Bluegrass Festival with Sandy Cherryholmes!

Welcome to the "Seasons of Humility" Bluegrass Festival! Today we are hosting Sandy Cherryholmes of the bluegrass band Cherryholmes! Here's a little bit of background about Sandy from their website:

"Sandy plays a hard-hitting mandolin style and driving rhythm that keep the band's momentum going. For special numbers, she switches to the clawhammer banjo. From hard hitting bluegrass gospel to old-time mountain and country tunes, she does it all. Her yodeling, and her step dancing are real crowd pleasers. Sandy is also a great harmony singer and proficient song writer, and enjoys writing gospel music."

Sandy, Jere, their two sons (B.J. and Skip), and their two daughters (Cia and Molly) make up the band that is Cherryholmes. Here's a brief description of the band:

"With their roots based in bluegrass, Celtic, and jazz music, Cherryholmes has stormed to the top of the music world since winning the 2005 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Award for Entertainer of the Year."

To find out more about the band, click HERE to visit their website.

And now I am very excited to introduce you all to Sandy Cherryholmes!

Amber: Welcome, Sandy! How did you and your family become interested in bluegrass music?

Sandy: Jere and I stumbled upon a bluegrass radio show in California many years ago. We tuned in every Saturday morning. It was a lot of fun to listen to. After our daughter Shelly passed away (March 12, 1999), we took the family to a local bluegrass festival. We had a great time. Jere thought the music would be fun to play and easy enough for the youngest to catch on to. He said we should start a family bluegrass jam. I began working with them during the day (they were home-schooled) and we would jam at night with Jere. The kids picked it up quickly. We spent many memorable evenings jamming in our living room.

Amber: What is it like being in a band as a family? Do you feel that it draws you closer together?

Sandy: It is very special playing music as a family. There is a certain chemistry that occurs within a family. We play off each others energies. The music has taken us to different parts of the world. We have shared so many experiences together--bad and good (mostly good).

Amber: It is obvious in your music that you are a very close-knit group.

What is your favorite song that you (or one of the members of your family) have written and why is it your favorite?

Sandy: "This is My Son" written by Cia is probably the most special of our songs. We sincerely pray for and support our men and women in uniform who sacrifice for our freedoms. This song was written to acknowledge that the families they leave behind are making their own sacrifices as well.

Amber: That is a beautiful song, and one that has blessed me very much, as well!

What is your favorite place that you have visited while on tour?

Sandy: I love going to the UK, but I have to say that the Bluegrass Cruise is my favorite event. We've been to the Carribean about 6 times. There's something about the combination of bluegrass music, friends, ocean breeze, and turquoise water that makes for a perfect bluegrass experience. We go every February.

Amber: Oh, what I wouldn't give to join you! Sounds delightful.

Being in the music industry, do you prefer performing live or do you prefer the process involved in recording a CD?

Sandy: We make our living on the road. Our mainstay is the live performance. We enjoy making friends. The recording process takes only a few weeks and occurs every 1 to 1-1/2 years. It is another great dimension of the business. The tricky part is that touring and recording have to be juggled to happen at the same time. Sometimes we have returned from a 10 or 12 hour drive, slept a few hours and headed for the studio. We may put in three 12 hour days of recording, and then meet the bus for an 8 or more hours drive to the next show. It isn't all glamorous! Recording is very stressful, but the finished product is very gratifying.

Amber: Tying in with the title of this blog, “Seasons of Humility,” do you ever struggle with humility now that Cherryholmes as a band has become so popular? If so, do you have any advice you can share with us from your journey to be humble before God?

Sandy: That is a very good question. The goal of a musician is to be the best. An artist is constantly being photographed, constantly being praised. An artist who is known to be Christian is often scrutinized. We keep each other accountable. Our band was given to us as a gift. It was God's gift of healing. From the very beginning, we tried to do our best as He would expect us to do. But there have been certain things we wouldn't compromise to get ahead. We have prayed for God to close doors if we couldn't see if something was right or wrong. He has done just that. There are opportunities we have been denied because of our values. We are all content in that. We all have had times when we may have wanted a little more attention or praise than we were getting, but we have to put those feelings in their proper place in order to work together. I'm proud of the kids. They have never expressed bitter feelings because of a another sibling's accomplishments. We truly just feel thankful for everything we've been able to do. In our hearts, we are still that struggling family in L.A. who God gave a special blessing to. Perhaps that is the key--remembering where we came from helps us to see how much more we received than we deserved.

Amber: Thank you for sharing your heart and that wonderful advice! And I love that idea of "remembering where we came from," which is kind of what bluegrass music is, in a way--remembering our roots.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Sandy! Cherryholmes creates phenomenal music, and it has been my pleasure to introduce you to my readers!


