Update on Going Home Project

Trust Quartet went to the studio in June to begin work on their tenth recording project, Going Home. We are excited to tell you that we feel it will be our best project to this point. I know, all recording artists say that, and to a certain extent, if it were not the best project, what's the point of recording it? We always want to improve on the last one.

Because we want it to be the very best one yet, we have made sure the engineer / producer, Kevin Hunt, pulls and pushes every last bit of effort and talent out of us as possible. We want to be able to accomplish things that are unprecedented for Trust Quartet.

My recording experience is a bit varied. This is my fifth recording project, and all five have their own unique experiences. Two of the five were in Nashville recording studios that were choral in nature. They were done relatively quickly and while I experienced the whole, "Who rattled the paper? Now we have to do it over." thing, it was not the four people making music. It was more like 16-20 making music.

Another of the recordings was also in Nashville, but it was at my college alma mater where we did a "Gaither Homecoming-style" recording, bringing in 40-50 musicians from across our denomination to do a reunion type video / CD recording. That was fun, but again, it was different.

The fourth project I've done was Classics Made New; and while it was / is a great recording project, Going Home will be, we believe, more technically correct from start to finish. Not only will the music selections be more stylistically diverse, the equipment being used is a bit of a higher quality than previous projects.

That being said, we will not be giving any dates to expect Going Home to be available until we are more certain of its completion. There are so many variables and unknowns that happen along the recording process that it is difficult to predict an accurate release date at this point. What we will do is remind you that its coming, and to pray for us as we go back for another session, etc., but we want to make sure its ready before we start a big campaign for you to look for it at our concerts.

Thank you for your continued prayerful support as we endeavor to do the very best we can possibly do. I believe you'll enjoy the finished product!

Concerts Rescheduled

Wow, what a week! If you regularly keep up with this blog of Trust Quartet happenings, you'll remember that we spent the next to the last weekend  in June in the recording studio. I'll write a bit more about that in an update about the newest recording project, Going Home.

For my family, we're coming off a difficult week. In my best Ricky Ricardo imitation, "Let me 'splain." My wife was sick Tuesday night, so she took Wednesday off work. She didn't feel like she was getting any better, so she went to the doctor. Long story shortened, by Thursday evening, she was having surgery that hadn't been planned. I say it that way because it wasn't necessarily a life or death emergency surgery, but it was somewhat of an emergency surgery so that it would not become a life or death thing.

In any event, that caused a bit of an unplanned upheaval to our week. Realizing that I needed to take care of family matters here, Buzz contacted the churches in Hernando where we were to sing this weekend and everyone graciously consented to reschedule them.

As it turns out, it worked best for at least one of the two churches to reschedule and it does, in fact, work well for Trust to reschedule. We were going to be in that general area on Labor Day anyway, and now we're able to simply insert two more concerts into that weekend.

I tried to get out the word via this blog as soon as we knew about it, and I honestly hope no one was too inconvenienced with the change. Trust me when I say, it was not something we wanted to do. I do sincerely thank those involved in the decision, though.

Since I mentioned it, let me also thank you for praying for my wife. She is out of the hospital and on the mend, now. There will be a bit of an extensive recovery period, but we are grateful for a tremendous support system as well as brothers and sisters lifting her needs to the Ultimate Physician.

Be watching in the next day or so for an update to our recording project. Until then, my friend . . . keep on singing!

URGENT NEWS!

The concerts this weekend in Hernando have been rescheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Please make a note of these changes. I'll get them updated on the website as quickly as I can, but this is the fastest way to get news out.

Thank you for your prayers. There will be more said about this soon.

Useless Update Number 2

Trust Quartet is on the way to the studio and since Buzz is driving and I'm not, I thought I'd pass along a couple of pictures.

A Useless Update For You

Here's a 'useless' update for you. I'm sitting in the mall in Vero Beach working on Trust Quartet website and writing a couple of blogs. I'm waiting for a phone call from Buzz to let me know they have picked up Rhonda and are on their way to our meeting place. Spence called me just a few minutes ago and asked where I was. When I told him, he informed me that he was already at our meeting place.

Guess what? Trust Quartet is excited about going to the studio to begin recording Going Home! I hope you will be as excited about the finished product as we are at preparing it.

I'll try to make sure we get some pictures from the weekend and get those posted along the way, too. Until next time there's a 'useless update' for you, just keep on singing!

