Are you prepared for Christmas ?

It's that time of year again !! Welcome to most of our favorite month !! 

 December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. Christmas preparations are already doing the rounds. ( I am already done with my Christmas and new year shopping, will post it soon :P ) I am sure all of you are planning on how to decorate the house this time, brainstorming on how different can you make the crib, what gifts are you going to keep under the Christmas tree, the lights in the windows, the cards , parties with family and friends, stockings hanging in the living room, etc.   But is THIS what Christmas is ? Is it all about shouts of  "Merry Christmas" or household preparations ? I want all of you to stop and think..

Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is the day our baby Jesus was born. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. His birth brought great joy to the world.  Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. And it is no ordinary baby. We are blessed to have Jesus born for us. God send His son to this sometimes cruel and hard world so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story (history) is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins. Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong. But are we worthy to accept him? Are we clean enough to be with someone so holy, so pure?

We all know the answer. Therefore I ask you, In the midst of preparation for feasts, prepare your heart for the coming of Jesus. Our hearts are often quite full of joy, sorrow, pain, guilt and many other things. I pray that you will make room in the center of your heart for Jesus Christ, and let him work His way in to the center of your life. You may think that you've tried this before and failed. We all make mistakes. By the grace of God, we are picked up and put back on our feet, and given another chance. You will be cleansed and forgiven and then worthy to accept Jesus into your lives and homes.

 "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong."  John 1:9

We can truly be happy at Christmas, by knowing the true meaning of Christmas ! No matter what you’re going through, your God will never give up on you. We are sons and daughters of God. Heaven is our home.

Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a "Merry Christmas." The joy and peace you will receive will last all year as you look to God for all your needs to be met.

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Do not take ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas’.

Have a Happy December !!

When a change is necessary !!

I’m sure all of you have been through this one phase in your lives where you suddenly feel that you’re not what you were and you suddenly become unhappy  with the way you’re living. I have been there too. I hated myself and what I had become. I failed to recognise myself and I was frustrated, guilty, hurt and confused. Just then, I came across a saying that read “If you don’t like where you are change it. You are not a tree !”

I reflected on it and put it into action.

These lil pointers helped me, I hope they can be of some use to you too :

BELIEVE : You have to know it in your heart that you can make your situation better. Trust in yourself ! You’re mind is a powerful weapon. Stay positive.

CREATE OPPORTUNITIES : Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it. Like the guy? Tell him !!! Want your dream job ? Go for the interview ! You don’t like the way someone is behaving with you ? Open up ! You don’t like the person you have become ? Change yourself ! You don’t need results, give yourself a bravery award – You tried.

STRIVE HARD : You can’t expect your life to magically change. You need to work as hard as you can in order to better yourself and your life. Make a list of all that you want, create a deadline, make that your aim. Say a firm NO to everything that drives you away from your aim. You want a better tomorrow, no?

GIVE IT A CHANCE: Let go of all the emotions and pains. They don’t belong to you. You are amazing. Give yourself a chance. Like i said before, BELIEVE.

FIGURE IT OUT : If you wish your situation was different, change it! You have the power to make your life worth living. Has there ever been a person or event that has changed your life for the better? Contemplate on that event, Spend more time with that person. Find someone whom you can confide in, someone who knows you well, Someone who believes in the better you. Ask him/her to guide and correct you. You cannot always win a battle alone.

PRAY: That’s what I did, and always do. I believe, that whatever you ask in prayer with faith shall be received.

 ALL THE BEST :)

And do let me know if this helped.

You could also mail me your suggestions and queries. 

Have a nice day ahead !!!

Say Hello to College ...

It’s that time in June when, like every year, the admission process is complete and all of you are anxious about the first day of college. I remember just a short time ago, when I too was purchasing the last few items on my list and anxiously awaiting my first day of college. The college of my dreams. And so, here is a letter with a little advice and a lot of love for all those college freshman twiddling their thumbs and twirling their hair and wondering what’s in store.

Dearest FYJC Students,

Welcome. College, my friend, will be the most beautiful, amazing, and life-shaping experience that you have yet encountered.

On your move-in day, you’ll feel overwhelmed. Whether you’re going to a huge college, a tiny college, or an in-betweener. The campus will feel like you’re never going to learn your way around, the college culture will feel foreign, and the students will feel like strangers. Don’t lose your marbles.

You will know your campus like the back of your hand in a short time. The college’s culture will become as much a part of you as the fingers on your hands or the toes on your feet. And the people–the strangers–they’ll become your best friends. Not best friends like “oh, BFF,” but real best friends. Like laugh so hard you cry and cry so hard you laugh and turn to them with anything and everything all day or night best friends.

However, knowing the campus and the culture and the beautiful people doesn’t come without a price. You have to stretch yourself. I mean reallllly stretch yourself. You can’t just take a step outside of your comfort zone, you have to take a leap. A running leap. Like you’re competing in the long jump.

