Ok... Missed another Friday Five... So Here ya have it... Saturday Seven!

• This video about Cross Point Community Church is an example of what Revolution Church is going to be about! It is a great example of The Church at it's best!  Way to go Pete!!  It's so great to see what God is doing in your church and your life!!
• I was listening to a sermon this week by Steven Furtick, when he dropped this quote about how us parents look at our children. WOW!

What if we saw our children as more than a storm to survive.
What if we saw them as a mountain that God wanted to give you.
What if instead of your cross to bear, they became your destiny to share.

• Enjoying Twitting! I am now able to see what is going on in the lives of Susanne, Priscilla, Diana, Page, Chris, Dean, Chris, Pete, J.R., Adam, Tadd, Jay, & Boyd!
• Geek Alert: I got a free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 last Tuesday at a Microsoft Launch Event.
• I know I have said this numerous times... but this will probably not be the last time. I so enjoy going to the baseball & softball fields. Pouring the love of Christ into those kids... Watching my own kids smile and enjoy themselves... Meeting new people... Hearing their stories of life... Celebrating their kids with them... Having great parents on my team to cheer us on... I think I will continue to coach even when my kids are out of it...
• Susanne & I have a friendly competition with Charles & Priscilla Russell (by the way... Charles, ya gotta get a blog!). What is the competition??? BIGGEST LOSER! We are on a mission to not only get spiritually fit... but physically fit too! After the first four weeks... I have lost 2.59% of my body weight! I am on my way. Thanks Shawn Lovejoy for your message on personal discipline.
• I celebrated loosing 4 pounds last week with a huge helping of homemade peach cobbler (yes... I make a mean cobbler) with two scoops of ice cream... yum yum good! It's my Grandma Reeder's recipe. And yes Priscilla... it was "low fat" cobbler!

2nd Place in the Church Planter's Bracket Challenge.

Can hardly wait for Fantasy Football!!!

I started using my Twitter account again... and then it happened...

I broke it!

I am not sure Twitter.com is ready for me!!!

When it gets back up an running...

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/clreeder

What a difference one day makes!

Before the Final 4 became the Final 2... I was 49th place in the Church Planter's Bracket Challenge. After two games and one night... Now I am 3rd??? 3rd???

Confession time! I really don't care for basketball. I have not watched a single game all year... (I did watch the last 3 minutes of the Kansas vs. UNC game). I was a shock to see Memphis was a #1 seed. (who is Memphis?) hehe...

I thought it would be fun to participate in this little challenge so I did... I started guessing... and guessing... and more guessing.

• Gonzaga will surly beet Davidson... Because that is the Alma Matta of John Stockton!
• Duke over Belmont for sure... ACC team! (plus... my father-in-law pulls for them)
• Georgia over Xavier for sure... SEC team! (plus... Gary Lamb pulls for them)
• Purdue over Baylor for sure... Because Joe Sangl went to school at Purdue!
• Villanova over Clemson for sure... Because Dustin Willis went to school at Clemson! (just kidding Dustin)
• Side thought... at least Clemson made it to the dance floor... My Alabama Crimson Tide were a "no show"... and the South Carolina Gamecocks were absent too!

Absolute guessing...

Who did I pick to win it? Kansas... 73 to 70 over Memphis (Yes I picked Memphis to make it to the championship... they were a #1 seed).

Whatever happens tonight... it was fun! Thanks for letting me play...

Now... When does Fantasy Football start!?!?

Who is that sharp dressed man sitting with my family?

YES... I do own a suit... and it looks good on me!

Last Sunday night (March 30th, 2008), I was Licensed to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ by South Florence Baptist Church.

(Thanks Karian for taking and supplying the pictures)

It was a very special night!

So good to know that the church affirms God's calling in my life!

I was one of four licensed, which takes the total to 17 men licensed by SFBC in the past 17 years.

We are all starting a great journey. It was an honor to share the experience with these four guys and their spouses.

Tim Bonnett, Richard Pitts, Randy Butler, and Chris Reeder

Please feel free to contact/recommend any or all of us to fill-in preach/teach.
We are all rookies but have a great desire to share Christ with anyone who will listen!

I read the following in my new Bible before going to bed last night.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.  --Acts 2:42-47

That is my prayer for Revolution Church. For any of you that have kids or have been around kids for any amount of time... Kids fuss and fight with each other... As a father, it disturbs me that my children, who I took part in creating, can't always get along.

Ohhhhh... but when they do (see picture), it brings GREAT JOY to a father's heart.

