http://hcderksen.com/news.html hc derksen: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:02:49 -0700 http://hcderksen.com/news.html#34 CHRISTMAS MELODIES
Christmas Song
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
Away in a Manger
Joseph's Song
Joy to the World
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Mary Did You Know
The Christmas Story (Luke 2)
Silent Night]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#34 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#4
Amazon.com
BestBuy.com
I-Tunes
PayPlay.fm]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#4 Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#32
I have been working on this for a while now and it is available for you.

I will soon have clips of the songs here BUT if you go to
www.cdbaby.com/all/hcderksen
you will be able to see this album as well as my other albums.]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#32 Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#33
— U. S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, 1956]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#33 Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#31 take Christ, because He Himself is the way."

— Saint Thomas Aquinas]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#31 Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#30 I found this at the site listed below - it gives great food for thought - and a reason for the hope you can have as a follower of Jesus.

Written by: Sean McDowell
Date: Dec 16th 2008, 15:00

If you knew for certain that you only had three days left to live on Earth, how would you spend your remaining time? Recently I posed this question to a group of Christian high school seniors and their answers included sky-diving, traveling, surfing, and (of course) sex. I followed up with a simple question, “So you think there may be some pleasures and experiences in this life that if you don’t partake of them before you die, you may miss out in Heaven?” All but two of them said, “Yes.” Sadly, the prospect of Heaven had simply not captured their imaginations. Despite the unsurpassable majesty of Heaven, they thought there were experiences in this life that could be more fulfilling and exciting. Could the same be true for us? Is it possible that we have failed to capture the wondrous beauty of Heaven?

Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov writes, “I don’t believe in the afterlife, so I don’t have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.”1 Sadly, this view is common even among Christians. Our vision of Heaven is often limited to an extended, boring, uninspiring church service. Somehow Heaven has not captured our imaginations and transformed our lives. How did this happen? Where did we get such a view of Heaven?

Lacking an eternal perspective can set us—and in particular, young people—up for discouragement and sin. So many of us think there are certain pleasures that if we don’t experience them now, we may never. Since God will forgive us, why not indulge? So many of us think we want sex, money, drugs, good grades, and popularity. But what we were truly made for is to be in relationship with God and others now and, ultimately, to dwell in Heaven. Missing this truth can have disastrous consequences in this life.

In his provocative book Heaven, Randy Alcorn demonstrates that an unbiblical view of heaven has deeply infiltrated the church. In fact, he says that some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven, for Satan knows that if we truly understood the reality of Heaven, it would radically transform our present lives.2 We would have far more resolve and boldness if we saw the world from an eternal perspective.

WHAT IS HEAVEN LIKE?
We have too often been taught to “spiritualize” the new Heavens and new Earth into a non-physical realm. But here is the problem with such a view: The new Heavens and new Earth can’t be merely spiritual (understood as non-physical) for we will be resurrected. A non-physical resurrection is like a colorless rainbow. It’s a contradiction! We have misunderstood the biblical doctrine that the new Heavens and new Earth are a physical place where God and his people live together, surrounded by physical beauty with real gardens, cities, kingdoms, rivers, and banquets. We will be resurrected with physical bodies to live in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

The world we live in now offers us a glimpse of the joys and pleasures we will experience in the new Heavens and new Earth. Randy explains, “All our lives we’ve been dreaming of the New Earth. Whenever we see beauty in water, wind, flower, deer, man, woman, or child, we catch a glimpse of Heaven. Just like the Garden of Eden, the New Earth will be a place of sensory delight, breathtaking beauty, satisfying relationships, and personal joy.”3 In other words, the greatest joys of life in the present are merely signposts to an even greater reality in Heaven. Consider a few of the biblical descriptions of Heaven.

Heaven as Home
Heaven is described as home: After a long trip on the road does anything seem more appealing than going home? Sleeping in our own beds, a home-cooked meal, and fellowship with family and friends are some of the greatest joys in life. When Jesus spoke of his pending death, he spoke of building us a home with his Father in heaven (John 14:2). To understand Heaven, is to grasp the real meaning of home. Undoubtedly many people have had difficult home lives. But our true home in Heaven will have all the good aspects of home, increased many times, without any of the bad.

Heaven as Community
There will be community in Heaven. Without the presence of sin we will be free to be more relational than we are now. Heaven is not like the Buddhist Nirvana, where people lose their individual personalities. Rather, we will maintain our identities, memories, gifts, and passions to be used for God’s glory and the good of the larger community. The New Jerusalem in Heaven is often described as a city of dazzling beauty (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21:2). Cities are full of inhabitants, streets, buildings, cultural events, entertainment, athletics, and other community events. If the New Jerusalem didn’t have these city-defining characteristics, then why would Scripture so often refer to it as a city? Heaven will have the positive aspects of the city minus the crime, poverty, pollution, and corruption that mark cities today. To image such a beautiful community is to take a large step toward envisioning the world God is planning to bring about as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Heaven as Rest
Heaven is described as a place of rest. One reason we will rest is because we will serve God in Heaven. There will be work in Heaven! But this is not work as we often experience it today. There will not be pressing deadlines, stressful co-workers, homework assignments, or bitter competition. Rather, we will feel truly fulfilled because we will work in a manner fitting to the way God has designed each of us. The pain, corruption, and sin that tarnish work today will be gone forever. We will be free to work for the benefit of God, others, and ourselves. Have you ever felt truly fulfilled as a person? Have you ever felt the power of truly serving other people? That was a small taste of what work will be like in Heaven. And as a result of our work in Heaven we will experience the most peaceful and fulfilling rest imaginable.


