A Simple Kind of Christmas
I have been trying to get this up for several days, but it’s better late than never, right? 🙂 So…
Every year, we try to think of ways to simplify the Christmas season so that we can concentrate more on the true meaning of Christmas – that Jesus came to Earth to save us from our sins. Sometimes we succeed; and a lot of times… 
well, we’ll just leave it at that. This year, we had a kind of “forced simplicity”, which made Christmas 2009 go down in Neely Team history as probably “the most unusual Christmas we’ve ever had!”
The night of Christmas Eve, we were planning to follow our regular Christmas traditions the next day, and to just enjoy the time with each other. We had invited about ten other people to come have Christmas dinner with us, so we had gotten the house in ship shape,and by the time we went to bed that night, we were ready for a good night’s sleep, in preparation for what looked like would be a fairly busy day the next day. Yes, it was busy, but not quite in the way that we had planned!…
For me, it all started around 5:15 am, when I awoke to hear the excited whispers and restless movement of two of my sisters, in the bed next to mine. We have a rule that no one is allowed to get up before 6:00 on Christmas morning, to allow the sleepy ones (i.e. Dad, Mom, and a couple of us “stick-in-the-mud” older girls 🙂 ) a teensy bit more time to sleep! 🙂 So anyway, I was lying there, trying to tune out the noise of the girls’ excitement and go back to sleep, when I suddenly realized how dark it was. The power had gone out! I didn’t think much of it at first, because we have power outages all the time (especially when we have a windstorm like we had that night), and they usually don’t last very long. However, it was about 5:45 before I finally drifted off to 
sleep again, and my last thought was, Hmm. I wonder if the power will come back on in time…
Well, that altered a few people’s plans to get up at 6:00, as they were still lying in bed, wondering what would be the point of getting up in the dark, with no lights, no water, and no way to cook the breakfast we had planned! Finally, around 6:45, 
my siblings managed to wake me up enough to get out of bed, and all nine of us headed downstairs to Mom and Dad’s room, to wake them up, too, in spite of the dark. After all, that’s what flashlights and candles are for, right?
That morning was actually very similar to other Christmas mornings, except that we got up later, couldn’t turn on our Christmas lights, couldn’t turn on ANY lights, except for our candles and flashlights, and had scrambled eggs and grits (which we cooked on our gas-powered stove) instead of baking the
breakfast casserole that we usually have on special occasions. After it got to be light outside, Dad went out and hooked up the generator, which some friends just helped us hard-wire to the house back in October – just in time! 🙂 The effect was wonderful! It wasn’t like having all of our regular electricity on, but it was good enough to run a couple things at a time, so that we took turns running things like the hot water (for showers and dishes), kitchen lights, refrigerators, and freezers. It’s amazing how attached we can become to our modern conveniences… and how much we miss them when 
they’re gone!!
After breakfast, we all gathered in the living room again to read the Christmas story and open gifts. Usually we just read the Christmas account from Luke 2, but this year we READ it, taking time between each verse to discuss the scenario and imagine what it would’ve been like to really be there. From Luke, we went back to Matthew and read the story about the wise men. Then we got into a discussion about “the star.” What was “the star” that the wise men followed? We had quite the discussion about that, and talked about several different possibilities; all in all a very interesting conversation! But more about that later…
We had to cancel our dinner plans with our friends because of the power outage. That was okay, because it gave us more family time; more time to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We altered our meal plan just a little, so that instead of baking the turkey, we grilled venison cube steaks and tenderloins – delicious! 🙂
We had another interesting twist to the day when shortly after dinner, the generator suddenly ran out of gas! We had called the power company, and they had said that they hoped to have the power back on by 11:00… PM… on SATURDAY night!!! So, with that in mind, Dad decided that we had to try to get some gas, so that our refrigerators would stay cold. At first, he was planning to go out by himself, but after some discussion, we decided to all load up and go. So, we enjoyed our time, spending Christmas in our 2nd (or maybe our real) home – the van! 🙂 I have to mention here that usually we spend a lot of Christmas afternoon settled down in the living room, sitting in front of the Christmas tree. It’s so cozy and homey… but obviously that wasn’t going to work very well this time, so we loaded our two-foot-high tree into the van, plugged the lights into a power inverter, and enjoyed our little Christmas tree in our “home away from home” – how appropriate! 🙂
I realize that this is pretty long, and I don’t want to bore anyone, so I’ll skip to the end of the story… The power actually came back on around 7:00 pm, so that night we cozied down and watched “The Star of Bethlehem.” Let me take just a moment here and encourage anyone who has never seen that video to PLEASE do so!!! It is AMAZING!! Words fail me when I try to describe it, but it is an unbelievably fascinating tribute to the accuracy of the Bible and the sovereignty and perfection of God!!!!!! To know that the God of our universe would actually come to Earth, be born as a human baby, live a perfectly human life, and die an excruciating and horrible human death… just to save me, and all of us, from our sins and give us the opportunity to live with Him forever, is hard enough to fathom!!!! Then to see the design and perfection with which He had planned the universe to announce His coming, birth, and death… it was incredibly humbling!! It was a wonderful end to a truly wonderful Christmas!!!!!!!!!!
