June started off with a trip to Seattle, Washington, to board the Norwegian Star to Alaska. Before we boarded, we took a road trip to Richland, Washington to sing at the KGSG Celebration Concert with The Johnson Family (www.johnsonfamilymusic.com  and www.myspace.com/johnsonfamilymusic ). Take a minute and visit their website(s)…what an awesome singing family! We were definitely privileged and honored to share the stage with this family.  They will be coming off the road soon because one of the girls is getting married, another is going to college, and another is IN LOVE! (well…they all seem to be in LOVE….aren’t we all!) We had a great visit over a meal after the concert and learned much more than we needed to know about those young ladies…lol!  Heck…they were getting marital and relationship advice from Brian and Steve….please PRAY FOR THEM…LOL!(they chose not to ask me for advice, which was probably a wise decision!) No, really… Pray for Richard (dad), Kelly (mom), Jennifer, Amy, and Erika (“with a K”)  as they go into these new directions and changes in their lives!

Now…All ABOARD!!!!!

The cruise was awesome! We were blessed to have Southern Charm and Woody Wright, as well as around 200 guests/family/friends! Lots of great food, fellowship, and cool weather was had by all! Alaska was breathtaking as expected. A big thanks to all those who took part in the 2008 Shiloh and Friends Alaskan Cruise! A special thanks goes to NEAL and The Cruise Outlet crew for all the hard work in planning each event, and Neal, especially, for having such a wonderful wardrobe the entire cruise…lol! (inside joke…if you were there, you know) Please take a look at our next cruise planned for October 3^rd through the 10^th of ‘09 at www.shilohnet.com/schedule/banners.html . It’s the 2009 Shiloh and Friends Fall Foliage Cruise to New England and Canada, with The Talley Trio, Tim Lovelace, and KCBI! AWESOME! DON’T MISS IT!

            After a weeks rest from the cruise (enjoying my own bed, actually NOT eating for a bit, preparing for a diet to lose some of those cruise pounds) and adjusting back into the TEXAS HEAT, we took off for a day of worship at Lakeview Bible Fellowship in Pilot Point and Lamar Baptist in Arlington.

The following weekend we went to Copper Canyon to the historic Chinn’s Chapel United Methodist Church for a community wide outdoor concert. You talk ‘bout HOT! We set up on a wrecker bed in the middle of a field. Hamburgers and hotdogs weren’t the only things cookin’…Brian’s bald head was bakin’ baby! Thankfully (and I truly mean that), closer to concert time, a few clouds rolled in, and a bit later, turned into a nasty looking storm. We sang a couple songs before we thought the wind was going to blow us and the equipment off the truck bed. We had some great help in moving the equipment into the small historic church and finished with a great time of praise and worship.

Finally, we closed the month of June with a concert in Steve’s and my hometown of Corsicana, at Northside Baptist.  It’s always great and very special to be close to home and to share our ministry with our family and friends, and many of those who pray for us and our ministry regularly. A big thank you to all the churches in and around Corsicana who canceled their night services to attend this special night!

Next month includes some long out-of-state-road trips, including New Mexico, Iowa, Georgia, and North Carolina. Please pray for us as we travel and continue to share our hearts with so many people! We love you!

Love God and love each other!

May is always a special month…we have the special opportunity of honoring the mothers that surround our lives. I hope you took the time to let the mothers in your life know how much you love them and appreciate them. Let’s not just honor them in May. Let’s honor them every day of our lives!

We began the month of May at a Senior Adult Appreciation Banquet at Great Hills Baptist in Austin. We shared a wonderful meal followed by an evening of worship in “The Great Hall.” (Sounds fancy huh!?!) A few days later, we traveled east and spent a Sunday at FBC of Buna, Texas. There we participated in the morning service, in a luncheon for the Senior Adults, and finished up with a full concert that night. The following Monday night, we were back in Fort Worth for the Birthday Club at Luby’s. This was the first birthday club as a trio. I think we were received pretty well, even if the old man crashed the party. I’m talkin’ about Stanley. Yep…we got to sing with the old man. We really do miss him a bunch!

