Archives: October 2007
Mon Oct 22, 2007
Praise, Inc. & Brian Free and Assurance Concert
You know how sometimes you look forward to something for so long and the anticipation is sometimes more exciting than the actual event?? That DIDN'T happen here!! We finally made it to October 20th and the Praise, Inc. Anniversary Concert and it was everything we had hoped it would be and more! God just keeps blessing beyond our wildest dreams!
We were admittedly a little nervous, (and more than a little honored) to be included in a program of all fulltime professional Gospel singers.
First up, Patsy Bellington, who was beautiful as always and sang her heart out. You would never expect such a tiny little pretty woman to belt out "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" so strongly and with such fire!
We were next on the program and gave it our all with "How Great Thou Art" being our opening anthem for the night. God was with us and we enjoyed ourselves so much! (Life more abundantly, People!!)
Next up was the group of the hour, Praise, Inc. Wow! We can truly say we have never heard Praise, Inc. sing so smoothly and with such obvious joy! What a great blessing to be able to celebrate 3 years in His service. Steve Sams has stepped out on faith and is doing the work that he believes God has called him to do. There is no doubt to the effectiveness of this ministry. Last year Praise, Inc. was able to see over 200 souls come to know Christ through the efforts of their concerts! Praise God! THAT is what it is all about! It is hard work, you are gone from your family more than you like, you spend hours on the bus, or in the van, but if ONE person will spend Heaven in eternity because of the small effort you make, you KNOW you have a small part of the rejoicing in Heaven!!
I also believe that Steve Sams is an encourager. Some of you may find this hard to believe but sometimes there is a spirit of competition between groups when you have more than one on a program. (What?! Say it isn't so! lol) That does not happen with Praise, Inc., and that did not happen on Oct 20th. If God is your focus this will not happen!!
The last group of the night to take the stage was none other than Brian Free and Assurance. Wow. I don't even know how to describe the ministry that we saw take place. There was such a confidence in Christ and in their message! The boldness with which they sang was such a blessing and invigorating all at once! I have to say that I was impressed not only with their so very obvious God given talents but with the humbleness and humanity in which their ministry is delivered. I will never forget standing in that sanctuary with arms raised to God hearing "For God So Loved" and KNOWING that we were in His presence. If Brian Free and Assurance are ever in your area please make an effort to see them and support their ministry. You will not be disappointed. I want to also thank Mr. Free for his kind words of encouragement for New Day.
Ricky Free was not able to be there because of his studio work obligations in Nashville. We missed him but we get to hear him every day! He was the drummer on our last CD "Soul Searchin'", and if we have any say about it he'll be the drummer on our next project, too!
Charlie Campbell from 90.9 radio in Dallas was the M.C. for this event and what a great time we all had! On a side note I need to apologize to Mr. Campbell for giving away his personal property. You see, there's a very good explanation. I was so excited about this concert and like any good concert there were some drawings for free CD's. Well, there was a stack of CD's next to me on the pew and when they asked where are the CD's to give away, I naturally assumed they were the CD's just sitting there all by there lonesome selves. But.....No! Those were actually the personal property of Mr. Charlie Campbell, for his radio program. Oops. Well, Pam wouldn't let me get up and leave but she did have a great laugh! Later in the night, Mr. Campbell kindly informed that his CD's had been replaced, (thanks Bob) but to keep my little hands off of them! LOL
We also got to meet Paul Hughes from KKGM face to face! What a blessing he has been to our ministry so far and we're looking forward to growing that relationship even more in the future! We're blessed to have these two wonderful men sharing our music in the Metroplex and we sure don't take that for granted!
Posted by: New Day on Oct 22, 07 | 11:41 am | [0] Comments (1489 views)
Wimberly!!
Ever heard of a little town called Wimberley, Texas? Neither had I, but I soon found out I'd been missing alot! Wimberley is near San Marcus, and some of the most beautiful country in Texas. What they really have that is so special though is the Cowboy Church. That's where the "Wimberley Gospel Music Fall Festival" is held every year.
We drove down on Saturday morning fresh from our time at the IAMM convention ready to praise God with others and to hear awesome Gospel music. (Don't worry Jim, I won't tell everyone about your speeding ticket, or how we got lost, or how you didn't stop so we had to change in the van. Minor details!)
