It's all about the music; growing up in California in the 50s and 60s, the culture that formed and directed my life. This is the first chapter of my autobiography, "Das Lied meines Lebens," that eventually led to my first podcast in English. Much has changed since then, learning how to write and speak personally, about the details of my story. In the following episodes, I eventually started adding excerpts of old tape recordings, and fascinating letters.
Please follow me on Instagram, (vandoorenkristine), there you can find all of the photos that coincide with each story. Often the pictures, are reels with the music of those day, that give you the feel of that period in time.
You can find me on Facebook, Youtube and Tiktok; under (Finding Purpose - Kristine van Dooren.) There is also a filmed interview, including old 8mm films, that my grandson made! In a nutshell, you can get an idea, of what my podcast stories are about! In German, there are also two televised interviews.
The year of 2025 is coming to a close, and we all tend to look back and consider our experiences, the good things, as well as the difficult ones. I have posted some of my highlights in music reels online, that focus on family fun, and family music.
But here on the podcast, I am looking back at a year of writing and recording stories, between 1982 through 1986. It’s fun for me, to know how my first episodes began with Thomas and I, and now the adventures include five young daughters.
My granddaughter Adina, who got me started on this podcast journey three years ago, gave me her summary of the 2025 stories. She said, “For me it's so inspiring to see that throughout your life, with all of the ups and downs, of moving, raising children and difficulties with church issues; you were always so strong and remained firm in Christ. It is clear to me, that Jesus has been the center of your life, and that is what you always have lived for.”
And for myself, it is encouraging to know that telling my story is worth it. It's also a blessing for me, to be reminded of God's hand and grace in our lives, throughout so many unexpected situations. God bless you, in this coming year!
After hearing Thomas’ recording in the last episode, it reminded me of the radical change that took place, when we moved to Germany. Even for Thomas, though he was back in his home country, he was not in his home town of West Berlin. He had no idea how the Christian way of life would be, compared to what he had experienced, in California. For me, besides the language, being a young mother and pregnant, moving in with people we had never met before, meant lots of adapting. You have heard the details of those stories in my early episodes.
Then our lives changed again after we moved to Munich. At this point in my story, we had been living in the city for more than fifteen years. To adapt and fit in, we had altered the way we dressed, the way we talked, and our perspectives on daily life, and how we shared the gospel. Our three years in California, and at the farmhouse in northern Germany, were long gone. The only thing that remained, was our commitment to serve the Lord, wherever He sent us.
I hope you enjoyed my story about the long-lost letter. Well, to my great surprise, my friend Rosemary, found another one, this time by Thomas, written one week later. He was also congratulating our friends, on the new baby, but he included a lot more details about the changes going on at the ranch.
I recognized his orderly, and easy to read, penmanship right away. Without even seeing the contents, I know that it is from “my” Thomas. It reminds me of home, our life together, that started with a letter he wrote in 1970. This is the beauty ofknowing people by their handwriting, an aspect of relationships that is mostly lost today. I still love looking at my parent’s cards, and letters that my daughters wrote, over the years, they are so personal. Even the paper or the card, or the time it took to write, reveals a bit of the culture back in the day. You can hold it, pass it around, or save it in a box with your other precious notes.
I received a copy of a letter today from an old friend, that I wrote exactly 51 years ago, in November of 1974. Reading it now, brought to mind this verse in Proverbs 25, verse 25, “Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.” Actually the news, is not only from a distant land, but a distant time in my past. It's intriguing, that even though I have no specific memory of writing that letter, I am encouraged by it, just like the scripture says.
It’s a flashback of beautiful days gone by, but is still relevant for me today. I was writing from our cabin at the Living Waters Ranch. The contents reveals the heart behind it, which was our foundation in the Lord. The principles of growing according to Gods will, is evident within the sweet letter. The basic teachings and practical lessons, were fresh in our minds.
The important truths that we experienced after becoming “born again” were transforming our hearts and minds. We had become immersed in a community of like-minded, ex hippies, who were learning spiritual lessons through reading the Bible every day, singing scriptures, giving thanks and praise, and serving one another.
After the summer vacation the new baby continued to be the center of attention. In the following months we celebrated birthdays, and went to church services, with our new daughter. At home we took lots of pictures, showing each new milestone; like her first smiles, bath time, or diaper changes in the middle of the night. The ultimate photo is of her laying on a shelf, directly under the boom box tape recorder, in Naomi's room. She even slept in her travel bed in the living room, during our evening Bible studies. With the fall season, all the girls, including Miriam, were back to school. The afternoons included piano and dance lessons, and I was also able to get back to, my weekly modern dance class.
The next crucial prayer request was to find a new home. During a family meeting, we talked about this, while Naomi took notes for our prayer list. Besides more bedrooms and bathrooms, we also hoped to find a house with a wood burning stove, a larger kitchen, a garden, an office for Thomas and a garage. Naomi wrote on the paper, Mark Chapter 11, 24;
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Well, I have seen by the amount of episode views, that many people are interested in a home birth story. While writing the last episode, I was looking back on my experience, of having a series of home births. Each time it was in a different place, and full of interesting, and dramatic developments. But the most important aspect, is that all glory goes to God, for His protection and guidance.
