A21 Campaign/Greece Campus

Sometime within the next couple of days, I am going to give a lot more information, but for the time being, please watch the video and think. Just think and pray. I feel that if you are reading this blog, God is going to use you somehow and in a couple of days you will probably have more direction after I give more information.

Here is the video:

Random Brain, Indeed

I think that next year, I am going to try to buy a submarine. Yup, I said it. A real life, underwater submarine. Maybe sell tours or something. Oh, yeah!

More details to come!

Lost

I am losing patience. I may have already lost my patience. With people, with ignorance, with stuff. I don't know why or where it's coming from.

just wanted to share

-chris

How He Loves Me!

This is going to be a short post. Last night at LateNite we had the most intense worship that we've had in such a long time. The last song was Matt Adcox leading us in the the hook/chorus of "How He Loves Us" over and over. I can't explain what happened in that place. It was so incredibly amazing! Watch the video:



www.nashamed.blogspot.com

A Letter

A letter from Jesus regarding Christmas

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are
taking My name out of the season. How I personally feel about this
celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have
been
blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the
day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE
ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town
in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just
get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity
scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need
for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them
all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a
holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees.
You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you
wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in
relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that
one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is
my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My
birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers
away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know,
they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them
personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on
the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him
that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up...
It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford
and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My
birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms
and remind them that I love them.

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own
life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't
know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile;
it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls
the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm
smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry
Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop
shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day
they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--
especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have
never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in
your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will
they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some
food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other
charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and
loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret
that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that
you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and
do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out
the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball
is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those
whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

A True Blog Entry

This is going to be a long one! lol

Ok, so two weeks ago, a friend of mine from Columbus, Ohio came to visit.
We have known each other for quite awhile now, and when I went back to Columbus the last time for the Celebration E.G. up there, she started attending. Well, she came down here for a week to visit me, and to check out Celebration in person.

Her first 3 days here, all we did was eat and go to movies. I told her that we have to do different things that she can't do in Columbus. Well, I think her first or second night here we went to the beach at night. That was neat. I'm still a little confused on what was running all over the ground chasing us LOL. So, the rest of the week, we attempted to camp on the beach (3am and still couldn't get the tent to go up), more movies, Jacksonville Zoo, and thanks to Justin and Allishia, we go to go to the fair and hang out on his parents yacht. It ended up being a good week.

More importantly, I think that her sitting in Midweek, Saturday Service and LateNite all in person, I think God really worked on her. Especially at LateNite. Overall, Courtney and I had a great time.

Then we drove back to Columbus. I dropped her off and stayed the night at Rish's, then went to Indy'ish to see my family. I had a great time there and got to see my step dad, whom has cancer. I also got to visit with my grandparents, sister, brother and his kids. I'm worried about my step dad, and also about my mom, because this is wearing her down.

And just so you all know, my mom said me and Johnna were supposed to look like we were trying to give him a kiss in this picture, but for some reason, it looks like I was smelling him LOL. No, he's not rotting ROFL

Then I go back to Columbus for the weekend. Talk to different friends and invite them all to Church on Sunday. I think we had like 25 Sunday, which was a good turn out. Plus, I got to see some old friends that I haven't got to see for awhile. I just hope and pray that they enjoyed it, was touched by the message, and continue to go. I really feel that if the E.G. grows enough, that Celebration may actually open up an campus up there which would probably live feed the services into there. I'm not sure what God has in store for the future, but I could totally see a Celebration movement in Columbus! It's already starting, actually. Thanks to Dax and Kelli!

So, I drive home Monday morning. Sunday afternoon before I went to bed I burnt a bunch of Praise and Worship cd's. I was determined to give those 12 hours of that drive to God and just embrace His presence. Well, it was a good ride. I think He had planned it like that, because I ended up with a total of 13 worship cd's, and I pulled up to my house having listened to each one with only one song left on the last cd. LOL. I truly couldn't have done it better even if I had tried to calculate the time and everything. Every cd, every song listened to once, pulled up to my house as the very last song on the very last cd was about to play. I'm totally amazed!

So, I realized something this week. And some of you may try to read into this, but please don't. Chances are great that it's not what you are thinking lol. But, as a single man, or as I'm sure a single woman also, if you are not dating, you may go through times of loneliness. We have all experienced that. Well, I haven't had that feeling in a really long time. Looking back, I think that it is because I fill that void with God and His will, which in return He shows me favor and blocks the pain of loneliness out of my heart. Well, I have also realized here recently that we (or at least for me) can open that back up. I think that we cause loneliness ourselves. I think that we act on actions, or pursue feelings, emotions or people that cracks our hearts open to loneliness. See, the week before I went up to Columbus, I think that I cracked my heart open, and I noticed that when I got to Columbus I started trying to get a hold of all the past girls that I had talked to. Thank God they were all busy or had boyfriends or engaged. I'm not sure if it was that night, or the next day or when, but I realized at that time I created the loneliness in myself, which at that point made me weak and was trying to fill the loneliness with a past "person" which may have resulted in more sin. Even though I did it to myself though, God helped me overcome it.

