In Kentucky - Pray for Chris!

I am in Kentucky and getting ready to head to the track in a little bit. This is a Saturday night race so they will be practicing at night as well. Pray for safe practice and qualifying sessions today!

Also pray for Chris at Vision Racing. Chris went down in the shop last week with heart failure. They were able to revive him and took him to CCU at St. Vincents. When I saw him last Saturday, he was on ventilators and feeding tubes and not breathing on his own. Yesterday, when I stopped by, he was talking to me and joking around! Praise God! I had a neat time of conversation and prayer with his family. We all held hands around his bed yesterday and gave God the thanks and glory!

Give God the thanks and glory today!

My next race will be Kentucky!!!!

Pray for Bob and Hunter as they travel to Edmonton this weekend to provide coverage for that race. Pray for safe travels and that they will be effective witnesses for Christ! August will be busy with 4 races in 5 weekends! Look for updates from the track!!! God is good! Stay faithful!

The Concept of Divine Control

Oswald Chambers wrote in his July 16th devotional "My Utmost for His Highest",

"Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly filled with that thought, when you experience difficulties it will be as easy as breathing for you to remember, "My heavenly Father knows all about this!" This will be no effort at all, but will be a natural thing for you when difficulties and uncertainties arise. Before you formed this concept of divine control so powerfully in your mind, you used to go from person to person seeking help, but now you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those people who have His Spirit, and it works on the following principle: God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget, so why should I worry? Jesus said there are times when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but you should trust Him."

Are you giving control to God? Are you trusting Him in times of trials? Does your faith grow or fade when you are faced with difficulties? Let God control your life. He loves you more than you know. Yield, trust, have faith.

Quick Trip to Canada...... Trust. Follow. Obey.

I went to Toronto Friday morning and had a full afternoon of practice, hanging chapel flyers, talking with the guys, and going through logistics for the weekend with Bob. I got a call from my wife that she was complaining of stomach pains and was going to the ER to get it checked out....... By 11:00PM, they had done a CT scan and discovered a what they thought to be a ruptured appendix. They talked about surgery the next day and started her on antibiotics. By 1:00AM, I had made arrangements to fly home the next morning. At 4:00AM, my wake up call came to get me to the airport for my early morning flight. In the meantime, the doctors thought surgery on this would be too risky due to the possible infection. They scheduled to put in a drain to remove the infection over the next week. At 2:00 PM Saturday, they started that procedure...... They found no infection. The fluid was clear! Praise God! Prayers answered! After the exploratory procedure, they want to wait until Monday to do another CT scan. Could still be an appendix issue or an ovarian cyst. We will wait and see.....

So....... where are your priorities? You are in a different country trying to do work for the Lord and your wife gets admitted to the hospital. I couldn't have pictured myself staying at the track while she was lying in that bed, but there was something nagging at me. There was a weird battle inside between the cost of returning, walking away from my commitments that weekend, and tossing all the plans that had been laid out for the weekend. No doubt, I did the right thing. I did what God wanted me to do. But what about those other pulls; maybe even temptations.

Every situation is a trial. Every trial is a refining moment from God. I have felt the refining fire a lot from God recently. I have learned from every situation. I have cried. I have felt injustice. I have felt that I have failed God at times and let Him down. Yet I never lost hope and His faith never wavered.

Are you learning what God is teaching you? Have you remained faithful, even in times of trials? God will never leave us. These "moments" are preordained by God Himself.

Trust. Follow. Obey.

Happy 4th!!

The Richmond race went well. Praise the Lord for a safe race and safe travels! Pics to come!

Deatra and I are heading to Michigan for our yearly 4th retreat, so I will not be at the race in Watkins Glen this weekend. Please pray for the Chapels and race. There is also going to be a Q&A with Al Unser Jr. and Helio on Friday. This is going to be done in the garage area with the intent to give them a venue to publicly share their faith! Please pray that will be well received!

My next race will be Toronto the weekend of 7/11-12. Thanks for all your support!

Praise God for your freedom this weekend! God is so good........

Dan, Reid, Carrington, and God

One of our IRL staff was notified that his mother was taken to a hospital back in Indiana today and put into ICU for a heart issue. After Bob worked out flight issues I took him to the airport to catch his flight back to Indiana. His name is Dan. I had an opportunity to talk to him and encourage him on our trip to the hospital. He and his mother are Christians. I also had the opportunity to pray with him before we parted company. Pray for him and his mother during this difficult time.

We had a good day of practice and qualifying with only one minor incident. My son Reid had a great time with his first pit access since he is now 18...... He even had the opportunity to be in the flag stand for Silver Crown qualifying.... He was a great help today!

