Reflections

     Starting school this morning felt great! I was very glad to be over and done with 11th grade work and fully engaged in 12th. It wasn't really any sort of change in coursework, I just picked up with the next chapter in the second half of my Latin book and kept on with my writing, but it is awesome to have the mental satisfaction of knowing that I finished my course (if you don't mind the pun). A great sense of accomplishment. I replied to a comment on a post from a couple of days ago and mentioned that 11th grade was one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, school years I've completed.
This is true. The course load was heavier than that of most previous years and Latin challenged me like no other subject has ever done before. God's Word says that trials and hard times are meant to grow us. We can know that truth going into those times, but it's not until we are looking at them in the rear-view mirror that we can truly understand and comprehend how exactly God has used them for our good. Through it all though, the Lord has taught me faithfulness and how to manage my time in ways I never thought I could.
     Spiritually, I've also grown a lot (although not in relation to schoolwork, just in general over the past year). The Lord has shown me the way to a deeper, more meaningful prayer life than I've had in the past. I've also been "forced" to maintain my time studying God's Word; really I've been held accountable by the young men's Bible study I lead. There have been times where I did feel like I was studying for the lesson simply out of duty and not from desire, but I've learned that those are the moments in my life when my walk with the Lord is not right. Studying the letter to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:1-7 has really pointed out to me that a perfect Christian life is empty and useless if it is not built upon a prioritized relationship to God. The good works will follow naturally if our relationship is where it should be; but if it is not where it should be, then the works will become drudgery and counterfeit or artificial. There is more to write, and I will tomorrow, but time fails me.
     Things I'm thankful for today: 1) my writing class, it Rocks!, 2) the spiritual growth I see the Lord working out in me, 3) God's Word to bring conviction of sin that we would otherwise never notice and never grow out of, 4) a group of friends that hold me accountable to stay in the Scriptures, and 5) whoever invented basketball because he had a great idea!
     Today's joke:
Mike: "Why did the chicken cross the basketball court?"
Ike: "Because it heard the referee calling fouls."

Joke Credit: the 365 DAY Clean Joke book