Icing Cookies!!
*Editor’s note: I just realized that this never got posted when it was ready a couple weeks ago. Sorry for the delay!
Every Christmas we like to ice
Christmas cookies together. This year we made them early and then froze 
them so that they were r
eady to ice when we finished school and were ready to do it. Kitty made blue, green, red, yellow, and white icing, and Mommy bought us lots of sprinkles to decorate with! Herman, Belle, ‘Berty, Kitty, and I did them all
together, and it was FUN!!! I am glad we get to do fun 
things like that at Christmas time!
27 Hours of Joy
Two weeks ago, we had the immense plea
sure of visiting with the Dalrymple family for 27 –too-short hours! It was a little spur of the moment, but our time together was full of fellowship, group games, music, and just plain fun! One
of the greatest blessings of the weekend was getting to listen as they practiced and performed music
with voice, violin, viola, cello, flute, and piano. Listening to them was a little taste of what heaven must be like: continual praise and glory to our Heavenly Father!! Thank you, Dalrymples, for your 
willi
ngness to be used to encourage so many around you with your music! Can’t wait till next time!!!!!
Are You Ready for a Trip to the Galapagos Islands??
![47850_s[1]](https://www.theneelyteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/47850_s1.jpg)
A few weeks ago, we received a package enclosing a new DVD released from Vision Forum, called “The Mysterious Islands.” The film centers on the present-day war between Darwinism and the biblical Creation account. To do this, it takes you on a journey to the Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin first did his research that later resulted in his book, The Origin of the Species. As we got it right before leaving for our trip to GA for Thanksgiving, we took it with us and decided to watch it with our cousins. We did and it was a refreshing look at how good God is and filled us again with awe for His intense creativity!
One thing the video covered that particularly stood out to me was a story they told about Darwin’s trip. He was taken by ship, and during the course of the five-year voyage, became close friends with the captain. They were both seeking answers, but though they studied the same things, they arrived at vastly different conclusions. Darwin, because he had already determined in his heart that the Bible was only good for moral issues, not science, became convinced that the world and all therein was a result of random chance, mutations, natural selection, etc. The captain, on the other hand, found striking evidence for the Creator and later became a strong Christian. This reminded me of the importance that we interpret everything through the truth of Scripture, God’s infallible Word, and that our hearts must be tender toward that truth. These two men witnessed the same sights, walked the same shores, and studied the same creatures and processes, but because one carried with him that baggage of worldly philosophies, he was blinded and led to draw up some of the most ridiculous theories imaginable. The other found God’s Light, grace, and Almighty hand to guide and direct his life and help him see his true origin and the reason for his existence.
Because of this fierce battle between these two vastly different worldviews, I was also reminded that we, as Christians, must be seeking God and studying His creation so that we may be equipped to pass on the truth to the coming generations. The Lord used this film to renew my excitement in these things and my awe for Him and His matchless ways! He truly is amazing!! If you have not seen this, we highly encourage you get it. You will be inspired! Our whole family is now ready for a trip to the Galapagos!
“O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good… The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works… I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” (Psalm 104)
“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens… When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8)
White Christmas Party Mix
Several years ago another one of our wonderful aunts gave us the recipe to this mix. 🙂 (There must be something about the word “aunt” that implies that they have delicious recipes for you to try!) It’s super easy, and believe us, you won’t be able to stay out of it! 98% of the people that have tried it say it is addictive! 
We recommend that when you make it, you keep a clean spatula or wooden spoon nearby to chase away those little (or big 🙂 ) fingers that are constantly arriving and grabbing for a taste! (Well, I guess that’s not very loving or kind, so at least post the definition for “Self Control” right over your work area! 🙂 Ha!) It makes a great Christmas gift for friends or neighbors when tied into a pretty plastic bag or wrapped in a tin Christmas box. Enjoy!!!!!
