SPIRITWIND: News

Does the word BLUR mean anything to you?  This new year has taken off like a rocket!  I mean it's like didn't we just celebrate our Savior's Birthday and now we're starring at a Groundhog's shadow!

We've been busy in the studio with Brother Dan and I'm so happy to say that number four CD entitled "I call Your Name" is about to roll off the assembly line.  (Thank you Jesus, it's only been like two years!  uh yeah!)    Hey we've been writing and writing and playing all over, then Jim had his near death encounter on route to the studio back at the end of July, so our only excuse is, well, uh, mmm, uh, busy!

{can i really cop-out with a well used Christian phrase, "we've been waiting on the Lord" uh yeah that's it.} 

All kidding aside, I for one think the wait will be worth it.  I'm amazed at how the Lord has helped us put these songs together and touched our hearts as we recorded every note.  It has been an awesome journey and we all feel honored that He would choose a bunch of folks like us to deliver these messages.(Especially Baby sister, oops!  Sorry I couldn't resist getting a zinger in there.)

We put the final vocal's and music down on the last song this past Saturday.  The anointing showed up big time,  I mean BIG TIME!!!  Sonnie knocked her vocal out of the park and Brother Dan laid down the sweetest piano track to date.  As the songwriter I was blown away and can't wait to hear your feedback on the song.  

We just got the prayer inspired cover art sent to us yesterday from our dear friend Mike 'Mountain Man' Lamborn from up in West Virginny and he did an absolutely awesome job!

 ( The Man's got talent!  Best of all it's God inspired!)

We have about a week's worth of mix down and polishing to do then off to the mastering lab then off to the CD Factory to produce copies.   

If all goes well we should have your copy of "I Call Your Name" with us at our table at CMA Florida State Rally and at every event we play there after.

I'm excited to see how the Lord uses the songs He gave us to touch hearts and lives.  (We know for a fact the enemy of our souls didn't want this CD to get done.  It has been a battle, but we serve a Big God and Light always defeats darkness!  Hallelujah!  (Somebody say "Amen" please.)

We hope to see you all real soon and get a chance to share some time together, worshiping, laughing, crying, praying and praising our Lord.

Please ride safe and share the love of Jesus everywhere you get a chance.

 

We love you all,

Dale

Twas the night before Christmas

at Ron and Dee's house

not a creature was stirring

not a cat or a mouse

Ron in his recliner

taking a snooze

Dee in her closet

looking for her Christmas shoes

Ron wakes up with a great huge yawn

disturbed from his sleep

by the ringing of Dee's phone

Dee shouts "Hey Ron,

there's a man on the other end

he wants to know if you want to go for a spin"

then up on their tin roof there came such a noise

it sounded like bike week was back in full force...

as they looked out the window to their amazement and delight

sat a sleigh being pulled by eight valkyrie bikes

the man in the sleigh was a jolly old fella

all dressed up in red beneath his leathers...

He said "hey Ron get up, wipe the cobwebs from your eyes, 

it's not Santa, Oh no, it's Mountain Man, hop on, lets ride!"

As the kick stands went up and the bikes were all started

just over the roar you could hear Mountain Man shouting

With a boom in his voice and a twinkle in his eyes

this is what you heard in the Holly Hill skies,

"Now Jim Dasher, now Sonnie Dancer, now Dale Prancer,

and Patty Vixen, on Cheryl Comet, on Biff Cupid, 

on Richard Donner and Ellie Blitzen,

there's no time to waste, we've got lots to do

remember why you wear the colors you do

remember the Cross, what you stand for,

you ride for the child that was born on Christmas,

Our Savior, Our Lord,

Jesus Christ,

Christmas blessings to all and to all good night!"

 

[By Patty Kugler]

Ok, Ok, I know it's been like a hundred years since any of us have posted anything on the website.  It's been a blur of sorts since Jim's accident and all the stuff in between.  We've been recovering, Praising God!  Working in the Studio as much as we've had time to. (God help us!)  Living, working our day jobs! (Thank you Lord that we have them!)  Got through Thanksgiving, ate a lot of great food, watched some awesome football, wrote a couple of new tunes, most of all we had the opportunity to play and minister at some events where God showed up wonderfully! (He never ceases to amaze!)

 

We are excited to have Jim back at 100% and we'll be able to get into the Studio again real soon to finish up number four CD entitled, "When I call Your Name"...we're really excited with this one!  We're also beginning to plan the recording of number Five, as yet untitled.  for you rockin folks you'll like this one from our electric side which may have some surprises you'll enjoy!  We're still praying about the direction God wants us to go with this particular project.  Can't wait, I love studio time, it's grueling sometimes and hard work, but getting the chance to slow down and work out the music is exciting.

Now that Christmas is almost here and then New Year's coming, we're really thankful that we made it through another year and can't imagine where the time went and so quickly to boot.  We hope that you and your family will get totally blessed this year and that the Peace of God that passes all understanding will reside upon you.  

We hope to see you all soon and have a chance to worship and praise together.  Pray for us as 2012 approaches.  We want God's direction and His anointing to precede us as He sends us forth.

 

God Bless you all

Dale

Most of you probably know by now that our dear brother Jim Stewart was hurt last Saturday while riding his motorcycle South bound on Rt 415 in Osteen. Ron and I were in the truck and follwing Him, as the three of us were heading down to Dan McCraw's house in Stone Island to begin some prelimary work on the next CD at Dan's studio in the Oaks.

We were a couple of cars behind Jim when a young girl lost control of her car, went off the road onto the grassy shoulder of the north bound lane, over corrected and came completely across the road into the extreme southbound lane and hit Jim...

I must admit that this was one of the most petrifiying moments I've ever experienced as I ran to where Jim lay sprawled on his back on the roadway, some 25 yards or so away from where what was left of his bike had come to rest... (my initial reaction was to ask God for His life to be spared, because fear gripped my heart and I thought he was dead as Ron and I ran to His side.)

