The Neely Team

The Lord often blesses us with times of refreshment and encouragement as we strive to serve Him in the corner of the world where He has placed us. Like-minded families may seem few and far between, but the refreshment of gatherings is hard to describe! Times like these are what could be termed “recharges.” Just as a battery gets low, our “fellowship meters” often are in need of charging.

We had such a weekend when the Barnes family came for a visit. Puzzles, trampoline, guitar, meaningful conversations, National Ice Cream Day…. it was definitely a weekend not soon to be forgotten!! Thank you, Barnes family, for your joy and love for our Lord!

Oftentimes we reach low points in life’s journey – the crossroads of major decisions or the valleys of trial which effect so much of our lives. It has been said that “you are either in the middle of a trial, you’ve just come out of a trial, or there’s a trial just around the corner.” But in between the seasons of tribulation and testing, our kind and gracious heavenly Father is faithful to provide the mountaintops – the uplifting and encouraging peaks which comfort the spirit and refresh the soul.  Such was the week that we recently enjoyed with the Wilkes Team: a mountaintop which allowed us a fresh glimpse of the path beyond, and filled us with renewed vision and fervor to press onward again. From watching and learning about their chickens, to eating fabulous meals, to participating in the Independence Day parade, to having family devotions, to helping weed the garden and paint the barn, every moment was filled with laughter, good conversation, and fellowship. What a joy it is to spend time with likeminded believers! Thank you, Wilkes Team, for your hospitality once again, and for your constant encouragement in our family! We consider ourselves some of the wealthiest people alive to call you our friends! May the Lord return a thousand fold the blessings we have received at your hands!

The poultry yard was quite entertaining!

Music, of course, played a part in the week.

There was lots of fun around the various projects…

…and fireworks on Fourth of July were a “blast!”

We can’t forget the mealtimes – delightful for more than one reason!

And some of our favorite times were helping them with their ongoing projects around the barn!

We got some miscellaneous fun shots, too.

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!

You never know what a day may bring forth. But one thing you can always count on, is the goodness and faithfulness of our Lord! It is because of His mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not; they are new every morning. Great is God’s faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

We found this to be particularly true just a few weeks ago. It is a very long story, so we won’t bore you with all the details.

Mom and Dad were on their way out of town for a few days, and we were all enjoying a quiet afternoon studying for the Bible Bee. It started storming, with fierce thunder and lightning, then hail. Obviously, there was nothing we could do about it, so we continued studying. But one precaution we did think of was to have everyone put rubber shoes on. (This we do during lightning storms in case of electrical shock – it was recommended by a friend who was actually struck by lightning several years ago.)

Victoria went to the garage and noticed a funny smell,  but didn’t think much about it. But as she turned to come back in, the kitchen was full of smoke. About this time someone yelled, “FIRE!!” and people came from all parts of the house and gathered on the front porch. It was still storming ferociously, although thankfully the hail had stopped for a while. Amanda called Dad and Mom, who were an hour away, then dialed 9-1-1. She finally got to tell them where we live, despite the brief power outage in the middle of the call.

Soon our driveway was full of emergency vehicles and neighbors who came to check on us. We are very thankful for one neighbor in particular, who allowed us, soaking wet though we were, to sit in his leather interior Jeep during it all.

The firemen searched all over, looking for flames, but couldn’t find anything but smoke – fresh smoke. Attic, bonus room, garage, air handlers, oven… no signs of fire… just lots of smoke. It was probably fifteen minutes before the dryer was checked, and sure enough, that’s where it was.

Dad and Mom got home after everyone had left, and we all jumped into the cleanup process. Everything had to be wiped down. But through it all God’s hand of protection and sovereignty was evident!! “Small” things, like delaying Mom and Dad’s trip so that they were an hour closer to home, and “big” things, such as protecting all of us… we truly serve an all-powerful, merciful, and loving God! May He be glorified!

(And in case you are wondering, both the washer and dryer still work perfectly well and are back in full service.)

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! **

Well,  once again blogging has been put to the side by more important priorities. But lest you think that we have forgotten all of you faithful readers, let me assure you that you are not forgotten. Blogging just doesn’t get as high of a priority as studying, visiting family members, practicing music, traveling around the country, hosting guests, gardening, working, or any of those other wonderful opportunities that the Lord brings across our path.

One of those such opportunities was just a couple weeks ago, when we found ourselves once again on a road trip traveling to see grandparents. It was such a great trip! The hand of the Lord was evident, even when the day before we were supposed to leave, the reverse went on our van. 

We thoroughly enjoyed working together on various projects while we were there. Dad and Mom worked outside in the heat on a project: fixing the barn doors, which were dragging the ground when you swung them open and  falling off their hinges. Most of the rest of us were busy inside doing domestic-type work. We also enjoyed looking at the beautiful day lilies that Uncle Fudge (our step-grandfather) has on the border of the property. There are soooo many different types and colors and variegations…. and did you know that every part of a day lily is edible?

We were also blessed to be able to minister in two churches that Sunday, one in Chattahoochee, FL, and the other in Bainbridge, GA. It was good to be able to spend time with extended family, grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, and friends.

Praise the Lord for each opportunity He gives us to serve others, whether it is by dusting a bookshelf or singing a song!  May God grant us the wisdom to know which opportunities to take, and then the joy and the grace to follow through with the Lord’s guidance!!

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