When I arrived on campus on the first day of college, I was ridiculously excited, but more than that I was insanely scared. So as a first year student, I decided that, I was going to make friends. And they were going to be fantastic friends who treated me well. And make friends I did. But it was not by accident, not all were.

I took part in every event organised by college, talked to people I never knew, maintained friendships ...  and the list goes on.

It was an amazing little life that I had created on my campus for myself. I was involved, really involved, in many different groups and organizations on campus. “Plugged in”. And I had friends, In my classes and in the clubs that I was a part of. And I was truly proud of myself. Because I didn't sit back and watch my first year go by and wonder what could’ve been.

I lived a life I loved by choice.

So to you I say–jump in! You’re not the child you were in school. You get to make decisions about friendships and activities based on the type of people you want to be around and what you care about. It’s no longer about doing things so “it’ll look good for college.” Choose to do what you love with people you love. And don’t settle for less.

You joined a club that you’re passionate about, but the people aren’t rocking your socks off? Join another one. Talk to the person next to you in class. Be the first to ask your classmate to lunch.

The friends you make in first year will stick around for life. At least mine did. It’s been four years now, I’m not even in the same college anymore. But we’re in touch. I Love them, and I know they love me.

                                         

And academics ??  Ya, I know that’s the “reason” you’re in college. To study and learn and get a degree. That’ll all come. You know what it takes to get the grade you want–do it. You know how long you need to study for your exams–so take time to study.

But above all, know that when you leave your college after two or maybe 5 swift years, it’s not going to be the campus or the classes that you really miss; it’s going to be the people. It’s all about the people. (And PS–you’ll learn much more from your relationships than your classes anyway. haha )

So throw yourself out there. Take a deep breath, exhale and stand tall. You’re meant to be exactly where you are. It’s up to you to make it the experience you want. Choose to live a life that you love.

No matter what crazy-difficult classes or heart-wrenching breakups you go through in your 5 years, it’s going to be the people who carry you through. 

I am so excited for you. I might not even know you. It doesn’t matter. I’m thrilled for you! Rock out your first year, because you’ll never get another one. And first year is the awesome dot com. Seriously, my favorite year of life to date.

Good luck and remember: This is only the beginning.

                                          

This world - A Happy Place :)

  
No matter how bad your day is, there is always something good that comes out of it, No matter how big or small !! Everyday may not be good ... But there is always something good in everyday.

Each and every single one of you is beautiful, whether your know it or not. You all have things about you that make you, you. Embrace these things because they’re a part of you, don’t try and hide them! If people can’t appreciate that, then they’re not worth your time. No one is perfect in my mind, so don’t stress about trying to be perfect - because it’ll never happen, and you’ll never be happy trying to be someone else.


YOU ARE MORE !!!
You are so much more than you, or anyone else thinks of you. You are more than your weight, height, body type, size of your jeans, intelligence, appearance, and so on. You’re more important than you think you are, you’re more beautiful, smarter, braver, stronger… You’re way better than you think. Whether it’s for others, or ourselves. I know how it feels to feel like you’re never going to be up to someones standards, that no matter how hard you try its not enough, no matter how hard you try to be perfect - that you’re never quite there… Just not enough. But you know what I believe? You are good enough. And if someone can’t, or refuses to see that, then they’re not worth your time.


One of the biggest mistakes in life, is living it for someone else. You only have one life, one chance to do it right. Do you really want to live it with regrets?
Stop living it for your parents, or your friends. Now is the time to do what you want to do with it. You may not know what you want yet, you may not know who you are, either. Now is your time to figure that out. Make mistakes, make good choices, but most importantly, make it yours.

Sometimes we all feel lost. Like we’re in a never ending maze… The ones with bizarre mirrors, that distort your appearance. We get lost, and we lose ourselves. We lose ourselves in false appearances, lies, and anything imaginable. We get lost.  

There’s a saying “Life isn't about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.”

But sometimes we need to find ourselves, in order to be able to create ourselves. And that can be one of the hardest challenges we face. When we were younger, we were always told to just be ourselves… Which was weird, because how could we be anyone else? Then we got older, and finally clued in to the whole thing. 

Life is like a road trip. We have many stops along the way, we get lost sometimes, and then end up in places we never thought we would, we end up in places that we never even knew existed. People help us along the way, and sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes we are so lost, it feels like there is no way out. A dead end. 

Everyone gets lost. Confused. Scared. But that’s just a pit stop. 

But you know what? Sometimes it’s not the destination. It’s the way we got there… And it’s not where we’re heading that is important, it’s how we got there. Because how we got there is this little thing called life.

Everyone has secrets. Things that they keep close to them. Things that they’re ashamed of. Things they want to forget. What you see on the outside is almost never exactly what is on the inside. So before you assume you know what someone is going through, before you assume you know someone. Think. Because you never know someones story truly. You can never really know the battles they've fought, or the things they’re struggling with. So don't judge if you don't want to be judged.

This world is a happy place. It has given us millions of reasons to live. So live, and let live. And remember Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.