White Christmas Party Mix:
1 lb. white chocolate
3 cups rice Chex cereal
3 cups corn Chex cereal
3 cups Cheerios
2 cups pretzels
2 cups dry roasted or salted peanuts
12 oz. package M&M’s plain candy
Melt chocolate; combine other ingredients and stir. Add chocolate and stir well. Spread (or rather DUMP! 🙂 ) on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container and refrigerator to keep fresh.
Cook’s notes: This recipe is perfect for any season or occasion! Change the color of the M&M’s to suite what you are using it for. (In the spring, use pastel colors, for Christmas, use red and green, etc.)
Cook’s notes #2: We usually make 1.5x the recipe, using a 12oz. box of Crispex instead of the corn and rice Chex, and still only use 12 oz. of M&M’s (it’s sweet enough already :)).
Peer Pressure Drives Cousins to Pig Pen!
While in Bainbridge for Thanksgiving, we decided to go to the annual “Swine Time” held in Climax, Georgia. This being my first Swine Time, I didn’t really know what to expect. This massive celebration of the pig included contests such as hog calling, chittlin’ eatin, a parade, and even a beauty pageant. (I wouldn’t want the dubious distinction of being “Miss Piggy.”) Really, it is just a gargantumous country festival and craft fair. Grandmama said that it was first started to bring the community together and to help raise money. Nowadays, about 35,000 flatlanders converge on a town of about 400 people for the annual event.
I suppose the whole thing began when our adventurous cousin, Taylor (age 15), told everyone that he wanted to enter the greased pig chase contest. I began to envision a big 
stadium-like place without
any grass – just mud—where there would be a well greased, rather large oinker, running terrified from dozens- maybe hundreds- of kids that were chasing him. Then I thought about how much fun and excitement it would bring to chase the greased pig with Taylor. I don’t know what got into me that day, but the more I thought about it, the better the escapade sounded. I asked another cousin,
Austin (age 17), if he had been planning to do it. He hadn’t really been extremely attracted to it, but said that if I was going to do it, he had to do it. (Peer pressure.) All of a sudden, I realized what was rapidly happening. As soon as I said I wanted to do it, Neali (age 19) said she would do it if Austin and I did. (Peer pressure.) Then Kathryn joined, then Amanda, Victoria, and everybody else. Before I
could say “lickety-split,” all of us wanted to go to the pig pen. (Peer pressure.)
A few hours later we finally arrived at Swine Time. We soon learned that the contest was for kids ages 5-12. We older cousins not-so-graciously accepted the fact that we were too old. Well, I personally wasn’t that disappointed, and after watching all the little piglets in the trailer, I determined that I was glad that it wasn’t going to work out. All those stinky, grunting, noisy, smelly, dirty, snorting, squealing 
pigs… it really would be very gross to try to catch one, especially a greasy one. A man told us that they grease the
pigs with hydraulic oil so that the pigs wouldn’t so feel bad about getting rubbed down with Uncle Porky’s lard. We got to watch them cover each pig in hydraulic
oil, and boy, did those pigs squeal! 
We thoroughly enjoyed watching the younger kids chase the first little greasy animal. The poor thing was running frantically back and forth, squealing the whole time. It was hysterical! The kids were divided into groups of 10 kids, according to age, and each division was assigned an even larger pig. When they would catch it, sometimes you could see it panting, while it was squealing. (By the way, I had never heard a pig squeal in real life… it is quite a horrendous noise! It puts a whole new meaning to the term “squealing like a stuck pig!”)
Well, it was over, and the large crowd encircling the pen quickly diminished. Aunt Miriam wasn’t going to give up yet, though. Taylor still wanted to have a chance at catching the squirmy little pig. Aunt Miriam asked one o
f the men that was helping if we could have an unofficial contest. At first, I think he said no, but she persisted. He was quite friendly, and she told him that we had about thirteen cousins who wanted to chase the little oinker. He agreed, and we happily entered the pig pen and 
waited while they re-greased the pig.
The incredible moment had arrived. We had looked forward to it, but thought that it wasn’t going to work out. Before we knew it, there we were, standing in the pig pen, and by the way, it wasn’t all mud. Actually, it was mostly grass, thankfully. I heard several people say in amazement, “They’re all cousins?!” Finally, someone said, “On your mark, get set…” and everyone was off. The pig started running and squealing. I personally didn’t want to touch it, so I just chased it to keep it moving. Picture it and get 
your imagination going. There are thirteen different sized people, ranging in age from five to nineteen and in height from 3’6” to about 6’ 1”, chasing a pig in a circular pen that is probably about fifty feet in diameter. Several people slipped and landed on their face on the ground. Others only landed on their knees, some fell on their backs, but it was a lot of fun, and the intense action continued. Arms and legs were flying every direction. Everyone was racing to try to catch the little ham. Kathryn was one of the ones who landed on their face, and when she landed, she lunged for the pig, grabbed it, and was able to slow it down, despite a minor injury that occurred in the process. Austin came to her rescue and grabbed the legs of the pig, and everyone cheered! It was lots of fun, and the memories that were made are irreplaceable. Some of the parents are scheming about next time we get together. It has been mentioned that it would be fun to get our own pig and chase it around Grandmama’s house… we’ll see about that. (And to think that it all began with a small amount of peer pressure.)
