Nobody Loves Me, Everybody Hates Me

In one week my life changes forever. I leave these glory days known as the 20′s behind for a much darker, scarier land full of broken hips, bad eye sight, and dentures. Yes, on December 16, just seven days away, I enter my 30′s. All I know is that it will be a depressing week!

What makes it more depressing is that I have recently discovered that the only people who love me is my sister and her family and (updated) my parents. See, they are the ONLY ones who have given clean water to families in Africa in honor of my birthday (insert guilt here). It is almost too much to bear thinking that those poor (literally) children will suffer because of people’s lack of love for me (insert more guilt here).

Or, maybe it’s the curse of my birth, being born in December. I remember those Christmas mornings where family members would tell me that my birthday gift was included in the same box as my Christmas gift, so I would tear into the package to see what I got, and somehow it was the same gift my cousins next to me got too. I guess my cousins were celebrating my birthday with me or maybe they thought I was too young to notice. I understand that December is a tight, difficult month for some, I guess people don’t need water in December, in fact they should just learn to wait until February, after all, someone needs another fruitcake or silly tie they will never wear while telling you it’s awesome (Yes, everyone without a December Birthday should feel guilty here)!

So, maybe God (or guilt) has moved in your heart and you realize you’ve found a little bit of love for me. Okay, maybe it’s not enough love for $30 ($1 per year of my birth) worth of water to provide 1.5 people clean water for 20 years, but maybe it’s $5 or $10 or $20 worth of love. If you have discovered that you love me in any amount, you can go ahead and send that love gift to Charity:Water on my behalf.

Can you feel the love tonight?

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Thank You New Passion and Friends

supplies-in-vanHey New Passion Church and our friends who jumped in with us to help out Cross Point Church with their flood relief efforts! I just want to express how thankful I am to you all for caring enough for other people that you would sacrifice your time and money to send a van full of supplies and a financial gift to a church you may never visit and to a people you may never meet.

That’s what real love is all about.

The Good Samaritan helped a complete stranger who was overlooked by everyone else when he needed serious help. We love helping those who we know, but I believe it is an even stronger reflection of Jesus when we are just as willing to help those we don’t know, and at that, just like the Good Samaritan, go above and beyond just helping.

I really hoped that we could have done more to help in this situation. The news ran a story, the Christian radio even promoted what we were doing, yet the response came down to our church and a few of our friends, so thank you!

Here is what you did by the numbers:

  • $1,700 Financial Gift – This is huge! This was raised in less than a week and it is equivalent to half of our monthly income as a church (our monthly rent at the school for 4-weeks is $1,740)
  • 35+ Cases of Water
  • 3 Wheelbarrows
  • 8 Bottles of Bleach
  • 15 Pairs of Gloves
  • 48 Rolls of Toilet Paper
  • 7 Plastic Containers
  • A bunch of Cleaning Supplies (Sponges, Buckets, Etc.)
  • 3 Utility Knives with Replacement Blades
  • 2 Crowbars
  • 2 Flashlights
  • And a bunch of random items to help

2010-05-10-190213Not too shabby for a church that turned 9 months old this past Sunday and who runs an average of 80-85 people, half of which are children.

Pete Wilson, lead pastor of Cross Point, sent me this message: “Dude!!!!!! I was blown away by the financial gift you guys gave. Holy cow that was generous. Thanks so much Nick. Your church is amazing!!”

Ryan Bult, Missions Director of Cross Point, was very grateful for everything you all did, he expressed it many times to Billy and me personally.

Everyone who we talked to  who is in the middle of this crisis and are trying to put their lives back together again expressed their gratitude for your sacrifice and gratitude for them. Your love for them was evident in our being present and delivering the items you donated.

This crisis is not over! We will continue to partner with Cross Point in the future. Billy and I are discussing our best approach, so stay tuned as we reveal the next phase of our Nashville Flood Relief Effort. We’ll also talk more about this Sunday!

Thank you all…I’m proud of you all!

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One Last Year

hourglassWell….that dreaded time of my life has arrived. I seriously think I am having an early midlife crisis; I was on the drive home last night and I felt my chest hurting, sure some could say that it was just indigestion or something of the sort, but I swear it was 30 knocking on my door, and a heart attack or stroke about to take me to meet my Maker!