Hide Thou Me

If you've been to a recent Trust Quartet concert, you've likely heard me talk about having a bad day ~ a bad week ~ a bad month ~ or even that bad month all in one day! It's one of the ways I've found to help communicate God's ever present love and care for His children, and how we can pray through those days.

Well, Steve, take a good dose of your own advice, buddy! That has been what I've been saying all afternoon  to myself. To be sure, I've been a bit giddy about this weekend. I'm not a grizzled veteran of the studio yet. I've done a few sessions, but its still a cool experience for me and I genuinely look forward to that type of work. (Yes, it IS work!)

Oh well, back to the advice. Last night was a rough night at work. I laid down to take a nap and couldn't sleep. I'm not sure if it was the thunder outside or the fact that I am so giddy about the studio.

I've had a battle with some arthritis in my knee the last few weeks. I had a doctor appointment scheduled to talk about that this afternoon. The doctor wasn't as much thinking about talking as he was shooting. He shot me up with medicine to help my knee. Have I ever mentioned my disdain for needles? Nope, don't like 'em. You will never, and I do mean NEVER hear of me doing any sort of illegal drugs, ESPECIALLY if they have anything to do with  needles!

And the rain. Did I mention the rain today? When I went to get into my car, still raining, I discovered the drivers seat was wet. No, the windows didn't get left down. I have no clue where the water leaked from, but the back of my pants show evidence of a leak somewhere in my vehicle! Oh, and the power windows that are so convenient ~ yes, those. They aren't so convenient when the motor is out and its raining.

That reminds me. The air conditioning is out on my car. It's late June in southern Florida. Not quite so bad when at least three of the windows can be rolled down. Oh, did I mention the rain? Uh huh, rain and windows rolled down aren't a good combination.

Please, PLEASE understand; I'm not writing this for a pity party. In fact, I'm hoping you can see a bit of humor through the sarcasm that's here. The honest to goodness reason I'm writing this is to remind you that we in the Trust Quartet family know what it's like to be human. We know what it's like to struggle sometimes. We experience the same heartaches along with some of the same victories that you do. And when we have these kinds of days, it helps us to be reminded to pray to the Lord, to Hide Thou Me.

Trust Quartet Heading to the Studio!

Preparations are being ramped up for the newest recording project of Trust Quartet. You are certainly invited and encouraged to pray with us as we head to the recording studio this weekend to begin the recording process.

During a recent rehearsal and meeting, we have prayerfully determined the name of the recording project to be, Going Home. You'll hear songs like Ransomed and Redeemed, I Believe! I Believe!, Treasures Unseen, We Shall See Jesus, It's Almost Over, plus five more. We have had remarkable response from these songs in concert and we are quite sure you'll enjoy hearing them over and over again when the CD becomes available.

We'll be posting various updates along the way and let you know about the release date as soon as we are able. In the meantime, please remember to pray for Trust Quartet as we make preparations for some exciting events in the coming months.

New Recording Scheduled

My first concert with Trust Quartet was in November, 2010. I remember those first few concerts when people would stop by the product table and ask about Sinner Saved By Grace or Because He Lives. We didn't have those available for people to take home with them. About five months later, we went to the studio to record Classics Made New and it was released in September, 2011. Our tenor singer, Gary Franklin worked hard with us to record that project, and just before it's release had to resign the group due to medical reasons. He was never able to sing a concert with that project on the product table. I've always felt bad about that.

Rhonda came on board to sing alto and she was on a quick learning curve to try to learn the songs we'd just recorded. Not only that, we were trying to learn some new material for our next recording project. We began trying to schedule time in the recording studio and were met with several obstacles beyond our control. Originally scheduled for late May, that date had to be scrapped and we are now scheduled to begin recording June 22.

We are all excited and anticipate the best recording to date for Trust Quartet. I suppose every group that has ever recorded an album thinks the newest one is the absolute best one yet! And to a degree, I understand that. Having recorded Classics Made New and being so proud of that work, I can see where the next one will be even better. In fact, if they don't get better, a strong argument could be made to just not do anymore.

The title of the album has not formally been decided, but if you've been to any of our recent concerts, I'll go ahead and let you know a few of the songs you can expect to hear on it. Rhonda has done a fabulous job singing Treasures Unseen and Hide Thou Me. You'll hear those on the new CD. I suppose they'll twist my arm to sing It's Almost Over and Testimony. Spence and Buzz do a fine job singing I Believe, I Believe and we'll throw in a couple more for them to sing that you probably haven't heard yet.

