“The necessity for beauty and harmony is a basic need for a creative soul and a breeding ground for the true, good, and beautiful that I like to nurture in the most intimate space of…
Category: english
Mary Magdalen Reading by Rogier van der Weijden; An invitation to meditation
This is a painting from Maria Magdalen painted by Rogier van der Weijden. I used it during one of our Online Retreats. What do we see? We see a woman, Mary from Magdala. She…
A snapshot: Workspace Wageningen is Open! (+2 Filmclips)
First, there is the fun of the preparations: flour from the mill nearby, homemade bread, sweet and savory little things to eat. This is what happened in the afternoon of 29 september: The…
“Let’s Fly Like The Eagles!” Upcoming Online Retreats, Welcome.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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…
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…