Fleeting Beauty

The trees outside our living room window display more colour every day – every time I glance outside the scene has changed. The sense of fleeting beauty comes to me even stronger than in spring. Still, I want to learn to feel wonder more than sadness. Presencing. 
Currently I’m eating my breakfast, Greek yoghurt with seeds, nuts and a generous portion of the blackberry sauce I made this summer from the fruit we found on our walks. What a blessing that is!

We live in an apartment with a small balcony. At times I long so much for a garden of our own – yet what a beautiful harvest God has given us: Plumbs, raspberries, blackberries, apples, sweet chestnuts, walnuts and flowers. Gifts and treasures we met on our many wanderings through the neighbourhood. 

I believe that one day we will find the right home with garden and then I might miss this cozy home with the large windows through which we stare at the clouds and the birds every day. I need to believe that every moment, every place, has some beauty in it – when I do, I search long enough to find it. It’s the moments that I stop believing this that are the darkest, and if I’m not careful become darker still. Little things can often help to find light again. Little acts. I stop and examine a flower or a leaf. I light a candle as I enter the kitchen on a gloomy day. I enjoy the sensations of flour and water between my fingers as I make dough. I remove clutter from table tops. I knit for a couple moments. I read a paragraph of an inspiring book. I listen to a sermon. I sing along to songs filled with life giving words and melodies. 

I notice the scene outside has changed again, I sigh and try to enjoy this moment now. I like to think that God holds all these kinds of moments for us, so we will never really lose them – and that thought helps me to look forward to more beauty to come in future days.

Embrace The Wavy Line

Read this blog in:

Dutch English

Laatst las ik wat oude dagboeken. Hoe vreemd is het om daarin dingen tegen te komen waar ik nu ook (weer) mee bezig ben. Het is verontrustend en geruststellend tegelijk. Ergens is het fijn om mezelf te herkennen en aan de andere kant vraag ik me af of ik wel vooruitgang boek. Misschien zijn sommige dingen nu eenmaal een golfbeweging en geen rechte lijn. Waarom willen we dat eigenlijk, rechte lijnen? Een vel vol met rechte lijnen, ook al doorkruisen ze elkaar, is vrij saai en mist leven. De golflijn daarentegen kan van alles zijn. Een appel, een bloem, een boom, een gezicht. Het geeft oneindig veel mogelijkheden. Dus is het tijd om de golfbeweging te omarmen? Om de deiningen te verwelkomen? “Oh, ik ben weer even niet waar ik wil zijn, hoe kom ik hieruit? Oh ja, zo gaat het goed. Of misschien toch niet. Gisteren werkte het wel. Vandaag niet. Misschien is er een andere weg.” En dan te zeggen; “dat is niet erg, dit houdt het leven interessant.” En misschien is dat ook zo. De golven zijn nooit precies hetzelfde, en de ene keer leer je dit en de andere keer zie je dat.

Toch blijft het vreemd, alsof we geneigd zijn de meest belangrijke lessen in ons leven direct weer te vergeten. Dat we blijven zoeken naar antwoorden die we jaren geleden al gevonden hadden.
Vooral met schilderen had ik hier de afgelopen tijd ‘last’ van. Ik zag ineens duidelijk dat mijn kijk op schilderen nogal was veranderd. In plaats van vreugde, vrijheid en spelen was het veranderd in angst, vastheid en mezelf er toe moeten zetten. Het is gek hoe lang dit al gaande was en hoe laat ik het pas doorhad. En toen ik stappen ondernam om de situatie om te draaien zag ik weer die golfbeweging. Heb ik dit niet al vaker gezien? Heb ik in de afgelopen jaren niet al meerdere stappen ondernomen met hetzelfde doel? Waarom weet ik het niet zeker? Ik kan het aan mijn vrienden vragen. Wanneer ik één van hen vertel dat ik het weer even anders aanpak met schilderen voelt het als een déjà vu. Ergens denk ik: “Zullen ze niet vanbinnen zuchten en steunen dat ik hier weer beland ben?” Ze hebben er in elk geval niets over gezegd dit keer. 

