Day 7

We finally got to open up the baseball season today and it was a great day for ball! We lost our first game of the day mostly due to Joplin Jitters but we bounced back in the second game and got a win under our belts in the young season. We have prepared so long for this day and when the test came, I feel like we did very well. In the same way, we prepare every day for the moment that we will stand before God and account for everything that we have done and I know that is one test I do not want to fail. God has been doing so much for me recently and he has been watching over me without fail! I have been blessed with his grace and love in the midst of my sorrow and struggling and I am excited to see where this road leads me. No longer am I just talking about how I am going to make things right in my life, I am putting it into action and am not ready to back down. I have wanted to shut myself down at times and even with today being such a long one, I was falling into the mindset that I do not have to post but I must remain faithful in the simple things so that I can be trusted and remain faithful in some of the larger things. I honestly do not think I have ever been so optimistic about life but it feels good and I want to continue down this road for as long as possible. Mistakes are mistakes if they only occur occasionally or once, habits and lifestyles are not just mistakes, they are choices and personally I was making some very poor choices in regards to my life. However, I recognized those choices and recognized the need for change and this is my road back.

Romans 14:8-9 states, "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." I came across this verse tonight and I like it a lot. I think it goes directly with what I am trying to accomplish right now. I am trying extremely hard right now to live for Christ on a daily basis and I am not willing to accept anything less. The Lord has put me in a position to bounce back from some serious issues I have been dealing with and the road ahead does not look much easier with baseball hitting full stride and classes having an increased workload. What I have learned in all of this though is that I need to continue to give time to God in some way outside of Chapel and church every week. If I allow him to take part in most of the things I am involved in, then I feel like I am in a very good position to succeed. I can feel something different in my heart, I view things differently, and I think differently than I did even just a week and a half ago. I know it seems like a quick transformation but I know that God is doing something and I will continue to follow what he has placed on my heart because in reality, I had nowhere to go and unless I want to keep throwing things away, something drastic needed to occur. God has given me a last chance essentially and my eyes were opened to the changes that were needed and I am thankful for that.

Hope you all had a great day! Look forward to another special one and thank God for every breath you take!

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson