2006

King’s Heralds - Oct 06

Well another convention has come and gone. What a wonderful time we had visiting with old friends and making new ones! We enjoyed several opportunities to sing at NQC this year. In addition to a couple of showcases,which by the way went great, we had the pleasure of singing on the local CBS affiliate on Tuesday morning to help promote the National Quartet Convention. What a thrill!! We also had the opportunity to make friends with several promoters and DJ's from all accross the country. By the end of the week, our feet and backs were killing us but we were loving every minute of it.

After the convention was over it was off to the studio to begin vocals on a brand new recording which is almost done. We are so excited about this recording and can hardly wait to get the project finished so we can begin performing the songs in our concerts every night. Our goal is to have the CD done by November.
By the time many of you read this we will be in the middle of our tour of the midwest. When that trip is over we are home for about a week and a half and then it's off to New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey for three weeks of concerts. Please keep us in your prayers. Don't forget to check our schedule to find out when we are coming to your city. You can do that by logging on to http://www.theheralds.org . Until next month Keep looking up.

Revival Is Here

Greetings Friends!

I trust that this edition of our e-letter finds all of you doing well. We are doing great and God is still blessing. I have a few things to share with you and then I'll be out of your hair for a while. Maybe!

"Revival" is finally here!

Our new CD, Revival, is finally here. Many months have been invested in this album and we are so excited that it is now available. I truly believe that this is one of our best albums ever. We included a few familiar songs. Aaron sings "Teach Me Lord To Wait" and makes it his own. Jonathan sings the old Teddy Huffam song, "I'm Rich" and absolutely tears it up. We also have some new songs that we are really excited about. "Preach The Word" is a ballad that Steve sings that will be a great encouragement to all Christians. Jonathan sings a new song called "Look Who Just Checked In" that will get you in the Christmas Spirit and get your toes a' tapping. "Truth Is Marching On" is our debut single from the CD that encourages us all to stand firmly on the truth of God's Word when the world says we're all a bunch of idiots for believing what we do. It doesn't matter what they say, truth is marching on! Be sure to call your radio station and request this song. "Revival" will not be available in stores for a couple of weeks, but you can get your copy today from our online store. Click here to order.

Gold City Day on XM Radio

Mark your calendars to be listening to XM Channel 34 on Wednesday, October 11th, as enLighten 34 celebrates Gold City Day. Beginning at 10 AM ET and continuing throughout the day, Dan Dixon will be talking with the entire crew about our history, activities and our new CD, Revival. For more information visit http://www.enLighten34.com

New Website Coming Soon!

We have a brand new website that should be going online in the next few days. It will include all the same great content but will have a new look and feel. Navigating through the pages will be easier than ever. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Concert Dates

Location Date Time Event
PIGEON FORGE, TN October 06,
2006 4 & 5:30pm
DOLLYWOOD-CELEBRITY THEATRE
800-365-5996
PIGEON FORGE, TN October 07,
2006 10:30am, 12pm
& 1:30pm
DOLLYWOOD-CELEBRITY THEATRE
800-365-5996
HICKORY, NC October 08,
2006 6pm
Providence Baptist Church
828-324-6640
LAMAR, MO October 12,
2006 7pm
THIEBAUD AUDITORIUM
417-682-3390
BENTON, KY October 13,
2006 7:30pm
KENTUCKY OPRY
270-527-3869
WOOSTER , OH October 14,
2006 7pm
FISHER AUDITORIUM
330-893-2523
PRINCETON, WV October 19,
2006 7pm PRINCETON CHURCH OF GOD
304.425.6788
RENFRO VALLEY, KY October 20,
2006 7 & 9:15pm
RENFRO VALLEY PARK-OLD BARN THEATER
800-765-7464
Click here for more concert dates.
Well, that's all for now. God Bless you all!

