning those who tell the good news are angels, or "ev angels" to be exact, ie "evangelists". And I am proud to tell the Good News wherever I go and try to fulfill the Great Commission.

In fact, I spent much of the summer of 2016 touring the USA doing exactly that, "baptizing in the name of the Father, Son , & Holy Spirit!" , LITERALLY, I drove thru city after city inviting people to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and to “repent & be baptized” …and you can see it on video at http://i-baptize-you.blogspot.com/ .

This sort of “video baptism” or “video proselytizing” is about the closest you can come to “open air evangelism” these days as you pass thru cities in the USA. When I was a missionary in the Philippines we would do the same thing from the back of a pickup truck using a mega-phone and drawing large crowds, and it was ALL GOOD and we reached a lot of people for Christ, but if we did it the same way in the USA we would be arrested for “disturbing the peace” and/or “loitering” among other things. America started as a Christian country, but now a lot of things are working against evangelists and “revivalism” because everything requires “permits” and asking the “government” for permission. Thus,this is the best “workaround” I could find for actual open air evangelism. I hope it will work via video sharing. All we can do is “plant the seeds” any way we can, and hope and pray for the best, according to God’s will.

12/13/16 only 12 days to Christmas day, but remember it's also Christmas season, not just one day, ...make it last longer ! And i am now sending out the physical Christmas cards that prompt you, my friends, family, loved ones, and others to come here and find out more. So I've spent the last 2 weeks attending numerous Christmas events around southern Cal, mostly Christmas tree lighting ceremonies , some of which you can see at my Christmas blog at http://christmas-images-2013.blogspot.com/

AND SO JUST recently (November 2016) my half-grandma Nancy Peters died. She was the 2nd wife of my grandpa Leo Peters. Some of my family members went to the funeral but as I've mentioned, the Peters 1 and Peters 2 family are quite the "soap opera" to untangle. I'm praying for a Post-Nancy Righteousness Revival (PNRR) accordingly. My parents are still doing well, in general. Although my dad recently had surgery he seems to have recovered and back to good health. He continues to blog about kindness, and is still active as a pastor at the Good Shepherd Grove Church (where the former crystal cathedral relocated to), as well as Bethany CRC in Bellflower.

I myself continue to strive to do my best as an evangelist, telling the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever I go and trying to fulfill the Great Commission as best as possible as I know how. That's what this summer trip was all about. I hope it helps for an "American Revival".

I also continue with my multiple blogs . My "stop the terror" blog continues to grow in terms of repeat viewers. Seems like people find it handy for terrorism updates. I hope it helps people in terms of "thoughts-prayers-action" . We must always include "action" when able, to our thoughts & prayers.

And it was fun being back in west Michigan this summer. As some of you know , i grew up there so I have lots of memories from the "good ol' days" in GR & Holland, et al. But I didn't have a lot of time to spend reminiscing. I came and went after a few days, onward to Detroit, then Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and the list goes on. Pictures from this "Big Mission Trip" (or BMT) as I call it can be viewed at WELCOME TO USA SUMMER MISSION TRIP 16 LINKS http://usamissiontrip16.blogspot.com/2016/12/welcome-to-usa-summer-mission-trip-16.html . It was an evangelical trip but also included some tourism. The specifically evangelical aspect (great commission) , as mentioned earlier, can be viewed more so at http://i-baptize-you.blogspot.com/

but there's also "presence evangelism"...when we are "in the Spirit" our "personal presence" has an energy and an inspirational aspect that transcends the ordinary & mundane, even if we are not able to overtly evangelize and openly say the name of Jesus Christ. Hence, just by "going" even sometimes without "saying" we are still doing good work and being fruitful. People DO take notice of it and it makes a difference.

12/21/16 Today, I am in Beverly Hills California. I have a "circuit" that I maintain in terms of evangelism and my "regular churches" and occasional new ones. On the weekdays I usually go to a daily mass in the morning at one of the many many catholic churches in southern California. Today I went to St. Timothy near Fox studios on Pico. Paul Vigil is the priest there, one of the youngest in the area, at least he seems younger (in a good way). But there are a few parishioners who can be a bit off-putting (pray for them!)

This does not mean I am "catholic" per se, ...I call myself "pro-cath-ordox" and try to promote more unity amongst protestants, catholics, and orthodox. I was heartened to see Pope Francis go to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden this year. It was an awesome gesture by a Catholic leader re the Protestants. We need more unity. All of us who recite the Nicene Creed must strive to live up to what we claim as creed. Also see my
pro-cath-ordox
blog at
http://pro-cath-ordox.blogspot.com/

And to see some of my most recent Christmas postings and events attended, check periodically at CHRISTMAS IMAGES http://christmas-images-2013.blogspot.com/

And I am regularly working on a "book" i call "HOLY PLAGIARISM" . Sounds strange probably, but it is actually simply copying the BIBLE word-for-word ON PAPER with a pen. I have discovered it is the BEST way (for me anyways) to truly reflect on the Bible and it's real meaning. When we read it normally it is too easy to "speed read" and "gloss over" parts of it, and sometimes miss the real meaning, or those parts that are difficult.

So far I have completed the book of Genesis, Matthew, Revelation, and a few other small books of the Bible, and am working on Romans at the moment. Now I am also scanning these documents so that I can post them online and maybe other people will find them inspirational to do the same or useful for reading (although I must admit, sometimes my handwriting is not so great, especially when I am tired).

I also continue to do what I call "BV BiBLE CAM" (bv = Bible verse) ...meaning I simply read the Bible on the camera as I am doing various activities, sometimes hiking, or at the beach, also in various places this summer during the "big mission trip" (bmt), and then post the audio Bible verses online on youtube.

And as mentioned I continue to try to "baptize" new areas of southern California, as well as different parts of the USA this summer, but now also I am reaching out to other countries from afar ! Maybe somebody, hopefully many somebodies, will go to youtube and see my "Repent & Be Baptized" offer/challenge, and be converted to Christianity. Let's hope, and pray, so!
That's my update for now. Only a few more days until Christmas ! God be with you and bless you.

above is new to 2016-17
below is similar to what you saw if you came here for Christmas 2015-16
THE KEY TO THIS CHRISTmas CARD

is to CLICK CLICK CLICK !

CLICK on the LINKS or the

PICTURE BELOW IT !

so I HAD TO FIND A WAY TO ‘”SPEAK” to the world…and started out with youtube videos just as the youtube revolution was beginning…unfortunately, that was also the “false flag” revolution…and “negative comment bombing” revolution as well, and my original youtube site was sabotaged . It was quite frustrating because of all the time & energy I had put into what I had hoped to be my main site; and it was making good money too. Many years later youtube has taken steps to limit false flags and comment-bombing but it was too late for me to start all over. I managed to save some of what I had on youtube and started using blogger instead. I began POWER-BLOGGING for the KINGDOM ! I still use youtube but to a lesser extent. And so far (with blogger) I haven’t had the same problems , and hope it remains as such. So now, albeit without any revenue, I spend my time updating my blogs for the good of mankind & the body of Christ trying to keep people informed, educated, aware, etc on all sorts of different, important, & also a few recreational, inspirational, theological, topics, among other things. And I always try to encourage people to read the Bible on every blog as you will notice. Now I am attempting to put them all together on word.doc so a person can quickly and easily navigate to the sites.

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POWER-BLOGGING

4 the KINGDOM!

So here goes, with no particular intentional order.

,BELIEVE in the POWER of CHRISTMAS CARDS 022815

next:while starting my ministry I made an intentional effort to send out Christmas cards every year, and memorialized it in part with this blog.

http://the-power-of-christmas-cards.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: over time I’ve become more passionate about being pro-life. For a while I managed to ignore the abortion issue, but my conscience has been pricked and I can no longer remain oblivious to the reality of the fact that we are losing WAY TOO MANY BABIES every day to abortion. Even one is way too many, but we are WAY past one, we are in the multi-millions since abortion was declared legal in 1973. It is a baby holocaust and tragic beyond all words. We must stand up and speak out against this “killing field.” So now I don’t just blog but I also go stand outside planned parenthoods with a sign saying “Save Our Babies” among other things. I also walked in the big west coast March for Life in San Francisco this year (2015) as well as the new Walk for Life (1LifeLA) in Los Angeles. Plan to continue doing so every year! Hope you will add your voice as well. http://ProtectUnbornLife.blogspot.com/

Next: a secondary blog also devoted to unborn babies

http://defend-unborn-life.blogspot.com/

HAVE A HEART- DEFEND UNBORN (pre-BORN) LIFE: THIS IS a website dedicated to the defense of unborn life...a pro-life site,

NEXT: I was in California in 1991 (November or December) having just moved out on my own as an adult from Michigan (after college and a bit of law school and a year of working post-college) when I received a phone call from a high school friend telling me of the death of a mutual friend. He had committed suicide. It was my first and so far only first-hand experience with suicide. One is enough. One is too many. I went back for the funeral. Lots of thoughts about it that I mention periodically in my suicide prevention blog. Let’s ALL be mindful that there are depressed people near to us, and the importance of marking our words and actions to try to make the world better for everybody. Simple act of kindness help. But let us not blame ourselves thinking that “if only” we had done this or that we might have prevented suicide after the fact. It never dawned on me that my friend was seriously suicidal. I saw the “clues” after the fact. Just be mindful. Be kind. & also be aware of the epidemic of suicides amongst our American veterans.