So, here is a question. I'm a promoter by nature, by heart. I love people, socializing and talking people into and out of things. I have been like this since I was probably in the womb. So, is there a line that you can cross when inviting someone to church? "come with me to church so you can be saved". ok, no one would probably come with that one. "come with me cause our pastor is crazier than i am and hes pretty funny too". that'll bring some. "man, you owe me cause i used to go to your crazy parties, so come to church one time cause you owe me". how about that one? "look, if you dont like church, then you definately need to come. my church is for people who cant stand church". and it could go on and on. but do you see what I'm saying? Is there a line to cross, or if the heart is in the right place, do you just keep inviting, no matter what gets people in the door?

How about this? My clothing line, "Not Ashamed". The purpose is to make a statement that you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My secondary agenda is to help a timid Christian have an opportunity to stand up for Christ, and possibly give them an opportunity to witness to the lost. But, last night I had a conversation with a model that I helped get her start back when I had my record label. She is now in Hollywood and L.A. and also claims to be an athiest. So, I asked her half-jokingly to help me get my line out there, and she seemed receptive, but said she didn't want to be a hypocrite. So, I was like, well, just don't wear the shirts with Scriptures on them and let the Not Ashamed speak for itself. You're not ashamed of who you are or what you do, right? ...... ok, so my question is, is this wrong? I know what my purpose of "Not Ashamed" is, and everyone around me does. Including her. But, then I get into my sales mode, or promotions mode and say whatever it takes to get the other end to receive. Let me get some feedback!

God is good! I wish everyone could experience what's going on inside of me. I was telling Sissy the other day that I can't explain my feelings/emotions. Like, I don't have words for them. It's incredible. I mean, think about this. Us humans are born into sin. Born dirty, filthy and evil. Yet, we are God's favorite creation. We stand above everything else that He has created. He loves us all the same, even those of us or constantly turn our backs on Him and hurt Him. Can you say love? LOVE! I love Jesus!

I pray for everyone reading this that you have a great week, and that the Lord touch's you in some way!

-Chris

Also, my clothing line, "Not Ashamed" has just put up a blog. Feel free to check it out and follow at http://nashamed.blogspot.com

I'm Not Going There! plus, Blameless and Not Ashamed updates

Last weekend the Senior Pastor at my church (Pastor Stovall Weems) preached a sermon on relationships. We are in a series called "What's Your Status?". Well, the message was on guarding your heart. Everyone should watch it here, but He said something during that message that hit me incredibly hard. When tempted, or before tempation comes, just tell it "I'm not going there".

Let's be honest. My first thought was "Stovall, great concept, but I do a whole lot more than that and I still stumble". Well, this week when when temptations came about that usually cause me to stuble, I simply said "I'm not going there" and then prayed. I stumble ALOT (lol) so it was like an ongoing thing, but kept me praying. WOW this was such a great and powerful week!

Thursday night I was having a dream. In this dream I was in a situation that wasn't pleasing to the Lord. I stop in the middle of the situation, say "I'm not going there" and seriously get up and walk away. This was in my dream! I was shocked! Anyway, after talking to a friend, I realized that this was my spirit protecting EVEN MY DREAMS! I think it was also my spirit connected closer to God. Truly Amazing!

I feel that God may have me in a transition right now. I am excited!

So, also over the past week, God is showing me different people. Maybe I wasn't ready for it before, I don't know. I've done a lot of socializing this week with different people from church and what not, and it can be dissapointing to see the real side of people sometimes. Maybe God is showing me things to pray about.

On a different note.... If you know me personally, then you know that I'm a fairly social guy. I get along with most (sometimes a select few I totally let get under my skin lol) and I enjoy people. I have a problem though. Let me give you this example. I am with a group of people and they start trash talking a person that I know. Maybe saying that this person is fake, or lives a different life outside of church or what not. Well, even though I am cool with said person, I've caught myself starting to look at them differently.

First of all, when gossip arises when I'm around, I try to turn it around by either changing the subject, or turning that "gossip" into a possible positive scenerio. I don't like gossip and try to avoid it. I guess that it just bothers me that I catch myself letting it affect me. Good thing the Holy Spirit corrects my thoughts and reminds me that none of that matters and I am to TRY to love that person as Jesus loves me! Amen? oh yeah

Ok, I have tons more from this past week. Best spiritual week I've ever experienced! If I had it all in this entry, no one would be able to finish due to the length lol.

Have a great week, all!

-chris



Blameless Update:
Blameless has 5 new songs out that you can listen to at www.MySpace.com/BlamelessMusic Also, they are working on the artwork for the new EP and will be releasing that hopefully within a week or two.

Not Ashamed Update:
We are continually putting up a few of our designs, and we are still set to begin print maybe within a couple of weeks. We are very excited!

