Let Him Lead
In our lives many of the things we appreciate most are the things that we had to work the hardest to attain. The things that are handed to us sometimes are taken for granted and their true value is never truly appreciated until they are gone. Taking a look back through our lives identifies some challenging times that we have overcome. Who delivered us through those times? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A young guy stopped by the booth at Motorsports 2008 and was admiring the Tour Modified we had parked there. He asked a simple question, “How much are the tires on these cars?” I gave him a ballpark figure and he seemed surprised at the cost. He explained that he was thinking about running on the tour and wondered how much it would cost. He soon realized that the tires were the least of his concerns.
That illustrates the point that from the outside looking in things we see things differently. We only realize how difficult things are when we get involved. We go through life wanting to accomplish things and experience life to its fullest but we don’t really know what it takes to get there. There is no easy path to get to the most important things life has to offer, we have to work at it.
I think this story of the cocoon helps us understand that.
THE BUTTERFLY’S STRUGGLE
A man found a 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 got as far as it could, and it 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 lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
David writes in Psalm 23 about how God supplies our every need. If we let Him lead our life we will not miss out, we will have everything we need. Look at this list and you begin to understand what it takes to live life to the fullest.
I asked for Strength………And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom………And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity………And God gave me brain and brawn to work.
I asked for Courage………And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love………And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors………And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted……..I received everything I needed !
Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my Shepard, I have everything I need.
God provides the situations in life that will mold us into the people we need to be. They will mold us into a person who values and appreciates what is truly important. They will conform us to God’s image.
To lead the most abundant life we need to let God lead. We need to depend on Him to guide us and direct us through. God promises to show us what is worth living for. Let Him Lead!
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
MOTORSPORTS 2008- The show started for us on Thursday as it was the day the cars needed to arrive for the show. I want to thank Joe Gibbs Racing and Bullrider for bringing up Joey Logano’s #20, Rene and Jimmy for bringing in the Mystic Missle and Woody Pitkat for bringing down the Neon #52 for our display. The color scheme on the #52 has attracted lots of attention.
We were able to have the entire Board of Directors for Racing with
Do you remember those NFL commercials about “a big fan”? Well a big fan of Donny Lia’s visited the booth several times on Friday wanting his autograph. Every time his beer goggles got a little more hazy to the point that Donny and I became twins and he wanted me to autograph his shirt. Donny saved the day, fighting difficult traffic to make the trip down from
Woody, very familiar with running in two different divisions on the same night, did a double signing on Friday afternoon. The day was a great warm-up to the weekend. It was great to have Woody spend some time with us; ask him about the strawberry dessert he had.
Again, Motorsports proved to be an encouragement and an opportunity for us to continue to spread the word about Racing with
OOPS- I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news I made a mistake in the checkered cheers column concerning Greg Narducci. I reported him as car owner and should have said crew chief of the #09. He did report to me that he hopes to be back in 2008 in the same capacity. The good news, someone is reading my column!
Have a great week and remember to let Him lead!
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
January 23
KERRY & RENE’ EARNHARDT- This Kannapolis, NC ARCA/NNS driving son of the late Dale share their 10th anniversary.
BOB & LOIS MARTI- This Watertown, CT Modified Team crewman and wife have their 40th anniversary.
January 28
ROBERT & DONNA DILLNER- On Long Island, the parents of TV’s Bobby and Matt have their day.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
January 23
HERB DRUGG- Troy,NH NASCAR NCWS driver.
BRAD HIETALA- Ellington, CT Modified driver.
January 24
BRETT ROUBINEK- Chicago, IL born, Lakeville, CT occasional Crystal Rock Water NASCAR NCWS driver and lead sports car driving instructor.
GARY SPENCER- Shickshinny, PA NASCAR NCWS driver from the famous Berwick, PA racing family.
AUSTIN CAMERON- El Cajon, CA NASCAR West driver.
TINA CAMPBELL- Wife of Busch East Scene editor and organizer of the Annual Busch East Scene Snowmobile Poker Run for Charity, George
JENSEN PICARDL- Riverhead Raceway crewman/ driver.
JEFF SANDT- Gainseville, GA All Pro/ UDTRA photographer and writer.
JAMES CASEY- Seekonk Speedway fan.
ALEXANDRIA TWINEM- The daughter of Brookfield, WI fans Tom and Carita.