http://stop-our-suicides-sos.blogspot.com/

Next: despite the secular mockery of us conservative Christians who deem it the right thing to do, I have an entire blog dedicated to thoughts & prayers for people who especially need it due to a current crisis, tragedy, death, et al . SO here it is:

Although you heard liberals criticize the phrase “thoughts & prayers” after the san Bernardino massacre, I stand by it. Most of the time when tragedy strikes, there is NOT much we can do about it . Most of the time there are NO actions we as citizens and the body of Christ can take to make any difference EXCEPT letting people know we care and they are in our prayers. I myself find it very comforting to know somebody is praying for me and cares enough to tell me so. Sure, if and when there are concrete actions we can take to make a difference in an emergency or as a preventative measure we should do it; but if such is not an option then at least we can offer our thoughts & prayers. This blog is for such cases.

http://thoughts-and-prayers4.blogspot.com/

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Next: politics has become inescapable in our era. Currently it is December 2015 and trump is dominating the headlines with his recent comments about muslims. Not sure how I escaped politics for so many years, but now I’m finally starting to understand the parties & the issues a bit better (I’m conservative by the way)

http://thats-politics.blogspot.com/

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Next: I have been shocked, disturbed, & dismayed to see the daily news about the recent elephant poaching. So tragic. So unnecessary. I went to Africa once and enjoyed going on a few safaris and seeing the elephants in the wild close-up. We MUST do everything we can to stop poaching and save the elephants ! as well as all other endangered species. Elephants may not be endangered yet but they are quickly heading in that direction.

http://save-the-elephants-and-rhinos.blogspot.com/

NEXT: and here is my official ministry website, which, ironically, I don’t have much posted on at the moment I hope my other blogs speak for it.

http://mustard-seed-ministries.blogspot.com/

next: MEMORIAL DAY was never meaningful to me most of my life until I picked up a video camera and started experiementing with photos & videos to document just about everything I was doing as I started my ministry around 2000. It was around the time of the youtube revolution, and I wanted to be a part. So I was uploading LIKE CRAZY ! and BLOGGING too. And memorial day became another good event to “memorialize” (no pun intended). And I added veterans day to it as well.

http://memorial-day-praise-god.blogspot.com/

******************* Next: I love Africa, all the different beautiful countries, and especially Kenya, Tanzania, & South Africa. Here’s some photos from one of my trips …this one to Africa in 1996 . I went on safari, studied some of my dutch roots in south Africa and interacted with the people, while telling the good news of Jesus Christ here and there. Here’s to Africa !

http://the-beauty-of-africa.blogspot.com/

Next:This is my DOG BLOG; starting with a memorial for my Golden Lola. She was such a great dog…with me for fourteen years.

http://my-golden-lola.blogspot.com

NEXT: my original local color blog

(local color #1)

http://just-my-pictures-glory-2-god.blogspot.com/

Next: now we come to my MAIN ANIMAL BLOG. Mentioned my love of animals previously. Here you can find some of my animal pictures and animal news updates etc.
http://godsawesomeanimals.blogspot.com/

Next: Being in L.A. how can you avoid being in or around Hollywood ? And our church (the crystal cathedral) for many years often had various Hollywood personalities coming for Sunday worship as guests or as members. And I myself dabbled a bit in the “acting profession” . I remember the original “central casting” location in Burbank as I toyed with becoming “famous”. They’ve since moved to a new location, and over the years I did some bit parts in various productions, but never worked too hard to make it big. Lately, I haven’t done much at all, and am drifting further and further away from any such interest. But I still keep one ear tuned to what is happening , and still occasionally cover events as a reporter rather than as a struggling actor. The big STAR WARS premiere is coming up next week and I might make it to that (outside, not inside; unfortunately, I’m not on the invite list). http://hollywood2holywood.blogspot.com/

Thanks

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Next: and because we moved to Bellflower in 1984 and I had lots of family photos from the city and nearby I started a blog dedicated to Bellflower, which my grandfather arrived at in the 1930’s as a CRC pastor and where he started valley Christian schools (that’s a separate blog). Here’s to Bellflower, past present & future:

http://the-beauty-of-bellflower.blogspot.com/

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Next: and being in the GOLDEN STATE I added on a blog devoted to my new home state (sort of) , and have tried to keep updating it

http://golden-california-usa.blogspot.com/

Next: every day people “pass away” (ie die) and it’s important for us as a humane society to pay proper respects to them, both near and far. Of course I can’t remember everybody who dies every day but I try to post an RIP for those many people know as well as those I know personally or from my denomination etc. It’s the right thing to do. see http://rip-remembering-those-who-have-passed.blogspot.com/

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Next : we are mandated as Christians to care for our prisoners, whether they “deserve” it or not. For that matter do any of us “deserve” grace? No ! So we need to do pastoral care for our prisoners. This blog is the LEAST I can do in that regard. THIS BEGAN as a prayer site for our prisoners in general, but I am also adding "death row" prisoners in specific..after hearing a few stories about persons on death row wrongly convicted.., and also about "zealous prosecutors" not concerned about false convictions..but simply getting convictions, true or false. Let us remain conscientious about false convictions, zealous prosecutors, and all things related; as well as care & prayer for those who were rightly convicted. see

http://prayers-4-our-prisoners.blogspot.com/

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Back when the winter Olympics were in Vancouver Canada I headed up from L.A. to the state of Washington and planned to attend a few of the winter games in Vancouver Canada back in the day, but it turned into a fiasco due to border issues (long story). I eventually made it across but ended up only staying a few hours before returning to the USA and spent more time exploring little dutch town of Lynden . Nonetheless, I’ve kept an Olympic blog ever since, and believe it or not was highly impressed with the special Olympics hosted by L.A. this summer (2015). We also happened to move to L.A. the same summer that L.A. hosted the summer Olympics, and enjoyed attending a few of the events.

next: http://winter-olympics-2014.blogspot.com/

Next: border and immigration issues keep raising their ugly head and I keep an eye on what’s happening not only the USA border but border issues in general.

http://usa-border-and-immigration-matters.blogspot.com/

NEXT: I started out my “professional career” (sort of) as a regular teacher (English) in coachella and went on from there to also substitute teach while going thru seminary. I’ve always been passionate about good education and try to keep blogging periodically about educational topics.

http://some-la-schools.blogspot.com/

NEXT: not sure what prompted me to start a blog about murder…not very edifying…I think it was when I started scouring the news and starting my news blog and noticed how much of the news is so negative and even deadly. So I decided to remind people of the obvious and find something to do with stories nobody really wants to read.

http://murder-is-a-mortal-sin.blogspot.com/

NEXT: a random blog speaks for itself

http://random-by-random.blogspot.com/

RANDOM by RANDOM BECAUSE I BELIEVE in JESUS CHRIST

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NEXT: local color is about a lot of photos . This is actually my secondary local color blog, not updated as often as local color #1

http://local-colour2.blogspot.com/

NEXT:I have some relatives on my mom’s side who are the “peters 2” family (ie after my grandmother peters died, my grandfather peters remarried and had 3 children with his second wife. They are my half-aunts & half-uncles. Here’s to them and to the Butterball legacy as well. And since my grandpa was all about butter & meat (but not about butterball turkey per se, although he did sell the name to them while retaining the rights to keep it for his butter as well) I also made it into a thanksgiving blog .

http://peters-appreciation.blogspot.com/

Next: being a Christian, I am always leery of what science does contrary to the Christian faith. Yet I believe true science done right should complement Christianity. That’s what this blog is about.

http://what-science-says.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: the disabled are important to me for several reasons. There’s the obvious humanitarian good citizen reason which we should all have, but there’s also the fact that when we were growing up in Michigan my dad was a pastor at a hospital that helped people with mental disabilities as well as other developmental disabilities, so I inherited a soft spot in my heart for these issues. Later I was a psychology major and also worked as a young adult at the same hospital, and did other things in the mental health and developmentally disabled field.

http://remember-the-disabled.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: one day I was a a famous surf spot where a surfing contest was being held and all the big name surfers were there and I had a negative encounter with a lifeguard who was trying to showboat and trying to embarrass me. This blog started in response to that and evolved into a more caring blog for our lifeguards after one died trying to rescue somebody

in Newport beach.

http://our-lifeguards.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: so I mentioned my first teaching job …it was here in Coachella which is now more famous for the annual music festival (which hadn’t begun yet at the time I was teaching) . Where this music festival now takes place every year is only a few miles from where I started teaching. It’s the east end of the valley, opposite side from palm springs (the “poor side” some say). Lots of date palm trees, open fields, but also polo fields (for the rich), and farms. Also you see the bighorn sheep every now and then (most of them are collared). I also had my dod lola at the time and she inadvertently became pregnant and gave birth to 9 black puppies (great pics). So this blog is dedicated to the past present and future in coachella.

http://my-memories-of-coachella-valley-usd.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: how many churches have I been to over the past years? So many I can’t count them all nor the # of pastors and priests I’ve encountered. This started in response to these encounters.

http://prayers-4-our-pastors-et-al.blogspot.com/

prayers for our pastors

Next, with all the things happening in the world it’s hard to ignore the possibility of a WORLD WAR III if we are not already engaged in it (unofficially).

