Verse of the Day...

The Bible RECAP...

I just finished reading through the Bible using The Bible Recap plan on the Bible App. Over my lifetime, I’m sure I’ve read through the Bible many times, but never with the intentionality I had this past year. This is the first time I’ve truly followed a reading plan and completed the Bible in a year, and it feels incredibly rewarding to have accomplished this goal.

Helping Friends (who are like family)....

Helping friends recently as they move their elderly parents from NC to TN has been eye-opening. Seeing how much they accumulated over a lifetime—combined with everything we’ve been dealing with at Scot’s parents’ house—has really made Scot and me rethink our own stuff.

We’ve decided it’s time to start purging what we don’t truly need. We don’t want to leave Tim the burden of sorting through a house full of things someday. Both Scot’s parents and our friends’ parents clearly struggled with hoarding, shaped by being raised by those who lived through the Depression, when you saved anything that might be useful again one day.

Here are a few pictures of the work we've been doing and there's still a lot to do. 

Tim's Christmas 2025...

This year was a smaller Christmas for Tim.  He received clothes (compression underwear, sweatpants & a couple of t-shirts).  He also received some knee sleeves and compression pants for training.  He got new earbuds from his family in Kentucky.  They all rallied together and got him the earbuds he's been needing for when he is working out.  He also got a trimmer that he ask for to be able to trim his thick eyebrows and to be able to clean up his unibrow.  His dad and I got him the Galaxy watch that he wanted as well.   All in all he got everything he needed and wanted this Christmas.  It's unfortunate but I didn't get a picture of all the clothes he received.  

Beats earbuds that will stay in when he's working out.

Karlos Nasar t-shirt.

Karlos Nasar knee sleeves.

Why Be Normal? Weightlifting t-shirt.

Galaxy Watch and bezel protection because hey, I know my son...LOL! 

Merry Christmas🎄

We wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas🎄!

This season reminds us just how much we have to be thankful for. Life gets busy and chaotic, but this time of year calls us to slow down and appreciate the people who mean the most. We never want to take our loved ones for granted. God has been so good to us, and we’re grateful for His faithfulness every single day.

Family is everything. So hug your loved ones a little tighter this Christmas, and make sure they know just how much they mean to you. Tomorrow isn’t promised, but the memories we make today can last a lifetime.

God bless you all, and may your Christmas be filled with love, peace, and joy❤️.

A Time of Reflection Video...

I made this short video to give everyone a look back at our best moments of 2025.  Most of our best moments are Tim's - of course his best moments are our best moments.  A happy kid = happy parents.  We love seeing our boy so incredibly happy with all that he's doing.  He's such an amazing young man.  We look forward to seeing all that God does in his life as he continues to grow to be his own man.  He will always have our love & support.  

Merry Christmas Eve....

It's Christmas Eve, y'all.  We are starting the day watching Tim open his Christmas gifts so we can enjoy that time as a family with just us.  Then later this afternoon we go to our churches candlelight service and we come home and have dinner.  And this year's dinner is thanks to our friends - The Allen's - because we are getting to have off the boat Italian Raviolis that I helped make at Donna's mom's house a few weeks ago.  It's something we started doing in more recent years because we want Christmas Day to be all about our Saviors birth and time with Family.  The greatest gift we will ever receive in this life is the gift of eternal life in heaven and we wouldn't have that if Jesus hadn't be born & then - many years later - died on a cross for our sins.  

He is the greatest gift of all!!! 

Verse of the Day...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible:

v1-5 The journeying of everyone "to their own town to register" appears to be a sensitive decision by the Romans that allowed the Jews to follow their own custom of going to one's ancestral home.  So Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem, a place identified as "the town of David," because of Joseph's lineage in the royal family.

V6-7  Jesus enters the world in as mundane a way as possible.  Luke tells the story with exceptional brevity.

v8-10 The testimony of Jesus' birth from the angelic host to shepherds is significant in scope.  The announcement indicates that God desires to speak to every person about the coming of Jesus, since all humanity is impacted by his coming.

v11  The titles the angel uses for the newborn child are significant.  "Savior" is rich in OT roots, especially as a figure for divine deliverance.  "Messiah" (Hebrew for "anointed one") is a rare term in the OT; Ps 2:2 is the main technical regal use.  What about "Lord"?  One could argue that the rest of this Gospel and the book of Acts serve to explain the nature of Jesus' lordship.

We are so Thankful...

We are so incredibly thankful for being given so much pebble gravel so that we could fix the low spots in our gravel driveway.  Our driveway is around 600 or so feet long so you can imagine how much it cost to get two dump truck loads of new gravel put on it.  It's something we are going to have to do but being giving this gravel buys us some time before having to do it.  

Happy Tuesday Before Christmas....

Happy Monday before Christmas...

Sunday Blessings...

It's the Sunday before Christmas.  It's my favorite time of the year.  Even though history shows that Jesus was actually born back in September (Jewish Calendar) I'm still so thankful that we have a day that celebrates his birth because without it we wouldn't have a way to get to heaven.  Jesus is the ultimate gift to us all and I'm so thankful for that gift and that I get to spend eternity with him. 

Looking Back at The Moments of 2025...