Nou ja, goed, ik heb de dingen weer even anders gedaan omtrent schilderen en dat voelt heel fijn en fris. En ik heb er weer zin in. En misschien dat ik over een paar maanden weer hetzelfde doe. Wat dat betreft is het fijn dat ik me vaak zelf niet goed kan herinneren hoe vaak ik dit doe.
Het doet me denken aan de meubels in de woonkamer die ik regelmatig verschuif. Elke keer als ik dat doe denk ik: “Dit is echt veel beter dan de vorige opzet, ik denk dat het niet beter kan.” En een paar maanden later, als ik weer aan het schuiven ben, denk ik dat weer. En het is altijd waar. En ik ben nog nooit teruggegaan naar een oude opstelling, altijd is er wel iets anders dan ooit tevoren.  
Dus. Misschien bevinden we ons in een opwaartse golfbeweging. Het voelt soms hetzelfde als eerst, maar het is nooit precies hetzelfde en altijd boeken we vooruitgang (of we het bewust doorhebben of niet).
Weg met die saaie rechte-lijn-verwachting die zegt dat je eeuwig hetzelfde moet blijven doen omdat het ooit goed werkte. Ik denk dat het bij onze mensheid hoort dat wij leren door te doen. Door te veranderen. Door te proberen.

We falen ons voorwaarts.

Met God’s hulp staan we telkens weer op en komen we verder.
Zo zie ik het.

En wordt dezer wereld niet gelijkvormig; maar wordt veranderd door de vernieuwing uws gemoeds, opdat gij moogt beproeven, welke de goede, en welbehagelijke en volmaakte wil van God zij. – Romeinen 12:2

The other night I read some of my old diaries and how strange it is to come across things that I am currently thinking about (again). It’s alarming and comforting at the same time. On some level it is pleasant to recognize myself but at the same time I wonder if I am making any progress. Maybe some things are just more moving like a wave instead of a straight line. Why do we actually want that, straight lines? A sheet full of straight lines, even when they intersect, is quite boring and lacks life. The wavy line, on the other hand, can be anything. An apple, a flower, a tree, a face. It gives endless possibilities. So is it time to embrace the wavy line? “Oh, I’m not where I want to be, again – how do I get out of here? Oh yes, this is the solution. Or maybe not. It worked yesterday. Not today. Maybe there is another way.” And then to say; “That’s okay, it keeps life interesting.” And maybe that’s true. The waves are never exactly the same. Sometimes you learn this and other times you realize that.
Yet it remains strange, as if we are inclined to immediately forget the most important lessons in our lives. We continue to search for answers that we found years ago.

I’ve been having ‘trouble’ with this lately, especially when it comes to painting. I suddenly saw clearly that my view of painting had changed quite a bit. Instead of joy, freedom and play, it had turned into fear, stagnancy and having to push myself. It’s crazy how long this had been going on and how late I realized it. And when I took steps to turn the situation around, I saw that wave movement again. “Haven’t I seen this before? Have I not already taken several steps in recent years with the same goal? Why am I not sure?” I can ask my friends. When I tell one of them that I’m currently changing my approach to painting, it feels like a déjà vu. Somewhere I think: “Are they secretly groaning inside that I ended up here again?” At least they didn’t say anything about it, this time.
Well, I’ve done things differently when it comes to painting and that feels very nice and fresh. I’m looking forward to it again. And maybe in a few months I’ll do the same again. In that respect, it’s helpful that I usually can’t remember how often this happens.

It reminds me of my habit of moving the furniture in the living room around. Every time I do that I think: “This is really much better than the previous set-up, I don’t think it can get any better.” And a few months later, when I’m shifting again, I think that again. And it’s always true. And I’ve never gone back to an old setup, there’s always something different than before. 

So. Perhaps we are in an upward wave. Sometimes it feels the same as before, but it is never exactly the same and we are always making progress (whether we consciously realize it or not).

Get rid of that boring straight-line expectation that says you have to keep doing the same thing forever because it once worked well. I think it is part of our humanity that we learn by doing. By changing. By trying.

We are failing our way forward.

With God’s help we get up again and again and move on.

That’s how I see it.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove (find out) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

A Few Thoughts on Trees, Spring and Dried Flowers

““I always feel so SATISFIED in the woods,” said the Story Girl dreamily, as we turned in under the low-swinging fir boughs. “Trees seem such friendly things.”
“They are the most friendly things in God’s good creation,” said Uncle Blair emphatically. “And it is so easy to live with them. To hold converse with pines, to whisper secrets with the poplars, to listen to the tales of old romance that beeches have to tell, to walk in eloquent silence with self-contained firs, is to learn what real companionship is. Besides, trees are the same all over the world. A beech tree on the slopes of the Pyrenees is just what a beech tree here in these Carlisle woods is; and there used to be an old pine hereabouts whose twin brother I was well acquainted with in a dell among the Apennines.””