Ron told me later that he thought the same thing.

Thank God he began to move and moan in pain, as I knelt down beside him on the hot pavement. Everything happened so fast, I grabbed his his left hand, he gave me a gorilla grip (he's a very strong fella!)and we began to pray for Jesus' help.

I have to tell ya, I haven't felt the presence of the Holy Spirit so intensely in a long long time. He relaxed and began to breath very calmly. Thank you Holy Ghost! Praise God!

(Someone said, I can't recall who it was now, that Jesus was there healing and working miracles on that roadway on that hot afternoon!) Amen!

Ron had the hardest job of all, he had to call Sonnie with the news. I think he made about ten to twenty phone calls to different people asking for prayer.

God is so good and merciful. After spending nearly a week in the Hospital and some touch and go moments, I was thrilled when Jim left a voicemail on my phone last night as He and Sonnie were on their way Home. Thank you Jesus! He's got some broken ribs and is recovering from a small lung puncture, lots of bruises and very little road rash.

It's a miracle that he survived at all, which is what one of the Deputy Sheriffs said to me at the crash site. I er we know better. The Devil is a lie and God watches over and protects his anointed servants, it's as plain and as simple as that! Recall the scripture, "touch thou not mine anointed.", {my paraphrase}

Our Friend Dan McCraw borrowed his neighbors truck and trailer and came to the crash site to get Jims bike. He said that Jim was going to have a new testimony to share about god's mercy and that obviously the Devil didn't want this new CD done and he was trying to stop it, but what was meant for evil God has turned to Good! Hallelujah and Amen Brother Dan!

There is so much more to this story than I can recount here. I do want to thank everybody who stopped immediately from what they were doing and prayed. Our Friends in CMA, ESPECIALLY!!!

There have literally been overwhelming numbers of emails, voicemails, facebooks, tweets,etc from all around the world from folks who prayed and continue to pray for his swift recovery.

Spiritwind is so grateful to everybody and we want to say thank you to the following folks; the Volusia County Sheriff's Deputies who were absolutely awesome at the scene, the EVAC team of young people, who cared for Jim at the crash site and took him to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, FHP Trooper Willis, who gathered all the evidence and statements from witnesses, to the young guy and young lady who stayed, saying they weren't leaving till they told the police what they witnessed, To Stanley the big fella who lived across the street,who brought out his bobcat to hoist the bike off the road and onto the trailer.

Our CMA Brothers, Biff and Terry who came to get Jim's bike from Dan's House and take it back to Daytona, the Doctors and nurses at Halifax hospital, especially the Christian one's who prayed as they served Jim's physical needs...

to all the Pastors and Churche families who went to prayer on Jim's behalf, and to those of you who support us continously with your prayers anyway, we are so touched and honored by your compassion.

Truly God is Great and His wonders will never cease to amaze and bewilder us! I believe we witnessed a miracle and the power of Jesus Christ in action last Saturday. Once again he turned trajedy into triumph for His Kingdom's sake!

It's absolutely awesome to live in His kingdom and to be under the Protection of His Mercy and Grace!

We give all praise and honor to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who truly is our shield and buckler, our high tower, our place of refuge in times of trouble. Hallelujah!

There's so much more to this story and more to come I'm sure.

Just felt I needed to post a few comments here. Keep prayin and ride safe!

God's gotcha in His hands and His eyes are upon you!

God Bless you all!

Dale

We hope you all have been enjoying your summertime pursuits as much as we have.

We've been hanging out at Brother Ron's studio in Holly Hill Land working(if you want to call it that! It's hard to say it that way when it's something you love and has the anointing on it!) on CD number 4 which will be a follow up to "Arise" similar in tone and scope, a lot of pretty songs which many of you have been asking for and some new surprises.

We've also been laying down basic tracks for songs going on number 5 and 6. Both of which are probably gonna rock a tad more. Wait and see!

I'm looking forward to getting back to the Studio in the Oaks and working with brother Dan McCraw, the grand poobaah of anointed musicians and producers! Where we'll finish up all the vocals and overdubs and mastering stuff that He does so well.

We're all doing pretty well for a bunch of older guys and gals. (Sonnie's not included, She's just a kid compared to the rest of us! Oh! I almost forgot,there's little Mikey , he's the bouncing baby boy of the group, so he doesn't qualify as an old guy either, quite yet.)

Everybody that went to National East came back so blessed. Sorry I missed it, again. I've started a new job and don't have the liberty of movement at the drop of a hat that I once had. No complaints though, God gave me the perfect opportunity and I'm very humbled, blessed and amazed at just how accurately and most specifically the Father answers prayer.

I learned that if we pray His will and be absolutely honest about what we're desiring, He'll answer in His way and it's usually far better than we initially articulated. So if you need something specific done in your life, humble yourself to His will and word, make your request known in exact detail, thank Him for His gracious provision and be patient, His answers always come just in time. (His timetable not ours, by the way!) (it's called Faith for a reason.)

Would appreciate your prayers as we continue to pursue the recordings. It is fun as I've said before, but it takes a lot of work. But I guess anything worth doing well, is well worth the effort, eh? It's all the more thrilling when you do things as unto the Lord. His burden is light and His way is easy. Hallelujah!!!

We praise God for you and your ministry to the lost and hurting and lonely and unloved. We pray fervently that you never loose your zeal and compassion. God Bless you all! Ride safe!

Blessings,
Dale

Well here we are again. It's good ole summertime and we're just starting our annual break to get some recording done.(finally!) Take some trips, Jim and Sonnie, Ron and Dee and Mikey and Patty are off to CMA nationals in about a week. That will be an exciting time to hang out with friends and CMA family up in Georgia. Pray for safety on the road and that they come back refreshed and excited for the Kingdom!