Daniel Riley & Gold City
http://www.goldcityqt.com

Answering The Call

Soon after I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ I wanted to sing. I would sing doing the dishes, running the vacuum, whatever I was doing, I would be singing. My children would ask me to sing to them each night after our bedtime prayers. Singing was a way I expressed the gratitude I have towards God for giving me another chance. Oh, how I loved to sing.

It was only when I realized this wasn't just a love of mine, it was a calling. My thoughts were, Oh Lord, I can't do this! I have no schooling. I have no knowledge of music. I was simply clueless! I was so afraid. Every time I would doubt my calling, God would assure me to trust Him for He would pave the way.
Many times I would become so discouraged that I would nearly walk away from my calling. Friends and family would giggle and make fun. There was little encouragement from those I loved. But, each and every time I felt like giving up, God would give me a new song, or the phone would start ringing with invites to come sing somewhere.
God has always been my encourager and as He promised, He has paved the way.

Answering the call is still a struggle but, I have learned God is in control. He's the one who made the call. I just answered. I have more faith in my calling now. I have confidence that as long as I make this ministry all about Him, He will continue to pave the way.

Isn't it funny how when we do something just for the love of doing it how great it is? We never think of it as a task. It's just a way of life. But when it becomes a calling it's almost like as if it becomes a burden. I often think back on the days when I was a young Christian and how I wanted everybody to hear me sing. I loved singing so much I didn't care if I was any good or not. I just wanted to sing for Jesus and let the whole world know how much I loved Him.

Though times have changed and I'm more mature I still love to sing. I must admit that I sing best when it's just me and Jesus. I may never be a top 10 name on a chart but I know in Heaven, my name is recorded and that Jesus is preparing me a place where I can sing for Him throughout eternity. I'm glad I answered the call!

*Romans 8:28*
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Until next time; Chin up ~ Journey on!

Sharron Kay
http://www.songsofsharron.com

Beauty In The Rain

One evening, as a teen, I was inspired to write my first song. I sat alone in my room, watching and listening as it stormed outside. I was afraid of storms, but felt safe in the shelter of our home.

I thought about God’s creatures out in that weather. I pictured the little birds in their nests with their parents hovering over them to keep them safe and dry. I was reminded of one of my favorite passages of scripture Psalm 91. It paints a picture of God’s great Wing protecting His children during the storms of life.
Though I was young, I had some trials of my own - times that made me run for the shelter of God’s wing. I realized it had been during the storms that I had gotten closer to my Lord. I determined that if I’d focus on this wonderful relationship with Him, I could always find the beauty in the rain.

Beauty in the Rain
Vs. 1 Looking through my window, on a dark and stormy night
I watch with awe as streaks of lightening flash across the sky
In the midst of the loud and roaring thunder,
I can hear my Father’s song
In the music of the raindrops there’s a quiet, peaceful calm

Chorus Lord, please help me see the beauty in the rain
And when it’s dark and cloudy, help me never to complain
I long to see a rainbow, but while the skies are gray
Please, help me see the beauty in the rain

Vs. 2 Noah saw a rainbow at the end of the flood
A vision of the promise God had given on that day
In storms of life, when our faith grows dim
We can still depend on Him
For God to send a rainbow, it takes a little rain

Tag When storms are raging ‘round me, Your presence I can feel
In the quiet shelter of Your wing, I find Your Love so real
This must be the beauty in the rain

by Jennifer McCallister

Here’s Mud In Your Eye !

