Finding Purpose - Song of my Life - Kristine van Dooren

So now, back to telling our story to the German women, in West Berlin in 1982. When I listen to this old recording, I am reminded of the reasons, that my family and I, have persevered, and still live in Germany. I would like to read from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 1, which explains what God’s will is for every person. There is no one that is special, we are all equal in His sight, both men and women. He loves each one of us, and has called us to bring Him glory through serving Him.

The fact that I chose this, shows how important the scripture was, in my life. It was deeper, than just reading a short verse, for the day. I was taught as a young woman, that the Word of God can transform my mind, and give me a desire to know and understand His purpose.

“For you see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, and things which are not, that he might nullify the things that are, so that no man should glory in His presence. But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God, is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption:according as it is written. He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.“

This story ends with music and these words: Then one morning, a few days after the Lord took Thomas home, I had a very clear thought, “Start writing the book.” I knew what that book was, our story. Even though I never considered myself a writer, I got started. But it wasn’t until seven years later, that I found a German Christian, publishing house. That book eventually, led me 15 years later, to writing this podcast!

Documentary: YouTube, Finding Purpose, Kristine van Dooren

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