Bitter-Sweet

I don't even know what to blog about this morning. It amazes me how our life is to be "Sweet" with God's blessings and grace and mercy and love. But, why do I choose to add that "Bitterness" into my life.

OK, thats it. I have no other thoughts or a solution for that. Prayer and continue to read. That's my only solution. It just frustrates me that I become so ignorant to let anxiety and anger and frustration overcome me from time to time.

On a light note......

Blameless has just uploaded their 5 new songs to their MySpace. Totally amazing! You have to check it out. No joke! www.MySpace.com/BlamelessMusic

Not Ashamed may be printing up their first shirts in as little as 2 weeks. It looks like they may start out with 4 designs. Very promising designs. The quality of the shirts themselves is the highest in the industry. The company that I found was by complete accident, and he was able to help us keep costs down. Talk about a blessing!

As of right now (this may change) it looks like we will have 1 mens shirt for $30, 1 men's shirt for $20 and 2 women's shirts for $18, but we may be able to even lower the cost of the women's shirts to $16! I personally feel that the designs are pretty hot. We are lookin at releasing a number of shirts every month. We are already designing for December and January which are looking phenominal!

I'm nervous, though. I'm nervous of people not liking them, or for me stepping away from the "message" that I really want to use this for. I guess that I'm scared of failure on all the different levels. I believe in the message, I believe in the designs and I believe in the quality of shirts that we are selecting.

But, overall I'm excited and happy. Just wanted to share my feelings LOL. Have an awesome day anyone reading this!

A little annoyed this morning.. blameless and not ashamed updates

I hate the fact that everytime I am doing well with my spiritual growth, I let something come in and knock me down. I'm not talking about being in depression or in a negative mood or anything. I just mean that I get this great momentum going, and WHAM! Something makes me stumble. I really need to better prepare myself for battle, I guess. All I can do is pick myself up and keep on ah groovin!

Blameless Update: The guys are doing well, and has a big surprise for everyone here REAL soon!

Not Ashamed Update: Clothing line is coming along. Made some new contacts and I think we've figured out the different print shops that we will use. We are trying to make sure to have great designs that are modern, very high quality garments, but able to keep the cost as low as possibly. Yes, people pay $200 for an Ed Hardy t-shirt or $86 for an Affliction t-shirt, but who is going to do that to a no-name? We are trying to keep the cost down under $20, and if we can (at least at first), I truly feel that we can get a lot of product out there.

Have a good day!

Women's Shirt Post 1 - updated 09/28

www.nashamed.com - 4 Designs

I need everyone's feedback. Below are 2 designs for our women's t-shirt. Please give me any and all feedback... good or bad. It says "I am HIS Proverbs 31". you can fwd all info and feedback to info@nashamed.com Thank you all!!!!!!

First one is for a black shirt, and the second one is for a white shirt

Knoxville Road Trip/Harris Wedding

Ok, so Sissy and I went to Knoxville for my cousin's wedding. It was really really nice! Reception was nice as well. It was good to see some of my family again.

Well, as we get to Knoxville, I get pulled over like 100 yards from our hotel. FOR DOING A U-TURN!!! I couldn't believe it. So, he has all my information, and then comes RUNNING back to my truck, throws my I.D. in and says "Be Safe" and takes off. God is good, huh???? I thought I was gonna get a ticket for a stinking u-turn lol.

I had a blast. I still find it kinda funny how you can have a ridiculous amount of fun doing absolutely nothing as long as it's with the right company. 9 hours in the truck, no cd's (i got a few cds out for the ride back) and we basically just acted up.

Oh, and before everyone else hear's about it and says that I'm mean, YES, I threw Sissy into the wall and into a painting. Sorry LOL

Below are some pictures. If you want to see more, go to my Facebook or Myspace

My Columbus Weekend

Columbus, Ohio

Pastor Big John (Celebration Church) and I came to Columbus to check out the Extension Gathering that Dax and Kelli are hosting. Before I go into the weekend, let me just say that Dax and Kelli are tremendous hosts! Not just for the fellowship that they provided all weekend, but the church service as well. If any of you are in Columbus, or visit the Columbus area, you DEFINATELY need to stop in and see them. AMAZING people of God!

I get in town Saturday afternoon (via flight) and so Big John and I go put our stuff at the hotel room. Shortly afterward, Dax and Kelli pick us up and we head to campus. Park and walk.... and walk.... and walk.... and walk... We have some pizza that was great and then proceeded to the Horse Shoe to watch the OSU vs USC game!

Let me state that i had such a great time at the game! It was INCREDIBLE! 106,000 people that wouldn't shut up, or sit down for 4 hours hahaha. It was great!

The next morning we go to the location where our E.G. is being hosted at. Not near the amount of people that promised to show up did, but after feeling kinda down about it, I realized that I need to focus on God's work and not the number of people in attendance. There is a tremendous testimony of one of the people that showed up, and God is working in others. It's great! We had a young lady give her heart to Christ. Never been to church in her life, and now is a Christian! Big John is returning November 28th to baptize her and I hope alot of her Church Family that has people in Columbus will come up to support her! We also had another lady give her life to Christ and wants to turn her life around. AMAZINGNESS

After church, we all hung out and ate at T.G.I.Friday's and just had good fellowship for a few hours. Then me and a friend hung out and talked for awhile, then we all met back up and seen the new Madea movie, then I hung out with my friend for a few more hours.

