August 15, 2009...

Hi Everyone,  

I’m sitting on the bus after having just finished a concert in Lyndonville, New York… About ninety percent of the crowd was new to the Collingsworth Family tonight, so it was nice to meet so many new people. It was a good night.  

I wanted to drop a line to you, our friends, since it has been sometime since I last wrote an update. We’ve had an extremely busy summer preparing a brand new CD, traveling on the weekends, and just living life in general. I’ve been wondering where in the world this summer has gone. Time is flying by so fast these days. Does it just seem this way the older we get, or is life really spinning faster for everyone?       

A few nuts and bolts….  

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new CD. It’s just days away from release and we are so excited. The title of the CD is “The Answer” and we have put a great deal of time into it. We have some interesting older songs that you may not have heard for a very long time, and then a host of new ones. One of the very exciting things about this CD is that our son, Phillip, has finally come through his voice change and we were able to feature him a little more on this CD. It has been a lot of fun watching this process happen. I might add that Olivia is also releasing a new children’s CD this summer titled, "Then and Now". It will arrive about the same time as the new family CD. It has a lot of great kid’s songs on it and many of the sound tracks will also be available for purchase. Both of these projects can now be pre-ordered on the web site at www.thethecollingsworthfamily.com and will be shipped as soon as they arrive. We have just had our web site re-designed. There are many new pictures and a new updated look. Check it out and let us know you stopped by.  

School started for the kids this week. It’s hard to believe that I only have two children in school this year. Phillip is a sophomore in high school and Olivia is starting the sixth grade. Courtney has enrolled in the New York Institute of Photography and is enjoying every minute of it. Brooklyn is starting her sophomore year of college. I cherish the days with these kids. They are going way too fast.  

 We enjoyed a reunion this summer with my family, The Keaton Family… We had a great time and enjoyed being together. Many of you know I come from a very large family of eight brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, one of our family members couldn’t be there. My youngest brother, Brian Keaton is serving our country in Iraq. He just happened to call while we were in the middle of a baseball game and we were able to sing “God Bless America” to him on the cell phone. Needless to say, there were some tears. We miss you, Brian… Thanks for the sacrifice you’re making for all of us.  

We are excited about our Hometown Special Evening concert scheduled in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday, November 13, 2009. The Collingsworth Family will be debuting our new music from our CD, The Answer, and our special guest will be Larnelle Harris. If you haven’t gotten your tickets for this event and would like to attend, please call and do so. You can find the information on our web site at www.thecollingsworthfamily.com. I think this is an evening you don’t want to miss. It will be held at the Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati and is promising to be an exciting evening. There are special group rates also available, so call the office and check it out.  

In closing let me tell you what has been on my mind lately. I have been increasingly aware of the fast lane that I have been living in. I referred to it at the beginning of this letter, but it has become a real problem for me that I’ve decided to do something about! The Lord is so gracious to stop us in our tracks and slow us down in the same way that we as parents control our children’s schedules and try to be aware of anything that would cause them harm or danger. Sometimes God allows things into our lives to stop us because it’s the only way to get our attention. Sometimes I’m such a difficult learner. Jesus said, “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Elizabeth George once referred to this as, “The Great Exchange” and it sparked my interest! What could that mean? Think about it. We come to Jesus with our frustrations, our busy schedules, our hurried minds, and he gives us rest. In place of our inadequacy he gives us his sufficiency. In place of our turmoil he gives us peace. He takes our problems and gives us solutions. We exchange our nothingness for his everything. The catch is…. we have to come to Jesus! We have to sat aside our schedules and take time to spend alone with Him. So many times we are too busy to think about stopping, much less having solitude and quiet. When we come to Jesus the Great Exchange is truly just that. We exchange a negative outlook for hope, darkness for light, chaos for peace, weariness for strength, stress for calm, worry for assurance. You just can’t beat it! If you’re like me and are always on the go, may you find that place of solitude on a daily basis and take advantage of the exchanges that only Jesus can offer.  

I love you all,
Kim