They say beauty is only skin-deep. What you see on the outside is not
always what you get. I have seen some good-looking racecars that don’t
have what it takes to be competitive on the track. There is no easy way
to find out if what you see is what you get. Greetings in the name of
our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Tech inspection exists for the purpose of making sure the seen and
unseen components conform to the rules. The necessity of having to check
gives us an indication of our human nature, if no one catches you it is
not cheating. I can think of many sayings we have, in and out of racing,
which help us rationalize bending the rules.
“We get paid to cheat and they get paid to catch us”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
“No one will ever know”
“Everyone’s doing it.”
Many times we rationalize doing something based on the risk of
being caught. Is the reward worth it if you received it by doing
something illegal, immoral or deceitful? Some would say yes, win at all
cost. Some would say yes, as long as no one was hurt. God’s word says,
no.
We bend the rules in our favor. We try to have everything work out
to our benefit. We spend time trying to figure out how we can get the
upper hand and not get caught. We tend to be self-centered and do
everything in our power to achieve the best outcome.
I have been known to golf a little bit. Golf is a very interesting
sport. There are no officials out there checking to see if you are
following the rules. You and you alone are responsible for enforcing the
rules on yourself. Call your own penalties. That’s when it gets
interesting. How many of us are ready to turn ourselves in for something
that violates the rules? They say someone’s true character shows when
you watch them play golf, will they cheat themselves or will they hold
up the integrity of the rules. What does it matter it is only a game;
right?
In Luke’s gospel he tells us that the blessings we receive from God
are contingent on how we handle the things of this world. Do we handle
them with the moral character that will honor God? Do we view these
resources as someone else’s not to be squandered?
Luke 16:10-13: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can
also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little
will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in
handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you
have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give
you property of your own? "No servant can serve two masters. Either he
will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
God doesn’t need tech inspection. He knows all that we do, seen and
unseen. He knows the secrets that hide in each one of our closets. We
cannot hide them from Him. God honors those that honor Him in all they
do. It comes down to a choice. Who will we serve?
We love to sit on the fence. When we evaluate a situation we choose
which side of the fence we want to jump down on and live accordingly.
God says there are no fence sitters. You either are going to please Him
or not.
I would like to encourage you to live with integrity in everything
you do. Whether seen or unseen we should not need to explain our
motives; they should be plain to see. We don’t need to live our lives
always looking over our shoulder wondering if anyone is watching. It is
difficult to move forward if we are always looking around. In all we do
we should not be ashamed if it is exposed for all to see. Only when we
live like this do we experience the presence of God in our lives.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
WET WEEKEND FOULS UP THE SCHEDULE - Weather in the Northeast
had far-reaching consequences. Races planned as qualifiers for the John
Blewett Memorial North-South Shootout were rained out from Pennsylvania
to New Hampshire and in between. The Whelen Modified Tour and Camping
World Series were scheduled to compete at Stafford Motor Speedway but
the weather moved that to October 11 & 12.
The King of the Mountain event at Mountain Speedway would have put
two drivers in qualifying spots for the JBM-NSS but needed to be
rescheduled. Look for them to try again next week. There is some good
news though, Bob Menschner chaplain for RWJM is planning to make the
trip and is looking forward to ministering at Mountain. Bob shared with
me how blessed he was to have a place to minister after the closing of
Wall Stadium. He has seen God open doors for him and make it possible to
get back to the track and minister to drivers and teams.
The True Value Series fell to the weather in Claremont NH as they
planned to run the inaugural Ricky Miller 100 at Twin State Speedway.
The winner would also receive a qualifying spot for the JBM-NSS.
It was a crazy weekend all around as Hurricane Kyle headed for
Downeast Maine, Lynda and I headed to her folks house to help them
batten down the hatches and get the boats out of the water. As it turned
out the storm turned to the east and they didn’t suffer a direct hit,
but they did have over 5 inches of rain. We have seen enough rain for
this racing season.
PASSING OF A LEGEND - With Paul Newman’s passing this past
week the racing community lost a friend and talented driver. He touched
the lives of many in and out of the racing family. I saw Paul in passing
once, actually I was passing him on Route 74 as he drove with his wife
of 50 years, Joanne Woodward, to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in
Ashford. With his vision and resources he has given hope to countless
kids who face challenges that would overwhelm many of us. Thank you
Paul, you will be dearly missed.