Today (Monday) I got some alone time, so read and spent some time with God. It was amazing. Then I watched this weekends service and I'll tell you what, these few hours that it was just me and Jesus were amazing! I felt God speak to me today, move within me and even guide me. I didn't expect that. Not while I'm out of town and this and that. I love Him!

Oh, how much I have missed Columbus. It's a great place and great people. I think that I have realized today that I can never move back though. Maybe too much tempation. Maybe too many memories. Maybe its none of that... Maybe it's just knowing that I'm not meant to be back here and don't know why. LOL who knows. And thats why I call my blog.....

INSIDE A RANDOM BRAIN!

Not Ashamed

Romans 1:16 (New Living Translation)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

We are not to be ashamed of the Gospel, Jesus or our God. We are not to be ashamed that we are Christians.

I have started a clothing line called "Not Ashamed" and I have based it upon these principles.

You can find more information at www.MySpace.com/not-ashamed

(thanks to www.extrememediaconcepts.com for the logo)

Columbus

WOW I'm super pumped up! I really can't explain it. I'm starting to feel that I may know my "LANE" (got that from Shine '09, baby!) And let's be honest... I may be wrong in what I think the future holds, but the fact that I now feel that I have direction from God is great for me!

I have been doing certain things in my life over the past week or two to really focus on me, my relationship with God and our closeness with each other. It's going well.... but I still stumble and that annoys me. I try not to beat myself up and keep it moving! God is Good.. All the time! and All The Time... God is Good!

I am about to bounce around a bit (hence "Inside A Random Brain"), but you should be able to put it all together.

My church is Celebration Church. www.celebration.org I used to say in Jacksonville, Florida but that is just where I attend. We are now worldwide. LITERALLY! We have tons of campuses in Africa, Costa Rica, Georgia, Florida and who knows where else. We also have what we call "Extension Gatherings". This is a really cool idea and a great opportunity. What it is, is our entire church service put onto a DVD and then a "Host" hosts a church service anywhere in the world. We have these in Columbus, Ohio (where I came from); Iraq, Ireland, all over the United States, etc.

See, in Matthew the Great Commision talks about reaching the world. This is totally amazing how we are doing it... and not by selling HOLY WATER or a towel that our pastor wiped his browel with (yes, I've seen "preachers" that sell this crap). Our church is doing this by prayer and faith. You really have to experience what the Holy Spirit is doing throughout Celebration!

Ok... So, last Saturday night I walk up to Pastor Big John (our extension gathering pastor) as after service I sometimes go say hi to one of our pastors. We begin to talk about the E.G. in Columbus. I explain that alot of my old friends from up there have agreed to go to a service but just haven't made it up. Well, he starts asking me questions and I answer. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I think he was trying to see how many people I truly felt would check out the E.G.

Next thing I know, I'm invited to drive up with him that weekend, go to the USC vs OSU game (at the horse shoe, baby!!!) and partake in service at our Columbus E.G.

SIDENOTE: Our pastors are annointed. I just can't put this into words. I have yet to feel misled or misadvised by any of our pastors. I try to talk to our pastors at different times and try to slowly get to know them. Let me explain. We have like 12,000 + members at our church. I think that's a correct figure (sorry if i'm a little off). So, we have our Senior Pastor (Pastor Stovall Weems) and a number of other pastors. Every one of them are amazing and preach SCRIPTURE! And to hang out or talk with any one of them, you just truly feel they are annointed.

Ok, so that being said, we are waiting on the final approval I guess to go up there to Columbus on the weekend of September 13th. I'm super stoked! For me (other Celebrationers will understand this), the fact that I get to ride for 12 + hours there, and the same coming back, plus hang out all weekend with one of our pastors is awesome! Think about it! I get free counseling with no time restraints!!! hahaha. but, seriously.. I'm so excited to hopefully be given the chance to do my part in the Great Commision for the body of Christ. I love and miss Columbus. I want to see all of my old friends and acquantances in Heaven with me, and I pray that God uses me as His instrument.

A MORE SERIOUS NOTE: I'm asking all of you that read this... Whether you are part of Celebration or not... Please pray. Please fast. Please forward this request on. Stand in agreement with me that MY GOD uses me for HIS will and HIS glory. That the Holy Spirit begins to work in my contacts in Columbus and begin to move... Begin to convict... Begin to stir something up inside each one of them. Of course I want them all to go to Celebration, but more importantly, I want them to give their souls to Christ and who cares what church it happens at! Again - Please pray and fast and stand in agreement with me. And pray for me, that only HIS words come out of my mouth and my fingers as I text (lol). Thank you all!