The following weekend, we took off north to Hatfield, Arkansas, to the Christian Motorcyclists Association Pavilion for a Saturday night community-wide concert event. The road trip up there was gloomy with tornado watches all over Arkansas. After the event, we chose to drive back late into the night to get back to our home churches for Mother’s Day. The storms had passed on to the east of us by the time we left. Little did we know, within a couple hours northeast from where we were traveling, a Prevost tour bus would lose control in the rough weather, striking a guard rail, and finally hitting an embankment. Many were injured on the bus, and a legend in gospel music, Dottie Rambo, would go home to be with the Lord. Dottie traveled for many years and wrote many great songs, such as “Sheltered in the Arms of God,” “He Looked beyond My Faults,” and “I’m Sailing Towards Home.” Dottie will be greatly missed by many.

After getting home at 5 A.M. on Mother’s Day, I got a couple hours nap and then went on to church with my wonderful wife, Lynell, and the rest of the McKissack crew. I DO have the best family in the entire world, even though I don’t tell them enough! Lynell, Erika, Jonah, James, and Emilee….I Love You All SO MUCH and thank you for putting up with me and loving me for exactly who I am, mistakes and all!

The following Friday we were back at the Travis Avenue Baptist Church for the quarterly concert series, sharing the stage with The Weatherfords and others. A couple days later we worshipped at Fort Graham Baptist Church in Whitney and then at FBC Blooming Grove with our friends Pastor Grady Cashion and wife Kathy. Thanks to Grady and Kathy for letting us hang out at their house, letting Brian and Steve test-taste cookie after cookie, and for feeding our families after the worship service!

The next stop was back to Fredonia Hills Baptist in Nacogdoches with our friend and writer of “In My Shoes,” Kevin Funderburk (by the way, “In My Shoes” has entered the charts at #67…YEA!). We were treated to a night’s stay at the historic Fredonia Hotel, along with its awesome breakfast. We also got to hang out with the entire Funderburk family for lunch after the worship service. Kevin and his family are about to head overseas to do mission work. Please pray for them!

Finally, the last stop of the month was one to remember. We hit the road for Tyler, Texas, at First Christian Church. There we shared the stage with the First Christian praise band and heard a couple songs from Angelos (4 Asian tenors from the Philippines). The awesome praise band was lead by a good friend of mine, Chad Miller, who wrote some of the songs they sang. Chad and I both shared and studied for many incredibly TOUGH math classes together at UT Tyler. We joked about hanging out with one particular instructor, Dr. Mitchell, every chance we got. All that brown-nosin’ has got to be the only reason we passed ANY of his classes! Great to hang out with you, Chad! I also want to thank our new friends Kris and Reese for all their help that night!

We’ll…I’m finishing this blog up about 10 P.M. on this Wednesday June 4^th, and I have got to be up around 3 to head to the airport…YUCK!!!!!! The good news is that we are heading for Seattle, Washington for a couple concerts and then boarding a Norwegian cruise ship for our Shiloh and Friends Alaskan Cruise.

Suffering for Jesus….SOMEBODY’S GOT TO DO IT!

Til’ we meet again…

Love God and Love Each Other!

Jeremy

Once again….we were blessed to be close to home for most of April. It is always a privilege and an honor to be able to worship the Lord is so many places each month! This particular blog is going to be short and sweet…and possibly even more boring than the usual. I apologize up front for this and I am sure most of you will forgive me!

We worshipped with many, many wonderful people at:
FBC Comanche,  Faith United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, at the Parker/Pinto Baptist Association meeting in Weatherford, Mobberly Baptist in Longview, Arlington Church of the Nazarene (where we sang with a wonderful choir), Pleasantview Baptist Church in Arlington (a Shiloh mini-reunion…it was great to share the stage and spend a little time with all the previous members of Shiloh), a 60-plus Celebration Day at FBC Granbury, Northside Baptist in Conroe, Rural Shade Baptist in Cleveland, FBC of Carrollton, Bethel Baptist of Celina, and FBC of Cedar Hill.

HEY….I told you it was going to be short and sweet! I’ll do a better job with it next month!!

In Christ,

Jeremy

Much like February, March kept us close to home, giving us much more time with our families and friends. We are very thankful for times like these! March kicked off at McPherson Road Baptist Church in Fort Worth with an evening of worship and preachin’. The pastor’s message was “Who to vote for?” The bottom line is…who IS THERE that is worth voting for.  Maybe…NONE of them! But somebody has got to be elected. We all need to vote, and we all need to seek God’s will in making the right decision. Whether we like the new President or not, we need to pray for him…or her.

