Living the New Life

Every once in a while my blackberry starts acting up on me.  I normally just cut off the power and remove the battery and it starts working like it is supposed to again.  All that I did was simply reset the device. 

We all must at times go through a reset.  I like to call it unplugging for a while.  When I unplug I like to go to my house and do a few items around the house and take a nap.  I was reminded that even Jesus went away to recharge His batteries.  We should also take the time an opportunity to do the same.  If you do not take the time to reset then you will be like my blackberry and begin to not work properly.

Here is my question for the readers out there:  How do you unplug?

One of the biggest challenges that I face as a Pastor is making sure that we take the pieces that we have and also the ones the Lord gives and make sure that they are put into the right place.

Something has happened this week that I feel with help our church in an unbelieveable way.  To me it is just another example of God putting the pieces together for me and New Life. 

I believe that we are seeing something happen at New Life that is a God thing.  In the past we talked about how New Life could never seem to break the 135 in attendance mark.  We would hit it and then go back down.  Now we are discussing how we will break the 200 mark.  The crazy thing is that I feel like we should be talking about preparing for 250.  I know that this happened quick, but for some reason I think that we will be moving to 2 services in a short time.  In my mind, I think that we will have to do it when we are hitting 220-225.  That is scary because we are not far away at all. 

I have a direction from the Lord and I am excited and e

I wanted to give a quick shout out to Nikki Smith and Brian Walton who both won the Overseer’s Award for Most Outstanding Camper at Youth Camp this week.  I am so proud of you guys!

I enjoyed the camp this week except for getting sick as a dog on Tuesday.  This was our first year working with David Blair in South Georgia.  You can see it had his handprint because of the attention to detail in the technical areas.  There were several changes that I thought were great ideas.  I thought that the guard tent that checked all cars entering and exiting the campground was a great safety improvement.  The way that the ministry teams were organized allowed for better understanding and execution.  The thing that impressed me the most with Bro Blair was that he was extremely dedicated to protecting and supporting the counselors.  He organized and arranged for them to have extended periods of free time in the morning and evening without them having to be in meetings.  I enjoyed the camp and can’t wait to work again next year.

I am in Florida on vacation with the family.  Yesterday, I got really bad sunburned.  The thing that I really noticed is that if you stay in the heat too long your energy and strength will tbe sapped from you.

That is a great lesson in life as well.  If you stay in a situation that is full of stress, pressure, or worry your strength will be sapped as well.  We can look to the Bible and the life of Jesus.  We all should follow the example of how He took time away from the crowds to rest.  Rest allows you to get your bearings back by stepping back and looking at the big picture.  You can’t stay in the heat for too long without eventually getting burned.

I meant to post this picture last week but was never able to find the time.  I have enjoyed the process of watching the growth of my garden.  There have been many lessons that have spoken to my heart.  I hope to share some of these later.  The picture is the very first tomato that came from my garden.  Sarah sent me a picture yesterday of my very first squash.  When I left home on Monday the okra was just starting to come into sight.  I can’t wait to see everything when I get home.

Today at 4:01 Sarah and I welcomed Anna Katherine Carnes into the world. She weighed 7 lbs 6 ozs and was 20 inches long.
We want to thank everyone for your prayers and messages. We love you all.
For some reason my blackberry will not upload pics on my blog. I am sorry but they will be up when I get home.

Here is the deal. Sarah’s water is broke and she is progressing well. Stay tuned.

They checked Sarah at the doctor this morning and sent us to the hospital. Looks like it may be today!

I love Pete Carroll’s “three rules” at USC.One, protect the team. Two, no whining no complaining, no excuses. Three, be early. We could learn these lessons in church.

I’m in Cartersville at a church meeting. I will give a recap of things later. I was thinking this morning that sometimes God allows curve balls for our lives but sometimes God does throw us some pitches right down the middle. I want to encourage you to pray for God’s will and direction but do not think that it is always hard to find His will. Sometimes God does make it easy. Trust God, don’t always try to out think His plan.