So, on a completely different subject... I sometimes get hungry for wifey, and/or family, etc. Well, when I do I remember to keep my focus on God and it will just happen. But, just a couple of days ago, a random thought popped into my head (I'm not saying it was God talking to me, but probably just a thought.. not sure), and this thought was "but we are supposed to aggressively search for our blessings". The word aggressively was another word, but I cant remember what it was at this second. Anyway, so do I stand patiently and keep my focus on God as I've been trying to do, or do I search for said blessing? At this point, I personally think that I keep my focus on Him, but what do you guys think? Any scriptures to help?

As I sit here and drink my orange juice, I just remembered Wednesday night service. WOW. For my Celebrationers, what was that? I mean, our alter call was a sermon in itself! Extended worship, powerful alter call... WOW. Talk about a moving spirit. I was literally in awe!

Ok, I'm done for tonight. I really need some feedback from you guys here. On all of this entry!

Oh, one more thing. Check out Blameless at www.myspace.com/blamelessmusic from there you can follow them on twitter, listen to their music, watch their music videos, and check out the YouTube TV Channel!

-chris

Time

I love this verse. Actually, I love the song too lol. All joking aside, this little piece of scripture has been on my mind/heart a lot the last couple of days. So, I decided to post it.

I also had to post the song below the scripture. It brings back memories. I remember listening to it with my mom, and if I remember right, I think that she explained the verse to me when I was a kid.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (New Living Translation)

A Time for Everything

¹ For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
² A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
⁶ A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Breakfast

The church that I attend, Celebration Church is great! We have a men's breakfast on Friday mornings. It usually consists of free breakfast (orange juice, coffee, chic-fil-a chicken biscuit YUM), a little praise and worship and then a good teaching from Pastor Chris.

So, yesterday morning was about convictions. hmmmmm. There is one piece that really hit me. If you are a Christian, then prepare yourself for what you are about to read.

1 Corinthians 5:11
King James Bible
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Let me simplify this so we understand a little better what Paul is saying:
God's Word Translation
Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people.

Before this verse, Paul explains not to associate with sexually immoral people, or idolater's or... well, basically sinner's. Then in this verse he explains that he was talking about Believer's, Christians, People of Faith that profess Christ, but live in the world. I think Paul wanted to emphasize this because the "lost" is our ministry! That is who we are to be around trying to lead them to Christ. However, I'm thinking that hanging around "Christians" that live the lives that Paul describes above will bring us down, not help further the kingdom.

We all sin. Being a Christian does not mean that I am perfect. It simply means that I am forgiven.

Here is my point in this first half of this entry. Christians, be careful who you associate with, but more importantly...... ARE YOU THE SO-CALLED BELIEVER THAT PAUL IS SPEAKING OF? I could go on and on, but I really want to leave it at this... THINK! If this describes you, then please re-evaluate your relationship with Jesus. That marketing campaign years ago was so perfect, if people would only apply it. WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?

Since our men's breakfast was about "convictions", then I want to really hit you with something else as well.

Tithing. Pay attention for a minute. God tells us to "test" Him in only one thing. ONLY ONCE does he tell us to test Him. WOW. And He is talking about tithing when he says this.

Malachi 3:10
New International Version
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

I'm not talking about the Imagine campaign (even though that is a HUGE passion and conviction of mine!). I'm talking about tithing. Look at that verse! First of all, He tells us over and over in the scriptures to tithe. Therefore, the way that I interpret it, is that this is not a request. This is a rule. A commandment. A requirement for the believer. But, look! We will recieve so much blessing that we will not have room enough for it. If you are not tithing, you are either calling the person that you call your God a liar, or you simply don't have the faith that you should have as a Christian.

I personally believe that our reward for our faith via our action of tithing will be in Heaven, but I also believe in my heart that He rewards us here. I have NEVER yet in my life heard a believer say that they are tithing regularly and doing it cheerfully, but don't feel blessed. EVEN NON BELIEVERS GIVE TO CHARITIES! Everyone in Hollywood, the music industry and guru's such as Bill Gates give.

My last point is this. And please think about this. If you are not convicted to tithe, then maybe you have allowed your heart to be hardened to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. See, from my research, a lot of the times we may not understand something, or cannot see God's glory in our lives or His will if we have hardened our hearts. The Gospels, Daniel and other places speak of this.

If you are not convicted to tithe, I ask you to just say a quick prayer from your heart. Ask God to soften your heart so that you can stay in His favor. Tell Him the truth. Tell him that you are afraid to tithe because you don't feel that you can afford it, or you don't agree with what your home church does with their finances, or whatever the case may be. I PROMISE you, tithe and you will see some awesome things! TEST HIM IN THIS!

-chris

Hillsong Live - Faith + Hope + Love

Hillsong Live - Faith + Hope + Love
The new Hillsong CD and DVD came out this past Tuesday, August 4th. It's really got some awesome music on there!

Well, I just wanted to share some of the goodness lol. Let me know what you think!



