Where The Geese Fly
The day had finally arrived. I knew it was coming. I had tried to prepare myself for it, but it still hit me like a sledgehammer. This...
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INSIGHTS
FROM
Pastor Mark
Mark Carnes
- Jul 22, 2022
Was It Worth It?
“You should be able to go at least fifty miles on these. This charge should easily get you all over the island with the time span in...
Mark Carnes
- Jul 8, 2022
Seashells
Due to the fact that this is the month many spend time away at the beach, and because I’ve just recently experienced the tragic and...
Mark Carnes
- Jul 1, 2022
One of The Greatest Lessons I Ever Learned on The 4th of July
(Because of its popularity from last year at this time, this is an Insights from July 4, 2021) The flames raged and pounded against the...
Mark Carnes
- Jun 7, 2022
As You Walk
In my possession, I have one picture from my High School Graduation Ceremony. If there are other pictures that were taken that day, my...
Mark Carnes
- May 13, 2022
Along The Way
“One regular Chicken Philly Sub on wheat bread, along with one regular Turkey Breast & Provolone Sub on wheat bread. Sure, we’ll make...
Mark Carnes
- Apr 2, 2022
WE Did It!
My first-born son’s High School Basketball career was drawing near to the end, and we had just been given the news. During his senior...
Mark Carnes
- Mar 12, 2022
Winning Is Not A Score
I had just finished a tearful embrace with my son’s High School Basketball Coach, who left the locker room first. Immediately following,...
Mark Carnes
- Feb 19, 2022
Senior Night=TOGETHER
The day started in darkness, before the sun came up. Before I even rolled out of bed, I already had tears in my eyes. It was Senior...
Mark Carnes
- Feb 4, 2022
Showing Up for The Mundane
One by one, each of my three sons leaned in and bent over her with tenderness. They clutched her bruised and tattered hand into their...
Mark Carnes
- Jan 28, 2022
Something
I had just put the last of my mom’s personal belongings into the white plastic bag the hospital had given to me. A few sticks of gum, one...
Mark Carnes
- Jan 21, 2022
Opportunities for Joy
We are now almost two weeks into my mother’s hospital stay, and it continues. I will not relist the trauma of everything that has...
Mark Carnes
- Jan 14, 2022
This Is Trauma
This is trauma. The week began like any other week. That is when trauma decided to make its uninvited way into the serenity of my life....
Mark Carnes
- Jan 7, 2022
Staying In The Moment
It was the evening of December 25, 2021. The Christmas rush had come and gone as quickly as an Appalachian storm. The floors and couches...
Mark Carnes
- Dec 23, 2021
O Night Divine
(The “Insights” column will take next week off between Christmas and New Year’s. It will return the first week of 2022. Merry Christmas...
Mark Carnes
- Dec 17, 2021
Picture Perfect
The picture you see here is from Christmas Day 2014. It looks almost picture perfect. It gives the appearance of a perfect, well...
Mark Carnes
- Dec 10, 2021
Christmas (Time) In The City
“Silver Bells, Silver Bells, It’s Christmastime in the City” Times on the farm growing up could be very difficult, and oftentimes quite...
Mark Carnes
- Dec 3, 2021
Where It Began
My mother played the piano. Most people who know her well, know this. She played the piano and organ in church for many years. She taught...
Mark Carnes
- Nov 19, 2021
Make Room For The Left Turn
Every Christmas, when my family is on the way home from an event in town, there is the option to take a left turn into a neighborhood. In...
Mark Carnes
- Nov 12, 2021
The Story Behind the Story
One of my favorite and most gratifying moments on any stage, anywhere, was Christmas In The City 2016. That was the year I got to sing a...
Mark Carnes
- Nov 5, 2021
If A Picture Could Talk
This picture was taken on Sunday, December 13, 2020. It was taken the last night of Christmas In The City, just moments after the last...
Mark Carnes
- Oct 29, 2021
A Spooky Story
It was known as the Land of the Waxhaws, a region of North and South Carolina ranging from Waxhaw, NC to Lancaster, SC & Buford, SC....
Mark Carnes
- Oct 22, 2021
I Was Raised This Way
I was raised that way… I was a scholarship collegiate athlete, and it was the first weekend our Coach had required us to stay on campus...
Mark Carnes
- Oct 15, 2021
We’re Burying the People Who Raised Us
The coffin was set center stage, draped in beautiful flowers, just at the foot of the altar rails of the old Waxhaw United Methodist...
Mark Carnes
- Oct 8, 2021
The Weight of The Right and The Wrong
· Where is everyone and why did they leave? Is anyone coming back? · Why doesn’t everyone see the value, obedience, and...