Please keep us all in your prayers as we are in studio mode. All though extremely fun to do, It's a lot harder than you may think and can get very tedious at times. We pray constantly for a fresh anointing as we begin each track and press that record button. We also have a few new tunes to finish up so they can get tracked as well.

As a songwriter nothing is more satisfying than to hear one of the tunes finished just like you heard it in your head when the Father gave it to you. It's a true warm-fuzzy moment. I think the Heavenly Father feels that way about us, everytime we make a growth spurt or two in our journey to become more Christ-like. At least I'd like to think He does!

All of us need a pat on the back once in a while and we want to give one to all of you faithful brothers and sisters who support us with prayer and words of encouragement and your finances. Cause every time you buy something or other off of our table you're giving us resources to continue to travel the roads and play.

We're all in this Kingdom building process together and any of our small successes for Christ are yours as well. I guess you could call us a team of sorts and we love having you along with us.

We pray you have a blessed summer and ride safe!
Blessings
Dale

Some of you may be old enough to remember the great Gene Autry classic. Some of you are probably scratching your head going Gene who? uh Simmons maybe! i dunno? Well some things in life are absolutely timeless and if you were born after 1970 or so, all I can say is sorry ya missed it.

(Kinda sounds like what you hear from your friends at church when you sleep-in or skip a Sunday once in a while doesn't it!)

Being an incessant fan of Saturday morning tv re-runs and serial westerns as a kid in the, oops, dare I confess it? the 1950's, must have had a fairly profound impact on me as an average American kid growing up in a small rural town.

Nowadays I often look around at the world and wonder how in the heck did we get where we are at this point in time and what happened to that laid back help yer neighbor, leave the doors unlocked,fair-play and if it ain't yours leave it be, world I once knew.

Where men were men and women were women, a marriage was between a man and a woman, on Sunday most folks went to church, stores were closed and Tv and movies were a safe form of entertainment, where the whole family could gather together and watch and laugh and even on occasion cry and not one time be embarrassed by profanity, senseless violence and gore,sexual inuendo, alternative lifestyles or worse filth, such as we are bombarded with today.


Movie theaters used to be a sanctuary of sorts, an almost magical place where a tired soul could spend about $.50 cents (which we earned by doing chores. That's country for working, for all you citified folks!) and see bigger than life heroes and heroines on the big screen.

Real actors and actresses with talent, not these mindless numbskulls of today, who we gladly plunk down $9 or 10 bucks to see. (I rarely do!)

I don't even want to get into the state of so-called music and videos of this day and age. You're smart and know what I'm talking about without me saying a thing.

All of these observations and ponderings have left me wondering quite a bit lately about just how far as a culture we've declined in the past 30 to 40 years. We've supposedly had all kinds of significant advancements in technology and information sharing along with social reform and enlightenment, Sadly however, something mysterious and dreadful has taken place, a sublime innocence or sense of kindness has escaped us along the way, which has left me somewhat puzzled and fraught with questions.

When did we loose our common national morality and sense of decency? While on this subject, what became of everyday ordinary folks conducting themselves with civility and basic respect for each other. When did honor and integrity depart from our moral code? It seems that just yesterday dignity and humility meant something. How did we loose it?

I recall that we were taught right from wrong and good manners. Also that some behavior was totally unacceptable and punishable by a good switching.

(I don't know about you but it didn't take too many for me to wise up! And for all you liberal minded folks who just fainted at the thought, I thank God I had a Dad and Mom who loved me enough to administer some good old fashioned attitude adjustment to the seat of my understanding.)

How can a nation that has "IN GOD WE TRUST" engraved on our money and monuments have become so blatantly hostile to the notion of "ONE NATION UNDER GOD?".

After revealing His power of protection and Grace and Mercy upon this nation time after time after time in our History, How could we turn our backs on our Father God and His blessings, even to the point of not allowing Him access to our schools and public gatherings.

(Have we learned nothing from History or the Scriptures of the effects of abandoning our reliance on Father God!)

I recall a simpler less arrogant time, when we had preachers come into our school during assembly to preach the good news and tell us about the kingdom of God, and some of our teachers actually prayed for us and read from the Bible in class.

We just celebrated Memorial Day and rightly so. It is a time that the whole nation should honor those brave men and women who supremely sacrificed their time, blood, and many with their lives to preserve freedom for this Great Nation.

I watched several Christian programs about veterans who did amazing things in the midst of violent conflict and everyone of those folks acknowledged that without God's help and divine protection they wouldn't be here to tell their stories.

Thank you for indulging my rambling on like this. But I do so because I think it's time we got "back in the saddle again" as Christian Americans and reminded our neighbors and fellow citizens that me must stand up for what matters in this country.

That the right to pray anywhere and anytime is a fundamental right. That the name of Jesus and God are not dirty words, but Holy Names, worthy of all honor and reverence. That God is our provider and protector and America would not be, nor can continue to be, without honoring the Holy word of God and humbling ourselves before His awesome might and power, without which, we shall surely perish.

I believe the decline in our country is directly proportional to the decline in our recognizing the need of God's presence in our everyday lives.

Father forgive this nations great sin, restore America to it's greatness, and open our eyes that we may see your truth and light. Fend off the darkness that would besiege our minds and lives with your Holy Word and by the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Amen!

Blessings,
Dale

Yeahhhh!!!! It's here again! The Florida CMA State Rally! In beautiful Keystone Heights! We're on the road today to spend the weekend with many of you I hope. Yahooo! RIDE SAFE, RIDE SMART, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we gather to celebrate the presence of the Father, the son Jesus Christ and the precious Holy Spirit! The goal is sharing the love of God with conviction and boldness and compassion with all those folks who are at this very moment riding down the highways of America heading for Bikeweek in Daytona Beach!

We've been looking forward to this annual event for quite a while now and sense that something special is about to unfold right before our eyes. A Kingdom moment if you will.

I pray that the Lord of the Harvest will empower, embolden and help us to gird up our loins to do the work that is required over the next several days!