Did you ever make mud pies when you were a kid? I would grab my mom's clean pie tins (without permission, of course). I'd run outside and find the dirt behind our old shed and saturate the ground with water from the hose until the mud squished between my toes (that's how I knew it was ready). Then I'd sit right in the middle of the mud and fill those pie tins. I even tasted it once (okay, 3 times). Daryl says it couldn't have been any worse than the pies I make now.... I loved to play in the mud when I was a little girl. I understand why pigs are so attracted to it. But as much as I loved rolling in it, making pies and throwing clumps of it on our neighbor's fence, I was always careful not to get it in my eyes. It felt great under my feet and in my hands but I knew it would irritate my eyes. We have a natural tendancy to protect our eyes from getting a substance like mud in them. The Lord even created eyelids and lashes to help us protect this very sensitive area.... I guess this is why I used to have a hard time understanding the story in John 9. Jesus saw a blind man and obviously had compassion on him because He stopped to help him. Verse 6 is the part that confused me. It says in the KIV (Karen's International Version) that Jesus watered the dirt with his saliva, made some mud and put it on the man's eyes. Now in Matthew 20:32-34 Jesus saw 2 blind men, touched their eyes and they immediately received their sight. Where was the mud in that story? I'm sure this man in John 9 wanted to be healed as much as the other men. Wasn't this like adding insult to injury? His eyes were the source of his problem and now they were saturated with mud. A bad area was made worse. Do you ever feel that way? Can I hear a big, fat AMEN! I am learning that just before the breakthrough, the deliverance, the miracle, the blessing, "the whatever you need from God," ----- that your problem (whether it be physical or spiritual) gets worse just before it gets better. I'm not sure why, but just maybe it's because the miracle itself won't draw you closer to the Lord or develop the character you need but the process of getting there and the obedience that this requires will.

The blind man not only had to stand there, hearing Jesus spit on the ground, wondering what in the world He was doing, but he had to trust, that a man he didn't know, knew what He was doing. Then, if that weren't enough, he had to get to the place the Lord sent him to wash it out ----- still blind and now with mud dripping from his eyes. Do you ever feel like you can't see where you're going but you've just got to get there? Well, he got there, washed the mud out and recieved his sight. Determination got him to the right place but Obedience gave him the miracle. I guess the question is ---- HOW BAD DO YA WANT IT ?

Karen Williams
http://www.darylwilliamstrio.net

The Quicks

Tim didn’t do anything funny this month so I’ll just tell what has been happening with The Quicks in general. National Quartet Convention is always the highlight of the year for our family, and this year’s NQC was no exception! I was a little surprised to get to our booth one night to find our couch missing… I have a score to settle with an imperial group now. And stay out of our candy dish!

Tim has been busy doing something lately, but I’m not sure what. Rachel has moved into the dorms and now has to do her own laundry and dishes – HA! I miss her not being at home, but I think I’m adjusting pretty well. I went to vacuum her room the other day and there was a rubber lizard behind the bed. I believed she put it there on purpose, so I put it by her desk to get her back! I found it under my pillow this morning… Rebecca has been in the middle of volleyball season. A Middle Tennessee magazine called “On the Ball” did an article about her being on the school volleyball team as well as traveling with The Quicks. We appreciate how Coach Young and the team have been so supportive this year! Go Dogs!

I continue to write and plug away at the arrangements for our next album. I had a song idea working for the last cut we needed, when I realized I was singing the music to John Denver’s “Country Roads.” Back to the drawing board… We will finally begin the actual “tangible” work by tracking on October 2nd. Wahoo!

*A special thank you to Southern Gospel Radio for to playing “Quick” Music! You have been so wonderful to our family recently with your excitement about our current single, “It’s a Sure Thing.” YOU make the difference!

till next time…
Sally

You can call your favorite Gospel radio station and request the latest “Quick” Music! Be listening for our new single, “It’s a Sure Thing” on Rick Hendrix Vol. 40 Cut 5.

To order our latest project, “What Are You Waiting For” with songs like our new single “It’s a Sure Thing” and our first charting single, “He Can Move the Water,” simply call 615-459-5119 or email us at for more information.

