Hey, everybody! Just thought I'd wish you all a Happy New Year and ask that one question that everybody has on their mind: what do penguins dream about? Come on, you know you want to know! No? Oh well, Ask a silly question... man, I wish I knew how the rest of that went... Anyway, this afternoon we're headed to Grand Rapids to arrive early at our New Year's Eve concert so we can set up before everybody else gets there. It's us and three other groups tonight, so we want to get our stuff set up before the others get there and we all get in a crowded rush.
Well, the instrumental CD that I and my brother recently finished is being mastered and having the fine-tuning done to it, and we're looking to release it sometime next spring. And if you think that's good news, wait'll you hear this: I have officially lost the last of my baby teeth! Hurray! (Does that mean I have to grow up now?)
Check out our website, http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see our latest whatever!
-Joshua
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Apologies......and new CD info
I feel like I aught to apologize (again!) for going over a month with no blog updates and news, but I've run out of lies that I can use as excuses! Josh and I had a terrible time recently finding the moments needed to keep our readers updated while we were in college this last semester. And it seemed that when we did have some free time, we would either forget or would remember something more pressing at that moment that needed doing. The holidays haven't been much better because our mother has been very sick with Shingles and a herniated disk in her back that came about from complications with the disease. Since she was in a lot of pain and had almost no energy, Josh and I had to step up to the plate and clean the house and do all of those homey chores that most of us only do around Thanksgiving and Christmas so she could focus what little strength she had on cooking.
But I'm hoping that I have found a way to fix this problem when we start school again next semester. I will be taking day classes, and also night classes on one night during the week as I have during my previous semesters. During these days with day and night college, I usually have a lot of free space in the afternoon, so I'm going to start doing my updates from the college library computer (which is what I should have been doing all along!). This should hopefully help to keep our news fresh and interesting.
Anyway, we've had a great year. We sang at a few more meetings sing our last update, and they all went very well. We will be singing over near Kalamazoo, Mi. for New Year's Eve this year, and we are anticipating a great night. Check our schedule page at www.foresterministries.com for more info.
Speaking of our schedule, I will be putting up our 2010 schedule in the next day or two so everyone can see where we will be singing in the coming year. We still have quite a few openings right now since I've had a hard time actively pursuing new bookings with our time constraints lately. I will be working to correct this very soon during my time off from college and whenever I can get a free minute, but this also means that the lines are open if anyone wants to give us a call!
Lastly, Josh and I are pleased to announce a new addition to the family.......NO, we are NOT expecting a baby, but our new instrumental CD has just been finished! We just wrapped up recording it in the studio today, and it really sounds AWESOME! It features a collection of great old hymns and gospel songs that are easily recognized to most people done in Forester Bros. styles! Some of the songs are simply piano solos while others are recorded with a full band sound backing them up. It will now be going in for mixing, mastering, artwork, and finally be released sometime in either February or March. We'll keep you updated.
Have a happy New Year!
Stephen Forester
But I'm hoping that I have found a way to fix this problem when we start school again next semester. I will be taking day classes, and also night classes on one night during the week as I have during my previous semesters. During these days with day and night college, I usually have a lot of free space in the afternoon, so I'm going to start doing my updates from the college library computer (which is what I should have been doing all along!). This should hopefully help to keep our news fresh and interesting.
Anyway, we've had a great year. We sang at a few more meetings sing our last update, and they all went very well. We will be singing over near Kalamazoo, Mi. for New Year's Eve this year, and we are anticipating a great night. Check our schedule page at www.foresterministries.com for more info.
Speaking of our schedule, I will be putting up our 2010 schedule in the next day or two so everyone can see where we will be singing in the coming year. We still have quite a few openings right now since I've had a hard time actively pursuing new bookings with our time constraints lately. I will be working to correct this very soon during my time off from college and whenever I can get a free minute, but this also means that the lines are open if anyone wants to give us a call!
Lastly, Josh and I are pleased to announce a new addition to the family.......NO, we are NOT expecting a baby, but our new instrumental CD has just been finished! We just wrapped up recording it in the studio today, and it really sounds AWESOME! It features a collection of great old hymns and gospel songs that are easily recognized to most people done in Forester Bros. styles! Some of the songs are simply piano solos while others are recorded with a full band sound backing them up. It will now be going in for mixing, mastering, artwork, and finally be released sometime in either February or March. We'll keep you updated.
Have a happy New Year!
Stephen Forester
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving/ministry news
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! By the time most of you read this, the holiday will already be over (I'm writing this at 9:01 pm), but Josh and I have had a wonderful day. We hope that you who read this will remember to pray for our oldest brother Jeff & his wife and three kids. They were not able to join us this year due to the kids being sick with combinations of swine flue, strep throat, and Pneumonia, but I heard that they were able to still have a pretty good day considering. We were able to have our next oldest brother Mark and his family with us, and we had a blast just like we always do around holiday times.
We are excited to announce that our DVD is done and ready for sale! We received our first copies of it today a little earlier than we had expected, and it looks and sounds just great. I don't know when we will be able to get it up for display sale on our website (things have not improved with our website update problems) but you can order it or my new CD at any time by calling (810) 653-0089 or e-mailing us at foresterministries@yahoo.com . It is $15.00 by itself, or you can take advantage of special combo packs that we will be offering shortly. All of our product can be ordered at any time by contacting us through the contact info listed above, even if it is not shown on our website store page.
We are also pleased to announce that we will record our first instrumental CD in December. Josh and I are combining our talents at the piano and other instruments to record a CD of hymns and gospel favorites. We will each play several songs by ourselves at the keyboard (as well as play some of the back-up instruments) and then play a piano duet. We also plan to record a couple of songs that will feature Josh at the piano with me switching playing three instruments in mid-song. We both want to record solo instrumental projects eventually, but for now this is looking to be a great step for our ministry. The thing that I feel will really make it interesting to listen to is that, although we have both been playing for ten years under the same five instructors, our personal playing styles sound nothing alike! Putting both of our playing on the same CD is sure to guarantee that you will hear a variety of styles and that no two songs will sound exactly alike. We hope to release it early this spring.
We are also actively booking tour dates for 2010, and are looking for new places to sing.
We hope all of our readers (OK, BOTH of you!) had a great Thanksgiving, and that the Lord will bless you and your churches this Christmas.
God bless all of you as we remember Who the next coming holiday is about,
-Stephen
We are excited to announce that our DVD is done and ready for sale! We received our first copies of it today a little earlier than we had expected, and it looks and sounds just great. I don't know when we will be able to get it up for display sale on our website (things have not improved with our website update problems) but you can order it or my new CD at any time by calling (810) 653-0089 or e-mailing us at foresterministries@yahoo.com . It is $15.00 by itself, or you can take advantage of special combo packs that we will be offering shortly. All of our product can be ordered at any time by contacting us through the contact info listed above, even if it is not shown on our website store page.
We are also pleased to announce that we will record our first instrumental CD in December. Josh and I are combining our talents at the piano and other instruments to record a CD of hymns and gospel favorites. We will each play several songs by ourselves at the keyboard (as well as play some of the back-up instruments) and then play a piano duet. We also plan to record a couple of songs that will feature Josh at the piano with me switching playing three instruments in mid-song. We both want to record solo instrumental projects eventually, but for now this is looking to be a great step for our ministry. The thing that I feel will really make it interesting to listen to is that, although we have both been playing for ten years under the same five instructors, our personal playing styles sound nothing alike! Putting both of our playing on the same CD is sure to guarantee that you will hear a variety of styles and that no two songs will sound exactly alike. We hope to release it early this spring.
We are also actively booking tour dates for 2010, and are looking for new places to sing.
We hope all of our readers (OK, BOTH of you!) had a great Thanksgiving, and that the Lord will bless you and your churches this Christmas.
God bless all of you as we remember Who the next coming holiday is about,
-Stephen
Friday, November 20, 2009
DVDs And Fish Guts
Have you ever wondered what life would be like without sea urchins? Neither have I! Anyway, as my brother stated in the last blog, our live DVD is VERY close to being released, so we hope you'll all enjoy it. If you don't, well... you'll just have to... I don't know, not buy it or something.
Just a quick poll, does anybody out there enjoy Chinese food? Anyone? Anyone at all? I had it for the second time/ first time in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnngggg time today, and I had my first egg roll.... at least, that's what they told me it was. I bit into that thing and what I saw inside was DEFINITELY not egg! It looked liked six-week-old fish guts! That's why I'm writing this blog, because whatever it was, it'll probably kill me in my sleep. Maybe I should make this a last will and testament...
