Dear God, Is it OK for Us to Pray for our Team to Win?

This is Super Bowl Sunday and if you're not a Rams or Patriots fan, you may not be inclined to feel "passionate" about today's game. You probably don't care one way or the other who wins. But if you are one of those team's fans, you may be as passionate about your team, as I would have been if my Dallas Cowboys had made it the distance.

I heard my son and his buddy talking about the game yesterday. Ryan was giving his support for the Patriots: “Why wouldn’t we want to see the Patriots set records and win again? They have proven themselves to be champions. They have arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and Bill Belicheck is the greatest NFL coach of all time. They’ve created one of the most dominant sports dynasties in American sports history.” Then his buddy declared his case for the Rams: "Sean McVay is the youngest coach in history and Jared Goff is the youngest quarterback at 24 to go to the Super Bowl since Brady won his first Super Bowl at age 24. It’s time to give others a chance to prove themselves!” I was amused at their bantering.

I was also amused by a Fox News story of a pastor who was asking: “Is it OK for us to pray for our team to win the Super Bowl?” I was so taken with his article that I make it part of my post today. Here are some excerpts: “I grew up in New England so you can guess who I am rooting for to win the Super Bowl. I was an athlete and my two boys played college football, so I’ve always prayed for a win.

The majority of people don’t believe you should pray for God’s help. I’m sure most of them think God has better things to do than concern himself with whether the Patriots win their sixth Super Bowl. But the Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything.” Everything includes sports. If you care about your team you can pray for them. Of course, there will also be people praying for the other team. We can pray for success because God wants us to be successful. He wants us to live life to the fullest. My definition of success is fully living out your life’s purpose. God equips us with talents, gifts, passions, and opportunities. And He expects us to fulfill our potential. When we do, we are a success.

Genesis 39:23 tells us, “The Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did.” We can certainly pray for God to make us successful too. For the players in Sunday’s game, success means doing their very best with the gifts, talents, and opportunities God gave them. They can certainly pray for that and we can pray that for them as well.

Go ahead and pray for your team on Sunday. Pray that every player on the team plays to his fullest potential. It’s likely that the ones who don’t on either team will decide the outcome of the game. And if by some chance all the players perform to their fullest ability, then the Super Bowl champions will of course be…the Patriots!" -- Pastor Rick McDaniel

I loved the “take away” from this pastor’s post. Pray about everything. That’s our call to action. Pray about our country. Pray about our families. Pray about our neighbors and our friends who need prayer. In the end, God will still be the ultimate, great and sovereign Umpire Who calls the plays and gives penalties OR rewards. That’s what God asks for – to perform to the greatest of our ability and keep praying. We are on the winning team, God’s team and we always win! Just check out the end of His play-BOOK!

Are You Living In YOUR Zone?

I love my Dallas Cowboys – have been a fan of theirs since the 1960s when they first became a franchise, but, otherwise, I’m not what you call an avid sports fan, unless the one that is playing happens to be one of my grandchildren, then I’m gung ho! I even have a t-shirt that says about my 13 year grandson “That’s my grandson OUT there!” On this trip to Austin, I said, “Oh, man! I forgot my t-shirt!” Brennan said, “Good!” I gave a pouty face and he said, “No, good, because you need to bling it out and put lights on it for the next time you wear it!” LOL! He certainly back-stroked for that quick thinking! LOL!

Have you ever been inspired as you watched an athlete play HIS GAME and you'd see him at his best, doing his best and having remarkable results? Commentators often say..."He's sure in the zone, today!"

Being "in the zone" is when someone’s actions seem effortless, almost as if they could score at will -- just a sweet spot where their confidence, talent and abilities produce winning results. I’ve seen that when my grandson is on his game – pitching no hit innings and when he batted, scoring 2-base to home runs. At times like that we know “He’s in his zone!”

The question is for those of us who are athletes or not…..”Are you living in your zone" -- that moment when you enjoy and love what you are doing so much, and are so passionate about doing it, that you don't even consider it a job or task or service project or ministry endeavor? It's just that sweet spot of "living in your zone".

I do my best to live that way. In fact, my blog is "Living in the Peace Zone". I do my best to avoid conflict or even thinking about those things that represent negativity -- thus I don't watch too much news. My weekends are when I feel the most "in the zone" when I am attending church and/or serving in church and I thank God for His many blessings to me, but I also serve as a sponsor in a discipleship class, am a Christian Retreat team member and I attend Bible Studies and meet with other people who have a sincere desire to love and serve God . It's my calling. I know it. A calling is when we are passionately using our God-given gifts in a way that pleases Him.

I know that when we find God's purpose and destiny for our lives...we begin to feel "in the zone" -- passionate about OUR GAME in life.

Have you discovered your calling? Are you living "in your zone"? If not, pray and ask God to help you find that sweet spot. In time, He’ll reveal it to you and you'll soon be "living in your zone"!

"Being Grateful In Good, Bad and In-Between Times”

When my home in Tulsa sold and I wasn’t even trying to sell it, I knew it was a sure sign that God was sending me to Frisco, TX. That’s where my daughter and family live. Don’t you love it when God gives undeniable directions to us – and we don’t even need to ask why there or why that or why not?

Yesterday, He did it again. He confirmed to me I was supposed to be here in Frisco because the Dallas Cowboys “The Star” Training Facility was just built and is located right here in Frisco – just 6 miles from my home. Okay, I’m quite sure those of you who are not fans of football and for sure – not the Dallas Cowboys -- could be wondering “Where is this post going?" But the truth of the matter is this – while I’ve had tears and sorrows and questions about my tomorrows, I’ve had so many joys and triumphs that I get giddy when I recognize even one more blessing. Yesterday was no exception. Staci Wallace, Denise Gerrich, Alexia Wallace and I headed over to the Cowboys training day at their new facility and, of course, I was giddy and even teary-eyed from the sweet memories with my sweetheart. I was like a school girl energized because her “star” crush was in town.