For example in Episode 96, Home birth #4, this reflects a very different time in our lives. But it's a similar theme, about the unity we had as a couple, in planning to have our baby at home.
There is such a stigma in our western world about home births, and sadly often, a reluctancy to having children.
After that emotional ending to my last episode, I will continue with one of the most precious events of our lives. We had put aside for a little while, the music and the dancing, in our home. All of us were waiting, for the day and time, of the birth of our baby. The due date was for Sunday the 10th of August, but I wasn’t counting on that. The other four children, were either born before, or after the expected date. Naomi was invited to go with our friends from Italy, to a conference in Holland for Christian artists. It was a big decision for her, but we knew it would be special, so we encouraged her to go.
Because it was school vacation Thomas wanted to do some outings with the girls. One of my daughters remembered that he took them to the lake, but they stopped to call me from a phone booth, to make sure I was Ok. Now a days, its hard to imagine, not having instant contact through our cell phones. I guess we were just trusting the Lord, that we would be together at home, when my labor started.
The finishing touch of the musical celebration, with 2000 Christians in Munich, was beautiful. After the final, joyful applause, many people lingered in the aisles, talking and praying with each other. The leader of the pastor’s circle, Helmut Nicklas, came directly up the stairs to where I was sitting. He could see that I was highly pregnant but that didn’t phase him at all. He had something to say! He was so excited and blurted out, “We must do this again next year and have two shows.” Das müssen wir nächstes Jahr machen, und dann gleich zweimal”
I was so surprised that I didn’t know what to say. So many months of preparation had gone into this, and I couldn’t imagine, doing it again the next year! I heard later, that he had a series of interviews with the newspapers, and that everyone was blown away by the event.
Music and Text: Rick and Patti Ridings
German Text: Thomas van Dooren / Michael Ostermann
Copyright of the songs: International Matterhorn Music / USA
This week I thought it would be fun to quote something I wrote, from my original book files. Between the years of 2000 to 2006, I was writing my autobiography in English. Sometimes I find in those pages, things that I have forgotten about, now that it is twenty years later. At that time, I had no idea how it would ever get to book form. But it turned out that a German Christian publishing company was interested. That led to my daughter, Naomi translating it. In my recent episodes, I have been telling the story of our family, preparing for the musical in Munich. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote about those days.
Thomas and I, and our four daughters, were about to embark on a life-altering year. The day we saw the positive pregnancy test was exciting, but we had no idea what challenges were ahead of us. The first phone calls we made, were to my parents in California, and to Nadja in Berlin. Though they were both happy for the news, I think they had reservations about us having an even bigger family. But they were encouraged to hear how thrilled we were, to welcome another child into our lives. They probably also thought, " Oh no, hopefully not another home birth!"
They had no idea that Thomas and I, had asked the Lord for five children, way back in 1973!
As usual in preparing for a new episode, I have been looking through old notes and letters that Thomas and I wrote to each other. There I find confirmations of the things that I remember. In a card at the end of the year after our fifth child was born, I wrote; “Thank you for another special year together. You are a faithful and patient husband. Thank you for all your help with the children, especially during the pregnancy and the months with our new born. I pray for you and wish you much strength and clarity of direction from the Holy Spirit. You are my best friend, I love you.”
We had been together for sixteen years by then and were still learning every year how to love and take care of each other better. Our writings also show how the truth of the scriptures worked itself out in our marriage that I talked about in the last episode. Here is an example from Thomas of how he expressed those principles.
Thomas and I, immediately shared the surprise with ourdaughters, that I was pregnant. With all the girls gathered on our bed, Thomas told them to put their hands on mommy’s tummy and pray for the little baby. We felt blessed that the Lord was adding another child to our family. As for many occasions, we had a song to express our joy. So Thomas said, “Let’s sing,” and we all chimed in;
“Welcome to the family, we’re glad that you have come,to share your life with us, as we grow in love. And may we always be to you what God would have us be, a family always there to be strong and to lean on. May we learn to love each other more with each new day, may words of love be onour lips in everything we say. May the spirit melt our hearts and teach us how to pray, that we might be a true family.”
"Welcome to the Family" by Ernie and Debby Rettinohttps://youtube.com/watch?v=PjhaFYCVA8A&feature=shared
In each new phase of our lives, Thomas and I were learning how to live out the great commission. Simply put; "Preach the gospel, make disciples, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember; I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” With this foundation that began with faith in Jesus, the challenge was to seek him and to trust his guidance. Our confidence was in Jesus, our shepherd. Like Naomi said in the last episode; it was so important that we drew our children into the process of sharing the gospel with others. As parents we were learning that the greatest joy of our lives was raising our four daughters.
At this time we had a brand new challenge. Besides the church and school schedule, we were mapping out a plan to present the musical in the summer of 1986. Thomas had worked with at least 15 pastors in Munich, since 1976. They organized the gathering called “Fest zur Ehre Gottes” (Festival to Honor God), which I have talked about before.