Stop by www.foresterministries.com to see our pics, bios, and schedule!
-Joshua
Just a quick poll, does anybody out there enjoy Chinese food? Anyone? Anyone at all? I had it for the second time/ first time in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnngggg time today, and I had my first egg roll.... at least, that's what they told me it was. I bit into that thing and what I saw inside was DEFINITELY not egg! It looked liked six-week-old fish guts! That's why I'm writing this blog, because whatever it was, it'll probably kill me in my sleep. Maybe I should make this a last will and testament...
Stop by www.foresterministries.com to see our pics, bios, and schedule!
-Joshua
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ministry update
Hey loyal readers (Both of you!....kidding) I apologize for taking soooooooo long to get you updated about our ministry happenings lately, but it seems to be increasingly hard to keep our blog posts current with college tying up much of our time either in attendance or homework. I am going to make a dilligent effort to update this spot at least once a week, even if it's done at 2:00 in the morning!
Speaking of college, Josh and I have just come through the cleansing fire of mid-terms. We both did very well in all of our classes, and in a couple of cases we actually did much better than we thought that we might do! We are glad that we have a breath of relief for right now........but finals are in December!
Our last couple of ministry dates went very well. Our services at Yale United Methodist and Dryden united Methodist went quite well. The people seemed to appreciate what we did and we a had a great time.
Next week we will be at Owendale United Methodist for an evening service, which we anticipate God will bless and make a great night for us and the church.
Our DVD is finished and the artwork has been sent to Nashville. We should be getting it back in the mail in about three weeks. It will be out in Dec. It may be some time before it and my new CD will be posted for sale on our product page of www.foresterministries.com , but you can by all of our product at any time by calling (810) 653-0089 or e-mailing us at foresterministries@yahoo.com .
Don't forget that today marks the opening day of firearm season in Mi. My schedule with college has curtaled my ability to get away to hunt for the last two years, but this year I have seen several deer on my land repeatedly, so I'll be trying to take advantge of that this week. If the folks at Owendale wonder why we don't show up on Sunday night..............well, you get the idea!
-Stephen
Speaking of college, Josh and I have just come through the cleansing fire of mid-terms. We both did very well in all of our classes, and in a couple of cases we actually did much better than we thought that we might do! We are glad that we have a breath of relief for right now........but finals are in December!
Our last couple of ministry dates went very well. Our services at Yale United Methodist and Dryden united Methodist went quite well. The people seemed to appreciate what we did and we a had a great time.
Next week we will be at Owendale United Methodist for an evening service, which we anticipate God will bless and make a great night for us and the church.
Our DVD is finished and the artwork has been sent to Nashville. We should be getting it back in the mail in about three weeks. It will be out in Dec. It may be some time before it and my new CD will be posted for sale on our product page of www.foresterministries.com , but you can by all of our product at any time by calling (810) 653-0089 or e-mailing us at foresterministries@yahoo.com .
Don't forget that today marks the opening day of firearm season in Mi. My schedule with college has curtaled my ability to get away to hunt for the last two years, but this year I have seen several deer on my land repeatedly, so I'll be trying to take advantge of that this week. If the folks at Owendale wonder why we don't show up on Sunday night..............well, you get the idea!
-Stephen
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
DVD Coming Soon
Hey folks, just I'd let you know some exciting news: we will soon be releasing a DVD! It's a video of a live concert that we told you about earlier, and it's finally coming together! No exact release date yet, but we'll keep you posted as to when it will be available.
Anyway, we were at Yale United Methodist last Sunday night and let me tell you: 'dem ladies can COOK!!! There was some kind of three-layered jello thing that made me propose to the lady who made it (I think I hear...angels singing...). There was also chicken.... oh yes... chicken.... Chicken is my absolute favorite food group in the whole wide world. I love chicken prepared just about any way. However, my favorite of favorites is FRIED chicken. I believe that KFC is going to cater the marriage supper in Heaven. Only THEN would it truly be Heaven!
Stop by our website and see what we are all about at www.foresterministries.com !
-Joshua
Anyway, we were at Yale United Methodist last Sunday night and let me tell you: 'dem ladies can COOK!!! There was some kind of three-layered jello thing that made me propose to the lady who made it (I think I hear...angels singing...). There was also chicken.... oh yes... chicken.... Chicken is my absolute favorite food group in the whole wide world. I love chicken prepared just about any way. However, my favorite of favorites is FRIED chicken. I believe that KFC is going to cater the marriage supper in Heaven. Only THEN would it truly be Heaven!
Stop by our website and see what we are all about at www.foresterministries.com !
-Joshua
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My Only Job
I realized today that I could not do any other job but stand-up comedy. I'm just too big a smart alleck! Comedy is the only job that I could do where I could mess with people and it be OK. For instance, I coul not be an airline pilot (Besides the fact that that would be WAY too much work....and I don't drink). I would mess with my passengers in the worst ways. 'Good afternoon ladies and getnelmen, this is your captain speaking. We hope that you have a nice flight. Try to ignore the smoke and flames that you might see out your- SWEET MERCY, WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!" Or I would say, "Folks, I misinformed you earlier by saying that we were ok. I've just learned that depressurizing is a BAD thing."
Be sure to check out our website at www.foresterministries.com to see all about us!
-Joshua
Be sure to check out our website at www.foresterministries.com to see all about us!
-Joshua
Friday, September 25, 2009
Playing Primate Pranks...(Possibly, People)
Sorry we haven't written a blog in a while. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get off a life sentence? No, I wasn't in prison....the zoo. They finally found me! Those people aren't exactly the FBI. Although I have to admit I will miss the food... Me and the gorilla made an alliance and we escaped together.....I'm not sure exactly where he went, but he probably went where all monkeys go: public office!
Anyway, enough monkeying around. I'd like to give you all a piece of news......if only I had some! Oh, well, I guess I'll just make something up. "In other news, three chimpanzees broke into a hardware store late last night and took only one thing: a monkey wrench." Okay, so I like monkeys. I'm not really sure why; humans are nothing like monkeys. Have you ever noticed the biggest difference between monkeys and human males? Monkeys have hair everywhere on their bodies EXCEPT their chests! If we evolved, I'd say something got a little messed up. I guess monkeys always sleep on their stomachs in the winter; otherwise they'd wake up with frozen belly-button lint. I know, I know, monkeys aren't from where it's cold. They don't come from Michigan; I know quite well that they come from Scotland.
Anyway, if you're done with all the monkey business, you can go to our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see our CDs and schedule. (Not that you'd really care after reading this blog, but oh well.)
-Joshua
Anyway, enough monkeying around. I'd like to give you all a piece of news......if only I had some! Oh, well, I guess I'll just make something up. "In other news, three chimpanzees broke into a hardware store late last night and took only one thing: a monkey wrench." Okay, so I like monkeys. I'm not really sure why; humans are nothing like monkeys. Have you ever noticed the biggest difference between monkeys and human males? Monkeys have hair everywhere on their bodies EXCEPT their chests! If we evolved, I'd say something got a little messed up. I guess monkeys always sleep on their stomachs in the winter; otherwise they'd wake up with frozen belly-button lint. I know, I know, monkeys aren't from where it's cold. They don't come from Michigan; I know quite well that they come from Scotland.
Anyway, if you're done with all the monkey business, you can go to our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see our CDs and schedule. (Not that you'd really care after reading this blog, but oh well.)
-Joshua
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Ministry News
Well, It's been a little while since we've put up any new blog posts, and I apologize for that. But that doesn't mean that things have been slow in our ministry, because the exact opposite has been true.
We were at Colonville Bible Church on Aug.23, and it turned out to be a pretty good meeting. They were without a pastor, but the spirit in the church was still good despite that void. They were bringing in a man to candidate a week or so later, so I hope for their sakes that that meeting went well. After the service they had an outdoor lunch time (YEAH!), and then we packed up our stuff and headed for Rochester Hills, Mi. to sing with our college quartet for a special tent revival.
The next Sunday night we went to Clifford Baptist Church in Clifford, Mi. There was only about 32-34 people there, but they were a great bunch of folks to sing for. My family has known Pastor Brad Potter for years, but this the first time that I remember meeting him. He was very gracious to us and was contemplating having us come for Vacation Bible School next year to do our kid stuff.
This past Saturday we went to the Missionary Campground in Brown City, Mi for a special all-day concert event with many different groups. It turned out great, and we got another booking for Oct.25th while we were there (see our schedule page)!
