Words have tremendous power. What we say can change the direction of
someone's life. In addition to that how we encourage people goes a long
way in determining their ability to live. We can make a tremendous
difference if we just take a second and think about how the words we are
about to say and the things we are about to do. Greetings in the name of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
"Put your mind in gear before you put your mouth in motion”
is a popular statement but we should add “before we put our Chrome Horn
in someone’s rear.” Sometimes we encourage people to get even!
Encouragement is a two-step process, it matters what we say
and it matters what we do. Last week I talked about watching what we
say. This week we will learn the difference between encouraging actions
and actions that handicap.
Most of us got to where we are in racing because of what we
learned from someone. Think back in your memory, who are the people you
remember most? We remember those who helped point you in the right
direction, those who motivated you to do better, and those who helped
you without doing it for you.
Encouragement doesn’t mean doing something for someone. This
might help us understand that a little better.
The Cocoon
A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small
opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as
it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed
to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could
go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit
of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen
body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected
that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to
support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to
fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that
the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to
get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the
body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for
flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If
God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would
cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we
could never fly.
Sometimes struggling a little is good for us.
We need to remember that encouragement has many shapes and
forms; instead of giving someone a fish, we need to teach them to fish.
Giving people instructions and watching them struggle through the
learning process can be difficult. Fight the temptation to jump in and
do it for them.
We need to help them, support them and most of all we need to
forgive them when they make a mistake. God handles us the same way.
God give us the freedom to make mistakes and then forgives us
when we fail, picks us up, places us back where we belong and lets us
try again.
We need to be the same way. That’s where the trouble comes
in.
We are too busy and too impatient to wait and watch a flower
grow or a butterfly struggle out of a cocoon and spread its wings. We
have done more to handicap the next generation by giving them everything
they want now than we have done to help them. That is just a commentary
on the society in which we live. We live in an immediate society. We
want it now!
Our ability to resist making everything better goes a long
way toward helping mold and shape people into the people they need to
be. We encourage them with words and we also encourage them with our
presence. With our willingness to walk along side them and help them
find the right path.
True encouragement requires we not only be careful with what
we say, but we are careful with what we do. David wrote this about God.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
God wants us all to grow to our full potential in him and he
is willing to let us learn along the way to get us there. He walks along
beside us helping us along, picking us up when we fall, carrying us when
we are not strong enough, guiding us with his word. He is there every
moment of everyday ready to provide the encouragement we need. He will
not do it for us but he will enable us to achieve it.
FOOTPRINTS
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
Carry someone through the challenges of life. Make a
commitment today to encourage someone. Motivate them with your words and
actions to become the Christian they need to be. Remember, Christ did it
for us. God Bless, Rev. Don
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
What a difference a day makes. The WMT was scheduled to
compete with the weekly divisions Friday night at Stafford Motor
Speedway but the weather had other plans. Friday turned out to be a day
from the fall not the summer, rain and cold, barely out of the forties.
As difficult as that call is to make the plug was pulled early and with
Saturday as an announced rain date the stage was set to enjoy one of the
best days of the summer at Stafford Motor Speedway.
The race was one for the summer memory bank. When they ask
you what you did this summer, this will be one of the events on the
list. TC, Todd Szegedy and Mike Stefanik dueled through several late
race restarts. There were several lead changes that won’t show up in the
stats as they didn’t take place at the start/finish line. TC’s clutch
was slipping but he overcame that with horsepower to win his first race
in over a year.
Doug Coby was back in the #77 of Curt Chase and brought the
car home to a fourth place finish. Doug has been out a racecar for a few
weeks but you would never know. He demonstrated the form that saw him
visit victory lane in last Year’s Spring Sizzler. Good job Doug.
Woody Pitkat made his WMT debut at his home track and did a
good job bringing the Hillbilly Racing GTO home with a top ten in tenth
place. He visited victory lane earlier in the evening, winning the SKmod
feature. By winning he added to his lead in the national point standing
for the Whelen All-American Series.
We have a few folks that we need to put on our prayer list.
Linda Brady made it back to the track but needs our prayers as she deals
with some liver issues.
Art Barry’s wife Debbie had a stroke last week and is
undergoing tests to determine the best treatment. Keep Art and Debbie in
your thoughts and prayers.
Please keep each of these families and the entire WMT family
in your Thoughts and Prayers.
There is a WMT picnic in the planning for the September race
at NHIS. Let Jeri Defrane or Cheryl Tomaino know if you can bring
something.
Rev. Dan made the trip up to Chemung Speedrome Saturday night
and received a warm welcome. He wanted to say thanks to all the folks up
there for allowing us to participate in the program and we are looking
forward to heading back next year.
This week finds us at Thompson on Thursday night, stop by and
say hi.
Be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and
apparel. See them at the Online Apparel Store at
www.RWJM.org. Call us with your prayer
and counseling needs and list all your prayer needs, no matter what part
of our racing family you are in, with the Racing Family Prayer Request
Page
www.rwjm.org/page/prayers.php also send your prayer request by mail.
Until next time, remember that God loves you, we love you and
Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing. GOD BLESS.
Mail reaches us at Racing with Jesus Ministries , PO Box 586
, Tolland , CT 06084 . Check our weekly printed pages in "Area Auto
Racing News", the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper" See our
on-line Apparel Store for subscription information. Check our home page
www.rwjm.org for past articles. We
invite you to input your thoughts as you sign our Guest Book. Please
remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful financial
support.
Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the
Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn
his face toward you and give you peace."
May God always Bless you, everyday in everyway. Rev. Don
CHECKERED CHEERS
***WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES***
August 15
JOHN & DENISE DURLING - This Grandview Speedway Late Model driver
and wife from Reading . PA share their 5th anniversary.
August 20
ANDY & BARBARA HALL - This former NASCAR PR director, now Indy
Racing League official, and wife have their 18th anniversary.
DAN & LAURIE WALKER - The Public Relations Director at Beech
Ridge Motor Speedway and wife share their 22nd.
August 21
JERRY & LESLIE BURCHETTE - This Super Pro IHRA driver and wife
share their 14th anniversary.
STEVE & BONNIE MILLER - This NASCAR BNS GRAND NATIONAL couple
from Waterford , NJ have their 34th anniversary.
***BELATED***
August 14
BOB & DEBBIE YURKO - This couple can be seen recording the
action at Monadnock and Thompson weekly have their special day. As I
heard one announcer put it "she must be a saint"
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
August 15
JOHN DURLING - Reading, PA championship Grandview Speedway Late
Model driver.
A.J. ROMANO - Johnstown, NY dirt Modified driver.
SAM SCHMIDT - Las Vegas, NV part-time IRL driver.
MARIO FIORE - The famous Agawam , MA NASCAR Modified Team owner.
DICK CLARK - Long Island occasional NASCAR WMT driver.
MARCEL DUSSEAULT - Somerswoth, NH former NASCAR BES Marc
Motorsports team owner.
GEORGE FOSSETT - Gray, ME fan.
KENNY HOLLIS - No. Easton , MA AARN race fan.
ADAM LEE O'BRIEN - Kyle Petty's biggest fan and son of Tammy from
Boyertown , PA is 5.
August 16
DR. JERRY PUNCH - Cornelius, NC much loved ESPN/ABC racing
announcer, but most importantly, Joni's husband.
ERIC BEERS - Northampton , PA WMT Modified driver.
LOU PRIOR - CT former ProStock driver.
BILL KISER - Concord , NC BGN writer.
MARK BOURCIER - CT based veteran racing writer.
DAWN SANSEVERINO - A daughter of Hillsborough , NC photographer
Ed and wife Linda.
MICHAEL JIVANELLI - A son of Hampton Bays , NY Riverhead Raceway
driver Dan is 16.
August 17
PHIL RONDEAU - Baltic, CT Hooters Cup/LM driver.
JIM MAVLOUGANES - CT based ProStock driver.
JIM ROSENFIELD - MA ProStock driver.
JIM TERWILLIGER - Bloomingburg, NY 1956 Sprint URC Rookie of the
Year, now retired.
CHRIS ROMANO - AARN's "Midget Magic" columnist, now down south.
SHERIL PERRY - She writes about Seekonk Speedway from Rehoboth ,
MA .
ARLENE HARD - Wife of Vill, race car fan since 1958 from Clifton
, NJ .
RON HANNA - Amsterdam, NY Fonda Speedway fan.
August 18
DAVEY JOHNSON - Imperial, PA S.T.A.R.S. Late Model driver.
DOUG DIDERO - Oswego Speedway/ISMA SuperModified driver.
SAM STERN - MA ProStock driver.
BETH SEMINARA - Originally from Brewster , NY now Mt. Holly , NC
, wife of "Area Auto RAcing News" Nextel Cup photographer Ted.
AMANDA VECCHIO - The daughter of Syracuse , NY former NASCAR BES
team owners Tony and Debbie is 9.
August 19
MIKE ROWE - One of Maine 's legendary NASCAR BES/LM drivers and very
proud dad of Turner, Maine BES/LM driver Benji.
PAUL SPENCER - Berwick, PA brother of NNC driver JIm.
TIM BENDER - Colden, NY NASCAR BES driver.
FRAN COLSON - Leominster, MA ProStock driver.
JIM KEEKER - USAC Midget driver.
LINDA SANSEVERINO - Wife of Hillsborough , NC photographer Ed.
JULIE POTTER - Preston, CT Modified fan.
August 20
JOHN LESNIAK - Wallingford, CT NASCAR BES driver
CHARLIE KREMER - NJ asphalt Modified driver.
STEVE MILLER - Waterford, NJ BES team part-owner.
DENNIS PUNCH - PR man for the Brewco BGN Team. Dennis is also Dr.
Jerry's brother.
August 21
NEAL FEOLA - He really isn't "Nasty Neal" and is a Blunderbust
driver at Riverhead Raceway.
TIM ATTAYA - Promoter of the Augusta , ME civic Center
Motorsports Show in January and Maine TV personality.
RENE LaLUMIERE - Jefferson, NH retired LM driver.
KAREN MARQUIS - Enfield, CT wife of NASCAR WMT and BES driver
Jerry.
BILL SANSEVERINO - Son of Hillsborough , NC photographer Ed and
wife Linda.
*** IN THE SHOP ***
JORDAN EMERSON - Jordan was injured Wednesday at Beech Ridge. We
ask the Lord for a full and quick recovery. Please keep her and her
folks, Jimmy and Debbie in your prayers.
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY.
SEND THEM TO RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES AT
PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084
TheChromeHorn RWJM Archives
Racing With Jesus Ministries Website
