The Joshua Yoder Blog

 For and for most, I hope and pray that every single one of you out there and a safe and blessed Christmas this year. I certainly enjoyed being around my family. But now, we all must turn towards the future because 2023 will soon be coming to an end. And what an interesting year it has been. I can only speak for myself and how my 2023 has been and if I am perfectly honest with all of you. It was an emotional roller coaster for me. It went from being stressed and overworked, to trying to find my inner peace and create something special with my writing. And if there has been one thing I have loved about myself during the year of 2023, was how much I was abusing myself and also how I started to stand up to myself and became more open and honest about how I felt things were going with everything around me. I have learned so much these last few months about myself that it kind of brought a tear to my eye because there have been so much running through my mind that I had kept inside and ever

 You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen and Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Ah yes! Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, this was one of my favorite Christmas stories ever! And since we are getting ever so closer to Christmas, I figured it would be appropriate to talk about this amazing story. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert L. May and it made its debut on the bookshelves back in 1939. The story goes as Rudolph was born with a glowing red nose which in turn leads him to being mocked and teased by his fellow reindeer. But what at first was thought to be a weakness, turned out to be his greatest strength as a huge winter storm covered the world which kept Santa from delivering toys for Christmas. That was until they used Rudolph's glowing red nose to light the way for Santa and his sleigh. This story is so amazing and it is also the kind of story that is still relevant to this very day. The reason why I

 I wanted to express a concern of mine, not just about myself, but for all of us. You see, to me Christmas is about celebrating Jesus and bringing good will to each other and I still believe in those values. But I would be lying if I said things haven't been a little rough for me lately these last few days. However, it is not just with my own stuff mentally, physically and spiritually. But with what I am seeing in the world around me and my concern that things aren't getting any better. Now some of you may think I am talking crazy or over thinking things and maybe I am. But nobody can deny that there is something off in the world right now. My main concern is that society is falling apart and worst off no one seems interested in helping. People would always tell me that it is a different time or things change, you just have to change with it. However, the only problem I have with that is those same people who tell me these things are the exact same people who run around like a

 Well with it getting after so closer to Christmas time, I figure I would discuss one of my favorite Christmas stories of all time. And that is one about a mean old green creature called the Grinch! How the Grinch Stole Christmas was created by the late great Dr. Seuss back in 1957 and it was about how the Grinch was sick and tired about having to listen to the Whos, who were celebrating Christmas and decided to dress up as Santa Claus and steal all of their stuff only to ultimately discover the true meaning of Christmas and save the day. I loved this story a lot because even in 2023, this story is still so reliable. Everybody has their moments where they get annoyed with Christmas. Interesting fact, that was one of the reasons behind why Dr. Seuss wrote the book in the first place. You see, at the time, Dr. Seuss's wife was going through some health problems. He was also not thrilled about the commercialization of Christmas which made him feel "very grinchish". Another f

 Hey guys, I was wondering something these last couple of days and I'm not really sure what to think to be perfectly honest. Is it really okay not to be okay? I mean I feel like there are times that I am really happy and feeling positive, then randomly I just become really depressed and just want to close the door on the world. What kind of scares me about it is just the randomness of it. I mean I thought I knew what triggers them and do my best to avoid them but for some reason I still get feel down on myself.  It kind of makes me wonder if I actually know what triggers me. I've prayed about it, but I'm still not sure what to think anymore. Am I over thinking it a little bit? Or Am I just going crazy? Because it has been getting to me mentally especially when I go from being happy and calm to just flat out depressed and just not want to be around people. What sucks even more about it was I thought I was doing good. But now I am not so sure or maybe this is all apart of God