21 Day Fast is here!!!!!

Ok, so this is a small entry to hopefully help some of you out.

Any of you that know me, know that I don't mind trying to fast, but I obviously prefer my food LOL. I am trusting in God in every aspect of my life for the next 22 days. I am excited, stoked, in awe, anxious and happy. I am ready for it and have planned to succeed, not fail. Below is what I am going to be doing. This is not a blog entry to boast, yet it is an entry to possibly give some of you resources or ideas. Also, let's PLAN our fast. I know that God will change our hearts and our directions sometimes, but 21 days of fasting and praying, I feel DEEPLY that we need to have devotions ready, things to keep us focussed on Him. If we just "wing" it, then I feel the enemy has a better chance to creep up in us.

So, below is my schedule. Again, I am believing that the power of His spirit will fill me and keep me strong against my human nature and hunger. I thank HIM in advance and believe in the name of Jesus that we will be strong and all grow closer to Him.

EVERY MORNING: Every Day With Jesus Bible - A One-Year Reading Bible -This thing is amazing. Last year I read a one year Bible and this one is even better. It gives a little Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs every day, just like all the other ones. But, this one gives you a daily prayer, plus more Scripture to go find on your own to go along with what you read that day. This thing is GREAT!

EVERY MORNING: I am doing Pastor Stovall's daily devotion for the fast. You can find that at www.awake21.org. I encourage ALL OF YOU to check it out.

EVERY EVENING: I am reading my other one year Bible. It's a different translation, and I am starting in like October. Total different readings from the morning, but just an extra few minutes in the word every evening.

MONDAY EVENINGS: There is a small group for the fast. There are SEVERAL via our church, and you can find one for you at www.celebration.org. I also encourage you to get connected during this time, even if you are not fasting.

TUESDAY MORNINGS: The FUSE room at Celebration Midtown campus will be open from 7:00am - 8:30am for worship and prayer. It will be come and go as you wish.

TUESDAY EVENINGS: *****EDIT***** Classroom "E" (across from the Annex) at Celebration Midtown campus will be open from 6:30pm until whenever we are done. We will either be playing worship DVD's (ie hillsong, michael w smith, etc) or live acoustic. Either way, tons of worship and even prayer if you want to. It will be come and go as you wish.

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS: Midweek service at Celebration Church www.celebration.org

THURSDAY MORNINGS: The FUSE room at Celebration Midtown campus will be open from 7:00am - 8:30am for worship and prayer. It will be come and go as you wish.

THURSDAY EVENINGS: I am the band manager for the band Blameless. Thursday nights is usually practice, but I think we will be spending more time in fellowship and prayer, so I will probably spend my Thursday evenings there. www.MySpace.com/BlamelessMusic

FRIDAY MORNINGS: Men's breakfast at Celebration Church Annex. I gotta tell you, if you can make it, and you are of the male species, you need to check it out! 7:00am - 7:45am or 8:00am, but if you have to leave early, it's fine because others do as well. Not sure if they will be serving food because of the fast or not.

FRIDAY EVENINGS: FURNACE NIGHT, BABY! There is seriously nothing like an hour or two of nonstop worship. I don't know how to explain it. I can't explain it. Just show up to our midtown campus!

SATURDAY EVENINGS: Our normal service at 6pm and then our LateNite service at 8pm. AMAZING!

SUNDAY MORNINGS: All 3 FUSE services. 9am - 2pm'ish.

SUNDAY AFTERNOONS: I am going to try to go to the Celebration DreamCenter downtown Jacksonville. Always a good message and great fellowship. I may not be able to make it due to lack of energy. Just believing in God and what He has planned for me on these afternoons.

SUNDAY EVENINGS: Celebration Red Bull Service! This is at our Orange Park Campus on Sunday nights at 6pm. Then our OP LateNite service at 8pm.

So, to recap, all of this is not to "boast" about everything that Chris is doing. It is to let you know that you can find things to help you out if you're not used to fasting. I encourage all of you to "blog" or "journal" your experience. It doesn't have to be public like this one, but God will do ridiculous things in your life if you let him over the next few weeks. And if you write about it, you can look back and see how it has transformed!

One last thing. I have always been taught, and from my understanding, fasting is giving up something and replacing it with prayer, worship, Bible reading, and time with God. So, if you "fast" your tv, but dont spend those 2 hours with God, I'm not convinced that you are "fasting" your tv. Or meals or anything else. Let's try to keep that in mind. We are to press in to God and replace our human cravings with time with our Creator... our Savior... our Comforter... I LOVE JESUS!

Thank you all for reading. Please keep me in your prayers during the next 3 weeks. I love you all!

-Chris