The Neely Team

A few weeks ago we were able to spend several days in Northern VA with our dear, dear friends, the Wilkes Team. One thing we have always appreciated about them is their heart for ministry, whether that be to each other, their neighbors, their community, their church family, or us! We were with them for the 4th of July, and once again they concocted an idea to reach out and minister to those around: through a Family Encouragement Float at the Culpeper Parade!

Keep in mind that none of us had ever done this before. Thus, as it got down “to the wire” and we had only an hour and a half left before it was time to be lining up at the parade, we saw a very obvious manifestation of the Lord’s blessing and what team work can do when the team is of one heart and mind! Lunch had yet to be finished, signs to be made, people to be dressed, candy to be attached to flyers of encouragement, a plan for how the float would actually look to be arranged (kinda important ), and much more, but all got done in record time as each individual pitched in with their unique giftings and abilities and worked with the joy of the Lord flowing from them! Our goal was to have the float communicate a message of hope and encouragement to families, since they are the indispensible building block of society! As goes the family, so goes the nation…

There is nothing like working together as families to encourage other families! Praise the Lord for holding off the rain for the parade and allowing us the opportunity to reach out to the people of Culpeper! God is good! 

Thank you, Wilkes Team, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Summer, and Grandpa and Grandma Wilkes for including us in your family and letting us be a part of this wonderful occasion!

Gather the family and your favorite toppings… and enjoy!!!

From our extreme lack of posts, you can probably gather at least a little information about our schedule of late. One of the many items on our plate has been doing the National Bible Bee as a family! If you aren’t familiar with this, it is an intense Scripture study/memorization program for young people that runs from June 1 to the end of August. Participants are divided by age into three categories and given their assignments based on that level. We have people in all three levels – to give you an idea of the intensity, I’ll just say that we older ones, in the Senior category, are striving for an in-depth study of 1 Peter and the mastery of 800 verses in just twelve weeks! It is such a joy to know that this endeavor will pay off – for God has promised that His Word will not return void, but will accomplish His purposes in each of our lives! But, as you might expect, this takes time. Time we haven’t had much of recently – - nay, I should say rather that our time has been amazingly occupied!!

Anyway, we actually had a day this week where nothing was on the schedule – amazing!! (And, it happened to be my birthday!) Our creative, thoughtful mother had an idea for how to use this day to the fullest advantage as far as the Bible Bee is concerned, and make it special and memorable, so planned a trip to a local lake to study in the beauties of God’s creation. Then… it rained! Mom was an example of flexibility, and after some consultation we decided instead to take a trip to the Eagles’ Nest – a delightful retreat in the top of our Carriage House (our detached garage). This unfinished, luxurious apartment fitted our needs exactly – - a place away where no phones, emails, mile-long to-do lists, instruments needing to be practiced, or other wonderful interruptions could reach us – - and we were delighted! After everyone got settled and cozy, we turned on some classical music and some fans and set to work. The Lord blessed us with a productive day in His Word, and we are all looking forward to another day set aside to return to our hideaway for some extra productivity in areas that, in the rush of life, can get neglected. (We’re already thinking about a day to just READ up there after the Bible Bee is over!) It was also a most excellent way to spend a birthday; we even took lunch up and had a grand time.

Everyone needs a break periodically… So, if you are doing the Bible Bee or just have been experiencing a tightly-packed schedule, as soon as possible, plan a day to get away as a family or even alone and spend some quality time in the Word or with an encouraging book! You will come back immensely refreshed!

Thank you, Mommy, for planning such a relaxing, fun day for us all! This will go down in the book of extra-special occasions!

** We just realized that we never got a picture of the dear one that started all of this fun! We’ll have to do better next time! **

Last Saturday we walked a 5-K as a family! It was good exercise, nice family time, and a lot of fun.

Later that afternoon, we went to Wayah Bald. After we ate supper, Mommy, Susanna, Herman, Belle, Berty, and I played Hide-and-Seek in a section of tall grass with huge rocks in the middle on the very top of the mountain. I thought it was more fun to hide than to seek because the rocks and grass made tons of good spots. I also walked a tiny bit of the Appalachian trail with Amanda, Susanna, Herman, and Berty (it came across Wayah Bald). That was fun too!

On the way back down, we stopped at some buildings that  park rangers used back in the early 1900’s. There was a two-story cabin with two chimneys and front and back doors, a barn, and a small outhouse. In the yard in front of the cabin, we found a bird’s nest in a clump of grass! We have been learning about birds in science, so we enjoyed getting to see what we have been reading about in person.

I really enjoyed having a day together as a family!

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

For all of our faithful readers, you may be wondering where we’ve been. But really, no posts means that we’ve been experiencing too many wonderful adventures to take the time to write about them, so you should rest assured that whenever there is a lengthy gap, we are probably just off on another one of our wild expeditions.

