Now offering in-home lactation + postpartum support

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Saturday, July 31, 2021

 


For the last several years, I have worked in several capacities in the birth and breastfeeding community. A birth doula, a breastfeeding peer counselor and educator at WIC, a blog manager and breastfeeding educator at Lactation Link. I took a break for a bit after moving to Minnesota and after my 4th child was born. I'm now re-entering the birth and breastfeeding world by offering in-home lactation support as well as postpartum doula services. While I am not an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) yet, I am an educated breastfeeding educator/counselor. I can offer personalized breastfeeding education and breastfeeding support for issues like latch, positioning and general troubleshooting. When a case is extra complicated or the family is in need of specialized support, I am happy to refer to the IBCLCs at the lactation clinics at St. Mary's or St. Luke's in Duluth or to the IBCLCs at Lactation Link. I am pleased to offer in-home support in the early days of postpartum when breastfeeding parents most want and need to be home with their babies. More info about booking with me here.

I am also super excited to be offering postpartum doula support with my good friend Amanda Barta. Between the two of us we have more than 8 pregnancies and postpartum experiences! We love helping new families with whatever they need postpartum. You can find more about our services at Amanda's website: Envision Birth

Elections and government unit

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Tuesday, January 5, 2021

With the big 2020 election coming up, I wanted to take advantage of all the news and attention and divert it into a unit for our homeschool. These are the books I gathered to guide us. Posting this now so we can come back to it again because we didn't get to all of the books before it was time to move on. The top 4 we own and the bottom row we borrowed from the library. 

The Constitution of the United States of America. Illustrated by Sam Fink.
What's the Big Deal about Elections by Ruby Shamie and Matt Faulkner
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (just for fun:)
Marching with Aunt Susan by Claire Rudolf Murray
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
Vote for Our Future by Margaret McNamara
This is Our Constitution by Kkizr Khan
Know Your Rights by Laura Barcella

Others I would like to add to a future unit:
We the People: The United States Constitution Explained by Evan Sargent and Aura Lewis
Finish the Fight by Veronica Chambers


Ancient Times Study with Story of the World

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 I LOVE history and couldn't wait to share more about the past with our kids. I purchased Story of the World Volumes 1-4 on a sale a few years ago, the books and the audio. We have LOVED the audio. The kids ask for it in the car all the time. For at least a year, we would play that and not do anything else with history. We were still figuring out our groove with homeschool and I wasn't ready to add anything to our morning time, language arts and math routine yet. 

This past fall (2020) seemed like a good time to start diving in more. I decided to start with the beginning: Ancient Times. I looked up lots of lists of books to go along with this volume and grabbed a bunch from the library. Pictured here are the ones that we used the most. We already had lots of ancient Egypt books because it is a passion of Bridger's! It's been fun to study and see them recall stories that we've listened to already.

I kept these out September-late November in a big basket in the living room until they were replaced with Christmas books on December 1. We listened to SOTW together, looked at maps and read these together. My kids are 8 and under so we didn't get too intense or deep with our ancient times study. I mostly wanted it to be about exposure. My plan is to work through the rest of the SOTW volumes (one a semester) and then loop back around to Volume 1 when we "finish" them. So this won't be the last time we study this. 

You can use this list for your library holds:
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Diana Bentley
Atlas of the Ancient World by Anne Millard
Pyramid by David Macaulay
First History Encyclopedia (a DK book)
Ancient Civilizations (DK eyewitness)
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland (her whole series is great, we have them all)
Of Numbers and Stars the Story of Hypatia by D. Anne Love
Pompeii by Richard Platt
Pompeii (DK discoveries)
We did not read get around to reading The Golden Goblet or The Bronze Bow but I kept them here to remember when we come back around to ancient studies in a couple of years.
There are lots of books about mummies and ancient Egypt out there so I won't bother listing the ones we have. 

You'll find so much just searching "ancient times" or "ancient _____" in your library's search engine. And in my experience, librarians are so happy to help you find what you're looking for or even things you didn't know you needed!