NEXT:

, IS THIS WORLD WAR III ?!

http://will-there-be-a-world-war-iii.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: as mentioned, after teaching for a few years in Coachella (in addition to teaching in costa rica & a bit in Michigan also) I decided to say 100% yes to God’s call for my life (for a while I thought maybe I could be a “missionary teacher” or just incorporate being evangelical into whatever job I did, but later I realized I needed to go “all out” as a Christian and get a formal seminary education) and returned to Michigan for a year at calvin seminary and then transferred to fuller seminary where I stayed for several more years completing all the academic requirements for the M.div (ie greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, church history, various in-depth studies of different books of the Bibles, hermeneutics, apologetics, etc etc ) . While at fuller seminary a few issues arose and a few matters of principal that I felt I needed to address and that is part of the beginning of this blog. Lately I add current events at fuller (& any news about fuller) from time-to-time

http://savingsoul.blogspot.com/

NEXT: poverty is an issue we should ALL be concerned about, but not overwhelmed with. As Jesus said “The poor will always be with us”. This blog is my attempt to stay aware, concerned, & compassionate, without being overwhelmed by poverty.

http://join-the-war-on-poverty.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: growing up in Michigan I rarely encountered latinos of any sort. The two main ethnicities (or skin colors ) were black (African-American) or white Caucasians (of various European background, in my area many were of Dutch-American ancestory). So it wasn’t until we moved to L.A. that I truly began to experience the “melting pot” of America in all it’s glory, for better or worse. My teaching experience in Coachella was with 95% latino students. All around Bellflower & southern California is a mixture of ethnicities and again a large population of latinos. Not all my interactions with latinos has been positive. Sometimes they have been mean to me. I didn’t know how to interact with them. Sometimes I get angry with them and wish more of them would stick with education rather than drop out and become store clerks or whateer. And the Los Angeles blacks are different than the Grand Rapids blacks. Anyways, this is my attempt to be thoughtful and prayerful for the various “minorities” in our country, especially around southern California (albeit around here it is actually the whites who are the minorities now).

http://praying-4-latinos-and-minorities.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: I’ve mentioned where I’m from (grand rapids mi ) and about my dutch-American heritage and this may give some of you knowledgeable ones a hint about my church heritage as well. Namely I grew up in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) which was once part of the Dutch Reformed Church in America that came over from the Netherlands and originally settled in New York and named it New Amsterdam (now better known as Manhattan Island). These were my ancestors. Later the Dutch Reformed Church split into two smaller denominations (the CRC versus the RCA (or reformed church of America)). My grandfather as well as my father were both CRC ordained pastors. I myself almost became CRC ordained and actually did ministry for the CRC on a short-term basis, but never made the final formal step of becoming a CRC pastor. Instead I started my own ministry and started evangelizing in various ways and continue to do so. And I also broaded my horizons …and now regularly attend various sorts of churches including catholic & orthodox while also still remain proud of my denominational roots. So this is my blog dedicated to my original denomination.

http://my-beloved-christian-reformed-church.blogspot.com/

NEXT: So I’ve briefly mentioned a bit of work I did for the CRC on a short-term basis . This included a summer mission in the Philippines as well as disaster relief after an earthquake in Costa Rica. I almost became a missionary teacher in Hungary as well but at the last moment was offered a job in a public school in Coachella and thought I could be a missionary there (not sure I was so successful in that regard). And as mentioned I started my own ministry and have been doing evangelism around southern California and online around the world for years now; so I guess I am a missionary after-all in a certain sense. And so I added a blog with missionary topics as well.

http://missionaries-are-heart-and-soul.blogspot.com/

NEXT: my first REAL BIG solo hike was to the top of the highest peak in the continental USA…it’s not far from the lowest point in the USA…ie death valley. Mt Whitney is 14000 plus feet and for most people takes two or three days, with a night in a tent halfway along the way. I thought I would go all the way in one long hike without a tent (which requires an extra permit as well). My plan was to hike thru the night using my flashlight if necessary. However as it got dark I lost the trail in the snow (yes, there’s snow up there in mid-july) and didn’t want to make matters worse by wandering blindly too far from the trail and get lost so I ended up staying awake most of the night, briefly laying down under my emergency blanket to try to catch a few winks; also using my dog lola for extra warmth (she was my golden retriever for 14 years). That was a LONG COLD NIGHT, but I survived and made it to the top the next day, and all the way back to the car, exhausted but happy. And Lola loved it, but was so tired she slept in the car almost the whole drive back. And from that big hike I’ve added a lot of short hikes all around California to my hike blog. I also had a great youtube hike site but somebody sabotaged it and its gone now. I lost some good video footage with it as well. But my blog tries to make up for that loss. Enjoy.

http://hikingbyvanderkok.blogspot.com

NEXT: while working as a public school teacher, (especially later on as a substitute teacher in L.A. to help pay my way thru seminary) I realized how uncaring and mean sometimes students can be to each other. I realized there was NO place for students to reflect, think quietly, or even pray according to their religion if need be. Although I know it will probably never happen, I realized how important it is to have a chapel in public schools. Just because its not likely doesn’t mean we shouldn’t advocate for it, right? That’s what this blog is all about.

http://pray-4chapels-in-the-public-schools.blogspot.com/

I am concerned about our public schools lack of spiritualilty and the limited to none educational opportunities to learn and grow in terms of spirituality. They want to say that "spirituality" is something you do on Sunday, once a week, at your church, and that's up to your family & pastor, etc if you or they so choose. But I say that the schools have an obligation to the spiritual as much as the cognitive, physical, etc.

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Next: WHY IS BAPTISM so IMPORTANT? That was a theological question I asked myself many times during and after seminary. And there’s more than one kind of baptism to make it more complicated. And there are denominational differences as well. Some say all you need is infant baptism. Others say you must be baptized as an adult. Others say water baptism is merely symbolic but what really matters is baptism in the Spirit. And the list goes on. This blog is dedicated to baptism and includes me doing “baptism in the Spirit” which I record on video. IT’s nothing complicated or sophisticated. It’s simply my attempt to be obedient to God’s command to not only be baptized but to go and teach and disciple and baptize…

http://i-baptize-you.blogspot.com/

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Next: sports has always been somewhat important to me both as a child as well as an adult. I mentioned playing football as a child thru high school. I also enjoyed basketball formally & informally, as well as a little bit of little league baseball, among other endeavors (snow skiing, water skiing, hiking,rock climbing, and the list goes on.) I also enjoy remaining aware of current sporting news and attending some athletic events . So I added a general sports blog .

http://pray-by-play.blogspot.com/

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Next: I mentioned growing up in Grand Rapids MI , and maybe I noted that I attended “Christian High” as it is simply known in GR. Here’s my blog dedicated to the high school days and friends; and I periodically blog about current events happening there.

http://grch-eagles.blogspot.com/

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Next, we are also called to pray for and respect our leaders, judges, law enforcement, first responders, military, et al in so far as they do not attempt to live contrary to the word of God. So we must keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

http://prayer-and-care-4judges-et-al.blogspot.com/

next: http://theological-god-notes.blogspot.com/

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ALSO

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Next: this is become one of my most-visited blogs. It is entitled very simply “STOP the TERROR” and takes on issues of terrorism, both domestic and international. And hasn’t it become ALL-the-MORE relevant given what just recently happened in san Bernardino (not far from where I happen to be typing this today, only a week later, as I am heading to Redlands for a “forum” to talk about the issue on 12/9/15) . We must pray and act to stop terrorism. Hear our prayer, Lord ! THIS BLOG is DEVOTED to ENDING TERRORISM AROUND the WORLD thru EXHORTATION, INFORMATION, & PRAYER. JOIN US in PRAYER to STOP the TERROR,ACCORDING to GOD's WILL

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http://stoptheterror.blogspot.com/

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http://pro-cath-ordox.blogspot.com/

************* next: ever since I started “researching” the catholic churches while going thru seminary and starting my own ministry I’ve continued to attend (and sometimes appreciate) the various catholic churches I attend for daily or Sunday mass. I say “sometimes appreciate” because I have had a few less than positive experiences, but by and large, mostly good positive experiences. And I recite the Nicene Creed at the protestant churches I attend as well as the Catholic churches. There’s a few independent non-affiliated churches that do not recite the Nicene Creed and I try to avoid those churches by and large because they are too solo. I believe strongly in the united Body of Christ: protestant-Catholic-Orthodox (ie pro-cath-ordox). And so I attend all three churches in various locations with utmost respect and integrity, in good faith. And I blog my experiences and also update this blog with catholic & Vatican & pope-related material.

