Christ Encourages Change

We are blessed spirits to be here on this Earth — we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, families, technology, and a hope for the future! God takes care of us, His beautiful children! 

My life has been beyond blessed to have Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer. He rescues me everyday from sin and gives me peace and hope. I am encouraged to become my best self because He believes in me! 

I am currently trying to improve my life by being more positive and setting goals that I am determined to keep. I have so much to be grateful for and am thankful that God inspires change! 

As a disciple of Christ, I am willing to be different from the world and from the person I was yesterday. I have each new day as a fresh start to rely on Him and to bring His Gospel to all of the amazing people on this Earth. 

It is never too late to change and grow into the person you want to be. You can be happier, healthier, stronger, wiser, wealthier, and more spiritual through persistence and diligence in achieving these things. Christ promises us the ultimate joy and happiness when we rely on Him and realize that our trials can be overcome! 

Stay positive! You can only succeed at becoming who you want to be by actually being that person every day and eventually it will become a natural part of you.

Christ has paid the debt for our sins and has fallen to rock bottom. He is rock bottom, and He is the highest peak — He is everything — and He knows exactly how we feel and what we need to do to recover and rise above our circumstances!

God the Father has promised to forgive us when we turn to Christ and partake of His wondrous gift to us. We are never alone. God and Jesus Christ are and will always be with us — when we call upon God and when we are living in-line with His promised blessings. 

 

Sunshine Never Sleeps

“Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light” - Albus Dumbledore 

I agree with the wise professor— but I also believe that light and happiness are always there, if only you remember to remove the blindfold, open your eyes, take a step back, and find the source!

Our challenges and problems in life can be so suffocating sometimes. Darkness that never seems to leave and light that never seems to find its way through. When that’s all we can see and all we know, it is hard to believe that there is light, that there is another way— a solution.

Yet we all know that the sun still shines in space when we experience nightfall; the light never goes out and its influence never gone unfelt.

If we consider what a bully, or an illness like depression, does to its victim or host we can recognize the greater symbolism for life. A bully will begin targeting a victim with little insults at first, escalating to repeated offenses that lead to casually stated death threats and such. Depression often begins with a sadness that lingers longer that normal, it grows over time or overnight and becomes a completely incapacitating enemy of our minds and body. If the victim continues to adhere to the bully’s whispers and threats, then the victim loses track of the light. They begin to believe the darkness and see it expanding endlessly before their very eyes. If they continue to look at the darkness all sense and memory of light is removed. Depression will feed on your very being if you give into its heavy presence.

The solution is to take a step back from the darkness and see what it is doing to you, see that its making itself appear bigger than it truly has power to be. The goal is to take a step through the darkness to the other side; all the light you thought you’d lost will be there. On the other side of the world, the sun is still shining. When you wake up, its back in your life.

The goal is seldom reached alone, help is always needed! Remembering the ones who bring light into our lives — the One who does — is essential to overcoming personal darknesses.

Right now, because of the media, it seems our country is crumbling to dust — our values and beliefs. If you think about it though, the darkness that seems overwhelming and ever present can be defeated. Don’t give it power to stop you from succeeding. Don’t let the overstimulation of bad news deplete your cache of positivity and hope. Sunshine never sleeps, and darkness can be destroyed with light!

Have hope for the future, and participate in actively restoring the light to the heavy but weak darkness.

We don’t have to bare these burdens alone, Jesus Christ is and has always been there to lighten the load and to take away the darkness. God also loves us beyond what we can imagine but has given us a glimpse through Christ, parents, family, friends, and humanity.

Fondly, Jocelyn Trishell

Thoughts About Going Away to College

Responsibility. It’s new(ish); it’s liberating; it’s terrifying; it’s exhilarating!

Becoming an adult has its perks.. one of them being freedom to make your own choices with high impact! ‘College' is typically considered to be an adult-fresh-out-of-high-school experience. <— If not relevant, college still rocks!

Leaving your family, friends, and life behind to go start a new one can be daunting. Here are some thoughts I had about going away to college:

Yay! You got accepted to college (preferably dream one)!! Now what? Do you have financial aid/scholarships/loans? Does it cover costs like tuition, housing, meal plan, books? Will I need a job? Can I even handle a job with all of my classes? **Try to get an on-campus job since they’re the most flexible with student schedules, or look at VERY nearby work positions to campus, or try something online. I worked on-campus my first semester at the food court, then my second as a custodian!

Woah. College classes! My teachers in high school always said to prepare for the college load. How do I know if I am prepared? **I suggest setting goals to manage your time during the week with a schedule/planner. Set aside time for studying, social fluff, and sleep! Don’t forget food prep, laundry and cleaning too :)

I am basically moving out! Where am I living? On-campus versus off-campus housing? Transportation to and from campus/classes. **I think many universities require freshman year on campus so definitely take time to research housing and locations to campus activities and classes! Keep up with cleaning since most housing on and off campus have some sort of cleaning checks. Delegate chores with roommates if applicable.

Classes! What is required for the general education credits? Do I have a major/minor? What are my grade goals? **I suggest looking through the classes offered for the GE’s and then look into preReq’s for your desired classes and major classes. Consider if you want all morning classes, afternoon classes, or evening classes. Plan according to what you know you can handle time wise but try to challenge yourself a little bit! Also consider your credits for each semester and sign up for what you can handle and have time to devote to those classes.

Meeting people and getting involved! Could we be friends? Does this club exist? How much should I really do right now? **Remember this is supposed to be as fun as it is challenging! Get involved in one or two clubs which typically meet once weekly and create study groups! Participate in most of the campus affiliated parties/activities because the student council and clubs have some pretty great parties!

I still have a family at home! How’s mom? How’s dad? How did my sister do in volleyball? How is my brother doing in chemistry? ** Your family misses you more than you could ever know! In the midst of all your fun stuff, remember to call your family once a week at least! They want to hear from you and your siblings look up to you. Your mom wants to hear about all the boys, girls-night-outs, and everything!

I’ve come so far since high school! I hope I have fun! I hope I achieve great things! I hope I have the best year ever! ** You have come so far! You’re ready to tackle your future and you’ll succeed if you really try! Remember it’s importance but keep a positive spirit because you’re on your way to conquer the world! Here’s to the best beginning!