Proverbs 3:5&6...

Leaning has the sense of putting your whole weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing.  God knows what is best for us.  He is a better judge of what we want than even we are.  We must trust Him completely in every choice we make!

Travel Day has Arrived...

They day is finally here for us to start our journey to Colorado Springs, CO for USA Weightlifting Nationals.  We are all looking forward to this trip and this second Nationals experience for Tim.  He has worked so hard preparing for it.  He's feeling really good physically with the exception of a possible head cold that he's trying to get rid of before he lifts.  We are doing all we can to help in that regard.  Please keep us in your prayers as we make the journey for safe travels.  Also pray that we all stay healthy as well.  We will be stopping off at Scot's brothers house along the way to have a break from driving the trip.  Pray also for the Athletic Lab Weightlifting Club that all our competitors have great experiences and stay healthy with no injuries as well.  Thank you.  

Lamentations 3:22-23...

Jeremiah saw one ray of hope in all the sin and sorrow surrounding him; "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail."  God willingly responds with help when we ask.  Perhaps there is some sin in your life that you thought God would not forgive.  God's steadfast love and mercy are greater than any sin, and he promises forgiveness.  

Jeremiah knew from personal experience about God's faithfulness.  God had promised that punishment would follow disobedience, and it did.  BUT God also had promised future restoration and blessing, and Jeremiah knew that God would keep that promise also.  Trusting in God's faithfulness day by day makes us confident in His great promises for the future.

Tristan is Officially a HS Graduate!!!

We are so thrilled for our nephew, Tristan.  He graduated last night.  The ceremony was quick.  Wish mine had been that fast...LOL.  We had a 2 hour ceremony because of all the speeches then our graduating class was between 500-600 students.  It seemed like forever to get through the names.  Last night they wizzed right through the names...LOL!  Here on some pictures that we got:

Tristan & MawMaw (aka Mary Lynn Nesbit Norment)

Tristan with April & Calvin Norment

Tristan with his friends "V" & Leigh ( I think that's how she spells her name)

Tristan with Tim, Me, & Scot

Then, of course, the photo of just The Graduate!

We got to take him out for dinner beforehand at the restaurant of his choosing and he chose Red Robin.  Boy are Tim and him alike.  They both love to eat at Red Robin "Yummm"...LOL! 

Supporting Another Person's Success Quote...

Someone Graduates Today....

We will have another High School Graduate tonight.  We will be taking him out for dinner beforehand at Red Robin.  We are so thrilled to be sharing this moment with him.  I'm so proud of him for sticking it out and graduating.   For our family graduating High School is a huge deal.  

Romans 15:13....

David Jeremiah Quote...

A Storm Rolled Through...

We had a storm roll through earlier this evening.  I was able to get a picture before it started raining.  I love when it rains because then I don't have to water my flowers...LOL! 

Happy Father's Day...

I want to take a moment to wish my husband a wonderful Father's Day today.  I know that we celebrated early with you on Friday by taking you to your favorite restaurant but wanted to make sure that a post was made honoring you.  

You are such an amazing husband and father to our son.  God gave me that best gift in the world when he gave me you.  I'm so glad that we have raised our son as we have.  I'm so thankful for the bond you and Tim have.  It blesses my heart so much to watch you two together.  I love how intentional we have been with Tim.  He's grown up to be such an amazing young man and huge reason why is because of you!  

Happy Father's Day Babe!  May it be your best to date!

I'd be remiss if I didn't pay homage to the man that made you such a great man,

Popsie, You are missed every single day!  Not a day goes by where we don't think about you!

Also, Happy Father's Day to my Dad.  He's been gone for such a long time now but he's never forgotten.

I have to also take a moment and include this amazing man of God, John Gordon, who has been such a great mentor dad to me since I was very young.  It's because of him that I asked Jesus into my heart and to be Lord of my life.    

Lastly, I want to wish all the Father's,

Happy Birthday Nan!

Nan turns 88 years young today.  She's not as spry as she used to be.  She has spent most of her days in her yard pulling weeds and keep her flowers looking beautiful.  Here recently she's not able to do that.  She is a spitfire though.  She loves her family and we all love her bunches.  We can't wait to get to Kentucky after Nationals and have a belated celebration with her.  Even though we are miles apart she's is always in our hearts and thoughts.   We carry thoughts of memories past with us in all we do.  I married into this family and I've been so blessed all these years to be able to know her.  There's nothing she wouldn't do for her family.  She's such an amazing woman to know.  

Quote by Hampton Morris....

6 Years Ago vs Today...

6 years ago he was cutting for a TKD tournament and eating just 2 eggs, an orange and an apple.  Today Tim's eating like 4 eggs, a banana, strawberries and a bagel and sometimes 4 slices of deli turkey meat.  These days I can't feed this young man enough.  It's like he's hungry all the time...LOL!   

Our Canna Lillies...

Our Canna Lillies are growing.  We picked out all the weeds then we put some black mesh down to keep the weeds at bay and put rocks around them.  It looks so beautiful now.  

Partially done with the rocks.

Finished product. 

We are eventually going to do all the way around the house with the rocks.  We have to do a little at a time as our schedule allows.