TWO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN
Will there be sex in heaven? While there may not be sexual intercourse as we presently understand it, there will be deep pleasures beyond anything we can presently grasp. C.S. Lewis explains how sex is a signpost for an even greater fulfillment in heaven:

I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer “No,” he might regard absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their carnal raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. They boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it. We are in the same position. We know the sexual life; we do not know, except in glimpses, the other thing which, in Heaven, will leave no room for it.”4
Will there be animals in Heaven? While the Bible does not answer this question conclusively, there are significant clues indicating that animals will be with us in Heaven. For one thing, animals have always played a significant role in God’s creation. Animals populated the Garden of Eden, God saved them in the flood, and they were present at the birth of Christ. And there is precedent for believing they will populate Eden restored as well. Consider Isaiah 11:6, “The leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them.”

Second, the Bible teaches that animals have souls (Genesis 1:30; 2:7). While they are not human souls and animals are not made in the image of God, animals and humans do share a unique feature: they are living beings. This does not guarantee that animals survive death but it does indicate that God may have a future plan for animals as he does for both mankind and Earth. It would be consistent with God’s character for Him to populate Heaven with animals.

The Truth about Heaven
Heaven is not merely a lofty idea created to give people comfort amidst the pain of life. Rather, Heaven is a real place, awaiting believers in Jesus after their death. As Jesus demonstrated in his resurrection, death is not the end but merely a portal into eternal life. Shortly before his death Jesus put it this way: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

Have you taken the time to really reflect on the reality of Heaven? When we die we will eternally be with our Creator! Do you get goose-bumps just thinking about it? Are you eagerly anticipating the day when this life ends and you enter into God’s presence forever without any of the painful effects of sin? If not, it may be possible that you have lost a vision for the majesty, beauty, and power of heaven.
http://www.awakengeneration.com/thoughts/befueled/162]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#30 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#29 Jesus said,"I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the father but by me." John 14:6.
Getting to know Him, making a choice to follow Him, even if you don't understand it all, will make a huge difference in your life.
Accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour, confessing that you can't do it on your own, and asking Him to foregive you for what you have done, are choices that will get you to heaven.
This choice also gets you the Holy Spirit (Jesus says John 14:16,"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever"
This Comforter will help you to know the Truth.]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#29 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#27
2008 was a unique in so many ways:
- Our family lost 4 members due to illness, which was hard and yet in the pain there were blessings.
- We changed home locations and that is always stressful, but we are settling in and starting life anew, making new friends (exciting), leaving old friends (sad).
- We performed in 11 states, visited 16 states and 1 province, met hundreds of people, made many new friends and got to share the love of Jesus with many.

2009
- we are working on a new album (should be ready soon) - we are writing new songs and looking at new and exciting ways to get our music out there.
- We are also planning to be in the central states, as well as the northwesten states (the good LORD willing) - so if you would like to see us for some special music, concerts and/or motivational speaking please contact us through our website and emails.

You can contact me at hcd@hcderksen.com

You can contact Barbara at barbderk@gmail.com
Don't forget to visit Barbara's website for all of her latest news and products- www.barbaraannderksen.com
Please sign in at the guestbook and tell your friends about us.
God bless,
HC]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#27 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#24 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:8,9)

Many of us have heard the story of Adam and Eve hiding in the garden after they ate the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve were going through their daily routines while God was walking in the garden. As He approached them, they hid from Him. As I have pondered their actions of hiding from God, I ask myself, “Am I hiding from God?”

There are many ways in which we can hide from God. We can become so busy with work and the fast paced life we live that we do not have time for God. When our daily lives have become too busy for God, we have left Him out and we have adopted a lifestyle that, in essence, hides us from God. In CMA, we can become so busy with going and doing that we forget the most important part — a personal lifestyle and relationship with our Lord. If we do not have a personal relationship with Him, then we cannot know His heart or where He would want us to go. Without that personal relationship, all of the going and the doing is misdirected. We should never confuse busyness for a relationship with God. We can be in all of the right places and say all of the right things, but if we do not have a personal relationship with Him, then it becomes empty. It becomes us leading ourselves, not God leading us. We can be part of his family, but hidden from Him.

In verse 9, God asked Adam an interesting question. This question is relevant for us. In my spirit I can hear God say to Adam, “Where are you?” Obviously, God knew where Adam was. That call comes ringing clearly through my spirit. “Where are you,” can mean, “where are you physically” but it can also mean, “where are you with your relationship with God.” We find many great men and women in the Bible that lost their focus and God asked them that same question — “Where are you?”


God asks us that question, “Where are you?” Are you plowing through life without the wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit? This would be a good time to take a few moments to make sure that you are connected with the Spirit of God to know that He is the One that is in control. He is the One that is directing our footsteps. I encourage you to take the next few moments and answer the question, “Where are you?” If you are not where God wants you to be, then ask Him to put you physically and spiritually in the center of His will.]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#24 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Music for life - hc derksen - News http://hcderksen.com/news.html#23 - Carl Bard]]> http://hcderksen.com/news.html#23 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Music for life - hc derksen - News