Moving Day

Today is the day that the blog is officially moving. I can now be found at www.clintfreeman.com. If you subscribe to the blog you will need to resubscribe to the new one.

I want to say a huge thanks to Johnathan Elrod for making this happen. If you ever need any website work done, graphics for your company, or anything else check him out. He is also very good worship leader who loves leading people into an intimate walk with Christ.

Check out www.clintfreeman.com for all the latest in my world.

God, Blow me Up

Just got back home from my dad's house where we had a little family get together tonight after church. I am physically and spiritually exhausted at this point. This is actually going to be a two day blog. It is now 10:00pm and I have to get these thoughts down before they leave me.

Today God blew me up on the inside. First I was able to lead a 1st grade student to faith in Jesus Christ. That absolute never gets old. I am so unworthy to be used by God, but so grateful I have the chance to make a difference in the lives of boys and girls.

Pastors two messages on the church today were awesome. I am going to sleep on what God is doing inside of me and then I will post some more tomorrow. In the mean time my prayer is that God would blow me up inside with his power and grace.

It is now 10:18am and anytime God is doing something in your life you can bet that Satan will not sit back and take it lightly. So as soon as I woke up this morning that is just what he did.

Last night the choir sang the song The Light of that City. Below you can find the video. The first line of the chorus says "on that day we will cry HOLY, HOLY, HOLY." The song simply reminded me that because God is so HOLY, I must give him my WHOLE heart and life. Praying that God blows up inside of me this week with HIS holiness.

My Whole Heart

Today was a spiritual whooping from God. You know there is a difference between a whipping and a whooping.

I am currently reading A Godward Life by John Piper and in today's chapter God laid the smack down on me.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is WHOLE toward him."

So God ask me the question. Is your heart whole towards me? That's when I hit my knees and begged for forgiveness. So many times in our lives we left stuff get in the way of our relationship with God. God demands that he have all of us. That our hearts be WHOLE towards him. Its him plus nothing. I wish that I could live my entire life and never have to worry about this. The problem is, it is an everyday thing that we must desire.

I want nothing more than my heart to be WHOLE toward God. That means I must guard myself from the things that would hinder this. I know what those things are for me. They are probably different for you. The point is that we must wake up everyday with the attitude that in all things today my heart will be WHOLE toward him.

God's promise to us when our hearts are WHOLE toward him, is that he will unleash is might upon us.

Coming Soon

I will be moving my blog to a new home. Not really sure when the new site will be up and running but you will be able to keep up with me at www.clintfreeman.com.

The new site will involve a couple of neat features. You will be able to read the blog, view a photo gallery, and I will also have several of my sermons that you can listen to on the site or download via podcast.

I am super excited about this change. The good thing is that all the post from this site will also be on the new site.

Right now there is no specific date as to when the change will be. I just wanted to give everyone the heads up that change will be coming soon. Check back for more updates.

Guest Blogger

Today we have the opportunity to hear from a guest blogger. I think you will enjoy what they have to say.

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Thanks to my beautiful daughter for sharing with us today. I am pretty sure that said "I have the best mommy and daddy in the world."

Snow Pictures

Here are just a few of the pictures from the snow that we got last night. I will finish the pray for your spouse series tomorrow.

Enjoy!!

Carragin's First Snow

It is snowing like crazy here in Easley. I mean snowing. This is AWESOME!!!

We are in the process of taking pictures and will put them up as soon as I can.

I love this stuff!!!

Pray for your Spouse Part 3

Hope that your weekend was as good as mine. Friday night was Daddy/Daughter time and it was awesome. Saturday was Critter Cook and spending time with the in-laws. Sunday was worship at the Rock and I took a great nap.

Here are some suggestions for praying with and for your spouse.

1. Decide to pray as a couple- you need to have an individual prayer time and a time to pray as a couple. You can never pray to much.
2. Decide on a specific time- we plan out everything else in our day, why not plan out our prayer time.
3. Ask your spouse how you can pray for him/her- praying for specific things draws you closer together.
4. Tell your spouse that you value their prayers.
5. Pray with your spouse, not at your spouse- don't use your prayer time to point out your spouses faults and failures.
6. Remember that you are praying to the Lord, not talking to each other
7. Thank God for your mate
8. Keep your prayer time, prayer time- you have plenty of time to do other things.