This past Sunday we went to Schnable Lake Campground in Martin, Mi for a morning service that was held outdoors on a Basketball court, with the attendees sitting around us in their golf-carts. This was interesting day, because when we got just under twenty miles from the camp our traveling coach bus (er, OK, Venture Mini-van!) broke down on the way there! I had to call someone from the camp to come and pick us up, and we loaded our equipment up into his pick-up and raced out to the camp just in time to set a new world record for fastest sound system set-up and start only about five minutes late. We did the morning service and it went pretty well, but we wound up having to call a tow-truck to get us home! Luckily, we did not have an evening meeting scheduled, because we did not get home 'till about 8:00pm that night.
It seems that our mini-van's head gasket is shot, so that's going to cost us some good change to get it fixed. It's kind of funny how last year, when we were getting started things were perfectly smooth and easy, but this year we've had several problems including our Dad suffering from some health ailments and now the mini-van breaking down. It's like what Josh said at Schnable Lake on Sunday morning: "It's like our ministry has just hit Puberty!"
Until next time,
Stephen Forester
We were at Colonville Bible Church on Aug.23, and it turned out to be a pretty good meeting. They were without a pastor, but the spirit in the church was still good despite that void. They were bringing in a man to candidate a week or so later, so I hope for their sakes that that meeting went well. After the service they had an outdoor lunch time (YEAH!), and then we packed up our stuff and headed for Rochester Hills, Mi. to sing with our college quartet for a special tent revival.
The next Sunday night we went to Clifford Baptist Church in Clifford, Mi. There was only about 32-34 people there, but they were a great bunch of folks to sing for. My family has known Pastor Brad Potter for years, but this the first time that I remember meeting him. He was very gracious to us and was contemplating having us come for Vacation Bible School next year to do our kid stuff.
This past Saturday we went to the Missionary Campground in Brown City, Mi for a special all-day concert event with many different groups. It turned out great, and we got another booking for Oct.25th while we were there (see our schedule page)!
This past Sunday we went to Schnable Lake Campground in Martin, Mi for a morning service that was held outdoors on a Basketball court, with the attendees sitting around us in their golf-carts. This was interesting day, because when we got just under twenty miles from the camp our traveling coach bus (er, OK, Venture Mini-van!) broke down on the way there! I had to call someone from the camp to come and pick us up, and we loaded our equipment up into his pick-up and raced out to the camp just in time to set a new world record for fastest sound system set-up and start only about five minutes late. We did the morning service and it went pretty well, but we wound up having to call a tow-truck to get us home! Luckily, we did not have an evening meeting scheduled, because we did not get home 'till about 8:00pm that night.
It seems that our mini-van's head gasket is shot, so that's going to cost us some good change to get it fixed. It's kind of funny how last year, when we were getting started things were perfectly smooth and easy, but this year we've had several problems including our Dad suffering from some health ailments and now the mini-van breaking down. It's like what Josh said at Schnable Lake on Sunday morning: "It's like our ministry has just hit Puberty!"
Until next time,
Stephen Forester
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Blood, Sweat, and Tears...(Minus The Blood..And The Sweat)
Peaches and butter! Again, that has nothing to do with what I'm gonna say. Just thought you'd all like to hurt along with me. Anyway, I and my brother were messing around today and I tried to kick him. He blocked with his elbow and the top of my foot slammed into his bony elbow. I went down like my legs were made of water. I lay on the floor and just started laughing (through the tears, of course). That was a couple of hours ago, and my foot still hurts. Guess what: I have to play paintball in a few hours! I'll be out there wanting to gnaw my own foot off if it'll take away the pain. Hey, I have the attention span and intelligence of a rodent, why not the behavior of one too?
Be sure to check out www.foresterministries.com to see our latest schedule and pics!
-Joshua
Be sure to check out www.foresterministries.com to see our latest schedule and pics!
-Joshua
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Booking concerts
I've have really been at it this week trying to get new concert dates, and it's not always an easy thing to do. I have a couple of different methods of locating new churches for us to contact. After concentrating on an area and compiling a new list of churches that we've not sung at yet, I mail out demo packets with information about us and soundbites of our material.
This is a very time-consuming process. I usually list about 35-50 at a time. After that, we have to stuff our envelopes with all of our info and then address them to these new churches. I feel sorry for our U.S. mail lady who has to pick them up from our mail box...... just the other day I watched as she fork-lifted our mailbox off of the ground and carried it off to the post office!
The next part involves calling the churches. I had pretty much exhausted our old lists of churches that I had sent demos to and had been calling, so I knew it was definitely time to get busy with the mailings again. I'll still send out some more demos this week, and then sometime next week I'll start calling and shamelessly begging these churches to let us sing for them!
I'm hoping for a bunch of bites, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Check the schedule page of our website for all new postings soon.
-Stephen
This is a very time-consuming process. I usually list about 35-50 at a time. After that, we have to stuff our envelopes with all of our info and then address them to these new churches. I feel sorry for our U.S. mail lady who has to pick them up from our mail box...... just the other day I watched as she fork-lifted our mailbox off of the ground and carried it off to the post office!
The next part involves calling the churches. I had pretty much exhausted our old lists of churches that I had sent demos to and had been calling, so I knew it was definitely time to get busy with the mailings again. I'll still send out some more demos this week, and then sometime next week I'll start calling and shamelessly begging these churches to let us sing for them!
I'm hoping for a bunch of bites, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Check the schedule page of our website for all new postings soon.
-Stephen
Friday, August 14, 2009
News.... And Food
Banana fudge waffles!... That has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm gonna say; I was just trying to figure out if those would be amazing or horrifically gross. Ask me after my stomach stops turning like a combine.
In other news, my brother and I did a program last Saturday at Chapel in the Pines Mucus Barn.... wait... make that MUSIC Barn. I wasn't hookd on fonics. Anyway, we were actually taped to be on local TV! There were three cameras, so I always tried to keep my best side facing them...weird...first concert I've ever done with my back to the audience.
After that we went to Bloomingdale Christian Church that Sunday evening. We had a lot of fun there, but one thing would have made it better...pizza. Pizza with chicken on top; and extra cheese; and sausage, and loads of ice cream, pistachios, oh..oh..oh...taste-bud cramp!
Then we went to Mulliken to do an ice cream social. We were doing our last song and I was goofing off (if you've seen us before, you know what I mean!) and I started rummaging through a garbage can. I found a doggie box that felt heavy, so I was going to pull it out for a laugh. Unfortunately, my gerbil-sized brain didn't think that it would be melted ice cream, and that stuff ran all over my hand. At least I THINK it was ice cream; I'm still not sure exactly what it was. It tasted good, though.
Check out our website, http://www.foresterministries.com/, to see our pics, news, and schedule. As Tigger would say, TTFB: Ta ta for...wait... I'll get back to you on that....
-Joshua
In other news, my brother and I did a program last Saturday at Chapel in the Pines Mucus Barn.... wait... make that MUSIC Barn. I wasn't hookd on fonics. Anyway, we were actually taped to be on local TV! There were three cameras, so I always tried to keep my best side facing them...weird...first concert I've ever done with my back to the audience.
After that we went to Bloomingdale Christian Church that Sunday evening. We had a lot of fun there, but one thing would have made it better...pizza. Pizza with chicken on top; and extra cheese; and sausage, and loads of ice cream, pistachios, oh..oh..oh...taste-bud cramp!
Then we went to Mulliken to do an ice cream social. We were doing our last song and I was goofing off (if you've seen us before, you know what I mean!) and I started rummaging through a garbage can. I found a doggie box that felt heavy, so I was going to pull it out for a laugh. Unfortunately, my gerbil-sized brain didn't think that it would be melted ice cream, and that stuff ran all over my hand. At least I THINK it was ice cream; I'm still not sure exactly what it was. It tasted good, though.
Check out our website, http://www.foresterministries.com/, to see our pics, news, and schedule. As Tigger would say, TTFB: Ta ta for...wait... I'll get back to you on that....
-Joshua
Hey loyal readers, sorry that we've taken so long to get back to writing about our journeys here. We have been very busy lately, with some very exciting happenings along the way.
On Tues, July 20, we went to an interdenominational Christian ladies group to sing for them. They were an absolutely wonderful crowd! they loved everything that we did, and we got to meet some nice people and sold a great number of CDs. Two days later, we went to our home church to do a kid's show (magic, puppets, etc.) for the church daycare. A lot of people would consider a daycare show below their pay grade, but we had a good time and the kids had an even better time.