A few times a year, they had special seminars and services that took place in old Lutheran churches. Usually, Thomas wasresponsible, for organizing and practicing with the musicians. Other times he was the translator for American or English pastors. The decision to plan an even larger event, as a 10year anniversary, was definitely a few steps up, from the tradition of normal church meetings. Just so you know, modern mega denominations didn’t exist in Germany. The only choice, was to find a public building, that wasn’t tooexpensive to rent. For the musical presentation a large stage would also be necessary. The pastors could only estimate how many people might come. At that point, they probably calculated, they would need seating for approximately 1000people. And even that big of an audience was hard for them to imagine.
Hope you enjoyed my Guatemala story. That was such a long time ago, but I am more aware now, of the influence that trip had on my family’s life. Also I realized how amazing it is, to know that God's hand that protected us, traveling to so many different countries that year. Today, before I get into my story, I want to take time to reflect again on the purpose of my podcast. With the radical and scary news reports in our world, we might tend to think that things are way worse than in the past. But actually, the scripture says “there is nothing new under the sun”. Therefore similar movements, agendas, including political murders, also took place in my generation. Not only in the US, but in Germany too. There are so many people today, exactly like Thomas and I, were, in the 60s and 70s; lost and disillusioned, without true purpose. But still, there is only one answer, and solution, it begins with hearing and accepting, the truth of the gospel of Christ. This means that the responsibility lies with the Christians, who share their testimony; with conviction, with courage, with joy and are willing to make sacrifices. How could Thomas and I, have ever been saved out of the darkness, unless someone told us that Jesus is alive and He is the only way to God?
Today I am continuing on with our story from Episode 139 called “Dreams Come True”. The impact that musical had on our lives, started a whole new avenue of ministry, for our family. Following that episode, were two inspiring conversations, with the producers of the musical “Celebrate His Holiness”. God seemed to be using the creative gifts in our family, as a way to serve the Lord, and others. A songthat we sang from Psalm 100 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing.” This verse inJoshua chapter 24, 15, had become our motto; “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The way that worked out practically was, “we will serve the Lord with joy through music.“
Besides our trip to the UK, we had been planning for months, for a long visit to see our friends in Guatemala City. This was by invitation from Pepe and his wife Mayda, who were in Munich the year before. Maybe you remember that story from a previous episode.
Music of Mayda Garces: https://youtu.be/eSCQsmzfp1Q?si=v7oHppRNGhUv_je9
(This is a rerun story of our trip to California. Next week's episode will be about our big adventure to Guatemala in 1985! )
Thomas and I, couldn’t have known that after moving toGermany, we would be going back and forth to California, taking our children with us. It was my home and Thomas’ spiritual home. Both worlds, Germany and California, were an enrichment for our lives. This was definitely, somethingthat God had set out, for all of us. Each time we got the invitation for a conference, we had to start planning for the big trip.
...So the old tape that I listened to this week by Jim, is titled “The Sovereignty of God”. It wasn’t made at the conference, but was recorded around that time, in Eureka. I was pretty amazed to hear some very familiar points that Jim made. Thomas had obviously listened to this one, he took notes and translated the message, for one of his German sermons.
Jim’s voice takes me back, not only to the Elder’s Conference, but to his teachings that transformed our lives. It was always practical instructions in understanding the heart of God.
AUDIO Jim Durkin - Sovereignty of God ...
Today I am talking with my daughter, Naomi, about raising a big family. She has alot of practical and interesting questions, about marriage, and loving being a mom of five daughters. It helps to have had a good example in your parents, but for example, my husband did not have that. The biggest blessing for both of us, was becoming Christians, and learning from the Bible's instructions, for marriage and raising children. I hope you enjoy listening to our personal, mother - daughter conversation!
PS: This video is also on my Youtube channel: Kristine van Dooren, Finding Purpose
Welcome back, Jim and Anne!
All of the interesting details, and the networking of artists needed to create the musicial, "Celebrate His Holiness", (written by Rick and Patti Ridings.) Begining with willing hearts and trusting the Lord, Kirk and Deby Dearman, Randall Bane, Debbie Roberts, and many more singers and dancers came together in Southampton.
The result; a musical experience that changed lives, drawing people closer to each other, and to God.
It’s amazing how our family was discovering, step by step, God’s plan for our lives. Thomas and I, came to Germany with one purpose, to share the gospel of Christ, that we had come to know in California. Our lives were transformed by Jesus, and we wanted nothing more than to share those truths. We were always a part of a team that worked together on each project at hand.
In a recent episode, I talked about the international folk dancers, that inspired us, with a desire to replicate their example. Many countries were represented through their traditional music, costumes and flags. Dancers and musicians of all ages, including children, brought so much joy tothe audience. At home that evening Thomas and I, talked about the idea of God’s people being visible to the world, rather than only gathering, within the walls of the church buildings. We decided to start praying about how we could create something like this.
"Exalt the Lord our God" by Rick Ridingshttps://youtu.be/fnjJ_7pJrzo?si=CORznJO2eGX1ov39
"Father make us One" by Rick Ridings https://youtu.be/iSVXd3GAy9Y?si=TSV-5f62FEsyRq8Z