PRAYER NEEDED - I received word this past weekend of
the passing of Brady Squires, born in January he spent most of his eight
months in the hospital. His father, Roy is a crewmember on the #1 TG
Racing Modified. Roy, his wife Lori and 4-year-old daughter Ashley, have
been at Brady's side every day offering all the love and support they
can. Unfortunately, Brady lost his fight last Saturday. Roy has not been
able to participate in racing this year as you can imagine. Racing with
Jesus along with the #1 TG Racing Team would ask that you keep this
family in your thoughts and prayers these coming weeks. Cards can be
sent to The Squires Family, 119 Chester Rd., Blandford, MA 01008
The week ahead has us headed to Chemung Speedrome for the Whelen
Modified Tour. I have never been there and am looking forward to seeing
the place. Most of the local scene has wrapped up and in the coming
weeks I will have some comments on the champions and their seasons. For
now, sit back relax and get ready for some non-points racing. Have a
great week.
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***
October 2
JEFF & JULIE WINSOR - This Waterford Speedbowl staff couple from
Danielson, CT have their 14th anniversary.
October 4
MIKE & LORI FIELDS - The Editor of LONGISLANDMOTORSPORTS.COM and
wife share their 32nd Anniversary. The couple is also Racing 4 Kids
Children's Charities.
BOB & JENNIFER WEBBER, JR. - Former Promoter of Star Speedway in
Epping, NH and wife celebrate their 9th anniversary.
TRAVERS & NOREEN CAMBRA - This former Wall Stadium photographer
and wife share their 37th anniversary.
October 6
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES - The longest continuous running
ministry in oval track racing celebrates its 28th anniversary.
TIM & KATHY ATTAYA - The Co-Producers of the annual Maine Civic
Center Motorsports show have their 17th anniversary.
October 7
BOB & CAROLYN BLAISDELL - These fans from Champaign, IL have their
41st anniversary.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
October 1
STEVE NOWAKOWSKI - "Stevie Wonder" of East Hampton, CT NASCAR CWES
and dirt Modified driver.
MARK SIMO - Carlsbad, NC NASCAR CWES/ LMSC driver.
KEVIN HODGE - Crewman son of Manchester, CT photographers Mary
and Howie Hodge.
October 2
CARL PASTERYAK - Lisbon, CT NASCAR Whelen Modified Series driver.
JOE BARNES - Scranton, PA NASCAR CWES driver.
JOE INGLIN, JR - Three time most popular driver at the former
Flemington Speedway.
RICHARD LASATER - CTS Crew Chief from Little Rock, AK.
VICTORIA ROMANO - This West Long Branch, NJ Wall Township
Speedway George Andretta, Robert Geibel and a Steve Park fan is 15.
October 3
ALAN JOHNSON - "AJ Slideways," NY based DIRT Modified driver.
TOM CAPIE - Trevose, PA URC Sprint driver.
TOM TAGG - Webster, MA Semi-retired CT Modified driver.
ALESSANDRO ZAMPEDRI - Monte Carlo, Monaco, Brescia, Italy born,
IRL driver.
October 4
BUDDY LOECHER - Bob Park former Riverhead Modified Crew Chief, now
doing same for Bob in NC.
DREW DAMIANI - The senior driver on the LAD 1/4 Midget Racing
team in PA.
SARAH BURTON - The daughter of South Boston, VA driver Ward and
wife Tabitha.
EMILY CAVALLERO - This Wall Township speedway fan from
Farmingdale, NJ and grandaughter of fan Doris Bradley, has her 10th.
LINDA EVANS - A Whelen Modified Tour & Waterford Speedbowl fan.
October 5
DAVE REZENDES - Charlotte, NC ,Assonet, MA born, CTS/NNS driver.
JOHN BLEWETT, SR. - NJ retired asphalt Modified great and dad of
retired great John Blewett II and grandad of WMT driver Jimmy Blewett
and the late John III.
BUBBA GALE - Irvington, AL NASCAR All-Pro Series driver.
VILLEROY HARD - "Vill" of Clifton, NJ has his 79th.
October 6
CHIP SLOCUM - Ewing, NJ dirt Modified driver.
MIKE McLAUGHLIN - Waterloo, NY born former NNS, CWES & WMT
driver.
DICK McCABE - Retired Kennebunkport, ME NASCAR CWES great.
RICH LAVALETTE - "Haskell" is a former Mario Fiore/Gulf Racing
NASCAR WMT crewman, now on a south team
October 7
LYNDA RIVERS - Wife of WMT pastor and RWJM President Rev. Don. Thank
you for all your understanding and love.
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY.
SEND THEM TO:
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES
PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084
TheChromeHorn RWJM Archives
Racing With Jesus Ministries Website
