Please Pray

If you have not already heard, there were 7 college students that lost their lives in a house fire in NC over the weekend. 6 were from USC and 1 was from Clemson. We join together as one on this day to lift up the families of these 7 individuals. Their lives will never be the same.

We are reminded daily that life is short. If death were to come your way today, would you be ready? The only way to be ready when death comes our way is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Father, we ask you to wrap your arms around the families and friends of those killed in this tragic event. We ask to you bring glory to yourself through this event that has taken place. May all those grieving today find hope, comfort, and peace through you.

It's Over, But Just Beginning

Well officially my car has 421 more miles on it this morning. From Easley SC to Cherokee NC, form Cherokee NC to Knoxville TN, from Knoxville TN to Easley SC, from Easley SC to Greer SC, from Greer SC back to Easley SC, this was one crazy weekend.

It's over now, but this week is just beginning. This week I will celebrate a birthday. Not a physical one but a spiritual one. On October 31 I will celebrate 11 years of knowing Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. More to come on this wonderful event in my life.

As for this week, it should be a good one. We will have our fall festival at the church here on Tuesday night, Missions 360 on Wednesday night (that's right parents and kids, we will have church that night, you can trick or treat after church is over), and then before you know it the weekend will be here and the fun will start all over again.

Mile 301

That's right and I do feel like it as well. Leg two is now over with and what an exciting one it was. Down 21-0 at the half, Carolina comes out the second half to tie the score at 21 and then took the 24-21 lead with just over a minute to play. Tennessee fumbles the ball twice, has a false start penalty, and a true freshman kicker. The kid made one heck of a 48 yard field goal to tie the game at 24 and we go to overtime. In OT Tennessee kicks a field goal, and we miss a field goal and that's the game.

I pulled in to Easley SC at 4:15am this morning. Jumped in the bed, took a little nap, and now I am about to head to Greer SC to preach.

The final leg is under way. I may recap tonight after church, but my prediction is it will be in the morning. After I preach my GUTS out (OK, not really, but if we can yell and scream for football, we can yell and scream for JESUS) its home for a nap.

Wild Weekend Update

Well Erin and I made it up to Cherokee NC around 11:00pm last night. After a brief snack, we headed off to dream land.

It's now Saturday around 11:00am and we are about to head over to Serverville TN for some shopping and then off to the game tonight in Knoxville TN. After a brief nap I will get up tomorrow morning and then off to preach.

Leg one of wild weekend is over and now we are off to leg two. I am going to try and blog from my new Treo (cell phone) once we get into the stadium. If no post by 8:00pm then you know it didn't work.

Go Gamecocks!!!!!!!

Big Weekend Ahead

It all starts tomorrow morning. I will be heading up to play golf in the NGU Alumni Golf Tournament. Then it is home for a quick shower, and then off to church for the final presentation of Death's Door. We have seen God do some awesome things over the last two weeks. We are out of tickets as of this past Tuesday, so there should be a packed house Friday night.

After Death's Door, Erin and I will get in the car and head up to Cherokee NC to see my mom. This will be the first time that we have been in a long time. Pray for us as we travel.

On Saturday we will spend some time with my mom and step dad and then all four of us will head over to Knoxville for the USC/UT game. Game time set for 7:45pm and is on ESPN. We should be back home sometime early Sunday morning. I'm thinking around 2 or 3am. Once again pray as we travel.

After a quick nap, I will get up be at church for staff meeting and then I am off to Peoples Baptist Church in Greer SC. I will be preaching in their AM service. Please pray that God will use me to be an encouragement and that I will say exactly what He wants me to say.

Sunday Afternoon= NAP

Here is the Latest

If you dont want to go to the website I have copied and pasted the lastest update from Griffen's site. Here it is (very long).

