Fall is in the Air
As we begin to see the change in the seasons, we feel the change in the air. Summer has given us many memories to relive in the days to come; now it is time for the things of summer to rest. I enjoy fall for many things but most of all I enjoy fall for the change. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The crisp cool mornings, the color of the trees, the sound of geese trumpeting there way to southern regions, the sound as you bite into a fresh picked apple, the smell of a roasting turkey with all the fixings, I could go on but you get the picture. If we take the time to look, each season has blessings of its own to provide for us a reminder that God created this for our enjoyment.
Sometimes we get so busy during the summer that we forget to stop and take a look around. We forget to enjoy the blessings God has provided for us. We forget that this was created for our pleasure.
Have you ever gotten to the point that racing wasn’t any fun anymore? Has going to the shop become drudgery? Do you look for rain in the forecast so you don’t have to go to the track? These are all signs that racing isn’t fun anymore.
When the things we enjoy, the things that make our heart beat faster, no longer excite us then it is time to take a step back. It is difficult to get to the track every week. It takes a lot of hard work to get the car ready to roll. It is a challenge to get enough guys together to help out. There are so many struggles that when you heart just isn’t in it, it makes the effort that much more of a challenge.
It is the same with our walk with God. Our heart needs to be in it. When we give a halfhearted effort we are prone to wonder where God is. When we sit on the sidelines and watch instead of getting in the game we wonder if God is even out there. Like racing our walk with God is participatory, we need to be involved and connected with Him.
I am reminded of the words of Jeremiah, a prophet, as he spoke about God’s plans for us;
Jeremiah 29:11, NIV, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God’s plan for our life is good. He gives us hope and a future. Think of how you feel when you face a new race season. You are full of hope. At the end of the season you hope to be standing on top, champion.
When we get to the end of the season and that hope isn’t realized it can be demoralizing, it can make racing a burden. But if we read on we find an answer to how we need to maintain that hope and future that God promises.
Jeremiah 29:12-13; NIV, Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Our search has to continue when times get tough. We need to call upon God, have a conversation with Him. He will hear us, but only when we seek Him with all of our heart.
There is a saying in sports, “mailed it in”; it means that your effort was so lacking that you should have just stayed home and sent it in by mail. It means your heart wasn’t in it. Don’t let your walk with God fall into the same trap. Don’t mail it in and wonder how come things are not going the way we want them to.
We must seek God with all our heart; we must stay in contact with him; we must put forth the effort for the results to be there. A race car doesn’t prepare itself for the race. Our walk with God just doesn’t happen either; we need to put our heart into it.
Spend some time this week getting your heart right with God. Spend some effort making a point to talk with Him. Ask him where you need to make adjustments in your life. His plans are good; they are full of hope and a future. We just need to put our heart into it.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
PLAN “A” WASHED AWAY, TIME FOR PLAN “B” – Plan “A” included chasing a little white ball around through the grass. But the weather had other plans and we would have been better served if we had a snorkel and fins. So what are you supposed to do? Plan “B”, after some good BBQ at LJ’s it was off to the races, indoor that is. We headed down to Wallingford with the #8 crew to the indoor track and decided to have some fun competing on the track. As fate might have it, the 8 car was junk. Yes that was the pronounced conclusion after Glenn Tyler took his turn in the kart with that number. He did however find enough speed in another kart to set fast time for our group and the third fastest of the last week.
Weight is a factor in your speed and having the right ratio leads to a faster time. Maybe I should have had the BBQ after my run? I wasn’t last, but I was in the bottom half of the group. I am sure I can come up with a reasonable explanation for why my speed was down. Maybe I’ll ask some of the professionals at the track for some pointers?
WIHS CELEBRATES 41 YEARS – For some of you in the Connecticut River Valley you may recognize those call letters. WIHS, We’re In His Service, is the only Evangelical Christian FM station available to listen to. Racing with Jesus Ministries has had the opportunity to be a part of the programing there and spent last Saturday night helping them celebrate 41 years of listener supported broadcasting, that means no commercials. In this day and age that is an accomplishment. If you are in the area check them out, you can find them at 104.9 on the dial. You may just hear an update from RWJM.
FALL FINAL ENJOYS PERFECT FALL WEATHER – After a week of rain that made up for everything we didn’t get this summer the skies cleared and the weekend ushered in spectacular cool fall weather. With temps that were good for making horsepower the final races of the season at Stafford Motor Speedway would be run. There were many championships to be settled and this weekend provided some exciting racing.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about one driver of note in the SK Lite division, Matt Galko. After some adversity on the track that was not his doing the previous week that seemed to take him out of contention. His reaction was that of a much more mature individual that his sixteen years would indicate. He didn’t use the opportunity to tear someone down; he just stated his team would work hard at getting the car ready for one more shot. They did and in the end came out on top. There are some good guys that do win and that is encouraging. We can look for Matt to run one more race this year, as he looks ahead to the World Series in a few weeks.