I hope you can make it to the rally, if not join us in the spirit and allow the mind of Christ to infill you with His desire and purpose for you as you come to Daytona to minister.

Please pray for us as we are going ahead of the troop as the Levites of old leading the worship and praise into the fray.

I'm reassured in the peace of knowing that "the Battle belongs to the Lord" and He is well able to overcome every adversary and any adversity!

We praise God for you and maybe we'll get to share a laugh or two and a tear and prayer over the weekend!

Blessings upon you all!

Dale

You may have thought that we had disappeared completely off the face of the Earth. Translated like Philip? Maybe? Or taken up by a whirlwind like Elisha or was it Elijah? I get those two mixed up all the time! Why didn't God give them normal everyday names like Billy Bob and Earl, you know down to earth monikers that we could keep separated and not confused in our little noggins. (oops I digress! Another subject for another time.)

Not to fear my friends! Just like the Holy Spirit, we've been here all along, just working and getting some rest behind the scenes, so to speak.

We've started recording the songs for CD Number 4 and 5. We've also been rehearsing new material and Praise and Worship music for the CMA Florida State Rally next weekend. We have maximum anticipation of what the Father is going to do over that weekend, to get hearts and spirits aligned to implement His plan for reaching out to all the folks who will be here for Bikeweek 2011!

We are all well and ready to get busy and can't wait to see you all at the Rally and around town during Bikeweek.
Don't forget the 9am morning services at Oasis Christ Fellowship off Rt 40 in Ormond Beach every day!

Please pray for us and that the Lord of the Harvest will infill the laborers with boldness and love for the lost who are all around us.

Ride safe, be the light, but don't forget to pass the salt!

God Bless you all!
Dale

I think I can give out a hearty Christmas greeting to you from all of us at Spiritwind Ministry!   Here we are less than a week away from the big day and I for one am getting into the spirit of it all finally!   What I love about Christmas is when I see people genuinely loving each other and giving of themselves without hoping to receive anything in return.  It's what I witnessed yesterday morning during the event at little Hollyland park in Holly Hill!   A whole group of Christians from different houses of worship coming together as the body of Christ giving time, food, clothing and a whole lot of prayer to folks who don't even have a warm bed to sleep in most nights or a place to hang a hat on, much less a Holiday wreath!   

We were so blessed to be asked to come and sing and play for these folks.  Unfortunately for me I didn't get a chance to stay for the entire event!  I know in my spirit that lives were touched, souls were saved, bodies were healed.  How do I know that for sure, you ask?   There was such an anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit there, it was so sweet and heavy you could cut it with a knife.  I knew that our precious Heavenly Father was going to move on the hearts of all those present!  I've witnessed it before and know the feeling in the spirit.

Though the morning was overcast and we had an occasional spit of rain and drizzle, nobody seemed to mind and nobody gave up on the day!  

Please pray for us as we are back in the studio again and need all the help we can get.  Looking forward to 2011 and the awesome move of God we're expecting to witness in this new year ahead.

We hope each and everyone of you have the most blessed Christmas ever and an extremely over the top New Year filled with God's Blessings...

Peace and Good Will toward all Men!  Keep Christ in Christmas!

Dale

Have you ever felt like your in hyper-drive? That's kinda how we've been these past several weeks! I mean talk about light speed! We've put some miles on the vehicles and played for some amazing folks in some awesome churches and venues! What is most amazing to me is how our Heavenly Father revealed His wondrous presence at each and every place. Every time it was different and special!

His limitless love and grace have blessed us and thrilled us to no end. We are all so humbled by what God is doing to and through us. We still keep asking, "Why Us?" and "why Now?" All of us have said it on numerous occasions, "why did the Lord wait
to give us this anointing and this calling so late in life. (except for Sonnie, she's not aging and has always been anointed!) On the other hand, Jim, Ron and especially myself are all grandpa's and we have the aches and pains to prove it!

While they're all a few years away from eating off the senior menu as I am unashamedly able to do, I must admit that each of us still have our moments when the fingers are stiff and the ache in the back and legs just lingers. Yet something amazing has and does always happen when we get on stage and start to play. (after we've prayed and thanked the Lord for His presence and anointing to flow through us that is!)

((oh and did I mention that it happens every single time we play!))

The pain somehow vanishes,the stiffness goes away and is imperceptible and incredible as it sounds, it stays that way right up to the last note!

You'll never be able to convince any of us that God does not concern Himself in the little things and our well being for His purposes.

It's like the old praise song says, "What a Mighty God We Serve!" Amen and Amen!

On another note I wanted to let you know that our Fall Quarterly newsletter is available, give us a call or email us to get a copy sent to you. Better yet, stop by our table at our next event and pick up a copy or two in person.

We're on hiatus for the next couple of weeks with Biketoberfest upon us this week and CMA "Colors" the following week! Pray for Jim, Sonnie, Dee and Ronnie as they travel to Arkansas for that glorious event.

Finally, give God the Glory in all you do and pray for His Son to be revealed to every person captured by darkness and unbelief.

Blessings
Dale

What can I say about this past weekend? It was amazing or rather the Lord was amazing, we just showed up and stayed out of the way as much as we could.

First we drove up Saturday afternoon and had a great time staying over with our friends Richard and Ellie Smith in Yulee. ( I love the name of that town just saying it with a strong southern accent makes you smile!)

Anyway we started Sunday morning off in Callahan at the Lighthouse Christian Center with Pastor Dave and his congregation and about 40 something CMA'ers who showed up and we all got blessed as the Lord came and a new Soul was added to the Kingdom!

Then the church had the audacity to feed us! (What were they thinking?) One of their members barbequed a whole hog and we definitely ate high on the hog that day. (some of the best BBQ piggy I ever ate, especially with some of Ralph's sauce on it! WOW!)
We spent the afternoon back at Richard and Ellie's laying around and relaxing after such a fantastic lunch. (Lord forgive our gluttony!) Then we had to saddle up and get over to Black Rock Baptist Church in Yulee for their Sunday evening Service.

