Member of the Month Again...

Tim and his fellow youth team members were chosen as members of the month for their performances at USA Weightlifting Youth Nationals this year.

It's such a blessing that Tim was chosen twice in a year's time for this. He so loves it at the gym and would live there if he could. It was great encouragement for him to receive this honor again as well since he's been fighting back from a shoulder injury for the past several weeks.

Name: Tim Neal

What city were you born in? Raleigh, NC

What do you do when you're not training at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc)?

I'm a Sophomore in High School and I enjoy gaming with my friends.

What's your favorite exercise? Hang Snatches

Least favorite? RDL's

What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment since you started training? Doing my first USA Weightlifting Nationals placing 4th overall while doing Meet PR's in both Snatch and Clean & Jerk.

What motivates you in your training?

Working to beat personal bests so that l can be the best I can possibly be in weightlifting.

Happy Birthday in Heaven Pop/Popsie....

Scot, Timothy and myself don’t want to let this day go by without giving a shout out to the greatest Pop and Popsie who ever lived, Franklin Neal. Although he’s no longer with us he will forever be in our hearts and memories. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t miss him immensely. He was a man with such a huge well of wisdom. We could call him up with any issue we were tackling and he’d help us fix whatever it was just by talking us through it. We loved and cherished every single moment we had with this great man. Pop/Popsie we hope you are having a grand time celebrating in heaven today.

#4everinourhearts #4everinourmemories #familyiseverything

Make A Habit...

 

Everyday people come to our minds that we don't let know that we are thinking of them.  Often times we get so busy with living life that we just forget to stay in touch with them.  Days and even weeks go by with no words passed between them and us.  They can never know how much we truly care if we don't make an effort to keep them as a part of our lives.  It's important that those we love and care about know it and that we make a point of letting them know every opportunity that we get.   

As I'm getting older I see the importance in this more and more.  It's so sad that we don't see the importance in this when we are young only as we get older does it really matter.  It should matter when we are young too though.  

I fear this next generation coming up will not care at all of the importance of this.  I see everyday the horrific ways that our young people are acting all in the name of their causes.  Also all in the name of it's my right to act and be any way that I want.  It's sad really and it's heart breaking to see the state we are in today.  

Our only hope is God.  That God will bring us back to what is really important in life and it's our relationships.  Our families.  Our friends.  Our devotion to God.  It's really all that matters.

Why Not You...

This young Olympian, Noah Lyles (Sprinter),  won his first Gold medal and he shared a message for anyone who have what he has:

"I have asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and depression.  But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become.  Why Not You!"

Most definitely why not you?  It's what we say to Tim all the time.  He has so much potential within him to do great things and be an amazing influencer for others seeking to accomplish goals like his as well.  Tim desires to be the best that he can be in Olympic Weightlifting and if that leads him to an Olympic Medal someday to God be all the Glory.  He is so driven and has such greatness within himself.  He has the support of his father and I plus the support of an amazing coach and a great group of individuals that he trains with.  That makes all the difference in the world.  

Had his dad and I put him in traditional schooling he would have been labeled with ADD for sure.  He's a high energy young man who has strived and done quite well being home schooled where he can take breaks and get his energy out then come back and do more school.  It's a schedule that has worked swimmingly for a kid with such high energy.  

But his high energy is serving him quite well in Weightlifting.  He has such a huge drive.  He sets goals and goes after them with everything he's got.  I hasten to think of where he would be had I put him into traditional school and then them having had put him on ADD meds to calm him down.  He'd have been a very different person for sure and not the incredible young man that we have the pleasure of encouraging and cheering on as he goes hard after his goals today.  

Bottom line, just like Noah (the Olympian) said, WHAT YOU HAVE DOES NOT DEFINE WHAT YOU CAN BECOME!!!  

Something we tell Tim all the time is this scripture verse:

Jesus said these words!!!  I hold to all the scriptures but especially to those that are direct quotes of Jesus.  I hold them in higher importance.  One thing we tell our son all the time as he's going after his goals is that if he's interviewed to always give glory to God first and foremost.  Make sure that He is glorified above all else because it is He who has gifted him with all that he's been able to do in his young life.  After all, With God All Things Are Possible!!!  

Encouragement for Accomplishing Goals....

This was posted from USA Weightlifting Bronze Medalist, Hampton Morris,  

    "I really struggled to find my rhythm in our training hall. I had waves of stress and had to fight pretty hard to over come the stress most days. I am really grateful for my family coming and helping me relax and for USAW for allowing me to move to the hotel to be with them. It really made all the difference.

    This was probably the worst day and it was definitely the worst manifestation of my stress. The pressure of performing, the different training environment, and the hard, consistently hard, sessions culminated in a lot of frustration, some tears, and finally a nose bleed that ended the session.

    l am sharing this to say, if you have a goal worth fighting for. Talk to your support.  Get help. Talk about your issues. Never stop pushing and fighting, instead find another way with help.