Two days later, we went to Evergreen Park Campground in Cass City, Mi. for a special all-day concert with nine other groups/soloists. We were the first group on after lunch, and we got an awesome reaction from the crowd. They were one of the best laughing bunches of people that Josh has performed for in a while.
I went to Devonshire Retirement Village to do a little mini-concert. It went relatively well, and I changed what I do a little bit and mostly played piano and sang to make it enjoyable for the age group there.
The following Sunday, We went to Trinity United Methodist Church in our own hometown of Lapeer for a special car show concert. It was a little unusual because I had a couple of co-workers from Dairy Queen who came with a couple of their siblings to watch us perform. Not that that would create any pressure, but I knew that what happened there would soon reach back to my workplace!
We have had some other things happen as well. I have finished recording my new CD. It should be out hopefully in time for our concert at Missionary campground on Sep.5. I'm very pleased and excited about how it turned out.
I'll let Josh write about our other bookings that we've done recently. Check the blog above for the latest scoop!
-Stephen Forester
On Tues, July 20, we went to an interdenominational Christian ladies group to sing for them. They were an absolutely wonderful crowd! they loved everything that we did, and we got to meet some nice people and sold a great number of CDs. Two days later, we went to our home church to do a kid's show (magic, puppets, etc.) for the church daycare. A lot of people would consider a daycare show below their pay grade, but we had a good time and the kids had an even better time.
Two days later, we went to Evergreen Park Campground in Cass City, Mi. for a special all-day concert with nine other groups/soloists. We were the first group on after lunch, and we got an awesome reaction from the crowd. They were one of the best laughing bunches of people that Josh has performed for in a while.
I went to Devonshire Retirement Village to do a little mini-concert. It went relatively well, and I changed what I do a little bit and mostly played piano and sang to make it enjoyable for the age group there.
The following Sunday, We went to Trinity United Methodist Church in our own hometown of Lapeer for a special car show concert. It was a little unusual because I had a couple of co-workers from Dairy Queen who came with a couple of their siblings to watch us perform. Not that that would create any pressure, but I knew that what happened there would soon reach back to my workplace!
We have had some other things happen as well. I have finished recording my new CD. It should be out hopefully in time for our concert at Missionary campground on Sep.5. I'm very pleased and excited about how it turned out.
I'll let Josh write about our other bookings that we've done recently. Check the blog above for the latest scoop!
-Stephen Forester
Monday, July 20, 2009
I Have Dignity!....Yeah, Right
Last night my brother and I went to a church and sang with the college quartet. Afterward there was a party at somebody's house (whose name I do not know), but they had food, so we went. They had a volleyball court out back, covered in sand and lined in wood. The problem: my brother and I had no change of clothes whatsoever. So, Stephen took off his boots and socks, rolled up his dress-pant legs and played some volleyball. Meanwhile, I stood back, looking at him and thinking, "What a dork..." as I tried to kill mosquitoes buzzing my head by slapping myself in the face repeatedly. To make matters worse, they started spraying mosquito fogger around the edge of the volleyball court. I think that was their way of saying, "DEATH TO THE ASTHMATIC COMEDIAN!!!" I don't have real bad asthma, just enough to not want to put a straw on mosquito fogger (although I hear it's actuality quite exhilarating!)
Take a look at our schedule page at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see where we'll be next!
-Joshua
Take a look at our schedule page at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see where we'll be next!
-Joshua
Friday, July 10, 2009
Website & CD Pics
I have some exciting news regarding our website. We will soon be giving it an overhaul with brand new pictures and features. We recently went to a place called Marion Studios in Brown City, Mi where our older brother Mark Forester has been having Ron Marion take his pictures for years. This guy is awesome! He spent around five hours with us taking pictures all over town. My new CD is featuring old Gospel classics done in fresh, updated ways. To go along with this somewhat old time theme, we went to a motor home park that had a little white chapel that would remind you of Little House On The Prairie. We took a bunch of pictures their and then I went to a couple of different places that Ron new of that had some really cool old 1940s car that I could stand next to for pictures.
While were in the campground, Josh started goofing off near the playground where kids would go, and Ron suddenly found himself climbing into the play area taking pictures of Josh popping up from tires, crawling through tunnels, standing on his head at the bottom of the slide, holding a super-soaker in a James Bond fashion, and hanging upside-down from a rope ladder.
We took over 600 pictures that day. some of them did not turn out so good, but many of them were awesome. Some of these will soon be appearing on our website, and some of them will be featured on our new album covers.
When our website is updated, we will also be adding a new pictures page that we can update ourselves whenever we want to. We be posting many of Ron's pictures, as well as lots of great pictures from recent concerts that we have performed in recently. I'll post an update here as soon as we can get this rolling. Be sure to watch http://www.foresterministries.com/ for these exciting new changes.
-Stephen
While were in the campground, Josh started goofing off near the playground where kids would go, and Ron suddenly found himself climbing into the play area taking pictures of Josh popping up from tires, crawling through tunnels, standing on his head at the bottom of the slide, holding a super-soaker in a James Bond fashion, and hanging upside-down from a rope ladder.
We took over 600 pictures that day. some of them did not turn out so good, but many of them were awesome. Some of these will soon be appearing on our website, and some of them will be featured on our new album covers.
When our website is updated, we will also be adding a new pictures page that we can update ourselves whenever we want to. We be posting many of Ron's pictures, as well as lots of great pictures from recent concerts that we have performed in recently. I'll post an update here as soon as we can get this rolling. Be sure to watch http://www.foresterministries.com/ for these exciting new changes.
-Stephen
Recent ministry news
Hey gang, sorry that we haven't posted any new updates for a little while. That doesn't mean that things have been slow or boring around here,though, because actually things have really been hopping!
On Sunday the 28th of June, we went to Deckerville, Mi for a Sunday morning service that went pretty well. The people were friendly and seemed to appreciate what we did. After the service we chatted with the people, sold some CDs, and even got to talk to the Pastor about something that we don't normally get to talk about with Pastors: What life is like being bachelors!
I know, Josh and I should not be too worried yet about not finding the right girls yet. Honestly, if I did find the girl of my dreams right now, I probably wouldn't know what to do with her! But this Pastor is in his mid-thirty's and is still patiently waiting for God to send him a pastor's wife. While we were tearing down our equipment, we talked and made a lot of funny jokes and stories about people trying to set us up with dates and other silly foolishness.
Oh well, I guess we'll all just have to be patient and wait (though I am taking applications!). In other news, The following Monday (the 22nd) we left for a four day booking at Fort Faith Baptist Youth Camp. They were having a church rent the camp for that week, and they brought a bus full of kids from kindergarten through 5th grade. We were hired to go there to entertain the kids in their chapel services twice a day. We also told Bible stories in the morning services and the host Youth Pastor preached in the evening services. Because the services were between an hour to an hour and a half (and we had five services to fill) we pretty much exhausted ourselves and our material. We tried out a bunch of new clown bits that worked really well. Usually Josh dresses up as Bongo the clown and I play strait man, but that week we both dressed up as clowns multiple times, and appeared as many other crazy characters as well. I went through most of my good magic tricks, and we both did multiple puppet acts. We even helped the workers pull of an impromptu game with the kids by "kidnapping" one of their young lady workers (who was actually an old friend of ours), and hiding her for the kids to find and rescue! We had a lot of fun that week, and we saw at least three people get saved, including the Youth Pastor's youngest son.
We were in our home church, Dixie Baptist Church, for both services this past Sunday. This coming Sunday we will be in Stanton Michigan for an evening service. The following week, we will be traveling with our college quartet to our college president's church to help him promote Midwestern Baptist College and garner some new students. We will also be traveling with the quartet again on Aug. 23.
In the meantime, I will be in the studio killing myself to make my new recording. We pushed back our originally scheduled recording week to help me work on my songs, and I'll be heading back in tonight and for most of next week.
Until next time,
Stephen
On Sunday the 28th of June, we went to Deckerville, Mi for a Sunday morning service that went pretty well. The people were friendly and seemed to appreciate what we did. After the service we chatted with the people, sold some CDs, and even got to talk to the Pastor about something that we don't normally get to talk about with Pastors: What life is like being bachelors!
I know, Josh and I should not be too worried yet about not finding the right girls yet. Honestly, if I did find the girl of my dreams right now, I probably wouldn't know what to do with her! But this Pastor is in his mid-thirty's and is still patiently waiting for God to send him a pastor's wife. While we were tearing down our equipment, we talked and made a lot of funny jokes and stories about people trying to set us up with dates and other silly foolishness.