They welcomed us back with open arms and we were so blessed by their new Pastor Mike and Matt their worship leader.

I have to tell you they're a special bunch of folks and we just had a ball singing and playing for the Lord there!

We got blessed again by our CMA family as a great number of members from Jacksonville, Fernandina and points beyond showed up which doubly blessed our socks off!

I didn't know till after the service that during the alter call a young girl and older Lady came to the Lord! I was busy singing when the Pastor gave the invitation.

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Total of three souls added to the Shepherd's flock in two different churches in one day!

It was our second time back to both of these outstanding houses of worship and we all felt so honored to be allowed to flow so freely in the Spirit in each place. God is so wonderful to bless us with brothers and sisters who love Him and each other without reservation!

Can't wait for the next time it was like coming home from a long journey! It's fascinating to me how everywhere we go it's kinda like a homecoming! I guess that's how the Father intends for the church to be, so loving and hospitable everywhere. Hmmm!

I'm so thankful for the privilege to be able to travel and experience this firsthand! Thank you Jesus!

Before I forget, we have the first ever Spiritwind Newsletter available and would invite you to sign into the guestbook and request one. We can mail it to you or email a copy automatically when it is produced.

Thanks for your prayers and support, we cherish it more than you'll ever know.

God Bless and see you down the road!
Dale

God's been dealing with us about our words a great deal of late. What are we saying when we speak? Is it life giving or death enacting? I don't know about you, maybe you have it all figured out and under control. (By God's Grace I hope that in your case it is true.) As for myself I'm struggling like everybody else I reckon.

Yet, thank God for His precious Holy Spirit! The comforter of my soul, my mentor and teacher who constantly nudges me along, scolds me gently when I falter or fail, and helps me rise up again when I fall!

Jesus said in the word that "life and death" are held in the power of the tongue and that it is an unruly member.

The word that jumps out at me is unruly. I took a minute and looked it up in Webster's. Basically it means one who is hard to handle or manage, it also implies a lack of discipline, etc, etc, you get the idea.

Have you ever wished your tongue came equipped with a button snap on it so you could lash it down to your lower lip so you wouldn't speak inappropriately?. (yewddd zzowwnnd funnnee iphh yeww ddidduh)

Maybe we could find help in the word of God! Have you been in there drinking lately? (Sorry I'm meddling now, let us not digress)

The place in the Bible where Jesus said "that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, then we could say to this mountain be cast into the sea and it shall be done" absolutely amazes me! I pray that the Lord God would give us all the faith and discipline to attain that ability! (Do I get an Amen on that one!)

Can you image the consequences if every blood bought believer in the world began speaking the faith language of the Kingdom of God. Healings would abound, revivals would break out in the least expected places. Those captured in darkness would be set free to walk in the light. Our own needs would be met and best of all we'd be so overwhelmingly blessed to be happy and free no matter what circumstance we found ourselves in that the whole world would want to know what was going on in our lives!

Bottom line is the words we utter are not just important for our sake, they are extremely important to God, to His Son, to His Holy Spirit, and to His Angels.

They are all waiting and fervently listening to you and I as we speak. Hoping to hear one tiny bit of faith being spoken so they can spring into action and get some things accomplished in our lives and in the lives of those we interact with on a daily basis!

If I may make a comparison? If you won 500 million dollars in the lottery today how would you be acting and speaking? Would it be like yesterday or last week or a month ago? You'd be freaking out with excitement and enthusiasm right? Guess what?

(You've got to already know where I'm going with this.)

God's awesome power through His Holy Word is a trillion trillion trillion gazillion times greater than 500 million bucks! I know that's true, and I pray that I could get the reality of it through my thick skull so that I could begin to act like a son of God and be fired up enough to speak truth and faith all the time!

How much more we could accomplish! How satisfyingly free we'd feel! How Pleased God the Father would be! He's waiting and watching and most of all listening!

For our own sakes we need to watch the words we speak! The word says to take every thought captive. Hmmm, if I'd do that more often I'd probably not let every little thing that came to mind come gushing out of my mouth and have life! Good and bad.

As for me, I want good things to happen, blessings and joyously profound events to take place in my life and ministry! How about you?

Finally I pray for God to help us all overcome everything we've said that is displeasing to Him and spawned unfruitful things to take place in our lives. I pray that His Holy Spirit would help us guard our tongues, our hearts, and our minds.

Lord Let us only speak positive Faith filled words in every situation and circumstance. Words which are uplifting and are gainful for stirring the power of God into action on our behalf for His glorious Kingdoms sake!

Amen ya'll
Dale

I don't know where you are in your faith journey, but I do know that all of us are on one! What's amazing about the Father to me is how He manages to assist and prompt and goad and encourage each and every one of us even though the situation's and distinctions are vastly different. Yet many of our circumstances are not uniquely our own! We each have differing needs and desires, but most of us have very similar area's that require divine assistance.

Knowing that our Heavenly Father is vastly aware of them and that He has the ability to keep us in the hollow of His hand gives me great comfort! Some of us need constant propping up and encouragement, some are full of zeal and need some balance, some desperately need healing or peace of mind, solace from grief, relief from despair,calmness in a spiritual storm, help within their families, etc, etc.

My Brother Ron has a saying which I love, "Either God's got it or He doesn't"

I have found that to be true 100% of the time in everything we do as a ministry team and in our personal lives. I think it's nothing more than learning to completely surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, by laying down our own selfish desires whatever they may be and just simply and purely trust in the Lord by faith, which in turn allows us to find a place where we are continually walking in God's awesome favor!

That's the place I believe that Spiritwind Ministry is just now beginning to enter into! We have evidenced a uniquely different level of anointing as we minister.
We have found favor with such a diverse group of Ministries and Churches that can only come from the Father. He is knitting our hearts together with like minded brothers and sisters who have a desire to make a difference in their part of this world. This is truly exciting to witness and to be a participant! Most of all it is extremely humbling!

