Long Day Of Vocals

 Hey Friends,

We wrapped up our parts on our new album yesterday. Mom and I both worked all day to sing our vocals! 

Ben Isaacs is an award-winning producer for a reason! He is patient, encouraging, and a magician! He is a miracle working in the studio!

Now, he has a boatload of more work to do beforeit is done. Ben will add more instruments and vocals and get it ready for mass production. 

We hope you all love it! It will be a while before we have the finished product. Stay tuned we will share more details, as they become available. 

Here are a few pics from vocal day. 

Ben’s wife Mindy came and spent some at the studio. We were so glad to see her! She is a sweetheart!

Well, it is late Wednesday night, as I write. I will close for now!

Odie

Tracking Day Done

 Hey Friends,

Thanks for your prayers! We were in the studio most of yesterday. Tracking day was a success, and we are thrilled with everything! We did music for all ten songs. 

Ben Isaacs was at the helm as producer.

Marcus Hyatt was at the controls. 

Yesterday, the band consisted of 

Kelly Jo- piano 

Brandon Taulbee- bass 

and Greg Ritchie- drums and percussion.

More instruments will be added later.

I was singing both mine and Mom’s lead parts so the band knew where to play and match the vocals

It was a great day! We had a blast! We shared lots of laughter, smiles and  shed some tears.  We also made  lots of memories! 

Our team was fantastic! We had a blast! The guys were all so encouraging and helpful!

Thanks also to Aunt Lily Isaacs and Becky, Isaac Bowman, who stopped by the studio to hang out with us! They cheered us on! We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedules to visitwith us! You made our day! We Love you lots!

Tomorrow we will be in the studio doing vocals all day! We appreciate more prayers!

I will write about our time in the studio, when I have time to process it all! Right now my brain in toast!

Thanks for reading!

Odie

Recording Preparation

 Hey Friends,

Here is just a tiny peek into our recording preparation this weekend.

We have recorded several projects over the years. The last one we did as a trio was in 2013. We hoped to do another one, but life kept getting in the way.

Ben Isaacs has been encouraging us to record an album since December. When he started talking to us about doing one with the two of us, I did not know if we could do it. 

We had not even sung one song in public since Dad had passed away. We did not feel ready to cross that bridge yet! Several people encouraged us not to let our song die!

At our pastor's leading, we soon began singing at church. The first few times were extremely difficult, and I still have moments where I struggle! The God we sing about, the messages and the songs have not changed!

Ben has been persistent and stayed on us. He encouraged us to get our songs together for a project.  We sent him our list of songs to him last month.

All of the pieces began to fall into place quickly last week. Less than a week later, we are headed to Ben’s studio today and tomorrow. Hopefully, we will get all of our parts done with music and vocals on the project.

We love Ben Isaacs! He is our favorite producer, and we are honored that he would want to work with us! 

Today will be dedicated to music. Tomorrow, we will focus on vocals. Please oh please keep us in your prayers! We desire anointing and God’s strength!

We are excited and scared to death, all at the same time! I know there will be some moments that it will be hard to keep our emotions in check, as well. We will definitely miss Dad Immensely!

We are still trying to figure out our sound now. There is something massive missing! We know it definitely does not sound the same! 

Music has played a large part in my healing journey, through the grief! Many of the songs that we have chosen for this album have helped us, along with many more! We hope and pray that the songs encourage someone else along the way!

I will do my best to share photos from our time in the studio later. We will also share details on the project, as they become available!

Odie

The Riddells May 2025

Hey Friends,

Thanks for stopping by to visit with me. Yesterday, I told you about the first part of our Saturday. That was the graduation celebration that you can read about here. 

Then, we left Hillsboro and pointed our vehicle toward the Dayton area. Strictly Gospel was hosting a concert Saturday night, and I wanted to see some friends. 

Last week, I received an email reminder about Strictly Gospel’s upcoming concerts. The Riddells were going to be at Moraine City First Church of God.

I was confused about the start time. As I rolled in the door, I heard talking from the stage. We quickly got our tickets, and then I heard the promoter, Tim Fitzharris, introducing the Riddells!

Yikes, that was a close one! We slipped in. It was great to enjoy the night with more family, Rhonda and Landell Smith! I enjoyed the singing and the fellowship!

We love our long time friends and cousins, Sonja, Justin and Kayla! We had not crossed paths with them in a long time. It was so good to see them again!

We had lots of hugs, reminiscing and laughter! The concert was a great way to end our day! 

Below are my pictures from the evening. I hope you enjoy just a glimpse.

Thanks to Tim Fitzharris and those behind Strictly Gospel for having the Riddells! They bring southern gospel concerts to our area. I have attended a few of the concerts now. I have always enjoyed them!

