February Relief Society Meeting

What a fun and relaxing Relief Society Meeting we had this month! It was so nice to do service together. We had so much fun quilting, crocheting, and visiting together. Thank you to all of those who planned and prepared this meeting!

Meet Jessica Christensen

Thank you for sharing Jessica! We are excited to get to know you.

~Tell us about you and your family.

Ben and I have been married for 4 years and have two "children":  Our dogs Sampson and Delilah.  Ben and I met in junior high and attended both high school and college together (go Utah State Aggies!).  Ben is a 4th year dental student at Midwestern and I am a music therapist.  I work at a residential treatment center for eating disorders and addiction, and in the fall and spring I teach and supervise undergraduate music therapy students at ASU.  

~If you had an hour of free time, what might we find you doing?

Watching food-related television shows (right now it's MasterChef) or researching local eateries through Phoenix Magazine or Phoenix New Times.  I love eating out and have dreams of attending culinary school and one day becoming a food writer.

~Share an experience that strengthened your testimony or why the gospel is important to you.

I had the lucky opportunity to attend EFY (Especially For Youth) 5 times as a youth (I went when they still allowed 12 and 13 year-olds to attend), and had the even luckier opportunity to be a counselor for two years.  I had a pretty rough freshmen year of high school and realized for the first time I did not have a testimony of the gospel, and was rather living the gospel simply because that is what my family did.  Being the stubborn person I am, I rebelled and decided I didn't want to live the gospel unless I knew it was true.  My journey left some scars, but it culminated with an incredibly powerful experience I had at EFY the summer following my freshmen year which absolutely left me with the foundation for my own testimony.  I can never deny the feelings I felt that week, and will never be able to deny that I know the church is true, and I am so grateful for that experience. Attending EFY the following few years and serving as a counselor were amazing opportunities where I felt I could attempt to "give back" some of what I was given.  I love working with the youth in the gospel, because I realize firsthand how important those teenage years are in determining life-long consequences.  

 

~What are your favorites?

Dessert - Ice cream from Sweet Republic, or Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia

Hobbies - Food:  Eating, studying, cooking :)

Season - In states where it gets cooler and the leaves change, definitely Fall.  Plus Halloween is the best holiday ever. 

Scripture - I have always loved Alma 5:27, "Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God?  Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?  That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?" I find it always leads me to serious introspection.  

Hymn - Lead Kindly Light

February RS Meeting

January Relief Society Meeting

Thank you to everyone who planned, prepared, cooked, and spoke at this Relief Society meeting.

We were well fed physically and spiritually.

 

• Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

  119 Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish ahouse, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, ahouse of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

Meet Celeste LaFollete

Thank you for sharing with us Celeste! We are excited to get to know you.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma. I met my husband at BYU-Idaho where I studied Health and Nutrition and he studied Business/Pre-Med/Finding a hot wife. We came to Midwestern way back in 2006 for my husband to attend medical school. He graduated in 2010. We then moved to Quincy, IL  for residency, where I thought I was gonna die for 3 years. I'm happy to report we survived-marriage, children, and sanity intact. Well, mostly intact. We are back now for good. Hallelujah! My husband, Martin, is a family physician for Abrazo. I love the Bellair ward and I love Phoenix so I am thrilled to be back here! We have three crazy children. Emma is 7 and will be attending Adams. Grant is 4. Jeffrey is 2. Now that Martin is finally done with school, I have my own dreams of graduate school. I'll be studying English and History and just about anything I want! I start at ASU soon. If I have free time I love to read--nothing better than quiet time with a book :)

Dessert-Better than Sex Cake (is that too scandalous for a ward blog?)

Hobbies-reading, writing, and arithmetic. Just kidding about the arithmetic--I hate math. But the other two are true. I also enjoy making fun of my husband and thinking up new ways to escape from my children. :)

Season-Ironically, this has occupied my thoughts for years now. I hate tornado season (got enough of that in Oklahoma). I hate winter (got enough of that in Rexburg and Illinois). I hate rainy, cloudy springtime. I hate hot, humid summers. So, what does that leave....Winter in Phoenix? I don't know why Hell is described as a hot place. I imagine it as a cold, frozen place plagued by tornadoes, like a combination between Oklahoma, Rexburg, and Illinois. Winter in Phoenix is just heavenly-my personal celestial kingdom. 

Scripture-2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Love this! Someday, when I grow up, I want to be a fearless woman.

Hymn-Come Thou Fount

Testimony-There was a time in my life when I had serious doubts about one particular aspect of the gospel. I thought I could keep my doubt contained. I thought I could maintain my testimony of the rest of the gospel and just avoid that one particular topic. But doubt won't stay contained. It leaks out. It festers. It moves and begins to contaminate every aspect of your faith. The gospel of Jesus Christ comes as a complete all-or-nothing package. I can't pick and choose what I will believe. My life experiences so far have taught me that there are basically two forces at work in this world, and in my own life: Fear and Love. The Lord has helped me to understand that fear is often the underlying emotion hidden behind things like doubt, anger, jealousy, insecurity, desperation, criticism, guilt, and low self-esteem. Fear drives a lot of my personal ailments. But, it seems that the Lord is trying His best to teach me that love (a.k.a. faith and trust in Him) is the cure. I am gradually learning how to embrace that love and choose faith over fear, but it's hard. My faith is probably smaller than a mustard seed some days, but I really do believe the Lord accepts even that small desire to believe. I also believe in being open to suggestions as the Lord often has better ideas and a brighter view of things than me. Who knew? I have lots of things to be grateful for--like a fabulous husband who is not perfect, but is perfect for me, and three sweet children who will all be in school in 3 years and 1 month, but who's counting...:)

November Relief Society Meeting

We had such a fun relaxing Relief Society meeting this month. It was good to get to know each other a little better. Thank you Sister Martin for opening your home for this meeting and thank you to everyone who brought yummy treats. It was a great night!

Meet Shannon Baker

Thank you for sharing with us Shannon! We're excited to get to know you.

I’m Shannon Baker. I’ve been in the ward with my husband for 16 years, and in Glendale since I was in second grade. In fact, I was a here when the Bellair Ward was created, and our Stake Center was built. I never imagined I’d grow up, get married, and move three miles from my childhood home- but that’s exactly what happened. I earned a BFA from Arizona State in Drawing (yes…..you can actually major in drawing), and loved every minute of it. I met my husband at our local singles ward, after an inspired Bishop did a bit of matchmaking. We’ve been married for 16 years and have four amazing kids. Joshua is 15, Emily is 13, Abby is 11, and Mackenzie is 8. They keep me super busy, but I feel blessed to be their mom.

If I have an hour of free time you will most definitely find me wandering the aisles of Homegoods or Home Depot. Home design is a passion of mine, I love to paint, craft, build, organize, and tinker around my house. If I have a project going, I’m a happy lady. I’m also a pretty serious blogger. I love to cook, clean, and read. I run a book club that’s been going strong for almost 10 years (boy do we have some stories). I’m also pretty crazy about travel. My engineer husband travels quite a bit for work, and I’m lucky enough to occasionally tag along. We also enjoy travelling just for fun, and try to take one big trip each year together.

Our family loves Freddy’s frozen custard, watching movies, and swimming. I love autumn, especially the first day each year when it’s cool enough to leave the back door open! My favorite hymn is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The line “The wrong shall fail, the right prevail” is a powerful reminder to me, especially as I’m raising  teenagers. I love the gospel and this ward. Life is crazy, busy, and usually exhausting, but also incredibly fun. I wouldn’t change a thing.