Stories of The Purple Plate

Aren't People Great? Free Hugs Campaign Shows It's True

2008-02-21T12:32:00.015-06:00

Click here to check out the Free Hugs Video by the band called Sick Puppies

The band's name is Sick Puppies, but I don't think they're so sick. They have it absolutley right. Right on, band members, for taking the time to make this video, and for all of you YouTubers out there who have watched the Free Hug Campaign video and who are passing it on.

It's lovely.

Pass it on.

Love,

Jolynn Paige, The Purple Plate Lady

http://www.thepurpleplate.com/

Valentine's Day with Burt Bacharach

2008-02-13T12:08:00.009-06:00

" What the World Needs Now, Valentine, Is Love, Sweet Love....." Burt Bachrach

Here I sit, in my little Northern Michigan home-office, looking out over the woods and watching the snow float on by.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I’m thinking about love.

I know it’s rather corny, but I can’t help thinking about Burt Bacharach’s 1965 hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love.”

Sing along with me now…(and feel free to whistle, sway, smile and hum, too)…Come on now. Don’t be shy.

“What the world needs now, is love sweet love; it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…”

Nice. I like it. Tell the truth: It felt good, didn’t it?

In my experience working with others as a teacher, low grades, bad attitudes, and broken relationships are all rooted in a lack of self-worth and love in a person’s life.

That is why it has been my life’s mission to get others in the habit of regularly expressing what they love and appreciate about each other.

I want people to quickly and easily say things like, “I really appreciate how you picked up your dishes without being asked,” or “I think you are a terrific person and a respect you very much,” or “I love the sound of your voice and the way you look when you laugh.”

Kids need it. Adults need it. We need to take time out of day – preferably at a good old-fashioned sit-down meal – to be positive with each other.

Having worked with so many young people and families, and after having parented two of my own children, I believe that the gift of our words is the most important gift we can give each other.

If our young people, our family members, our friends, and our co-workers, could hear on a regular basis what we love and appreciate about them, I think the world would be a much better place.

All of us know that life goes fast, and so often, our words of love are left unsaid. Let’s not allow this to happen. Let’s seek out the loveable in others, and let’s tell them not just that they’re loved, but specifically why they’re loved.

And let’s not express our love only on Valentine’s Day, but on every day.

Call me a sentimentalist, an idealist, or just plain too tender-hearted, but I do believe that love is “the only thing, that there’s just too little of.”

Please get in the habit of telling the people in your life what you love and appreciate about them today and every day.

Jolynn to be on Mary in the Morning on Feb 5th!

2008-02-01T10:33:00.000-06:00

If you've got stories to share about The Purple Plate, call me on the Mary in the Morning show on Q106.7 this Tuesday, February 5th, from 8:00 to 8:45.

I'll be talking live with Mary Rogers (pictured on the right) and Lori Cole (left) about my mission and stories of The Purple Plate.

Their phone number is 231-929-1067 or 866-594-1067.

I'd love to hear from you on February 5th from 8:00-8:45

The Purple Plate Supports Boys' Orphanage in Haiti

2008-02-01T09:06:00.000-06:00

Click here to visit orphanage blog.

Big smiles at an orphanage in Haiti, supported by the Traverse Bay United Methodist Church in Traverse City, MI and The Purple Plate

When Dawn Brown, of the Traverse Bay United Methodist Church contacted me to see if I'd be willing to wholesale my Purple Plates to them so that the church could use the proceeds to support a mission trip to Haiti, I said I'm all for it.

Here is a copy of Dawn Brown's email explaining the Haiti mission to me.

"The boys orphanage has only been open a few years. It is in our hopes that we can open a girls home next door to it. There are more boys on the streets than girls. Young girls are more often used as sex slaves or house slaves,(restavecs) boys are not as useful in their culture. YUCK!!! The truth is ugly.

There are 30 boys, ages 6-16 that have been abandoned, given away or orphaned at this home. This is not uncommon because of the destitute living situations; many women are raped or need to sell their bodies for money or food and hence many children that are uncared for. Cannot be cared for and are left on the streets to care for themselves....the churches are opening ophanages all over the country.

The Haiti Methodist Church runs this one, so that is why we go down. Trying to be the miracle of God's love to these abandoned abused boys. Thanks for this opportunity. Blessings to your day."

Go to TBUMC's blog by clicking here to read more about the work they are doing there.

