Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
A great friend died yesterday. His name was Kirk Neely (Bebop). I was fortunate to know him for the last five of his 90 wonderful years. He opened his home to my family for our first eight weeks in Spartanburg. In those weeks he and his wife, Ruth (Nanny) became like grandpartents to Ashley and I and great grandparents to Anderson. In fact, it was Bebop who got Anderson to start talking. I can remember many nights that I would come to their home after work to find Anderson curled up next to Bebop on the couch watching T.V.
Bebop has hundreds of “blood relatives.” In fact, the Neely clan is so large that they have their own bowl game (Neely Bowl) during the Thanksgiving weekend. However, because of Bebops love for the Lord and his passion for people, there are thousands upon thousands that have been touched in some way by his life. Bebop is a true man of God who even to his death was telling the Good News of Jesus.
Tonight as our family sat down to dinner, Anderson said, “I don’t want to die.” “What?” I said. “I’m scared to die,” Anderson replied. I wondered if he was thinking about Bebop. “You don’t have to be scared to die…are you worried about Bebop?” He nodded his head yes. “Bebop is in heaven today with Jesus,” I said. I told Anderson that it would be a long time before he would die and that when that time came he would get to see Bebop again. I told him that everyone who believes in Jesus and asks him in their heart will live forever in heaven when they die. Then Anderson said, “but what if I don’t have Jesus in my heart?” There it was. Anderson began asking what it meant to believe in Jesus. In that moment I thought that he would ask Jesus into his heart, but in the end Anderson jumped to another subject and the conversation ended. I took that as a sign that he wasn’t ready. But the conversation has begun. I know that Bebop was glad to be part of Anderson and Ellis’ lives. He thought of them as bonus great grandchildren. Though Bebop isn’t here anymore – his legacy lives on. Tonight’s conversation with Anderson is part of that legacy. Bebop would be proud to know that he was part of Anderson’s faith formation. Thank you Bebop for always pointing us to Jesus. May we always live our lives that way – pointing people to Jesus and giving Him all the glory.
It’s almost midnight on our first day at Garden City for our Youth Spring Retreat. Though the weather is cold and rainy, the students are doing great and I can already see the Lord at work in their hearts and minds.
Our theme this week is, “In Transit.” It’s a New York themed Bible Study series that talks about the importance of making connections with Christ in our everyday life.
We began our night with worship, Bible Study, and the some great night ultimate frisbee. Only tonight it was more like polar frisbee. It was so cold!
As I’m finishing this blog entry, I’m laying here listening to the sounds of teen guys cracking joked and making bodily noises. After nine years of working with students some things never change….haha. Keep praying for us.
For years I’ve been doing great at budgeting our money for our family. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to Larry Burkett and Dave Ramey. I’ve taken the classes, read the books, and even currently use an online budgeting software that makes it easier to manage our finances. In the end though, it’s as simple as spending less than I make. It really is the only way to have financial freedom, stay out of debt, and be a good steward of what God has given me.
Lately I’ve been thinking about my weight in relationship to my finances. If I can be so regimented with my finances, what about my body? As anyone who knows me can say, I’m no athlete. But does that mean that I have to live a short and overweight life? I’ve tried lots of diets and exercises plans over the years, but have always struggles with my weight. That’s not the life I want to live. I want to care for the body that God has given me and live a healthy life for my wife and children.
So this month I’ve decided to simply begin keeping track of the numbers, much like I would for our finances. In the end it’s just like budgeting. I have to keep my caloric intake to a minimum and workout harder than I eat. I’ve started using a great new software on my smart phone called, “My Net Diary.” It’s a software that lets me track my progress, my exercises, and my food intake. The amazing thing is that it makes it easy enough to actually do. It has an enormous amount of data from food companies and restaurants about nutrition facts. You can even scan the bar code on the packaging to input the data. Not to shabby for a $2.99 app. So far, so good. I’ve lost 7lbs in the past two weeks. I know that’s just a start, but progress is progress. My initial goal is to drop 25lbs. For more info about My Net Diary – log onto www.mynetdiary.com or check it out on your Android or iPhone.
Nathan Neighbors 