Psalm 91:11

One of the functions of angels is to watch over believers (Hebrews 1:14).  There are examples of guardian angels in Scripture (1 Kings 19:5; Daniel 6:22; Matthew 18:10; Luke 16:22; Acts 12:7), although there is no indication that one angel is assigned to each believer.  Angels can also be God's messengers (Matthew 2:13; Acts 27:23, 24).  Angles are not visible, except on special occasions (Numbers 22:31; Luke 2:9).  It's comforting to know that God watches over us even in times of great stress and fear.

2 Weeks from Yesterday...

Two weeks from yesterday is when Tim lifts at USA Weightlifting Youth Nationals in Colorado Springs, CO.  Gonna be so much fun being in Colorado Springs, CO getting to watch our son do his thing🤩. We are so excited for the opportunity that he will have lifting with the other young men. We love seeing how much he’s growing and learning in this sport🥰. We love the way everyone is so supportive and uplifting in the weightlifting community. The absolute best sport environment our son has ever had.

God Picked You...

 

There's nothing in this life more important that we could tell our son than this right here!  

When God picks you you are not going to be able to do things that everyone else does, and get away with it.   There will be things that He requires of you that He won't require of someone else all because of what He's chosen you to do.  His ways are not our ways and we will never fully understand them here on this earth.  All we need to do is to trust and have faith and stay with God.  Giving Him total control so that our lives aline with His will for us.  

Quote of the Day...

 

No mere person on this earth should hold your key to happiness ever!!!  Make sure the key to your happiness is in God Alone the Creator of Heaven & Earth!  He knows our beginning and our end.  He knows every hair that is upon our head.  He's the one who gave us salvation through His Son's death on the cross!  He's the only one who should ever hold our key to happiness!  In Him and Him alone do we find meaning and purpose in this life and beyond!  

Verse of the Day...

The Excitement Is Building...

The excitement is building for USAW Youth Nationals in Colorado Springs, CO.  Tim loves every opportunity that he gets to compete and make improvements in his lifting.  In the short time that he's been doing this sport he has made so many gains and we are so proud of him.  We are all looking forward to getting to have some fun in Colorado Springs too.  So many cool things to do.

It's hard to believe that he will be 18 next year and he will be a Junior lifter in this sport.  We are praying for guidance as to what Tim is supposed to do after he graduates as far as work/tech school is concerned.  Our hearts desire is to see him continuing to advance in this sport and to find something that he will love doing for work as well.  So many decisions facing him as a young man.  He will have our full support no matter what his decision will be.  

Daily Scripture...

There are 3 verses that go with this quote👇

Fight the Good Fight (NKJV) comes from this verse:

Paul uses active and forceful verbs to describe the Christian life:  flee, pursue, fight, take hold.  Some think Christianity is a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act.  But we must have an active faith, obeying God with courage and doing what we know is right!  

Finish the Race & Keep the Faith (NKJV) comes from this verse: 

Get Your Shield of Faith Up (NKJV) comes from this verse:

In the Christian life we battle against rulers and authorities (the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by Satan, who is a vicious fighter, see 1 Peter 5:8).  To withstand their attacks, we MUST depend on God's strength and use every piece of His armor!  Paul is giving this counsel to all individuals within the church.  The whole body needs to be armed!  As you do battle against "the powers of this dark world," FIGHT in the strength of the church, whose POWER comes from the HOLY SPIRIT!

Always Remember This...

 

Verse of the Day...

 

Quote of the Day...

 

Someone's Graduating...

In 15 days our family will have another HS Graduate. Tristan will be graduating from Cary High School. For our family this is huge deal. I was the first to graduate HS in our family. My dad never graduated HS and my mom didn't go back and get her HS diploma until my youngest sister, Tristan's mother, was in the head start program. Most of my dad's 7 kids & his grandkids (which are a lot) have graduated HS. And I expect the great grands will all graduate HS as well. My dad would be so proud of his kids, mine & my siblings kids, and my siblings kids kids if he were still with us today. 

Tristan is such a handsome and strong minded young man. He looks just like his grandfather with exception of his longer hair. Tristan marches to the tune of his own drum very much like his grandfather did. We are so proud of him and wish him a life of happiness and success as he makes his next moves. We can't wait to celebrate this milestone moment in your life with you, Tristan!

Memories...

Memories pressed between the pages of my mind...Memories sweetened through the ages just like wine... Quiet thoughts come floating down...And settle softly on the ground...Like golden autumn leaves around my feet...I touched them and they burst apart with sweet memories...Sweet Memories...(Elvis Presley song, Memories)

On June 2nd, 2011 these boys were enjoying a meal together at CiCi's Pizza.  They had to close down all their stores when Covid hit in 2020.  It was the boys favorite pizza place to eat at.  Today they'd eat them out of all their pizza...😂😂😂LOL!! 

11 years ago today 2 boys got to meet Dan the Animal Man during church service + got to touch a live alligator.  They loved every moment of it too.

Today, Tristan, the oldest boy, will be graduating High School in 16 days.  And the other, Tim, will be a rising Senior in High School.  Both are very handsome & strong minded young men.  Can't wait to see what the future holds for these two young men.  