There you have about half the album. I hope you'll be as excited as we are for its arrival. Please be praying for us as we record it. We need strength and stamina. We need wisdom and discernment. Pray for Kevin Hunt as he engineers and produces this project. We need for him to be free to push us to our limit to bring about the best product possible. Pray for our safety as we travel back and forth to the studio.

It's always exciting to record and see what can be accomplished through these projects. Yes, we hope the friends who attend our concerts will take our music home with them, but beyond that, we hope and pray that the music we sing will reach someone who may not be able to or interested in attending a concert. It is our firm belief that God can use these recordings to reach souls for Him. Will you pray with us to that end?

 

A Response to If My People ~~~

I really should ask other members of the quartet to write an occasional blog. After I sent the one out yesterday about the church service in Vero Beach last Sunday, Beverly wrote a nice note back to me and said I could use it if I wanted. So . . . I want.

Here is what she wrote:

"In response to Steve’s mentioning in his blog that we attended the church service last Sunday morning where he was preaching, I just want to say it is a pleasure to be able to join in the personal happenings and share in the lives of each member of the quartet outside the realms of the quartet. We spend many hours on the bus together and share the gospel in song during concerts, and have become family in many ways, but we never truly know what the lives of the others consist of past the steps of the bus that transports us down the road to the next concert. We laugh together and share verbally what has happened in our lives in the past week and sometimes even shed tears because of bad times. But we really haven’t shared totally until we step outside the boundaries of the umbrella of our ministry and walk next to our quartet members in their daily lives, and that’s what we have had the honor to do.

Steve, as in concert and on the bus during trips to different churches, literally overflows with excitement when talking, and singing, about the Lord and what God has done for us and what He would love to do in our lives. What we as members of the Trust ministry share are only an ‘itsy bitty bit’ of happiness compared to what giving our life to God can bring each moment. It’s awesome to know that God is standing by just waiting for each of us to surrender ourselves to Him in total abandonment from our everyday responsibility and invite Him into our lives so that unlike sharing bits and pieces of our time with family and friends, we may share with Him one-hundred percent of the time forever and ever.

Thanks Steve for sharing an itsy bitty bit of your life with us last Sunday Morning."

 

Beverly, thank you for taking the time to write such a nice response. I do appreciate it.

 

If My People . . .

Often after being introduced in a concert as being an ordained minister, people ask if I currently pastor a church. My routine answer is, "No, my main ministry focus is through Trust Quartet. I have pastored three churches and when I'm not singing with Trust on Sunday morning, I'm either leading worship at my home church or filling a pulpit for another pastor friend who may be in need."

Such was the case this past Sunday. My pastor is also my brother-in-law, and his children live in the Memphis area. Last Sunday, a family occasion took him and his wife to visit there, so I had arranged to preach at my local church.

I had invited the Trust family to come be with us, since they had never heard me preach. After all, Buzz may not want to tell anyone else that I'm an ordained pastor after he heard me! I was so honored and humbled when Buzz and Beverly, John and Pat all came to Vero to our church!

God met with our people and challenged us to consider the Biblical steps to revival. God, in His sovereignty, knows that we will sin. He knows that in our humanity we would need to know His willingness to extend grace and forgive us. Just after Solomon had led the Jews in building the Temple, he prayed a prayer of consecration over the structure. God miraculously answered that prayer by raining down fire from Heaven to consume the sacrifices offered by the Jews.

It is in that context that God says, "If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Please understand that when God said these words to King Solomon, the Jews were in a right relationship with Him.

Our society is riddled with problems. Since five minutes of TV, radio, or newspaper will confirm that, I won't spend the time going into detail here, but we can point to the Fall of man in Eden as the origin of the problems we face still today. The choices made by mankind have not improved greatly since then. I would submit that if our problems point to Eden, then our solution must point to Calvary! The Christ of Calvary paid the ultimate price to assure us of a right relationship with the God of the Universe.

Have you been to Calvary lately? 

A Post-Buffet Lunch Sprint Up the Mountain

Steve running off his lunch

Its late on a post-concert Sunday night and I'm sitting at home watching a Duck Dynasty marathon on television. Trust Quartet sang in Riverview, FL this morning at the Riverview United Methodist Church. Pastor Merritt Waters and the congregation were so kind and gracious towards us and we were encouraged as we sought to encourage the church there. 

There was a good crowd this morning that gathered and it was evident they were ready for an experience with the Lord. What a joy it was to sing and share from our hearts with that fine group of people.