Such was the case this last week, only this expedition was a little different than normal. We were just living life. Very busy life, we might add, but still just life. Let’s see……. if you are looking for a detailed description of what our week held, we spent our time shopping, mowing, raking the grass, weeding and planting the garden, taking pictures, getting the little ones’ achievement tests finished for the year, making music, mopping our floors (dirtamascrubbiewithwaterandsoaping is the official Neely term ), teaching music lessons, playing outside a lot, having company, and much, much more.

But, lest you think we put the wrong title on this post, let us now reveal that we weren’t alone in this adventure. After being at a homeschool conference in Atlanta last weekend, we were able to pick up a stowaway and bring him home with us for a while. Wesley B. got to experience life first hand with the Neely Team… could be a little scary at times. What a week it was! We had an absolute blast… it was such a blessing to have him here to take part in all that happened. Wes just fit in – became part of the Team – and we loved it!

One of the ways Wesley encouraged us by his attention to the little ones. Matthew 18:5 says “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” It’s rare to find someone who is willing to joyfully invest their time and energy into little children.

Another way Wes blessed us was by his encouraging words. He took note of things that others did well and pointed them out.

“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24

Wesley was also a huge blessing by patiently spending hours teaching classical styling on the guitar to several of us (better called a bunch of novices ). We are excited about continuing to learn more about this beautiful instrument!!

“Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 150

Thank you, Wes, for jumping into the Team like you did and leaving us so encouraged when you had to jump out again (though we also really enjoyed the time with your family when they came to pick you up). We are excited to claim you as a big brother – the memories we all made together will last for a long time! May the Lord continue to give you the grace to shine brightly for Him, leaving others rejuvenated and refreshed by your life and testimony.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Matthew 5:16

… while Dad and Mom were away!!!! Ha ha ha! :):)

Anyway…

This weekend Dad and Mom were gone to the Wilds for their Overnight Sweetheart Getaway! If we had been there, we would be telling you about what a fantastic time we had, the powerful messages we heard, the delicious food, all the stairs we climbed, the thrilling ride on the famous Giant Swing… and much, much more… But since we weren’t there, you’ll have to hear about that some other time, and for now, be content with an overview of the activities that took place on the home front.

To say the least… we had a delightful time!! It seems I am continually being reminded that time with my family is immensely precious… something not to be taken for granted because it will not last forever! The message we heard on Sunday following all of the adventures (which I will recount for you in a moment) called us to remember relationships: first of all, with Jesus Christ, and second, with our families. Relationships are of upmost importance. If you think about it, that is the one thing that separates Christianity from all other “religions.” Christianity is based upon a personal relationship with the God of the universe, rather than how we can try in our own strength to be “good enough” to measure up to His righteous standards. Thus, the focus is on Him, not on us. The parallels to be drawn from this regarding the family are amazing, for the only way to have a truly good relationship with someone is to be constantly thinking of them, not ourselves. This is a conviction to me even as I write it, but may we always have this “others focus,” and look for ways to bless those the Lord has placed around us! 

With those thoughts in mind, one of the highlights of our time together was heading outdoors to be wild savages, or at least, to do our utmost to reach that lofty status. With painted faces, braided hair, ponies, a “pale face prisoner,” and some good-ole Injun grub, we made our way to our secret hideout in the woods and succeeded in building a wigwam – of sorts! Talk about memories!

Some other memory-making activities that took place were experimenting with our own version of Mocha Freeze drinks, reading The Island Queen by R.M. Ballentyne, making dozens and dozens and dozens and… LOTS of cookies to freeze for the upcoming FEW Conference, and sleeping in late.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

So, I would challenge you to get out with your family and make some memories together… lasting ones. You won’t be sorry!

On the day after Thanksgiving, we had the chance to go on a family hunting trip in Georgia on some of our relatives’ land. When we got there, we sat in our 12-person, brown hunting-blind in the middle of the hay field. Daddy had a gun, and the rest of us watched for deer.  During the afternoon, we killed two deer and a pig!! When Daddy shot the gun, he was out of the van,  and for the second deer and the pig he propped his gun on one of the hay bales in the field. With the deer, he didn’t take any extra ammo, though, so he ran out! He signaled to Mommy and she went softly scooting toward him with more. The rest of us were still sitting in the van watching the whole thing, and we thought that she looked like a pioneer woman from years ago, helping her husband kill food for the family.  The deer ran away when he shot it, and it was almost dark, so we had to track it with flashlights. We had so much fun! Daddy, Mommy, and the little ones gutted it, while Amanda, Jessica, Kathryn, Victoria,and I walked in the dark back to where the pig was. We took a strap and tied it to the feet. Amanda, Kathryn, and Victoria had fun dragging it while Jessi took pictures and I guided them with the light.  When we got it there, we wrapped it in a plastic raincoat and put it in the back of the van. We had to put the two deer on top of the van!

I am glad Daddy had this wonderful idea! We enjoyed the trip getting there, and LOVED hunting together. (Gutting the deer and having a science experiment was fun too! ) I can’t wait to get to do it again!