Oh well, I guess we'll all just have to be patient and wait (though I am taking applications!). In other news, The following Monday (the 22nd) we left for a four day booking at Fort Faith Baptist Youth Camp. They were having a church rent the camp for that week, and they brought a bus full of kids from kindergarten through 5th grade. We were hired to go there to entertain the kids in their chapel services twice a day. We also told Bible stories in the morning services and the host Youth Pastor preached in the evening services. Because the services were between an hour to an hour and a half (and we had five services to fill) we pretty much exhausted ourselves and our material. We tried out a bunch of new clown bits that worked really well. Usually Josh dresses up as Bongo the clown and I play strait man, but that week we both dressed up as clowns multiple times, and appeared as many other crazy characters as well. I went through most of my good magic tricks, and we both did multiple puppet acts. We even helped the workers pull of an impromptu game with the kids by "kidnapping" one of their young lady workers (who was actually an old friend of ours), and hiding her for the kids to find and rescue! We had a lot of fun that week, and we saw at least three people get saved, including the Youth Pastor's youngest son.
We were in our home church, Dixie Baptist Church, for both services this past Sunday. This coming Sunday we will be in Stanton Michigan for an evening service. The following week, we will be traveling with our college quartet to our college president's church to help him promote Midwestern Baptist College and garner some new students. We will also be traveling with the quartet again on Aug. 23.
In the meantime, I will be in the studio killing myself to make my new recording. We pushed back our originally scheduled recording week to help me work on my songs, and I'll be heading back in tonight and for most of next week.
Until next time,
Stephen
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ministry date in Gobles, Mi.
This past Sunday was Father's Day, and I think that it was one of the best meeting that Josh and I have ever done. We went down to a little town called Gobles, Mi. To give you an idea of how small this town was, think back to the last time you saw the Andy Griffith Show. Remember how they always talked about how small,and quiet Mayberry, NC was? Well, Gobles would make Mayberry look like Dodge City on Saturday night!
We went to a little Baptist church called Calvary Baptist Church. We had met the pastor through two of his Daughters, whom we had become friends with at Midwestern Baptist College, and he invited us to come out to his church for Sunday school and the morning and evening services. They were gearing up for their Vacation Bible School (with a western cowboy/Indian theme) and had half of the church decorated for the coming week. Since this meeting was about three hours away, we asked the pastor to arrange for a place for us to stay the night so that we could come down there on Saturday afternoon and set up, instead of getting up before a sensible rooster would dare to attempt and drive down there VERY early to set up for three services. He agreed, and arranged a place for us to stay.
All was well until Saturday morning when we ran into a slight hitch: a tornado swept through the town the night before and knocked out power in most of the town, including in the church and the cabin that we were supposed to stay at! The Pastor's wife called me and said that they had made new arrangements for us to stay in a motel that had power, and we could still come down to set up our stuff and do a sound check the next day when the power came back on. We did.... but the power did not come back on the next morning! Fortunately, a church member there loaned us his generator to restore enough power for lights and sound (but unfortunately, not enough for A/C) and we did the Sunday school and morning service. Power finally was restored that afternoon, and the evening service went very well.
The people were wonderful. They seemed to appreciate everything that we did. We did our kid's show with magic, puppets, clowns, etc. for Sunday school, and everyone was totally into it, including the adults! The other services went just as well. We did music and comedy for the morning service and I preached. For the evening service, we did more music and Josh presented a message through a sort-of object lesson. The people responded well to it all, bought CDs, and were very encouraging. The Pastor's wife and girls cooked exceptional meals for us on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and they went out of their way to treat us like royalty.
Sometimes it seems like the small meetings are better than the large ones (which can be pretty seldom with us, sometimes). I feel this way because in smaller settings, we get a better chance to be personable with the people, and they can do the same with us. It also seems like smaller churches are often more appreciative of our service to them and the Lord.
Whatever the case may have been, I just want to say thanks to Pastor Doug Yoder and family for making our stay pleasurable, they meals delectable, the services spiritual and comfortable, and our whole experience together memorable!
-Stephen
We went to a little Baptist church called Calvary Baptist Church. We had met the pastor through two of his Daughters, whom we had become friends with at Midwestern Baptist College, and he invited us to come out to his church for Sunday school and the morning and evening services. They were gearing up for their Vacation Bible School (with a western cowboy/Indian theme) and had half of the church decorated for the coming week. Since this meeting was about three hours away, we asked the pastor to arrange for a place for us to stay the night so that we could come down there on Saturday afternoon and set up, instead of getting up before a sensible rooster would dare to attempt and drive down there VERY early to set up for three services. He agreed, and arranged a place for us to stay.
All was well until Saturday morning when we ran into a slight hitch: a tornado swept through the town the night before and knocked out power in most of the town, including in the church and the cabin that we were supposed to stay at! The Pastor's wife called me and said that they had made new arrangements for us to stay in a motel that had power, and we could still come down to set up our stuff and do a sound check the next day when the power came back on. We did.... but the power did not come back on the next morning! Fortunately, a church member there loaned us his generator to restore enough power for lights and sound (but unfortunately, not enough for A/C) and we did the Sunday school and morning service. Power finally was restored that afternoon, and the evening service went very well.
The people were wonderful. They seemed to appreciate everything that we did. We did our kid's show with magic, puppets, clowns, etc. for Sunday school, and everyone was totally into it, including the adults! The other services went just as well. We did music and comedy for the morning service and I preached. For the evening service, we did more music and Josh presented a message through a sort-of object lesson. The people responded well to it all, bought CDs, and were very encouraging. The Pastor's wife and girls cooked exceptional meals for us on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and they went out of their way to treat us like royalty.
Sometimes it seems like the small meetings are better than the large ones (which can be pretty seldom with us, sometimes). I feel this way because in smaller settings, we get a better chance to be personable with the people, and they can do the same with us. It also seems like smaller churches are often more appreciative of our service to them and the Lord.
Whatever the case may have been, I just want to say thanks to Pastor Doug Yoder and family for making our stay pleasurable, they meals delectable, the services spiritual and comfortable, and our whole experience together memorable!
-Stephen
Recent ministry date in Beulah, Mi.
On June 14th, Josh and I did the morning service for Homestead Community Church in Beulah, Mi. Since the booking was about three and a half hours away, I asked the pastor if he could arrange for a stay in an inexpensive hotel room for the night. He agreed, and much to my surprise, the room was actually quite nice! Most hotel rooms have terribly hard beds and pillows, but this place was quite comfortable.
It was, however, VERY small! It was so small that when I put the key into the doorknob, it went through the window!.....So small that even the mice were hunch-backed!.....So small that the bathroom had a folding toilet!....So small that there was no room for a complaint!.....So small that the bathroom could fit inside a porta-potty!
OK, It wasn't quite that small, and it was actually very comfortable. We had a great service, sold some CDs, I preached, and we had an all around good day.
-Stephen
It was, however, VERY small! It was so small that when I put the key into the doorknob, it went through the window!.....So small that even the mice were hunch-backed!.....So small that the bathroom had a folding toilet!....So small that there was no room for a complaint!.....So small that the bathroom could fit inside a porta-potty!
OK, It wasn't quite that small, and it was actually very comfortable. We had a great service, sold some CDs, I preached, and we had an all around good day.
-Stephen
Quartet reunion in a torrential rainstorm!
Well gang, here's some great news about what's been happening in our ministry.
On June 8th, Josh and I got to reunite with our fellow quartet members to go sing for a camp meeting at Highland Hills Baptist Church in Highland, Mi. It was kind of an unusual meeting, because it actually served a couple of different purposes. The Pastor of this church is actually a graduate of the college that we have been attending, and he even taught one of our classes! His church hosted a tent meeting that was partly a revival and partly an alumni meeting for the college. We got there early to goof off a little with our buddies and get in some practice before the meeting. Our singing went pretty well, but the rest of the meeting did not. The reason for this was because when the visiting pastor got up to speak, a horrible rainstorm broke out early into his message! The sound inside the tent would remind one of a tornado, and at one point I was not certain that the tent was going to going to stay on the ground, and the poor man could barely be heard! The sound system that they had was not particularly good, and there was very little that could be done.
But despite the Devil's attacks on the evening, the preacher was able to say enough that the alter was packed at the invitation. Tears were in the eyes of some people, and it would seem that God still did a great work that night.