The fundraiser has been a fantastic success. Not only are more families getting in the habit of regularly expressing their love and appreciation by using The Purple Plate, but the profit from the sale of these plates is going towards helping bring medicine, food, and education to 30 boys who have been abandoned in the streets of Haiti.

Contact me if you would like to start a fundraiser for your group.

Phone: 231-409-2050 or email me at: jopaige@thepurpleplate.com

Celebrating the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr

2008-01-15T10:13:00.000-06:00

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Remember Dr. King on Monday's holiday (with a thought or prayer in his direction)

Attend a celebration of his life in your local community (or start one!)

Visit his family's website to learn more about him

Pass on his memory to our young people

For those in the Traverse City, Michigan area

Attend a celebration of MLK's life at Central United Methodist Church on Sunday, January 20th, at 6:00.

Dear Friends,

This week's Talk Sparker for dinner conversation and the Purple Plate is:

What famous person, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with and why?

Immediately, I would answer this question by saying Martin Luther King, Jr. Meeting him wouldn't be enough for me. I would love to have an entire dinner with him because I could bask in the presence of his wisdom, his warmth, his smile, his determination, and his faith. And because I would tell him how much he means to so many people.

I bet he was funny, and I bet he was a fantastic dinner conversationalist.

Here is a statement, taken from The King Center in Atlanta Georgia's website, which I find particularly clear in expressing King's true significance to me:

"Dr. King’s concept of “somebodiness,” which symbolized the celebration of human worth and the conquest of subjugation, gave black and poor people hope and a sense of dignity. His philosophy of nonviolent direct action, and his strategies for rational and non-destructive social change, galvanized the conscience of this nation and reordered its priorities. His wisdom, his words, his actions, his commitment, and his dream for a new way of life are intertwined with the American experience."

Every year, when Martin Luther King, Jr Day comes around, I am reminded of what a revolutionary and visionary soul he was, and I love him and appreciate him for all that he did for this world.

If he were here today, and if he were at my dinner table, I would make him a meal fit for a king (which would include a pie of his choosing, of course) served on The Purple Plate. He was a miracle indeed.

Please feel to express why you love and appreciate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by commenting on this blog!

Love,

Jolynn Marie

Let's all Laugh more in 2008!

2008-01-04T12:51:00.000-06:00

Click here for (what I think is) a good laugh!

Purple Plate idea #1 for 2008: Tell the person with The Purple Plate a funny memory you have of them......

HAPPY New Year!

P.S. (If my level of static cling-age as of this day of January 4th 2008 is any indication of my own electromagetic frequency, I won't be needing yoga kitty to raise mine!)

Love,

Jolynn Marie

Jolynn

Fred Nicks Remembered with The Purple Plate

2007-12-12T09:59:00.000-06:00

Hi, Dear Ones .....

I received this e-mail from Rachel Nicks, of Walker, Michigan, who explains how The Purple Plate will be used to remember her husband, Fred, who died two years ago. I began The Purple Plate as a way to honor my mother, Lenora Tree, who died in 1998 of ovarian cancer at the age of 58. She was the inspiration behind The Purple Plate.

My story of The Purple Plate was told in a Grand Rapids, Michigan family magazine recently, and Rachel read about it while waiting at a doctor's office.

Here is part of what she had to say......

Fred Nicks, with his children.

"Two years ago we lost my husband (Fred), father of my beautiful three boys (6,13,17). Though I did not lose my husband to cancer the loss was just as devastating. Whether someone loses a love one to cancer,accident,natural causes,sucide, even at birth all these losses are devastating to all that are involved.

I sat and had tears in my eyes and shared the article with our 17 year old son. He also was moved. Since my husband's death I have tried extra hard to show my children the true meaning of faith, love & family.

I know that our entire family and friends will be able to use the plate in my husband's memory to remember to focus on the good in life no matter what. I am going to purchase the plate for my mother in-law for Christmas --the perfect time for sharing. She deserves so much to be praised for the wonderful person she is and because she shared her son with me.

What more beautiful of a gift is there than the gift of telling someone they are loved today, tomorrow and always? Never take one moment for granted."

-Rachel Nicks, Walker, Michigan

Come to the St. Francis Fine Art Show and Sale

2007-11-27T09:59:00.000-06:00

Haven't started the rice experiement yet. Will do. Really. (Although my husband says I'm naive and easily fooled......It DOES sound pretty crazy but gosh darn it I would love it if it were true!)

