Articles
A Letter Was in the Works
By Jennifer Wallace A letter was in the works. It was there playing hide and seek in my mind for 5 years. After seeing women speak out, I wanted to be that brave. I wanted to own my nieces’ middle names, “Courage,” and “Worth” while still holding onto my daughter’s middle name, “Grace.” So, I went there: I went back 5 years and I opened the wound and I wrote the letter. Alone in the office, in front of the computer, a blank screen. I do not hear anything: not the kids downstairs watching YTV, not John breathing, asleep…
Read MoreI Can Endure
By Deanna Cook To kick off our basketball tournament, we have a pep rally to celebrate our players. A tradition is the All-Stars game. But this year, instead of just watching our senior basketball players, the players had to pick a partner from the crowd. And, as we are a K-12 school, their partner had to be in grades 1, 2, or 3. The 10-minute game was the highlight of the entire pep rally. Instead of just watching over-confident adolescent boys show off, we got to see older students helping younger students. They would pass the ball to their much…
Read MoreSeeing the Unseen
By Andrea Muirhead It’s cold. Its -35 degrees Celsius, as I drive down the highway. It’s been a long winter and it’s far from over. People around me are feeling the winter “blues.” I am too. But today the sun is shining brightly, so brightly that I need to wear my sunglasses. I remember as a kid driving places with my dad and being amazed at the animals we would see from the car. One day, I asked him how he could see those totally camouflaged animals in the field. His reply was that he had trained his eyes…
Read MoreBe Still…
By Laurie Fisher Lately these two little words have come into my consciousness a lot…and I don’t think I’m being necessarily exhorted to closet myself in a serene setting to contemplate the bigness of God. I think God is saying, “Back off. Hush. Pray. Watch. Be STILL.” I look at Ephesians 6:10-20 and see what I’m supposed to do. Three times it says, “stand firm” (be still?) Twice it says “pray” (although one of those times it says “at all times” and “with perseverance” so it’s really said more than twice) . And one of my personal favourites is Exodus…
Read MoreThe Thorn in My Thighs
THUNDER THIGHS WIDE LOAD BIG MOMMA FATSO Echoes of the voices of my youth. And then the less offensive, but just as hurtful: So-and-so said this diet worked for her. Have you tried walking? Boys won’t like you unless you lose weight. For as long as I can remember, my weight had been the paramount issue in my life. Years ago I wrote a blog about how “if only” wiped out all the good in my life. “You are so talented, if only you weren’t overweight.” “You are so smart, if only you weren’t so heavy. “You are such a…
Read MoreGoing On Ahead.
By Sara Pippus Once in a while, writing is very hard. I know how it feels in my head but getting it out in a way that means something to someone else becomes considerably more difficult the more personal it is. I will admit openly that I am stunted when it comes to being vulnerable and bearing my heart to anyone who is not close and trusted. I have been putting off sharing these ideas and my jumbled bits of learning. But the more I searched for answers over the past year, the more I came up short. We are…
Read MoreNew Perspective
Foreword by Sheena Koops My 14 year old daughter, Arwen, and I are sitting in a giant circle, two rows deep, with large board-room-style wooden desks and plush, rolling chairs. We have joined many others, women and men, to consider this year’s Treaty Four Gathering theme, “Empowering Women” and to consider the legacy of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. It is a Monday night in September. Kete-ayah Alma Poitras has invited any who wish to smudge as we begin our gathering. Smudging is a practice, a quiet moment of prayer and cleansing. I join the line to…
Read MoreMessy
By Janelle Ross A hundred years ago, back when I was inching my way out of the nest and learning how to use my fresh wings, I worked in the field of computers. Actually, I went to Bible college, spent a couple of years in Australia, came home and worked a bit, started a General Arts degree with a major in French (merci beaucoup) and switched to a technical degree in computer programming at a now-defunct college. Then, I worked in the field of computers. I helped the government keep track of the students attending elementary, junior high, and high…
Read MoreGrateful
By Andrea Muirhead I remember being at the eye specialist with my 90-year-old Grandmother. She had little sight left. She already had cataracts removed and now we were checking what else the specialist could do. The doctor was not as attentive or as kind as I wished him to be. He reported the grim news that nothing more could be done to help my Grandmother’s eyesight. I will never forget her reaction. She seemed to be looking into the past as she stroked the armrest of her chair and simply said that it was fine… her eyes had seen many…
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