Let the Sonshine In!

I've been singing this a LOT lately because of the gorgeous sunshine, so I thought I'd share it with you!  Beautiful weather really does show how much Jesus loves us!!
Let the son shine in! Face it with a grin. Smilers never lose; and frowners never win! So let the son shine in! Face it with a grin! Just open up your heart and let the Son. Shine. In.

http://www.concordsmusic.com/

March Madness

Well, it is March 11 and there's been no madness in March for The Concords. The last month and a half had been so slow. We have not sang very much, so we have been working on other thing in our lives. Amaber and Ashley and I are still staying busy with school. This week was midterms.... I have all A's! I know, yay me! Ha!

Tomorrow night, we are having new Concord pictures taken at AJ Productions in Pt. Pleasant, WV.We can't wait to show them to you!

Please continue to keep Wes in your prayers. He is in the Top 2 for a job close to home. I'm praying he gets it so he can be home more! God has a plan, though. Whatever it is, we will go with it. We're just hoping His plan is to give Wes THIS job. It seems to be perfect. It is close to home, the other workers are happy, and most are Christians. Who doesn't want to work t a place like that?!

I'll let you see a few pics from our shoot soon!

Check in with us soon!
Elizabeth

Dear Blog: I did not forget about you. Love, Liz

So, it's been a long time since I actually blogged (minus the Miss America video). Truth is, there's not much going on with The Concords... we sang once this month in Gallipolis, Ohio, which was great! They said they can't wait to have us back!  We are currently trying to pick new songs for our new CD. People are constantly emailing songs to us.... many of them that we love! James Rainey, an AMAZING pianist, is doing the music for the new tracks. He recently came off the road to spend more time with his new wife, Laura. He has played for many gospel groups, such as The Stamps, and, the most recent: Ron Blackwood.  He and his wife moved to Gallipolis about 2 months ago. 

We're very sad to tell you that The Gospel Border Tour has been cancelled. We're really unsure of why this conclusion was made. The onlly thing that we were told is that they needed to figure outsome PR stuff on the other side of the ocean. Maybe next time, I guess. Everything happens for a reason.

This last month was a bit trying for our family.  Our cousin, Gary, drowned after falling off of a barge on which he was working.  He was only 25. He had no chance due to the current of the Ohio river, tug of the boat, and the icy cold water...not to mention it was in the middle of the night. One thing I have learned from this: Losing one life might bring eternal life to many others. This accident woke up many of his friends, co-workers, and family members. They learned that you MUST be ready to pass on and ANY given moment.  My family heard words come out of some people's mouths that we never thought we would have heard.  I must say, God knew what He was doing when he called Gary home. RIP Gary Thanks for the great memories I have of you!

Amber, Ashley, and I started our Spring semester at the University of Rio Grande last month. I must say, I am one busy chick! Well, we all are. The girls are busy with Education classes, working on campus, and cheerleading for the Rio Storm!! I'm busy with 20 credit hours, and two internships, working at Rio, taking pics (www.wix.xom/EAPhotography/home), editing pics, babysitting my nieces every Friday, and... well, I think that's it...maybe. Haha! Trust me, I'm NOT complaining! I'm very thankful for my jobs, my nieces, and my school. I'm especially grateful for my schooling because it is COMPLETELY free!!!!! And in one year I will have my Associates in Communications, Bachelors in Mass Communications, and a BS in Public Relations! Shew! I'm also going to minor in Photography, but if that means Ill be there an extra semester, I think Ill just take the digital photography class and be done with it! In the meantime I am taking complete advantage of my scholarship.

As many of you know, Wes is still working in Columbus. You probably also know that we both hate the situation since I must be here; he must be there. We are praying and praying for a job to come to him. It's been really hard on us, especially being newlyweds. Most people look forward to spending time with their new spouse. We just get the weekends. Even though it's very trying and stressful (for me especially), I'm having faith that God has something in store for Wes and I. We are, however, very grateful and appreciative that he has a job in this economy. We have learned to be patient and give it to God.  I keep telling myself what The Greenes' song says "You don't have to understand... God has another plan." Amen!

Keep me and my entire family in your prayers! God knows our needs.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

P.S. Feb 5: Happy First Birthday, Mister Lincoln! We love you!

(I love this pic.... I took it! Ha! Isn't he just so stinkin' cute!)

Miss America talks about Faith!

Royal Performance

If anyone knows my sisters and I in the slightest bit, you MUST know that we LOVE pageants... yep! Being in them, watching them, directing, emceeing, performing, helping, whatever! We love them! We have been very active in pageants for many years. I have been the longest... since fifth grade to be exact. I started with Miss Preteen Ohio (where I placed top twenty!!), then did National American Miss (13th out of 178), and went on to do others. I was Miss Gallia County ( my favorite) in 2007, which is like Miss America to some in Gallia County.

Last year, Amber competed in the Ohio Cinderella State pageant. She won the State Talent award. Ashley competed in Miss Columbus Teen, where she placed 1st runner up. Both pageants were under the direction of Mrs. Judy Kyees, a noted pageant director and coach. She is a genius!!!!! She invited us to sing the national anthem at the 2010 Miss Columbus Teen pageant. She also want Amber to sing "Red Letter Day," Judy's fave song from our CD. We felt as if we sang the Star Spangled Banner better than ever. It's truly amazing to  hear to hoops-n-hollers from the audience, as well as the screams, when you know you nail a song. What better song to sing than one that praises our soldiers for their hard work! Well, other than a song about Jesus DYING for us! hehe!