I wanted you all to know about the Fine Art Show and Sale taking place THIS SATURDAY (12/1) at St. Francis High School in TC.

9:00-4:00; and 6:00-8:00.

Lots of local artists will be there! Come out and support them and spend your dollars locally!

Toodle-ooo

The Rice Experiment

2007-11-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

One of my friends, Kristin Blake, told me about this nifty experiment that I think is very apropos to The Purple Plate project. It's called "the rice experiment."

Masuro Emoto, author of the book, Messages from Water, (and of What the Bleep do we Know!? fame)believes that since people are 70 percent water, and the Earth is 70 percent water, we can heal our planet and ourselves by consciously expressing love and good will towards water.

The author has done several experiments where he proves the direct result of positive energy, meditation, and positive intention towards the shape of ice crystals. Fascinating stuff, I say.

Masuro suggests trying out his theory with this experiment (which I am going to try, crazy as it sounds! FYI, I'll be using brown rice. Wonder if that will change the experiment at all???)...

1). Place cooked rice in two identical glass containers.
2). Put one cup of rice in one jar and another cup in a separate jar. Seal the jar.
3). Talk to the rice every day for one month at the same time each day. Say "thank you" to one jar and say, "you fool" to the other jar.

Evidently, in his experiment (pictured above), Emoto found that the rice that was told "thank you" was nearly fermented and had a nice, mellow, malted-rice aroma.

The other bowl of rice that was told, "you fool," turned black, became rotten and smelled disgusting.

This You Tube (Quinn of Mexico) video does a pretty good job of explaining the experiment, too, if you want to check it out.

Stay tune to my blog as I update you on how this experiment has worked for me!

The Art of Recovery at Inside Out

2007-11-07T08:08:00.000-06:00

Deb Freed, a dear friend, has been much of the creative spirit and energy behind a new show at The Inside Out Gallery in Travese City called "The Art of Recovery." (At the Inside Out Gallery in Traverse City until November 25th).

Hours of the Gallery are Tuesday-Thursday, 11:00-5:00; Friday and Saturday, 11:00-6:00. Address: 229 Garland Street, Traverse City. Phone 929-3254.

"The Art of Recovery" (see Record Eagle article by Cymbre Foster) celebrates the healing process of artists from around northwest Michigan.

The show is also featured on Channel 9 and 10 News.

All the individuals in the show have used art as a means to move through, process, and recover from something in their lives. Let's support them in their recovery by visiting the show.

"The Art of Recovery" is such an important show because it helps de-stigmatize mental illness issues in our community.

Thanks to you, Deb Freed for all of your hard work on this very important issue.

I also appreciate all of the artists who have been willing to share their stories with others.

Artists, contact me, and I'll see that you get a purple plate as my gift to you.

Inside Out, your gallery is beautiful, and a real asset to the Grand Traverse Region.

For more information about Community Mental Health in Northern Michigan, Visit their website at http://www.northernlakescmh.org/

Campaign to Establish a Department of Peace

2007-11-02T08:13:00.000-05:00

The Peace Alliance is a non-profit organization who's mission is to get people politically active in sending the message to our representatives that we want peace to be policy.

You'll have to check out their website at The Peace Alliance to find out more about them, but right now, they're trying to get people to lobby congress to establish a cabinet position in a new governmental department called the Department of Peace.

Take action now by going to their website and contacting your representatives. It will just take a few minutes.

One of the main goals of The Purple Plate movement is to get people to Be the Miracle. Express your goodness today by taking a moment to let congress know we want action towards focusing on peace, not war.

Check out The Art Place Kids on TV!

2007-10-25T18:08:00.000-05:00

Hey folks! Check out Ken Scott and the gang on channel 9 and 10 news.

http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=123932

For those of you who don't know Ken Scott or his work at TAP, be prepared to be amazed. He's an incredible artist (photographer). He and another fabulous artist named Chris Allen-Wickler spend hundreds of hours giving of themselves to help kids learn to animate. Cool huh?

Check out some of their wonderful animations by going to http://www.theartplace.org/

And here are the geniuses hard at work helping Bob Bahle of the Bay Theatre with the Bay's marquee

The Art Place Celebrates International Animation Day

2007-10-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

Let's thank Bob Bahle for all he does for our community! He routinely responds to requests to use his theatre for various Suttons Bay fundraising events. For example, he's hosting The International Animation Day on 10/28/07. Proceeds benefit The Art Place of Suttons Bay. The town of Suttons Bay just wouldn't be the same without Bob or the Bay.

