This is a good time to pray for America. Much is happening in the world. We really need to be sensitive to what is going on here and around the world. How can we pray for America?

• Pray for our nation’s economy.  
  The Lord can change the present financial situation in America. Many in our nation are struggling in a major way, even some believe we are on the brink of a recession. We need to pray for the nation’s economy.
• Pray for our President.
  President Bush has been spending time in the Middle East this past week. We need to pray for the wisdom of and protection of God to be upon him. He is the leader of the world. He needs our prayers.
• Pray for the world situation.
  Major unrest is existent in relationship to the country of Iran. Not only do we have the Iraq war, but Iran is a political earthquake. Additionally, major unrest is existent in Pakistan. Oh I tell you, we need to pray for America and its place in the world at this time.
• Pray for revival in America.
  Our greatest need and our only hope is revival in America. Christ has been, and is our only hope. Run to Him. Cling to Him.  

Concentrate this week on praying for America.

I want to give you some thoughts for the coming weekend. These are just thoughts, nothing else. Thoughts that will perhaps inspire and even perhaps guide.

1) Rest some. I really look forward to my Fridays and Saturdays because rest becomes one of the main things on my agenda. I run hard Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday mornings, I get up later, take things slower, and try to rest myself physically and emotionally, especially on Saturday. By the way, for all of you workaholics, rest is biblical. I used to race 7 days a week, never stopping, intoxicated by every dream, idea, and request. I know better now. God believes in rest. That is why He did it Himself and that is why He calls you to set aside Sunday as your day of worship and rest.

2) Reflect some. Look back upon the week you have just walked through. Don’t get hung up on bad deals or decisions . . . you cannot go back. Learn from them, and then reflect on the goodness of God given to you. Oh how God wants to build within us grateful hearts. Only through reflection can this occur.

3) Anticipate some. Yes, especially as Sunday winds down and worship has been experienced and rest has been accomplished, begin to anticipate the week before you. Ask yourself some questions like:

• What does God want to do in my life this week?
• What can I do this week to be more prepared and effective?
• Who can I influence this week in a positive way?

The power of anticipation is so intoxicating. While most dread Mondays, I find myself, even after an exhausting Sunday, to be invigorated on Mondays.

I told you, these are just thoughts. I hope they have inspired you some and perhaps will even guide you along the way.

Make this weekend count!

I said I would be fortunate to be .500 in all of these picks, but I did a little better. Out of 15 games I picked, I had 9 wins and 6 losses. That is a little bit better than .500 by having a percentage of .600 on all my bowl picks. Let me give you some final observations from these. Endure, non-football fans!

*I underestimated Penn State and the transition of coaches at Aggieland.

*I picked Florida State before I knew they would leave home at least 30 players due to issues. Obviously, I would not have made that choice if I had known that. Kentucky is a very good football team.

*I am very surprised Michigan defeated Florida, of which I picked the Gators to win. I underestimated the power of Lloyd Carr coaching his last game. Congratulations to a very good Wolverines football team on that day. Hey, I love their new hire….I really like Rich Rodriquez’s offense.

*I knew I was gambling to pick Illinois, Hawaii, and Arkansas to win, in fact, those were very poor picks from the beginning and I knew it. If I had listened to my head, rather than my heart, I would have made those three bowl misses turn into bowl wins for my picks. I like the story of Ron Zook’s Illinois team, but that is not enough to pick them to win that game. I like Hawaii’s exciting offense that was left in Hawaii for the bowl game…I knew Georgia was one of the best teams in the nation. That was a very poor pick. I picked Arkansas out of the heart, but as soon as I did it I knew it was a hope and a prayer at best. Why? Missouri is a very good football team. I felt they would have us pegged and they did. They deserved to be in a BCS bowl and in reality, we did not deserve to be in the Cotton Bowl. I think if we had not had the story of Darren McFaddin and the recognition of Frank Broyle’s 50 years of service, we would have never been asked to the Cotton Bowl. Oh well, I blew all three of those picks, knowing better than that.