Yes, today I (and maybe a few others) celebrate my turning 29. That’s just a sober reminder that I have 364 days until my clock ticks past the big 30. Seriously, how did I get this old, this fast? It really feels like a blip on the radar. Other than the 4 gray hairs I’ve been able to count amongst my regularly colored hair, I feel like I am still a teenager. Wow! How many old people have I heard say that? And then they are in a pine box the next day.

I am thankful for all 29 years of my life (Disclaimer: I am actually typing this a day early and scheduling it for my birthday, so if I  am found dead, just ignore this line…I meant to say I am thankful for all 28 years of my life!) Thinking back, I have nothing to complain about, only things to be thankful for, here’s a handful, if you care to see how God has blessed me:

1. Life
2. I was raised on a solid foundation by loving parents
3. I have the sexiest wife on the planet (I was able to secure her before I was even 20…I know, I’m smart, very smart)
4. I have 3 of the most amazing, beautiful children on the planet…yes even more amazing than yours.
5. A Wonderful family (sisters, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, Granparents, and the in-laws)
5. My dream was to visit California once in my life…I’ve been there 6 times now.
6. I have Amazing friends (and we let Laura Kerr hang around, because we like her husband, Trevor)
7. I get to pastor amazing people at an amazing church (New Passion Church)
8. I’ve got a home, a hot shower, a comfortable bed, a leak-free roof, a car to get me where I need to go, a job to help pay the bills, lights that work, food in the refrigerator, a stove to cook my food (and a wife who is a good cook).
9. A computer to connect me to the rest of the world via Twitter & Facebook
11. I got fat in my 20′s & I lost it all in my late 20′s. It was an interesting ride, but I don’t intend on going back that way (I truly cannot afford to anyway. Its going to take 8 years to replace the 8 years worth of clothes I had to give away)
10. The tiny impact I hope I’ve been allowed to make in the lives of students and adults through the ministries God has allowed me to be a part of. I only hope my influence changes someone’s world within their lifetime.

Though I could go on and on and on…I need to get started on the 364 days I have left until I am 30. I’ve got a lot to do, just in case I don’t make it, or I break a hip or something. Happy Birthday to Me! :-)

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I Am New Passion

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Easter Family Photos

family-bwOur Family…

(Click on image once to open, click on new image to enlarge)

Easter 2009

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TCAG Community Group Christmas Party

Last night we had our annual Greenbrier Community Group Christmas Party. Every year all of our Community Groups come together to have one massive party. This is one of the highlights of my year at the church. We have delicious food and a great time playing our “Pink and White Chinese Christmas Ornament Game” or whatever its called. If anyone leaves this party without slightly chuckling a little, its probably a sign you are suffering from massive depression and need serious psychological help :) Here are 53 photos from last night…

Note: When you select the album below the slideshow will switch photos every 5 seconds, to see the caption, place your mouse pointer over the picture, to select individual pictures click the linkShow Picture List

TCAG Christmas Party

The 2008 Annual TCAG Community Group Christmas Party

53 Photos

And My Favorite…

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Comments?

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Happy Birthday to Me!!!

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Today I have been blessed with 28 healthy, wonderful, sometimes trying years of life. I am sure there are days I would keep and then there are days and decisions I would like to trade in, but my biggest regret is that these 10,220 days have gone by so fast! The older I get the more I realize that life is not about me, its about (as my friend Shane has phrased it) “Loving Jesus, loving others, and pursuing both!” Bottom line, its about Jesus and about people. Today, in recognition of the day I was given life, I am going to donate blood at a local blood drive to give three other people life, I thought that would be fitting for the day…

I know you all were going to Fed-Ex or UPS me a gift once you realized it was my birthday (insert sarcasm here), but instead of sending me gifts, I am asking that you honor me on my birthday by helping my friend Neely bring her daughter home, by buying a bag of coffee or an “Adoption Rock’s T-Shirt.” All profits go to pay for her child’s adoption. While you are there, pick up a couple of extras for late Christmas gifts :) For information on purchasing the coffee CLICK HERE for information on purchasing a t-shirt CLICK HERE. Thank you for honoring me on my birthday by helping someone else!

