Living the Life
We celebrated the freedom we received because others gave their life last weekend. What do we plan to do with that freedom? How do we plan on living that life? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What is the goal of life? As I reflected on the freedom we have here in the United States of America I thought about what that freedom was worth. I thought about the different ways we use that freedom to affect our life and the lives of others.
We sometimes get caught up in the pursuit of our own pleasures. Many times that comprises our whole life mission. We use the freedom we have been given to pursue a life of self-indulgence.
I am not saying we shouldn’t pursue happiness, that is a right we fought for when we declared our independence. I am saying that we should evaluate what makes us happy. I think it matters how we define happiness. I think satisfaction and fulfillment are necessary components of true happiness.
True happiness does not come with acquiring things. True happiness doesn’t come from having money. True happiness doesn’t come from getting everything you want. True happiness comes when you are fulfilled and satisfied, a peace and contentment that come only from having a relationship with God through Jesus. When we have this our perspective changes. We place importance on different things in life.
Last week I encouraged you to live differently, that after we have said our thanks, commit to live a life that demonstrates that appreciation. Live like you have been given a tremendous gift, the gift of freedom to live.
1Peter 3:8-12, Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Look at these verses and the things they say are important to those who love life and want to see good days. We should watch what we say. Our words can go a long way at determining our quality of life. I talked a few weeks ago about how we should talk about others. Our words should be encouraging and uplifting, not intending to tear someone down.
We should pursue peace and turn from evil. We should be compassionate and sympathetic. We should not think more of ourselves than we should. These character traits will lead us to what is true and what is good.
These verses also come with a caution, if we turn away from the Lord, he will be against you. Let me help unfold this a little. When we act in a way that honors God we experience His blessing. He watches over us and listens to us. The opposite of pleasing God is doing evil. If we live in a way that doesn’t honor God he removes His hand from our lives. We live on our own, left to face the challenges of life alone.
Live the life of freedom. Live a life that honors God. His blessing will follow you and you will experience true happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
WE GOT IT IN- We borrowed a few hours from Saturday but the race was finished. For a month the rain fell every Friday night and Stafford had to cancel their show. This Friday promised to be different, until 9:00 that is. The only rain that fell in Connecticut Friday night fell over Stafford. Mark Arute wasn’t going to let it stop the show. The crew at Stafford got right to work and didn’t stop until the track was ready for the Whelen Modified Tour. The Dare stocks did their part to assist. At 11:45 we rolled out and finished up just before 1:00 am on Saturday morning.
The Mystic Missile proved to have the field covered on this night. Chuck Hossfeld won the pole with a lap of 18.132. He redrew the pole starting position and led many laps on his way to winning. Todd Szegedy came home second followed by TC.
TC inched closer to 100 career victories at Stafford by driving from the back to the front in the SK Mod portion of the program. I heard someone say it wasn’t his night as he spun and ended up at the back of the field. TC drove it through the field to victory lane.
LIA WINS FIRST- Donny Lia took eight races to bring home his first victory in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Mansfield, OH. Having raced there last year in a modified he was familiar enough to win a three way shootout on the last lap. Congratulations Donny, good job
CAMPING WORLD EAST SERIES HAS NEW DIRECTOR- It was announced this week that Les Westerfield would take over as the acting director of the Camping World East Series. Lee Roy has stepped down in what was called a personnel decision. I am not sure of the reasons behind the change, but Dan and I have enjoyed serving Lee and his officials and will miss having him at the track with us.
