CeCe Winans March 2024

Hey Friends,

This is Odie checking in from Ohio. Happy Easter, my friends! Today, I am thankful to celebrate our risen Savior! He is alive and working in all of our lives!

Last Saturday, I told you the week had been eventful for me. On Monday night, I got to see Jeff and Sheri Easter. Click here to see that recap.

I promised to tell you about the second big event today. Wednesday was a special night. I got to experience something that I had not done before. 

CeCe Winans March 2024

CeCe Winans was in Liberty Township, Ohio, which is less than an hour away from my home. I was able to tag along with my cousins Jacqueline Coffman and Katie Smith. I barely snagged a spot before the concert sold out.

I rode with Jacqueline; upon our arrival at the church, the crowds were crazy. Jaqueline dropped me to wait in line while she found parking. 

 

I made it inside quickly. A kind gentleman helped me find a seat and allowed me to save seats for the girls, too. We ended up having wonderful seats.

Jacqueline and Katie made it inside. The Princeton Pike Church of God was soon packed with people. Everyone was so excited to be there to hear the great CeCe Winans!

CeCe was finally on stage. She came on stage singing Lord Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary.

We were blessed to hear a mix of old and new songs. Incredible is the one word I use to describe the experience of CeCe Winans live!

Most of the night, I sat with a smile on my face. The singing was amazing!

Here is a picture of the band. It was so good. I wish Mom was there with me to enjoy this phenomenal evening!

One of the fantastic backup singers

The one and only CeCe Winans!

I am thrilled I was able to spend some time with my sweet cousins! We have been able to spend much time together lately, so this night was special. We had so much soaking up the music, singing and worship! 

The entire night reminded us of the goodness of God in our lives!

CeCe's husband, Reverand Alvin Love, was with her. During the concert, he was sitting in front of us by the stage.

From the opening song until the ending note, we were blessed by CeCe's music.

She sang so many great songs. At the moment, they were all my favorites. 

I had a few highlights of the night:

Alabaster Box, 

Believe For It 

and Goodness of God.

The night ended with one of the songs from the new album coming next month. That's My King is a CeCe Winans' song that will go down in her fantastic hits catalog.

I did not want the night to end!

I had to get a picture with the CeCe before I left, well... the CeCe backdrop.

This is an event I do not think I will ever forget. I am so thankful it worked out for me to be part of it! Thanks to Jacqueline and Katie for letting me tag along with you!

See you next week. Hope you have a fabulous Easter weekend.

Odie

Jeff And Sheri Easter March 2024

Hey Friends,

It is Odie reporting in from the beach cottage. I hope you are doing well this weekend.

This week has been eventful, and I am here to tell you today about one of the events. Come back next week for another fun filled post.

Pastor Tim Livingston of the Greenview Calvary Tabernacle and WGNZ in Dayton, Ohio, hosts several concerts yearly. Usually, the concerts are on Sundays, or I am not in town when I see those dates advertised.

Several weeks ago, my cousin Lisa Isaacs told me she had heard an advertisement for one of the upcoming concerts. This concert, in particular, had one of our favorites, Jeff & Sheri Easter, singing. We decided that if our schedules allowed, we would attend this concert together. I ordered the tickets, and the plans were set for us to go.

Jeff And Sheri Easter March 2024

Monday, March 18th rolled around, and it was go time. Lisa and I were excited to spend the evening together, enjoying great food, fellowship, fun music and singing.

Lisa picked me up at 4:15 in the afternoon. We headed toward Greenview Calvary Tabernacle, which is about 45 minutes from my house. Doors opened at 5:30, but we were allowed ample time to find our way to the church and locate the accessible entrance.

Our tickets included a delicious dinner served in the church fellowship hall. The menu included rolls, salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, carrots, fried chicken, and dessert. The drinks provided were water, tea and lemonade. Everything that I tasted was fantastic! The dinner was served promptly and with a smile!

The sanctuary is on the church's upper level, but they had an elevator that made changing levels possible for me. Side note: They also did have an outside ramp to use. By 6:20, we had secured good seats for the concert, which started promptly at 7:00.

I had a fabulous night. Thanks to Lisa for being the chauffeur and letting me tag along! It was incredible to enjoy the night of music with you.

Pastor Tim Livingston and a local businessman who helped to sponsor the concert had a few opening remarks. Also, they drew some names for door prizes.

One awesome thing that was mentioned in these remarks was that WGNZ Dayton's local southern gospel station is celebrating 45 years. They have been sharing the good news of Jesus all these years in the Miami Valley!