Now, readers, I hope you don't mind if I share a video I put together this past summer (one I already shared when I was posting about my trip to Washington D.C.). I think it would be fitting to share it again, since Sandy told us that the song I used in the slide show/movie ("This is My Son") is the band's most special song.



The music of Cherryholmes is touching, haunting, and beautiful. If you would like a chance to win an iTunes download of your choice of one of their CDs, leave a comment with your e-mail address saying you would like to be entered in the giveaway! A winner will be announced on Sunday, October 24.

An Unbelievable Experience

How can I describe in words what I can barely comprehend myself? As I was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, I was in awe that I was actually there. In just a short amount of time I have felt blessed by God to not only see some amazing sights with family, but also to be reminded of the great sacrifices many have made for our freedom.

Following are a few of the spectacular sights we saw today, and after that will be my thoughts on the Visitation Service tonight, along with a video I put together to try to capture the feelings I had when seeing the war memorials. Enjoy!

The Washington Monument is a thrill to see, no matter what angle! Quite a few of my pictures ended up including this monument.

This is at the base of the Washington Monument. It was encircled by numerous United States flags. Isn't it beautiful?

The Lincoln Memorial . . . simply breathtaking! Lots of steps and lots of people (and lots of wetness from the rain), but what a view from where Lincoln sits!

Here is Lincoln! (Much more imposing "in person"--as a statue--than this picture shows!) I confess that I thought about Night at the Museum 2 when approaching this monument. =)

The reflecting pool looks like a bridge (in this view) from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial (which is where I was standing while taking this picture). What an incredible sight!

And of course I had to include a picture of the White House! I didn't get very close (as you can see from this picture), but it was neat to see it in the distance just the same!

After we returned from seeing these great sights, we rested (well, technically I worked on stuff for this blog!), ate a group dinner at the hotel, and then we met to go to Murphy Funeral Home for the Visitation Service.

And wow--talk about moving! Hearing about the lives of those seven men, including my great uncle, was both wonderful and deeply touching. My great uncle was only in his early twenties when he died, and seeing him and some of the other members of his squadron in pictures was hard. He was so young!

But I do know this: they died for a noble cause. We were privileged to hear from a couple of the men who were part of the group my great uncle was bringing supplies to when the plane crashed. It brought me to tears to hear them say that my great uncle was on his way to help preserve lives when his own was lost. These were real men, loved and missed by their families, and honored by the country they served. And being reminded of the stories of these men encouraged me even more to write, because if it's God's will I want to share stories that will be real . . . stories that God can use in a real way.

This following video shows pictures of memorials that honor these great men and so many others who gave their all for those of us who don't appreciate their efforts nearly as much as we ought. How can we ever show enough gratitude to those who paid the ultimate price? How can we ever show enough gratitude to their loved ones who let them go? And how can we ever even come close to showing enough gratitude to God--who sent His own Son to die for us, offering us a chance to go home and truly be free?

Please Hear Me Out

How many of us like to hear criticism? I think I am a rather introverted person, and this could lean towards self-centeredness. Hearing that I've been grouchy, impatient, and a semi-hermit lately is . . . well . . . hard.

Perhaps I have been on the computer too much. Perhaps I have been so lost in my own thoughts that I've been rude. And perhaps I needed to hear from a loved one just how selfish I've been.

I tell you all of this because I hope that maybe you can learn from my mistakes, and that we can learn together the importance of hearing the bitter truth and repenting--changing our ways.

I also tell you this because I would appreciate your prayers. It's not just that I've been rude to my own family. There's also a fine line between being a shy person and being unsocial, and I'm afraid that when it comes to church and other functions, I tend toward the latter.

In this "Season of Humility" where we must refocus our attention on God and open our eyes to where exactly we are in our walk with Him, I think Proverbs 15:32-33 are helpful verses:

"He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility."

Whichever "Season of Humility" you're in right now, may God help you see yourself in an honest light. And may He give you strength to change if necessary, and hope that a new season will come in His own time!

Thanks once again for listening!

The following video is one I found on YouTube of the wonderful bluegrass family band Cherryholmes making their latest album. I share this video with you for three reasons:

1. This song is a great reminder of where our source of strength comes from--Jesus! It is on Him we stand!

2. The way this film is done reminds me of where I'm at right now. Kind of a work-in-progress. ;) Not yet the done deal. (But there's hope through God!)

3. I love this band! I really loved seeing them in concert. There are more videos on YouTube of their music, and you can find the band at their website.