Very few things can be better than being outside doing stuff in the yard. I got out again today to catch up on a few things missed yesterday. Sunshine sure does feel good after missing it for almost a year. All of my aches and pains met me upon waking up today. Odds are good that there will be even more in the morning. But it did indeed feel good to spend a little time this afternoon enjoying the weather. I still do not know how to measure a given Sunday. Thirty years of doing this offers no real insight for evaluation. Part of me is pleased with our efforts. Another part of me wonders if everything just went past the people and into the walls. There are nights when all one can do is be grateful for what was learned in the prior week. Maybe something stuck with someone but you have occasions when you are never sure.

Looks like the big news of the day will be the young man winning the Daytona 500 in only his second big time race. What always throws me is how today's race is the biggest of the year and it is also the very first race. Most sports save the big event for the very end but not this race. I actually used to watch more NASCAR while growing up years ago. Several of us had our favorite drivers. My racer was Richard Petty. I think he was my favorite just because of the paint job on his car. Racing was much different back then. It still had some of the old outlaw qualities running through it. One friend was a David Pearson guy. We probably debated on who was the best driver even back then. My memory says most of my arguments would be made up as my knowledge of mechanics and such is still minimal.

Told my daughter today that you watch the first 190 or so laps to see who wrecks. Then you watch the last ten to see who wins. A rookie won the race today. He just turned twenty years old. Many of the established drivers wrecked at various stages of the race. This kid just took his time while hanging around at the front. He held off other drivers through the last lap to win by a very short time. My bet is there are more than a few racing fanatics who cannot believe how it turned out. Their driver either crashed or fell way behind. You will see and hear about this turn of events for several days. Our winner tells an amazing story.

It became clear that this young guy is a believer. He spoke of doing mission work down in Mexico. He also talked about being in bible studies with other race drivers or workers. Other racers spoke highly of his character following the win. I cannot say whether or not God plays a role in the outcome of sporting events. Here is a debate with good points in either direction. I will say that there sure seem to be times when outcomes can lead to believers being pushed to the forefront. But it also seems foreign to think God makes only Christians win in sporting events. God does seem to be mysterious in some of His ways. What we can do is be glad when the good guys win. A believer gains a great platform to talk about their faith even in the athletic world. We can pray for maximum impact of the stories of winners or losers who keep their faith central in life. Then we can leave the results up to Him.

Bro. Trey