Once you’ve purchased a bag of coffee or a t-shirt, I would love for you to leave a comment to let everyone know which one you bought so those who didn’t will feel guilty :)

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This May Hurt A Little…

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I am starting my blog move to WordPress.org – If you come to my blog by the address of http://www.nickcarnes.com and you can’t access the blog one day, go to http://www.nickcarnes.wordpress.com, as I will still be updating my blog here at .com until I get everything working. I am going to try and make a subdomain to build my site in, however I have never done that, and there is the potential for me to break something…so my hopes are not to break it, but it could happen!

When its all said and done, nickcarnes.com will be the domain forever going forward. Thank you for your patience with my move :)

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New Blog Coming Soon!

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I’ve spent the last week or so working with a couple of different blogs on the WordPress.org platform. I love it! Its complicated, but its fluid…meaning I have total control of my site. I love the challenge of playing with the code to customize the look and feel to the way I like it. I do not know a lot of code, so I’ve broken the other sites I’ve been playing with several times, but fortunately as I learn it (thanks to free info through Google) I am able to fix it back! Oh, I’ve got to give credit to the web designer tools through Firefox too!

To be honest, I hate my blog design here on WordPress.com, but it is the only 3 column layout that works for me, all of that will change when I switch to WordPress.org. Beyond the look of my blog, I am going to be able to add various different elements that .com does not allow.

I can’t wait…hopefully soon you will come to nickcarnes.com and see a whole new site! Its going to be a beautiful thing :)

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One Year Ago Today

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On Thanksgiving exactly 1 year ago today, I began a journey that has changed my life, hopefully forever. It took a lot of pain and sickness to begin this journey, but now as I look back, I can say I am glad I endured it.

Since last year I have lost 47lbs. I was 193 lbs the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and as of Monday (the day I am scheduling this post) I am 146 lbs. I told my wife I was going to try and lose 3 more pounds so I could round it up to 50, but no luck so far! :)

For those who do not know the story, I was extremely sick and in a lot of pain the Wednesday before Thanksgiving last year. I drove myself to the Emergency prompt care where I was diagnosed with an ulcer. I was given some medicine and sent home. The pain increased the next day and moved to the lower right side of my abdomen and eventually let me dad talk me into going to the ER. Once I arrived and saw a doctor, I was almost sent home without even being checked. The doctor read the chart and the diagnosis from the prompt care doctor and didn’t even walk in the door, before he turned to leave, I asked him a couple of questions that prompted him to do his job, and he skeptically decided to do a CT Scan on my Abdomen, he still stated he doubted I had anything wrong other than an ulcer. When the test results came back, they decided they needed to do an Emergency Appendectomy, and the rest is history…except the fact that the surgeon said my Appendix looked very sick, so I could have been sent home and it burst giving me gangrene or killing me. So, in my week of recovery I lost 6 lbs and determined to keep it up, I worked hard to lose the additional 41 lbs. My original goal was 165 lbs and I have overshot that by 19!

The positives: I feel great! I don’t dislike looking at myself in the mirror or having my picture taken. I’m in a whole lot better shape, I’m healthier, and I can encourage and empathize with people who are on a journey to lose weight and have a healthier lifestyle. Looking at old photos and seeing success!

The negatives: I’ve been criticized more since I lost weight than when I was 40 + lbs overweight. I guess some people don’t like to see others actually be successful at something they set out to accomplish. Along with losing 7 years of weight I lost as many years worth of clothes, so it has been challenging to replace them, especially with the changing season. Looking at old photos and regretting I let myself get so overweight.

The humorous side: Having people ask me, “So what did you do to lose all of your weight?” and then upon hearing my answer having them reply, “Oh, I could never do that!” – I guess some people want it the easy way!?

By the way…I missed Thanksgiving dinner last year and will be making up for it this year! :)

The Journey – Starts HERE6 lbsHERE – 10 lbs HERE179 lbs HERE172 HERE (Changing my Goal)167 HEREA Meal of Pills & 159 lbsI feel like Amway – 2 months finally lost 1 pound3-D Plan to eating healthy part 13-D plan to eating healthy part 2

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