Share what you appreciate about Bob and the Bay!

I Appreciate Tom Kelly and the Inland Seas

2007-10-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

Suttons Bay MI, where I live, is a small village on Lake Michigan. We are near the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore.

In the spirit of the purple plate, I'd like to express my deepest appreciation for Tom Kelly and the entire staff at Inland Seas Education Association.

Tom Kelly and the Inland Seas

The Great Lakes are in danger, now more than ever before due to climate change, evasive species, over-use, and pollution.

People like Tom Kelly, Captain and co-founder of The Inland Seas Education Schoolship, are making a difference by teaching young people about the great lakes.

Go to The Inland Seas website to learn more about how you can help protect the Great Lakes.

Thank you, Tom, for all you have done, and all that you do, to inspire others to keep our waters clean.

Above is a picture of Tom and his family using the purple plate at their dinner table.

Please leave a comment here if you would like to tell Tom and or the Indland Seas staff what you love and appreciate about them.

If you, or someone you know, would like to publicly express appreciation for a particular person or organization, contact me, Jolynn Paige, at thepurpleplate@charter.net, or call me at 231-409-2050.

A Beloved Teacher is Mourned in Benzonia

2007-10-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Katherine Wolterink

I was reminded again of the importance of sharing words of love appreciation for each other, and doing it TODAY -- not waiting. Katerine Walterink, a teacher from Benzie Central High School, was killed in a car accident on on Monday, September 24, 2007. Someone crossed the center line and hit her head-on as she was driving to work on Monday morning. She was a much-loved teacher, a wife, and a mother, and her sudden death is a tragedy.

While I didn't know Katherine Wolterink, I have the utmost compassion for her family and friends as they try to make it through the days, months and years ahead. My own father, Joseph Roe, was a teacher, and he, too, was killed in a car accident when he was just 42. My very personal and real understanding of how quickly we can loose the people in our lives is one of the main motivators behind my creating the purple plate.

It is CRITICALLY important that we tell each other what we love and appreciate about them EVERY DAY. The days go quickly, and you truly never do know what day will be your last. Our loving words are the most important gift we can give each other. I'm sure Mrs. Wolterink knew how much she was loved and appreciated.

Many former and current students have created a testimony as to how Mrs. Wolterink affected their lives in Facebook. An excerpt of what they have written can be found by going by clicking here or by signing her guestbook.

Bahle's of Suttons Bay Survives Big Box Mania

2007-09-28T08:57:00.000-05:00

Suttons Bay is a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan (on a bay called, you guessed it, Suttons Bay). This is a charming little town, and one of the things that makes it most charming is the fact that we still have several small, family-owned businesses. Bahle's, a clothing store in Suttons Bay, is just such a business.

It's the kind of place where the people in the store know your name, they know your size, and they ask you how you're doing and really want to know. They have been around doing business for families in Northern Michigan since 1876.

I, for one, am a HUGE advocate for shopping local and supporting the small businesses in our towns throughout this country. When they leave, the charm leaves, and we cease to be a small town with any personality whatsoever.

Thank you, to the Bahle family for all you do for our community. Your kind of love and caring kindness is in the spirit of the purple plate!

GoodSearch Is a Good Thing

2007-09-28T08:19:00.000-05:00

Two very fabulous artists names Ken Scott and Chris Allen-Wickler have put much of their blood, sweat and tears into a great animation project for young people They're teaching our youth how to create these incredible stop animation pieces. Go to The Art Place (TAP) to check out what they're doing. You can also contribute to their organization by going to GoodSearch.com. This search engine (powered by Yahoo) gives money everytime you click in the name of an organization, so for example, if you were to go there and search, signing into your account, TAP would get money for their cause. I'm going to try it! Join me. It's a positive, good thing, and right in line with the purple plate idea.

Rabbi Chava Bahle is a Shining Light in Our World

2007-09-27T14:17:00.000-05:00

If you've never had a chance to hear Rabbi Chava Bahle speak, do it. She is incredible. She has peace and conviction of the truth of love and God in her actions and words, and what she does with her life. She's got the kind of story-telling gift and spark and passion in her presence that is rare, and wonderful, and inspiring.