This is a blog about the inspiration behind the song 'Yahweh' written by Reuben Morgan from the New Hillsong LIVE album -- FAITH HOPE LOVE


This is a blog about the inspiration behind the song 'For Your Name' written by Jad Gillies from the New Hillsong LIVE album -- FAITH HOPE LOVE



This is a blog about the inspiration behind the song 'It's Your Love' written by Mia Fields from the New Hillsong LIVE album -- FAITH HOPE LOVE

Says Who?

I'm a Christian. Says who?

So and so is a Christian. Says who?

Ok, so part of my devotion time (and leisure reading time) I read "The One Year Bible". So, I get some Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs every day. It's nice! Well, as I'm reading this morning, something pops into my head. We are lame. I mean, we are flat out pathetic. Allow me to explain.

In the Old Testament, you worshiped someone or something. PERIOD! ....And for those that worshiped God, and believed in God... Well, there was no way to doubt it. Yes, they sinned. Yes, they messed up. Yes, they turned their backs on Him. But do some research, my friend. Almost all of the people who lived for Yahweh literally lived that lifestyle.

Today: Ok, I don't want to mention direct names, but look at some (or all) of our top leading officials. Politicians is who I speak of. Almost all of them claim to be Christians. WHAT!?!?! Almost all of them lie, steal, kill (abortions, along with other rumors), commit adultry, get drunk, drugs and so on and so forth. Not one inkling in most of their lives show that the Living God is part of their lives. Romans 1:25 says "They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the thins God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen." hmmmm when you trade the truth about God for a lie, you begin to worship anything and everything else, which means living away from Him.

Look at who all claims to be Christians. Most politicians, members of the Klu Klux Klan, alot of murderers and the list goes on. If we do not live for God to our fullest ability, we are just as guilty at living against Him as those same politicians, members of the KKK and those crazy murderers who say they killed their kids because God told them, or the ones that kill abortion doctors.

Here is what I'm trying to say. Satan has masked his work. He has made our society feel that we can live a mediocre life, or even worse never give ourselves to God at all, and we will still be alright. Be careful! If you are not saved, Hell is where you will spend eternity. However, if you are saved, but you lead more people AWAY from God, instead of into his arms, then I just might fear that afterlife just as much as Hell.

Give your all! There is a song on the new Kollide cd that is called the "Great I Am". Some of the lyrics:

I once was lost but now I'm found in your love
I once was blind but now I see in your love

I will give all, all that I am for the Great I Am
I will give all, all that I am for the Great I Am

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God


We must give our all. This halfway living crap isn't cutting it. If you're a Christian, stand up and prove it! Romans 1:16 talks about not being ashamed. Not giving your all for him just might be interpreted as being ashamed. This isn't a game and shouldn't be treated as one.

So, on another note..... This weekend was great. We had the album release for Kollide at our church (www.celebration.org). Talk about great stuff! AMAZING! Blameless performed several songs with them and it was such a great night! Sunday I went jet skiing with dad and just chilled. Today it's supposed to rain so probably won't accomplish much, but am very excited to get to hang out with a few friends tonight.

-chris

It Is What It Is

I have been in a "funk" lately. I know the reason. I have been working on it. It is what it is.

Just for those of you who may not know me real well, when I get into a "funk" or down, I shut down. I don't mean I crawl into a corner and cry myself to sleep, but I become unsocial. I have trust issues so I don't talk my problems out. On top of that, I don't want to be "that guy" when I'm out, so I don't go out. "That Guy" is referred to the guy that seems to be down everytime you see him, depressed, etc.

Ok, so something was said to me today that hit me. Even before that, I have spent a lot of time "reflecting", if you will. And I have decided that this is the start of a new chapter in my life. I have decided to do things much differently. I will explain more shortly.....

All of my life, I'm not sure that I say what I feel. I have always said what I needed in order to get what I want. I've been called a smooth talker all of my life and the majority of the time it was meant as a compliment. I now realize it is a curse. When I pray, I have to pray for the same thing several times, in several different ways and beg God to make my heart mean what I'm saying and praying. I have "smoothed talked" for so long, I am terrified that I am "smooth talking" God. It sounds funny, but this is a legitimate fear of mine. This literally wears me out emotionally. It drains me.

People have told me that the very fact that I worry about this and think about it means that I DO feel what I am praying for. Well, for me it's just not that easy.

I have concluded all of this is from the enemy. I may be wrong, but that is my only explanation for my weariness after calling out to the Father.

------------------- SO ------------------

I have decided to do certain things differently. Tomorrow is the start of a new chapter in my life. My eating habits, my exercising, my Bible time, my prayer time, my new found enjoyment of fasting, my socializing and so many other things. There are many things in life that I want RIGHT NOW, but I -WILL- be patient and wait on Him.

- I WILL live a God first life!
- I WILL give myself as a living sacrifice!
- I WILL treat my body as His, and be a good steward of it!
- I WILL continue to tithe and give offerings, but will remain open for more!
- I WILL be patient for His will, for His glory and for His honor!
- I WILL love as He loves, and stop judging others!
- I WILL stop wanting a companion, more money, more toys and focus on the ONE thing that I need to want, and that is to be told "Well done, my good and faithful servant"!

