It's been a wild month....not so that you would notice...it's mostly just been wild inside my head.
On July 15th I was called to be the new Young Women's president.  I was totally surprised,  ( Kelley has known quite a while...pretty much best secret keeper ever!) but when Bishop Blake asked me, a calm peaceful feeling came over me and I knew that was where I was supposed to be right now.
We were just getting ready to head to Newport, so  Bishop Blake told me to take the next few weeks and prayerfully choose my counselors.  The first people that came to my mind were Stacey and Bonnie Scharman.  But Stacey was in the Relief Society presidency, so I put that thought aside and tucked a ward directory in my purse to go over while we were on vacation. There are a lot of dear ladies in our ward, but as I went over each name, some reason would pop in my mind why they wouldn't be able to do it.  I kept coming back to Stacey's name.  When the Bishop called me, he said I could have anyone I wanted, but I didn't want to mess with the Relief Society presidency.  They are each such amazing ladies and have a great unity and love for each other and all the ladies in the ward. Stacey has done a wonderful job in Relief Society... and I knew that she loved it.
So once again, I tried to put that thought out of my mind.  I had been praying and asking for help and guidance, but it seemed like when I would go over the sisters names in the directory, I would just have a stupor of thought.
Around the middle of the week, Kelley asked me how I was doing on picking my counselors.  I told him what was going on in my head.  He said, "I'll text the Bishop and see what he thinks about it."
So the next day, Kelley gets a text back from the Bishop saying he had been out walking and had run into Tina ( RS president who is also a dear friend of mine) and had mentioned to her that I had been thinking about Stacey.  He said that Tina told him she would be sad to lose Stacey, but knew that she would be awesome in YW.
I felt a little weird that Bishop had asked Tina, because I had not really decided yet.  Then the next day, Kelley gets a text from Rick, who was wondering what Stacey's new calling was going to be!  Ahhhhhhh This is not how it's supposed to go!  I was freaking out and wishing I had kept everything to myself.  Not a lot I could do about it from California, so Kelley text the bishop back and said "Paula has not decided yet!"
Now I was completely confused, but tried to enjoy the rest of our vacation. I decided to just put it in the Lord's hands now. Then on the way home, I was thumbing through face book and came across a post from Emily Randall to Stacey.  She was thanking her for the great influence she had had on her as a young women leader years ago, as she was now being called to be a young women leader herself.  Those words jumped off the page like HELLO!!! Can I say it any clearer?
So the next morning, I met with the bishop and gave him Stacey and Bonnie's names.
There were lots of tears as the next few days played out.  Stacey wondering why she was having to leave this presidency she loved, Tina's sadness of losing her, and me, second guessing myself because all of the pain I was causing them. 
Stacey came over and I tried to explain why I did what I did,   She was very kind and said she had received a confirmation that this is where she is supposed to be.  She told me not to second guess myself... and reminded me of the scripture in the D & C that says something like..."Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?...what greater witness can you have?"
As I thought over the past few weeks, I realized how many times I had had peace spoken to my mind, but had fought with it.  Man, I just gotta do it the hard way!
When I got to church this morning, Shirley (organist) greeted me with her sweet, laid back way..."How you doing?"   I guess I must have hesitated a bit before I said " I'm good" and she could see I was a little bit flustered. Without knowing what was happening to me that day, she gave me some great advice..."Just go forward and have faith!  don't think about things too much...we make ourselves crazy!"  Gosh I love her!
So this morning, I led the music for the last time...Can't really say I'm going to miss it..I never got to where I felt comfortable up there.  I did enjoy looking out over the congregation each week though and seeing these good people smiling back at me.
I couldn't really hold it together as we sang " I need Thee-Oh I need Thee...every hour I need Thee, Oh bless me now My Savior, I come to Thee!" 
As the bishop read our names and asked for a sustaining vote, I looked out over the congregation and  felt the love and support of our dear ward members.
After Sacrament meeting, everyone was so kind and wished me congratulations and  their support in my new calling. It was sure nice to hear from some of the young women's moms that they were happy with the new presidency.
 I talked with Colleen ( old YW pres.) and she gave me all her books and keys and showed me what was in the closet.  She was having a pretty hard time and I think went home after we talked.  We were all set apart and I sure received a beautiful blessing from the Bishop.  It's funny how that changes things and suddenly, you feel the responsibility as that mantle is placed upon you.
When we went into Young Women's, we were greeted warmly by all the girls. We invited Jenni and Cindy ( old counselors) to come in and bear their testimonies.  They are pretty special ladies.   We asked each of the girls to tell us a little bit about their selves...  wow! these are super talented amazingly strong young women!  I think they are going to be the ones teaching me!
The new presidency told a little about ourselves and it looks like we have a lot in common.  Besides enjoying a lot of the same things, we all have spent the majority of our grown up lives in Young Women and have a deeply embedded love for the program and the girls.
I had brought  a little dessert for us and walked down to the kitchen with Cindy to get the cake out of the freezer.  She told me that our presidency was just what the girls needed right now...they just need to be loved.  That meant a lot to me.
Stacey helped the girls write a creed for our Young Women group...they listed all the things they want our young women to be. It was pretty cool to see the girls desire to do what is right.
I don't like change, but as I was bearing my testimony,  I heard myself thanking the Lord  for the changes and challenges that have come into my life...cause that's what helps me grow. .Bishop said twice in my blessing that the Lord knows my heart and what I need in my life.  I think from now on, I'll remember that and let him lead the way.