    This turned out really well for me and we did something truly special about a week later, ending another decades long drought in the men's side. I hope my fight inspires others to fight hard for your goals too."

My Guys...

Outside of my relationship with God my guys are my world.  They are everything to me.  

Ya know, life has so many twists and turns in it.  I was raised in such a poor family.  My folks hardly ever had two pennies to rub together when we were growing up.  Our clothes were from the great designer Good Will or Hand Me Downs.  Most of our food was government food.  It takes being picked on to a whole new level when you're on free lunch in school too.  But that was my childhood.

My young adult life was so confused and messed up.  I held no hope that I would have a good future at all.  I worked more than one job to pay the bills.  I tried the best I could to live a life pleasing to God but failed miserably more often than not.  At one point I didn't even want to live anymore.   

My life took a turn for the better though when I really took my relationship with God more seriously and made him a priority in my life.  It wasn't too many years after I did that that I met my husband Scot.  We both have such a love for God and even though we have failed miserably at times in our relationship with God we have never wavered in our love for him.  Once you've really experienced God for yourself no amount of making sinful decisions will be able to rip that love from your heart.  A real experience overrides anything else!  It always has and it always will!  

Then came along our son to bless our lives.  He truly has been such a blessing.  He is so smart and so loved and he's never had to suffer the way I did growing up.  He and his dad have a great relationship and that blesses my heart so very much.  Even though Scot and I have been the farthest thing from perfect godly parents we have done our best to pour into our son a love for God and right living so that he can make better decisions with his life than we did with ours when we were young.  Tim is already making better decisions and not living like I did at his age.  He's not made even close to the same mistakes that I did so he's already ahead in that regard.

To say my guys are my world is an understatement.  So many bumps, curves and twist have happened in my life but God gave me the greatest blessings in my life by giving me Scot and Tim.  I can't imagine what my life would have been like without them.  It's getting harder to remember what it was like before them.  Everyday is an adventure/journey but we do it together and that's all that matters.  My life is full and overflowing because of all that God has done in my life.  I know I don't always do or say things the way God would because I'm only human and I make mistakes but one thing is for certain I will always love him and my guys with a love so deep that it reaches to the moon and beyond.  That will never ever change!  

Mending Fences...

 

Cattle farmers are always mending fences not because they want to but because it's necessary in order to keep their cattle on their lands.  Cattle bust through fences a lot but you can't expect them to mend what they've done.  It's laughable to think of them mending what they've broken.

Same is true of anyone in leadership positions as well.  If they have caused the problem you can't very well expect them to mend the problem because they don't see that they have done anything wrong in the first place.  

So this quote makes perfect since and one that we need to keep in mind when allowing folks to stay in positions of authority when we have the power to replace them and put someone into leadership that can mend things and make things better for us all.  Just a little food for thought.

Barabas...

 

This quote leaves us much to consider.  Barabbas was a criminal who deserved to be punished.  Jesus was not a criminal and didn't deserve what they did to him but alas we would not have had a path to heaven without his sacrifice so there's that.  

We are in a period of time in American history where the crowds are screaming free Barabbas and Crucifying the principals our country was founded on and putting them on the alter to be burned and in it's place comes greed, lust and pure evil of every kind imaginable similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.  

I pray every day that blind eyes will receive their sight so that they can see the truth instead of believing the lies that are perpertrated on so many each and every day.  I pray for opportunity for the message of Jesus to be received.  For peoples lives to be turned to him so that this country can get back on track with God's plan and not our own.  After all God's plan is the best plan that any of us could follow because he's always got our best interest at heart as his sons and daughters.  

Paris 2024 Last Count...

The Closing Ceremonies today was much more tasteful and in line with tradition than the Opening Ceremonies were.  So enjoyed watching the closing and seeing the final medal count totals favoring USA.  I'm never more proud of my country than when the athletes participate at the Olympics and show just how great the USA really are.  I was also so very proud of the Weightlifting Olympians as well.  Bringing home Gold in that sport made history.  So very proud of our athletes/Olympians.

USA Weightlifting...

We are so proud of all of our Weightlifting Olympians.  We've been watching and cheering them on from home as they compete.  Whether they win a medal or not we are still so incredibly proud because they earned the title of Olympian and no one can take that away from them.

Hampton takes Bronze!  He was the first male to win an Olympic medal since 1984.

Jourdan landed in 5th!

Olivia takes Gold!!!  She beat the Olympic record in the Snatch.  She was the first woman to bring home a Gold medal since 2000 and the youngest Olympian to bring home Gold in weightlifting since 1956.

Wes finished 8th.

Mary finished 5th.