Your Very Own Personal Retreat
You are a God of distance, and yet very near. I do not see You, but I want to experience You. I invite You into this room and into my writing. May I be aware of Your being here with me. Maybe it is not possible to join in on an online retreat, and…
8 elements of Organic Gardening in a Dutch Terracedhouse
The planet is like a woman in pain of childbirth. Fire’s in Canada, the heat in the United States, floods in parts of Europe, the corona crisis which is still far from being over. What can we do in our small neighborhood? Here is an impression and some ideas: A plan is coming to…
A poem about belonging
One sister here wrote to the other a rondeau/ rondel A Rondel/rondeau is an eight-line song that was widely used and sung in the Middle Ages. Another example of a rondeau is In Flanders Fields I’m sharing this poem here with permission, but I am not allowed to mention who of the sisters wrote it.…
Between Easter and Pentecost
Ascension day 2021 A word of comfort for today. The story of Jesus is so well known, and I have heard it for over four decades now. Yet, something that I never saw before came through the text to me, which I would love to share. After Jesus’ resurrection, it was a very different time.…
Tell me more about your work with the “Sally’s”(+videoclip)
We often get the question: “What are you doing for the Salvation Army?” Jelle and I started our new job on the first of January. Jelle wrote a proposal last year and it got accepted with a part-time job for both of us. We have our different roles and that is great, as you know,…
Online Retreats, a reflection
Be still and know that I am God. (That is an invitation). I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. (That is a statement) ps. 46: 10 A reflection: 14 January, February 11, March 11, April 8th. Mayv 6th, June 2nd. We had such precious Online Retreats so…
The Story of Torrie
Laurens wrote and illustrated this story in his notebook around the days of our move from Osijek to the Netherlands. My first book was published in the autumn of 2020. Jelle and I published it ourselves and I could not decide if I should add this story. Does it fit? does it not fit? Finally,…
6 suggestions for contemplative writing
Come now, insignificant man, fly for a moment from your affairs, escape for a little while from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside now your weighty cares and leave your wearisome toils. Abandon yourself for a little to God and rest for a little in him…. My friend Anneke, who joined me on all kinds…
This is what we celebrate: +/- 45…. (therefore: 5 books for free)
This is what we were celebrating on 22-2-2021: Jelle: 45 years, plus 1 year plus 1 week and 1 day. Janneke: 45 years old, minus 1 year minus 1 week and 1 day. “What unwritten law governs the emergence of love at first sight? I was 22 when I met the man who was to…
High water in the Low lands and a Winterwonderland
Our second lock-down here in the Netherlands was disrupted by a wonderful surprise. First of all, due to the melting snow upriver in Germany and Switzerland, the rivers rose 14 meters above sea level. Normally, most of the Netherlands/Lowlands are below sea level—hence our country’s name. Every year, I feel the adrenaline rush through…