And if you can't find them at your library, Thriftbooks is another great place to check. 

Others I didn't get a picture of before returning to the library: 

Mesopatamia by Phillip Steele (a DK book!)

Pompeii: The Day a City was Buried by Melanie Rice

The Trojan Horse by Warwick Hutton

Ancient Civilizations by Joe Fullman (another DK book!)

And here is Read Aloud Revival's ancient times book list.


Baby gear after 4 kids

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Wednesday, August 12, 2020


After 4 kids, we've been through lots of baby gear. Here are my favorites, these past 8 years. 
  • convertible carseats. Lugging around a huge infant seat was not good for me or for my baby. Convertible seats last years anyway, less waste.
  • ikea high chair. No crevices. I wish it had a smaller base but it's simplicity and price can't be beat. (Even better, got our's at a yard sale for $1!)
  • mattress covers. Get 2 for every bed. You just never know who, when or what will a spring will leak. 
  • removable shower head. quick baby bath after diaper explosions and helpful for washing out shampoo for toddlers and preschoolers)
  • slow flow attachment for shower head. This allows you to lower the pressure of your shower head for sensitive babies and increase it for you, the mom, when you need a needle-sharp skin-melting session, I mean, shower. 
  • quality baby carriers. My favorite for the first few months is Solly wrap. We've tried lots of Ergobaby carriers and I love the performance one the most. I've used the same one for 3 kids. Nate likes wearing our Tula, it's more cushy and wider. I think Ergobaby is made for smaller frames. Past baby carrier posts here and here.
  • chicco liteway stroller. The first stroller we got and it's so simple, lightweight and durable. I got a fancy one (city select) for when I had 3 small enough to push around. Went back the to city liteway with no regrets.
  • puj tub. In the sink tub, folds up to store, easy-peasy.
  • wet bag. Not just for cloth diapers. Helpful for dirty diapers away from home and great for taking home wet swimsuits too. I keep one in the car always.
  • simple, wipeable changing mat. We've never had a changing table or big sturdy pad. Always changed on the floor with a travel mat. The linked one was a gift and has been used for 3+ years now!
  • backpack as diaper bag. No need for a fancy bag at all. 
  • Luvs or store brand diapers. Actually, we always used Huggies for the first couple of months and then switched to cheaper ones. We have done cloth off and on with baby #4 but I'm kind of done with that now. And I don't feel bad about it.
If you need more ideas, I wrote more about this at Lactation Link a while back. 

But above all the gear, what you really need is a community of support around you. Spend some time meditating on how you can help create that for yourself and others. Read the books. Go to the classes. Listen to the podcasts. Look past the baby registry. Inform your intuition. You got this.
  • Book recommendations:
    • The Birth Partner
    • Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
    • Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn
  • Class recommendations:
    • Prenatal yoga (step one in creating a community of support around you!)
    • Birth: Evidence-Based Birth. One silver lining of the pandemic is so many classes going online, so if you didn't have an instructor in your area, you can access them online.
    • Breastfeeding: Lactation Link all online and go at your pace!
  • Podcast recommendations:
    • Birthful
    • The Birth Hour
    • Evidence Based Birth
One last bit of unsolicited advice, we can read all the books and listen to the all the podcasts, decorate the nursery and do all the research...but if we aren't involving our partner in all that, we are not setting ourselves up for success. There is a meme going around that sums it up pretty well: what we talked about before birth vs what we should have talked about.  

What we talked about:
  • nursery decor
  • what stroller to get
  • which carseat to get
  • which hospital to choose
  • possible birth positions
What we forgot to talk about:
  • how I wanted my partner to support me during labor
  • why I wanted to birth the way I did
  • what signs of PPMD are (for mom and dad!)
  • how my partner could be involved in baby's care
  • how to tap into community in the early baby days
Much of parenthood is just what you have to learn as you go, but having intentional conversations about how you will handle future struggles can only help.

Favorite authors and illustrators.