On the Whelen Modified Tour side of things the Mystic Missile got back to its winning ways and Bobby Santos wheeled the #4 into Victory Lane to increase his point lead to 37 over fifth place finishing Mike Stefanik. Santos only led six laps but they were the ones that counted, the last six. It looks like a two horse race as they head to Thompson for the World Series but Ronnie Silk continues his late season charge and is within striking distance as they head to the final event. As we know a lot of strange things can happen during a race, this should be worth the price of admission.
HEADED TO THE MOODY MILE – This week we’ll be playing in the dirt as we head up to Syracuse for Super Dirt Week. We will be there to lend support to our brothers who minister through Finish Line Chaplains. We are looking forward to having a great time. Stop by and say hello.
TURKEY DERBY XXXVII A GO – It is official, there will be racing at the Jersey Shore Thanksgiving Day weekend. We are looking forward to being a part of this longtime tradition at Wall Stadium. Thanks go out to the Blewett Family and Ling Trucking for stepping up and continuing this long standing race tradition. Check out the details at http://www.turkey-derby.com/
Be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and apparel. See them at the Show Your Faith Apparel Store at www.rwjm.com. Send us your prayer and counseling needs no matter what part of our racing family you are in, or give us a call. 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” Check our home page www.rwjm.com for past articles. Drop us a note and share your input and thoughts. 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 6
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES- Celebrates our 30th anniversary.
TIM & KATHY ATTAYA- The Co-Producers of the annual Maine Civic Center Motorsports show have their 19th anniversary.
October 7
BOB & CAROLYN BLAISDELL- These fans from Champaign, IL have their 43rd anniversary.
October 9
SCOTT & MELANIE DEWARE- This South Easton, MA NASCAR BNS GRAND NATIONAL/SCCA couple have their 15th anniversary.
October 11
BOBBY & CAROL GAHAN- The multi-time Lee Speeway ProStock champion with over 300 feature wins from Barrington, NH have their 40th anniversary.
DALE & TERRY WAKEFIELD- This Warren, NJ AMA Expert division biker and wife celebrate their 20th anniversary.
October 12
JOHN & LISA SHAPLEIGH- These former JBIII crew members celebrate their 3rd anniversary.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
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.
SUZANNE STIVASON- Car owner of the modlite 116 champion at Blanket Hill speedway and sprintcar #4 champion at Mercer park in western pa.
OCTOBER 7
LYNDA RIVERS- Wife of WMT pastor and RWJM President Rev. Don. Thank you for all your understanding and love.
October 8
BILL ELLIOTT- Dawsonville, GA Dodge part-time NSC driver and former champion.
WAYNE ANDERSON- Yaphank, LI, NY former NASCAR WMT champion.
HAL RESH- Pennsy asphalt Modified driver.
SHAWN MARQUIS- One of Enfield, CT NASCAR CWES/WMT driver Jerry and wife Karen’s children.
MARK SABATINE- Longtime spotter/radioman for Steve Payne and Payne Motorsports.
MARILYN BARKER- Mom of Bob “Mad Dog” and Billy “the Kid” Barker Garden State Vintage Stock Car Club, Saten Island, NY.
October 9
FRANKLIN BUTLER- Chester, VA Mitchell Motorsports NASCAR CWES driver.
RICKY ELLIOTT- D.I.R.T. Modified driver.
RON ESAU- Lakeside, CA NASCAR West driver.
VINCENZO SOSPIRI- Monte Carlo, Monaco IRL driver.
C.D. COVILLE- Retired famous Schenectady, NY dirt Mod driver.
DAN HARMON- Grottoes, VA Micro Sprint driver.
October 10
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.- A son of “the great one” and Hendrick Motorsports NSC driver.
MONTY UTZ- CWES crewman.
DEBBIE GASTELU- Widow of the late Wall Township Speedway ProStock driver Ray and team owner of the WTS Greg Gastelu dodge ProStock team.
October 11
JIMMY HENSLEY- Horsepasture, VA NASCAR CTS driver.
JIM SAVAGE, JR.- Ed Flemke NASCAR WMT crewman.
AARON ANTONE DIAS- The son of Seekonk Speedway ProStock driver Tony is 13.
SCOTT JAMES- Canterbury, CT RWJM freind and supporter. He spent many years on the road with Rev. Pat and in service to this ministry.
HEATHER FRANTZ- The wife of Mountain Speedway RWJM Chaplain and winning driver, Paul.
October 12
NED JARRETT- From Hickory, NC, one of racing’s great Christian examples and retired NSC champion.
SMOKEY WARREN- Popular Grandview/ Big Diamond NASCAR Sportsman Modified driver.
MARK DISMORE- Greenfield, IN Midget and IRL driver.
MORGAN SHEPHERD- Conover, NC NSC/NNS/CTS driver of the Racing with Jesus entries.
HAROLD DAUNCEY III- NJ asphalt Modified driver.
DANNY BAGWELL- Birmingham, AL NASCAR All Pro Series driver.
ERNIE GAHAN- Retired NH National NASCAR Sportsman champion and 300 plus ProStock feature winner Bobby’s dad.
JACK DENNIS- Laura’s dad and Appomattax, VA Jamie Tomaino NASCAR WMT fan.
Sources: Rev. Don Rivers/RWJM