IOWA REPORTS IN- This one from Chuck McNeil;
The East captured the top nine spots even though the winner hails from San Diego and third place finisher, Kasey Kahne, from Enumclaw Washington. Congratulations Brian Ickler, Marc Davis, and Kasey! This weekend had several opportunities to meet new folks, reminisce with not so new folks, and see God at work. The work of the ministry is continuing to be recognized even more, by race fans as well, even in Iowa. MRO’s Bob Butcher told us at chapel how the Lord is working in Kathy’s and in his life, even in times of trial and struggle. His newest grandson got a early start at 27 weeks and remains in neo-natal care, and is continuing to grow and get closer to going home. Many opportunities have presented themselves to minister to other parents in the unit and like 2nd Corinthians 1:3-4 says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Lift up Bob’s family as they go through afflictions and even at the same time, comfort others. It was really great to have Gary Dionne and Paul Veluzat from the West Coast, along with Bob from MRO. We really charge our batteries up when we all get together. Dan and Don were missed but we tried to fill their shoes.
Also lift up in prayer those teams that did not get to race after this long trip. It is a burden financially, and on their spirit, to come this far and not make the show. A lot of the established teams hold a lot of rich history and I am sure we want that preserved.
Note: Marc Davis was moved to the last position after post race inspection.
This one from Gary Dionne;
Iowa,, AWESOME !!!!!!! Everyone we met at Iowa Speedway was so friendly and helpful. We felt so welcome and at home there. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones as well. We were asked to say a prayer for safety for all the track safety personnel after their Sunday morning meeting. These are a great group of professionals. It was nice to be joined by Bob and Cathy Butcher of MRO. Bob did a great job arranging Chapel Service. He delivered a truly heart felt message. We really enjoyed Chuck Mc Neil’s company, We felt as though we have been friends for years. It was the first ministry road trip for Rev Paul Veluzat , Wow what great travel companion, His enthusiasm and professionalism is truly appreciated, I am looking forward to working together with him in the future. Saturday was a nice mellow day of visiting with many teams, and getting acquainted with many new people. We felt so welcome by all. Saturday night found us at Knoxville Speedway . Dale Quarterly and Ed joined Paul and I there. That sure was FUN, those sprint cars were sooo fast! Sunday morning came pretty quick, Back to the track bright and early! The day seemed to go by so fast. Driver intro went smoothly, we prayed with so many drivers it was truly a huge blessing to us. Our trip home went very smoothly. Thank You guys for having trust in Chuck , Paul ,and I to let us do this trip. We are looking forward to a long future with RWJM. Most of all Thank You Jesus for all you do for us !!!
LITTLE 500 FINISHED WITH HEAVY HEARTS- I received a call from Chuck McNeil and he informed me that a track worker was killed during the running of the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway on Saturday night. Here’s Chuck’s report;
The 60th annual Little 500 at Anderson Speedway, Indiana had 33 asphalt sprints competing on the world’s fastest quarter mile. The festive race was dampened when Roy Hiatt, working the turn one area for this race, was struck by a sprint car while responding to an accident. Roy was transported and was pronounced shortly after arrival to the hospital. In difficult situations, God provides. This time, he sent some help to me in the form of West Coast Racing with Jesus chaplain Gary Dionne. Gary arrived into Chicago for a movie shoot and drove down to Indianapolis for the Little 500. It is humbling to see the Lord work in the face of difficult times. Gary was able to stay at the track while I was at the hospital with the family. Afterwards we all assembled at the track for a time of reflection, prayer, and healing time. Thank you, Gary for your support.
Pray especially for the Anderson team members as they face a Saturday night race with a vacancy this week. Pray for their safety and of course pray for Roy’s family he leaves behind. Arrangements are pending, see http://www.andersonspeedway.com for updates.
BROTHER BOB ON THE ROAD- Bob reported in from the Oaklane Quarter Midget States race that everything went great. He performed his first chapel service and was excited about the response from the racers and their families. He is looking forward to returning and ministering to them again later this year.
We head to South Boston this week for the Camping World East Series race and also to conduct a baby dedication service for Samantha Ann Santerre. We are looking forward to being part of such a special moment in her young life. Keep our travel in your prayers. 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***
May 30
BOBBY & MEREDITH DILLNER- This Long Island native, now a Charlotte based SPEED CHANNEL reporter and wife share their 15th anniversary.