We pray that you'll find God's awesome favor flowing all around and through your life! As the word says "He is our Peace!" and when His favor comes you'll have more peace than you can imagine!

We're taking a few weeks off for rest and studio work so please keep us in your prayers, especially keep Sonnie lifted up as we're believing for a complete healing for her back.

Oh yeah I almost forgot! We are now producing a quarterly newsletter and would love for you to have one. Just email us and we'll make sure you get a copy emailed back to you.

God Bless you all!
Dale

The event's of this past weekend were just that! A very humbling and unique blessing to all of us! We had a great trip to Quincy, Florida and spent a very restful evening at the home of our CMA friends Joan and Bob Wimmer, who graciously allowed us the use of their beautiful home. They were out of town on a road trip of their own and I'm thinking they had sunstroke when they offered us their residence while they were away. (trusting souls the Wimmers!) I must admit that we cleaned up our messes and we all behaved ourselves except Sonnie of course! (Who else!!)

On Sunday about noontime we arrived at the Gadsden Womens Correctional Facility and met our hosts Ferd and Beverly Sebastian who have a wonderful ministry of placing rescued Greyhounds and other Dogs in the care of inmates at a number of different prisons throughout the United States. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. To see the interaction between the girls and their dogs was amazing.

After going through the security check-in which took nearly an hour to get all of our instruments and stuff through, we had to hand carry everything across the compound about four hundred yards to the Recreation Hall. We looked like we were on safari, I think. (Did I mention that it was somewhere around 94 Degrees out!)

Along with our Guard escort was the the Prison chaplain, I'm sorry I've forgotten her name, but she was precious. She told me while we were slepping our equipment that we were originally scheduled to be in the Air Conditioned Chapel which only seated about 100 or so, but the Warden wanted all the inmates to have an opportunity to participate so they moved the service and little ole' us into the Gym!

(Did I mention that it had no A/C!) (Thanks Warden!)

It was about a hundred degrees inside that building,(i'm exaggerating here! They did have fans blowing some air around!) I've got to tell you we didn't care because the blessings that followed overruled the heat! I think each of us lost about ten pounds apiece from sweating though.

(well at least Jim and Ron and I did, I know Sonnie only glowed, as women do not perspire!)

By the time we got set up and did a quick sound check we had a mob of women setting up chairs. The Lord certainly showed up and we had church! The Spirit of the Lord descended upon us all and swept through that hall like a sweet and refreshing mighty rushing wind (Thanks again Warden, for the blessing was well worth it all!)

It was quite an experience and one we'd gladly repeat should the Lord open the door for us. I didn't think I'd be saying that, and I can't speak for the others but I must admit I had some trepidation about ministering in a prison, it is way out of my own comfort zone. But the Lord gave us favor and I think we were more blessed by these women than they were by us being there and playing for them.

Jim and I were talking afterward's of just how humbling it was to see these folks worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ so sincerely and freely in a place of extreme confinement. It makes you stop and ask yourself if you'd be able to worship God if it was you who was encircled by twelve foot high electric fences adorned with razor wire. (hhmmm?)

We had the chance to speak with many of them and pray for them before we left. It was exhilirating and exhausting all at the same time. Ferd called Ronnie as we were on the way home and told us that the Guard count at the service was 390 women! All I can say is WOW! Praise God for it was worth all the toteting and sweating' and everything else.

I couldn't help but think of the Lord speaking the verse about "I was in prison and ye visited me!" I'm thankful that we had this opportunity to serve in some small way and bring light into a dark place. Which in hindsight I'm not so sure there's as much darkness there as I thought! I could see the love of Jesus shining brightly in many many eyes! Praise the Lord. I'd encourage you to pray for those who are in prison's of every sort!

Till next time, God bless you!
Dale

We've been on the Gospel trail quite a bit the last few weeks and the Lord has been so good to us. We've made a lot of new friends at some awesome churches and events! We're privileged and grateful to have such an opportunity at this time in our lives!

Coming up is a chance to share some time at the Sons of God MC National rally this weekend. We're looking forward to having some excellent fellowship time with these hard working servants for the Lord! I know it will be an exciting and blessed time!
Then we have been afforded an awesome opportunity to do something we've never done before and that is to share the love of Christ with inmates at the Gadsden state womens prison in Quincy, Florida on June 6th!

( I find it interesting and somewhat amusing that the Lord has assigned us the task of making a landing on a different kind of spiritual beachhead on this most Historic of days!)

Like those brave men who stormed the shores of Normandy to push back the forces of evil and darkness and pound them into oblivion some 60 odd years ago, I pray that we will be empowered mightily to storm the strongholds that the enemy of our Souls has established in the lives of the women at Gadsden and boldly shine light into a dark place and help set captive's free from bondage by the power of the Blood and the word of our testimony. We're praying for Salvation and Restoration and Healing to take place as we share the Love of Jesus Christ!

(please pray that God's will be done, His Anointing will flow over and through us, that bonds will be broken and blind eyes opened! That the Love and Glory of Christ will shine brightly and please pray for each of us in Spiritwind that we may go boldly holding high the banner of Christ!)

So I hope you take the time this Memorial weekend to look past the hotdogs and watermelon and take some time to thank our veterans who paid the price for our freedom! This is a time to remember and honor those brave men and women who sacrificed in past conflicts and those presently serving around this troubled world on our behalf!

Pray for our troops who are on the battlefield right now and all our service men and women and their families. As a veteran and the proud parent of an Airman First Class son, who is presently serving, I pray that God will bless and honor each of these individuals who serve so unselfishly!

We look forward to seeing you somewhere soon and pray the Lord continues to bless you in all your endeavors to further the Kingdom of God!