I listened to this station for many hours when I was a girl. I loved 1110 AM! Now, WGNZ can be heard on 1110 AM, 104.3 FM and online. I am glad my community can still hear southern gospel!

Pastor Tim Livingston started off the singing. I always enjoy hearing his songs on the radio. It was great to hear him in person!

Then, it was time for Jeff and Sheri to take the stage. March 18th happened to be Jeff Easter's 64th birthday. We all took a moment to celebrate Jeff's special day.

Blowing out the candles.

Time for the main event.

Landon Smith did a fantastic job on the drums. He is married to Jeff and Sheri's daughter, Morgan.

Bradley is an excellent musician and singer.

He has been with Jeff and Sheri for a couple years. Bradley plays acoustic, electric guitar, mandolin and banjo.

Tim Livingston joined them on Thank You Lord For Your Blessings On Me. That song was written by James Easter, Jeff's Dad.

Jeff and Sheri are so sweet. They are always so friendly. I have enjoyed their music for 30 plus years! It was a treat to see them again!

Good to meet Pastor Tim Livingston!

That wraps up my fun Monday night of southern gospel. I hope you enjoyed being there through pictures. See you next Saturday.

Odie

Memories Old And New

Quick Note From Davy:

By God's grace I will be preaching at our home church, Dryden Rd Pentecostal Church in Moraine, Ohio Sunday morning. This will be my first time preaching since the stroke over 11 weeks ago. I need God to lift me above my limitations. Please pray for me.

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in for another Saturday post. I hope you are doing well. Thank God for helping us through each day past and ahead. My family is blessed, and I am grateful!

Last week, I had a childhood memory play over in my mind. I was taken back to my 8 year old self. We were living in a ground floor apartment in Franklin, Ohio. 

Dad and I were home doing one of our favorite pastimes, listening to CDs. We had the Hemphills playing. Candy Hemphill Christmas came on singing Master Of The Wind. Dad and I sat in his old orange recliner, listening to this beautiful song.

In the mid-90s, I had not yet learned to savor a song's lyrics or apply them to my life. My Dad soaked in the words. His tears came, and soon, the Holy Ghost had settled into our little home. 

I did not know the storm my Dad was facing right then, but I am thankful God was there to comfort Dad! God let Dad know He was there with him! 

I did recognize the special visitation of the spirit of God on my Dad! At that moment, I experienced the splashover from Dad's special blessing. That has been a moment Dad and I will forever cherish! Master Of The Wind is one of our favorite songs of all time.

That night, I learned a valuable lesson, God can show up wherever you need him! Life changing moments can happen anywhere! I am so thankful that I had that time with my Dad!

Since then,  many song lyrics have helped me through life more times than I can count. Tears flow as their messages wash over my soul, and I stop in my tracks to throw up my hands to worship God.

Last Week, Dad worked with Mom on vocal therapy. We got to sing as a family again. My heart was so full, thanking God that Dad's voice is gaining strength. We are still praying for a full recovery!

Then Dad started singing Master of the Wind. I could not keep the emotions from getting me as he sang this chorus.

I know the Master of the wind

I know the maker of the rain

He can calm the storm 

Make the sun shine again 

I know the Master of the wind

We have been living the words from the song. I felt the same spirit of God that I felt at 8 years old. 30 years later, I settled over my family. This time, it was in my home, gathered around my keyboard. God had been so good to us! He has kept us together and given us a reason to sing and rejoice.

Today, we are all facing some type of storm. Remember, He is the Master of The Wind in my life and yours. The next step may be unknown, and the rain may be blinding, or the clouds may block the sun! He is right there with us even today!

Let me close with an updated version of Master of The Wind. The fabulous Becky Isaacs Bowman recorded this song on her solo project. She is joined by a special guest, Candy Christmas.

Thanks for joining me. I enjoy our visits each weekend. See you next week.

Odie

A Few Pictures of A Busy Week

We have a very few pictures from this week. It was a busy week but I reckon we are out of the habit of taking pictures.

Odie went to eat with Lisa, Kelly worked on cleaning and organizing the inside of the bus, we both did some things in the barn and to the tent trailer and we worked on the Green Machine for the better part of two days.

Here are all the pictures we have from the week.

Therapy was productive on Monday. We will return to Therapy this morning.

We changed the door lock actuator in the driver's door and then the door would not open. It was not locked but the latch would not release. We both tried our hand at it and then Dad came and worked on it too. My cousin tried it and then we walked away from it.  Dad went back to it later and got it open.

In the process of all that, we also changed the battery in the Green Machine. The old one was about 50 months old at that is pretty good for the little green car. We had to go to three stores to find the right battery, but we got it.

That wraps up our week. Thank you for stopping by.

Davy