The first tenet of Big Ocean Women is “We believe in God and are women of faith.” We don’t, as an organization, have expectations of what faith tradition our members espouse. We only recognize that there is and has historically been a high percentage of women who identify with some faith, and we also find…
In 1923, Alice Paul, who was a crusader for women’s equality and heroically influential in the passage of the 19th Amendment (“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”), wrote a proposed amendment to the…
I remember reading a story to my children about a desert nomad who had a camel that kept asking to come into his tent. Of course, the man told the camel that he could not come in, because obviously camels do not belong inside tents with people. As further support for his refusal, the man…
Each of us has within ourselves an internal compass that can help us as we navigate life. Sometimes we will feel called to do something that may be frightening or overwhelming, and sometimes what we know deep within ourselves must be done may be hard to do. This is the case with Gracey Van Der…
I believe that two of the most important responsibilities each of us has are learning and teaching. In this vast world, opportunities may vary as far accessibility to classrooms, certified teachers, libraries, computers, and the Internet; but whatever is available should be cherished and utilized. Likewise, life circumstances for some have made being taught by…
Debora Fletcher is a woman on a mission. This vivacious mother of 10 has been traveling around the world to share the message of the power of family capital. In June and July she took her backpack and little black purse to Holland, Switzerland, Columbia, and Peru as she researched hunger and agricultural projects, attended…
The theory of opportunity cost was one of the ideas that struck me the most in the high school economics class I took 20 years ago. It is something that I have considered over the years as I’ve tried to make good choices in my life, and I am thankful that it was an idea…
While I was at the U.N. this year, I attended several presentations about the power of a woman’s personal story. There were teenage girls who discovered their value simply because they were given a platform from which to share their voice. They were then able to shape their future story by creating projects to help…
The U.N. Commission on the Status of Women had a record number of registrants this year at over 9000. Big Ocean represented a small drop in that number, but I firmly believe that we were able to gather important information at the events we attended, make valuable connections with the women and men we met,…
I have a basket of seashells I purchased from a vendor when I was on vacation nearly 20 years ago. They have varying shapes, sizes, and colors. That is why I love them. Some are similar, but none are exactly the same. If they were all the same, they would not be as beautiful. It…