Mark Carnes
- Sep 24, 2021
Little Things Are Not Little
COVID raged all around us like a wildfire. People still took opposing and heated sides on every issue related to the pandemic. Every...
Mark Carnes
- Sep 10, 2021
God’s Reminders In The Least Expected Places
Arbitrary moments are never without design, particularly with an awe-inspiring God who loves to weave the fabric of our lives into grand...
Mark Carnes
- Sep 3, 2021
Daily Rhythms & Loudness
There is a moment of discontinuance each day of my life that takes place in my driveway. It has been this way for the last twenty years....
Mark Carnes
- Aug 27, 2021
The Corner of “Wit’s End”
From the bedroom of the house we were renting in Florida, I heard the crash of chairs and the wall buckle from across the house. I darted...
Mark Carnes
- Aug 20, 2021
Best Day Ever!
The day was Thursday, August 19, 2021. The time was approximately 10:30am. The temperature was already approaching a sweltering 90...
Bill Coleman
- Aug 6, 2021
What’s Wrong with Me?
“What’s wrong with me?” These words proceeded from the mouth of this precious pre-teen girl. It was a serious question pointing out her...
Chet Turk
- Jul 16, 2021
Does God Really Ask us to Rejoice in Our Suffering?
My favorite passage of Scripture is Romans 5:1-2. Here Paul is talking about how the believer has been justified or been "made right"...
Bill Coleman
- Jul 9, 2021
The Journey
Over the past 18 months, Tiffany and I saw both of our children, at their respective universities, walk in that traditional processional...
Mark Carnes
- Jul 2, 2021
One of The Greatest Lessons I Ever Learned on The 4th of July
The flames raged and pounded against the side of the house. They towered to the rooftop...
Mark Carnes
- Jun 25, 2021
The Audience of Worship
The picture you see here was captured by my best friend Bill Coleman. I was not aware he was taking the shot at the time, but I am glad...
Bill Coleman
- Jun 11, 2021
A Sweet Sound
What are some of the sweetest sounds you have ever heard? Maybe the softly spoken “I do” at the crescendo of a wedding ceremony. Maybe...
Mark Carnes
- Jun 8, 2021
Crying Over Goats
There is a band of goats living in a pasture behind a fence, just off the road at one of my favorite locations to run. I have developed...
Mark Carnes
- May 28, 2021
Toy Soldiers
You could buy a bag of 48 toy soldiers for $3.99. Accessories, toy tanks and jets sold separately. If you...
Mark Carnes
- May 21, 2021
How They Linger
To my knowledge, other than a Class Graduation Photo, I have only one picture of my High School Graduation, and that is to my discredit...
Mark Carnes
- May 14, 2021
We Were Beautiful Once
There were the days when we would run from one end of the playground to the other, permeating the air with...
Mark Carnes
- May 7, 2021
Look at Me
“Look at me” read the newly delivered text to my cell phone. It was from my youngest son Baylon. I looked up only to find him perched atop..
Mark Carnes
- Apr 30, 2021
Can You See God Anymore?
Just before my alarm sounds to awaken me, I hear the rattle of my phone across the wood top of my bedside dresser...
Mark Carnes
- Apr 23, 2021
The Best Haircut I Ever Had
One of my favorite things to do as a child was to get a five-dollar bill from one of my parents, get on my bicycle, and ride...
Mark Carnes
- Apr 16, 2021
The Best Investment You'll Make
It was the summer of 1983. As a young 12 year old, on a warm evening in late June, I sat on an old wooden pew, under an outdoor Arbor,...
Mark Carnes
- Apr 9, 2021
Sunday Is Always Coming
The NFL has its Super Bowl, the NCAA has its March Madness, the PGA has The Masters, Tennis has Wimbledon, baseball has...
Mark Carnes
- Apr 2, 2021
The He’s Alive Tour
“Hey Matt, our church is having Easter Sunday Worship Services and I’d like to invite you and your roommates to come and worship with us.”
Mark Carnes
- Mar 26, 2021
What The Rock Says…or Not
As a child and young adult growing up, I was a huge professional wrestling fan. Along with Ric Flair and a few others, one of my...
Mark Carnes
- Mar 19, 2021
Bloodletting
The strand of rubber wrapped tightly around my arm, enlarging a vein perfectly suited for what was needed. The needle made its way into...
Mark Carnes
- Mar 12, 2021
God’s Theme Song
I must admit, as a child I was an ardent enthusiast of Professional Wrestling. Every Saturday afternoon I would sneak into my bedroom to...
Mark Carnes
- Mar 12, 2021
Celebrate Anyway
In the time of the great COVID Pandemic of 2020/2021, like so many, after being diagnosed with COVID...
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