by Heather Plett | Apr 19, 2006 | Uncategorized
Remember my rant about women’s magazines? Well, it turns out 2 women in Saskatchewan read my mind, because they’ve started a magazine that sounds EXACTLY like the one I said I’d start. Even the title sounds refreshingly original… Cahoots.
This is what they say in their submission guidelines…
Please DO NOT send us:
Empty, regurgitated pieces about losing weight, pleasing men in bed, finding a man, makeovers, 7 steps to happiness, fashion that is priced way over anything an average woman’s income will allow…we know you know what we mean.
Sounds just about perfect, doesn’t it? I read the first issue cover to cover, and they live up to their claims, and my expectations – including a beautiful piece of artwork on the front cover. 🙂 Colour me impressed! Now if only I could find it in airport kiosks!
by Heather Plett | Apr 18, 2006 | Uncategorized
Twenty-six years ago, Marcel dropped out of school without a high school education. He thought he’d drive truck for the rest of his life.
Eleven years ago, when he realized he wanted more out of life than driving a truck forever, he went for some upgrading and got his GED (grade 12 equivalency). Around the same time, he got his first office job.
Three and a half years ago, he quit his job. Much to the surprise of everyone around him – especially his trucking buddies – he enrolled in university. It took incredible courage to do so.
Yesterday, he finished his last exam, completing enough credit hours to earn him a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science.
In a couple of months, he’ll wear a cap and gown – for the first time in his life. At the age of 41. Next year, if he gets in, he’ll start his second degree so that he can teach High School. Imagine the irony – a high school dropout becomes a high school teacher.
I couldn’t be more proud of him than I am now. Not only did he complete his first degree, he did it with pretty impressive marks too. He is so much smarter than he ever gives himself credit for. And he’ll be a GREAT teacher.
by Heather Plett | Apr 17, 2006 | Uncategorized
Maddie, sitting on my lap during Good Friday Ekklesia service. Corrie says “all those who are Christians can participate in communion.” Maddie whips her head around, beams at me, and says with delight (loud enough so that Jayne sitting behind me could hear it and share the beauty of the moment), “I’M A CHRISTIAN!” I’m not sure how much she understands, but she believes, and yes, we let her take communion. I wish we all could proclaim it with such joy.
Julie, going through the stations of the cross with me, reaching down to the white paper in front of us and, with black paint on her gloved hand, writes “love”. Yes, this girl is all about love, and I think she understands that part of the Easter story. Something about seeing her write it made this mother heart swell with pride. I had to brush a tear away from my eye.
Don, singing “this is not the same, it’s another thing all together – this is love” about as well as Steve Bell does. So glad I got to hear it twice – both times it sent shivers up and down my spine. The God of beauty gave Don a voice and taught him how to use it.
Corrie, tearing off my blackened glove and saying “your sins are forgiven”. I didn’t anticipate the feeling of refreshment on my hand after the rubber glove was removed. I didn’t expect to be moved by how clean and able to breathe my hand felt. It was like the water in the centre of the labyrinth, after being covered in dust.
Nikki, giving one of her prized Tamagatchis to her sister. You have to know Nikki to know how much of a big deal it is for this girl to give away something she treasures – especially to Julie. But this weekend – maybe it was the spirit of the season, or maybe she just figured out it was more fun to play together than alone – she gave it away entirely on her own accord. There’s a little bit of Easter in that moment of graciousness.
Children – mine and others – running around hunting for colourful Easter eggs. Perhaps an egg hunt has nothing to do with the “real” Easter, but there is something about watching children run delighted through grass hunting for treasure that speaks of beauty, renewal, and hope. THAT has everything to do with Easter.
Sunshine. There was so much of it this weekend. Hours and hours of sunshine. And warmth. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the resurrection.
So many good moments this Easter weekend. I wish I could put them in a jar like little fireflies so they’d light up the night. But I suppose, just like fireflies, they’re better left floating out there in the universe to be enjoyed by all.
Easter is redemption and hope and resurrection and re-birth. Easter is love. I don’t always understand why Jesus had to die, but sometimes I’m content to live with my questions and just let the little moments of clarity be enough.
by Heather Plett | Apr 15, 2006 | Uncategorized
Driving home from the bookstore on Thursday night, I took the long way home because I liked what I heard on the radio. CBC radio was playing a re-run of Tapestry, and I was so moved by what I heard, I had to pull over and jot some notes in my notebook. It didn’t occur to me until later how delightfully appropriate it was that I’d stopped the car next to a shadowy graveyard and a lit cathedral.
The program was an interview with Alan Jones. His book, Reimagining Christianity: Reconnect Your Spirit Without Disconnecting your Mind is now on my wish list. You can hear the interview here.
Here are a few of the things I jotted down…
– the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty
– religion doesn’t answer the questions, it deepens them
– religion is meant to be uncomfortable – it will piss you off if it means anything
– “mine must have been the slowest conversion in history – I have an enormous capacity for missing the point”
– Christianity is a “way” not a “state”
– you can’t opt out of belonging – if you opt out, then you belong to those others who have opted out
– the universe is made up of stories, not atoms
– imagine the beautiful irony of Jesus, who is the “word of God” but was born as a baby, unable to speak – word and silence must be part of each other
It also helps that his voice is like ear-candy. I think I could listen to it all day.
by Heather Plett | Apr 14, 2006 | Uncategorized
sun settles
pink joins hands
with periwinkle blue
cotton candy sky
clouds lend canvas
to paintbrush of incandescent light
mystery unfolds soft
music in the heavens
god of beauty
do you whisper to the angels
“gather round look
at this our masterpiece”
do you brush
sadness from your eyes
when we, distracted,
close doors and
forget to bear witness
