JoJo 16.3; Freshman Year Flew By...

JoJo's life seemed to be in hyper-speed! The next few weeks of his Freshman year flew by!

JoJo wrote in his journal on May 28th, 1976:
I have finished my Freshman year at Smallville High School. I know I will forget stuff, so I have decided to list them out.
First day of school: Me and Tommy were scared to death, fortunately we had the same first 2 periods together. We were so happy to have a 10:10 recess until we discovered the meaning of a Wake-Up Call first hand. When those Seniors' rings came down on our heads, we knew we had entered a vicious world.
The Rest of Fall Semester: A ton of this is a blur.
It was awful being late to Mrs. Tenses' class! I really don't like her, but thankfully Old Man Earth's science class kinda saved the day. He is a nice man!
Church was fun, especially playing in the Youth Band.
Surprisingly, Cindy and I became really good friends.
The second week of school, Senior Chris Side befriended me! Not only did I get to ride in his Dodge Charger, he saved me from Wake-Up calls for the rest of the Semester. However, that made the rest of my fellow freshman fellers mad.
I loved school food, but I hated the rest of it! Mean teachers, mean Seniors, my friends had turned on me, and NO girlfriend. I didn't have this dream of high school back in the 8th grade, We really had it good back then.
Cindy and God kept me going. It was really cool when Cindy came to 'Youth' at the Church! She and Ms. Passion got really tight. For one of the first times in my life, I was happy for somebody else. It was all about me, me, me. What am I getting for my birthday? What I am getting for Christmas? What am I getting for Easter? 
Then it happened, Cindy got saved! She was on fire for God! Cindy helped me realize that I needed to let God stoke my spiritual embers. The rest of 1975 is just like a dream.
The Spring Semester was a little different. For starters, I got Wake-Up Calls again! But they were less frequent. Plus, I didn't walk around like Bambi, lost in the woods. I knew my way around, which included hiding places from the Seniors!
I don't remember the exact date, but it was a cold day in February. I had encounters with God before, but this day at Big Church would change my whole perspective.  I began to be convicted about poor people. For some reason, I had been looking down on them. My family was not that rich to start off with, but I realized how evil it was for me to be looking down on poor people.
The one person I thought about...Samantha. What sealed the deal was the Choir anthem! I can still hear them singing--in my heart---"Do you give freely like you trust Me or do you hold back your faith like your giving?"
That set in motion my reaching out to Samantha.
She finally started talking to me.
We ate lunch together.
We became friends.
Somehow, because Tommy was hating himself and taking it out on me, it led to he and Samantha going to the Show.
I was so mad until he called that night. He said he had talked to his Earthly Father and his Heavenly Father. We made up on the phone because of them talking.
The next day, Samantha and I starting liking each other. 
Samantha became my girlfriend! Wow! There was a point in my life that my pride would not have allowed that to happen, but God had changed me. I am thankful He did.
My family helped Samantha...a lot. Especially my momma. 
Samantha is now saved! I try not to look down on people because they are poor. After all, aren't we all poor in some ways? Plus, God has blessed us with His best gift: Salvation through Jesus! So, spiritually all Christians are rich!!
The verses God seared in my heart...
James 2:5-7; "Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?"
Samantha is such a good person. She is always thinking of others. It amazes me how fast she has grown in the faith. I figure there aren't a lot of material things between her and God, and they spend a lot of time together. I am sad to say but many of the people who go to Smallville United Methodist Church, including my family, own a lot of stuff. We spend a great deal of time with our stuff instead of God. Sometimes, we take Sunday to use our stuff. I know my family will sometimes go out on our boat on Sundays, instead of going to church. Why don't we do that on Saturday? Oh, now I remember: we are cleaning and polishing our other stuff. I can't live for anybody else but me.
Self, today is the day! I will spend more time with God and less time with my stuff!
Kinda crazy, after I allowed God to help me, and Samantha and I started going together, I don't remember much about the last few weeks! Well, except Spring Holidays when my family and I went to HorseShoe Beach, Florida. We had a blast!
I am going to draw myself a conclusion with the Lord's help:We often remember the bad times instead of the good times. And, I remember the funny times, too. Ha!

PLANS FOR THE SUMMER:
Play Pony League Baseball.
Go to Church Camp.
Sleep late!
I have a girlfriend! Thank you, God for Samantha! Hang out with her--plenty!

 THANK YOU, GOD FOR GETTING ME THROUGH MY FRESHMAN YEAR IN ONE PIECE!