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Sunday, August 9, 2020

Awhile ago on the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Sarah MacKenzie had a lovely episode about Barbara Cooney. In the introduction, she discussed how anytime you see Barbara Cooney on a cover of a book, whether you be at a book sale or garage sale or thrift store, grab that book! I began wondering what other authors/illustrators elicit the same response from me and started this list. I've had this post in my drafts for MONTHS because I kept adding to it. I could probably add more but then this post would never end! I'm sure you know lots of these, but maybe you'll find some new ones. 


Barbara Cooney
Barbara Cooney...of course! My favorite is not pictured here because it is buried in my Christmas book box... The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree. 


Lynne Cherry
We love Lynne Cherry's books about the environment and her beautiful and intricate illustrations! 


Linda Glaser
Linda Glaser is close to my heart! She was actually my parent educator at ECFE, a preschool program in Minnesota before I realized she is also a prolific children's book author. She has many books about nature but my favorite is Emma's Poem.


Ruth Heller
Ruth Heller has been a classic for decades. Take a peek inside and the reason is obvious.


Wendy Pfeffer
We need more Wendy Pfeffer in our lives. We Gather Together has a companion for each season and discusses seasonal traditions around the world and throughout time.


Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons has very kid-friendly explanatory illustrations.


Jessie Hartland
 Jessie Hartland. We've had How the Dinosaur Got to the Museum for years until I realized there were more! They are just a great and the kids LOVE them. 


Jim LaMarche
I was obsessed with The Rainbabies as a child so I was delighted to find more books illustrated (and written!) by Jim LaMarche. They are breathtaking and often requested at our house. 


Virginia Lee Burton
Virginia Lee Burton was a mother of sons and it shows! Our boys are big fans. I loved the biography we read about her as well, Big Machines.



Kevin Henkes
In 2019, Kevin Henkes won the Children's Literature Legacy Award and no wonder! His stories demonstrate that he truly understands children. Each one is so perfect. I grew up reading Weekend with Wendell and Owen.


Brad Metzler and Christopher Eliopoulos
We are BIG fans of the Ordinary People Change the World the series from Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos. They really engage our kids and inspire them to make good choices now. And have also inspired lots of study into flying, social justice, astrophysics and more. The corresponding PBS series, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum is also fantastic. They go back in time to meet the different historical figures. 


Betsy Bowen
Betsy Bowen is a northern Minnesota treasure! Her woodcut illustrations are so intricate and depict northern life perfectly. 

Patricia Polacco
Patricia Polacco has been a favorite of mine since my mother read The Triple Dam Creek Dam Affair to us as kids. She has so many great ones, too many to photograph! However, I think Babushka Baba Yaga is my favorite.

Jan Brett
Jan Brett is definitely a favorite too. I remember inspecting her delicate details in The Wild Christmas Reindeer as child. Now I do the same with my kids Hedgie's Surprise. I think Mossy is my favorite. We have lots of her holiday books too.

Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom

My sister sent us this series of books and they quickly became favorites. The kids, especially Colden, request them frequently. The illustrations are mesmerizing and the messages empowering. Sometimes we think kids can't comprehend big ideas like this, but they totally can.



Eliza Wheeler
 

Eliza Wheeler is a GIFT. Her imaginative perspective on the seasons in Miss Maple's Seeds is extraordinary. Home in the Woods is pretty new and an absolute treasure. Go grab it!


Quick list for thrifting or the library:
Barbara Cooney
Lynne Cherry
Linda Glaser
Ruth Heller
Wendy Pfeffer
Gail Gibbons
Jessie Hartland
Jim LeMarche
Virginia Lee Burton
Kevin Henkes
Brad Metzler and Christopher Eliopoulos
Betsy Bowen
Patricia Polacco
Jan Brett
Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom
Eliza Wheeler

What I'm Reading: Homeschool Edition #2

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Tuesday, August 4, 2020

A couple years ago, I wrote about and listed my favorite home education resources
It's time for an update! Consider the following list an addition, rather than a replacement to, my previous list. So be sure to visit that post too!

Books
Balanced and Barefoot
Brave Learner
The Read-Aloud Family
The Call of the Wild + Free

Podcasts
Wild+Free continues to be a wonderful and encouraging resource. My advice: Listen to their free podcast on whatever platform you listen on. Then sign up for a couple months of their subscription so you can get access to all their conference talks. Listen and take notes and then end the subscription if want to. Their printed and digital resources are awesome and well-made, but I didn't use them as much as they deserved. But the talks, y'all, the talks. I've said it before: it was like having a room full of veteran homeschool moms encouraging and instructing me in my kitchen every night as I cleaned up and listened. GOLD MINE.

Brave Writer. Julie Bogart is a WEALTH of support and information. She is a veteran homeschool mom and runs the Brave Writer curriculum and wrote the Brave Learner. She has a podcast, a blog and lots of other resources. She has been an especially steady guide as pandemic-schooling started.

Homeschool Sisters. Okay I honestly haven't listened to this in awhile but every time I turn it on, I come away with some great nuggets. 

Other resources
TGTB Language Arts
Story of the World. We have the books and the audio. I'm keeping the books for now but all we have used so far is the audio. And we love it.
Jesus Storybook Bible. This is what we have been listening to the most lately, the actor is amazing.
Julie's Library The real life Julie Andrews reading children's books. It's about as dreamy as you can imagine. Utter perfection.
This is our morning time list, we definitely don't do each of those everyday, but it's a good guide. The on the hour routine is a great idea...but like many of my great ideas and plans, we haven't been very consistent with it.

What's working for us now
I want to catalog what is working for us right now and it is all said with the greatest humility. The longer I am a parent and the more we homeschool, the more opportunities I have to temper my pride. I try to stay flexible and allow for changes as we go. But for now, we are "doing school" year-round. This allows us to do short amounts 4x/week and take a few weeks off whenever we need (about every quarter). Now, the *ideal* is that we sit down and do morning time, language arts and math for the two older boys (8 and 6) 4x each week. It's more like 2x week right now in this beautiful summertime. Rich is 4 and likes to sit with us and draw or trace letters. I sit with her a few times a week, at her request, to identify letters. Calder, who is 1, does all he can to destroy any attempts at structured learning. We get what we can done during his naps and when Nate can help midweek. 

Morning time is when we gather around the table and the kids do a handwriting page while I read from scripture, a nature book, a poem or two and anything else we want to read/talk about. I try to do this first thing after breakfast, getting ready and morning chores. It's been harder with Calder lately so I've got to do some thinking and working about how to adjust my expectations and how it could look/be different and still have this special time together. 

This idea web was fun to make and I like referring to it when we need a re-vamp. I made a list of all the things that our family has decided is important in the whole life education of our children for this season of life and then listed all the ways we can access those categories.

Our school time is usually in several 20-30 minute chunks between 9 and 12. And ideally, they have the rest of the day for play.

We like to listen to podcasts and books in the car for history, literature, devotion, geography, science and just plain enjoyment. Their (and my) favorites are Story of the World, Jesus Storybook Bible, Julie's Library (podcast), and Brains On (all linked above). 


We meet weekly with our nature group (took a break during the shut-down of course) outside for friend and nature time. This leads to lots of great discussions about wildlife, plants, photosynthesis, climate, stewardship, being kind, helping others and lots, lots more. 

I'm feeling a need to add some more science and some math practice so I would love to hear your suggestions. Especially if they are child-led and (mostly) independent of my help.

