Currents February 2023
Mutual respect is the foundation of genuine harmony. Dalai Lama XIV I recently stepped outside of my comfort zone when I was asked to direct a volunteer choir. While I…
Mutual respect is the foundation of genuine harmony. Dalai Lama XIV I recently stepped outside of my comfort zone when I was asked to direct a volunteer choir. While I…
(Lead image – Photo credit: Joeyy Lee, via Unsplash) One of the required courses for my undergraduate degree was called “Death and Dying.” “Lovely,” I thought. “No better way to…
Our tenet this month, “We are each unique and innately worthy of respect,” is an easy concept to accept, but can sometimes be difficult to apply to each and every…
Every year on New Year’s Eve, I watch The Lord of the Rings series. Following the car accident that nearly took my life last year, my body is still weak,…
If you look the right way you can see that the whole world is a garden. Frances Hodges Burnett We live, my husband and I, in a cozy neighborhood at…
Belonging. A core yearning of the human soul. In 2008, while researching for my graduate studies, I learned about Self-Determination Theory. Edward Deci and Richard Ryan explain that one of…
The first time I went snorkeling was an experience I’ll never forget. It was on Hawaii, the Big Island. The first order of business was learning to breathe with a…
(Lead image – Photo credit: Pavel Danilyuk, via Pexels) We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. It’s straight-forward, easy…
Though far removed from this chilling winter, my husband and I spent a delightful week on the Rhine River in September, visiting and viewing cathedrals, castles, and monuments representing a…
The principle or doctrine of a covenant relationship between God and mankind is practiced in various religions. It is a powerful concept that teaches that when a person engages in…
Faith. This all-important virtue seems almost instinctive for some, yet feels unattainable for others. Even if you feel you fall short on this spectrum of belief, here is a piece…
It snowed last week, a gentle fall of powder that covered the ground, softened the world, made indistinct all the hard shapes and the sharp edges. It lay, undisturbed, for…
Something that I always am interested to know about people is what motivates them. What is it that makes a person go out of their way to do something that…
Kaylee grew up in St. George, Utah, USA and is the second oldest of seven children. She lived in a tight-knit community where the children played night games together regularly…
Most of the efforts by Big Ocean Women to help in Ukraine lately has been coordinating the sending of gathered and donated medical supplies, quilts, and bulletproof vests to those…
There I stood as a young girl at the age of four, sobbing as I watched my father leave again. It always felt like forever until I saw him again,…
Over the Easter weekend, the 15th to the 17th of April 2022, the Jos, Nigeria cottage hosted a retreat for youth in their area, including orphans, displaced children, and some…
Visit to the Orphanage 12/2021 The South Sudan Juba Orphanage was established in 1960, making it the oldest orphanage in the country. Currently, it is the home of over 60…
The Houston cottage understands and promotes individual worth, especially the worth of girls and women. This past year the cottage, led by Nikki Brown, has served in very sweet and…
One of the realities for me of being a writing teacher is that I spend my life reading: reading books, reading craft theory, reading student drafts, reading the work of…
We begin the new year with this powerful tenet: “We believe in God and are women of faith.” This is a common theme about which we speak and write. But…
I met Dr. Ugochi Ohajuruka the first time I went to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women in 2017. As I filmed her, I was so taken by…
Last night I finished reading a memoir that left me reeling. I lay in bed for several hours afterward pondering my place in the world. I evaluated the way I…