To find out more about The Quicks, visit us on the web at http://www.thequicksonline.com
The Quicks are also now at My Space! You can visit us at http://www.myspace.com/thequicksonline

October 06 Reflections

WELCOME to my favorite season - Fall! For some reason fall just seems to open the door to all things good and cozy. It's nature's reward for enduring a long, hot summer, and a signal that the holidays are just around the corner. The leaves model their new fall wardrobe as they twist and turn in the crisp autumn air. It's nature's biggest fashion show and the "in" colors are red, yellow and orange.

When I was a kid, autumn meant hayrides with the church youth group. I can still remember the laughter and the musty sweet smell of hay as the wagon bumped and creaked along and the welcome light of a harvest moon on an otherwise pitch-black country road. I can remember the crackle and glow of a bonfire and the hot, sticky "goo" of marshmallows roasted on a stick and someone always starting a round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

One of my fondest autumn memories is when we all piled into the car at 6:00 a.m. one chilly October Saturday and drove to a rural park. We cooked breakfast over an open fire - bacon, eggs, and even biscuits and gravy. We were bundled up in jackets and blankets, and as cold as it was the passersby must have thought we were crazy. But breakfast never tasted so good. Just wrapping my hands around a cup of hot chocolate was a reminder of how much we take heat for granted.

As autumn deepened and the leaves fell from the trees, I remember the crunch and shuffle of leaves under my feet. I can still see them as they blow from the mountainous piles dad raked up to swirl and bob in the air like thousands of little kites. I can still see them as they tag and chase each other in the street like children at play.

Why did God go to the trouble of creating Autumn? Maybe it's His way of saying that sometimes it's okay to just let things "fall". In this wild and hurried life we are bombarded with responsibilities. The list of "must do's and should do's" grows longer everyday. Our plates are full, and someone is always trying to dish up a side plate of things for us to do in our "spare time". The problem is there is no spare time, and very often our families are left in the emotional wake of our bad day boat. Why do we feel so guilty about leaving things undone to spend time with family?

Remembering my childhood at home, yes, the fence needed to be repaired and the eaves could have used a fresh coat of paint. But I've got to tell you, the picture of my dad that warms my heart is not the one where he's up on a ladder painting the house. It's the one of my little sister up in his lap playing an old board game. It's the one where he's pulling us in a wagon or on a sled when the fall gave way to winter. It's the one where he's pumping up bicycle tires and fiddling with training wheels. Paint chips and fades and fences fall into disrepair again, but time spent with family is time well-spent and has permanent implications.

Yes, mom could have kept the ironing caught up and organized the closets. She could have alphabetized the canned goods; but then she wouldn't have had time for the really important things - like teaching me embroidery stitches and how to roll cookie dough. There wouldn't have been time for singing silly songs like "Chickery Chick" and stories about the billygoat that ate Aunt Mabel's piecrust. I guarantee you, when I bounded in the door from school, I didn't care about the dishes in the sink. I was too enthralled with the scent of fresh cinnamon rolls in the oven; and although I probably never said so, I was impressed that she would stop what she was doing and take time to do that just for us. And at the end of the day bedtime Bible stories were much higher on her list than piles of laundry, and that priority has served her five children well.

My mom and my grandmother were pretty much cut from the same mold. They both knew a secret about "housekeeping" that many never learn. Cobwebs, though they appear quite fragile, are really very hardy. Left alone, they will thrive and grow and tomorrow they will still be there. Your children will not. Maybe we should be more concerned with "homekeeping" rather than "housekeeping".

Oh, I'm not advocating that we all just let our homes and businesses go to the dogs. I'm just wondering if life would be less stressful and more joyful if like Autumn we just let things "FALL" for a season.

HAPPY AUTUMN!

Janice Crow

Meeting Ana Maria

There are so many momentous events in our lives. I am sure if we thought about it, all of us could name a bunch...The day we got saved being foremost, and also our first vacation, graduation, marriage, children being born, etc.