Playing in the Leaves
When the leaves started falling, Cocoa, Belle, ‘Berty, and I made a pile of leaves 
and jumped in it! We buried each other, rolled around in them, and just had lots of fun together! I am glad that I have such
sweet sisters that I can have fun with!
Christmas Joys – a Little Early!
One of the Neely Team idiosyncrasies is that we like to set up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving every year. While some would say that this makes 
them forget about the true and important reason for Thanksgiving, it has quite the opposite effect on us! The soft lights, homey smell, and peaceful atmosphere make us slow our busy life and enjoy each other, and give praise and thanks to the Lord who has brought
us through yet another year.
In the fall, Daddy and Herman usually go away for a hunting trip, and while they’re gone, all of the girls do very girly things. :)By the time they come 
home, every
thing is in place and very Christmas-looking. This year, however, Herman stated that he REALLY wanted to help with the tree, much to our 
surprise, and so “the boys” helped us set everything up! What fun! Daddy headed up getting all of the decorations out the their hiding spot in the garage, while Mommy and Jessi strung the lights, and the rest of us fluffed the branche
s. 🙂 (By the way, we do use a fake tree, and we LOVE it!! :)) After those things were done and the tree was standing str
aight, tall and beautiful, Mommy took an excursion into the kitchen and made warm, ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies for all of the decorators while they put the ribbons, flowers, and bows on. It got late, so after enjoying our
luscious snack, we went to bed and then put the ornaments the next afternoon. Now everything is up and in order: the lit garland above the cabinets, the front porch décor, etc, etc.
One thing I particularly enjoyed about putting everything up was the cheerfulness and joy everyone displayed. Even when one of the strands of lights wouldn’t work and Amanda, 
Jessi, and I had to run to the store, delaying the progress a tad, the little ones made the best of it and played a game while we were
gone. Many hands did indeed make light work (only this was rather fun work :)) and in snip -snap- lickety-split, everything was complete! As the Christmas season approaches, remember to thank the Lord for the unique and special family He has given you!
“… but a vapor…”
“Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.” This phrase caught my attention a couple weeks ago, and I can’t get it off my mind. It reminds me of James 4:14 – “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” I really started thinking about that verse, and realized just how true it really is. Over the past twelve months, we have attended several funerals, a couple of them being unexpected at this point in time. It makes one stop and consider, Life is very short. People are dying unexpectedly every day. Will I be the next to go? I don’t want to be morbid or sad; that’s not the point I’m trying to make. But I do want people to consider this: What if you knew that you would die tomorrow? What if you received a special message from God and He told you that, tomorrow at this time, your time on earth would be over? How would you respond???
For some people, that kind of a revelation would throw them into despair and desperate fear. If you are one of those people who are terrified at the thought of dying, have you ever considered that you don’t have to be afraid? Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of GOD (John 20:31; I Peter 2:22), came to earth to be born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18, 23), lived His life caring for others (I John 3:16), died to pay for our sins (I Corinthians 15:3), rose again on the third day (I Corinthians 15:4), and ascended to Heaven(John 20:17; Ephesians 4:8-10), where He now sits on the right hand of God to intercede for His children (Romans 8:34)! Of course, no sin is allowed into Heaven, but He paid the debt for our sins by His death on the cross (I Peter 2:24), and if we will repent of our sins and accept His free gift of salvation(Luke 13:5; Romans 6:23), we can have eternal life with Him (John 3:15-16)!
For Christians, the idea of physical death can only mean one thing: eternal life in Heaven with our Savior Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:21 says that for the believer, “to die is gain.” Psalm 116:15 tells us that “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Other references include: Titus 3:7; John 3:16, 36; John 5:24; John 6:47; Romans 3:23.) Those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and have placed their full trust in Christ for salvation have nothing to fear in death, but everything to gain (I Corinthians 15:54-57)! However, on a more earthly, immediate scale, I would ask you to consider this question. If you knew that you would die tomorrow, what would you change? Is there anything that you would do differently, knowing that this would be your last day to lay up eternal rewards? Would you change anything in your relationships, knowing that whatever you did today would be the last memories that your friends and loved ones would have of you? Would you spend more time in the Scripture so that you might know a little more about the One you will see face to face so soon?? 