Remember to thank God and a veteran for the peace and freedom you enjoy!

Dale

If you have known the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit for anytime now you know that this statement is absolutely true! (Gospel ad infinitum!!!!)  I can't give you the mathematical n factor because it is to big a number.  (Oh if you're the least bit mathematical to begin with you'll understand what I'm saying.)

We have gotten so much of a blessing out of doing what we do. (Which we consider a very humbling experience every time we get to go somewhere to play music and be with folks!)

Last weekend was so relaxing and exciting at the same time.  Sitting in the shade outdoors at the Suwanee River campground with our CMA  brothers and sisters and the staff.  It was a real treat!  It was exciting to hear that you precious servants here in the state of Florida raised over 100K dollars for Run for the Son!

 Kudo's to you and your resourcefulness to help fund Kingdom work all over the world!  (If that's you stand up and take a bow and accept a hearty slap on the back from all of us.)

The Father recently blessed us with some new equipment to make music with and record so we're excited to get to work on that process very soon.  (pray for us it is arduous but fun!)

Speaking of fun, we have some ministry events coming up that we're looking forward to with maximum anticipation.  Check out our calendar page and hopefully we'll be somewhere close to you and we'd love to see ya!  

One event that I'm fairly sure we won't get to see you at is in prison!  (egads!  Nope!  Sonnie has not bumped us all off yet though she's threatened to a few dozen times!)

We've been invited to bring our music ministry to the Gadsden Correctional facilitya Womens prison in Quincy, Florida the first part of June.  That will be a very interesting day I'm sure.  We really need your prayer covering for this one.  We have a chance to minister to the entire prison population on that day and I pray that God's precious anointing will flow like Niagara Falls over those ladies and the guards and the warden and staff!

(Please pray they let us leave once it's over will ya? Hmm maybe they could keep Sonnie for a day or two or a month! Hee!)  (Just kidding baby sister!)

The Father has been so good to us financially as well.  We've never gone anywhere He hasn't provided for us and made a way where there didn't seem to be one.  I believe He takes care of His own and pays for what He orders.  He is just absolutely awesome in this regard!  He uses individuals, groups and churches to help us along this journey and it is deeply appreciated by every one of us in Spiritwind.  

Go do something for the Kingdom today and be blessed in all you do!  We love you and pray that the Lord God Almighty reveals His gracious goodness toward you!

Till next time,

Dale

I can't believe it's time for the annual Run for the Son get together again!  I have to admit it's one of my favorite trips and places to be and play and worship together with some great CMA brothers and sisters!

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Father has in store for us in the beautiful woods along the Suwanee River as we venture to the North Florida gathering for the whole weekend!

Great food! Relaxing atmosphere!  The folks who run the campground are awesome!  Best part is Jesus always does something special there.  We seem to always get a chance to impact somebodies life in a way that's totally unexpected and unforeseen!

Just sitting around and pickin and grinnin is special for us.  We hope that all the chapters everywhere across the country and around the world are blessed to raise more money this year than at any other time and that the Lord will multiply it like He did with the loaves and fishes.

We're excited that the Father has blessed us with some new recording equipment so we can begin working on CD'S FOUR & FIVE!!!  (bout time eh?)  Pray for us.  We'll be able to do a lot of the musical work and lay down tracks before going to Studio in the Oaks to do vocals and polish everything up with our great friend and musical mentor Dan McCraw.

I'm looking forward to finally getting some of the new songs done, mainly because ya'll have been asking for them and because there seems to be more new one's showing up!  Thank you Jesus!

A quick update and report from last weekend at Leesburg.  It was the most anointed service there that I can remember over the past few that I've been to anyway.  God moved and a lot of folks got saved and many rededications took place!  It was a wonderful experience and a real breakthrough for the Kingdom of God at this most secular event!

Please keep us in your prayers and we hope to see you along the way at one of our ministry opportunities. Check out the calendar page we may be showing up somewhere near you over the next several weeks.

 

Til then God Bless you richly!

Dale

I know it's been a while since we've posted any new news on the site and want to apologize for being somewhat distracted the past few weeks!  Lot's of "just life" stuff going on!  How about you?

We've been busy and the Lord is blessing and of course we're also very excited to see what He is about to do.  We had an awesome Easter morning service with our local chapter of CMA.  Jim preached a great and short message and lot's of bikes and folks got prayed for and that was special.

We made some new friends this past weekend in Green Cove Springs, where we played at the St.Paul Episcopal church's annual fish fry.  An outdoor event that was awesome, great food!  Great folks, we got to share the stage with two other southern gospel groups, and got to make some new friends and saw the start of some good relationships with them.  

This weekend we're off to the Annual Leesburg Bike Festival and are excited to see what God has in store.  Pray for souls to be saved and lives touched and healing waters to flow!  I can't believe that this is my fifth or sixth time playing there since I joined Spiritwind back in 04!  Whew!  Where does the time go anyway?

Please keep us in your prayers as we need all the spiritual support we can get!  Hope to see some of you soon.  The Lord keeps opening new doors for us to go and share His music with new folks and that's wonderful, but we miss seeing a lot of our old friends.  Give us a shout on the website every now and then it does encourage us believe you me!

 

Til next time,

God bless

Dale

The title pretty much says it all!
It has been a busy busy few weeks for us!

God is so good and He has helped us get through all the things that are going on!

Bike week has come and gone and it was absolutely awesome to see the Lord working in peoples lives.

We had a chance to visit with our great friends Mountain Man and Shirley, TJ and Jane, and all the borthers and sisters in CMA!

We're in a holding pattern this month. I believe the Lord is giving us some time to get our house in order and get a lot of new music worked out, before we hit the road again soon.

Please pray for us as we move forward on this incredible journey. Some of us need a healing touch from God! (Getting older has it's challenges!)

We pray the Lord blesses you and your ministry as you let His light shine through you.

God Bless!
Dale

Amazing isn't it that we've already whisked through a whole month in a new year!