Check out her new radio show, Sacred-Spaces, co-hosted by Pastor Jeremy Williams and Rabbi Chava.

Join them for a thoughtful exploration of matters pertaining to faith and spirituality on Interlochen Public Radio 91.5 FM. The show is streamed live and archived on line Interlochen Public Radio. September: Sacred Space October: Forgiveness November: Faith-Based Social Justice

Check out this this GREAT UTUBE Video

2007-09-27T13:00:00.001-05:00

Watch this. It will make you feel good. It's called Powerful Affirmations. It's funky and wonderful (not in the LEAST bit flakey. Really. Check it out!)

Appreciating the editors in our lives

2007-09-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

Eek, gads......I just took a another big step in my life and sent out a first email blast (just an hour ago). Geeesh. I thought I had checked it over SO many times, but dag blame it there's a typo in the darn thing, and it happens to be in BOLD face, so that means it's a bold faced typo, right?

Anyway, I APPRECIATE and LOVE Deb Freed for finding the typos in my life, and for being friend enough to let me know about it (Deb, will you please also tell me if I have food in my teeth when I smile?)

Package. Package. Package.(not pacakge, as it is written in my first email). Do you think maybe "package" could be spelled "pacakge" in some language somewhere, to help get me off the hook?

Confession concluded. Love for Deb up a notch.

Let's talk about who you love and why

2007-09-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

The whole idea of the purple plate is to get people in the habit of telling each other what they love and or appreciate about one another.

Do you think it's important to tell the people in your life what you love about them? Why?

Do you have stories to tell me and others about why you love someone? Is there someone you would like to honor on this blog?

I'm listening. Go ahead.......

Brides LOVE The Purple Plate

2006-12-15T15:25:00.000-06:00

I've had several brides who have either received The Purple Plate as a wedding gift, or who have given The Purple Plate as a bride's maids gift. THEY LOVE IT! (Which makes me feel great!)

I had one bride call me specially to thank me for creating The Purple Plate, because she said she and her new husband use it almost every night. "We've had conversations that we never would have had before had we not used The Purple Plate," she told me.

As Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, points out, we need to build up our "emotional bank accounts" with people, which, in part, means letting them know what we love about them. You'd be surprised about how this simple activity -- getting into the habit of expression what we love and appreciate about each other -- can really make a difference in your relationship.

Why Be the Miracle?

2006-12-12T18:00:00.000-06:00

What does it mean, to BE THE MIRACLE? Well, did you ever see the movie, Bruce Almighty? In it, Jim Carey gets a chance to be God. During this experience, he realizes how miraculous a common human life is, and he realizes how much he had taken his life for granted. He also comes to understand that his life as a news anchor in a small town is, after all, extremely important, because he gets to highlight the lives of ordinary people.

He ends the movie by looking straight at the camera and saying with conviction, "Be the miracle." This moved me tremendously, because I believe that is the purpose of our existence. Whenever we shift our thinking from fear to love, and shift our understanding of ourselves to that of seeing the true power that is within us, that is a miracle.

Most people do not get enough love in their life, and they are forever thirsting for it. That is why we need to BE THE MIRACLE. Using The Purple Plate as a prop, we can regularly get into the habit of expressing our love for each other, and expressing the marcle within us; the God within us.

17-year Old Boy Learns How Much He is Loved

2006-12-08T11:17:00.000-06:00

I was told a story last week by someone who bought one of my Purple Plates. It re-confirmed to me why I've spent so much of my time, money and energy on this mission. This story will is very touching, and one that I hope is repeated over and over again so that together, we can change the world with our words of love and appreciation.....

A woman had bought one of my Purple Plates at a craft show and then used it at the Thanksgiving dinner that she hosted. Nearly 20 people -- most of them family -- attended the meal, and one of them was her 17-year-old nephew. She said, "This kid is an extremely nice kid, but he's been having a lot of trouble in life lately. His parents had split and his step-dad wasn't very nice to him. I decided that he needed to get The Purple Plate."

She said that everyone in the room went around, one by one, and told her nephew what they loved and appreciated about him -- including the step-dad. "It was an incredible experience. I will never forget it," she said.

We often forget how powerful our words are. They don't cost a thing, do they? Say it now. Why wait? Don't you have a teenager in your life who could use a boost? Lead them to the self-knowledge that they, like you, are a miracle.