MAN, WOULD I HAVE LOVED THIS CHRISTMAS PRESENT AS A KID

In fact, I think it would look pretty good in my garage right now. Once when the Cardinals were building a new ballpark, they were auctioning off all sorts of stuff, including a little car mascot Fredbird drove around the field. Our daughter thought I needed it and looked into bidding on it until the price got pretty crazy. She knew I'd like it for Christmas. She knows me well.

Pastor Rick Warren asked in one of his daily devotionals I get "What will you give to Jesus this year for His birthday?" Well, obviously God needs nothing, but in the spirit of giving, I was challenged.

I decided to pray for someone(s) I didn't know. So everyday, I take the challenge. Some days, I even offer more than one prayer. The first persons I prayed for were sitting fairly close to us at dinner one night. Before they left, they struck up a conversation with us. While that was certainly not in my prayer for them, it seemed kind of nice. Almost as if they knew what I had done. Now, I know that wasn't the case, but I took it as an affirmation.

It's good for two reasons. Number one, we're told to love others. Praying for someone is an act of love. Number two, it keeps us in contact with our Lord. We're told to pray continuously. To pray about everything. Number three (well, it may not be a good reason--remember, I told you there were only two) if just one more person took the same challenge, then we'd double the number of people reached. We could start a movement! Maybe that is a third good reason.

Ok, I'll give you one un-good reason: it's better than buying Jesus that little Cardinal car. I think He actually loves all teams.