*My picks were set apart from many because I picked Texas, West Virginia, Kansas, Texas Tech, and LSU in their games. Most knowledgeable persons of the game would have never believed Texas would have defeated Arizona State, West Virginia would defeat Oklahoma, Kansas would defeat Virginia Tech, Texas Tech would

defeat Virginia, and LSU would defeat Ohio State. These and the other I picked correctly led me to this 9-6 record in my bowl picks this year.

My FINAL Top 10:

1. LSU
2. West Virginia
3. Georgia
4. USC
5. Missouri
6. Kansas
7. Texas
8. Virginia Tech
9. Ohio State
10. Florida

In the words of Les Miles, “Have a GREAT day!”

At the end of January, we will be leading our staff team through a special emphasis called “INVENT THE FUTURE.” This extensive process has already begun with various planning moments and interviews. Through a major three-day retreat scheduled for January 28-30, we will take this experience to the highest level of initial decision-making. From this retreat experience, an in-depth three-month process will follow that will result in us discerning God’s future for our church.

This will be a spiritual journey for our team. It is up to God where we must go in the future, not us. It will be a corporate journey for our team. It is what is best for the church and the fulfillment of our mission that will drive our dreams, nothing else. It will be a professional journey for our team. There will be a highly professional and executive group, all sold out Christ-followers with former corporate experience, who will help us invent this future God has already willed us.

What we must have from you is a highly concentrated prayer effort in January, especially for the days of January 28-30. I wish there was a way we could see large numbers of people praying during those days for your Pastor, your staff team, and God’s future for us. We will pray before we go and while we are experiencing this journey, but we need you to pray intensely on the days before and during this journey. Make a note to pray. Gather in groups and pray.

For seven days last fall, hundreds of our people prayed and fasted for three major things, one of which was for a strategic breakthrough, where God would define His future for our church clearly and specifically. I believe after that journey God led us to make this “Invent the Future” experience a part of this journey. I now believe even more that these three days will be very pivotal to seeing God answer this past season of prayer and fasting, as well as our heart’s desire. We want the mind of Christ for our future. Please mobilize people to join you in praying for our church. Mark these days for special prayer: January 28-30.

Will you be in the Word of God in 2008? I sure hope so. In fact, you can get a pretty good indication whether you will or will not be based off the days already gone in 2008. However, the year is very young and now is the time to get in the Word of God.

You can get there through reading a “ONE YEAR BIBLE.” Many versions are available that will insure you read through the entire Bible in one year. These versions will have a reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and from the Psalms and the Proverbs daily. You can also just ask God direction on reading through one of the 66 books of the Bible all the way to the end, then go to another book. If you will discipline yourself to read about four chapters or so a day, you will read through the entire Bible in a year.

You can also get in the Word corporately after you have gotten in to it personally. How? Come to worship and the Word of God will be taught. Come to a Connection Group and the Word of God will be taught.

There are many ways to get in the Word of God. Find a way to do it. Stay in it daily.Just a few minutes a day will change your life!

I want to thank you for joining me on my blog today after the Christmas holiday season. If you have been disengaged, please look at several of the blogs that have been posted since the middle of December. I want you to look specifically at the blogs posted last week by Dr. Scott Kaufman, guest blogger for me.

Our Christmas was filled with children and grandchildren. This was our year to have Nick, Meredith, and Reese during Christmas and we enjoyed having them in our home for a week, the longest period Nick and Meredith have been with us since they left for Dallas two and a half years ago. Josh, Kate, Peyton, and Parker stopped by regularly during the holiday season since he was off from school. We had a great time together.

Yesterday within two hours of Nick, Meredith, and Reese leaving, I told Jeana, “I feel empty and miss them already.” Now I understand why every time I left after visiting my Mom and Dad, my Dad would always wave good-bye to us crying and eventually just walk away as we drove away. We understood some, but now we really understand.

Seasons are good and enjoyable, but the new season we are entering called 2008 calls us to get back to life. Yes, for most people, real life kicks in today. It is back to work and back to the grind, as some would say.

Well, let’s enjoy the day. Let’s see what God may want to do with us today.

Happy 2008!