http://pope-and-vatican.blogspot.com/

Next: going to spring training in Arizona for the first time was a big thrill. The cactus league has many locations for the many different teams around the phoenix area including angels, dodgers, cubs, and many more. It’s a great experience. You can see half of the MLB teams play in just a week or so as you go from stadium to stadium. Hence, my blog which has become more than just spring training, ex-post-facto. GO ANGELS ! re LOS ANGELES ANGELS of ANAHEIM & MLB IN GENERAL .THIS was originally a blog for spring training...with an emphasis on the L.A. Angels (my home team)...but now I've converted it into an Angels (all season) blog, and also periodically other MLB news..not your blog for everything...just periodic entries;

http://spring-training-go-angels.blogspot.com/

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Next: once again I remind you I grew up in grand rapids and this blog will remind you as well.

http://i-love-grand-rapids-michigan.blogspot.com/

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next: part of the great commission is to go and tell the good news, baptizing, teaching, discipling etc. It’s the most basic element of being evangelical Christians and Catholics. We verbally proclaim the good news and we also give out the written word, among other things. This blog is about issues of reaching people with the Good News!

http://reach-the-world-with-the-good-news.blogspot.com/

Next: I love music, always have, always will. And I grew up in a musical household. My mother was a piano teacher & cello player. All of her children were required to take piano lessons for at least a few years. Then in junior high I also played cornet. I also collected albums (yes the old vinyl kind that go round-and-round and need a needle to play; but also CD’s later on, and I stay aware of what’s happening, in general, in the music scene, or try to. I grew up on classic rock, not hip hop. And I was on the tail end of the disco scene growing up in the 70’s . see

http://musiclyricsmatter.blogspot.com/

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Next: after graduating from Grand Rapids Christian High School I went on to Calvin College, only a few miles away also in Grand Rapids. Calvin College is one of the denominational colleges for the Christian Reformed Church. Many of my classmates also went there. It’s a natural progression so you already have a lot of friends when you arrive as a freshman, and make some new ones too. I graduated from Calvin twice. First as a psychology major. Later I returned and added English/Education for a second bachelors degree. All my siblings attended Calvin College as well; and parents, and grandparents. You get the picture?

http://calvin-knights.blogspot.com/

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next: this little sailing event came to Long Beach one year and apparently it is here to stay for a while. I’m not a big sailor, don’t know much about how to sail these big boats…I only sailed hoby cats growing up on lake Michigan…the little ones that is, not the big ones you see at the Americas Cup. But I was going blog crazy at the time and felt I had to cover this

event with a blog as well.

http://congressionalcup.blogspot.com/

****************************************

next:the first time I “attended” the Oscars I was sort of new to Hollywood. That is, I had been around for a few years, but hadn’t really every paid attention to the Oscars most of my life. Then one year I went down to Hollywood blvd to see what all the fuss was about and finally realized what a HUGE DEAL it is (to Hollywood, anyways). They literally close down most of Hollywood blvd in the area around the Kodak/dolby theatre, and put up bleachers for a small group of select persons chosen to be red carpet viewers. And they put up fences along the blvd with police scanners here and there. For the first few years I attended ( and I mean as an observer from the outside, not inside) it was still rather loosely policed. We were able to get fairly close without being overly-monitored by the police, but in the past few years they’ve made it suffocatingly difficult to get a peek. Its not as fun as it used to be to come and observe from the sidewalk, but there’s also other events apart from being an informal spectator. They have symposiums and interviews of the various nominees, many of which are free events. So every year I still try to do a little b it of something to feel as if I am still part of Hollywood, and have been blogging it more or less ever since. See

http://academy-awards-oscars.blogspot.com/

Next , another big event in the greater L.A. area is the Toyota long beach grand prix . This also is a multi-day event, and requires the closing down of a huge section of downtown Long Beach near the water’s edge. And they allow free entry on the first day of the event, so it’s always fun to go and view for free every year. I also add current car racing news periodically.

http://long-beach-grand-prix-2013.blogspot.com/

,@ the GETTY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES, CA

next: I periodically go to the various art museums around L.A. including, of course, the famous getty museum along the 405 freeway (also less frequently I have gone to the getty villa but that’s much more of a hassle) . And I try to learn something every time. I try to remember some of what I learned in art history at calvin college and apply it to my viewing experience at the getty or other museums. I’ve enjoyed taking photos of the art and blogging the pictures here as well.

http://a-day-at-the-getty.blogspot.com/

*************

re NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING: SEX ACCORDING TO GOD's PLAN

Next: as I began attending catholic churches more often and studying their theology I was introduced to what they call “natural family planning”. It’s a way for married couples to engage in sexual activity without violating the beliefs of the catholic church (ie they believe using contraception is sinful, among other things). I’m not married so I haven’t had to put this into practice, but maybe I will someday. However, for the time being I have commited myself to the celibate life. see

http://sex-according-2-god.blogspot.com/

***************

next: I spend a lot of time at libraries , or did as I was starting my ministry and trying to organize some of what I do on paper, and also use the public computers to upload my videos, update my blogs etc (I still haven’t replaced my laptop ever since it was stolen so I depend on public computers). And as I do my work I enjoy listening to various programs, whether it’s a religious program, a youtube sermon, music, or sometimes “old time radio”! I really found some great old time radio shows to enjoy and continue to do so. Most recently I’ve been listening to a lot of the old “texas rangers” radio program on internet archive. And I try to add some of these to the blog for others to enjoy. And over time I also added links to general audio, not only old time radio. see

http://old-time-radio-is-fun-2-hear.blogspot.com/

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,BRINGING the GOOD NEWS to OC FAIR!

next: another part of my ministry and evangelism (as well as pre-evangelism) was to become as familiar as possible with all the big annual events around southern California. The county fair tradition is very important to local Californians. There’s the BIG L.A. Fair (maybe the biggest in the world?) as well as the slightly smaller OC Fair. And there’s also the San Diego Fair which is smaller the L.A. but bigger than OC, and has the best location of the three (right next to the beach). I have a general county fair blog as well as this specific oc fair blog.

http://oc-fair-2013.blogspot.com/

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,MY FAVORITE YOUTUBE (et al) VIDEOS

next:as mentioned, I enjoy checking out viral videos on youtube and adding the best ones to my favorite video blog. I haven’t been updating it as much as I used to but I think you will enjoy a few of the posts:

http://my-favorite-youtube-videos.blogspot.com/

*******

,CARE & PRAYER 4 PHILIPPINES, re TYPHOON HAIYAN, NOVEMBER 2013

next: as mentioned above, I did mission work in the Philippines, and have a blog dedicated to that experience, but also have/had this separate blog which I started after the GIANT TYPHOON hit the Philippines in 2013. It happened to have a direct strike on Tacloban which is an area I stayed for several days with one of the missionary families in 1992. See

http://philippines-prayer-re-typhoon-haiyan.blogspot.com/

(updated for 2015) TIKI FEST , LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

next: I haven’t mentioned it y et, but I also did a semester in Hawaii at chaminade university and have a separate blog dedicated to that experience, one of the best times of my life. And ever since then I h ave enjoyed the “tiki spirit” (or hula spirit) ie the Polynesian lifestyle and dance spirit. And around southern Cal there are several festivals dedicated to the Polynesian lifestyle and NO they are not anti-Christian; in fact most of them have been specifically pro-Christian in nature, including local Polynesian-american preachers saying prayers and even leading a short worship service on occasion. The human body isn’t bad. It’s good. IT’s the matters of the heart which make it sinful or not. And I have never felt the hula dance and other tiki expressions to evoke lust, but rather a feeling of peace, even praise to God !

http://tiki-fest.blogspot.com/

Stop THIEF ! next: I’ve been robbed more than once in southern California. The first time I got conned by a guy selling airplane tickets on craigslist. HE apparently fooled a few others as well. And the LAPD cops didn’t do anything about it. Instead they blamed the victims. Some lazy cops will often blame the victims because then the victim will feel ashamed to keep pushing them to do their job. It makes their day easier. But it’s still sleazy of them. They did it to me again when I got attacked by a 7-11 clerk & an accomplice. They blamed me, the victim, warning me repeatedly that they could, in fact, charge me for trespassing at the 7-11 (sleazy police, this time in orange, ca). I also had my car broken into when I was at a dodger game. I asked for police to come and take a report and they never showed up. And there’s a few other matters that shed bad light not only on the perpetrator but the police as well. Do you think they care? You can’t buy integrity no matter how much you pay the police. Anyways, this blog attempts to keep track of some of these events and has become a “robbery blog” in general (not all about me being robbed but others as well).

http://i-was-robbed.blogspot.com/

on August 21, 2015 I was assaulted, robbed, & vandalized at a 7-eleven store ! also see video at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gnjIFTjmjQ

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,STOP ALL ABUSERS & MOLESTORS

next: we should ALL blog against abusers & molesters. Shame on them!

http://stop-all-abusers-and-molestors.blogspot.com/

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next: I had never heard of greg laurie when I first came to southern cal as a teenager in 1984. I knew of Billy Graham of course, but greg laurie was a new name. Now I know that he holds an annual “harvest crusade’ at angel stadium every year (his original location) as well as other parts of the country. I’ve been attending every since I discovered it, although we might have some theological differences. See

http://harvest-crusade-2013-anaheim.blogspot.com/

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next: how can you live in southern California if you don’t enjoy the beach? I love the beach. And try to get to different locations as much as possible. I also enjoy snorkeling around southern California. I was amazed at how many unique locations there are around southern Cal. But it takes some time and effort to find some of them. See

http://beachesbyvander.blogspot.com/

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next:SIMPLE ACTS of KINDNESS or “sacks” are common phrases now in the year 2015, but it wasn’t always the case. The “kindness movement” has taken time to catch on over the years but thankfully it is now part of the lexicon. And I thank my dad , in part, for being a “kindness evangelist”. He started out as a “pastoral care” pastor and over time began holding an annual “kindness conference” at the crystal cathedral (before they closed/moved), and I picked up the ball and ran with it as well with a kindness blog (or two, or three). This is one of them. . http://fight4kindness.blogspot.com/

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next: I don’t golf much. In fact not really at all anymore, but for a while when I started this blog I was still going to the driving range. I haven’t added a whole lot to this blog but do try to update it for the big events such as masters, us open , etc And I still enjoy attending different pro golfing events around southern California. I just haven’t been too good at updating the blog.

http://golfing-for-exercise.blogspot.com/

MY BELOVED INDIAN TRAILS! "

http://www.9and10news.com/story/29976943/officials-consider-upgrades-at-grand-rapids-golf-course

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Next, as mentioned, my family came to California because my dad took a job at the crystal cathedral. After working there for almost 30 years the large glasss church could no longer cover the costs of operation. They declared bankruptcy and sold the campus to the Catholic Diocese of Orange County. This blog is dedicated to those last days and a little more. see

http://rip-crystal-cathedral.blogspot.com/

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next: I mentioned my late grandfather came to bellflower in the 30’s and started a k-12 Christian school called “Valley Christian”which is still in operation today in bellflower & Cerritos. I’m proud of my grandfather for founding this school and proud of valley for providing excellent Christian education, and also having a strong athletic tradition as well.

See http://valley-christian.blogspot.com/

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next: A SECONDARY BLOG this was another prayer & care blog but is no longer updated.

http://prayer-and-care.blogspot.com/

,VK's PRAYER & CARE PAGE

this blog is no longer updated

see my main THOUGHTS & PRAYERS BLOG

which is current & up-to-date at

http://thoughts-and-prayers4.blogspot.com/

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next:I started this blog to pay respect to Nelson Mandela at the time of his death.

http://rip-nelson-mandela.blogspot.com/

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Next: I spent a significant amount of time voice-recording the Bible not only in English but in a few other languages as well, including Tagalog (the language spoken in the Philippines). And I had them nicely uploaded to a website called posterous, and was assured by them that they were going to be there for a long time. Then one day, however, they weren’t. Twitter bought them out and closed them down. It was tragic ! IT took so much time and effort to upload and add the written word alongside the audio. I was very disappointed. And I’ve never found another good site to post my audio Bible for free. I tried to save evidence of what I had done, and this is what this blog is about, mostly for me to remember my efforts. http://tagalogbiblya.blogspot.com/

********************

,MY LOVE and PRAYERS for ANATOLIA ,ANADOLU için MY LOVE ve DUALARI 022815

next: one day as I was still trying to do a little bit of everything there was to offer in southern cal I came across this “anatolia festival” at oc fairgrounds. I memorialized it and created this blog:

http://love-and-prayers-4-anatolia.blogspot.com/

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next: for many years I was a faithful attendee at the tonight show in Burbank . It was SO convenient to show up an hour before the show and most of the time get it on a standby ticket and see an interesting guest. One day Obama was schedule to come and a LOT OF US came out to protest rather than attend the show. Here I am making a stand for unborn life as Obama drives by in his motorcade. Obama is notoriously apathetic about protecting unborn babies.

http://president-obama-at-tonight-show.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: this was one of my original blogs, and I kept it GOING for a long long time. It has so many posts it is difficult to edit it now. I don’t update it very much but keep it for posterity sake, and people keep coming to see the old posts. http://keepthefaithbyvanderkok.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: here’s another one of my RANDOM SITES

http://random-by-faithful2.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: THIS BLOG is devoted to my attempt to document a note or two about every homily (sermon) I hear at the various churches. I call them “c-blogs” (short for church blogs) . Its important to try to make a conscientious effort to be improved by a sermon or homily,and to critique it in a constructive manner. http://vanderkokCblogs.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: here’s another OLDIE BUT GOODY, not updated very much anymore.

http://KeepTheFaithForChrist.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: another mandate by God to us as Christians is to protect the orphans.

This is the LEAST I can do in that regard. I wish I could do more. http://protecting-orphans.blogspot.com/

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Next: we also should all be GOOD STEWARDS of our environment. However, I am not a “climate change” evangelist. In fact I have my doubts about whether we have a serious man-made problem or whether our climate is simply changing as it always has done so on a cyclical basis and will change back again according to God’s will (by the way, have you noticed they changed the name from “global warming” to “climate change”?) This however, does not mean we can neglect our environment and God’s creatures. We must do our best to take reasonable measures to keep the earth and universe in as best condition as we can without neglecting the human race. I also do not believe we are becoming over-populated and therefore need to thin out the human race for the sake of our environment. That’s CRAZY! . Don’t be fooled by the liberals. Just be good, reasonable, stewards of God’s creation. See

http://protect-our-environment-now.blogspot.com/

NEXT:this is sort of another RANDOM BLOG

http://we-can-make-this-world-a-better-place.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: SO I MENTIONED doing a short-term summer mission in the Philippines which was a wonderful experience, with a few exceptions, and increased my desire to be a formal Christian missionary and do evangelism; and also increased my fondness for Filipinos and the country of the Philippines. By and large they are a very friendly people, and there are already many there who are passionate about their Christian faith and following Jesus Christ. But there are still those who have not heard or accepted the Word of God. I continue to pray for the Philippines and our missionaries there and started this blog to document our summer mission there in 1992. It is sort of a secondary Philippines blog.

http://thoughts-prayers-love4-thephilippines.blogspot.com/

also see my primary Philippines blog
where I also update current Filipino news, see

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NEXT: I first came across the term “Biblical manhood” when I was working on my masters-in-divinity at fuller seminary. It occurred to me that a lot of things happen to us in our secular society and in some parts of the church that wrongly emasculate us as men (& women who deserve Biblical womanhood as well . I use “manhood” in the Biblical sense to include both men & women). So I have tried to create a blog to keep people attentive to this, albeit there is not enough material in general to support this cause. Let us ALL work towards building up men & women in general and especially in the church to be able to live out their Biblical right & obligation to Biblical manhood. See http://biblical-manhood.blogspot.com/

STOP EMASCULATING US! SAVE the AMERICAN MAN. RESTORE BIBLICAL MANHOOD !

next: so I always thought I would get married and have children, but one thing led to another and it kept getting postponed and finally I came to a point of thinking maybe I should not only accept but endorse the celibate life. And so I wax and wane in such regard as to whether I am devoted to celibacy or should still consider the possibility of being “married with children” still at the age of 48 ? I will leave it to God’s will for me, but I am not actively pursuing the married life. I don’t go to dating sites and those sorts of things, and don’t normally go to church looking for a wife. Sometimes a woman may catch my eye according to my normal healthy masculine self, but I don’t normally “pursue” a woman in such regard. I am open to the possibility of marrying a “good Christian woman” who will pro-actively support an evangelical missionary lifestyle, but am leaving it up to God to make exceedingly clear. Thus, this blog was created a long time ago.

http://the-perfect-husband.blogspot.com/

I WANT 2b the PERFECT HUSBAND for the RIGHT WOMAN

"The new celibacy: Why more men and women are abstaining from sex--and enjoying it:

"The new celibacy: Why more men and women are

abstaining from sex--and enjoying it:

Amazon:Books "

http://www.amazon.com/The-new-celibacy-abstaining-sex/dp/0070084300

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next: after teaching in the L.A. area for many years as I was going thru seminary and starting my own ministry, I slowly but surely ventured into the orange county area for the sake of evangelism and exploration and some relief of sorts from the L.A. culture (or lack of). One area I explored was the Newport beach area. I looked at the bay with a desire to get out on the water, but I didn’t have a boat. So I found a boat club in what they call the “back bay “ area, east of the PCH (pacific coast highway) and paid for a month membership that allowed me to use the stand up paddleboards or kayaks etc at any time. I quickly learned how to handle a stand up paddleboard and enjoyed going out on on the bay, sometimes paddling all the way to the mouth of the channel. It also happened to be July so I went out on the 4^th (Independence Day) and discovered they have a boat parade …that was fun, took some pictures, enjoyed the comraderie. So I made this blog to commemorate that chapter in my life.

http://boating-back-bay.blogspot.com/

backbay newport beach

Next: I mentioned hiking Mt Whitney in my early narrative in association with my hiking blog. And Whitney deserves it’s own blog, rather than just a single post or two on the hiking blog. So here it is.