I am really looking forward to their Christmas concert this year. I reserved this date on my calendar in December of last year! It is an Isaacs Christmas concert! For more information on the concert, you can get info here.

Thanks for reading! I will be back tomorrow. I hope you will join me as well!

Odie

God Won’t Autumn Nelon and The Isaacs

 Hey Friends,

Thank you for checking in with me. I appreciate your prayers and concern for my sweet baby cousin, Carson Shoemaker! Click here if you missed the prayer request, yesterday.  

They are trying to get fluids in him. Carson is still very sick! He is in the hospital in Mobile, Alabama. It breaks my heart to see him suffer! I miss my happy buddy!

We are still praying and believing that God will help him recover quickly. We are also praying for his Mom and Dad to feel extra strength from God today!

God Won’t 

Autumn Nelon Streetman and The Isaacs

I first shared this song in December here in this post. God Won’t was released last year on the Nelons’ final project. I love this song and find the message encouraging.

Now, Autumn Nelon Streetman has re-released the song. She was joined by extremely special guests, The Isaacs. Now, I love the song even more! I had to share the updated version with my friends. 

Here is the new version of God Won’t. This song was written by two incredible writers, Jimmy Yeary and Sue C. Smith. I hope you enjoy this song.

Autumn, if you ever see this post, you are still in my prayers! Girl, you are a trooper and I admire you! I pray God gives you daily strength!

Thank you for reading! I will see you tomorrow. 

Odie

Peace In Trusting Featuring Colton Deane

 Hey Friends,

We have a video to share today. I mentioned our fun singing with the fabulous Colton Deane last week in Florida and Mississippi! We captured some songs on video. We will probably share most of them over time!

Peace In Trusting is today’s video. This was written by Sonya Isaacs Yeary, Jimmy Yeary and Rebecca Isaacs Bowman. The Isaacs recorded and released the song in 2020. 

I love the message in the song. It speaks deeply to my soul! This song has carried me through countless days and long nights! I wrote about this song twice before, in 2021 and 2024. 

I suggested this song when we were singing with Colton, but he had not heard it. Later, Mom circled back to it, and we taught it to him. This was recorded on his third time singing it! He nails it—just proof he can do it amazingly!

Now you get to hear it! I hope you enjoy it! Colton, thank you for singing with us! We had a blast, and hopefully, we can sing with you again!

Thank you for visiting. See you tomorrow!

Odie

The Isaacs December 2024

Hey Friends,

I am here to tell you about a fun evening Mom and I had together recently. This resembles my usual Saturday posts. 

The Isaacs were having a Christmas concert north of us, so we decided to drive the hour and a half to Versailles, Ohio. It was great to see our family perform at the BMI Event Center. 

Food was our first order of business. Culvers was on the menu for dinner, and we both had the cod dinner. 

Then we finished the drive to Versailles. The BMI Event Center was a great smaller concert setting. You felt like it was a personal concert. 

I was thrilled to meet singer songwriter legend, Jimmy Fortune! He was super nice! I left with a new friend. We bonded of things we share in common. 

Wow, what a singer? Jimmy’s version of Oh Holy Night was breathtakingly beautiful!

I got to see my friend Andi at the concert We enjoyed getting to catch up with her.

 

I love my sweet Mama!

The moment I had been waiting for… The Isaacs! An Isaacs Christmas concert is another level of awesome!

The lighting was not the best for pictures from my vantage point. Here are my best shots. 

Becky is a walking miracle. 2 years ago tomorrow she was hit in a head on collision. She could not walk or stand for several weeks. Thank God for sparring her life and helping her this far! 

Many of you joined us in praying for her. Thank you so much for the prayers. Becky is still recovering and waiting for a total miracle. 

Sonya sang and played amazing all night. I was left speechless and in awe of her ability! It was better than ever, and I do not know how that is possible!

It is always a treat for us to see  Aunt Lily! She is a fabulous lady. I am proud to call her my Aunt!

They sang many of their wonderful songs from the Isaacs Christmas catalog. Also adding in some Christmas classics and a couple more songs along the way. 

We love Greg Ritchie on drums. He has worked on all of studio albums. He is very special to our family. 

The one the only Ben Isaacs. I am still Ben’s number one fan. Thanks, Ben, for loving me and being my chearleader!

I love it when Sonya’s children Gatlyn and Evya join her on stage! They are both a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting to spend some time with my little cousins. 

This was an outstanding show. It will go down in our memory bank as an awesome night. It was just what we needed. 

We loved be with our family, The Isaacs one more time. The music and singing encouraged and inspired us. We laughed and cried but it was a great night!

It was good to see some other family and friends too. 

A selfie with both my cousins, Steve and Jenny Moore, was a must. 

 

That is a wrap on our visit with the Isaacs for December 2024. Hopefully, we can see them again soon. 

Thank you for reading. See you tomorrow.

Odie