This month’s tenet is one that every individual can relate to in her own way: “We greatly value the contributing role of families.” Although each family is unique in its situation and trials, we all strive for loving and impactful connections. Like most young mothers, I was overwhelmed when I welcomed my first child. How…
Have you ever been the recipient of an inheritance after a loved one has passed away? If we really think about it, every one of us can answer yes. Obviously I’m not speaking only of monetary inheritance. How about personality traits or traditions? What of cultural inheritance or physical attributes? All of that plays into…
It’s a common adage that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. While the whole of the family indeed makes a great contribution to human lives, the different parts also make their own unique and valuable contributions across the lifespan. Children have an influence on parents and parents have an influence on…
I love to sing. I love music. I love families. As I pondered this month’s tenet of valuing families, a memorable song from the era when we were raising our children popped into my head on instant replay: What Does it Take to Make a Family? Each verse describes attributes of families and concludes with…
One of the great joys of motherhood is watching these tiny humans you helped to come into the world learn and grow and explore and develop their interests, hobbies, and talents. Something that has been a great love for my sons is Lego building blocks. When they were small, they played with Lego Quatro and…
Donning an apron and hosting a dinner for family and friends is no easy event. It takes careful and timely planning so that each dish is ready on time – warm and inviting to each person waiting. On one such occasion, I had just put the finishing touches on the meal. As I stood stirring…
My daughter’s first birthday is approaching and as every mother may know, this is cause for natural reflection. And oh, how I have been reflecting on my beautiful baby girl. The plot of earth that is now my garden was once a travesty, the product of years of distraction, disinterest, and neglect. The previous home…
A house with children is never quiet, I think. Even in brief moments of stillness, of sleep, the momentary lull when busy bodies and mouths are kept quiet by the tasks of mealtimes or bedtimes, when the only sounds are the quiet rasp of lungs taking air in and then letting it out, forks scraping…
We can learn a lot about families by observing how one car owner has learned to care for his car and what he learned from his father about caring for a family. Our car owner is named Ben. Ben knew the importance of a finely tuned car. His father, a master mechanic, had taught him…
With several landmark decisions having recently come from the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the word “choice” is pulsating in headlines, social media posts, conversations, commentaries, and people’s hearts and minds. Big Ocean Women had already planned to focus on our tenet, “We are free to choose, and willingly accept responsibility for…
I am training my tree. I have this vision of how it will look many years from now. It will be different from the other trees in my new-construction neighborhood where all of the trees are young and small now. I am winding the small branches that grew at the bottom around the trunk and…
This month we celebrate our freedom to choose. An important facet of this gift is that it opens the door for us to choose to change. I am grateful that I am not the same person I was as a child, as an all-knowing teenager, or a brand-new wife and mother. In each case, this…
Over the past few years, I’ve been coming across more and more information and resources that teach the fact that our thoughts carry power — for good or for bad. As I’ve endured my own hardships, and watched friends and loved ones do the same, I’ve struggled with how to navigate the thoughts that accompany…
What does it mean when we say, “We are free to choose, and willingly accept responsibility for our choices?” Today, I’ll share some of my thoughts on this subject, but I also hope you won’t take my word for it. I invite you to explore this topic on your own and come to your own…
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 and families supported each other. Kaylee has also lived elsewhere in Utah, California, Brazil, and North Carolina. In this season of her life, Kaylee is…
The cookbook is old, the spine broken in places, pages faded and stained, dotted with water from being left too close to sinks and glasses, smudged with the remnants of flour and egg and flecks of batter from enthusiastic beaters, corners crinkled and folded to mark recipes that have been made over and over again,…
There certainly are times in my life when I have NOT felt free to choose. At times, when circumstances seemed bigger than me or when I felt like a victim, I have unfortunately reacted instead of choosing. I’m grateful for mentors and resources that have helped me learn and grow in ways that have empowered…
Of the almost innumerable choices we make daily, perhaps the most consequential are the ones that impact those around us. The words we choose to use, our tone of voice, and the intent of our communication frequently have far-reaching and perhaps unintended consequences in our relationships with others. Certainly we should be aware of the…
Big Ocean Women Cottage leader Fatima Njoku in Jos, Nigeria was appalled by the news she was hearing: On 12 May 2022 a Christian college student, Deborah Samuel, had been stoned and burned alive by radical Islamists for “committing blasphemy.” Then, Fatima explained, “they proceeded to start burning, looting, and attacking other Christians in the…
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 in need through the organization, Backroads Foundation. They are able to get these much-needed supplies to the hardest hit areas, including most of the smaller…
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, and it often was forever. Most of the time he never looked back to see me, crying behind the glass door of our home. He…
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 from under-privileged homes. They wanted to get teenagers together in an atmosphere where, cottage leader Fatima explained, they would feel free to “express themselves without…
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 children. The orphanage is under the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare. The orphanage does not have funders, so support to provide…
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 personal ways. Families transitioning out of homelessness have many challenges. Working with a local non-profit organization, the Houston cottage members prepared and delivered meals for…
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 my writing group. I find myself frequently in a place to discuss with others their ideas and their opinions and their storytelling—whether they are writing…
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 it is more than words and ideas. It is most powerful when modeled by the examples of women who live it. We invited such women…
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 her desire to lift women out of poverty and give girls the correct maturation knowledge and tools to build a good foundation for the future.…
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 spend my time, my abilities (or my perception of my abilities), my dreams, my circumstances, and I prayed solemn prayers for direction. My mind felt…