As the phrase “Live as if you’ll die tomorrow” has rolled over and over in my mind, I can’t help but think of things that I would do differently. I would try to encourage my siblings more in the way of the Lord, using every opportunity I could find to instruct and explain life’s issues in relation to eternity. I would spend the sixty seconds it took to help my little brother make his bed. I would be more respectful and responsive to my parents and try to help them more. I would take the five minutes to read a story-book to my little sister when she brings it to me in the middle of my big project. I would let the little irritations go, because those really don’t have any bearing on eternity anyway. I would take every opportunity to tell my family, “I love you.”
The list goes on, but I have another thought to share. Most of us won’t die tomorrow. But someday we will, as it says in Hebrews 9:27a, “…it is appointed unto men once to die…” That’s coming faster than we might realize. As I was pondering this one night, I wrote these thoughts in my journal: “…If I live to be 75, I am already 25% of the way through my life!! That’s ONE QUARTER of all the time God has given me!!!!! Already spent, gone, never to return, I can never take it back, never redo or relive anything. And what if I only live to age 50? I’m almost 40% through – almost a whole two fifths!!! Or what if God takes me home younger still, say, twenty-five? That only leaves me six years – six SHORT years – to accomplish what God would have me to do and to lay up reward for eternity!!!! … I feel such a tremendous urgency to be busy about “my Father’s business,” for even if I lived to be 100, my years are 20% gone!…”
Again, I don’t say all this to be discouraging, pessimistic, or morbid. I simply want to share what I have been thinking about this subject and encourage others to be constantly evaluating their thoughts, motives, and actions in view of eternity. If there is something in your life that you would change if you knew that today was your last day, why not go ahead and change it?? Go ahead: forgive that offense; do that kind deed; say that encouraging word. Truly, our lives are but a vapor; we never know when our last breath will be. (I Thessalonians 5:2; Matthew 6:20) We must be busy!!
Family Fun Night 2009 – A Time to Celebrate the Joy of Family Life
Several y
ears ago, on October 31, Daddy and Mommy surprised all of us kids with a special evening, where we bobbed for apples,
ate donuts off of strings (with no hands :)) hanging from the ceiling, had a candy hunt, played “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” and a few other fun things. Little did they know that they had thus began the yearly tradition of Family Fun 
Night! Slowly F.F.N. expanded until we had a few friends over, then several families, and then this year and last year, over sixty people! What
a wonderful way to make hilarious, special memories!!
This year our preparations began the week before, when we were tryi
ng to decide where to have most of the games, the food tabl
es, etc. Last year, we had done most of it in our garage, but as it was cramped then, and we had invited over forty more people this year, 🙂 we decided we wanted to be prepared for as many as the Lord would bring our way. At 
Mommy’s suggestion, we decided to try to get the unfinished 
upstairs of our detached garage, which we call the “Carriage House,” ready and use that for the games. Just to fill you in on a few details, we have this awful habit of, when we don’t know where 
to put something, we say “Oh, just put it in the
upstairs of the Carriage House!” Maybe this gives you an idea of the unnecessary junk that was piled up there. 🙂 Finally, a few days 
before F.F.N., the whole Team arrived up there and put it in order. 🙂 (Sadly, we didn’t get any “before” pictures, so you’ll have to be content
with the “after” pictures. :)) We had a lot of fun, and finally got it all in “ship shape.”
Next began the process of doing all of the planning. After decidin
g on the games, we started planning what supplies we needed and in what way we would organize the evening. There was a lot of “changing of plans,” but we finally got everything straightened out.
Before we knew it,
it was 5:30 on Friday, October 30, and everyone was arri
ving. What followed is very difficult to describe in the exact details and excitement in which it occurred – maybe the pictures will help! 🙂 The games included Pin the Leaf on the Pumpkin, a relay race, donuts hanging from the ceiling
, “Leaf, Leaf, Pumpkin” (the same as “Duck, Duck, Goose” :)) a candy hunt in the
dark, 🙂 tractor rides, a time for munching on delicious snacks, and then, as the evening drew to a close, a bonfire, jumping on the trampoline and playing on the swing set. As we all celebrated the joy of family life, there was a lot of laughter and talking that followed each acti
vity. The evening ended close to midnight, but th
e memories of the evening will last for a long time!!
Thank you, Dad and Mom, for taking the time to start such an exciting, family-centered tradition in our home! 
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