http://hiking-mount-whitney.blogspot.com/

Next: HERE IS my secondary hiker blog
http://hiker4christ.blogspot.com/

see my

MAIN HIKING

BLOG at

http://hikingbyvanderkok.blogspot.com/
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Next: this HIKER 4 CHRIST AT GOLDEN COVE

http://hiker-4-christ.blogspot.com/

Next: bullying is also a concern of mine. We shouldn’t allow people to be bullied , nor allow people to bully.
http://stop-all-bullies.blogspot.com/

Houston Press - Are You a Bully Online? 10 Signs You Might Be

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NEXT: This was back when I was creating blogs for everything. This doesn’t deserve it’s own blog but it just happened that way.

http://b-17-bomber.blogspot.com/

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Next: another event that didn’t require its own blog.

http://newport-to-ensenada.blogspot.com/

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Next: I CONVERTED this Beverly Hills Car show blog into a Beverly Hills everything blog, sort of. http://beverlyhillscarshow.blogspot.com/

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2

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Next: Most people don’t know much about Hollywood director Paul Schrader, but I happen to have a personal interest in him because he grew up in my same hometown of Grand Rapids Michigan and even attended the same high school and the same college (although he left early, either on his own or kicked out…it’s not clear anymore…due to a controversy while he was the editor of the college newspaper) . And one of the movies he directed “Hardcore” filmed some of the scenes in west Michigan, and the story was based on a “young Calvinist” gal who goes from GR to Hollywood. Schrader is sort of a legend but also a controversy in our Christian Reformed community because it seems as if Schrader has rejected the Christian faith, and some of his films tend to be contrary to Christian ethics so he is written and talked about with a lot of qualifications around our community. Nonetheless, he is one of “our” hometown Dutch boys, as well as his late brother Len.

http://seeing-paul-schrader.blogspot.com/

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Next: AS WELL as my football blog I have a separate blog just for the Super Bowl. However, even though I played football from childhood thru high school (our college didn’t have a football team unfortunately) , today I have my reservations about the danger of playing football and all the concussion information we are now aware of. As much as I love football and a lot of people everywhere love the game we need to be conscientious about whether it is safe to play given what we now know with modern medicine.

http://superbowl-2014-4god.blogspot.com/

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next: we are Biblically commanded not to exasperate our children (Ephesians 6.4), and to not lead a child astray (Matt 18.6). We must CARE for our children and their future, but NOT spoil them either. This blog is dedicated to the future of our children, the next generation.

http://for-all-our-children.blogspot.com/

Next: I LOVE the BEATITUDES, and one of them is “Blessed are the persecuted…” ; and we as Christians are ALL persecuted, some more than others. And we need to care & pray for eachother as such. We are united as the Body of Christ, or are supposed to be. Yet, even in some churches I notice cliques and social clubs that exclude others. So we know that in some churches NOT ALL are true Christians, or are very immature Christians who need correction. Let us remember the persecuted far and near.

http://persecuted-4-righteousness-sake.blogspot.com/

PERSECUTED 4 RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE

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next: SO MUCH TALK ABOUT MUSLIMS and Islam and extremists, and whether it is “ALL MUSLIMS” or only a small percentage, et al. I KNOW it is NOT all muslims, and so do you. We ALL know that, and don’t need constant reminders as if we are idiots. But yet still, as a book by Glenn Beck says , “IT IS about ISLAM”. SO yes it is about Islam and Muslims but not about all Muslims, for sure. And as an evangelical Christian setting aside the topic of jihad and extremism, our concern should be for the souls of Muslims. We know as Christians that they are NOT saved by their belief in Allah. The only way to salvation is thru belief in Jesus Christ. And so we must reach out to Muslims with the Good News the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This blog is dedicated to that hope.

http://muslims-need-jesus-christ.blogspot.com

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Next: I started going to the hammer museum when I started exploring L.A. When I first started going it was only on Thursdays because that was the only free day. Then they started opening it up every day for free. That was nice. However, as a moderately-conservative evangelical Christian I discovered that the Hammer intentionally chooses exhibits aimed at offending conservative sensibilities. This includes some exhibits that not just contain nudism (yes, conservatives know that not all nudism is pornography and yes conservatives can enjoy it as art just like anybody else. Here’s a shocker: I even attended a conservative Christian college and in the art class they show classic nude paintings and discuss them as works of art) but sometimes nudism obviously intended to offend conservatives (and needless to say definitely not appropriate for children, whether children of conservative or liberals).And for a long time they had a HUGE sign that said “END WHITE SUPREMACY” . This again is targeted at the idea, if not reality, of conservative whites in some hillbilly town who allegedly hate non-whites. But the Hammer museum is in the smack dab middle of L.A. which is west L.A. and the most liberal and therefore so-called “tolerant” areas of the USA, right? Only liberals are tolerant, right? Albeit they are intolerant towards those who disagree with them. That seems to be a conundrum they don’t like to acknowledge. Anyways, because of this GLARING BIAS at the hammer, and no way to “talk back” or even complain (they would love to shut a white male Christian conservative such as me down by hanging up on me ) I realized I needed to go online; and that’s what led to this blog. And I think it has actually helped to a certain extent. I have seen signs outside some exhibits that say “not appropriate for children” or “may be offensive to some” , and even perhaps a slightly less flaming liberal tone to their exhibits, albeit you can be sure they will never become conservative or modrate, but at least they are showing a slight sensitivity towards conservative sensibilities.And so I will continue to visit and blog about my experiences at the Hammer from a conservative white male Christian evangelical perspective. I love art. I love people. I love God. I love kindness. And by the way, the hammer does have a small, permanent, collection of classics which includes a few Van Goghs among others. See

http://whats-happening-at-the-hammer.blogspot.com

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Next: Another aspect of my exploration and pre-evangelism of southern California included visiting the many various public libraries around the “southland.”

http://i-am-library-blogging.blogspot.com/

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Next: I spent a LOT of time attending the Jay Leno Tonight Show in Burbank. Being in the area it was very nice & convenient to pick up a ticket the day of the event and wait in line for a good show often with interesting guests. I was a regular there during the last few years of the show. And it was saddening to see it come to an end. I happened to get a ticket to the penultimate show (2^nd-to-last). And hung around outside with others on the last day. I was also there when various presidents came to town to be a guest on the show. And I was one of the protestors when Obama came to the show (I am pro-life, Obama is the opposite). And I met jay Leno as he arrived one day in his car…got a handshake from him from the window of his car. Also got a handshake from Leno when I saw him at the Beverly Hills car show. I came to respect Leno even though he leans a bit too liberal for my convictions. At least he was respectful in general towards all, including conservatives. And I was also there during the brief Conan takeover & transition. That was quite a fiasco. And I was there even when Johnny Carson was still on stage. I remember going with my family to the Tonight Show, as well as with a few friends who came out from Michigan. So I added this blog to memorialize the great Jay Leno and the end of the Burbank-era Tonight Show.

http://goodbye-jay-leno-thanks-4-memories.blogspot.com/

Next: so I also added a secondary blog devoted to Jay Leno and the Tonight Show
http://remembering-the-jay-leno-tonight-show.blogspot.com

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next:

http://new-crystal-christ-cathedral.blogspot.com

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Next: this blog is no longer being updated but if you want to see it go to

http://kindness-actions.blogspot.com/

; and see my main kindness blog at

http://fight4kindness.blogspot.com/

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Next: Southern California being so far away from where I grew up (west Michigan) made me feel disconnected from so many friends, former friends, “frienemies” (people I thought were friends but turned out to be enemies) , relatives, teachers, professors, coaches, et al. I needed a way to “talk” to such people, and using video messages seemed to be the best I could come up with. Every now and then I receive a response from somebody who saw my message to them. It’s great! And Hello to all !
http://video-messages-from-vk.blogspot.com/

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Next: I traveled to the DOMINICAN with a few friends from Calvin College back in 1989 or 1990. One of the friends parents were missionaries there at the time for the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). I added pictures of that trip to the blog and periodically update current news to it. There are some beautiful prosperous areas of the Dominican but also some areas of extreme poverty. Let us keep the poor in our thoughts, prayers, & actions!

http://god-bless-the-dominican-republic.blogspot.com/

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Next: as mentioned I come from Dutch ancestory. I grew up in a Dutch_American part of west Michigan (which includes a small city called Holland) and attended the Christian schools and churches that are affiliated with our Dutch-American heritage. My grandfather spoke Dutch (& and English) as a pastor who helped Dutch immigrants coming to Bellflower California in the 1930’s. My dad was/is a pastor also for our Dutch-heritage denomination but doesn’t speak Dutch himself. Being Dutch-American was a big theme for our family and community, and so I finally made the trip to the so-called “homeland” as I call it affectionately. It was a brief trip, but fun to see all the different areas of the Netherlands. I even bought a pair of wooden shoes ! So here’s a few of the photos and I update current Holland news periodically as well.

http://holland-my-homeland.blogspot.com/

Above: that’s me in Holland in front of one of their great castles. I don’t have a beard anymore, nor the huge glasses, ha ha.