The following weekend we went to Glen Rose, Texas, to the Glen Lake Camp and Retreat Center for a private event with some folks from St. Luke United Methodist in Arlington. We had a blessed day in fellowship and worship with all these wonderful folks. The following day, we went to Mexia, Texas, to Calvary Baptist for an evening of worship. Then, on the following Monday, we were part of an Association Senior Adult Rally at FBC Canton. WOW….what an awesome weekend!

The following Thursday we took off to Broaddus to the East Texas Jamboree Theatre. There we shared the stage with some of my friends, the Rileys. Caleb Riley was one of my choir students in Groveton, who went to UIL state competition his senior year (tell Morgan I missed seeing her). Later that week, we sang in Corsicana at Westside Baptist and then went back east to Tyler at Southern Oaks Baptist….another great day of worship and fellowship!

After a week of Spring Break with the kids, that involved a lot of rain and a little fishin’, we went to McGregor High School auditorium for a pre-Easter service on a Saturday night. We were all able to be at our home churches on Easter morning. Not only was I at FBC Corsicana on Easter morning, I got to play a little trumpet in the early service and jam on the piano in the contemporary service thanks to Laurie Duke having a beautiful baby boy, Timothy Brian, on Easter morning. Laurie is Steve’s sister for those who don’t know! Congrats to the Duke family and to Uncle Steve! On Easter Sunday night, we were in Fort Worth at Southwood Baptist for a great night of worship. A big thanks to Southwood for scheduling us yearly on Easter night, which allows us to be in our home churches with our families on Easter morning!

The last weekend of March started in Mineola, Texas, at Northside Baptist Church. The following morning we worshipped in 3 different services at Argyle United Methodist Church and closed the weekend in Decatur at Cornerstone Baptist Church. Thanks to Harry and Mary Jo Nelson for treating us to lunch Sunday afternoon and opening your home in order for us to relax a little bit. Also, an extra thank you for the Antelope sausage and the Venison jerky. We CANNOT wait to break it open!... (actually…the jerky is wonderful….wait…WAS…wonderful!)

I hope you all have your “Passion for the Mission” CD. If not, go to the website store and get your copy ordered! God is really using these new songs to bless and touch many people in many different ways. We give Him all the praise and honor and glory. Until next time…let everything you say and do honor our Savior Jesus Christ!

Jeremy

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 ***Thanks to all who sent emails and messages on MySpace. The road ramblings will continue!

     The first weekend in February, we went back to Paris, Texas to Victory Baptist for a great day of worship, preaching, and fellowship! No piano benches were damaged on this Paris trip…LOL! (see January’s blog)

     The following day, we had the opportunity to share our ministry with all the people at the SBTC Empower Evangelism Conference. We shared the stage with several other groups, such as the Annie Moses Band, various church choirs, and some incredible speakers, including Ergun Caner, Herb Reavis, Bailey Stone, and David Ring, among many others! Best part of all was seeing friends from across the state and making new friends!

     As soon as I got home from the conference, sickness struck my household. I got something as bad as the flu, if not the flu itself. Thankfully, we only sang one time the following weekend. God is SOOOO good! I was miserable at Bible Baptist in Jacksboro, Texas. The people there were all so great and understanding; the church was packed. I truly tried my best to fake it. This was the hardest night of my Shiloh career, FOR SURE! At one point, I just knew I was going to pass out cold and had to step off the stage and to the back of the church in the middle of a song. I rested for the remaining song, cooled off, drank into my 4^th or so bottle of water, and went back in to finish.  Short of the way I felt, we had a great night!

     I continued the following week trying to fight this sickness. It moved from the flu to bronchitis, with massive, fierce coughing attacks. The following weekend we went to Forest Hills Baptist Church in Seguin. We sang at a banquet on Saturday night and in worship service on Sunday morning. We had a wonderful weekend, meeting lots of great folks. We sang some more of our news songs from the new CD “Passion for the Mission.” Thanks to Pastor Mitch Kolenovsky and his wife for letting us stay at his house on the river and for the great hospitality. Thanks to all at Forest Hills for putting up with my cracking voice and coughing attacks.

     The following weekend we worshipped at Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Oak Ridge North, Texas. There was a western theme and a chili cook-off after the morning worship. It was awesome to hear from Elio Mora, minister from Cuba, about how God is working in Cuba. A special thanks to all the rednecks who made Steve feel right at home. Heck… you’ns all made us feel right at home! Thanks! YEEEEEEHAWWWW!!!

Let every breath praise the Lord!

See ya next month!