Another nearly PERFECT Super Bowl prediction!
joeacast
Two years in a row I have aced my annual Super Bowl prediction. I don’t just predict winners and losers, but I love to predict key game moments and big events that will change how the game turns out. We’re talking about uncanny accuracy. (You can read last year’s prediction here.) I won’t bore you with all the details but here are the highlights.
- The Patriots will score the first and last TDs of the game.
- Unlike last year’s blowout, this game will be decided by four points or less. The Patriots will win.
- Marshawn Lynch will score one rushing TD for the Seahawks.
- The Seahawks will have one surprise touchdown in the first half, probably near the end of the 2nd quarter.
- Tom Brady will throw two pics, yet will be MVP.
- Seahawks wide receiver, Kearse, will have at least one big play, maybe even a circus-type catch.
- Russell Wilson will throw a big interception late in the game.
- A no-name rookie will decide who wins the Super Bowl.
- The Seattle coaching staff will make a horrible decision, late in the game, while under pressure.
- Bill Belichick, Patriots coach, will wear a sweatshirt.
If you want to read my full prediction, please click here. Seriously, do you know anybody else that called this game with such detail? I’m assuming someone from Vegas will be calling me shortly.
For those of you interested in these things, I’ll give you a little tip on making great predictions like mine. Pay attention, and you’ll do well in your future prognostications, too. Here’s my secret: wait until after the game is over, and then make your prediction.
It’s that simple! Seriously, it works great on sporting events (obviously!), but this method can be used for predicting the outcomes of elections, major world events and even how your child will score on a test at school. Once you get good, you’ll find your accuracy approaching 100% before long. Unfortunately, this method won’t help you with things before they happen; I’m still working on that.
Have you ever wanted to know how something would turn out before it happened? Have you ever wondered if a certain relationship would work out, if a business would take off, if a relative would survive cancer or if your child would make it through the teen years without doing something too regrettable? I’m not sure if we want to know these things because we think it could be easier to handle the reality knowing it ahead of time, or if because we think we could change the outcome if we knew before hand. Reality is, we don’t get to know, and like yesterday’s football game, the outcome can change dramatically, multiple times, before the dust finally settles.
Thankfully, God knows the future with 100% accuracy. As many of you know, two and half weeks ago my relationship to Lake Ann Camp came to a screeching halt. Traci and I had anticipated spending the next several years working here, connecting with pastors, campers and camp supporters while investing in the next generation of church leaders. Our dreams included years of ministry partnership with the camp and in one afternoon, everything changed.
Over that past couple of weeks we have really wrestled with God’s working in all of this, and have repeatedly wondered what He is up to. We’ve also come to this conclusion: had we known that we were going to be released from our duties after just 22 months of service, we probably never would have taken the job. It's doubtful that we would have moved our family across the country from Oregon to northern Michigan.
Yet, without question, I can tell you we are glad we came! We are thankful for the relationships that have been built, thankful for the ministry God allowed us to be a part of, and yes, even thankful for the process we are going thru now. We know that whatever God has in store for us next, the past 22 months will play a big part in our future. In other words, if we hadn’t made the move out here 22 months ago, we would miss out on the future plans God has next.
Soon, we’ll be able to look back and see, at least in-part, how God is using our present circumstances to prepare us for a future He already knows. In the mean time, our task is to keep trusting Him and to work on growing thru this experience. We’re working through the heartache of loss, the challenges of watching our children unpack their hurt, and the difficulty of facing some serious uncertainty about the next four weeks. (Where will we live? What will I do for a job? Will our kids be able to stay in school? Are we moving across town? Across the state? Back across the country?)
While wrestling with these unknown circumstances, I came across Psalm 143:8, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” (NIV) I love how The Message paraphrases this: “If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you.”
I don’t know what’s next for me and my family. What I do know, is that God knows, and He loves us deeply and has a plan that will redeem everything we’re walking thru now. That plan is truly the best, and when the time comes that I can look back and a make a near-perfect Super Bowl-esque prediction, I’ll be glad we followed Him.
How about you? Are you facing some uncertainty in your life? Are you on a path that doesn’t make sense to you right now? Maybe you need to make Psalm 143:8 your prayer, too, and trust in the love of God, while you wait for the timing of God. I’ll be right there with you and soon we’ll both have a great story to tell!
Go ahead and take the plunge, the future is always better out on the water!