My name is Emmalee. Welcome to my lovely, little blog.
To start off, I love to take pictures. I aspire to be a photographer. I also love to sing. I also aspire to be a professional singer. (Not like Taylor Swift... More like Calee Reed. Look her up!) I'm the 3rd child of 5 kids, 3 brothers and 1 sister.
Right to left: Jacob, Jordan, my dad James, my mom Eva, Me, Elizabeth, and Jonathan in the front.
My oldest brother, Jordan, is in Hungary at the moment, serving a full-time mission for the LDS church. (I run a blog for him, elderflake.blogspot.com) He's smart, studious, dedicated, and my personality twin, so my mom says.
My other older brother, Jacob, is kind of a punk. Typical 17-year-old. (He turns 18 this weekend) He's super fun, argumentative, and witty. I love having him around, I just wish he actually was around more.
Then there's me. A 16-year-old girl trying to be the happiest I can in the midst of this messed-up world we live in. (I still have faith in humanity)
My younger brother, Jonathan, is optimistic, temperamental at home, overdramatic, and all-around interesting. He is also in a wheelchair. He has spina bifida. Basically, how I explain it to people, his spine is in the shape of an S, paralyzing him from the waist down. He also has fluid on his brain, I'm not totally sure how to explain it. He is a slow learner and is extremely hard to reason with.
My youngest sister, the caboose of our family, is Elizabeth. She's feisty, overdramatic, fun, lazy, and every characteristic that describes the baby of the family.
And I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or the Mormon church, as we're more commonly known. I have a passion for the scriptures. All of the books, not just a couple. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. One of my all-time favorite scriptures was an inspiration for the title of this blog, Doctrine & Covenants 6:34.
"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."
Now I don't want to preach to you or anything, I just want to express my feelings.
We are all sheep. *cue the bleats*
Jesus is our shepherd.
Therefore, We are all sheep of Christ.
Because He is our master, we can do anything.
(Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.)
In all honesty, we shouldn't be scared of anything. You've heard the saying, "The only thing you have to fear is fear itself." That's true, as long as you replace fear itself with God. (I once read in the scriptures that Fear of God is also Reverence. Interesting. (Sorry, I go on lots of tangents)) God is all-powerful and wants the best for us. It must hurt Him so bad when we choose wrongly and choose a different path than He wants. God could make us choose the right all the time, but He gave us free agency.
It's a beautiful gift, really.
He gives us the option to choose whatever we want. He lets us choose if we want to sleep in instead of going to school or work. He lets us choose if we want to brush our teeth or not in the morning. He lets us choose if we want to worship Him or not. He lets us choose if we want to have an attitude of gratitude or a cranky, ungrateful one. He lets us choose if we want to bully another one of His children or stand up for our friends. He lets us choose everything.
It's our job to discern right from wrong.
But, He has left us resources. We can ask for His help anytime. All we need to do is knock. Ask. Pray. It's simple, yet most people avoid the thought of an All-Powerful Being that we can talk to. (I don't get that. But I'll save that for another post)
He controls when we come into this life, and when we leave. If you're ever afraid for your life, just trust God. He can help you and protect you. If it's your time to go, it's your time to go. That's something I've learned for myself over the past 6 months.
Scared of giving a speech in front of a bunch of people? Don't be. They probably won't remember how you talk or what you say. They'll only remember how they felt in your presence.
Afraid of dogs attacking you? Don't be. Our gracious Heavenly Father will protect you. If a dog does hurt you, it's all a part of His master plan. Trust that everything that happens to you, every little thing, is a part of His plan. You might not understand it until much later.
Worried about how others think of you? Don't be. We are all children of loving Heavenly Parents. Don't worry about how cute you look today, no one's going to remember how you looked 1 week from now.
What we need to worry about is the impact we leave on those we come into contact with. When I was growing up, I wanted to inspire others. I wanted to help others. I wanted to save someone's life through the words I say. I wanted to be an example to others.
Now that I've grown up some, (I've still got a lot of growing up still to do) I know that because of the choices I've made, I have inspired others. Multiple people have thanked me for changing their lives. They have thanked me for inspiring them, for being an example to them. I've become what I've always wanted to be.
Well, I'll get off my soap box. I just can't stop once I start! This is a small glimpse into my mind and what I think about every day.
Welcome to my little, lovely blog!
Love,
Emmalee