-Stephen
On June 8th, Josh and I got to reunite with our fellow quartet members to go sing for a camp meeting at Highland Hills Baptist Church in Highland, Mi. It was kind of an unusual meeting, because it actually served a couple of different purposes. The Pastor of this church is actually a graduate of the college that we have been attending, and he even taught one of our classes! His church hosted a tent meeting that was partly a revival and partly an alumni meeting for the college. We got there early to goof off a little with our buddies and get in some practice before the meeting. Our singing went pretty well, but the rest of the meeting did not. The reason for this was because when the visiting pastor got up to speak, a horrible rainstorm broke out early into his message! The sound inside the tent would remind one of a tornado, and at one point I was not certain that the tent was going to going to stay on the ground, and the poor man could barely be heard! The sound system that they had was not particularly good, and there was very little that could be done.
But despite the Devil's attacks on the evening, the preacher was able to say enough that the alter was packed at the invitation. Tears were in the eyes of some people, and it would seem that God still did a great work that night.
-Stephen
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Run! Chinese Food Will Kill You!
I was working with my dad in his heating and air business today and we happened to be at a Chinese restaurant. While we were there (working outside), I noticed that there was an EMS truck parked outside the restaurant.....oh, how I wish I could have been inside the Chinese restaurant when two guys in EMS suits came walking in! "SPIT YOUR FOOD OUT AND RUN!!! SOMEBODY GOT POISONED!!! Oh well...I guess I missed a good opportunity to fall down and gag in the middle of a busy restaurant.
Anyway, you can check out our website at www.foresterministries.com and see our schedule.
-Joshua
Anyway, you can check out our website at www.foresterministries.com and see our schedule.
-Joshua
Thursday, June 4, 2009
New CDs... No, Not Yet...
Hopefully my brother and I will be coming up with new CDs soon. I have a few new comedy bits that I'm in the process of perfecting on stage, and Stephen is working on some new songs for a CD that should be pretty good. I won't spill anything on the details, but it's an idea that I think most people will enjoy. I, on the other hand, am waiting for crazy, stupid things to happen to me. Making up a bit is a little harder than having a real-life experience that's just genuinely wacky! I'm still working on new material, but I kind of wish that somebody would just cover my car in peanut butter. (No, not really.....I know who you are.... the one actually thinking about it.)
Anyway, be sure to stop by our website and check out our new schedule. The setup is a little bit different, but it's still just as easy to get to. Just click the "Schedule" icon and it'll take you straight to the new schedule. Be sure to check out the website at www.foresterministries.com to see what we're doing.
-Joshua
Anyway, be sure to stop by our website and check out our new schedule. The setup is a little bit different, but it's still just as easy to get to. Just click the "Schedule" icon and it'll take you straight to the new schedule. Be sure to check out the website at www.foresterministries.com to see what we're doing.
-Joshua
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
At Last!
Well, everybody, I have some great news: we are now able to update our schedule page on our own! The page has been rebuilt and will be published shortly. It is actually an extension of blogger.com. We have created a new blog that will replace our old schedule page. When you are on our web page and click "Schedule", it will send you straight to the new page. I have already posted most of our bookings (old and new) on this page so that when it is officially attached to our website, they will already be there. I will post the rest of them very soon. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused those who would have come to some of the concerts that have already passed and were not put on the website. The good news is that this should never happen again because I can now post them whenever I want to!
Hopefully, in the near future we will be able to rebuild our website so that we will have total control of it and be able to change and update everything on our own. Eventually we hope to be able to update the whole website with pictures, blogs, news on our ministry in our lives and other great things to give people a reason to come back to our website.
This probably won't happen for a little while yet. For now, we are just happy to have our schedule problem fixed.
By the way, I'm hoping to get into the studio very soon to start cutting songs for my new CD. I am very excited about this and hope to get it out ASAP.
Look for the new schedule page. It should be uploaded any day now.
-Stephen
Hopefully, in the near future we will be able to rebuild our website so that we will have total control of it and be able to change and update everything on our own. Eventually we hope to be able to update the whole website with pictures, blogs, news on our ministry in our lives and other great things to give people a reason to come back to our website.
This probably won't happen for a little while yet. For now, we are just happy to have our schedule problem fixed.
By the way, I'm hoping to get into the studio very soon to start cutting songs for my new CD. I am very excited about this and hope to get it out ASAP.
Look for the new schedule page. It should be uploaded any day now.
-Stephen
Friday, May 22, 2009
Hey loyal readers, I just thought that I'd let you know that we've been having some problems getting our website updated, which is why there have not been any new concert dates posted recently. We actually have quite a few new ones that need to be posted, and if we can't straighten this web page thing out soon I'll just post the latest ones here on our blog temporarily. We are looking to soon rebuild our website so that we will be able to update it ourselves and not rely on someone from Texas to do it for us. Up until now, He's done a fantastic job, but lately his work is demanding so much of his time that he hasn't been able to post the updates that I have been e-mailing him. For now, keep an eye on our schedule, and if no new dates are posted soon, I'll put them up here to keep everyone informed.
-Stephen
-Stephen
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Freshman No More
Hooray! It's official: my brother Stephen and I have completed our freshman year of college! And guess what: they're gonna let us back in next fall! I couldn't hardly believe it either. Anyway, It's been a really exciting year, and part is kinda sorry its over with. But, there's a bigger part of me that says
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!" I love school and all, but there's just something about that free air that isn't polluted by the smell of midterms and finals. Ask any college student and they'll tell you that you wind up writing so many papers, tests, quizzes, and what-not that you get finger cramps. Oh well, that's life....or is it pork reins??? Oh well, next fall I'll be heading back to the world of macadamia, and I'll get to do it all over again. Gotta go now: finger cramp.
Check out our website, http://www.foresterministries.com/ , to see all about us.
-Joshua
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!" I love school and all, but there's just something about that free air that isn't polluted by the smell of midterms and finals. Ask any college student and they'll tell you that you wind up writing so many papers, tests, quizzes, and what-not that you get finger cramps. Oh well, that's life....or is it pork reins??? Oh well, next fall I'll be heading back to the world of macadamia, and I'll get to do it all over again. Gotta go now: finger cramp.
Check out our website, http://www.foresterministries.com/ , to see all about us.
-Joshua
Monday, May 11, 2009
New ministry update
This has proven to be the most exciting year ever for both our lives and our ministry. We are wrapping up our second semester of college at Midwestern Baptist College this week.....and boy, are we ready for a break! I have really been busy from all the things that have been going on lately. Looking back on our past two semesters, it seems that Josh and I are almost always doing something besides just going to classes. Not only that, but everything that we get involved in seems to have a lot that needs doing, and in some cases leads to some other assignment or activity.
Take the gospel music concert that we hosted in March. Every Thursday between 12:00pm when day classes ended to somewhere before 6:00 pm when night classes started, I was in the basement with friends recording soundtracks for the concert. We had the concert, and my quartet sang and did very well. We were good enough that Mrs. Sally Welch, head of the music department, started using us for music events that she was in charge of at the college. This lead to us singing for chapel services at the school's annual competition week for the 'Cross America conference (an annual event where Christian school kids from everywhere come to compete in sports, music, and preaching competitions). We did well enough there that we were asked to sing for a "Youth 4 Truth" teen event being held at the college later on. That day two pastors approached me about having the quartet come to their church for special events, and we are waiting to see if they will book us, and our success at that meeting finally led to the quartet being featured in our last two choir performances.
While going through this semester, we were also filming a special comedy video on the side titled "Super Dorks". It was about three idiots who overhear a young preacher practicing his sermon about "the power of God", but they mistakenly think that it is God telling them that they have super powers! I got to play the fourth guy, an schemer who knows the truth about their powers but plays along to use those nuts for my own evil agenda!
But of course, we spent several weeks filming it and it took up a lot of time and energy.
We have also received a number of new bookings that should be posted any day now. We have been thrilled with the number of bookings that have flown in lately, and Lord willing, there will be many more to come!
I am considering buying some expensive recording equipment soon, with the hopes of starting my own studio like my older brother Mark. Once I learned how to use it and got some experience, I could use it to do some of the work on my own CDs and eventually other people's recordings as well.
A lot has been happening lately, and we have gotten a little tired from balancing all of this work with stuff going on in school, ministry, Dairy Queen, and other things, but it has been an awesome ride, and now that school is ending things will be easier but still very busy.
Be sure to check foresterministries.com for more bookings being posted soon and for new Cds for sale sometime this summer.
Whew! I need a nap!
