Pit Crew book

Sally U. Smith's book, Pit Crew, spends 240 pages comparing a NASCAR driver and his pit crew to a pastor and his praying congregation. She compares a driver running out of fuel to an overworked pastor that does spend enough time alone with God. She has specific suggestions of how to pray for pastor for each day of the week, such as personal walk, pastoral roles of caregiver, prophet, leader and more. She talks about how drivers need to be physically fit. The pit crew handles tires, gas cans, etc. so they  need to be physically fit too, so the owner provides exercise equipment.

She does not leave out the family needs and how the people praying can support them. Road blocks, like tire fragments on the racetrack, are identified such as inconsistency and lack of discipline.

She ends by given ideas how to begin a prayer group for the pastor.

If your prayers for the pastor are sounding repititous, this is the book for you. It is available on Amazon Kindle and on Google Books as ebooks.  You can also get in paperback for a higher cost.

Dieter's 23rd Psalm

                                                                    

The Lord is my doctor. I will not overeat.

He maketh my garden to grow.

He leadeth me to the ripe vegetables.

He restoreth my health.

He leadeth me in paths of good nutrition, for His name sake.

Yea though I walk through the valley of temptation, I will not lose the Way.

Thy Light and thy Word they comfort me.

Thou controlleth my appetite in spite of my addition to food.

Thou blesseth my family with meals.

Surely satisfaction and self control shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I will dwell in the new temple the Lord will give me forever.

Praying for Your Pastor

A pastor has many responsiblities and it is hard to know which one of those responsiblities to pray for. I have found a verse that may help.

Psalms 103:7, KJV says, He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

The phrase "made known" is an open ended. It is general enough to include learning from a book, movie, the Bible, by watching people and more. The phrase "his ways" is also open ended. Among "his ways" are always telling the truth, trusting in Him, what to say for comfort, and so on. Moses was a leader. He had to get the message first. The rest of the verse is the result from the leader leading. The leading gives the people a way to recognize when God is doing something for the people. Then they can thank the pastor for making it possible to praise the Lord.

When You Need Strength

     When I think of  "strength" I think of physical strength. Psalm 18 talks about God's kind of strength. He talks of hailstones and coals of fire. But more importantly to me, he talks about emotionally strength, strength that is needed to go through trials that work on the mind and emotions.
      King David, who wrote the Psalm, went through trials just like me, except his trials were much bigger and involved more people. Psalm 18:32 says, "It is God who arms me with strength." Satan  laughs at our strength, our resolve, our determination, or whatever we want to call it. It takes it to a whole new level to get God's strength involved. The same verse says, "And makes my way perfect." There is a way through trials. There are also a lot of trip hazards. But it is God who makes the perfect way of what we are to do. If the battle or the trial is too strong for us, He picks us up and carries us through it Himself.
     The Psalmist ends by singing and giving thanks, even among Gentiles, or in my case, unbelievers.