A country church where the world meets to worship

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I reached over and turned off the 5:15 a.m. alarm. Rubbing my face with my hands, I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I threw back the covers and headed towards the bathroom to wash myself awake.
The hotel room looked like many others that I stay in week after week when I am on the road to share my music, so I finished getting ready, slipped into my suit and carried down my bags and instruments and loaded the car and made my way to the breakfast room by 6 a.m. to eat a bite before taking the twenty -minute drive to the church from Americus. Read more

Country humorist and actor Randall Franks appears with former President Jimmy Carter

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Franks, Randall, Pres.Carter 2016

From left, Pastor Jeremy Shoulta, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, former President Jimmy Carter and International Bluegrass Music Museum Legend Randall Franks. (Randall Franks Media)

Country music humorist Randall Franks, “Officer Randy Goode” from TV’s “In the Heat of the Night,” recently debuted music and comedy from his upcoming Christian CD “Keep ‘Em Smilin’” at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. to an international congregation.

“Performing years ago for a Carter family gathering and grand marshaling the Plains Day Parade are some of my favorite memories of my entire career and I shared those experiences in my latest book Encouragers II,” Franks said. “I was so honored to join in study, worship, and sharing of musical gifts with the congregation at Maranatha including some old and many new friends. It was a blessing to be with the Carters again whose service greatly influenced my youth and inspired my desire to serve.”

Pastor Jeremy Shoulta shared a musically-themed sermon entitled “Why Sing” based on Colossians 3:12-17. Franks blended his fiddling, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer sounds with songs and humorous stories intertwining with the message and congregational hymns. Hymns were led by music leader Danny Ariail and supported by Maranatha musicians Carol Anderson and Jan Williams. The congregation included worshippers from China, Japan, Australia, U.K., Canada and within the U.S. from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. Former President Jimmy Carter taught a lesson on King Solomon and then joined in worship with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Also among the congregation was National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis.

Franks’s latest book is “Encouragers II: Walking with the Masters” and his new CD “Keep ‘Em Smilin’” from Crimson Records will release in May. For more information, visit https://randallfranks.com/

A little country sound goin’ ‘round

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Two of my favorites country performers Gene Watson and John Anderson are back with successes to share.

Gene Watson blends traditional, organic country that purists long for in his new album, Real.Country.Music., available across digital retailers. Watson’s 33rd studio album charted at No. 72 on Billboard Top Country Albums and is No. 1 on Amazon’s best-selling classic country albums. Read more

Activity helps strengthen each day

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Click, click, click, click, emanates from my sneakers as I walk along the hiking path ever hopeful that with each passing mile I am a little more fit and well on my way to losing the few pounds I am seeking to shed.

After opening boxes, and pulling jeans up only to find they will not close and a crowbar will be needed to get them back off. Read more

Spring forward with hope

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As the first yellow daffodil lifts the dirt from the formally cold ground. Its green blades protect it as it finds its way rising towards the warmth of the sun. As God paints a splash of colors alongside a variety of beautiful colors against the rolling green hills, I feel a sense of hope. The warmth shines upon my skin warming the depth of my soul as I soak in the blue of the Spring sky.

The depth of the gray of winter begins to fade away from my heart as I seem to be frozen in the moment of time. If only for this moment I revel in the miracles of God’s creation, as hope seems to reach up from the earth through the bottom of my feet reaching throughout my cells.

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Glistening from the heat

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I watched the white sheers wave gently back and forth in the windows of the living room as the breeze eased its way into the house.
It was an extraordinarily hot day. By mid morning the coolness gained in the previous night had given way to the demands of the sun making everyone glisten in anticipation for the afternoon that would change all of us into a cross between a drenched cat and a swimmer climbing out of the deep spot in the creek. Read more

Birds in the wind

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I am walking down a dark lane lined with trees which have shed their leaves. I see in the trees one bird it seems to cower and shiver in the wind. Its feathers seem to be worn with time. It moves closer to the trunk of the tree as the wind blows harder. Read more

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

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There are not many instances that we today have an application for such a question.

Tunnels are few and far in between in our day-to-day travels unless you live where subways or mountain tunnels are the norm. Read more

Stella is a Mountain Songbird

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One of my favorite music and acting friends is my former film co-star Stella Parton.

She enjoyed in recent months the opportunity to be depicted as a youth and to portray another character – “Corla Bass” in the NBC movie “Coat of Many Colors” highlighting the experiences of the Appalachian family highlighted in her sister’s hit song of the same name. Read more

Alone in a crowd

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As I scanned the banquet hall filled wall to wall with people, I saw many faces that struck a memory of meeting in the past.
Through the years with some of them, I had even become what might be described as friends. People with whom I had shared common experiences, told stories and found the opportunity to know more about. Read more