As I read through the articles submitted by our talented authors this month I was pleased to see how each of these women took the same tenet, “We are each unique and worthy of respect,” and filtered it through her life experience and perspective to share with the world a gift of light. This happens…
What if do-overs were something we were really allowed in our life? Sometimes we are given the opportunity to correct a wrong, but we don’t ever get the option to go back in time and handle things differently. But if we did, I know exactly what one of my first do-overs would be. As a…
Betty Abah is the 15th of 30 children. She is the only one from her family to get an education, and it has led her back to her home in Lagos, Nigeria. Betty is the CEO of CEE-HOPE, an NGO that focuses on the rights and welfare of vulnerable children. She is also a journalist,…
The hit song “Diamond” by Martina McBride and Keith Urban was written to honor women exclaiming they are, “priceless as they come.” Throughout history, women have often been referred to in poetry, song, literature, and terms of endearment as precious stones. Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, and his other works comparing women to…
Oasis Housing began with two women from the Utah State Hospital moving into Sharon Evan’s newly remodeled basement in February of 2017. Sharon shared her vision then of providing not just housing for those with mental illness, but helping them grow and blossom. Four years later, that growth is steady and gratifying. Like any gardening…
It’s a new month, and there is space and time for a fresh start. So, how do we want to create improvements and shape this new blank page? It’s up to us to choose how our time is spent. Before we begin our experience together, I first and foremost want you to know what an…
Kalisa Jenson is a force for good who draws on the examples of faith and service from her family as she is engaged in her work as a wife, a mother, a student, and the secretary of the Cottage Committee for Big Ocean Women. Kalisa grew up in a family with two brothers and two…
It was such an honor to speak to and connect with the incredible kids of Emmett Middle School. They are truly some incredible kids, and Kim Landeen and I felt honored to be able to meet them and connect with them. We presented on Friday January 15th to six periods of roughly 15-25 students (around…
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…
As I sat watching the sun set over the Grand Canyon several weeks ago, I was in complete awe of the abundance of beauty before me. No other place is quite like the Grand Canyon, but there is beauty to be found everywhere. Even in the stark, arid landscape where I grew up, the sunsets…