The DJ Rollie D Story

2016 had ups and downs for me.  It was a year of personal growth that saw landmark events in my life as well as some letdowns that thankfully didn't stop me from where I am trying to get to down the road.  I also some personal spiritual growth and met lots of new people, which are two goals I've been adhering to since 2014. Below are some highlights from the past calendar year, including pictures and a brief description of why it was so special to me.  They are not ranked in order of importance, but rather just tossed out in order of the calendar year (January-December) January: Emily Larson Interview Article In November of 2015, Emily Larson made local headlines and history when she became the first female mayor of Duluth, MN.  There have been countless newspaper articles and blog posts written about her election and plans for her first few months to years in office, and I had the opportunity to write one myself.  To check it out, follow...

Christian band Mercy Me have some true talent in their band and format.  They've successfully done full-blown rock numbers ( Shake ) yet at the same time been able to hone in on a slower song ( Word of God Speak ), or produce something truly unique that you wouldn't expect from them like their song Greater , which is quite similar to what you'd hear from Rend Collective . The music is appealing and there are definitely times where you just can't help but sing along in your car, or in your basement, or perhaps in your kitchen.  If I had to make a prediction I'd say there's at least two more albums we'll see from them in future years before they consider disbanding or going on hiatus.  To sum it all up, their music is some of the best in the Christian genre. One of the band's songs speaks out to me particularly, and it came to me at a good time.  It was around July of 2015 that I was going through some stuff and feeling pretty down and not sure wh...

Ah college.  It's the best place to see things like underage drinking, smoking, and adult-aged people having teenager problems all in the course of one day.  Don't deny that it happens, because it most certainly does.  I was asked if I was drunk by someone who was quite obviously intoxicated on move-in weekend, and I gave him the honest answer, certainly not. There are tons of things you could pray about for college students.  You could pray for safety and security, or for a desire to continue learning about His goodness despite the fact that we are no longer in an environment that is spiritually nurturing (Those of you reading this from somewhere like Emmaus Bible College, consider yourself lucky).  You could also pray for the best outcome possible with grades and financial situations.  When you're in college, or have a friend that's in college, you're never really short of anything to pray about. Along with that, it's also a good idea to get...

Here's some Friday motivation for you! Today, I'm inviting you to stop stressing out about your next big exam, or worrying about where your financial situation will go next, as well as all of life's other situations.  It's Fridays, and Fridays are the best day of the week, and they are for one thing, and that's being happy.  Snoopy is always happy lol. I don't think I've ever seen this character sad unless of course it's that hospital strip Peanuts ran in the 1990's when he was sick.  Peanuts is such an enjoyable cartoon for everyone.  So if you're worrying about something, I invite you to just take a few moments to go enjoy the fresh breeze and sunshine, or dance in the rain like nobody's watching, and just take a step back and look at your life and everything you have, because sometimes it's quite a bit more than others.  Just relax, and know that in the end, everything will be OK.  God sometimes puts us through trials...