The Golden Road – L.M. Montgomery

Do you also enjoy being in the woods? Lately I’ve often used an app to identify trees when I was in the forest and it’s so much fun to find out more about all them.
I remember last year we went to Italy for a day and cycled around and we saw so many unfamiliar trees; Giant lemon trees in people’s gardens and the forests were made up of these funny looking cloud-like trees. And when we traveled on to India I noticed there also so many different trees. Pomegranate trees, mango trees, dates trees. Plus the mystery that in India they have no real autumn season, and so sometimes you see a tree in autumn state, shedding its brown leaves all over the floor, yet a couple of days later it’s full of green leaves again! There is a lot to discover in this world!

I’m also reminded of a painting I made last year based on another part of the same book as above, talking about the wonders of spring and how children enjoy it fully without really realizing why.
Often, when I look at a beautiful flowering bush, I think about how soon the flowers will fade again and it makes me slightly sad and overwhelmed at the same time. Isn’t it better to just enjoy it as a child without thinking of time or tomorrow’s weather or next winter?

I want to try to be more aware of that the coming weeks.

Recently I made cards out of dried flowers. That is also one of those activities that reminds me of my childhood. I’d picked many wildflowers last spring and summer and dried them. Now I turned them into cute flower cards. There is something special about working with flowers or things you’ve found in nature. A sense of wonder and satisfaction.
Well, I hope you’re doing well and enjoying the beauties of nature at the moment :)

London 2024

When our feet were tired from walking across London town, the thought of the little garden house waiting for our return was a pleasant one. To drink a good cup of tea in a comfortable chair and stare into the lovely garden was all I could think of in those moments, and it never disappointed when we arrived ‘home’.

And then another moment walking through the cozy street of Teddington high street looking for food. The restaurants weren’t able to attract us, instead we found our way to supermarkets and fresh produce and made our own combinations. 
Traveling and having access to a kitchen is a great joy to me. It gives a sense of freedom and a chance to make something new with whatever ingredients one can find. When we stayed in a hotel the last few days of our stay in London that’s what I missed the most.

It was a lovely trip and some things I’ve learned from it is how joyful it is to drink tea from a teapot, how cute London can be outside of the touristy areas – and how important kitchens are :)

March 2024

Peace - Art on John 14 - painting of interior of home, dining table with cat

Waiting for The Holy Spirit

This is a summary of a Bible study I did as I was wondering why the disciples had to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. I also added a few questions at the end for a kind of personal Bible study. 

Isn’t it strange that the disciples had to wait for the Holy Spirit to come after Jesus had ascended to heaven? Why didn’t they receive the Holy Spirit the moment Jesus was out of sight? In Acts 1: 4, 5 it says: “And [Jesus] being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.””

So Jesus knew in advance that it would take a little while for the Holy Spirit to come. But why? As I was thinking and reading I saw many advantages of this little waiting period: The disciples gathered together with other believers, they searched the Scriptures and they prayed. It seems to me that they could use that time to gather their thoughts, to process all that had happened since Jesus showed up, and they could rest their bodies as well. God knew what they needed before they were ready to receive the Holy Spirit. At the same time, they realized that they could not go out in the world and spread the gospel without the Holy Spirit. Only with God’s help were they able to go out and do all that is written in the book of Acts.

Maybe this time between Ascension day and Pentecost, could be a good time for us as well to regroup. To gather our thoughts and to asses how the Holy Spirit is able to work through us. If you like to do this, maybe these three questions can help you:

1. In Galatians 5: 22, 23 we read the fruits of the Spirit, look them up, write each one down and write your thoughts and your hopes for each of them.
Do you realize that these fruits are already residing inside you? The moment you got born again, these fruits became part of you. Some of these fruits are visible in your life, while with others, you might wonder if they are there at all. Since they are called fruits, we can water them with the Word of God and they will grow bigger. So note which ones are still very small and study those topics/words in the Bible. And ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in this area. And over a period of time, you will see them grow.

2. In Acts 1: 8 Jesus says that “You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” This word power (in Greek: ‘dynamis’) means: might, strength, miracle power, force, abundance, ability. You have received this power when you got born again, but are you using it? So often we don’t realize the super power we have inside of us. We live just as our unbelieving neighbour lives. But we are different. Jesus lives inside of us (John 14:20) When we walk into a room, Jesus walks into the very same room. Isn’t that amazing?
Because we realize this too little I want to challenge you to read John chapter 14 over and over again in the coming days. Let the words sink in. And if you have questions ask God. The Holy Spirit is there to show you what these things really mean.

3. Write down areas in your life where you feel weak, powerless, alone or defeated. Realize that through Christ you have the power to overcome each of these situations. God’s Word is full of power. His Word is what keeps the world together. Look up Scriptures that speak life, victory and hope over your situation. You can easily search on the internet where they are, if you don’t know where to look. Write them down and stick them on your walls, write them on your hands, or wherever you will see them. And whenever you feel weak, powerless, hopeless, you find these scriptures and speak them, think them, meditate over them. God’s Word is more powerful than anything else in the universe. And when you speak God’s Word, you are releasing God’s power over your situations.