Pray for your Spouse Part 2

Here are 10 things to pray for concerning you and your spouse.

1. Thank God for your spouse- gratitude will strengthen your marriage.
2. Pray for yourself- ask for forgiveness where you have failed and strength for each day
3. Pray for safety- ask God to put a hedge of protection around your spouse (Job 1:10)
4. Health- pray God's healing when they are sick, and that he would prevent difficult diseases.
5. Work- pray that God would use your spouse at work. Pray they would be successful at what they do.
6. Stress- Life is full of stress. Your spouse may be under stress that you know nothing about. Pray God would take care of their stress.
7. Fears- Know your spouses fears. (IE. finances, safety, failures, death and commit to pray for them).
8. Pray for their dreams and goals-Proverbs 29:18 says without purpose life is not worth living. Know your spouses dreams and goals and pray that all of them would happen. Do everything in your power to make them happen.
9. Pray they would grow in their faith
10. Pray that God would deliver them from temptation- we all face temptation every day we live. Satan wants nothing more to destroy our homes and will do everything in his power to do so. We must do what Col. 4:2 says "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

If we will pray theses things for our spouses I believe God will absolutely rock our marriages for His glory.

Pray for your Spouse Part 1

Why should you and your spouse pray together?

1. The need- George Barna says that 27% of Christians and 30% of fundamentalists get a divorce. Don't tell me you don't need to be praying together.
2. Unites you spiritually before God- Matthew 18:19
3. Deepens communication- When we pray together it not only helps us communicate with God it helps us communicate with each other.
4. Both of you will be strengthened spiritually- Jude 1:20 "Building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
5. You will have a stronger marriage and relationship
6. God desires it

Take time today and everyday for you and your spouse to pray together. God might just take your marriage to the next level.

Pray For Your Spouse

Last week I did a four part series on praying for your child. It is amazing how God uses prayer not only to bring us closer to him but to bring us closer to our children.

This week I will be blogging about praying for our spouse. God has blessed me with the most amazing women in the world. She is my hero, my help mate, my best friend. Outside of Christ, she is the most important person in my life. God has commanded us as men to be the spiritual leaders of our home. It breaks my heart that I sometimes don't live up to that calling on my life.

One thing I can say is that no day ever goes by that I don't call Erin's name out in prayer. Over the next couple of days we will be talking about 1) Why couples should pray together, 2) ten things to pray for concerning your spouse, 3) suggestions on praying together, and 4) your private prayers for your marriage.

Some of mine and Erin's most intimate moments have been when we pray together. I wish I could say we are spiritual enough that we pray every night together, but those of you with little babies at home know how unpredictable they can be. What I do know is that God has spoke to me clearly about setting a time for Erin and I to pray every day no matter what is going on.

If our marriages are going to be what God intends them to be then prayer must be a part of our lives. You need to be praying as an individual and you need to be praying with your spouse. Satan is after the family and we must do everything in our power to prevent him from getting in the back door.

Pray for Your Child Part 4

Yesterday we talked a little bit about how to with your children. Today's topic deals with praying for our children. If we are not careful we can get caught up praying for everything else and neglecting to pray for one of the most precious things that God has blessed us with.

4. How to pray for your children

• Pray for salvation for your child
• Pray for them every time they leave the house
• Pray for God's will for their life
• Pray God's protection over them
• Pray for their future spouse

I could probable list several more things but I think you get the point. It is important that we as parents call our child's name out in prayer every single time we pray. They need to see us praying and hear us praying for them.

Pray for Your Child Part 3

Happy Valentines Day!!! I cant wait for tonight!!! and all the married people said AMEN!!!!

Prayer is a powerful thing. We must make sure that we are spending time with God each and every day of our lives. We should also take time each day to pray with our children.