Literature is a big part of our lives as well and we are always working through a chapter-length read-aloud at bedtime. We have been doing library pick up (can we keep this always please?!) and getting lots and lots of good stuff. I try to use this guide when we are selecting books:
Some books we have read and loved lately:
The Little House Series (with some editing on my part and discussions about racism). Farmer Boy was the favorite.
The Littlest Voyaguer--Highly recommend! 
The Door in the Wall--Initiated some fun study of castle construction. 
A-Z Mysteries: The Deadly Dungeon

Educational Philosophy
I was fortunate early-on in this journey to gain vital perspective from veteran homeschool mothers about not only HOW to homeschool but also the importance of creating my own education philosophy. Because you can buy a big, expensive boxed curriculum with everything you will need, but it won't do the teaching and leading for you. I have to remember my WHY or the motivation will get lost in the daily needs of a family of 6. There are a bazillion resources out there. Creating (and constantly adding or taking away from) my own educational philosophy allows me to sift through the piles of resources and opinions and find what our family needs. 



I see childhood as a short, short time that they will not get back. I view it as the time to help them hold onto their love of learning. It is the time to play, to run, to stretch and grow their muscles and learn balance and coordination. It is the time to learn to work well with others. It is the time to pause and go slowly. I so desperately want to protect this sacred time for them. They have everything internally they need to learn and grow. I am only offering resources, tools and LOTS of guidance and little pushes.  After school is done by 12 or 1, they have the rest of their day to build Legos, play outside, push their littler brother on the swing, go boating with Nate, swim with friends, bake with me, go on walks and stare lazily at the sky. 

Academic rigor will come in time, now we are laying the foundations of a life rich in: the stories of those brave and kind; wind, water and tall trees; experiences in community and strong relationships.

Every homeschool is as different as each family is different. Maybe this can give you an idea of what one homeschool looks like. Reach if you have any questions, I am an open book!

The Power of Jesus Christ

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Sunday, September 15, 2019

photo of the North Shore of Lake Superior because it is hoooome to me now

Twice a year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hold a conference for members in their geographic area or stake. Our stake is made up of 11 congregations, known as wards, in northern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and one congregation in Thunder Bay, ON. I was asked to speak at our most recent stake conference. I was given a topic, 2 weeks to prepare and10 minutes of time. No other instruction was given. I enjoyed studying and preparing. Here are the thoughts I shared (in a stronger than normal Southern accent because I was nervous!). Also, I wrote a few notes at the end about what I learned from this experience.


September 15, 2019
How the power of Jesus Christ blesses my life.

Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to study and meditate on this topic the past couple of weeks. I’m beginning to understand how much I needed it and I’m excited to share with you what I have learned.

Power as electrical energy lights homes and hospitals. The power of combustion engines carries goods and people across the land, oceans and skies. For hundreds of years corrupt power enslaved millions of people. Corrupt power separates children from their parents. Here in northern Minnesota and Canada, corrupt and short-sighted power drove Dakota/Lakota and Ojibwe peoples from their ancestral homes and made a few industries rich in the fur, logging and mining trades of the backs of workers and to the detriment of our Earth. Corrupt power hurts the innocent, denies justice and sees evil as good.

What then of Godly power? What then of the power of Jesus Christ? The power of God is not about control, monetary gain or exploitation. Quite the opposite. God’s power is strength in kindness and mercy. It is unconditional love, peace, nurturing, healing, purifying, it gathers rather than separates, it is joyful, it is comforting.

Known as “the Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was born a slave and lived to gather her people. In her biography, she states that she was guided by God and that she spoke to God as a friend. In her own words, “I said to the Lord, I’m going to hold steady on to you, and I know you will see me through.” And at another time, “I prayed to God to make me strong” and “God’s time in always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free.” Risking her own capture and death 19 times, she went on to free 300 hundred souls and never lost one.

The power of Jesus Christ is illustrated in His unending love for us. When the Savior approached the woman at the well, He knew her sins (John 4, KJV). That did not alter His love and concern for Her. The Savior did not wait for perfect people to approach Him. As Sister Sharon Eubank explained, in almost every story, He is reaching someone who wasn’t traditionally accepted in society. The woman at the well left her water and went straightway to proclaim Him as the Christ. She had felt and knew of His power.

We might expect the power of God to be swift punishment or retribution to those who preach or work against the truth. But that is not the case. His power comes as LOVE to everyone. Everyone is capable of forgiveness through His mercy. Our Heavenly Parents are not permissive parents. We must all WORK to keep the household--the kingdom of God--going. But we do not earn their love. It is given freely. Forgiveness also, even as we fail. Our repentance and worthiness is rightly measured to gain access to temple blessings. But we never need to gain access to Their love.