Peace - Art on John 14 - painting of interior of home, dining table with cat
Get this artwork

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Italy + India

My second journey to India started in a little town next to Rome. We decided to make the best of a 24 hour stop-over and stayed in a cute little bed and breakfast. We cycled around, watched the sunset at the beach, and made our own dinner with ingredients from the local supermarket. It was quite lovely :)

Here are a few impressions of India. One of my favorite things to do there is sit in the car and just look around. There is so much to see!

This is a post office. It took us a while to find it ;-)

A pomegranate tree

We also went to the mountains one day, it was overcast and even started to rain. To Indians that is the perfect weather for a trip up there. It was so beautiful to see the clouds move – very lovely there!

May 2023

This is a printable artwork of a woman sitting on the floor and reading, it is titled 'Mary' and based on the Biblical story of Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha

Most of us know the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42. Both knew Jesus well, yet they both responded differently when He visited. The Bible says that Mary sat down and listened to Jesus while Martha was ‘distracted with much serving’. Distracted is a powerful word here. Don’t we all recognize that?

Jesus said to Martha: “You are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good part and it shall not be taken away from her.”
So that means that listening to God, being close to Him, is the most important part. We should not be distracted by other things.

So how do we do that? Most of us cannot spend the whole day reading the Bible and praying. Proverbs says that following God means to keep Him & His word in front of your eyes and in the midst of your heart. (Prov. 4:20-21) This means that we continually see everything through God’s perspective.

When we let God’s words sink deep into our hearts, we know in every situation what God’s truth is. That way, worries won’t have a chance to take over. Moreover, we will also reap many benefits when we live that way. Proverbs 3 and 4 list many of these benefits. Here are a few:

  • Peace (Inner peace, free from worry)
  • Length of days (We don’t have to be dictated by time, when God works through us we are able to do much more than we could by ourselves)
  • Happiness (Joy)
  • Your foot shall not stumble (God will show you where to go)  
  • Sweet sleep (No more restless, sleepless nights)
  • Your ways are pleasant (You enjoy your days, because you see the hand of God through everything.)
  • Health to your body

And are these things not everything we search for and look for in life? Like Jesus says in Matthew 6:33: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all else shall be added unto you. And He tells us this after he says that we don’t have to worry about anything.

This is a printable artwork of a woman working in the kitchen, it is titled 'Martha' and based on the Biblical story of Mary and Martha
Get This Artwork
This is a printable artwork of a woman sitting on the floor and reading, it is titled 'Mary' and based on the Biblical story of Mary and Martha
Get This Artwork

I hope these paintings will help you to look inside your heart, and realize whether you are like Mary sitting joyfully in God’s presence, or whether you want to do that but let other things come in between.

Recently I came across a video where the story of Martha and Mary is told in a beautiful way. Make some time to sit down and watch it, and be encouraged. (the video is about 30 mins long.) Click here to watch.

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Little Home Joys

At times I like to walk through the house with my camera in hand and just record all the things I enjoy at the moment. 

I change things around quite often and it’s nice to be reminded of all the little homely joys of the past :) 

This desk diary I found at a second hand store and it brings me a lot of joy every time I see and use it. I just changed the numbers of the dates and it works fine!

I also found a box of old sewing magazines and it inspires me to sew more clothes. 
Plus I made my first quilt blanket, it’s not perfect at all, but I had fun making it, and learned many quilting lessons in the process.  

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Giving Way to Life Abundantly

When Jesus died and rose again, the door to life was opened – everything changed after that. No longer do we need  to work to access life with God. All we have to do is say: “Jesus, thank You for dying in my place, will You be the Lord of my life?” And the door is wide open to us. 
It is an act of surrendering ourselves to Him. No longer can we be the lord of our own lives. We live to give ourselves to Him, in gratefulness of what He has done for us. 

Get this artwork

In nature, you can see this same thing when you observe a flower. Flowers are often very beautiful, but a flower knows it does not live for its beauty, it does not live for itself. It lives to multiply, it lives to bring life to this world. 

A flower gives up its beautiful petals for the seed to grow. And when the seed has fully grown, the flower will give it lovingly up to the wind, the bird, the animal, the human, trusting it will produce life multiplied.  

Surrender and trust are the keywords here. For the flower and for us. Look at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood, praying to God, but ending in surrender and trust. How ugly and sorrowful things looked after that, but three days later the most beautiful thing in the world happened. 

