.
Racing for fun or for a living is stressful. The nature of the deal is that
our life is on the edge. When you are at the track everything seems to run
at 100 miles an hour. It is racing after all. It’s supposed to move fast.
Maybe it is a good time to remember we all need a time out. Greetings in the
name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The racing world does not corner the market on stress and frustration.
The world we live in has been described as a rat race. Did you ever find
yourself wondering why you do what you do?
Many times in life the thought crosses our mind concerning our
motivation. Why do we do this? Why am I here? When we get to that point it
is good to step back and take a look at things. Time to let things slow down
and take a time out. Take a step out of your routine and look for a place to
rest and collect your thoughts. Jesus is that place.
Jesus came to save us. From what you ask, from us. We fill our lives with
so much stuff that the stuff starts to win out. We develop a lifestyle that
feeds off itself. We start finding ourselves needing to do this, this and
this in order to maintain our lifestyle. It becomes overwhelming and we just
keep on going trying to stay one-step ahead, for what? So we can live?
My time in Haiti has given me a unique perspective on life and living.
Nothing is as important as it seems at the time. Life can go on without the
“things” we have. Even in the absence of running water and electricity an
abundant life is possible. Living is not about the circumstances that
surround us, it is about the condition of our heart and soul.
I am not sure many people would classify what they do as living. They may
say surviving, but not living. We all have a vision of what living is and we
are not there yet. But take a time out, is your goal more stuff or are we
trying to find that joy and peace God offers?
In his poem, The Station, Hastings talks about the vision, “when we get
there”. Where? A new house, car, home, kids through school, promotion, win a
race. We never get there. Our vision is never satisfied. He writes further
to say it is not the destination, but the journey that we must focus on.
That is why Jesus makes this offer in Matthew:
Matthew 11:28-29, nlt,
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy
burdens,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I
am humble and gentle,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Is your soul restless? Is your life upside
down? Jesus provides for each one of us the security of a destination. If we
accept Him we will be with him for eternity. Destination settled, now about
the journey.
At Thompson Speedway under the big tree in turn one is a bench. It was
given to Rev. Pat in honor of his service helping racers on their journey.
The message is simple, come unto me and rest. Time out, park it on the
bench, adjust your focus. Spend some time with Jesus and seek His will for
your life. When we ask, seek and knock, it will be provided for us within
the will of God.
Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew
7:7-12; "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks,
the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he
asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask
him! So in everything,
do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law
and the Prophets.
When we take a step back from the challenges of
our life we realize that we do not have to win the race, our Savior has
already won that race. We can adjust our focus and look around us and
participate in the journey. Along that road we now have the ability to reach
out and help one another. We can show people the source of life, true
living. We need to, as Jesus said, be humble and gentle. This will give us
the opportunity to know what true living is all about. That peace and joy we
receive will change our entire perspective.
David writes in Psalm twenty-three,
Psalm 23 1-3,
The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He
renews my strength.
Take a time out and seek the
Lord. In Jesus we have everything we need; spend some time with Him, walk
with Him and let Him renew your strength.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
SK5K - I have said it before and I’ll say it again, some of
the best racing I have seen in the last few years has taken place in the SK
Mod division at Stafford Motor Speedway. If you haven’t made the effort to
be there, you have missed some exciting action.
The $5,000 to win SK event last weekend only added to the story. Some of
the best modified drivers around gathered to contest over what would be a
100 green flag laps. The eventual winner was not without challenges. A
broken distributer in practice left the #6 team of Ryan Preece scrambling to
get ready for the main event. With no time to practice he was given a few
laps during the SK Lite main to see if things were okay.
I talked with Ryan and he shared that that wasn’t the only challenge they
faced this week. They had intended on putting a newly refreshed engine in
for the big race but it wasn’t ready. The problem was the car was prepped
and waiting. So they did do an engine change during the week, except it was
the same engine that was disconnected and connected!
Having to start at the rear was the first hurdle. Getting caught up in an
early race tangle, going airborne for the second time this year was the
second. Maybe a new nickname is in order? Again it was back to the rear of
the field.
The third hurdle came when he lost a radiator hose. The bad part of that
is it collected the cars of Dan Avery and Mike Christopher Jr. As they tried
to clean up the mess on the track repairs were made and Preece was relegated
to the back of the field again. Racing his way into the lead led to the
final hurdle, Justin Bonsignore and Keith Rocco. Both were breathing down
his neck, side-by-side, nose to tail. You could see Preece’s car giving up.
Yellow flag for a spin in turn four!
Talking with Bonsignore after the race he shared that he didn’t need that
last caution. His car was just coming in and he had something for Preece.
Without the caution he was confident he could have overtaken Preece for the
win. Judging by the look of disappointment on Keith Rocco’s face he also had
something for the 6 car but didn’t have a chance to show it.
Watching a driver come from the rear of the field three times in a race
is exciting, but in addition to that the entire field raced side by side in
packs of five and six for the entire race. Yes, there were a few missteps
from some drivers in the lead pack that made for some interesting
conversations and debates. The fact remains this was a very entertaining
event!
NHMS - This week sees us headed to the Granite State for a
triple header, Two Whelen Mod Tour races and one K&N. We will be staying in
the competitors lot with the RWJM RV thanks to Steve and Trudy Craig, stop
by and say hello.
Until next time, be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals
and apparel. See them at the Show Your Faith Apparel Store at
http://www.rwjm.com/store. Send us your prayer and counseling needs no matter
what part of our racing family you are in, or give us a call. 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
http://www.rwjm.com 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
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY.
SEND THEM TO:
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES
PO Box 586
Tolland, CT, 06084
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