The Neely Team

August 19, 2009 5:32 a.m.

It’s still dark outside. The whole world is asleep, except for us, because we are getting ready to go to our first violin lesson with a new teacher, at a new time, and, of course, in a new place. Everything thing is still, there are a few sounds like the squirt of a not-so-new hairspray bottle, the whispering sound of a hairbrush through bed-head (or maybe you should multiply that times ten), the running of water as people attempt to get ready to go……then, it happened. The sound of two feet running up two flights of stairs, and one mouth screaming (it sounded like a dozen, by the way), “Amanda! Amanda! Amanda! There’s an egg on the nest!!!!!!” (That one person was Jessi. I think it scared her. ) This one egg has multiplied itself by three in the past week, and it has been very interesting to see the parents interact with the shells that we’re not sure are fertile…

How It All Began

Just in case you didn’t know, last spring (2008), Amanda stole two baby mourning doves right out of their nest. Little did we know that this would lead us to where we are now. After four additional birds and lots of fun and trauma, we were left with one lone mourning dove from the original pair (all the others died, including one of the original two), which was a plus for some and a minus for others. A friend, hearing of our “woe”, gave Amanda two ring-necked doves. We certainly were not expecting to become dove breeders, but it seems that that is what we have become (I think…).

Moral:

Never tamper with the wild,

Or you may end up with a child.

But not a child that you’d expect,

And not a child from the elect.

But this one child comes from a shell,

Of which there’s no more need to tell…

The Lord brings opportunities into our lives to encourage other believers and to point the unsaved to Him. Many times while serving the Lord He uses the people we minister to to encourage us to continue on in the path of life.

A few months ago, we were asked by a friend to set aside the evening of August 20 to sing at a fundraiser/appreciation dinner for pastors and individuals who have supported the ministry of Gideons International (an organization that places Bibles in hotels/motels, hospitals, doctors offices, schools, prisons, and in the hands of individuals around the world).

We prepared several songs which included instrumental pieces for the flute and violin and a couple songs that directly referred to the Bible. Much of our time on Thursday was spent finalizing the program and rehearsing one more time before performing. To be honest, the afternoon had been a little stressful and parts of the getting ready process could have been smoother.

As we continued getting ready and on the way there, God’s grace quieted our hearts and prepared us emotionally for the evening ahead. We had arrived at the church where the dinner was to be held. The overcast sky and scattered raindrops hurried us into the building with everything we would need – violins, flute, music and violin stands, music, etc. We paraded into the building, arms loaded with our belongings, and began to unpack, tune, set up, and get ready. Of course, many turned to look as we walked in, as we were the only ones with  any children there, and a family of twelve all dressed alike tends to draw the eyes of  people anyway. Finally, everything was ready, instruments were tuned, music was on the stands, microphones were positioned, and we sat down to catch our breath before starting the program.

We sang and played while everyone was eating. When the meal was over, we  heard inspiring testimonies of how God had worked miracles in the lives of many who had received a copy of God’s Word through the Gideon’s. Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” There were so many stories that clearly demonstrated the truth in  these verses; it was very exciting to hear how the Lord is using ordinary people to carry His Word around the world! We were reminded that, no matter what happens in the world around us, or what we might have been through in the past, God and His Word never change, and He will work in and through us if we let Him.

When the program was over and people were leaving, many came and told us what a blessing the music was to them. We even had a couple pastors ask us if we would be available to sing at their churches. There is a sweet peace and joy that comes when we “turn our eyes upon Jesus” and trust Him to do His work through us. Who knows where God will lead us from here, or how and when He will use us. But we praise Him for His faithfulness and grace as we strive to “be an example” and to “press toward the mark!”

We have some interesting discussions around our dinner table. In fact, they can be pretty strange. Sometimes they’re very technical. Or should I say technological. Maybe it’s both, because when we discuss technological terminology, we can get very technical. Maybe I should give you an example of what I’m talking about.

