Nicholas Howard Peters Eulogy
I just wanted to start by sharing some lyrics from songwriter Amy Grant;
Amy Grant (Somewhere Down The Road)
So much pain and no good reason why
I've cried until the tears run dry
nothing here can make me understand
the one thing that I've held so dear is slipping from my hand
why why why?.......does it go this way
and why why why?...........all I can say
is somewhere down the road there will be answers to the question
and somewhere down the road though I do not see it now
somewhere down the road there will be loving arms waiting for you
and you will see the answers at the end of the road
you will see the answers at the end of the road
(All verses taken from NIV bible)
Isaiah 64:8
And yet, LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We are all formed by your hand.
1 Corinthians 8:6
But we know that there is only one God,
the Father, who created everything,
and we exist for him. And there is only
one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom
God made everything and through whom
we have been given life.
Nicholas "Nick" "Cowboy" Peters
We are all so very blessed by God to have shared in His creation, to have known Nick.....to have spent time with him.
I have such fond memories of Nick as I am sure many of you do also.....to many to share here today.
T - Ball Season
It was Nicks turn........he was up to bat..........he hit the ball and ran to 3rd base.........stopped.......his coach yelled......"Nick Go! Home Nick! Go Home!!" Nick started to cry and said " I don't want to go home I want to stay and play with you guys!"......
Washington DC/McDonalds
I can remember a earlier time in Nicks life when we all went to Washington DC, Susan, Howard, Kelly, we were all there....... Howard and Kelly had been pushing Nick around in a stroller.......We were on the go.....we were seeing the sites........for some reason we would always manage to find time to stop at Mcdonalds...............after all.....they had fast food there.....playland.......it was a kids place........it just seemed right.......each time we went there Nick would blurt out "Mcdonalds again?"
.......day two "Mcdonalds again?" ......by day three he Nick was practically in tears that we would dare to take him to Mcdonalds again.
I hear from some of Nicks friends that he didn't have problems with going to the fast food places in Wahoo.........dairy queen...........runza..................driving through the drive through and saying "HOOK ME UP!!!" in which the person working on the other end would proceed to give Nick and friends a rather generous order of food........ I'll have to try that one..........you all may want to try it..........HOOK ME UP.......could it be a cowboy thing?
Or how about the time.....
----THE BIG BELT BUCKLE - "Don't Touch"
----The cowboy hat - "Don't Touch - Pick it up like this"
Or how about the time......
----Going out in the country.........getting targets stop and go wait grandpa......stop grandpa.......bottle/cans
----I think I got the glass bottle 2 or 3rd shot......Nick kept trying and trying......he wasn't hitting anything but he kept shootin......kept sitting up the cans until he finally got off a shot
.......I am not sure if that was before or after he took the air pump o matic gun to one of his school buddies.......I guess that caused quite a stink?
I must tell all of you I was pretty surprised the first time I saw Nick as a cowboy. I was thinking to myself that perhaps he got this cowboy thing from his dad?.
....the time his dad......diaper and all put baby Nick in these adult sized cowboy boots and snapped a picture, or was it the time when grandma and grampa took him out to ride on the combine after which Nick came back and told everyone that "hey....I got to mow corn today!"
I think my first impression seeing Nick as a cowboy was.........hmmmmm what's with this?.....
...........but the more of Nick I saw......it actually became pretty cool......my nephew was a cowboy...........
.............That's what was special about Nick
Nick was his own person, he had his own identity, he was different from the crowd, he took a stand regardless of what others thought.......it was ok to be that way.............. and that's what made him unique and special.......Nick was different......
Jesus was different from the crowd.......I saw Jesus in Nick......
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as
dearly loved children and live a life
of love, just as Christ loved us and
gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrafice to God.
Galatians 2:20
I myself no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. So I live my life in this
earthly body by trusting in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.
I saw Jesus in Nick.....Nick knew Jesus........Nick was a Christian Cowboy........
Music/Concerts
Nick liked rock music, LOVED county music, Kenny Chesney, and even liked some Christian music.........
I can remember when Nick and I hit the road to go see Newboys and Steven Curtis Chapman. I can remember the Steven Curtis Chapman concert in Omaha and
he was glued to his seat watching everthing, he had such a good time that when it was time to go I had a hard time getting him to get up and go.......
Nick didn't want to leave.....I would say.....come on Nick.......he was just standing there......told him we had to go......the concert was over..... and he was trying to get back in the auditorium............