Aukema Farms, photo by my brother Kacey Aukema.

I grew up on a small farm in NW Florida. I ran wild and free from milking barn to back forty to the outermost fence post and back. After seeing more of the world and now raising our 4 children, I see just how lucky I was to grow up the way I did. Many summer evenings were spent stretched out on my trampoline. With streetlamps and city lights miles and miles away, my view of the heavens was unobstructed. With my siblings, we found constellations and made up our own. We dreamed of and planned for the future. But my keenest memories of those nights involve my sheer awe at the immensity of God and His love for me. Those nights I felt the power of Jesus Christ.

In the children’s book, Just Plain Fancy by Patricia Polacco, two young Amish girls learn about the power of Jesus Christ in creation when they accidentally raise a peacock alongside their flock of chickens. When the full grown bird decides to show off his feathers at a large gathering, the girls are ashamed and worried he is too fancy to be Amish. They are comforted by one of the elders, Martha, who says: “Dry your tears child; this isn’t your doing. This be God’s handiwork. Only He could think up colors like that. This is no plain old chicken. This be one of God’s most beautiful creations. He is fancy, child, and that’s the way of it.”

In the book, Zion’s Hope, a collection of biographies of Pioneer midwives and women doctors in Utah, I was impressed with the life of Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp. Her story illustrates strength and foresight powered by faith in Jesus Christ. With her 5th child still an infant, she was asked by Brigham Young to go back east to Pennsylvania and become a physician to answer the incredible need for care providers, especially in obstetrics. She obtained her degree in medicine, came back home to Utah, had 5 more children of her own and trained 500 women in medicine. Her school of obstetrics and nursing ran for over 49 years. She caught over 6000 babies during her 50+ year practice. At the age of 92, she was still lecturing students. In her words:

"When called to maternal duty, pray unto God for His blessing. Pray in your soul as you hasten to your duty. I hastened through inclement storm, through blinding rain, deep snows, and muddy trails, speeding up and down the steepest hills, my inmost being pulsating with fervent prayer. I sought my Father and my God! He it was who inspired me with higher intelligence, helped me to know my duty in all of its details, enabled me to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint. And with those same principles, I tutored all who sought usefulness, enabling them to usher in a new life into this world--that life so precious to the suffering mother and most sublime in sight of God."

I am often touched that Christ is often described in the scriptures as the Great Deliverer. In Alma 58:11 it reads, Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him. I do not think it is a coincidence that we use the same word deliver, to describe the sacred moment in which women bring life into the world.

Just as women carry, stretch, labor, deliver and receive our babies through the veil, Christ carries, delivers and receives us.

In this story shared by Kyle S. McKay in the April 2019 General Conference, we see Jesus Christ’s power as the Great Deliverer.

"On December 27, 2013, Alicia Schroeder joyfully welcomed her dear friends Sean and Sharla Chilcote, who unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep. Sean, who was also Alicia’s bishop, handed her his cell phone and solemnly said, “Alicia, we love you. You need to take this call.”

Alicia’s husband, Mario, was on the phone. He was in a remote area with some of their children on a long-anticipated snowmobile trip. There had been a terrible accident. Mario was seriously injured, and their 10-year-old son, Kaleb, was gone. When Mario tearfully told Alicia of Kaleb’s death, she was overcome with a shock and horror few of us will ever know. It dropped her. Paralyzed with unspeakable anguish, Alicia could neither move nor speak.

Bishop and Sister Chilcote quickly lifted her up and held her. They wept and deeply grieved together for some time. Then Bishop Chilcote offered to give Alicia a blessing.

