My Day on the World Stage

In 1993 the opportunity arrived for me to shut up or put up. There was a woman by the name, or rather using the name, of Deborah Laake. She’d written a book called “Secret Ceremonies: Diary of a Mormon Wife” – a work of pure and sad delusion. This poor woman, if she told the complete truth, was at the mercy of a father who took unrighteous dominion to new levels. Whatever the perceived truth, she became extremely disenchanted with the church and proceeded to betray every covenant she’d half-heartedly made with the Lord. Where do I come in? Well, … Continue reading

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints View of Family

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has its own view of what a family is. This is described in a proclamation to the world that was issued by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles in 1995. Here is what it said: We, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. IN THE PREMORTAL REALM, spirit … Continue reading

The Parent Precipice

My period was a day late this month. I know that shouldn’t be a big deal at all, but I’m prone to worrying about the littlest things, so yeah, even though the rational part of my brain knew I was overreacting – it was only a day – I couldn’t help but fret. I’d sort of asked for it; a small part in the back of my brain wanted something to go wrong with my pills, so the decision of whether or not to have kids yet would be taken out of my hands. In the first two years or … Continue reading

No Insurance? Where to Get a Mammogram

As I mentioned in my last entry my friends sister is facing the possibility of breast cancer and was worrying about paying for a mammogram. Many people may not know there are organizations that help pay for these lifesaving tests for the under and un-insured. When I heard that I began to find organizations that serviced her town. The first place I called was the American Cancer Society their counselors were amazing. I gave them her information and within minutes I had a list of 5 organizations that offered free mammograms and if need be further diagnostic testing. After I … Continue reading

Getting Answers from Insurers is Difficult

My attempt to find out what my health insurance actually covers came to a stand still. The booklet mentioned something about “preventative care” being covered. However, it never described exactly what the insurer considered to be “preventative care”. A call to my insurer was enlightening. I almost feel sorry for the phone representative that ended up getting me when I called my health insurer for information today. I don’t think they get many callers who are as informed about health insurance as I am. There is an advantage to writing about insurance topics every day for over a year. The … Continue reading

The Perfect Draft

Recently I’ve been agonizing over the perfect draft. You see, I’m writing a dissertation and, as my topic of choice includes ever-changing content, I’m constantly reevaluating my work. Is it current enough? Should the structure change again? Is this ready to be reviewed? Will I just be wasting their time? What else might I think about including? Have I done too much? What if something happens tomorrow that changes everything? What if…? It’s a complicated little game I play in my own head. While my dissertation may be the most important document I’ve tackled so far, I experience this type … Continue reading

Children Teach Us to Appreciate

Yesterday, for family home evening, we decided to talk about the earth, and how it was created. This is a simple topic for our 4 year old. I asked her what she knew about the earth. She said, that she knew that it, “turns, and circles around the sun, and that half of it is in the daytime, and half is in the night time” I was amazed at how much she already knew. I then asked her, “Do you know who created the earth?” She said, “Jesus”. Children do not take things for granted. Every day is a new … Continue reading

Christmas: Not Always So Cheery (2)

In our last article on this topic we looked at the high expectations that so many of us have about Christmas and the festive season and why it is not only so stressful for so many of us, but why it is often a time of unhappiness rather than joy. So how can we reduce the stress that many of us feel at Christmas and defuse some of the more unpleasant family disputes that often occur at the very time we should be happy? The answer is partially contained in the last phrase of the previous paragraph. The expectations that … Continue reading

Are You and Your Spouse Dreaming the Same Dream?

Are you and your spouse dreaming the same dream? Or are they completely different? For example is one of you dreaming of a house in the country while the other is dreaming of a house in the city or the suburbs. Is one of you dreaming of a house filed with kids while the other is dreaming of maybe one or two? Is one of you dreaming of furthering your career while the other is dreaming of having a stay at home wife or husband? Are you both dreaming of a happily ever after marriage? These are all topics you … Continue reading

Tips for Starting Conversations

The two situations I wrote about yesterday started me thinking and I suspect I’ve also been guilty in the past of shutting people down with my answers. So, here are a couple of guidelines for initiating conversations 1. Don’t ask people – ‘What do you do?’ Even though experts say this is a good question, I disagree. It sounds to me too much like pigeonholing and tacking a label on. This question was one that used to make me run for cover when I was a stay-at-home Mom. It made me feel in the eyes of professional men and women … Continue reading