TOM & CARITA TWINEM- These Brookfield, WI fans share their 27TH anniversary.
DON & MARY ANN MOYER- This Delaware race writing couple have their 15th anniversary.
JOE & JULI ANN DEVOLVE- This Plainfield, CT fan couple shares their 9th anniversary.
June 1
RANDY & LYNDA HEDGER- The Tioga Speedway/NASCAR WMT driver and wife from Morrisville, NY share their special day.
BOB & TRACY COX- Rev. Pat’s cousin in Boyertown, PA and wife, both NNC and Sprint car fans, share their 11th anniversary.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
May 28
DON FORTE- Terrebone, Quebec LM driver.
WAYNE CARROLL, SR.- Dad of Massachusetts ProStock driver Wayne, Jr.
May 29
KEN SCHRADER- Fenton, MO NSC driver.
JIMMY MEANS- NSC/NNS/NASCAR West independent driver/owner.
AL UNSER, SR.- Retired Indy Car great, Little Al’s dad.
LARRY BARNETT- Ledyard, CT Limited late model champion at Thompson Speedway.
RITA TRUDEAU- Wife of retired Chaplin, CT Modified driver Joey.
RICH SYLVESTRI- Retired proprietor of Sylvestri’s Auto Care in Canterbury, CT formerly referred to as the Northern World Center of Speed.
RITA ST. JOHN- The mother of Jewett City (CT) Service Proprietor Henry.
May 30
BOB NEWBERRY- Schenectady, NY Alchohol Funny Car driver.
GLEN MEISENHELDER- Springfield, MA occasional NASCAR CWES driver, son of Ken of KGM Video.
PAUL HEARD- Lisbon, CT LM driver.
TED SEMINARA- This “Area Auto Racing News” Nextel Cup photographer from Brewster, NY is now turning “Rebel” down in Mount Holly, NC and loving it.
LISA ORR- Daughter of Orlando, FL LM driver Pete and wife Terri.
PATRICK SHANLEY- Bethel, CT Lebanon Valley fan turns 17.
May 31
GENE WEIDMAN- Big Diamond Speedway dirt NASCAR Modified driver.
ED SANSEVERINO- Hillsborough, NC Orange County (NC) Speedway and AARN photographer.
STEWART LEHMAN- Former longtime staff member at Wayne County Speedway, Orville, OH.
THOMAS PURVIS- Son of Clarksville, TN NNS driver Jeff is 19.
June 1
NORM PATRICK- Publisher of NY State’s “Gater Racing News.”
JAY SAUTER- NNS/Craftsman Truck Series driver.
DAVY JONES- Lake Tahoe, NV Offroad and CTS driver.
DARRYL LEWIS- New York Southern Tier asphalt Modified driver.
LORRAINE SYLVESTRI- The wife of Rich, retired proprietor of Sylvestri’s Auto Care World Center of Speed in Canterbury, CT.
LEW MARDEN- Onwer of Air Transport, Inc in Concord, NH and Jamie Tomaino NASCAR WMT fan.
DAVID BAKKER- NASCAR CWES Race Director
MARY ANN MOYER- Delaware writer.
MATTHEW THOMAS- Son of northern New England’s “Racin’ Paper” Publisher Mark.
DALE BEERS- Dad of Northampton, PA Modified/NASCAR WMT driver Eric.
June 2
KYLE PETTY- Randleman, NC Petty Enterprises NSC driver.
SATCH WORLEY- Rocky Mount, VA driver.
SAMMY BEAVERS- Glen Gardner, NJ retired famous dirt Modified driver.
STEVE KINSER- Bloomington, IN World of Outlaws superstar.
LISA LILLQUIST- The daughter of former Thompson Speedway Late Model driver Jerry and wife Debbie, now living in Myrles Inlet, SC.
JOHN UDES- Wall Township speedway/RoC Modified driver from Morris Plains, NJ.
June 3
SCOTT NICKEL- The Thompson Speedway based photographer and brother of photographer Dale.
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