October 24, 2007 at 01:36 PM EDT
Hello friends Here's a review of what has occured with Griffin so far.He was at kid's choir at our church on Sunday night, and we were in a meeting in another part of the church. Someone came and got us to say that Griffin had fallen and an ambulance had been called. He was taken by ambulance to Greenville Memorial and was complaining of a headache and said he couldn't feel or move his left side.When we arrived in the ER we were very soon shown a picture of his cat scan showing a rather large blood clot in his brain.Of course, everyone assumed it was from the fall.However, Griffin kept saying that he was dizzy before he fell.So they did another scan to see if there could be another cause besides the fall.They found out he had an AVM which is a malformation in the brain.He had probably had it from birth, but you don't know it until it bleeds.So Griffin's had bled and that's what caused the fall. The fall had done no damage.He had simply fallen becuse of the bleed.He was admitted to ICU in Greenville and we were told he would need a surgery to remove the AVM.The doctors at Greenville do not do many of these procedures so they wanted us to go to Emory in Atlanta to have it done.Grifin was flown by helicopter at about 3:30 AM while we drove down.The whole time Griffin was given a lot of morphine so he wouldn't hurt or be scared.He really was not aware of what was going on.He was admitted to the ICU at Emory Children's Hospital (Egleston).The whole day he was kept sedated and just rested.On Monday night many things occured.First we had a scare when they said Griffin's pupils had changed and they rushed him for another cat scan.Fortunantely,that was not the case and his scan was much the same as the one in Greenville.Later that night they put him on a ventilator and then later also put a tube in in his brain to monitor the pressure and drain fluid.It was a very scary and bad night.The next day (Tuesday) was much better.They did an angiogram to see what the AVM looked like and to make sure there were no anurisyms.We were so glad to hear that the AVM is in a good place to operate and no anurisms! Last night was better than the previous night but we did have one situation in which they couldn't get his brain pressure regulated and they did another cat scan. The good news was the scan has not changed ,and they have been able to keep the presure regulated for the past 10 hours.That is where we are at the present time. We want to thank everyone for their prayers so far.It is a comfort to us and we love each of you so much.Our 2 other boys are staying with their grandparents in Easley so they can keep going to school. Our twin foster babies are with 2 different foster families in the area who love them very much.We know all 4 kids are in good hands, but we miss them all terribly.Griffin is still heavily sedated which is really a good thing so he's not afraid.The last thing he probably remembers is the ambulance ride to Greenville.We are doing fine too and do not need anything right now,but we appreciate the many offers we've had.The hospital has a couch bed in Griffin's room for one of us and a bedroom down the hall for the other parent.We also have a shower in Griffin's room and a shower just down the hall.The hospital also has washers and dryers as well as plenty of food choices downstairs.So we are fine for now.Please continue to pray for Griffin to heal enough to have his surgery and for us to have comfort and strength.We will try to post daily.We love all of you so much.

It's the Middle of the Week

Hey there. So I have been busy all day. It started early this morning as I was able to preach at chapel at Siloam Christian School. Then it was off to church to get ready for tonight.

I wanted to give you an update on Griffen. Barney left me a voice mail earlier this afternoon and I wanted to share with you what he said. He said that they are still keeping Griffen heavily sedated so that the brain will not have to do much. There is still a good bit of swelling on the brain that is causing them concern. He told me that they are still working with him to try and get the numbers right. He said he had no clue what that meant but once they get them right they should be good to go. He is responding to the newest medicine that they have him on which is a good sign. He said that the doctors have told them that best case is that the swelling goes down, the numbers get right, and then they could come home and wait to go back for more surgery. If not then the doctors have said that they could be there for at least a month.

Today we are praying that they will get the numbers right (God knows what this means) even if we don't. Barney also ask us to pray that the swelling on the brain would go down.

Here is a website that you can go to to get all the information on Griffen. You may have to register but it only takes a minute or two.

Griffen Barnes Website

Thanks and God Bless.

Great News

I have some good news to bring. Griffen's test today came back good. He does not have an aneurysm. However, he is not out of the woods yet.

This is a huge answer to the thousands of prayers that have been prayed for Griffen over the past few days. They will keep Griffen in Atlanta for at least 5 more days. If he continues to improve and has no more complications, he will get to come back home, wait a couple of weeks, and then return to Atlanta for some more surgery.

Please continue to pray for Griffen and his family. We have seen God answer one prayer and we need him to answer another. Please pray that Griffen will get the feeling back in the left side of his body. We believe that God has the power to heal.

I will post more information as it becomes available to me.

Update on Griffen

I just got off the phone with Pastor and got the update on Griffen as of this afternoon.

Right now they have him heavily sedated and have been running test on him all day. There has been no major change in his condition.

They will be doing another test in the morning either at 6am or 10am to determine the next step. If the test come back good then he will be able to come home and they will wait 3 weeks or so to determine the next step. If the test comes back bad then they will have to do surgery right then.

We are still praying that God will do a miracle in Griffen's life and that the test will come back with a positive result. We must remember "Nothing is impossible with God." Please continue to pray for Mike, Deanne, Tucker, and Riley, as well as the rest of the family during this wait and see period.

I will continue to update the blog as I receive the information.

Urgent Prayer Request

Hello to all. I have an urgent prayer request that we need to lift up this morning.

