Inspiring reading with a message of hope Julian of Norwich (ca 1342-1416) is believed to be the first woman author in the English language. Revelations of Divine Love, or Showings, contains her visions of a “powerfully inclusive spirituality that is still radical now.” Julian comes alive again in Ralph Milton’s inspiring historical novel, Julian’s Cell.
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Celebrating Advent with Mary, Joseph, and Faithful As a child, I loved when Christmas was coming. Can we reconnect with that joy as busy, stressed adults? Advent may help. This is also the story of my road back to church, aided by one or two dead women. Who knew that hundreds of Mennonite girls and women joined Vancouver's domestic workforce to help their families pay travel debt after immigrating to Canada? Ruth Derksen Siemens brings these women to life with many high quality photographs in her award-winning book, Daughters in the City. Cake is always better with fine china When I was a teenager, I asked my mother to help me record some of her delicious recipes. It slowed her down to measure ingredients that she portioned out naturally, but I'm glad to have her legacy of recipes. But it wasn’t until this week that I tried the full recipe for one of our favourite desserts, shared below.
It was hard to put down this riveting first-hand account of a Mennonite family’s hardship in the 1930s Soviet Union and the Second World War, ending with freedom in Canada. It was like sitting around the kitchen table listening to the author’s mother, two aunts and an uncle, share their intimate stories of survival. Insightful historical background is added to the eyewitness records. Fig jam-making was fun! My latest obsession is experimenting with food preservation. Drying food, canning fruit and making jam brings back happy memories and family stories.
After writing my blog post, “How can I forgive?” I found a book that explains exactly how, using a four-step process. I had to see it. My father explains how his family survived famine My father lived through Ukraine's forced famine in 1932-34. Millions died. His family survived. I recently discovered some delightful historical romance novelists, courtesy of the Surrey Public Library. Here are two authors who brightened some recent wintry hours for me. This marvellous book follows a week-long conversation between two dear friends when Desmond Tutu visited the Dalai Lama at his adopted home in India in 2015. Both have experienced immense hardship but are able to model amazing joy. Writer Douglas Abrams brings to life their conversations on how that’s possible in a beautiful, often lyrical way. |
WriterIrene Plett is a writer, poet and animal lover living in South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Categories
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