Thanks, Judy, for inviting us to your pageant. We hope you invite us back. Congratulations to miss Avery Stump on winning the well deserved crown!

Til next time, ya'll,
Lizzy!!!

Have a holly, jolly Christmas!!!! and Birthday!

Well, today is Christmas Eve...and we are celebrating Dad's birthday. He's 51 years young today. We had a birthday breakfast for him and he opened his gifts. He was very excited that Wes and I bought him a DVD of 20 Westerns, Mamaw and Papaw bought him some PJ's, a bird feeder, and a little digital thermometer that tells you how to dress! It was cute. Haha!

I'm very eager for 4:30 to come because that means Wes will be home from work and we can go to his Mom's for Christmas with his immediate family and then with her extended family. I love this time of the year! Unfortunately, Madison, mine and Wes's 3 year old niece, is sick with strep throat. I feel bad for her because she doesn't feel like doing anything or opening her gifts. It kind of takes the magic out of Christmas for a little kid when they're sick.

Tomorrow, Wes and I will open our gifts from eachother, then we will go to Mom and Dad's to open gifts. It will be a VERY busy morning because we are going up the hill to Mamaw and Papaw Miller's at noon. Our whole Miller family will be there. Chaos!!

Tomorrow night, I will be hosting Christmas dinner for mine and Wes's families. I'm fixing Italian food. Yum =)  This weekend, Mom's family will come to her house to celebrate Christmas.

During the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, be sure to take plenty of time to remember the REAL reason for the season: Jesus.  God gave his son for US. You AND me. He sent Him to earth to live a perfect life, for us to learn from, and to show us how much he loves us.  If you do not know Jesus as your personal savior, give yourself the very best gift you can this year, and ask him to forgive you. He will come into your heart and be your best friend.

Remember to spend time with your family anf friends and do not get caught up in the secular portion of Christmas.

God bless and Merry Christmas from The Concords!!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend in cold, northern Ohio

Yes, in case you are wondering, it's cold in southeastern Ohio, too. Ohio's weather is completely different usually between northern and southern Ohio. Down here, we don't get a ton of snow; up north they get blizzards. While we were up there, we woke up to ice covered steps, roads, cars, and gravel!

We drove 300+ miles in two cars on Saturday morning/afternoon to Kinsman, Ohio.  We were 28 miles from Ashtabula, the highest point in Ohio. We slid into the bed and breakfast the church rented for us and got ready to sing. Dad and Wes flew over to the church to set up the sound. They got back right at 5 and we left at 5:30; slid into the church about 10 minutes before 6. We set up our CD table and started sing about 6:05. Let's just say, it took a little longer to get there than we anticipated. It took us 6 hours, including a couple pit stops. You know, girls will be girls, if you know what I mean....

After we sang Saturday night, the church prepared a delicious dinner of ham, potatoe salad, my favorite-- potatoes, and other foods. It was Mmm...Mmm... Good! We went back to the bed and breakfast and played the board game 'Sorry.' Well, the girls did. Wes watched and Dad watched football on TV.  When morning came, we were fed bacon, pancakes, and fresh fruit. When we arrived at the church, they also had breakfast, so we ate a little there too. It was all delicious! We sang again that morning. After church, we ate lunch with the church--Mom's very very favorite, spaghetti!

We really enjoyed our mini-vaca to northern Ohio. None of us had been to that part of Ohio before, so it was nice to experience. It actually reminded us a lot of our home town. Very small, rural, mostly farms, little churches, and Amish people. On the other hand, it was flat and you could see for miles. I mean, there was only 2 curves in the road! I think we have one straight stretch in Gallia Co. It was kind of funny to have to explain where we were from. They said we talked like we were from Tennessee. This happens EVERYWHERE we go. We finally just say "You heard of Bob Evans?.....We live 9 miles from the original restaraunt and homestead." Then you can kind of see the light bulbs click on. It's the only thing people have heard of. One man did know that we have good flea markets around here. Too funny!

So, anywho, we loved the little historical church. It was built in 1877 and had truly gorgeous architecture, and Christmas decorations.  The people were truly gracious. You could tell they had a huge desire to serve others (by feeding so many people)and to serve God. He is a GREAT God, like Pastor Duane said.  We are very eager and excited to be back to northern Ohio in the spring to meet our new  friends again.

Until next time,

Elizabeth <3

Welcome to my blog!

I have created this blog for all of The Concords followers!

We are very excited for the season! We are ready to get started on pursuing and growing our ministry. Throughout 2010, we plan on making & recording another CD, getting a bus (majorly needed!!), and getting ready for the Gospel Border Tour in Belgium and The Netherlands!! Through this blog, you will read about our journey we are taking and will continue taking until we can't 'journey' any longer!

First of all, as many of you know, I am Elizabeth Clary. I am the oldest of the 3 Miller girls. My sisters and parents and I sing as The Concords. I recently married my love, Wes Clary.... yep, that's why my name is different!

Through this blog, I hope I give you the courage to grow your relationship with Christ. If you do not know him as your personal Savior, I pray you find Him! He is the true one and only king! If you have any requests, needs, or wants, please feel free to drop me a line at concordsblog@live.com or send a comment right here!
I look forward to telling you about our journey.

Have a good evening & God bless!
Elizabeth