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Fast N’ Loud

By September 19, 2012August 30th, 2022Devotional

I am not a huge fan of television but I have recently started watching programs on the Discovery and History channels. Things like Pawn Stars, Gunsmoke, American Pickers, Bering Sea Gold, Ice Road Truckers, Sons of Guns, Texas Car Wars, Yukon Men, Counting Cars and a host of other oddball shows that usually come on late in the evening. I really don’t record them, but when I am out on the road, I have a tendency to fall asleep with the TV on and these shows tend to follow one another depending on the channel and the day. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I then mute the sound or turn the television off, but I get my fill of these shows several nights each month when I am away from home.

Now Janet is a professional TV watcher, but she doesn’t think that many of the shows I watch have much plot, and she’s correct. That’s why I watch them. Because I can write my posts and not be distracted by what’s up on the screen – or meet other deadlines I tend to accomplish late at night. It’s kind of like having a little “white noise” in the background. Another thing – since I am not committed to any of these programs, it doesn’t bother me to miss a number of episodes. After all, once you have seen any of them once or twice, you can pretty much figure out what’s happening and since they move so slowly, you can tune in anytime and be right up to speed.

Anyway, one of the shows that I occasionally watch is called Fast N’ Loud. It’s about a group of people – including Richard and Aaron, who find cars and re-work them for sale – either as hotrods, restoring them to their former glory, or modifying them in some way that makes them attractive to car buffs around the country. They work out of an old garage called the Gas Monkey, located, of all places, in Dallas. As you know, I head to Dallas each month and just returned from there yesterday. So… I did some research and found out where the Gas Monkey Garage is located. It’s less than 15 minutes from DFW and very close to my office there.

So, yep, you guessed it, I stopped there on my in to work on Monday when I arrived in the Lone Star state. I met Dewayne, one of the mechanics, who welcomed me into the garage. I saw the cars in progress, as well as several of the vehicles they have worked on in recent episodes. In fact, several weeks ago, they restored a ’64 Chevy Impala that reminded me of my first car – a hand-me-down from my mother. Boy, how I wished that I could have bought the restored car – it was terrific. But it sold to a local guy, so I was out of luck. Probably a good thing – I think they got around $40,000 for the thing – a little out of my price range. It was beautiful.

Anyway, I got a full tour of the garage and saw the film crew setting up for the beginning of next year’s episodes. The “stars” weren’t there, but it didn’t matter. I was asked to sign the front door of the place, which I did – apparently an honor reserved for out of state visitors. I don’t want to be misleading – all this happened with 15 minutes or so – it’s not like I spent the day there or anything. I had to get to work, but since I had arrived 15 minutes early, it really didn’t hamper my schedule at all.

All in all, it was a very interesting experience if for no other reason than I can now identify with the “lay of the land” at the Gas Monkey. When I got to thinking about appropriate Bible verses for tonight, I really liked a compelling verse from Revelation. We are told by John, the author of Revelation, in 21:3, “And I heard a LOUD voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Fast n’ loud…

My encouragement this evening is that God wants to dwell with you – now and forever. My prayer is that you will accept the gift of eternal life that will allow you the honor to live with God forever in heaven. I can’t think of anything more comforting that to know that we are important to the God of the universe and He wants to be our God; and wants us to be His people. How awesome is that! And you don’t even have to travel to Dallas to get there… Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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