The festival is held on the church grounds under a large tent, (for the congregation), and a small tent, (for the groups). New Day was scheduled for the 4:45 to 5:30 slot. Can I just tell you that it is hot that time of day?? The sun decided to shine on us, Literally!! I think it was the first time Bob and Pam sang in sun glasses! I didn't wear any because I wanted to be able to "touch the people" eye to eye. (OK, OK I couldn't find my sunglasses in time!)
Anyway, the day was full of great southern gospel, bluegrass, and spiritual music. One of our favorite groups to perform that day was a family group that played all their own instruments and sang bluegrass, The Bailey Family. This event is held every year at the same time and I highly recommend attending. If you are a lover of Gospel music this event is for you!
We were then blessed to be able to sing Sunday night at a revival at Talosa Baptist Church. We appreciate and thank Pastor Herschel Smith for inviting us to be a part of their weeklong revival. The evangelist for the week was Rev. Brian McWhorter, also from East Texas. It was the last evening of a whirlwind weekend that had included the IAMM convention, The Wimberley Gospell Fall Festival and the drive from South Texas to East Texas. I have to admit to being a little tired in the service and I was ready to sit back and be ministered to. Bro McWhorter really touched me with his exhortation to spend more time in God's Word. That, (and prayer) is what will refresh you and prepare you to get right back out there and sing/pray/talk/minister/work for Jesus!
Posted by: New Day on Oct 22, 07 | 11:15 am | [0] Comments (1389 views)
IAMM Convention
know that we are not the only people to live fast paced lives. Sometimes I wish we could slow down just a little, don't you? But what would we give up? Time with family, the secular work that supplies our needs and some of our wants, the fellowship with friends that we cherish, or the ministries that we are honored to attempt?
I have to admit that I don't always leap out of bed with joy at the things on my list I have to accomplish that day. (OK those of you that know me personally know I don't "leap" in the morning, especially before 9am, but you know what I mean!) I've been feeling overwhelmed with my "to-do" list lately. Too many things to bore you with here, but I finally had a bright idea: Why don't I pray about it?? Wow! What a thought! Seriously, why is it always the last thought to come to mind when you are at the end of your rope? Prayer is the knot that we can tie and hang onto! Then we can hang on and swing there a little longer! I really needed this restful prayer a few weeks ago.
We've been blessed with a busy schedule lately and had actually not intended to attend the IAMM conference in La Porte, Texas this year. Between our fulltime secular jobs and our ministry schedule we didn't think we could make it work. I'm so glad we did! We were able to drive down early on Friday morning and make it just in time to the round table discussion that includes members, the board of directors, and the President and Vice-President giving their visions of the coming year. Sounds like everyone will be busy again!
The IAMM Association, (International Association of Music Ministers) is a non-profit South Texas based Christian Music Association. New Day has been very blessed to be a member for the past year. There are alot of associations you can join, and I'm sure that most, if not all, try to function with integrity and Christ centered messages. But we believe in our hearts that the purpose and function of IAMM is something everyone in Christian music needs. There are association's you can join to help you make "connections", or get bookings, but I wouldn't look to IAMM to further your "career". What you can expect from IAMM is this: Spiritual Accountability. Sometimes that is like medicine: hard to take, but healing.
I didn't think we would be able to top last year's convention with the concert night, but WOW, it was awesome! There were groups there from Texas, of course, but also from Missouri, Tennessee, California, and others I can't remember where their from. The Relations brought the house down again, as usual, and we were blessed to hear Pastor Mooney from New Life with an exceptional trumpet solo. How moving!! The convention was held this year at New Life, graciously hosted by Bishop Holley and Pastor Gayla. To see some beautiful pictures and read more about New Life you can visit www.gaylasmagazine.com and see for yourself! We were only able to attend one day of this 4 day conference, so I know we really missed a blessing.
After the concert on Friday night we headed to dinner near our hotel with a very sweet couple from New Life, Chuck and Debra Rupert. What a great time of fellowship! We've always said between the 4 of us (New Day) that we want to make true new friends along this great adventure of God's calling with this ministry. With Chuck and Debra, we did! So much fun! Can't wait to see them all again!
Posted by: New Day on Oct 22, 07 | 10:26 am | [0] Comments (1836 views) Mon Oct 01, 2007
What we've been up to!
