When I was a senior in high school, my mother decided to go back to college and finish what she had started many years before. She had started college right after high school, but got married after her second year, promptly got pregnant, and had to quit school because in those days (the 1940’s), women…
Women are valuable teachers in society, and are often overlooked. As I reflect on my life, I notice the amazing lessons I have learned from so many women in my life. Here are some of these women, and what they taught me. My middle school teacher I don’t know how or why, but I became…
A virtual cottage meeting in August included members from several cottages. Big Ocean leaders added their thoughts and encouragement. Each attendee came away with a better understanding of the challenges women face and that many of these challenges are magnified by COVID-19. Not only did these women increase their knowledge, they found wisdom to help…
Our governance committee has a special view of Big Ocean Women and the impact of our organization. We are the ones who watch the donations come in, and we are the ones who see those donations turn into aid for precious women and their families all over the world. May we say that you are…
This is the second time I sat down to write today. When I started this morning, or rather, tried to start, I had just logged into the computer when my son called me from the garage to let me know that our freezer was full of food that was no longer frozen. Needless to say,…
It is back-to-school time where I live. I have been spending most of my time recently buying backpacks and pencils, getting my calendar updated with parent teacher conference dates and school sports schedules, and learning the new procedures and policies that are required to go to school during a global pandemic. It’s a very busy…
Can we all just agree that 2020 has turned out to be nothing like any of us would have expected? Whether we’re talking social distancing, face masks, hand sanitizer, homeschooling, or a run on toilet paper, all of us have been forced to adapt to new realities. Some of them have happened rather seamlessly, while…
There is a story my children like to tell, when they are especially annoyed with me, or when there is a new audience, or when they want to remind me of the frailties and foibles of being human and it goes like this: We were going out to dinner one night, a sit-down dinner in…
I grew up firmly in the grasp of my mother’s extended family. We gathered monthly at the home of her grandmother or an aunt or uncle and the adults visited while the children played. We ate a hearty meal, laughed, told stories, and learned more about ourselves in the learning about each other. If my…
The role of families in our society is more subtle than we realize. When we look at the function of society, we probably focus on the setup of our government, businesses, churches, and so on. But family plays a key part in the function of society: support. Many people would not be where they are…
We generally think of capital as an asset something great to have, definitely desired, valued, and respected. I wonder if we’ve ever stopped to view our family in the same way? Imagine what could happen in our world if we chose to really see each member of our family, the human family, as an asset with the same…
What we know as the definition of the traditional family has largely centered around age and life cycle functions for hundreds of years. Couples are married, bear and raise children, launch them into the world, spend a few golden years together; and then ultimately, their earthly ties are broken by physical death. You can also…
In May, Big Ocean Women got word of the dire situation in the Navajo Nation as a result of Covid-19 spread. Big Ocean set a one-month goal to fill a twenty-foot truck to take to Kayenta Township, in the Navajo Nation. During the month, word spread and the homes of ten members of Big Ocean…
This week we ordered oranges to support our local scouts. We had ordered them a few months ago and they were wonderful. We were surprised this time that most of the oranges were more green than orange. When I shop for oranges, I tend to choose the ones with the deepest orange skin. Out of…
In the first part of this series, Alicia described the drought facing her rural community and started explaining her personal journey of reframing to move from a mindset of drought to one of abundance. In the second part of this series, Alicia shared how prayer and scripture study has helped as she has worked to…
In the first part of this series, Alicia described the drought facing her rural community and started explaining her personal journey of reframing to move from a mindset of drought to one of abundance. I love God and prayed many times to him with the deep concerns in my heart about money. I have the…
June 28, 2018 Yesterday I woke up in the middle of the night. Insomnia. I was awake and worrying about drought. The local water board asked all of the church congregations in our area to talk about water cutback issues due to drought. Bishop Watson is a man of few words, a traditional sheep farmer,…
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