January 25
JOE PLAZEK- Caistor Centre, Ontario D.I.R.T. Modified driver.
DALE QUARTERLY- Westfield, MA NCWS owner, crew chief and part-time driver.
BUDDY BAKER- Nextel Cup retired great, now race commentator.
BRIAN BOISSONNEAULT- Windham, CT ProStock team owner with brother Brad as driver.
BRIAN DANKO- Southington, CT famous AARN Modified Series columnist.
LYNDA HEDGER- Wife of NASCAR Sprint Cup Official, Randy.
ROBERT BLAISDELL- Champaign, IL fan.
January 26
PAUL NEWMAN- Humanitarian actor, driver and team owner whose grocery shelf products profits go to charity.
JOE TIEZZI- Ivoryton, CT retired Mod driver.
CAROL PRATT- Bob’s wife/ sister-in-Law of AARN Advertising Manager Joe Pratt and aunt to drivers Ed, Richie and Richie, Jr.
MICHELLE McMECHEN- The wife of Steve and daughter Henry St. John at Jewett City Service.
MICHAEL PARES, JR- Raceway Park Champion and the son of “Area Auto Racing News” NASCAR Mod Series photographer Mike and wife Carol.
JONNY KERSLAKE- son of Danbury racer John and a racer in his own right. Happy Birthday John-John.
January 27
ROB BOUCHARD- Massachusetts ProStock driver.
RIT PATCHEN- Retired Danbury, CT Modified driver.
LEWIS COMPTON- Martinsville Speedway Retired Chief Announcer.
BILL YODER- Glenside, PA fan and EMPA Secretary.
BRIAN T. CUMMINS- New Jersey fan.
CHRIS McMURRAY- Schenectady, NY Eddie Marshall Lebanon Valley friend and fan.
January 28
DAVID GREEN- Archdale, NC NSC/NNS driver.
JON CLEMENS- Pennsy Hoosier Tire dealer.
JUSTIN BOSS- Son of CT Strictly Stock/ LM driver Glen is 18.
January 29
SUE SANTERRE- Wife of four-time NCWS Champion and now NCWS Carowner Andy and his favorite PR agent.
TOMMY HOUSTON- Hickory, NC retired NNS driver.
RICK KARPEUK- PA asphalt Mod driver.
JEFF DAVIS- Anaheim Hills, CA NASCAR West driver.
PATRICK REYNOLDS- New Milford, CR ProCup driver.
LUKE DAMIANI- One of Andy’s sons of Woxall, PA and 1/4 Midget driver is 18.
SCOTT BACHAND- Williston, VT NASCAR NCWS team owner/driver.
TOM HOWARD- Waterford Speedbowl faithful.
RICKY TODD- Captain Video of Riverhead Raceway.
NICK CAPPAZOLA- Crew Chief for the Riverhead Rusty Turbush LM team.
WALT STUBBS- Blairstwon, NJ Modified AARN columnist.
LAURIE O’DONNELL- Orrinton, ME Dave Dion fan.
*** IN THE SHOP ***
KAREN BUBBICO- Karen, wife of West Coast Coordinator Joe, will undergo surgury this week. Please lift Karen up in prayer and ask that God would surround her with his grace, mercy and comfort as she walks through the days ahead. Pray that Joe would have the strength and courage to stand by her side and support and encourage her. Pray that God would guide the doctors and technicians as they do their jobs.
*** NEW BEGINNINGS ***
FRANK DALESANDRO- “Pinky” 85, passed from this life last week. He left his wife of 60 years, Joan, his son David and daughter Susan. He was a retired NY Fireman, a WWII and Korean war veteran and a lifelong resident of Amsterdam, NY. He loved his family and life. Please lift his family up in prayer as they grieve the loss of Frank. As soon as I have an address for cards I will post it.
CARL RACKOFF- Carl passed away last Friday after a courageous battle with cancer. He meant a tremendous amount to many in Riverhead, NY. He leaves his wife Betsy who wanted to pass these words along, “When you finish reading this. People that you hold dearly, give them a kiss and tell them that you love them.” In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Victory Junction Camp and Autism Speaks. As soon as I have an address for cards I will post it.
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY. SEND THEM TO RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES AT PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084.
Sources: Rev. Don Rivers/RWJM.