While keeping in mind just how rapidly time is passing by for us, and focusing on the thought that we only have "eleven to go" for this year, it makes me take a moment and stop to think about what our plan is for the immediate future.

Do you have one?

I've tried to narrow mine down to asking the Father to show me how to be humble and more Christlike in my daily walk.

To be honest I've been under conviction about how I act and react to everything that happens to me whenever and wherever I find myself.

It's on my heart to do my utmost to show the attributes of my Lord in word and deed to the Father when I'm alone, and to the world when I'm out in public!

Not that I'm evenly remotely close to achieving this goal, but I've set my eye on it and am applying do diligence!

I just want to be a blessing in a world gone mad! How about you?

Please find a moment and pray about your God designed goals for the remainder of 2010!

Please pray for us as we endeavor to be obedient to the call of God on our collective lives in this ministry and the changes ahead of us and the paths we must walk.

We thank you in advance for your prayer support!

Finally, I'm convinced that there is nothing impossible for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!

I'm convinced that we have a powerful message of Hope and Peace and Love that this beat up old world needs to hear!

I'm convinced that the word of God shall prevail against the onslaught of doubters and mockers and the insolent!

I'm convinced that with "eleven to go" we can make a difference in the lives of those around us if we're willing to pay the price and sacrifice for the cause of Christ!

I'm excited that we have a light to shine in this present darkness. A cup of cool water in this time of thirst. A loaf of bread in this time of intense hunger.

Because we serve a God who supply's our every need.

With "eleven to go" we can Arise and shine!

God Bless!
Dale

I don't know about you, but was the past ten years a weird decade or not? I believe we just went through a really fuzzy out of focus desert walking time in our lives!

If you didn't then God bless you. I'm going to talk to those of you who think maybe you did just a little bit.

I know I did! Lots of silly crazy stuff went on and on and on and on. (okay, you get the picture!)
The past however is past! (Thank God!!!)

As I look back at all that stuff which seemed bad and bewildering to me, I've come to realize that behind the scenes the Father God was always there working out His plan for me and as a result, I was blessed with so many many things!

I joined this ministry in 2004 and have had the privilege of singing with the most talented best friends I've ever known!

God has seen fit to allow me to write down some of the most awesome melodies and song lyrics of my entire life.

He's given me plot lines for at least five books of fiction and short stories, an inspirational series of books. Published my first book of poetry!

Married my most precious wife Patty, and as I write this, I realize that what seemed like bad stuff was only a veiled mist compared to all the gloriously wonderful things I've been through and continue in!

I'm sure Jim and Sonnie and Ronnie all have similar blessing reports that they could give you as well!

The point is we made it through and now we can Look ahead!

So, I think I can speak for all of Spiritwind when I say that we're so excited about our collective future and the path which lies ahead for us as we follow the Lords leading!

I pray you too will look forward to a new year and decade with maximum anticipation as you discover all the wonderful things which God has planned for you.

Just stay humble and keep your eye's on Jesus and you'll be amazed at the peace and serenity that you'll experience in your life, even when things become a bit chaotic all around you.

We want to thank everyone of you for your words of encouragement, prayers, and financial support which you've been so kind to give to this ministry this past year!

Words can't even begin to express our deep appreciation!


Our prayer is that you will abound in blessings in 2010.

If things should from time to time get a bit fuzzy remember, "Look unto the hills for whence cometh thy salvation!"

God Bless and Happy New Year!!!!

Dale

Just like that old Christmas song that goes"it's the most wonderful time of year!" I am excited to know that God is in control and we've only got to get out of the way and let Him be himself!

With Christmas only days away and everybody's attention focused on the big holiday! I hope and pray that we can stop and be a blessing and make our live's be a gift to someone who could use a friend or a kind word or a smile at just the right moment in their lives!
Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send you into the fields and reap! It's an awesome time to get people's attention!

Stand up for Jesus! It is after all his birth that we should be celebrating, not this grossly over-commercialized "holiday" that we have to endure just to please the politically correct crowd of unbelievers!
Be strong and courageous and be encouraged in the Lord for as the angel proclaimed so long ago to those frightened shepherds,

"Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." Lk 2:10-11...

I pray a multitude of blessings for you this Christmas. I pray for Godly blessings like salvations and healings and spiritual renewals in your family and among your friends and at your workplace. I pray for a groundswell of Praise to come to America and the world. I pray that the enemies of peace shall find the justice of the Hand of Almighty God. Hallelujah!

Spiritwind wishes you all an abundance of blessings this Christmas.

I think finishing off with verses 13 and 14 sums everything up quite nicely,

"and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Merry Christmas and amen
Dale

Oh My Merciful Father! How did it get to be Thanksgiving again so fast? I'm stunned that we're at this juncture in our lives once again. Where in the world does the time go!

I feel like part of that old Steve Miller song, (you know the one that goes, "Time keeps on slipping slipping into the future!") I know you probably know what I'm talking about. It seems like it was only a little while ago I was writing the bit about thanksliving in this venue!

We have been truly blessed this past year and God has brought some amazing folks into our lives offering council and support to our ministry!

We are looking forward to what the Father is about to do with us in the upcoming year with maximum anticipation!

We're off to the House of Peace near Crystal River on Dec 6th...then back to Legacy Baptist Church in Alachua and the CMA sponsored fallen biker memorial ride Saturday the 12th and the Church on sunday the 13th! Then it's break time for the Christmas and New Year Holidays!

We are truly blessed and want to thank all of our friends for your prayer support this year!

We are also thankful for our good health and spiritual growth, the wonderful financial blessings we've enjoyed, and for all the new songs the Father has given us which will most likely show up on CD number four, once we start that project next year!

I think I can speak for everybody in the band when I extend heart felt blessings to you and your family this Thanksgiving and I hope and pray that the Father blesses you beyond your understanding!

Love you all...
Dale