One of Nicks favorite Steven Curtis Chapman songs was "For the Sake of the Call"
I thought I would share a few lyrics with you;
Steven Curtis Chapman (For the Sake of the Call)
"For the Sake of the Call"
Empty nets lying there at the water's edge
Told a story that few could believe And none could explain
How some crazy fishermen Agreed to go where Jesus lived
With no thought for what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name And they answered
We will abandon it all, for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Holy, devoted, to live and to die for the sake of the call
Nobody stood and applauded them
So they knew from the start
This road would not lead to fame
All they really knew for sure
Was Jesus had called to them
He said, "Come follow me," and they came
With reckless abandon they came
Bible Camp
I can remember the time that Nick started down that road..........for Jesus.........for the sake of the call, when he went to bible camp
Nick came back from bible camp, he was so excited........
We went up to the Niobraha river to canoe and float and he was wearing his white t-shirt that his friends from bible camp had signed
he was writing things down in his journal, he was setting goals.
that's why it was so neat to see Nick actively setting goals, important life changing goals, developing a passion for things
getting involved with his church, Nicks desire and passion to know Jesus in a personal way
getting involved with Fellowship of Christian Atheletes and track
a desire and passion for a letter in track and putting the things in place to achieve that goal. Congratulations Nick on your letter!
Vehicles
Nick was smart, Nick was talented, and Nick had passion. Nick had a passion for vehicles. Most recently Nick worked hard at the body shop saving up money so he could buy his Ford F250 Pick-up.
Nick would often be outside working on his truck.
One of the last times I spoke with Nick on the telephone he was so excited about his truck,
"Uncle Alan! uncle Alan!.....I just got a Ford F250 pick-up truck and it has this on it.......and I just got a couple corona bottle caps and glued them on some switches on the inside"
Nick - "it has some rust"
Alan - "well Nick we can get some bondo for that"
Nick - "BONDO! are you kiddin.....I am not goin to put BONDO on my truck!"
..... The other night someone came outside to check on Nick and saw him sitting in his pick-up talkin on the CB.....the CB wasn't hooked up but Nick was talkin....
Just recently when I opened the door to Nicks pick-up I was inondated with the heavy smell of pine
Nick loved that pine freshener!
Nick was cleanin it up, he put lights on it, installed a toolbox in the back, put a tailgait on it.
Kelly had come across his green folder in Nicks bedroom.........it was Nicks Ford F250 truck folder.
Nick had everything orgainzed to the tee.......he could have definately of given me some pointers in organization after looking at that........
Nick was smart, had all the parts listed that he needed to buy, the costs, he kept his receipts all in his folder
Nick even had a picture of the truck finished, black/blue with a touch of silver trim, those where his colors.
That was one of Nicks passions................... I encourage you to not let Nick die in vain, find a passion and run with it and when you do, when your smiling, always remember Nick.
Nick died doing what he was most happy doing, working on vehicles, working on stuff.
People
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave
His one and only Son that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have enternal life.
God Loved Nick and Nick loved people.
Nick had a lot of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perserveres.
Nick was happy being around other people, I could always tell that Nick cared about people and loved people. Nick would often speak with his buddy Michael Merril online.
I didn't know Stephus that well, but I heard a lot about him. Stephus was another one of Nicks best friends.
When I would see if Nick was around or wanted to do something he was often having a good time hangin with his high school friends, friends like HONKY, and Stephus.
Nick would often call Stephus "whatcha you doing Stephus? are you going to come pick me up?" click -5 minutes later "Stephus where you at?" 5 minute later "Stephus whatcha you doing?" Nick loved people and Nick loved Stephus.
One time Nick went to buy a dozen roses for date that he was taking out that night.......his mother went with him and Nick picked out 12 red roses and his mother
said............Nick.....do you know what red roses mean? Nick says what do those 12 roses mean?
Mother says red is for Love...........Nick then proceeded to get two yellow roses and 10 red roses and giving 10 red roses to his mother and two yellow roses to his date.
At the end of our telephone calls Nick would always say "I love you!" "Love you uncle"
Nick loved his mother and father, Nick loved his family, Nick loved people, Nick was REAL, Nick was the REAL DEAL, the Lord made Nick and shaped him in his hand, and the Lord knew it was Nicks time
to enter enternity. May you find comfort knowing that when you celebrate Easter this week you are celebrating Jesus and his resurrection power and that Nick is not dead but his spirit is very
much alive because of what Jesus did for him nearly 2006 years ago, know that, believe that,
Revelation 17
Jesus said,
"Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last,
I am the Living One, I was dead, and behold
I am alive for ever and ever!
1 Corinthians 2:vs 9
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him
John 14:1-4
Jesus said "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God,
trust also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms,
if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be
where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going"
It's my prayer that each of you will keep Nick close to your heart and honor his memory by being your own person,
setting passionate goals, and using your God given gifts, To love the Lord your God.....to know Jesus, to Love Jesus.....
To love people, for there is no greater call than these two things.Thanks for taking the time to be a part of Nicks life,
thanks for coming today to rejoice in his heavenly homecoming.
Cowboy up Nick , I Loved you and we all Loved you so very much