I met with Carrington from Good Samaritan Ministries here in Richmond (www.goodsamaritanministry.com). They are taking the food this race for their shelter. Pray that God will use this food to show the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ to these men and women.

Our Chapel services are at 1:15 and 4:15 tomorrow. Pray for the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit during these worship times.

Thanks for your prayers!

In Richmond!!!

After a cancelled flight and the favor of the Almighty God on a standby ticket for the next flight, Reid and I made it to Richmond! Did a few small things today and reconnected with Bob a bit.

Pray that we will be effective witnesses as we interact with the IRL community this weekend!

Headin' to Richmond!

I leave Thursday morning (6/25/09) for Richmond. Please pray for safe travels and the Holy Spirit will be lead and guide our every thought, word, and action!

Thanks for your continued support!

Come to Jesus

I did not go to the Texas race (it was not in the original budget for the year and I was scheduled to go to the Iowa race until 6/11/09. That was the day my wife's mother, Doretha Huffman, went to be with the Lord. Please pray for my wife and her father and brothers as they grieve the loss of this dear woman of God.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28. He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Doretha’s faith in Jesus Christ was consistent and non-negotiable. She did not like sin. She served Christ without wanting any human reward or recognition. As is says in Matthew 11:28, Doretha obeyed Jesus’ command. All her life, she came to Jesus………….. Recently, she was weary and burdened.

Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Come to Me….” Where sin and sorrow stops, and the song of the saint starts. Do I really want to get there? I can right now. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words – “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “do this, or don’t do that,” but – “Come to Me.” If we simply come to Jesus, my real life will actually cease from sin, and find the song of the Lord beginning in my life.

Have you ever come to Jesus? Look at the stubbornness of your heart. You would rather do anything than this one simple childlike thing – “Come to Me.” If you really want to experience ceasing from sin, you must come to Jesus.

Jesus Christ makes Himself the test to determine your genuineness. Look how He used the word come. At the most unexpected moments in your life there is this whisper of the Lord – “Come to Me,” and you are immediately drawn to Him. Personal contact with Jesus changes everything. Be “foolish” enough to come and commit yourself to what He says. The attitude necessary for you to come to Him is one where your will has made the determination to let go of everything and deliberately commit it all to Him.

After a day of loosing his wife, making funeral arrangements, and visiting cemeteries, Henry (her husband) and I embraced at the end of the day and he looked me in the eye and said, “Praise the Lord”. I replied, “yes Henry, praise the Lord”………. What an example of a selfless attitude.

While this selfless attitude was admirable, how could he say that after loosing his wife of 62 years? What was he thinking? Where was the sorrow? Where was the sadness? Friends, the grief was there, but it was replaced by the overwhelming joy of knowing that she is home in heaven with Jesus and their son Timmy, and that someday, he will join them in there.

I will miss her dearly. She loved me as a mother. She respected me as the husband of her daughter. Her generosity overwhelmed me. Her heart to serve the Lord encouraged me. Her selfless pride convicted me.

Do you have that overwhelming joy that Henry has? Can you say “Praise the Lord?” Doretha went to Jesus. Is it time for you to come to Jesus?

Milwaukee!!!!!

Busy day on the track.... one day practice and qualifications for both series! We had many little things to take care of today..... Chapel flyers, drivers meetings, food pickup coordiantion, etc. Bob picked up a nail in one of the trailer tires coming up here, so I took that to be repaiered today.... Hey, it's all for the Lord. Amen?

Talked with a lot of the team guys today as well.. Stanton Barrett crashed in practice, and they could not repair the car. So they are on they way home. I talked to a few of the guys to tell them I was sorry for what they are going through..... I pray that may help in some way.

Two chapels tomorrow - 9:00 & 10:30.... I am singing the special music tomorrow - they couldn't find anybody else ; ). So pray that the services are Holy Spirit led and that God would move mightily.

We are driving back directly after the race, so please pray for safety there as well... Thank you all for your support!!!!!

Do you have Faith? - Indy 500 Chapel Message & Pics!

We had 4 Chapels and 2 masses on race day! All were very well attended and Bob's message was concise. Do you have faith? Looking at Moses and how God sent him to tell the Israelites that I AM is who sent me! Moses said who am I that you would send me and he told God he was that he was not well spoken. God said go anyway and I will be with you! What is your excuse? Do you have enough faith to go and do what God wants you to do? Are you doing it now? Whatever is in your way, God can help you through that obstacle. God will be with you. Have faith. GO. DO. God is I AM.