3. How to pray with our children

• Pick a time during the day- it might be before they go to bed, or it might be before they head off to school.
• Quote scriptures when you pray. Nothing is more powerful then quoting the word of God when we pray.
• Pray a special blessing over them
• Pray for the things that are going on in their life- tests, relationships, sporting teams, big projects coming up, and the list can go on.
• Pray God's protection over them

By praying with our children we are teaching them what is important in our life. If we never take time to pray then how can we ever expect our children to grow up and have prayer as a part of their lives.

Pray for Your Child Part 2

Who taught you how to make decisions? I have to give credit to my family for teaching me how to make decisions in my life. I have seen my uncles become very successful businessmen. I still remember the conversation my uncle had with me right after I got married about how to handle success. My father has taught me how to live with integrity and passion.

If you don't spend time teaching your children how to make good decisions then someone else will. It might be the TV, or maybe the wrong crowd at school. Satan wants nothing more than to ruin the family by offering bad decisions each day.

We as parents must take this God given responsibility to heart. While I do think that it is important for us to learn from mistakes, and for our children to make decisions own their own, it is our job to teach them how to make the right choices.

2. How to Teach Decision Making to a Child

A. They must see examples of good decisions- show them how to make good decisions.

B. We must teach them the principles of right and wrong- teach God's Word to them.

C. We must make the commitment to do right ourselves- if they see us being disobedient to God's Word, they will never learn. Are you committed to doing what is right.

D. Allow them to make small mistakes- this provides great teaching time. When your child makes a mistake use it as a time to teach them, not just punish them.

Pray for Your Child

Over the past week I have seen my little girl grow so much. Seems like yesterday we were in that hospital awaiting her arrival.

Over the next few days I will be doing a series on Praying for our Children. If ever a day that we need to pray for our children it is now. This four part series will deal with 1) Why pray for our children, 2) How to teach decision making to our children, 3) How to pray with our children, and 4)How to pray for your children.

1) Why pray for our children?

1. They are a special gift from God. Psalm 127:3
2. That they may be saved. 2 Timothy 3:15
3. That they may grow and serve the Lord. Deut. 31:12
4. That they may have a hedge of protection around them. Job 1:10

25 Things About Me

Over on facebook there is a thing going around about writting 25 things about yourself. If someone tags you they want you to write something. Over 20 people tagged me so this is what I wrote. I hope you enjoy.

1. I was saved on October 31st, 1996. The day Satan meant for evil God showed up in my life and changed me forever.
2. I pull for the Gamecocks in football, and Duke in basketball. I was a Duke fan long before I was a Gamecock fan. I am still more of a die hard Gamecock than anything.
3. I was hit by a car when I was 3 years old chasing a cat across the street.
4. I was offered to walk on the basketball team at Anderson University (college back then), but chose to go to North Greenville to study for the ministry.
5. I married a girl from Barnwell, SC. Everybody needs to go to Barnwell once just to say they went.
6. I am addicted to Dr. Pepper.
7. I have been on staff at Rock Springs Baptist Church for 4 years now. I love every minute of it.
8. I despise Clemson......even though some of my closet friends pull for them. Makes things fun.
9. I have been called to be a pastor. Not sure when this will happen, but God is in control and his timing is perfect.
10. It really annoys me when I get on Facebook and have 15 causes invitations and other dumb stuff that people want you to add to your profile.
11. I have a beautiful 5 month old baby girl.
12. My wife just stole my new Trail Blazer and gave me her car.
13. I believe that I sit under the best preacher in America!! I love my pastor and my church.
14. My wife and I watch Dog the Bounty Hunter every Wednesday night.
15. I love Southern Gospel music, but listen to just about anything other than rap.
16. God is streching me these days more than ever before.
17. If it were not for spell check I would be in trouble. So, please forgive me if there are any mispelled words in this.
18. People often think that I have a twin brother, however he is just my step brother. Plus I am much better looking.
19. I am obsessed with youtube. I spend way to much time on that site.
20. I have lived in Easley all my life.
21. I was called into the ministry when I was 16 years old in a old school bus on the way back from a baseball game in Greenwood.
22. I love the summer time when we go to Children's Camp, summer activities, and hopefully this year Erin and I can go to the beach.
23. I am good for about one good snow a year. Give me enough to play in and then it can warm up.
24. I have been going to the the Masters every Saturday for around 10 years now. I may have missed one or two but not many.
25. I really am glad that over 10 people have tagged me so I could take 39 minutes out of my day to this. Now it is my turn to tag.

