A week with the Dutch

Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm a little late, but we should be thankful everyday, right? Some insight from Frans Bakker: "It is a true Thanksgiving when miraculously the Lord does not cease to do good to a man who never stops sinning. We see the goodness of God in light of our wickedness. When our eyes are opened to this we will be bruised, broken, and undone. When we see the great goodness of God our eyes are opened to the great evil in us. Then shame is experienced before God and at the same time there will be such a strong love for God that we will speak well of Him, even if we have to perish," for "the goodness of God leads you to repentance," Romans 2:4. "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou has shown unto thy servant," Genesis 32:10. Jacob is about to meet his brother who has two armies coming with him. Despite his circumstance, Jacob says "I am too unworthy; I am too sinful to receive God's blessings." You and I should not be able to stay the same anymore. We must see our need for the Lord! All His blessings flow from Christ, who died for our sins. So true thankfulness ends up at the cross.
Now hang in there, because Oswald Chamber want his say too! "The test of a religious man's life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times." Enoch walked with God. What would that have been like then? What would that be like now? "Walk in obedience to all that the Lord... has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper," Deut. 5:33. (note that prosperity in the Bible has more to do with spiritual blessings than material or physical things.) A. Helleman says: "When we walk with God, we live in community with God. We feel God's delight in all things good, and we sense His pain in the face of sin and evil. Such a close walk with God is itself a blessing. The joy and peace that flow from our relationship with God far outweigh the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ."
Sorry for bombarding you, but I can't put this in any less words. Maybe I should now focus more on scriptures where it says, "let my words be few" and "be silent" :D
A week with the Dutch. Where to begin? Lots of biking to figure out where I am exactly. I live in a beautiful old part of Den Haag, with lots of parks and green, cobblestone roads and old quaint buildings. My house is 4 stories, so LOTS of stairs! To be pathetically honest, my calves are terribly sore as I speak. :S The weather has been beautiful here; warm sunny days with everybody out on the street smiling. This is apparently unusual for this time of year, so I've made sure to enjoy it! It is cooling off now though. The ocean is a 20min. bike ride from my house, and the beach is beautiful with soft sand. The birds have a different song here, but my hum and whistle go along harmoniously with them.
The family is very nice and they are very welcoming and helpful. We drink lots of tea and I see chocolate sprinkles everyday, especially the ones I sweep up off the floor. The children are incredibly cute with blond hair, blue eyes and soft dutch words. Floortje is 11 and is very creative and musical. Imme is 9 and is fun, silly and sporty. Sjoerd is 7 and is very organized and tidy, but also a monkey!
I'm taking a dutch class for Au pairs 2 nights a week. The children have a good laugh helping me figure out how to pronounce all the words. It's harder than I thought. There are 10 girls in the class from all over the world, which is very neat. I'm looking forward to getting to know them all better.
Please pray that the Lord would continue to hold me in His peace. The weeks prior to leaving for Holland, I was becoming very doubtful and discouraged about going, but the day I left, the Lord filled me with His indescribable peace, and I pray that He would continue to sustain me. Pray for the dear family I'm staying with, the De Groots, that God would show them His love and peace as well. Let me know if I can pray for you!
May you be thankful for your blessings from God,
much love,
Jolunda (as they all call me here :)