Last night around 5:30pm one of the students in my ministry fell here at church during Kids Choir. Late last night after many test had been run it was determined that he had a pre-exsiting condition that caused him to become dizzy, fall, and no feeling on the left side of his body. They flew him to Atlanta around 3:00am this morning. As of 7:30 this morning they were going to do more test to determine the next step.

Please join me in praying that the test will come back positive and that he will not have to go through surgery at this point. He has some bleeding on the brain which has everyone concerned. Please pray that the body will absorbed this so that surgery will not have to be done. Also, please pray for his mom, dad, brothers, and rest of the family as they are going through this tough time.

I will be giving updates through this blog as I get them.

God Bless!!!

Looking Ahead

This week has been a blur. As a matter of fact the last couple of weeks have been a blur. Now as we look to this weekend it looks to be a fun and exciting time.

Friday and Saturday night we will have Death's Door presentation here at the church. We have given out most of the tickets for these two nights. There are still tickets available for Friday October 26. All tickets are free and we have encouraged our members to invite people to be with us for these three great nights. Please pray as many youth groups, church groups, sports teams, and others who attend during these nights. Also pray that we will not just see people saved, but that we will see lives changed, and the community impacted by the power of the gospel.

As far as the Gamecocks. The #6 team (that sounds good) in the nation will take on Vandy. In the past we could chalk this one up as a Win. However, these days you never know what is going to happen in college football. With that said, Spurrier and the boys roll in this one, and get ready for some "Rocky Top Tennessee" next week.

Here's to a great weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Weekend

This was a pretty good weekend. Here is how it went.

Friday- I took Erin to the SC State fair. If you have never been you need to go. You will eat more greasy food then you have ever eaten in all of your life. It is the best food you have ever eaten. We meet Erin's mom and dad as well as her aunt and uncle. We had a blast. We even won a huge stuffed dog (not that we need it, but whats the fair without carrying a huge stuffed animal around).

Saturday- We had some friends over to watch the South Carolina game. We had a great time. The first half was great (Gamecocks lead 21-3). The second half not so great. Even though the Gamecocks pulled out the win (21-15) it was not pretty. But you know what they say " an ugly win is like having an ugly child, you wish it were different but you love them anyway.

Sunday- What a day in church. We started our first night of Death's Door. I really did not have a good feeling going into last night. That's when God showed up. It wasn't that I didn't think we had prepared enough, or that God wasn't going to show up. It was that uneasy feeling that you get because you want everything to go so well. And it did, from the videos, to the lights, to the sound, everything went very well. When the invitation was given, the altar was full of people wanting to make first time decisions to follow Christ. To God be the glory.

As I was leaving I get a phone call asking if I was still at church. I happened to be because a parent was late in picking up their child (I was getting upset and aggravated). Now I know why they were late. God had other plans for me. If the parents were 2 minutes earlier I would have already been on the way home, but instead I was able to talk to a 13 year old boy and he accepted Christ as his Savior. I was reminded again as I drove home after that exactly what ministry is. Its not about us, ITS ALL ABOUT HIM!!!!

Nice Surprises

I love surprises, and I love to surprise other people (especially my wife). Today I got a very nice surprise.

I am pumped. Just got off the phone with my mom up in NC. She has come through with South Carolina vs. Tennessee tickets. It is going to be a fun trip as we head up to spend the weekend with her and my step dad. We don't get to see each other a whole lot, so these times are special to us. On top of seeing her, we are headed to see the Gamecocks play! This should be a great weekend.

On another note, I was reading today in Psalm 75 this morning and God spoke in a powerful way. Here David is writing and he says "We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near." Did you catch that. God is always near. In the hospital bed, "HE is near", driving in your car, "HE is near", in a financial situation, "HE is near", is your marriage on the rocks, "HE is near", don't know where to turn, "HE is near".

I don't know about you but I am thankful that no matter what "HE IS NEAR." So as you go through this day and the rest of your life, reach out by faith to Jesus for "HE IS NEAR."

Today God we praise you that no matter what we go through in this life we know that "YOU ARE NEAR" to us. We reach out by faith and claim this promise in the Bible that "YOU ARE NEAR" to us.

Long Week

Well this is going to be a long, long, long week. We are in the process of getting Deaths Door together. This is a ministry of our church that takes you from here to eternity. We have transformed our sanctuary into a set design of heaven and hell.

During Death's Door there will be several real life scenes that will take place on the stage. Each scene will involve a death of some sort with people going to heaven and the reality of people who die without Jesus going to hell. Last year we saw over 150 people come to know Christ in a personal way. God has blessed this ministry and we pray that this year even more would come to know HIM in a personal way.