What beauty can come out of our own surrender and trust? What if we, like the flower, fully realize the purpose of our life? That our beautiful colours and fragrance are there to praise God, that when our petals turn brown and fall off, we surrender ourselves to God. It may look sad to an outsider, but we know and trust the abundance of beauty that is to come. That in this dying to ourselves we are giving way to life abundantly.

In this surrendering we know that we can fully trust God. He says Himself that the flowers are clothed more beautiful and with more care than any human ever could. Will he not much more care for us? He is to be trusted. He will take better care of us than we  ever can ourselves. 

(The idea of the comparison with flowers came after I read the book ‘Parables of the Cross’ by Lilias Trotter – You can read/download it for free here)

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This is an instant download of a painting titled 'Pink Flower Home'.

Lovely Song About The Joy of Beauty in Spring and Summer

the earth laughs in flowers

I hope you enjoy this lovely song by Karen Peris, it reminds me of those moments of joy you can have when walking outside in the spring and summer time :)

Sister birds, will you call me out?
Sister birds, will you wake me then?
I do not want to lose any hour.
All the lawn and the house will flower
in the lovely world of light.

I will be free in the summertime.
I want to be in the summertime.
I can walk on for another mile.
The canal and the road will shine.
Even into the forest lies the lovely world of light.

Songs I heard along these boulevards,
all words gone, and also is my courage tried.
But oh I’m alive.

I wish I knew who lived in that house,
and every side street I can’t go down,
and every window to catch the sun,
every window to catch the sun.
And do they feel the same,
everyone in the lovely world of light?

This is an instant download of a painting titled 'Pink Flower Home'.
Get this artwork

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Treasure Hunt: Find Beauty Where You Don’t Expect It.



I believe that this world is full of hidden treasures. There are so many things we don’t notice or take for granted. This challenge will open our eyes to those things and I hope it will bring joy to your heart to realize that there’s so much more beauty in life than you thought before.

Step 1:

Think about the next few days, where are you going to be? Is there a place where you expect no, or very little beauty? For example: your office, a waiting room or your neighbourhood. That is the place for this challenge. (If you have no plans of going anywhere, think of places in your home or surroundings that you find little joy in and go there to do this challenge.)





Light falling on lamp and wall

A very interesting & beautiful shadow on this lamp





little flower found in autumn between fallen leaves

This flower I found in late November, between the autumn leaves :)




Step 2:

When you are at this place, look around, let your eye find something beautiful or interesting and photograph it with your phone. Walk around and look at details; A crack in the wall, a pattern on the floor, a stain that looks like a funny face. Or look at shadows and light falling somewhere. Look at interesting color combinations, photograph them as a close up. Is there a reflection in a window or mirror that’s actually interesting? Are there items in the room that you’ve never really looked at before but are quite funny or interesting as you look at them more intently? 

Step 3:

All the photos you’ve made are things you would never have seen without doing this challenge. Isn’t it proof that there is joy to be found in the most unexpected places? Keep this in mind when you are in a dark place, wherever you are, look around and find little treasures. And each discovery will make your heart lighter and remind you that there is hope. 

If you like you can email a few of your findings (+ story) to merith@thedancepart.nl and I will add them on this page to inspire others ;-)







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Create Abundantly

Get this illustration


When I hear on the news that they’ve discovered a new fish, I always think of God and smile.  In the deep depths of the sea they still discover new creatures. And they are very beautiful and interesting. I like that so much about God, how He made so many creatures and we haven’t even seen all of them. Some of the most beautiful and interesting ones are in some corner we will never get to. God creates abundantly. There’s always enough. 

In Gen. 1: 20-22  God says: “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth…” And isn’t that true? There are so many fishes in the sea. So many birds, so many bees, and other flying creatures. How wonderful!

In the same way we can create abundantly – we often think, ‘this is enough’ or ‘this is all I can expect’ but God is saying, make more, think bigger, keep going.


Like Eph. 3:20 says that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Don’t forget the second part, the power that works within us. This means it is His power working in us, but it also means that we can control how strong that power is by how much room we give it. 

In the world we keep hearing every day that there’s not enough. Not enough energy, not enough money, not enough space. But we don’t have to think the way the world does. As Paul says in Romans 12, we can renew our mind and align it to God’s will. 

So next time you think you might not have or get enough, change your thinking, wonder what God would say. I love this part in Numbers 11:23 where God says to Moses: “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?” or in other words: is the power of God limited? No. And we know He can do all. Now let’s just align our thinking with His, and see what He is able to do through the power that works within us :)