-Stephen
Take the gospel music concert that we hosted in March. Every Thursday between 12:00pm when day classes ended to somewhere before 6:00 pm when night classes started, I was in the basement with friends recording soundtracks for the concert. We had the concert, and my quartet sang and did very well. We were good enough that Mrs. Sally Welch, head of the music department, started using us for music events that she was in charge of at the college. This lead to us singing for chapel services at the school's annual competition week for the 'Cross America conference (an annual event where Christian school kids from everywhere come to compete in sports, music, and preaching competitions). We did well enough there that we were asked to sing for a "Youth 4 Truth" teen event being held at the college later on. That day two pastors approached me about having the quartet come to their church for special events, and we are waiting to see if they will book us, and our success at that meeting finally led to the quartet being featured in our last two choir performances.
While going through this semester, we were also filming a special comedy video on the side titled "Super Dorks". It was about three idiots who overhear a young preacher practicing his sermon about "the power of God", but they mistakenly think that it is God telling them that they have super powers! I got to play the fourth guy, an schemer who knows the truth about their powers but plays along to use those nuts for my own evil agenda!
But of course, we spent several weeks filming it and it took up a lot of time and energy.
We have also received a number of new bookings that should be posted any day now. We have been thrilled with the number of bookings that have flown in lately, and Lord willing, there will be many more to come!
I am considering buying some expensive recording equipment soon, with the hopes of starting my own studio like my older brother Mark. Once I learned how to use it and got some experience, I could use it to do some of the work on my own CDs and eventually other people's recordings as well.
A lot has been happening lately, and we have gotten a little tired from balancing all of this work with stuff going on in school, ministry, Dairy Queen, and other things, but it has been an awesome ride, and now that school is ending things will be easier but still very busy.
Be sure to check foresterministries.com for more bookings being posted soon and for new Cds for sale sometime this summer.
Whew! I need a nap!
-Stephen
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Tiny Town
This past Sunday my brother and I went with our college choir to sing at a church. The town we went to was so small it made Mayberry look like the Big Apple on Saturday night, if ya know what I mean. If you tripped, you fell right over the county line. The place was so small and sleepy, cops would arrest you for aggravated assault if you sneezed on somebody. You don't even WANT to know how many years you could get for jaywalking! Anyway, I saw a sign as we passed through town for a new "sub division" (my guess would be a vacant lot with cardboard boxes). The sign said "New Homes Starting at $40,000!". I'm thinking the only home you're gonna get in this economy for forty grand is your choice of a bedroom OR a bathroom! Either that, or every night would seem like you and your spouse had a fight because every night you would literally be sleeping in the doghouse.
Anyway, don't forget to look on our website at www.foresterministries.com to see our booking updates, CD info, and more!
-Joshua
Anyway, don't forget to look on our website at www.foresterministries.com to see our booking updates, CD info, and more!
-Joshua
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sorry, Bill
I was thinking the other day that so many of the singers from the Gaither videos, the "Homecoming Friends", have gone on to be with the Lord, that heaven must be getting to look like a Gaither video! I'll bet when the rapture happens, Bill Gaither with get it on video. You're not supposed to be able to take it with you, but God may have to fight Gaither over that camera. I can see it now: "Pearly Gates Homecoming"; "Singin' With The Saints (Heaven Style)"; "A Crystal Sea Homecoming". The commercials will all say, "Eternity may last forever, but this deal won't! See all your homecoming favorites for just one golden street brick!" Unfortunately for Gaither, we'll just be able to see the singers in person whenever we want. Sorry, Bill.
Be sure to check out our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ and take a look at our CDs and our schedule!
-Joshua
Be sure to check out our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ and take a look at our CDs and our schedule!
-Joshua
Monday, April 6, 2009
Hey everybody, I managed to find some time through all the craziness of my world that I call life to update you all on the latest ministry happenings. I have to back up a bit, but here we go,
On Mar.15, we were at a church in Mt. Morris that was absolutely a blast to perform for. They really seemed to enjoy everything, and they were one of the best laughing churches that we have been to in a while. We had a wonderful time and we agreed that that place would be great for a live recording someday.
Also, we just wrapped up that concert at Midwestern Baptist College. We had to make some adjustments here and there to make things work, but everything turned out great and we had a wonderful night. Josh was in rare form with his comedy, and we had a couple of other fellows doing some two-man comedy that night who were also hilarious. I sang with a men's ensemble and a quartet called "The Abiding Grace Quartet", and I think it went very well. We were able to raise some money for the college student body fund, and I'd love to do it there again sometime.
We are gearing up to make new CDs, and hope to have them available by mid-summer. See us on the web at www.foresterministries.com.
-Stephen
On Mar.15, we were at a church in Mt. Morris that was absolutely a blast to perform for. They really seemed to enjoy everything, and they were one of the best laughing churches that we have been to in a while. We had a wonderful time and we agreed that that place would be great for a live recording someday.
Also, we just wrapped up that concert at Midwestern Baptist College. We had to make some adjustments here and there to make things work, but everything turned out great and we had a wonderful night. Josh was in rare form with his comedy, and we had a couple of other fellows doing some two-man comedy that night who were also hilarious. I sang with a men's ensemble and a quartet called "The Abiding Grace Quartet", and I think it went very well. We were able to raise some money for the college student body fund, and I'd love to do it there again sometime.
We are gearing up to make new CDs, and hope to have them available by mid-summer. See us on the web at www.foresterministries.com.
-Stephen
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
I Hate Hallmark
I have decided that Mother's Day cards are the worst cards in the world because of one thing: mothers cannot know if their kid is being sincere. All Mother's Day cards say something like:
To The Most Wonderful Mother In The World!!!!
A mother doesn't know if her kid is serious because ALL of the cards say something like that! I think someone needs to invent a new kind of card; no one has to buy it, it just needs to be there so sincerity in the other cards can be detected. Somebody needs to make a card that says, "I hated my childhood; thinking of becoming a serial killer. Signed, (your name here)."
Father's day cards are completely different, though. Those are easy to buy because dads give you a different side to your childhood. You don't have to worry about being sincere with a Father's Day card. Just buy something that says, "Happy Father's Day, Dad: Childhood With You Was A GAS!"
Our ministry, on a more spiritual note, is going quite well. We did a concert for a dinner in Mulliken Michigan this past Saturday, and boy, can those ladies COOK!:) I don't care if they're married or not, I'll wait in line.
Also, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago! I am now the big one-double-O! (The two Os stacked on top of each other make an eight) I can't believe I'm finally eighteen! Darn it, I just missed the election. Oh well, be sure to see our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see all about us.
-Joshua
P.S.- Look over the past colors I've used to sign my blogs and see if you can guess what my favorite color is. The winner will receive: ......bragging rights. (Whoopie!)
To The Most Wonderful Mother In The World!!!!
A mother doesn't know if her kid is serious because ALL of the cards say something like that! I think someone needs to invent a new kind of card; no one has to buy it, it just needs to be there so sincerity in the other cards can be detected. Somebody needs to make a card that says, "I hated my childhood; thinking of becoming a serial killer. Signed, (your name here)."
Father's day cards are completely different, though. Those are easy to buy because dads give you a different side to your childhood. You don't have to worry about being sincere with a Father's Day card. Just buy something that says, "Happy Father's Day, Dad: Childhood With You Was A GAS!"
Our ministry, on a more spiritual note, is going quite well. We did a concert for a dinner in Mulliken Michigan this past Saturday, and boy, can those ladies COOK!:) I don't care if they're married or not, I'll wait in line.
Also, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago! I am now the big one-double-O! (The two Os stacked on top of each other make an eight) I can't believe I'm finally eighteen! Darn it, I just missed the election. Oh well, be sure to see our website at http://www.foresterministries.com/ to see all about us.
-Joshua
P.S.- Look over the past colors I've used to sign my blogs and see if you can guess what my favorite color is. The winner will receive: ......bragging rights. (Whoopie!)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Birth Of A Recording Studio
I've been working on an area of ministry that is a somewhat new to me this week. I have been recording my own soundtracks for a special concert that we are doing in March. On March 28th, we are hosting a special gospel music concert at our college, Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, MI. It will be a special night featuring quite a few students with great musical talent. We will be doing some songs with soundtracks and some with live instruments, and I'm recording the tracks at home, playing most (or on some songs all) of the instruments. Josh will be lending a big helping hand to the evening by co-hosting the event with me, playing most of the live piano (which is much better than DEAD piano!), and doing his signature stand-up comedy. I organized a men's quartet, which we dubbed the "Abiding Grace" quartet, and will be singing tenor. This a bit unusual for me, since in the college choir I usually sing bass! We've done this once before, so I'm confident that it will be great.