We will have 3 times that we present Death's Door. The dates are Friday October 19 at 7:00pm, Saturday October 20 at 6:00pm, and Friday October 26 at 7:00pm. This will be a free ticketed event. If you would like more information on Death's Door please go to http://www.rockspringsbaptist.com/ or call the church office at 864-859-9854.

ARE YOU READY!!!!!

Gut Check

Right now it is early Sunday morning. I am about to go off to staff prayer time and get ready for this day. Yesterday in college football was called "Gut Check Saturday." There were a lot of great games on and many of them involved teams that needed a gut check.

I think it is time that we as Christians needed a Gut Check. You know to find out who we really are. I am afraid that a lot of people do what some teams I watched on TV yesterday did. That is go throw the motions. There was no urgency, no emotion, no excitement, they just showed up and went through the motions of playing football. Many Christians do the same thing when they come to church. They come in sit in their same seat, sing the songs their told to sing, their is no urgency to see the lost saved. When we come to worship at church (because worship is actually everything that we do) we should do so with excitement for the one who has rescued us out of a fiery HELL and given us new life in him.

Two quotes to leave you with today.
1. Why is it that we want to complain and have a staff member go to the guy who comes into church with a pair of shorts on and a baseball cap and have him take his hat off, yet we have women every week who are half dressed and nobody ever says anything about that.

Let me preface this by saying that I hate losing. It makes me sick if I lose at anything, and when my team loses. This one hit me hard this morning.

2. Why is it that when our team loses that it ruins our whole week and bothers us so bad we cant stand it, yet when it comes to lost people going to HELL, we have no feelings on the matter and it doesn't move us at all.

Just some things to think about for this week.

The Crazy Adventures of

Myself, Eric, Joey, Keith, Delk, and Jason. Yesterday was by far one of the best game day experiences that I have had since I have been going to the games at USC. It was also the second longest day of my life (the first was when game day was in Columbia in 2001 for the Florida game). I thought I would take you through it.

7:45am- I awake and jump in the shower. The game is on my mind but, I know it is still 12 hrs away.

8:30am- I arrive at work, spend time with Jesus, and then head off to the hospital where I hope to be an encouragement to those who are in there.

10:30am- I finish the hospitals and head home to change into my game day attire and play a quick game of NCAA 2008 on PlayStation 2. Final score Me- 91 Clemson-7 (it was great).

12:30pm- Everyone is now at Eric's. We get the car ready with our flags and magnets and head off to what we hope is going to be a great day for the Gamecocks.

2:15pm- We arrive in Columbia to a misting rain. We start to walk toward the stadium where we get a free Carolina Football T-shirt. Good day so far.

4:00pm- After a brief look at the Packman, we head to Bojangles to get some food. The stories told at that table were priceless. I needed all the laughter and boy did we laugh.

5:00pm- We head back to Packman where we all catch a Southern Fried Football T-shirt, listen to QCB and the whiner line. We then decide to go put all our stuff in the car. It is now just under hrs to kickoff.

7:46pm- Kickoff.



8:02pm- Eric Norwood scores one of his 2 defensive touchdowns of the game.

11:34pm- BALLGAME. The #8 Wildcats fall to the Gamecocks.

1:02am- I am about to die from lack of food (OK, not really, but it makes the story better). We stop in at the local Waffle House. Only one word to describe it PRICELESS!!!!!

3:15am- I finally pull into my driveway, jump on the couch (didn't want to wake Erin up), take a short nap, and then back to work.


The past 24 hrs have been great, now I will need to next 48 to recover.

Jeremiah 29:11

First off let me say that this verse has meant more to me over the past 2 months then it ever has in my short life of 25 years. Here we read that God has a plan for our lives. Sometimes we may not think that his plan for our life is going the way that it should or that sometimes maybe he has even forgotten about us. However, we all must realize that HIS PLANS ARE PERFECT!!!! God has never and will never make a mistake. When we don't understand HIS plan, we have to trust HIM, and when we do understand HIS plan we have to trust HIM.

What I do know is this. God allows us to go through things in order to help us grow in every area of our life. It is very easy for us to get mad at God and stray from him when tough times come. However, we must do the opposite. We must trust God, and run to HIM in the tough times as well as the good times. Bottom line is this, in the good and the bad GOD IS GOOD!!!

Erin and I would like to thank all of you for all the cards, meals, prayers, support, and encouragement over the past 3 weeks. We knew that people like you cared for us, but it has all of you have out done yourselves over this time in our lives. Please know that we deeply appreciated everything that everyone has done for us. We are trusting in HIS plans, and know that HIS GRACE will see us through.

WE LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!