I put together a couple of photo collages from 2025 to share here. There was so much good in 2025 for our family, but it was also a year marked by profound loss. We lost the matriarch of the Neal family, a loss that has overshadowed much of the joy. Two years of loss have been incredibly difficult—first our patriarch in 2024, and then our matriarch in 2025—especially because they were truly the heartbeat of our family.

The grief itself has been heavy, but watching how these losses have affected some of the family members who are still here has been just as hard. Seeing loved ones sink into deep sadness, going through the motions without truly enjoying the life and relationships they still have, has been heartbreaking.

Even while carrying this grief, the past couple of years have been the best yet for our son in weightlifting. I know his grandparents are looking down with pride at all he has accomplished. I can picture them smiling, seeing how happy and fulfilled their grandson is in this new sport. Tim misses them deeply—they were his biggest cheerleaders in everything he did.

Though we miss them every single day and think of them often, we continue to live our lives fully, hoping that in doing so we are honoring their legacy.

Left to right:  1st row: Tim with his 3 Silver Medals from the Arnold & the second pic is him sharing them with his Nan.  The 3rd pic is his Gold medal from Barbells-n-Sprinkles Spring Open.  2nd row: Tucker, Tim's b-day pic, Tim at Nationals.  3rd row:  Stella, Tim at Nationals with his 117kg lift, Tim and his dad enjoying a Cripple Creek train tour in Colorado.  4th row:  Tim at Twenty-One Pilots Concert & Tim with his 3 Bronze finishes from VW Finals in Daytona.

Left to right:  1st row:  Tim & I with a Gold mine in the back of us at Cripple Creek - one of the largest Gold mines in the USA,  Tim & Scot at a EKU game supporting our nephew who's one of their coaches, Tim showing his muscles.  2nd row:  Me at my desk, Tim doing schoolwork at home, Scot outside a venue.  3rd row:  Stella, Scot and I at Daytona Beach, Tucker with his favorite toy.  4th row: Tim at the State Meet having a good time cheering on a teammate, Scot and I at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado.

Happy 1st Day of Winter!

We wanted take and moment to just say, "Happy 1st Day of Winter!"

I'm not sure how much of a winter we will have this year.  It varies from year to year as to what we will receive in the way of snow.  We love seeing it but no one here, in NC, knows how to drive in it seeing as we hardly ever see the stuff...LOL! 

ALWC RECAP of VW Finals/VW Master Worlds....

 

Tim & Kim went 6 for 6 on their lifts too & earned their 6 for 6 bracelets.  Tim also broke the Snatch Record for WSO Carolinas and Total Record for WSO Carolinas with his lifts.  The team did so amazing.  So proud of all of them.  

It's Scary What AI Can Do....

This is an AI generated picture:

Verse of the Day...

Verse of the Day...

Footnote from NIV Application Bible:

John indicates that the light has its followers; Jesus has his disciples.  Those who receive him become God's children.  Those who follow the Word will share in divine rebirth.  This is John's understanding of conversion: deliberate faith joined with divine transformation.  

WSO Carolinas Elite Youth...

We are so excited to share this incredible accomplishment of Tim’s with you. To be listed as an Elite Athlete after just a little over two years in the sport is truly remarkable. It also proves that no matter what sport Tim pursues, he strives to be elite—because his goal is always to be the very best at what he does. We are beyond proud of him! 

Verse of the Day...

Happy Hanukkah My Jewish Friends...

This is the reason that my household will always pour out blessings on Israel/Jewish people.  I will always honor them because my God tells me to do so in His Word and I always want to honor Him!

I thought a little education on Hanukkah might be in order for those that don't know much about it.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew Calendar, which this year occurs from the evening of December 14th to the 22nd in the Gregorian Calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shammash (שַׁמָּשׁ‎, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shammash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival.

The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך‎", meaning "to dedicate", because on Hanukkah, the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without", so that if a passersby should see it they'd be reminded of the holiday's miracle.

Hanukkah lights should usually burn for at least half an hour after it gets dark.

Typically two blessings (brachot; singular: brachah) are recited during this eight-day festival when lighting the candles. On the first night only, the shehecheyanu blessing is added, making a total of three blessings.

The blessings are recited before each candle is lit. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle or oil) is lit on the right side of the menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first but it is lit first, and so on, proceeding from placing candles right to left but lighting them from left to right over the eight nights.

Transliteration: Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner Hanukkah.

Translation: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light[s].

After the lights are kindled the hymn Hanerot Halalu is recited.

It is customary for women not to work for at least the first half-hour of the candles' burning, and some have the custom not to work for the entire time of burning. It is also forbidden to fast or to eulogize during Hanukkah.

Anyhow, I thought you'd enjoy learning a bit about this holy holiday of the Jewish people.  

Then & Now...

A friend just shared the first photo with me, and the second is from his most recent meet—what an incredible transformation!

Tim is an amazing athlete. He’s enjoyed two sports, but weightlifting is where his heart is—and it shows in how happy and healthy he is.

Tim Broke Records!!!

 

Tim broke 2 WSO Carolinas Records with his Snatch & Total.  It's been posted on the WSO Carolinas Records page.  We are so stinkin' excited and proud of Tim.  

Pro-Shots of Tim's Lifts...

Here's Tim's Snatch Pro-Shots of his lifts:

Here's Tim's Pro-Shots of his Clean & Jerk Lifts: