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God, I'm going to be real honest. I don't want to go back to school. But I really do want to start the year right. So help me to change my not-so-great attitude.

Father, I want you to be right beside me at school this year, almost like you're my best friend. If you were really walking beside me, maybe I'd be more concerned about pleasing you than pleasing others. If you were there beside me, maybe I'd realize I could talk to you anytime I wanted, and lean on you when I'm feeling sad or dumb. Help me know you really will be right beside me each day of this school year.

Dear Lord, It would be so easy to look around school and see all the losers. Not a cool way of thinking, is it? Help me with this, OK? Instead of looking at others as losers, help me to see them as people you love, people made in your image, people you died for.

Father in Heaven, When I'm around my friends at church, it's so easy to act like a Christian. Then I get back with my school friends and I'm like this completely different person. I want to keep my faith real this year. So please do whatever it takes to help me be the same person at school as I am at church. In spite of my flaws and the mistakes I make, help me to be totally committed to you.

Lord, At school, I see athletes and cheerleaders who seem to have it all together. I see the latest fashions on the coolest kids. I see cars in the parking lot that make me jealous. But then I think about a world I don't really see—an invisible world. It's the world where a lonely freshman is important. It's a world where a genuine smile means so much more than an expensive car. It's a world where the kid in the wheelchair is strong and powerful. It's a world that values honesty and love more than cool and popular stuff. It's a world where I'd discover that even the cool kids struggle and feel insecure sometimes. Help me catch a small glimpse of this invisible world this year. If I do, I just might value what you value, love what you love and want what you want.

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