Changes

Change is good, right?

It definitely doesn't feel like that right now.

I have lived in Castlegate for the past 10 years. I grew up with Brother Eldredge as my primary teacher and Brother and Sister Fire as my very first sunday school teachers after primary. I became more social with Brother Miller's "lessons" and I learned how to be myself with Sister Jones' young women lessons. I grew to love the members of the ward as my own family. Bishop Oakes was my first amazing bishop that I remember loving to pieces, and still do. Bishop White helped me through my teenage years. In the past 10 months, I have loved and served my fellow young women and leaders. I have sung multiple duets, quartets, and even a couple solos. The Castlegate ward was the first to hear me sing in front of an audience. They helped me get over my stage-fright and learn how to sing. They watched me grow.

And now it's all new.

New faces, new bishop, new young women, new leaders, new everything. And I miss good ole Castlegate. I went to my new ward, Sierra Vista, for the 1st time today. Sacrament was nice. Sunday School was alright. Young Women's broke my heart. Not because it was horrible, it was actually pretty great. I just missed my ward terribly. I miss feeling comfortable with my comments. I miss chatting with Maelyn and getting in trouble. I miss writing Jalen little notes on her paper. I miss seeing my mom teach her amazing lessons. I miss giving Sister Jones huge hugs whenever I saw her. I miss Brother Haws' beautiful, amazing prelude music.

So as I cry because I don't want things to change, I know I need to look for opportunities to serve new people. But I just want a friend. A friend as good as Ellyse. A friend who will talk to me forever. A friend who isn't turning 18 on Wednesday. A friend who will be there in my new ward to go to Sunday school and Young Women's with me. But making friends isn't one-sided. I know I should be looking for friends. I just want my old CG fam back.

But change is good.

I welcome my new ward with open arms and an open heart. It will take a little bit to get used to it, and all will be well in the end. I just need to stick it out and endure for a little bit.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. I have faith that He will make this new change into something amazing.

I'll keep singing. I'll keep looking for opportunities to serve. I'll also keep looking for my old ward family in the halls. They're right around the corner, they're not gone forever. I have been so blessed with an amazing ward. Now it's time for my family and I to bless this ward.

See ya around, Castlegate ward.

Hello, Sierra Vista ward!

Good things to come, hopefully!

Love,
Emmalee

Serve, Love, Repeat

I heard once in a talk that if you want to love someone, serve them. There is no way you can't not love someone if you're serving them.

I struggle with my friends. All the time. I try so hard to love them and keep the wonderful friendship we have. Sometimes I just want to give up. I even started giving up on some friendships. Not a good idea. One of my friends once said, "I don't believe in throwing away friendships. You fix them, not throw them away." 

I came to the realization that this is NOT something I should be doing, throwing away friendships. I knew that if I wanted to love my friends again, I needed to serve them. So I started thinking of ways to serve. Getting them flowers, little things here and there. As I was preparing little gifts to give them, I grew to love my friends SO MUCH. I can't even explain it. I know that the love I felt came straight from Heavenly Father. He wanted me to feel the love He as for all of us. 

I love my friends. I'm still struggling with letting things go, and it's hard. But I know I can do it through serving. Nothing else matters when you're serving.

"When ye are in the service of your fellow being, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

Serve, Love, Repeat.

Love,
Emmalee

Man's Extremity is God's Opportunity

Life has its ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like its more down than up. Today, church was amazing. We had stake conference and Elder Neil L. Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was there. I shook his hand afterwards. Super cool! The speakers focused more on the temple and its blessings. I got home and I just felt... bombarded. Alone, almost. I was confused and sad. I snapped at my family, and I didn't know how to explain my feelings. It sounds pathetic, I know. But I was down in the dumps, after listening to an Apostle of The Lord speak.

So, I prayed. That's always a good go-to. (The ideal go-to, actually)

After a heartfelt and sincere prayer, I started listening to a CES fireside talk by Jeffrey R. Holland, Lessons from Liberty Jail. (Click here to listen to the talk) We had reviewed some of it in Seminary and I wanted to listen to the full thing. SO worth it. Here are the Lessons we learn from Liberty Jail:

1. Everyone Faces Trying Times.

Sometimes life just seems perfect. Everything is ideal and you just want it to stay because it seems perfect. Then something happens. Whether that 'something' is an actual event that occurs that forces change, or your own feelings. There have been many times, such as what I expressed in the 1st paragraph, that I just feel so down and alone. I have to change somehow, whether that is becoming more spiritual or studying my scriptures more and just talking it out with someone. It happens. Life is never, EVER perfect.

Everyone has tough times, you just need to know where to turn during those tough times.

"If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren. . .above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than He?" D&C 122:5-8

Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Let God mold you into what He needs you to be, especially during times of trial.

2. Even the Worthy Will Suffer

Just because you are good and righteous, doesn't mean God will only bless you with the very best. You will have trials, no matter how you act. You may have worse consequences if you aren't righteous, in fact. Just remember to be humble. Don't be caught in the pride cycle.

3. Remain Calm, Patient, Charitable, and Forgiving

It is vital to maintain peace through a trial. It will not only strengthen your faith, but prepare you for what else is to come. The same goes for charity. If you are charitable and forgiving during hard times, it will benefit you so immensely and prepare you for the future. And of course, patience is a virtue. I think everyone takes that for granted.

So, during sad times, or mad times, or depressing times, or just plain bad times, turn to the Savior. Remember what He can do for you. 

"Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever." D&C 122:9

Love, 

Emmalee

I Am Not Perfect

I scream. I yell. I cry. I hit. I whine. I antagonize. I annoy. I defy. I argue. I'm not perfect. So why try? 

Well, for starters, the Savior did not atone for all mankind for nothing. 

Don't let His amazing, genuine, eternal gift go to waste. Use it! 

3 Nephi 12:48. Be ye perfect as I am. 

I gets hard. You just want to crawl in a hole and cry because your feelings are hurt or someone said something mean. Is what you're facing really that important and big? Are your hardships really exceeding that of the Savior's? Because He can help. 

A wise seminary teacher once told me that EVERYTHING will fail you. Except the Savior and His Atonement. 

So, yea I'm sad. Yea my feelings are hurt because my mom won't let me go do what I want right now. Yea I'm mad my sister is acting like a little kid. Yea I'm mad that my brother cussed me out for turning off the Xbox in the middle of his game and not letting him play. Yea I'm sad my friends aren't acting like I want them to. Yea I'm sad I'm not getting my way. Yea I'm mad I have to go to graduation tonight to sing some lame songs with my crappy choir teacher. Yea I'm sad that my best friend has hurt feelings. Yea I'm sad because I wanted a burrito today and never got it. 

But does all of this even matter in the long run? 

Look to your Savior. Find peace in Him. Realize your true potential. Love all those around you. 

Love,
Emmalee 

The House of The Lord

On Monday, Ellyse texted me and told me to leave Wednesday free all day because she had a surprise for me. All she told me was to be ready by 8:30 am and wear church clothes because we were going to do baptisms for the dead at the temple. 

     -Side note: I love the temple. I go every week to do baptisms. 

So I'm ready and Ellyse comes to pick me up at 8:30 Wednesday morning and we go to the Gilbert temple to do baptisms. Nothing out of the ordinary, just like a normal temple trip. Afterwards, we went to Jamba Juice for breakfast. After this, we get onto the freeway and head towards Mesa. We turn onto 1st Avenue and BAM! there's the Mesa temple. We went in and did baptisms in the Mesa temple, too! Mesa schools aren't on spring break yet, so we were the only youth in there! One temple worker asked us if we were from Gilbert because we were on spring break and we said yes. Ellyse mentioned how we went to the Gilbert temple that morning and the worker asked if we were going to Phoenix as well. Ellyse said yes. Well there goes the surprise! I had suspected it, though. For lunch, we went to Sweet Cakes Cafe and then to Milano's Music Store to look around. Then came our long drive to the Phoenix temple. We went and took pictures in front of the temple, then went shopping while we waited for the baptistry to open. We didn't really shop as much as look around. Then came time to do baptisms! It was amazing, being the first time we had been inside the Phoenix temple after it was dedicated. I had gone to the open house, but Ellyse never had the chance, so it was really fun. We had time to kill so we went to Ellyse's grandparents house in Phoenix and ate dinner at Fajitas with them. Then we jammed out to Ingrid Michaelson the whole way home!

I am so grateful for an amazing friend like Ellyse to spend a whole day with me inside the House of The Lord. I love the temple, it's my home away from home. I love The Lord, and being inside His house makes me feel close to Him. 

Love,

Emmalee

P.S. Ellyse is so cool, check out her blog! She was my true inspiration for this blog. ellyseleighannhaws.blogspot.com

Forgive & Forget

On Sunday, we focused a lot on forgiveness. I went to another ward as well as my own to support a friend. In both wards, the talks were about forgiving. In young women's, we had a great discussion about how hard it is to forgive but also how important it is. The most important thing to do is to forgive yourself.

Christ atoned for us so that we could be forgiven by Heavenly Father. He forgives us, so we need to forgive ourselves.

He also forgives others, so we need to forgive everyone for what they've already been forgiven for.

Forgive & forget.

You're just hurting yourself by holding grudges against both yourself and others.

I can't express adequately how strongly I feel about forgiveness. It's easier to just forgive than to hold on to something petty for so long. Christ wants us to forgive so bad. Remember the price He paid so that you could make these decisions. Are you using His gift to its fullest potential?

Love,

Emmalee

Friendly Friends

I just love my friends. Every single one of them. They help me be better. A better example and a better person in general. THEY ARE SO COOL!!!! I don't thank them enough. I love the thought that I can turn to any one of them and they would support me in anything.

Something one of my very best friends has mentioned is the thought of "pre-mortal besties." It's totally true. Have you ever met someone and you thought "Man, this person is so cool! I totally want to be their friend"? Well, you were probably friends in the premortal life. I believe, without a doubt, that all of my friends were my very best friends before this life. They were sent to me at this time for a reason and they help me so much.

Well, I love you guys! Thank you so much! The next time you see a friend of yours, hug them. They deserve it.

Stay frosty!

Love,
Emmalee

Riley showing off his rarely-seen pearly whites! And the temple <3

We convinced Tyler to let us straighten his hair!

Winter Formal!

Zoey and I after our MCO concerts!

Kaylee and Emily and I at McDonalds after our Choir and Orchestra concerts!

Ellie, Emily and I! <3 One of my favorite pictures. I can't actually figure out how to fix the orientation.

Homecoming collage! So much fun.

Emily and Tyler!

When Ellyse came home from Europe!

Emily's surprise party!

My awesome surprise waffle party for my 16th birthday!

Andrew carried me to the door for my waffle party because my legs were sore from cross country practice. Such a gentleman.

2 out of the 4 caballo creed members.