Willowcreek Fellowship: We had such a good time at Willowcreek Fellowship in Plano, Texas. Jim & Nelda were there to greet us as well as Ms. Claire. It was our first singing since returning from NQC so we were motivated, rested and rarin' to go! Willowcreek has a "Branson" night at their lovely church and do a great job of supporting and hosting Gospel music in our area. It is such a blessing to minister to a congregation that is receptive and willing to participate in the praise! We hope to return to Willowcreek in 2008!
Beltline Baptist: It's always fun when you can see friends you haven't seen in years, as well as new friends you've recently made and praise the Lord at the same time! That's what Friday night was all about at campmeeting Beltline 2007! We heard great preaching, heartfelt singing and ate some of the best stew and fried chicken around! See y'all there next year!!
New Beginnings: It was such an honor to be asked to sing for a mission becoming a church and fulfilling a great calling. New Beginnings Mission in Kemp, Texas became New Beginnings Independent Baptist Church on Sunday. The excitement and joy were contagious and felt all over the sanctuary! Hearts of Joy were there as well and so annointed! Pastor Sizemore has made it a mandate of this church to be Holy Spirit guided, and with the Lord leading souls are sure to be reached in this community! We were honored to be a part of their day!
Sept. 30, 2007: New Day had the hand of the Lord upon us today and we all witnessed it firsthand! We were hooked up, tied down and headed to church! Before we even reached the second stopsign out of our neighborhood, we felt a jolt and turned to see our trailer trying to pass us on our left! We immediately began praying for the Lord to stop this trailer before someone was hurt. All we can say is that angels were guiding our trailer!! After jumping a curb, traveling across a lawn, heading straight for the next house, the trailer miraculously came to a dead stop right in the middle of a circular driveway headed downhill!!! Praise God!!! No one was injured, our equipment was not damaged and the neighbor was not even upset about being woken up early! lol Our trailer will be in the shop this week having the hitch repaired/replaced. And since the heavy duty padlock was completely broken in two pieces, we'll be looking for an industrial super heavy duty padlock to use! God is Good!!!
Kelley
Posted by: New Day on Oct 01, 07 | 12:48 pm | [0] Comments (2124 views)
National Quartet Convention
Well as most of you know from our daily updates, we just returned from Kentucky and our very first trip to the National Quartet Convention. We didn't know what to expect, but went anticipating fun, excitement, and great fellowship with others. We were not disappointed!
The Louisville Fairgrounds/Convention area was huge and imagine our surprise when we were told to drive right on up to our booth...indoors! (Can you tell we're not really big city people?) We met wonderful people in the booths around us and learned soooo much!
The first night there was a smaller venue concert with the incredible Booth Brothers and Legacy 5...what an uplifting way to begin the week! I love when you can watch someone using their God-given talent and returning it back to Him in the form of praise!
On Monday evening we went to dinner at Cracker Barrel (surprise, surprise....lol) and ran into Tim Parton, the new piano player for Legacy 5 and the writer of one of our newest songs "Since When". We were finally able to thank him in person for contributing to our project (and beg for more great songs!). We also talked with Susan Whisnant and Joyce Martin, and so enjoyed the encouragement and fellowship with them! The highlight of the week for me personally was meeting Paula Stefanovich. Paula has written some of the most beautiful, worshipful songs ever recorded. We love to sing "Jerusalem" and now "Yahweh" which is her latest and was recently released by The Hoppers who, of course, do an amazing job relaying the wonderful message of the song. It was also great to be able to spend some time with Hope's Call, whom we now consider dear friends. We were blessed to sing at the Southern Spin showcase and meet up with Sunday Edition who are always great fun.
While we were in Kentucky Bob & Pam received the great news that they would be grandparents again next Spring! #4 for them and Jim and I were anticipating our first grandbaby's arrival any minute! I finally couldn't stand it any longer and we left one day ahead of schedule so that I would not miss Jackson Daniel's arrival. I didn't!! The little guy had us wait 5 more days after we returned hom! But he's here, happy, safe and healthy!
The real lesson that we learned at NQC is this: It's not about us, it's not about a big name, it's not about fame, it's not about concerts, and it's not even about you....it's all about HIM!! If we live and sing like we believe that, then how we sing and carry His name will please Him!! And that's all we ever want to do!
Kelley
Posted by: New Day on Oct 01, 07 | 11:38 am | [0] Comments (786 views)
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