Indy Lights Race on Carb Day

We had a great time of prayer before the Indy Lights Race on Carb Day. We also held a Chapel service for the Indy Lights the morning of the race!

BAPTISM!! - The Angels were Rejoicing on Saturday, 5/23!!!

One of the crew members from Vision Racing, Dan Rushing, was baptized on Saturday, 5/23 in Eagle Creek Reservoir! We had discussed baptism in one of our studies a few weeks ago, and Dan made the decision to submit to God and profess and demonstrate his faith by being baptized! He said "he wanted to do it in someplace like a creek", so Eagle Creek it was! It was witnessed by his wife, children, and his parents!

Pray for Dan as he lives out his Christian faith by the power of the Holy Spirit! Praise God. Give Him ALL the glory!

It's the little ways that God moves...

A few of us from the Hemelgarn team attended Chapel on bump day. After the service we went directly to the pits to set up to run that day. as we were moving tires and laying out air hoses, one of the guys came up to me and pulled me aside. As he starting to weep, he thanked me for inviting him to Chapel that day. He said he "really needed that".

Friends, it can be as simple as an invitation to Chapel that will allow God to work and move in some one's life. Do not hesitate. Reach out. Allow God to work through you!

Indy Practice/Qual Pics

Below are some pics from the practice and qualifications for Buddy Lazier!

Thank God Indy is not our Final Destination

Well, after a very long day on Sunday, Buddy Lazier in the #91 Hemelagrn entry did not make it into the 2009 Indianapolis 500. It wasn't due to the lack of effort. The entire team worked very hard from Thursday to Sunday to get the car up to speed. We went through 22 sets of tires in 4 days!!! Our top speed was just over 220 mph, but we could never get that for a consistent 4 lap qualification run. Technically, we did qualify on Saturday, but by the end of the day, we were bumped out of the field.

Thanks to Dennis, Lee and Gary for giving me the opportunity to work on the team. It was lots of hard work, but it is lots of fun running an Indy car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Also, thanks to Dr. Riina from OrthoIndy, for putting my back together and Andrea from Body One Physical Therapy for training me. The back held up great!

The Indy 500 is a great event, but it does not even come close to the race we will win through faith in Jesus Christ when we reach our final destination with Him in glory!! Jesus said, " you will have trouble in this world, but take heart, I have overcome the world."

Trust Him - nothing else.

We need you back on our side......

While working on the Buddy Lazier car, one of our safety guys came up to me during practice and said, "be careful out here, we need you back on our side (with the IRL Ministry)". I thanked him for the neat comment and prayed with him there for his safety and protection..... Neat stuff....

First Practice, Chapel, & Bible Study ...

We have our first practice on the track tomorrow (weather permitting) with car #91, Buddy Lazier! I will be helping with the tire & pit set up. We have been working since last week getting everything in order! It has been fun and tiring all at the same time. My back is holding up well. There is some aching at night, but it seems to recover well....

We had the first Chapels of the year at Indy last Sunday. It was well attended in both services. I pray that God will continue to speak to those people's hearts.....

We had the Vision Racing bible study today at 7:00 in the morning! We held it in their hospitality tent at the track. We also had a couple of the Hemelgarn Racing guys attend! We had great conversation and I felt like God was honored by our study. Pray that we all learn from what we heard and we act on it!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

May is here - with Hemelgarn Racing!

WOW…. OK, so I get a call on Thursday afternoon from the team manager at Vision racing. He said he was told (that day) that he could not add any more personnel and that he has to “make due” with the people they have on staff for the 500…… (he had signed me three weeks ago) that means… I’m out at Vision (for the month of May)!

So, obviously, God did not need me there this month! (I will still be doing the Bible study with them at the track throughout the month) I prayed and made a few phone calls….. Hemelgarn called me back and said that people there had been “praying” that I would work for them! Wow.. I had a meeting with their team manager on Saturday and they hired me that day. I start on Tuesday!

So…. God is always more that faithful….. Pray that I will be an effective witness to those guys!

Root for Buddy Lazier #91 on 5/24!!!!!! Thanks for your support and prayers!

We are not in Kansas anymore!

Great day today! Lots of interactive prayer with the teams and drivers. Two chapels and a mass! Jessica Willey sang for us at both chapel services. What a wonder gift of song God has blessed her with! Thanks Jessica!

I hooked up with the hospitality worker that said he was "too far gone". He did not want to talk about it. I assured him that I (or we) am available whenever he is ready. He said, "I knew that even before we talked". Praise God! That is the type of presence ministry that needs to be evident!

Thanks to all for your support and prayers! I return home tomorrow!