One evening a few months ago, we were sitting around the table, enjoying the remains of a wonderful meal, and doing what we do best: talking. The topic of our conversation was one that we had discussed many times before, needing a solution to a certain problem, always thinking of solutions, and never succeeding in following up on the solutions we came up with, because we didn’t know if they were really good solutions after all. It was a persistent problem, which got more frustrating the longer we waited to follow up on a solution. (It was a lesson in patience. ) The topic: our website/blog.

So there we were, trying to figure out what in the world we were going to do about our pitiful “website”: how we were going to update it, who we were going to get to help us update it, what we were going to put on it, how we would keep up with a blog…

“WHAT is a BLOG?” someone suddenly asked. “Who in the world came up with the name “blog” and what made them do it?” Dad explained that the word “blog” is actually an abbreviation of “web-log” – in other words, a record or journal that is posted on the web. That drew everyone’s attention, and we all began to ponder the meanings of different computer terms.

“How did we come up with a “cursor”?” someone else asked with a laugh. “A “curser” used to be someone who cursed!”

“And if you think about what a “laptop” is, it’s kinda funny. A laptop used to be a place for children to snuggle with their mothers; now it’s a flat, rectangular box with buttons and lights, with a lot of wires and stuff on the inside!”

“What about a mouse?” another person volunteered. “A mouse is a four-footed little varmint with a long tail that runs around in people’s houses and makes them scream.”

“And how ‘bout RAM? A ram is a male sheep, like the ones that they used to sacrifice in Bible days.”

“OR,” some mischievous personality added, using the unfortunate sibling beside them for a demo, “it could be when I RAM into you all of a sudden!!”

Of course, everyone had to laugh at that! It became a very intriguing conversation as we discussed how confused someone could become with all the double terms. We laughed at the very SOUND of names like “floppy disk”, “JPEG”, and “thumb drive”, and debated the origins and meanings of other terms, such as “hard drive”, “cd-rom”, and “software.” (For instance, “hardware” means tools for manual labor, but “software” is a kind of – what? A series of ones and zeros that tells a computer what to do. Huh??) Take this for an example of multiple meanings: I asked a few different people what a “bit” is. Mom’s definition was “a small piece of a yummy chocolate dessert.”  Victoria said a “bit” is “a steel bar that goes into a horse’s mouth to control it.” Kathryn’s idea was a “small piece of metal that you use with a drill to bore holes.” However, according to the Daddy Dictionary of Technology, a “bit” is “the smallest increment of electronic data: a one or a zero.”  Then I asked about a “byte.” Mom’s answer could be expected: “the first taste of the yummy bit!” Jessi’s immediate thought was “what a bug does to you!” Kathryn said that a “bite” is “what the teething infant does to your shoulder.” And, last but not least, the Daddy Dictionary of Technology explained  that a “byte” REALLY is “a collection of bits that form one character.” Whew! If that’s not enough to make one flumbuzzled! We could go on and on; I wanted to ask about a megabyte… but lets just say that that’s one monster mouth! 

So, the next time you decide to get technical, you could think about the OTHER definitions of your technological terminology!!! Anyone have any other terms to define?

P.S. Using all of these terms makes ME feel kinda strange; I wonder what it feels like to be a REAL techno-geek??

A few days ago, we received in the mail the monthly newsletter of the Arden Road Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. As I was looking over it, the article on the back caught my attention and was such a good reminder that I thought that someone else might benefit from it, too. Here is an excerpt:

“As some of you might remember, there were survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Many of these were from just some little thing that happened to them on their way to work.

• The head of a company survived because his son started kindergarten that day
• One was alive since it was his turn to bring donuts
• One was late because her alarm failed to go off
• One was late due to a traffic jam on N.J. Turnpike
• One spilled food on her clothes and had to change
• One was late because his car would not start
• One was late because she could not get a taxi
• One was late due to a blister from wearing new shoes and had stopped to buy a band-aid”

That really impacted me. I can’t stand to be late, and often I get frustrated and irritable when things don’t go exactly the way I think they should work. However, seeing delays and aggravations in the light of these examples helps me to keep the right attitude about what God is doing in my life. Sometimes God chooses not to reveal why we got stuck in that slow traffic or why we can’t find the specific book that we’re looking for, but other times He does disclose His reasons. One of the most significant of those times in my life happened almost exactly one year ago, on August 6, 2008, when God blessed me in an amazing way through a frustration. Actually, it started a little bit before that, when I began shopping for a laptop computer.

