i prayed for a touchdown, and the lord scored one.

In addition to their personalities, my students' essays are teaching me a great deal about their belief systems.

Their papers reiterate that football is king in Texas, and the Friday night lights hold a special place in many of their hearts and memories.

Jesus also has quite a presence in my classroom. There are Baptists. There are Methodists. There are Catholics. There are the Young LIfe kids. There are the ones who have gone on missions to Africa and Mexico. Does this mean that there's good karma in my classes? Do karma and Jesus mix? I hope that all of these kids will pray for me to keep moving toward my goals in life. Maybe I should ask them.

In all seriousness, my next story will be called, "Jesus was a Football Player from Texas." He was, you know.