After church this morning, we visited Granny's Restaurant in Brandon on our way home. This is a local restaurant that serves a buffet meal ~~ and if you're in the Brandon area, you've got to make it a point to go visit them! They're located on St Route 60 right across the road from Cracker Barrel. (We ate at the CB as we rolled into town on Saturday!)

As John pulled the bus into the parking lot, we discovered we would need to park across the side street and walk across in order to take advantage of the delicacies awaiting us at Granny's. I must pause to remind my readers that Florida is mostly a flat state. But there are some man-made mountains around here and there. We saw such a 'man-made' mountain today. The parking lot that we parked in was a good ten feet higher than the grounds the restaurant was built on. We joked together going down to the restaurant that coming back up would be more difficult. And we'd be doing that on a full stomach!

The eight of us on the bus took care of quite a bit of food. I started to take a picture of the empty plates! But since I didn't, Beverly was up to the task of the next best thing. She had already made it out of the restaurant a bit before me, so she was already at the top of the 'mountain' before I started my ascent. As I was nearing the top, I caught a glimpse of her with her handy dandy iPhone out, pointed at me. Yep, she got me! 

Tell you what, though, since I'm the one writing this blog, I'll go ahead and let you know that it's just a tad blurry because of the blinding speed at which I was running up the mountain! Yes sir, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

George Beverly Shea ~ A Musical Ministry Icon

When Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston died, it seemed the world was crashing all around us. Those three entertainers played a pivotal part in the cultural fabric of our Nation. There is absolutely no doubt their fans numbered in the millions.

This past week, lost in the news of the tragedies in Boston, MA and West, TX, another musician passed away.

At 104 years of age, George Beverly Shea, went home to be with the Lord. There was no fanfare. There was no stoppage of time. The media barely mentioned it. Everyone was so caught up with the more important news of the day.

Perhaps that's the way Mr. Shea wanted it. After all, he once wrote, "I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause. I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause. I'd rather have Jesus than world wide fame. I'd rather be true to His holy name." I've sang those lyrics many in many places.

Mr. Shea was known for his many years of service with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He was seen on television singing on Graham crusades for over 60 years. I watched him in awe as a young boy whenever there was a Graham crusade on television. The three other entertainers mentioned earlier surely played a pivotal role in the entertainment culture of our day. Mr. Shea's role during his lifespan on this earth will play a huge pivotal role in the eternal destiny of millions.

Thank you, George Beverly Shea, for a life well lived. May the Father reward you with those welcome home words, 'You've been faithful,' and may your family feel the presence of the Holy Spirit's comfort during these days.

Please Help Us Pray

Please remember Buzz in prayer today (Tuesday, April 16). He is scheduled for a colonoscopy. This is a routine procedure, so at this point there is no concern for alarm. We're just asking God for a clean bill of health in the results.

Thank you so much!

Cruisin' Down the River ~ Trust Quartet Style

Trust Quartet got together to rehearse a few hours this past weekend before heading out to a couple of concerts and after the work was done, we enjoyed a bit of well earned R & R.

The group got together on Buzz's boat and took a ride to a local Chinese restaurant to eat. The fellowship was great and the weather cooperated for a nice time of relaxing. We watched birds, talked, laughed, spoke with passers-by in other boats and on their docks. We just took our time and 'strolled' along the water. On the way back, there was an incredible sunset that we took in and could not help but marvel at the beauty of God's creation. It was as if He'd painted it just for us!

Here's some pictures of our trip; just us being lazy and enjoying our fellowship together.

  

Remember the sunset? Yeah, here it is!

It's A Boy!

April 5, 1943 is a day to mark down in history! Why we don't celebrate it on the calendar with all the major holidays, I just do not know! Way up in the Land of Lincoln a little fellow made his grand entrance to this world. This past Friday, April 5, 2013, there was indeed a celebration in Okeechobee for this little bundle of joy. The little fellow has all grown up now.
The Beasley offspring celebrated the little fellow in grand fashion and there's pictures to prove it! With spaghetti and a special cake designed, baked and decorated by Buzz and Beverly's granddaughter, Vanna, more than 20 family members and friends descended on the Beasley home to help Buzz celebrate his special day.
Enjoy browsing through the pictures and if you get a chance, shoot Buzz a good word of congratulations since he's celebrated this great day!


The cake that granddaughter Vanna made for Buzz

The Beasley offspring telling Dad that 70 ain't so bad. From left, Penny, Alicia, Ralph, and Rhonda

The Beasley offspring gathered around Buzz ~ he refuses to be 70.