Living the New Life

I have been trying to learn how to create a website the last couple of weeks and it has really taken a toll on my blog updates.  I have realized through this that making a website is very difficult.  It will take some time, but in the end I will have some knowledge of another area.

The church has been going really well as we have seen so many new people come into the congregation these last couple of months.  It is very exciting, but I also get nervous because when things happen like this you know that God is up to something.  It is a cool nervous feeling—almost like going on a first date.

This Sunday we are going to be recognizing our graduates.  This is always a special time, so we are doing our best to make it a special day.  Here is what we are doing:  Giving them each a personalized Bible, a grad book, we are doing a full color program with their grad pictures, and also a video production of each of them.  After service, we are taking all of their families out to a private meal.

In closing, I have had the opportunity this week to speak somewhere every night but Monday.  Sunday morning I am going to be speaking at a men’s fellowship at a church called Grace Chapel at 8:30.  Then we are going to come back and rock it at New Life with the beginning of a new series called “Are you listening”.

Thought for the week:  God will do the super, but we must still do the natural.

Here is the link to Sunday morning’s service hagar-a-modern-day-woman

I will go back later and catch up some details but it was a really busy weekend.  Sunday was Mother’s Day and also my wedding anniversary.  The weather was terrible with really bad storms and tornado’s touching down in nearby towns.  We had a faithful crowd of 148 that braved the wind and rain. 

I tried to do a lot of extras Sunday and I was stressed out as a result.  I learned some lessons that I will share later.

I hope that pretty soon I can start blogging about regular stuff again. 

Sarah is home after surgery and everything is going well.  She is tired and a little sore.  My wife is pretty tough (she had our two children natural), so she will bounce back pretty quick.  Sarah’s parents are up to help out, so that is a big help.  I had planned on being at Bethany’s schools field day on Friday, but with the passing of Ilene Wiles, I am now unable to go.  I will be leading the service on Friday morning.

Have I mentioned that all mothers at service on Sunday will receive a cake?  I don’t know which one to choose: Italian Creme, German Chocolate, Coconut, or Red Velvet.  Unfortunately, I do not have a choice, but Sarah has made hers—German Chocolate it is!

Yesterday was once again filled with some bad news.  The accident report was completely wrong (they had her on the interstate) so not only do we have Sarah’s pre-op, but we have to go to the Police as well.

They pushed Sarah’s surgery up to Wednesday, so keep her in prayer.

I hit a new low weight this morning on my diet.  I have now lost almost 31 lbs.

Later on this week, I am going to be publishing a few cool things.  I really think that it will be beneficial to some people.  Stay Tuned.

Below is the link to this Sunday’s AM service.  I hope that you enjoy.

http://ryancarnes.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/no-bread-in-the-house-of-god-part-2.mp3

We had a pretty good service this morning.  We had 147 in attendance with a lot of regulars absent.  I thought that the music was outstanding today.  We had several visitors which is always encouraging.  I continued speaking on “No Bread in the House”.  Today I spoke on “I heard a rumor”.

I am exhausted.  I shouldn’t be tired, but I am.  I think it is emotional fatigue.  We have several things going on this week and I will try to keep you up to date.  The audio from this mornings message should be available sometime tomorrow.

Saying that this has been a rough week would be an understatement.  Some of you may know that Sarah is on the state board for girls club in our denomination.  This weekend is their biggest weekend of the year.  Even though Sarah didn’t really feel like going emotionally, she went.  During the drive to the event, a taxi ran a stop sign and charged right into the drivers side of the automobile. 

We are blessed that Sarah is okay and is just a little sore.  The car (our new Honda) has extensive damage to the front drivers side of the vehicle. 

Before Sarah left, we went to Macon to hang out.  We bought her some new water ski’s, and I got a sweeper that goes behind my new lawnmower.  That’s right, I got my lawnmower yesterday.  Andrew and I rode on the mower til after 8 pm last night.  He loves it!  I will close with this;  my lawnmower has cruise control-how cool is that!

Sarah and I went back to the Doctor today to get an update on the baby.  If you didn’t know, they told us last Wednesday that the baby no longer had a heart beat.

We have been in a fog so to speak the past week waiting to go to the Doctor again.  While we were initially devastated by the news, as we began to pray and others began to pray, we felt under-girded by the Holy Spirit.  I was so full of faith that I expected a miracle.

The news from the Doctor was not good.  Our third child has passed away.  We are heartbroken.  There is really nothing more to say on the matter other than Sarah will be undergoing surgery in the next week.

I would like to take the time to thank everyone who have prayed so diligently for us in the past week.  Your calls, cards, and words of encouragement have been a blessing.  I would also like to thank Lori Goss and Dr Nguyen for all that they did.  To Helen and Dock Churchwell, thank you for being there for us and being friends tonight.  To Kathy Lawrence, your dedication to our family has been one of the greatest blessings that we have ever known.  Thank you for always being there for us when times are rough.  You are family.  To everyone at the church, we love and appreciate you so much.  I also have to thank Jesus Christ, who loved me enough to be late.

This has been an interesting week so far.  I have spent a good bit of time trying to get our services on itunes through this site.  After a lot of time, I learned that while we can post our services on itunes, it is not going to be the quality that I desire for it to be.  I will have to move my blog to wordpress.org if we are going to have our album art and other information available.  I don’t really know what I am going to do.  If you have any advice, I am open for some feedback.

We had two people give make a commitment to Christ during the service.  That is awesome. 

BTW, My weight loss is now over 27lbs.

Please be in prayer for Sarah and I tomorrow around 2:15.  Thanks