Welcome to the Club

I want to take this time to welcome two of my buddies two the best club there could ever be. That's right the Fatherhood Club.

Erin and I want to congratulate Brandon and Many Sandifer on the birth of their baby son. Brandon and Mandy are very dear to Erin and I and we send our love to them. We cant wait to get to Columbia so that Carragin can meet her future husband. That's right we are pre-arranging this thing.

Erin and I also want to congratulate Jonathan and Veronica Day on the birth of their twins. I have worked with Jonathan for a long time now and he is a tremendous encouragement to me. I know what it is like to have one, and we will defiantly be praying for them as they have two.

The coolest thing about two of our good friends having babies is how God has showed out in both couples lives. See each of them had been told that it was going to be very difficult for them to even get pregnant much less be able to carry a baby and have a good delivery. So we all prayed. Many people prayed.

On Thursday January 29th God showed out in a huge way. Brandon and Mandy and Jonathan and Veronica each had their children on the same day. Wow, aint God good.

Worship Through Song

As many of you may or may not know I cant sing. Or at least that is what I have been told even though I don't think I am as bad as people say. With that being said, I love to sing. Here lately I have been on youtube looking up my favorite songs. They range from old southern gospel songs to Toby Mac. At this moment I am listening to a new worship CD for kids that has taken old songs, amped them up, and I am having a great time praising God.

Many times people think that spending time with God is just praying and reading our Bible. While these things are vital to our growth in Christ they are not the only things. Today, I experienced the power and presence of God just by listening and singing praise songs to our Savior (hopefully Terry wasn't annoyed since his office is beside mine).

David knew what it was like to praise God. In Psalm 119:164 he says "Seven times a day I praise You." David knew God's greatness and his lovingkindness. As long as David lived he was going to praise God through song. David did it seven times a day and probably more, yet we often go throughout the day surrounded by God's blessings and never take the time to stop and praise Him.

Stop right now, and Praise God for all that he has done for you.

The Not So Good Weekend

I hate being sick, and that is what I was this weekend. It all started Friday and I am just now getting over it. I must say that I don't take being sick very well. I am not a good patient just ask Erin.

The week ahead.

Monday- Back to work. Working on Father/Son Retreat and our big parent meeting coming up Sunday night. Doctors appointment this afternoon. Praying for SNOW!!!

Tuesday- Men's Night at the Rock. Former Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden will be speaking. Man I hope he bashes Clemson, unfortunately I don't think he will. Tommy is a great guy who loves Jesus and the night should be fun.

Wednesday- Staff meeting in the morning. TeamKid at night.

Thursday- Get ready for Sunday. Wrap up the week!! Spend some time with my girls.

Friday- OFF!!! Erin is going out with some friends and daddy gets to stay home for some father/daughter time.

That's just a little bit as to what is going on in my life this week. Hope that you have a great week as well!!

Weekend Wrap Up

Erin, Carragin, and I packed up last Thursday and headed to Myrtle Beach SC. Actually it was Cherry Grove Beach. My mom and step dad moved there about 3 or 4 months ago, and went went to visit.

We had a great time visiting with them. Carragin did pretty good for her first trip to the beach. It was really cold when we took her to the ocean on Friday. We did manage to get some good pictures of her. She enjoyed watching the seagulls fly around more than anything.

The week ahead looks to be busy. Yesterday was staff planning from 10-4, today is staff planning from 9-4, and tomorrow will be staff planning from 9-4. Please pray for us as we plan our calender, ask God for vision, and get together to review overall things that we want to see happen in our church this year.

Carragin's Pictures

Here are some pictures if Carragin at Christmas and eating her first meal that wasnt formula.

Enjoy.