I had a momentus occasion in my life recently and it was one I could have never imagined I would get to have! We had the incredible blessing of being on the mission field in Bolvia, South America with an awesome organization that I have talked about alot on our website, Compassion International. In the midst of that eye opening and life changing experience, our family got to meet the precious little girl we sponsor through Compassion, Ana Maria Flores.

WOW...Where do I begin to even express the joy and emotional overwelment I felt to hug 7 year old Ana Maria for the first time? We spent the entire day with her. It was one of the most precious days of my life. I will never forget the love in her eyes as she looked up into mine. I feel I have been given such a privilege to hold Ana Maria in my arms and to see first hand what an impact Compassion has on the lives of children and their families.

Their is so much about this trip that was LIFE ALTERING! I have always heard about 3rd world countries. I have heard about poverty. I have tried to envision what that picture looks like. My mind's eye fell far short. Poverty in Bolivia was so real and so much more than I imagined. Families live with 10 people on a dirt floor in a 10x8 room that they call home. They truly have little to nothing there. But poverty in Bolivia and across the world is more than not having financial means. It is having no HOPE and the greatest thing is that Compassion is giving and giving and giving and working and working and working so that this form of poverty is one that these people in these destitute areas do not have to suffer from. In much of the home visiting we did with these families, there was one very significant common thread that we noticed. The people whose children were in Compassion had HOPE. They did not have to experience poverty to the extent that they had no hope. They were smiling and showing JOY on thier faces. Their children had so many of their physical needs met which brought relief and help to these families, but most of all they are presented the kids with the gospel of Jesus and so many of them have gotten saved. Last year over 100,000 children trusted Christ through Compassion programs across the world. Many of the families have also trusted Christ and are attending the church where the Compassion program is active in their child's life during the week.

I cannot say enough about this ministry or our experience with them. There accountability is impeccable. They truly do what they say with the funds people share to sponsor children and they go well above and beyond even that. They are living out the WORD of God and Jesus' words to each of us. We are so honored to partner with them to help carry out that call.

Matthew 25:35-40 expresses what Jesus shared about reaching out to those in need. It is a WHOA moment when you think about the importance of this kind of ministry in the eyes of our Savior:

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit.'Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Whether we can go across the world or in our own neigborhood, we CAN strive to reach out to those in need...especially those in GREAT spiritual need.

Sponsoring a child costs us about one dollar a day. A little sacrifice compared to the blessing we receive back because Ana Maria is in our lives.

I will never forget the day I spent with that precious little girl. Compassion provided an interpreter all day so I could talk to her. We shared alot of conversation, but the most important moment in all our little talks was when I asked Ana Maria if she knew Jesus as her Savior. She looked at me with a beautiful smile and said "YES, OH YES, I do, I do." To that I say, "Compassion, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

Donna
http://www.hopescall.com

The McRaes - Oct 06

It's amazing how God provides for His children. How many of us have asked God to provide us with this and make a way for this if it's His will? All of us think we have an idea of what we need, but only the Lord knows exactly what we need when we need it. It's so easy to become impatient with where you are now; wondering why He hasn't already given you what you thought you needed. It's all part of His way of teaching us to trust Him. When you come to the place where you can't do anything about the situation but trust that the Lord is taking care of it, then that's exactly where the He wants you to be; totally trusting Him. If we could see the next step at all times then there would be no reason to trust God. If you're like me, independent and always wanting to know what's going to happen next, then sometimes it's really hard for you to just let go and let God do His thing. In the end I'm always glad that I didn't try to make something happen or take control of the situation. God knows what He's doing. Although it's hard for us to not get in the middle of things, it's always best when we step back and just let God work everything out. Romans 8:28 says (I think we're all familiar with this verse.) "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." This covers everything. Not just the good things that happen, but what we think
are bad things or things we've never had to face. God may be taking what you thought was an awful thing, to work out what you've been praying for.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . .for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2nd Corinthians 12:9-10

Thanks for reading.

God Bless,

Kelly Free
http://www.annieandkellymcrae.com