[ponyakr]

in '68 i transferred from college in ruston to college in monroe & moved over there. thats where i started workin at the pizza place where i earned the money to buy my gto. i've told ya'll that story, so fast foreward now to 1976. i've told you about how it was our worst year ever in racing, blowing a roller motor & with it my entire racing budget. move on now to october. we went to the state fair in shreveport. i'd loved the fair for years. i especialy love the corn dogs they sell there. you could watch'em being made, then by 1 hot, rite out of the grease. i'd usually eat a dozen or more. then there was the circle track. i'd watched the hemi cars battle the 427 fords on that track(which we would later have a few drag races on). it was just a small time circuit, but i remember that the top hemi drivers name was Ernie Derr. while walking thru the different buildings of booths & displays, i stumbled across a little table with some free literature on it, so i picked up a couple & put 'em in my pocket. little did i know that those little books would soon change my life. i didn't have any race cars to work on, the season was lost. so i'd just jump in bed early & read the latest car mag, or the latest H-O racing specialties monthly newsletter about pontiacs. 1 nite i noticed those little booklets i'd picked up at the state fair. so i decided to take a look at'em. i figured they were just "junk mail" & i'd just glance at'em, then throw'em in the trash. but as i read, i found that they were explaining to me Gods plan of salvation for man. well, i knew they were telling the truth, cause i'd heard it preached from the bible growing up. mom always made us go to church. but i began to think of all this drinkin & sin i'd gotten into since answering this "call of the wild. well it was more than i could take. i broke down & then answered this new call i was hearing. from that monent on i was a new man! & it was no accident. T.J. & my mom had been praying for me for years. well their prayers were finally answered. i didn't call T.J. to tell her. i just showed up at her door. as i walked in, i didn't have to say a word. she knew that her prayers were answered, i was a new creature & all that old life was history. we just stood in the middle of the room & hugged & cried for a long time without exchanging a word. so even tho our racing that year was a disaster, it turned out to be the greatest year of my life. nothing else even compares. now i'll leave you with these thoughts. if your praying for a friend or loved one, don't give up, your answer may be rite around the corner. & if you've never had this experience, i invite you to try it today. you won't be sorry. its been over 35 years ago & i've never regretted it for 1 second. its the greatest single thing thats ever happened in my life. so i highly recommend it. PTL!--------------------john 3:16 , romans 10:9,10 ,2 cor. 5:17