You see, the Dallas Cowboys were a very big deal for us in the early 60s when they were just franchised. My husband and I (then boyfriend and I) wouldn’t miss watching a Cowboy game. We loved Tom Landry and his coaching style – and we loved the 1966 (the year we were married) and 1967 years of their official start of record setting performances. We were hooked! Back then, if it was a home game, the game would be blacked out on TV so as to get more fans to come to the game in person. But, my ever so brilliant husband, rigged up an enormous TV antenna on the roof of our home and Sunday afternoons would mean he was on the roof -- turning and tweaking the antenna ever so slightly to be sure we had the best picture. They’ve been “our team” since then, even though the early “glory days” have been hard for them to repeat. Our hope is still high for their comeback.

As I said, I’ve known plenty of tough times in my life, and even recently some challenges with car accidents and physical issues – but I don’t let my thoughts go to those times. I stay amped up on the sweet favors of God and make a big deal about them. If we sincerely believe that “ALL THINGS work together for good to those WHO LOVE GOD and are called according to His purposes” (Romans 8:28) ….then even in the bad times as well as the good times, we see reasons to be thankful. For example: my car was rear-ended, but I got to drive a fun screaming yellow convertible for a week while it was in the shop.

The Bible is very clear about being thankful. The Apostle Paul says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

When we give thanks in the good times, we’re reminded that those are heaven’s blessings to us. Giving thanks makes us appreciate what we have been given. A person who is always complaining and never grateful is a someone who just doesn’t know the richness of life. When we take the time to count our blessings, when we make it a point to focus on the wonderful things we have been given, we appreciate life more.

When we give thanks in the difficult times, we are demonstrating our faith in our God who we believe has a plan we do not see. We believe that His wisdom is beyond our own. We can't always understand what happens in life. If we depend on our senses, life will be like a roller coaster. If we learn to depend on God, life will be steady. We can know peace even in the confusing times.

Just a couple of days ago, I was shocked to see that dear friends of mine in Tulsa lost their home in a fire that was caused from their furnace. Thankfully they, their grandson and dogs made it out safely. And, they had the good sense to get their cars out of the garage. These are the dearest, most faith-filled, loving and generous people you could imagine. They had so memorabilia, records and other treasures in that home. Her words on Facebook: “God sent guardian angels that surrounded us tonight. God is always watching out for us.” I didn’t read words of bitterness, pain, anger at God for “letting this happen” – only words of gratitude. I don’t doubt for a minute that God will bring so much beauty out of this loss that they have gone through.

Living daily with an attitude of gratitude, in spite of our good, bad and in between times, has monumental rewards that come our way. We tough it out in the tough times and we celebrate the joys in the good times. That’s just the way Christ would want us to live. After all, He left heaven’s glories to come to this earth to live, die, be buried and rise again – to give us LIFE and MORE ABUNDANT LIFE (John 10:10). I like to think that I’m living the life that He came to give me. Maybe it’s time you kept your eyes open for the blessings that show up in your life – even the good, the bad and the in-between ones!

Servant Leadership is Spelled L-O-V-E

Day 8 of the LOVE MONTH -- Servant Leadership is spelled L-O-V-E
I'm on the Host Team at Life.Church on Sunday nights. Since it was Super Bowl weekend, instead of our usual Host Team shirts, we could wear our favorite sports team shirt. Of course, I pulled out my1992 Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl shirt (with #8 Troy Aikman on the front). Yes, I know my shirt was older than most of those who attended service this weekend. LOL! The Cowboys have had my heart since they first became a franchise -- back in the day when my husband would be on the roof of our home in Dallas, spinning the huge attenna trying to pull in the game. Back in those days, if it was a home game, they wouldn't show it locally, so we had to rig our attenna to make magic happen. LOL!

MY team wasn't playing the big game but the Broncos and Panthers were. I really wanted to see Peyton Manning pull this one off. And, indeed he and the Broncos did. I couldn't resist sharing this article by Dr. Jim Denison that I read yesterday. Lots of records made, but Peyton Manning's servant leadership reveals he is a role model and leader worth following.
BRONCOS WIN SUPER BOWL 50: WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW
Last night the Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers to win Super Bowl 50. Here are some facts about the teams and the game that you might not know:
• Peyton Manning became the oldest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl.
• He is the first quarterback to reach the game with two different teams.
• For the first time, two quarterbacks who were number-one picks in the NFL draft, competed against each other in a Super Bowl.
• The age gap between Manning (39) and Carolina quarterback Cam Newton (26) was the largest in Super Bowl history.
• John Elway, Denver's general manager, became the first to win a championship as a player and as a GM.
• Over the last 15 championship games, the favorites won only three times.
• A thirty-second Super Bowl ad cost at least $5 million.
• Around 170 million people worldwide watched the game from 180 different countries.
I admire the way Peyton Manning prepared for the game and handled victory afterwards. In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, he consistently deferred attention from himself and focused on his team. After last night's win, he refused to answer questions about his possible retirement, lest his story overshadow his team's victory.

Max DePree, a former CEO and bestselling author, defines leadership this way: "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor."

Oswald Sanders, in his now-classic Spiritual Leadership, claims that "true greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you." To discover if you're truly a servant, see how you respond the next time someone treats you like one.

In our consumer-centric, self-promotional culture, selfless humility makes a lasting impression. Jesus "came not to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28). Now he invites us to follow his example. The world will not always remember who won Super Bowl 50, but the next person you serve will not forget your sacrificial compassion.

Nor will your Lord.