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Next: I was born in the USA, and even though I mentioned my Dutch-American heritage and am proud of my ancestory, I am also proud of being American, red-white-&-blue. Something instigated me one day to make sure people KNOW that I am a full-blooded American, and don’t back down to anybody in that regard, although my primary identity is as a believer in & follower of Jesus Christ. But as an American I want to be able to have comraderie with my other fellow Americans, not in a superiority way, but surely in an excellence way. We can, and should, be proud to be Americans, and all that we’ve accomplished. Nobody can take that away from us, whether we accomplished it with our own hands as inventors, soldiers, writers, evangelists, pastors, construction workers, businessmen; or whether we celebrate it as part of our heritage (our grandparents, parents, et al accomplished something significant). That’s the American way!

http://born-in-america.blogspot.com/

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Next: as a Christian I feel compelled to defend the literal story of Biblical creation, or at least defend against the so-called scientific theories that are anti-Christian or anti-Biblical. And if you listen, study, think, read, & research carefully you will find out that the creation story according to God is the true story,and the only one that makes sense. See

http://defending-bible-creation-story.blogspot.com/

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Next:when the ebola crisis began it seemed to me the way people were talking that this was going to be a serious epidemic that could grip the entire world. In retrospect, it was amazing, if not miraculous, how quickly it was contained. I haven’t seen many headlines about ebola in many months now, thank God. Maybe “thoughts & prayers” did work ! Along with good medicine and protective measures (which is also by God’s power).
http://stop-ebola-now.blogspot.com/

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Next: not being a california native, I didn’t know much about the hot surf spots and other local legends or legendary places when I arrived here, or re-arrived.And I didn’t have anybody to sort of “hand it down” to me the way some families do thru story-telling. So I discovered everything by reading, listening, seeing, & general every day experiences. The “Wedge” of Newport beach was one of these local phenomenons that only happens once in a while. Most days the wedge is just a normal beach with normal or even sometimes no waves at all. But when everything comes together right, like the perfect storm, the wedge becomes the most wild surf spot in all of California. The waves become gigantic. I witnessed this for myself as you can see in the blog. Unfortunately, at the time I was still recovering from an injury so I couldn’t personally go out there and ride the waves or at least swim thru or over them, and feel the surge. Next time I will. But just seeing the waves and watching people ride them is quite the experience. Enjoy.

http://the-wedge-newport-beach.blogspot.com/

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next:caring

For our elders is a nice thing to do, but it’s not just nice, it’s required. It’s a commandment from God. 12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20.20 You may argue that’s simply your own mother and father, but I contend it extends to elders in general. It’s not either/or but both/and. This blog is the LEAST I CAN do in that regard.

http://loving-elder-care.blogspot.com/

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next: PRAY the NEWS This is ALL about the CHRISTIAN FAITH, with daily news & other items mixed in ! We cannot ignore what's happening in the world around us:the good, the bad, & the ugly, but we CAN try to respond to it thru the LENS of FAITH ! I keep running the race of faith in the name of the Father-Son-&-Holy-Spirit ! Join me

http://walking-and-talking-the-faith.blogspot.com/

Next:

AS MENTIONED,

I attended Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii for a semester. It was such a wonderful experience, and I had such great pictures, I wanted to memorialize it and keep it in my memories forever, but not just as a one-time past event, but as part of an ethic of life…the Chaminade ethic of living with gusto; good friends, good times, good beaches & waves, and praising God for it! That’s the Chaminade way! I continue to update this blog with current Hawaii news from time to time.

http://memories-of-chaminade-honolulu.blogspot.com

next:

random speaks for itself, check it out!

http://random-by-johnny-faithful.blogspot.com/

Next: When I was attending Calvin College (the 2^nd time around, working on a 2^nd bachelor’s degree) I lived in a house on Baltimore street for a while. Here’s a few photos from that chapter of my life.

http://at-the-baltimore-street-house.blogspot.com/

"I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christwill certainly not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

NEXT: DEATH ! IT’s something that will happen to ALL OF US, 100% guaranteed. But NOT so many people want to think about it, let alone prepare for it. Nonetheless, we ALL need to prepare for it, most importantly for spiritual purposes; but also if we want to leave a legacy and/or take care of our kids or grandkids; and/or simply “leave our things in order” before we go. So this blog attempts to remind people, and myself, of these various issues on a periodic basis.

http://prepare-to-die.blogspot.com/

next: this is one of my original blogs, and it’s a big one and long one, no longer updated, sort of a random blog. I call it an oldie but goody.

http://keepthefaithforchrist.blogspot.com/

NEXT this is also called “theo 2” , for miscellaneous posts pertaining to theological topics.

http://theological-continued.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: Have I mentioned that I was born in Iowa City? Well if not, now I have. Yes, Iowa City was where my dad was a church pastor as a young father & husband for a few years back in the 60’s. Here’s some photos from the “good ol’ days” ; and I post current Iowa news periodically as well. I cherish the Iowa City years and will always have a bit of Iowa in my heart & soul.

http://our-iowa-city-years.blogspot.com/

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Next: more random !
which is also a good reminiscing blog.

http://random-matters-by-me.blogspot.com/

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NEXT: I was a mere freshman at calvin college when I took an art history class at the suggestion of one of the professors I merely walked by as we tried to decide what to take for our first year (back when registration was done in the calvin gymnasium, before internet). Unbeknownst to me, it was an upper-level art class which even art majors dread because of it’s difficulty. TO this day I still am mystified why a professor would recommend I take such a difficult class as a freshman, especially when I was NOT an art major, nor had much of an interest in art at the time. I managed to pass the class with a C, but was a bit disappointed to start out with a low GPA due to the one C on my “report card”. I managed to bounce back later as I went thru the regular courses for my psychology major. And I didn’t think much about art after that semester for many years. Later in life however I’ve started to enjoy going to the various art museums around southern California (ie getty, Norton simonPasadena, hammer, et al. ) I still think the professor’s advice was a cheapshot, but this many years later, I value a little bit of what I learned in that class as I apply it to my experiences at the art museums.

http://art-blog-4-christ.blogspot.com/

Next: I’m actually not sure why I made a blog for this. Although I was the “best man” , so many years later my brother and I are not even friends anymore. It’s too bad. That’s what happens when your siblings or friends get married. Too often you lose them as friends. Their spouse becomes a wedge. It’s too bad because I truly care for them and pray for them and include them in my Christmas cards and periodic newsletters but they never reciprocate. God bless them.

http://andys-wedding.blogspot.com/

NEXT I happened upon the baseball shrine of eternals when I was in seminary in Pasadena. The shrine reliquiary holds its annual gathering at the Pasadena library, and I started attending every year except for the most recent one (2015) .

see
http://baseball-shrine-of-eternals-2013.blogspot.com/

NEXT UP IS ONE OF MY “RANDOM” SITES.

http://random-by-angel-blogger.blogspot.com/

AFTER WHICH IS A SITE DEVOTED TO THE NEW DODGER GREAT

(AT THE TIME HE BEGAN ANYWAYS) YASIEL PUIG

http://yasiel-puig.blogspot.com/

THEN COMES A SITE DEVOTED

TO the WORLD SERIES. I “attended” my first world series in san francisco, when the giants won their first won there at AT&T Park. I put quotes around attended because I actually watched the game thru the outfield fence, where they even allowed free spectators during the world series (three innings at a time). I did it again for the Giants 2^nd world series victory, and ever since then have been blogging the world series.

http://at-the-world-series.blogspot.com/

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AND THEN THE SAN DIEGO PADRES because I would periodically drive from L.A. to SAN DIEGO and catch a padres game (more so than going to a chargers game)

next: http://go-padres.blogspot.com/

AND THEN GOING BACK TO MY JACKSON HOLE DAYS in the early 90’s, I spent a few summers in jackson hole , courtesy of my aunt & uncle who own a home there.

http://jackson-hole-wyoming.blogspot.com/

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AND THEN OVER TO THE DODGERS IN GENERAL (I started going to dodgers games back in 1984 when our family moved to Los Angeles…those were the good ol’ dodger days (didn’t enjoy going so much in the 2000’s, but the new blue is a little better:

http://r-they-really-the-new-blue-dodgers.blogspot.com/

AND THEN ABOUT FOOTBALL FOR BETTER OR WORSE (I grew up playing rocket football in grand rapids and continued playing thru high school at grand rapids Christian High for the Eagles . I loved football. But I believe it is potentially dangerous. So be careful.

http://football-for-christian-discipleship.blogspot.com/

AND THEN WE HEAD OVER to the L.A. ANGELS of ANAHEIM (the angels are really my MAIN team, although I grew up more of a tigers fan than an angels fan…making the switch for geographic sake later in life…but I still root for the tigers too.

http://go-angels.blogspot.com/

And I love animals so I started an animal blog…spending a lot of time at the san diego zoo over the years (& safari park) among others…this is my secondary animal blog.

http://gods-awesome-animal-kingdom.blogspot.com/

Also SEE MY MAIN ANIMAL BLOG AT

http://godsawesomeanimals.blogspot.com/

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in my heart of hearts I have a lot of care and concern for women, single mothers, & related issues, albeit am not in favor of full-fledged feminism, that’s for sure (definitely not pro-choice) …so here’s a blog for women, especially single moms, but all women and moms in general as well. I apologize but I haven’t been very good so far at updating it. But it’s the thought that counts, right ?!

http://for-single-mothers.blogspot.com/

Next: since my dad moved us as a family from Michigan to California in 1984 so he could take a job as pastor at the then-famous crystal cathedral (now closed, or more exactly it is now a catholic cathedral known as the Christ Cathedral, and Robert H. Schuller has passed onward) it behooved me to beware of how the “boss” (my dad’s boss not mine) and family was doing…that would be Robert H. Schuller …so I started this blog

http://thoughts-and-prayers-4-schullers.blogspot.com/

and make sure you also see my
PRIMARY CHRISTmas SITE AT

http://christmas-images-2013.blogspot.com/

HERE ARE A FEW OTHERS that I haven't had time to write a description and add a picture, just the link for now:

next: every year since coming to pasadena to attend fuller seminary Ive been going to the Rose Parade which is only a block away from Fuller Seminary . The first time I went must have been January 1998, and I probably have pictures saved somewhere but they're not on the blog (and they probably weren't very good; although I might have a decent video somewhere) Anyways, I just started blogging my Rose experience a few years ag as you can see for yourself at Roses R Red ,

next: when our family was living in Grand Rapids my dad worked as a CRC chaplain at pine rest hospital and was a CPE Supervisor (Clinical Pastoral Education). This was a new thing at the Christian hospital in 1970. My dad, Jim, was a pioneer of sorts in regards to making CPE another part of the Christian Reformed Church. And later I myself worked as a counselor at the hospital and later also did a CPE internship (not at Pine Rest but at UCLA ). So I know a bit about CPE both from watching my dad at work (in the past) and interacting with him (sometimes he would “bring work home” with him) as well as my own experiences. I found some great old photos from the “good ol’ days” when Jim was working at pine rest and added them to this blog where I periodically find a CPE news item that I post. Also I add pine rest news (which is also rare). See
CPE,

I mentioned my separate Christmas blog and maybe you already clicked on one of the links to it. If not, here it is again: CHRISTMAS,

Next: Have I mentioned that I did a semester in Spain during college? It was a great experience. We lived in the little town of Denia (on the east coast between Valencia & Alicante) . We learned Spanish and had lots of fun! A few of us also went to England for spring break. See

semester in spain,

After college, and after working at the hospital for a year, I briefly went to law school (Wayne State in Detroit) but realized it was not my cup-of-tea. SO I left the legal profession and decided to “ go west” as they say. This would be going west on my own volition as a young adult (as opposed to moving there with my family as a kid in high school). I got to southern California and became active at our local CRC congregation (Bethany) and their young adult group (Koinonia) but felt as if I needed MORE to do…still sort of searching for a career or calling. When I heard about the gigantic earthquake (7+) in costa rica I immediately volunteered to go and help do disaster relief. So I flew down from L.A. and stayed with the family of the man who was the central America director for our congregational missionary department (CRC missions, or CRWM at the time, now world renew) . This family was very hospitable and I was involved in the relief efforts (“needs assessment” etc) and then after a few weeks we were finished and I had to decide what to do. It just so happened that I saw a “help wanted” ad in the Tico Times (the English language newspaper for Costa Rica) . The owner of a tourist camp in the Drake Bay (Corcovado) area needed a teacher for his two kids. And so he offered me the job and on the way I went. I really had NO IDEA that I was going to such a remote area, accessible only by boat (or hiking or horseback, but no roads at the time). Nor did I really appreciate at the time that this was a place where tourists from all over the world come to visit the rain forest and Corcovado natl Park in the Osa Peninsula. It’s a beautiful protected area, and I was there to teach two elementary kids four days a week, and spend the rest of the time exploring (and also helping on some of the tourist expeditions). It was like a dream come true …it was almost like a dream…I had to pinch myself to keep seeing if this was for real. IN retrospect, over 20 years later it still seems surreal, almost imaginary. But the pictures prove it was the real deal. See

costa rica,

next: as mentioned, I was a psychology major in college, and was considering pursuing a career in mental health, maybe as a psychologist or social worker, and so for a year after college I decided to get actual work experience in the mental health field, and pine rest Christian hospital was a natural place to work given it was our denominational-affiliated hospital, it was Christian, it was where my dad worked for fourteen years and therefore our family had some legacy , and it was exactly the kind of experience one desires if interested in mental health (it’s a psychiatric hospital). And I have a lot of good memories of co-workers and patients there (as well as a few sad experience) …but over timeafter leaving this job I never really resumed my interest in a specific mental health career, even though my interest in helping those with mental health issues is still part of me as a caring Christian. Actually for a while I lost focus on what I wanted to do. I mentioned trying law school, but that didn’t click either. Down deep inside me I think I always had a missionary calling, and maybe I was trying to avoid it., maybe I was running like Jonah. But eventually God caught up with me. I wasn’t living a bad or reckless life, albeit I must admit it was not a focused Christian or evangelical life. Outside west Michigan I lacked roots. There’s not a lot of other places in the USA that has such an in-depth Dutch-American denominational community. Bellflower is actually a micro-version of Grand rapids, but much much much smaller, with quite less infrastructure. There area few CRC’s and the Dutch-American CRC’s know about it in southern California. And there’s the Christian school founded by my grandfather. So this helped a bit. But for several years I was quite a distance from bellflower. Coachella is several hours away. Costa Rica is several 1000 miles away. You get the picture. I wandered. But I am wandering away from the topic right now as well.As a Christian, And evangelical, and as apastor I am still interested in mental health issues, and that’s what this blog is about, see:

mental health ,

next: living in southern California there are several organizations as well as some churches that are actively involved in educating & informing people about the issue of human trafficking. I’ve attended a few of these gatherings, and subsequently added a blog to cover it. It’s a real problem. A serious issue. Modern day slavery. see

stop human trafficking,

every day most of us go to a store or some other sort of establishment where there is a “clerk” of some sort, whether it is a cashier there to “ring you up” or a librarian making sure you are quiet enough, or a security guard at the museum making sure you don’t touch a painting, and the list goes on. For the sake of simplicity I call them all “clerks” , but this blog is devoted mostly to store clerks and the way they treat or mistreat us (or me) as we go thru “checkout” . I take time to document my experience from time-to-time sometimes with a picture or a receipt and a little bit of narration. We DO HAVE A VOICE as customers, and not just talking to their supervisor. We can BLOG about it ! Or even take a video clip and YouTube it ! Power to the people ! And we can also CARE for the clerks thru thoughts & prayers.

care 4 our clerks ,

I never really played soccer. Where I grew up “American football” was the sport for boys & young men (at that time). But when I came to California it started to catch my attention as a spectator sport (still don’t play it) and I noticed how incredibly popular it is worldwide, so here’s a blog dedicated to the game of football-soccer.

world cup & soccer news ,

as mentioned, I spent a semester in Hawaii (and have been back a few times) and it was such a great experience, even spiritual in some ways, and I have always enjoyed the “spirit of hula” , and discovered there is a Polynesian community in southern Cal and they have annual festivals, so here’s to HULA !

hula me,

I have SO MANY PHOTOS from so many different experiences, as well as “archive photos” from before I was born, or when I was an infant, etc. I took a lot of these old photo albums and scanned the photos and created different types of videos, often hi-speed because there were so many photos…it would take too long to watch them at 2 or 3 seconds per photo. So I made them into “superspeed slide videos” hence the name of this blog.

superspeed slide-videos,

next: I may have mentioned that some time after seminary while I was coming to the end of my teaching career (I had already been a regular teacher & then I became a substitute teacher as I was going thru seminary, both for financial sustenance as well as for the sake of trying to help our young people as a “missionary teacher” still thinking such was possible in the public schools of L.A. …LATER I acquiesced to the fact that there was/is too much spiritual warfare going against Christianity in the L.A. public schools;…I myself was losing the battle spiritually as I went to a different public school almost every day, three to five times per week (& with somebody in the front office micro-managing my day because somebody in the LAUSD had targeted me as a conservative Christian)…so I needed spiritual help, more than once per week at a protestant church (which is the biggest failure of our protestant churches…they only worship on Sunday..maybe with a Saturday or Wednesday service at some) and started dropping in at catholic churches (which typically have daily mass in addition to Sunday mass, sometimes daily mass two or three times per day) and started mimicking what the people in the pews were doing, and quickly picked up the catholic routine, and liked it to a certain extent (albeit I had grown up with so much Calvinism and Reformation teaching in me that I was still suspicious of the catholic church (in addition to some of the scandals) …so it took me a while to accept it as a legitimate church, but I have accepted it over time, and am grateful for the daily mass …it may have saved my life. And so now I attend both catholic & protestant churches all over southern California. When people ask me “What church do I attend?” I say in all honesty that I attend “many congregations, all one church” . And I try to take a few notes for each sermon (or homily as it is called in the catholic church). This blog is an attempt to save those notes and look back on them from time to time for inspiration .

homily notes ,
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