When I first started looking for a laptop, I had no idea what kind I wanted. Then, some friends showed me theirs, and I liked it, so I started looking more in that direction. I picked one out, but was disappointed to discover that the limited edition I wanted was already discontinued, and that I’d be getting a different one. It was actually a slight downgrade from what I’d wanted, and I felt disappointed at first. However, it was still much better than what I needed, so I gave the whole situation to God and was satisfied, knowing that "This, too, was from His hand." Then I had a few problems with my password; again, it was not something that I wanted to thank the Lord for. I called technical support, and, long story short, God prompted me to witness to the girl I was talking to. Although I was reluctant and scared at first, God moved in an incredible way, and it turned out that she was already saved, but needing some encouragement at that time in her life, as her family was unsaved and very unsupportive of her decision to follow Christ. We had a wonderful conversation, and I think I was even more blessed than she was, because I was the one who had seen God work out a hassle for good! If I had gotten the computer I wanted originally, and if hadn’t been having trouble with the one I did get, I would not have called the computer company, I would not have talked to that girl, I would not have had the opportunity to share Christ, and I would not have met a dear sister in the Lord! God works in mysterious ways!!!!

So next time you run into an obstacle in your life that seems frustrating or insurmountable, give it to the Lord, pray for His peace to fill your heart, and then watch to see how He moves!

Psalm 25:4 – “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thought are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

For many summers, we have had the privilege of going with some friends of ours (the Otts) to a local blueberry patch (owned by the Ott’s neighbor) to pick blueberries and stock our freezers. We are thankful for the generosity of the owners, who let us come and pick all we want for free! Well, this week the call came that they were ready, so Mommy and all of us kids went over there to pick them. Before we went, Mommy told us that the Ott’s had invited us to go swimming when we were done! There was one catch, however: because of our schedule that day, we had to be done picking blueberries by 11:00 in order to have time to swim. And anyone who didn’t work didn’t get to swim, even if we were done by the deadline. So, when we got there, the Team jumped out of the van and set about to diligently accomplish the task at hand! Enthusiasm was prevalent,  laughter was frequently heard, and Mrs. Tammy Ott even developed our own little motto for us. It went like this: “If there isn’t a blueberry under your nose, then move your nose!!” Though it was a smaller crop than normal, we got around two gallons… well, after you count the ones that we ate in the field!

Next came the reward of our labors – the pool! We quickly went to the Otts’ house (right across the road), got changed, and plunged ourselves into the blue depths… aahhhh! It felt so good! Ever  since Titus was born, we have wanted to put him in, because we have heard that if you put a baby in the pool early on, they will remember the swimming motions they used in the womb and it will actually be a lot easier to teach them. We got to put him in this  time, and were a little surprised by his response: he liked it! We also got to work with Bethany and Hannah  with some of their swimming fears – things like getting water in their face, having the “big girls” let go of them, and using only one floatation device instead of two! Susanna and Lauren worked on things like back floating, etc. The cool water was simply refreshing, and since “the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,” we all enjoyed the reward of our labors immensely!

One thing I really appreciated about that day was how Daddy and Mommy provided a reward at the end of the project. At the FEW conference last weekend, during a session on family harmony while working together, we were challenged to find rewards for the diligent ones at the completion of a long task. Even though it would have been easier to just go home after picking, and not go through having to do all of the laundry from 10 soaked people, when the offer came up, Mom worked it out so we could do it. Thank you, Mommy!

Special thanks to the Ott family for bringing their joy and enthusiasm to the blueberry field, letting us use their pool, and for taking the pictures for this blog post when we were so smart as to forget our camera at such a memorable time!!