Tristan Norment (18 years old)

Tim Neal (17 years old)

#cousins4life #familyiseverything #thefutureisbright #handsomeyoungmen #cherishedmemories

"New" IWF Weight Categories....

 

Today the "NEW" weight divisions go into effect.  It will be interesting to see where everyone lands with the new divisions.  Tim has chosen the -65kg Male Youth to be his division moving forward.  

Tim naturally falls into the -65kg division without having to cut weight.  We will have to see where he lands come January 1, 2026 when he moves to Juniors.  We aren't on the page of cutting so we will have to see where he lands as he fills out.  His coach said that he will be doing a lot of filling out these next few years.  

This is from Weightlifting House:

It is as of now unclear which five of the new weight classes will be selected for each gender at the 2028 Olympics. It may look something like:

• Men: 60KG, 71KG, 88KG, 110KG, +110KG
• Women: 48KG, 58KG, 69KG, 86KG, +86KG

If things shake out this way, Olympic hopefuls who exist in the vast liminal space between divisions (a 22-kilogram gap between the Men's 88 and 110-kilo classes would be the largest in modern Olympic history) may find themselves displaced from a viable path to qualification.

In short, the IOC's decision is a blow to weightlifting's positive trajectory in recent years, at least at the Olympic Games. Elsewhere, at least, things are a bit brighter; weightlifting was recently added to the program for the European Games beginning in 2027. 

Articles:

1 - https://usastore.weightliftinghouse.com/blogs/news/iwf-new-weight-classes-weightlifting#:~:text=Junior%20&%20Senior%20Weight%20Classes%20%7C%20Women,the%20Olympics%20in%20three%20years  

2-  https://usastore.weightliftinghouse.com/blogs/news/weightlifting-restrictions-2028-olympics

Our Resident Beaver...

Our resident beaver. Her baby is usually with her but I didn’t see it today. They have found solace on our property because of the preserve always having canoes🛶/kayaks in the pond. It’s chasing the animals away. They sure are fast 💨 when they sense someone is coming around or watching them though.

Scraping & Cupping for the WIN!!!

Tim's muscles were tight and knotted up last week, which was causing him to miss lifts he normally gets, and his coach referred us to his body guy at 919Spine, Dr. Adam Beck, who happens to be in the same building with our gym.  He was able to do Tim's body work the very next day.  The pictures I'm gonna be sharing may look awful but it made Tim feel so much better and gave him his mobility back.  When he went back to train he was able to lift what he wasn't able to before because of how tight and knotted up his muscles were.  It made such a huge difference that Tim will be going to him from now on for his body work stuff.

This is just to show you what the cupping looks like.  Tim always makes silly faces...LOL!

The scratch marks are from the scrapping.  The dots are the cupping marks.

Making sure an athlete is getting all the care they need for their body to be at it's optimal level is sooooooo important and we are still learning about all he needs to be doing for his body in this sport.  There's always a learning curve with an elite athlete.  We had TKD all figured out, as far as what his body needed, and now we are learning all over again.  Each sport is different and what the body needs for that sport is different as well.  This body guy Tim's going to gets what his needs are because he's a weightlifter too.  Tim's second time in yesterday was much better.  There were next to no scrape marks.  The dots will always be there when he has cupping done though.  He goes back just before we leave for Nationals.  So glad that Tim found the answer to the problem he was having.  His body is thanking him big time right now.  

Truth 👇

Verse of the Day...

 

Yesterday...

Tim's first and last day of his 10th/11th grade year of school picture.

Become Unstoppable...

 

In today's society with our youngsters making decisions based on bad influences in their lives this quote needs to really sink in!!!  

I've seen so many young people make life decisions based solely on people and things that are having the greatest influence in their life.  For so many of them the greatest influences in their lives are not good character building influences that will help them be a good addition to society in the future.  It's sad really that we've allowed it to come to this and that we haven't taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and helped them grow up to be the best possible version of themselves that they can be.  That we haven't helped them know who God created to them to be so that they can become that person.  Instead we have allowed all of the bad to take over and our youth are running a muck because of it.   They don't know whether they are coming or going or what they should or shouldn't be because they have no real trustworthy guidance in their lives to help them with the identity crisis they are having.  

Know This👇:

Our Character Matters!  Our Habits Matter!  Our Mindset Matters!  Our Attitude Matters!

We can't become who God created us to be and live lives worthy of God until we make sure our character, habits, mindset & attitude are centered on Him!   The life he has for us isn't a life without purpose and direction.  He wants us happy and fulfilled and living life with purpose of direction.  He has a plan for all of our lives and it's a good plan!  Satan is the only one who wants to kill, steal, and destroy our life.  God only wants to pour out blessings on us that cannot be contained.  Don't allow the world to confuse you when it comes to this.  All that is good comes from God!  All that is bad is from Satan!  Don't allow the bad in this world to shape you into a person that you were never meant to be.  Be proud of who God created you to be and become unstoppable!

Becoming Unstoppable doesn't happen without God in your life to help lead, guide, and direct you in the way you should go!