When I fixed this cup of chocolate milk for Sam... Emilee and Jacob wanted to have some, too. Sam could have said, "It's mine!" but he didn't. He let them get a straw and join in! Awww... JOY to a father's heart!

Our Heavenly Father feels the same way about His children. Just as the kids, drinking from the cup together, had the enjoyment of that milk in common... We should all, drinking from The Cup, have Jesus as a commonality.

I pray that we will always seek Jesus and have Him as a common thread. Through that, we will experience God together, do life together, and turn Florence, SC up side down together!  And through that... many will come to know Christ!

For all you basketball fans: Patrick Ewing Jr. does one pretty awesome dunk!

FYI: I am currently 49th in the Church Planting Bloggers Tournament Challenge. I have Kansas winning it all... we will see...

Finally... our family is over the sickness! For those who don't know... My family has been sick since March 19th. Susanne started it! It has not been fun... Today, we appear to be over it. Praise the Lord... Hallelujah!!!

So, in the spirit of celebration... we went out on the town for family night.

1. Went to the Waffle & Grill for some pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, waffles, and water... Yes Priscilla, that is on the diet and it is good for ya. It was low fat bacon. hehe
2. Went across town to Books-A-Million. (yup... you guessed it.. to get my Bible) It was a hard choice between two ESV Bibles.

   ESV, Personal Size Reference Bible (TruTone, Chestnut, Crest)
   vs.
   ESV Thinline Bible, TruTone, Charcoal, Celtic Cross Design, Red Letter Text

   The ESV was my choice... hehe... I took the advice of a wise young man.
3. While at Books-A-Million, Susanne got a new Bible too! A pretty pink one.
4. For what I am about to say here... you might better sit down. It will be HARD TO BELIEVE!
   I have been coffee free since March 13th! I am a serious coffee drinker... I even give coffee to my house plants. It makes them GROW like crazy.(see here & here) The picture is one of me TONIGHT getting a Caramel Macchiato from Joe Muggs. It was da' bomb! I think that was the longest span I have gone without coffee in 10+ years! What was I thinking?!?! Every time I would think about coffee, I would go get a cup of water. I think water is the only thing that makes you pee more than coffee!
5. Well, my wife decided to wear one of my gray T-Shirts to sleep in tonight. She is way hotter than that coffee ever thought about being. Man, after that sentence, my mind is not thinking about blogging anymore... gotta go!

Everybody sing...

B... I... B... L... E...
That's the book for me!
I stand alone on the Word of God
B... I... B... L... E...

Ok.. enough singing... (you will be singing that the rest of the day).

I want need a new Bible. I have a New King James Study Bible, which I love... It is a great Study Bible but is HUGE!

The Bible I take to church is a smaller NKJV but it is coming apart.

So, I am looking for a new Bible. Considering ESV, The Message, or NIV translations (leaning toward ESV).

I even found this great tool (mybibleversion.com) to try and help me... Still unsure...

I would love to hear what my subscribers/ blog guests use for their Bibles.

Requirements:

• A Christian Bible
• Physical Bible... no electronic stuff or Bible on CD/tape
• One that reads well (so King James & Young's Literal Translations are out)
• Either personal or thin-line sized
• Leather/ imitation leather (soft back)

Please leave me a comment if you have any good suggestions. (and please explain why).

Emilee, Dad, & Jacob. Isn't that a great lookin' bunch of ball players!?!?

Monday:

I was tired from a long day at work. Mondays are always fun (can you read the sarcasm?). 4:45 PM... had to leave early to make it to the Astros' scrimmage game by 5:30 all the way across town. We had all the kids show up ready to play! They were throwing, catching (sometimes), and really HITTING that ball! Several of the kids hit their first home runs! Everyone was smiling the entire game. After the game, we always "take a knee" for coach to player talk. They were still beaming from excitement... After a little praisin' on the kids... they all said almost at the same time... "Can we do the Goooooooooooooo ASTROS!!!!" And we did.

God showed me how those kids  lift me up and encourage me!!!

Tuesday:

I had my hair cut at 12:30. On the way there, I realized I was hungry. (you may think that is funny... but sometimes I get so caught up in work... I forget to get hungry.... sometimes...) I thought I would stop at Checkers, before I get my hair cut, and get a good nutritious Cheese-Double-Cheese Burger, two apple pies, and a cup of water. Ya see... I only had 2 dollars in my wallet... 48 cent in my cup jar in my truck... I ordered... Grand total... $2.48

God showed me that He is in control and He will provide!

Wednesday:

I was praying about ways that Revolution Church can minister and serve Florence, SC. On the way home from work at one of the busiest intersections in town (2nd Loop & Cashua @ 5:00 PM)... I notice waaaay up ahead near the light there are cars swerving into the median and then back into the lane. As I got closer (4 light changes), I noticed a car was broken down in the left lane and every car for the past 8 minutes just passed right by and sometimes even stopped beside them. NO ONE helped these two little ole' ladies. I jumped out of my truck about the same time another guy jumped out of his and commenced to pushing the car to the median out of the way. They were thankful and then I drove off. I did not loose one place in the long line of cars or miss a stop light.

God showed me that we can serve the widow in Florence. God will provide ways for Revolution Church to serve and show the love of Christ to Florence! God also showed me He can control the stop lights!

Thursday:

Nope... This one does not start out about me being on the way home from work. In fact... I was on the way to work. I just dropped my middle child off at school and started a sermon on my iPOD of J.R. Lee preaching on Loving Others. I found myself praying for chances to love others... low and behold... In front of Carolina's Hospital... more cars swerving around a broken down car. I eventually got up to the car and went to help. A guy, his wife, and daughter were in the car. The guy got out and we started pushing... UP THE HILL... Cars BEEPING their horns... Cars not wanting to stop while we crossed the road... even a school bus about hit us... (I guess people were just in a hurry to get to work) My legs turned to jelly but we got the car moved out of the road... The guy with tears in his eyes told me "you are a good man" and then gave me a BIG OLE' MAN HUG. WOW... I started to tear up too.

God showed me people need to know people care! It is up to us to show them that through Jesus Christ, we care! God also showed me how crazy it was to try to cross a busy street on foot pushing a car!

I can hardly wait to see how He blesses me tomorrow!

I have the great honor to head coach my son's Pee Wee Baseball team at the Greenwood Baseball Complex! 10 Awesome little guys and one awesome little girl! They are such a joy and I am so glad I have the privilege to coach them. It is going to be a great season!

Here is our schedule. (For anyone interested)

I decided to play the NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Challenge. Thanks Passion 4 Planting... but what was I thinking???

I hate basketball... Football or Baseball... That I can do! But basketball... just can't get into it.

How do my brackets look you ask... well... um... not so good.

At this point... My goal is to finish higher than Chris Elrod! What a goal!

Currently... I am 75th, and Elrod is 85th (out of 135).

I think a few people have figured out a way to change their picks after the results came in... There is no way they could have known Siena, San Diego, Western Kentucky, and Davidson were gonna win!

• It was great to be able to go back to Unleash Conference at NewSpring last week, the place God put His calling on my life. It was 53 weeks ago that God called me and Susanne to plant Revolution Church in Florence, SC. It was very emotional and a moving time in my life to have my wife and 2 dear friends pray over me at Unleash this year. One of the best memories of my life! It was also great to have my pastor there with us. It was also cool to see Clayton King's face while talking with him and his wife Nancy. I, like Clayton, have a lot of love for Howard Allen.
  
• My friend Jay Hardwick spoke to me through his Move On post. Last week as many of you know, I took the weekend off to Be Still. I think my being still was out of desperation to hear from God. I was second guessing myself. I am sure that Jay and I are the only two church planters to EVER do that... I am sure!
  
  "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring today...the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Exodus 14:13-14
  
• "Some people pray like they know how to pray.  He prayed like he knew the One he was praying to"
  That is what I want people to say about me. God challenged me to talk to Him and to never doubt Him through Steven Furtick's post about Cliff Barrows.
  
  "David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished." 1 Chronicles 28:20
  
• One of my new friends J.R. Lee challenged me to never say "that’s just who I am" and to always look for ways improve myself with this post.
  
  My prayer is that, "this is just who I am" never get’s in the way of "this is who God wants me to become".  --J.R. Lee
  
• I so enjoy Easter. It is a time to dye Easter eggs with the kids, spend time with family learning about Jesus' Resurrection (we use Resurrection Eggs, great for 3-8 year olds), and to remember & celebrate that Jesus is alive and the tomb is empty!! ...It is also a  great time to amaze the kids by blowing eggs (no, that is not me)!
  

After a great weekend of resting, relaxing, no email, no blog reading, no book reading, no working, no "gotta do this"... nothing but enjoying my family. Saturday, I did venture out of the house to the baseball field for our first scrimmage with a great group of kids on my PeeWee Baseball team (Go Astros!).

I want to share this video with you all... Susanne told me, I know you are taking a blog break... but you have to see this...

So glad I did... Has God put a burning passion for your town in your heart?

If so, what are you doing about it?