---- and I will praise Him, thank Him, worship Him and cry out to Him in all that I do!

Father, I pray that you create a stirring within my soul and my heart. I pray that you draw me closer to you than ever before and use me for your glory! I thank you that I can come to you directly because of the blood of Jesus Christ and it's in the name of Jesus that I ask for your protection and guidance! Amen (so be it).

My Fast

I was going to post about my fast, but I've decided not to. I'm not sure what changed my mind, but for some reason I have decided to keep that day to myself.

HOWEVER, here is a picture of the cutest 5 year old I've ever seen! (ummm, she is my niece, but I swear I'm not biased lol). She doesn't have the outstanding blue eyes that I have, however she don't need them!



-chris

Let me start with today.

I had a blast. I had breakfast with my friend Sissy, then we went jet ski'ing until like 1 ish. Went to St. Augustine and back. I had so much fun! Got her SOAKED and I thought it was funny, then out of no where (seriously, I was sitting still with no waves) my jet ski just tips over and dumps me. The circumstances surrounding the incident was embarrassing, yet humbling LOL to say the least. But, when her and I hang out, we always have a good time and me being made a fool out of was no exception LOL.

After her and I returned, she left to go serve the homeless, as she does every Sunday and I went to pick up my friend from Columbus, Cortez. He is an artist and staff member that I had on my old label. We went jet ski'ing and then to ihop to eat. He had never been on a jet ski and said he enjoyed it.

WELL..............

Tomorrow is my first fast. I have tried fasting, but I cheat somewhere in it. And truth is, during my last fast (which I don't consider a fast since I didn't go through with it), I forgot what I was doing and ate lunch, plus I don't feel that my heart was in it. It was for the Imagine campaign, and I think my "passion" for this campaign started RIGHT AFTER the fast. So, tomorrow is food AND Internet. Yes, I said Internet. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I drive around all day holding my phone and surfing the internet, Instant Messaging and emails. (i was going to keep my email on my phone, until a friend of mine that fired my concscience so she could take over lol, convinced me that would be wrong, even though my emails come to my phone as text.)

Paul said to pray without ceasing, right? Well, if I pray during normal eating time, and my normal Internet time, then I would be on the right path to praying without ceasing. (yes, i'm serious. my internet usage is seriously this bad) In fact, I was just told this morning by a that same good friend that I check my phone at church, and when we go to the movies. I think I check it without realizing sometimes. FYI: the purpose of my fast is just simply to give myself as a living sacrifice; to try to hear God; to draw closer to the Lord and take a step of faith that I am willing to give Him all of my distractions, with the help of Jesus Christ! In addition, I have a HUGE decision that I need to make that will affect a lot of things, and am searching for a revelation!

For anyone reading this, please pray for me. This will be very difficult as it's my first fast, but I want it BAD. I think it will be rewarding and I am excited.

I feel so blessed. I think that I may see things that God is doing in my life, but some of the BIGGEST things that I crave, want and desire, I think that He may make me wait a little while longer. My mom has told me for years "Now my dear son, patience just isn't one of your virtues"... oh how my mom knows me!

I'm excited, people! Good things coming. I love where I am at in life and am couting my blessings! I may hit a "funk" from time to time, but I just gotta pray harder. I'll probably post an entry on my last funk soon.

Anyway, thanks for reading. In the meantime, please check out a band that I am enjoying working with!

www.MySpace.com/BlamelessMusic

-chris

Blanks!

Well, for 2 days I have been wanting to post a new entry to my blog. I have been thinking all day for the past couple of days about things I want to post, but then when I sit down I'm BLANK! I have no clue what to say. So, I thought that I would simply share this little bit of NOTHING!

Please support and check out some great music!

www.myspace.com/blamelessmusic

-chris

Over 6 Hours At Chili's

First of all, the new Da T.R.U.T.H. cd comes out today! I'm excited and have been waiting for this for awhile now!!!

So, I'm new at the blogging thing, but I think I'm going to try to "blog" a lot. That's how you're supposed to do it, right?

So, I go out last night and sit at Chili's for over 6 hours with a friend. She's a great Christian woman and we just sat there, talked, laughed, told stories, gave each other advice, shared our weaknesses.... I don't know how to explain how great this was. (Oh, and for those of you wondering, yes, there was NO drinking LOL). I had more fun doing that, then when I was running around the night clubs and all that mess. God has put a couple of people in my life that has changed my life, and for that I'm forever thankful!

I never thought I could have fun sitting in one place for that long with no alcohol. Especially with ADHD (which, last night caught me off guard and got me sidetracked some haha). On that same note, I never thought I could have fun in church during a service. I went to church as a kid all the way up to high school, and then occasionally from there on out. NEVER had fun during a sermon. I never thought I would have a true passion for the things of Jesus. I never thought I would look to the Father for advice, or understand as I'm reading my Bible, or WANT to pray and feel bad because I don't think I pray enough, or BEG the Holy Spirit to convict me of my wrongs, or, or, or.