What happened next is incomprehensible without some understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the immediate goodness of God. Bishop Chilcote gently placed his hands on Alicia’s head and, with quivering voice, began to speak. Alicia heard two things as though spoken by God Himself. First, she heard her name, Alicia Susan Schroeder. Then she heard the bishop invoke the authority of Almighty God. In that instant—at the mere utterance of her name and God’s power—Alicia was filled with an indescribable peace, love, comfort, and somehow joy. And it has continued with her.

Now, of course, Alicia, Mario, and their family still mourn for and miss Kaleb. It is hard! Whenever I speak with her, Alicia’s eyes well up with tears as she tells how much she loves and misses her little boy. And her eyes remain moist as she tells how the Great Deliverer has sustained her through every bit of her ordeal, beginning with His immediate goodness during her deepest despair and continuing now with the bright hope of a sweet reunion that is “not many days hence.”


Eternal Mother via ettakay art

Feeling and knowing more of the power of Jesus Christ has led me to a closer understanding of my Heavenly Parents. As a parent, it has become clear that in order for my children to serve, love and give kindness they must see me serve, love and give kindness continuously. So it makes me wonder, who taught the Savior these things? Whose life did He model His life after? In the book, Mother’s Milk, Poems in Search of Heavenly Mother, Rachel Hunt Steenblik suggests:


As One Whom His Mother Comforteth
She showed Her Son
How to mother, so He
Could show the world.

The Good Shepherdhess
She taught her Son
to call His lambs by name,
and lead them.
When she puts forth
Her own sheep,
She goes before them,
And the sheep follow Her:
For they know Her voice.

Her Voice
Her voice is a whisper--
Still and deep.

art by J Kirk Richards
Sisters and brothers, we do not need to search blogs, social media posts, endless reviews or sponsored videos before accessing the power of Jesus Christ. His hand is outstretched still. Over and over...endlessly, He is patient for us to seek Him and His endless love. Like a patient and hopeful elder brother, He is excited for us to share in the estate of our Heavenly Parents.

I’m no scriptorian, my faith is simple. And at times I have wondered and questioned as a woman where is it that I stand in God’s plan? Those questions have shaken me. And my questions and concerns continue. But through the power of Jesus Christ--His love and mercy--have given me enough answers to help me carry on. The Atonement is real and can change our lives and the lives of our families. His power is in His love for us.

*************

Notes:
The night I completed writing this talk, I came across the article, Where We Find the Power of God from Sharon Eubank. I realized that, of course, the power of Jesus Christ is the priesthood. And I felt a bit silly that I had not made that connection while preparing. After all, I've been going to this church my whole life and I knew that. But ultimately I was grateful I did not make the connection because it would have completely changed my talk and I would not have learned so much. Part of my doubts and concerns about my faith are in regards to the fact that women in my faith are not "bearers" of the priesthood (ordained to the priesthood and do not hold priesthood office). But through the study I made for this talk, I realized that I participate in the priesthood, in God's power, much more often than I realized. I'm not just a receiver of priesthood blessings, I am actively participating in giving, receiving and creating all thanks to the power of Jesus Christ. My understanding around this will continue to evolve and I'm grateful for the learning process I'm currently in.

It should be noted that the pioneer obstetrician I mentioned was only able to do what she did because of the large household she was a part of. A polygamous household. Describing the relationship between herself and her sister wives: "She writes, 'We all lived under the same roof, ate at the same table, knelt at the same shrine, and humbly believed we were doing the will of our Father in Heaven...There still remains after many long years a most sacred bond of fellowship, a beautiful loving interest and sweet affection one for another, that is truly most akin to the divine!' Indeed, their loving service toward her proved indispensable when she left her children in their care to answer the call to attend medical school." I don't pretend to understand polygamy or its role in the history of my Church. I'm grateful I am alive at a time after it was discontinued. But Zion's Hope is full of similar examples of sister wives helping each other in ways that benefited the community at large.


Further listening:

This podcast is a great intro to women and the priesthood, especially if you are not a member of my faith.

Another great one that I listened to today and really appreciated.

And it looks like QMore just added a one today about the priesthood and I'm sure it's great but I haven't had a chance to listen.

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