Pay attention! I have realized that by totally giving my life to Christ, and striving to live a God-First life that He has given me all of these thoughts, feelings, emotions, convictions, hungers, desires, etc. I've asked for them and BOOM! If you are a Christian and think "ok, this person is overally excited about this or that" or if you're unsaved and feel that some of these people are exaggerating their feelings, then I challenge you. I challenge you to first make sure you are saved. Second of all I challenge you that for 2 weeks, you pray every morning and every night (even if its just a few seconds) that God give you the excitement, the love, the understanding, the hunger and the desire that you see in all of these people that you feel may be fake.

Please don't hesitate. Act now! (LOL, now i've turned into an infomercial). This is an amazing feeling that all of you need!

And then God will put the best people possible into your lives. Even if it's just one more person that push's you and all of that, it will work out tremendously!

If anyone is reading this, thank you for reading.

-chris

Take It Up A Notch!

Take it up a notch!

I don't know how to start this "blog". I have so much on my mind and trying to get it typed up is difficult. Plus, I just had one of those large RedBull's!

Let me talk about Celebration Church for a second. I don't know if everyone realizes what we have. I have attended many different church's over the years, but to have what we have is a true blessing. I have NEVER been to a house of God like ours.

Worship: Even pastors and members of LARGER and more well known church's than ours all say that our worship band is amazing. And it's true! We have great writers, great singers, great musicians, whom have all been touched directly by the finger of God. I mean, alot of the time, I truly feel that Hillsong would have a hard time keeping up with our talent. My mom watch's the internet campus from Indiana from time to time, and she is totally amazed at what we have. She goes to the big time conferences of Joyce Meyer and the huge youth events that are in stadiums and such. She has told me that our worship is like those, or even better. We must be careful not to worship the worship, but be thankful that we have what we have to bring us close to the Lord.

Pastors: Ok, I still don't think that I know how many pastors we have lol. But, look at it. Each one is annointed and all of them in different ways. Our Sr. Pastor (Stovall) has the energy of 15 year old kid thats drank a case of Red Bulls. He's funny, entertaining, but teach's the Word and makes his messages relevant. All of the pastors that I've heard live have different gifts and you can just tell are annointed by the Spirit. This is so refreshing!

Building: Ok, some people may complain that we are in a warehouse. My first time attending, as I pulled up I was like "Really? A warehouse church? Please, no!". When I walked in, I was in amazement. You just can't tell that it was once a warehouse. We have a coffee shop, friendly people and a HUGE sanctuary. Our building is amazing. It is! I love it and feel honored that I can worship God in that house!

Congregation: Not sure if any of you have noticed, but we have some of everything at church! I mean if you need a banker, lawyer, invester, lawncare guy, stump grinder (that would be me LOL). I mean we have musicians (Blameless is awesome), real estate agents, and every other career person you can think of. If you need ANY kind of service, and take time to ask around, we could probably find it "in house".

Groups: singles, overcoming addictions, overcoming homosexuality, older folks, young'ins, couples, etc, etc, etc. There will always be like 4 different groups for each person!

I'm saying all of that to say this. We are blessed. OUR PASTOR JUST PREACHED AT THE HILLSONG CONFERENCE!!!! One of the most well known church's, at one of the biggest conferences in the world! Do you guys understand this? God is doing things here!

You see what all that I've said that we have now. I haven't even began to touch the surface. People know of our church and our pastor world wide! Think once we get this building, what more we will do here at our home base. God is going to provide, no doubt. But, do we really not want to be part of HIS work? HIS will? HIS glory? HIS praise? HA! I REFUSE to be one of the people that when I get to Heaven I have one less reward to lay at Jesus' feet. We all raise our hands and worship inside that building, but we need to get up off of our butts, grab that check book and add another $10 to the Imagine campaign above what we already send. TEN DOLLARS! Thats 2 Starbucks visits.

..... And if you're not tithing.... Please start with that. Tithe and tithe for the right reasons. I believe that the rewards that the Scripture talks about are heavely rewards for our tithes, but trust me from experience, TITHE! Even if it's not Celebration, PLEASE TITHE!

We need to "Take It Up A Notch"! Our Imagine campaign is lacking, and it's because of us. I don't believe it's because of the economy. If we have faith, and I mean TRUE faith, then the economy has no bearing on us.

I'm sorry if this seems like I am rambling on. I have a passion for tithing, and even though Imagine isn't tithing, my passion has spilled over into this. I believe in the name of Jesus that we will pay cash for this building, with no financing needed!

-chris

First Thing's First

Welcome to my blog!

As I post here, you will notice that I can be random, crazy, and sometimes not making sense. Sometimes things will come from my heart and be extremely deep, and other times I'll just be posting something that I find funny.

Feel free to leave your thoughts. Thank you for visiting. God is good!!!!!!

-chris