There will be a number of other students performing as well, with some absolutely great voices being featured as well as some instrumental solos. This is to be a student body event to raise money for our student body fund, which is used to make improvements at the college for the student's benefit and in some cases, perhaps even help with tuition. There will be no admission charge, but we will be taking a freewill offering and selling refreshments to raise support. If you are in the area we would love for you to come out to see us. In the meantime, I will be working frantically to get the recording done and practicing with the performing students at the college.
To all those who read Josh's last blog and may have been confused....No, Josh did not rob that bank. He did consider it, and he even tried to get me in on it. But I managed to change his mind by dragging him into a dark room and beating him until he lost consciousness! Once the bleeding stopped and both of his hips had popped back out of his collar bone, he saw that I was right.
Nothing like brotherly love! It's hard to believe that we were born in Philadelphia!
Have a nice day, and remember to "Love thy neighbor"!
Stephen Forester
There will be a number of other students performing as well, with some absolutely great voices being featured as well as some instrumental solos. This is to be a student body event to raise money for our student body fund, which is used to make improvements at the college for the student's benefit and in some cases, perhaps even help with tuition. There will be no admission charge, but we will be taking a freewill offering and selling refreshments to raise support. If you are in the area we would love for you to come out to see us. In the meantime, I will be working frantically to get the recording done and practicing with the performing students at the college.
To all those who read Josh's last blog and may have been confused....No, Josh did not rob that bank. He did consider it, and he even tried to get me in on it. But I managed to change his mind by dragging him into a dark room and beating him until he lost consciousness! Once the bleeding stopped and both of his hips had popped back out of his collar bone, he saw that I was right.
Nothing like brotherly love! It's hard to believe that we were born in Philadelphia!
Have a nice day, and remember to "Love thy neighbor"!
Stephen Forester
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I Wanna Rob A Bank
I went into the bank today and saw this whole wall of security cameras...... did you ever get the feeling you were being watched? I got to thinking: I would love to go into a bank with a ski mask on. Then, just when the people start to panic, take off the mask and say: "Whoo, is it cold outside!" Before I took the mask off, though, I'd like to walk up to a teller and say, "I'd like to make a withdrawal, please."
Okay, that would definitely get me arrested, but it would be fun if I could get away with it. I could just see the faces of those angry cops though. "You were what?....A joke?.... Whatever, watch your head gettin' into the car."
Don't forget to check us out at www.foresterministries.com to see our CDs and future bookings. We're still accepting dates for 2009. But sorry, we can't fit in anymore dates for 2008....
-Joshua
Okay, that would definitely get me arrested, but it would be fun if I could get away with it. I could just see the faces of those angry cops though. "You were what?....A joke?.... Whatever, watch your head gettin' into the car."
Don't forget to check us out at www.foresterministries.com to see our CDs and future bookings. We're still accepting dates for 2009. But sorry, we can't fit in anymore dates for 2008....
-Joshua
Monday, February 2, 2009
Riddle me this: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Answer: He'd cut a cord of Cedar, if you gave him a quarter for every cord that he cut.
You are probably thinking "What on Earth does that have to do with your ministry?" The answer is .....absolutely nothing, I just thought that you might get a blessing out of an old, stupid tongue twister with an ending that you may not have heard before!
Wow! Your right, that was dumb. Anyway, Josh and I are very excited about this new year already. We have already logged more dates in the book for the year than we did for all of 2008!
The newest dates should be posted soon, with more on the way shortly.
Our big brother Mark and his wife Andrea have hit the road for Florida. They will be down there 'till about the third week of April, and we wish them a happy,safe, rewarding trip (Although Mom's so jealous that she's thinking of burning down his house in Michigan).
When he returns in April, Josh and I will hopefully begin work on our new CDs as quickly as possible. We'd like to get them out by sometime in the late spring/early summer time.
Our services on Jan. 25th went well. We were at Victory Baptist Church for Sunday school and their morning service. They were an excellent crowd! They laughed at pretty much everything that we said, and they seemed to enjoy the music and message.
That night we traveled with our college choir to Grace Baptist Church in Coeman, Mi. for a revival that they were hosting that week. You can read Josh's last blog for some funny stuff on that.
This coming Sunday we will be in Brown City,Mi. in the morning, and traveling with the choir again that afternoon for Tri-City Baptist church in Saginaw that night.
The Lord's been so good to us already this year, and we are eagerly anticipating what He has for us in the future for our ministry.
In Christ,
Stephen Forester
p.s. My birthday is this Saturday.........Just thought you'd like to know!
Answer: He'd cut a cord of Cedar, if you gave him a quarter for every cord that he cut.
You are probably thinking "What on Earth does that have to do with your ministry?" The answer is .....absolutely nothing, I just thought that you might get a blessing out of an old, stupid tongue twister with an ending that you may not have heard before!
Wow! Your right, that was dumb. Anyway, Josh and I are very excited about this new year already. We have already logged more dates in the book for the year than we did for all of 2008!
The newest dates should be posted soon, with more on the way shortly.
Our big brother Mark and his wife Andrea have hit the road for Florida. They will be down there 'till about the third week of April, and we wish them a happy,safe, rewarding trip (Although Mom's so jealous that she's thinking of burning down his house in Michigan).
When he returns in April, Josh and I will hopefully begin work on our new CDs as quickly as possible. We'd like to get them out by sometime in the late spring/early summer time.
Our services on Jan. 25th went well. We were at Victory Baptist Church for Sunday school and their morning service. They were an excellent crowd! They laughed at pretty much everything that we said, and they seemed to enjoy the music and message.
That night we traveled with our college choir to Grace Baptist Church in Coeman, Mi. for a revival that they were hosting that week. You can read Josh's last blog for some funny stuff on that.
This coming Sunday we will be in Brown City,Mi. in the morning, and traveling with the choir again that afternoon for Tri-City Baptist church in Saginaw that night.
The Lord's been so good to us already this year, and we are eagerly anticipating what He has for us in the future for our ministry.
In Christ,
Stephen Forester
p.s. My birthday is this Saturday.........Just thought you'd like to know!
Monday, January 26, 2009
College Choir Blues
Well, yesterday my brother and I did a meeting Sunday morning, then went to sing with our college choir that Sunday evening. The catch: our director was not with us. Where is she? Well, while we're here turning ourselves into human ice sculptures, she's on vacation in Cancun. A part of me wants to ask God to send a hurricane to Cancun out of jealousy, but that would not be the Christian thing to do. Anyway, we had to do a concert without a director.....that's like leaving a blind person without their seeing-eye dog! Anyway, we got to the concert and saw that there was an evangelist there who used to be my pastor! When he got up to preach, he admitted that the tie we gave him when we were little was atrociously hideous! I didn't cry....... but I wanted to.
Anyway, we hope that you will see us in concert near you. To find out all about us, check out our website, www.foresterministries.com, where you can see our info, check our upcoming concert dates, and purchase our CDs! Thanks for viewing!
-Joshua
Anyway, we hope that you will see us in concert near you. To find out all about us, check out our website, www.foresterministries.com, where you can see our info, check our upcoming concert dates, and purchase our CDs! Thanks for viewing!
-Joshua
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Fear Not.... I Live
I apologize for not making any recent posts, but things have been busy with the holidays, the new year, and going back to college..... yes, they took me back! Anyway, Happy New Year!
Well, something interesting that's happened.... something interesting.... something.... I may need a new toaster! Okay, I'll testify of my own stupidity. This past Saturday, my two nephews were spending the weekend with us and we took them sledding on what my parents affectionately call Dead Man's Hill. (It makes black diamond hills look like they're for Pebbles Flinstone) Anyway, I like to go down on my back (with a sled) because I go faster. Unfortunately, I hit a bump and the edge of the sled came up under my shoulder blade and.......... injured me. This is where the dumb part comes in. My nephews and I found a back path that had two ramps on it for sledding. Did I sit on the sidelines like an intelligent idiot? No. I went down a couple of times and was fine. It was the time I went down again on my back that I decided I'd rather have a hernia. To make matters worse, we received a Wii for Christmas (I hope there is at least one jealous reader). Did I refrain from playing boxing and baseball like a smart peanut? No. Now I'd rather give birth.
As far as our ministry goes, we have received several new bookings and we are eagerly looking forward through the new year to see what God will do with us in 2009. We still have empty dates that we would be glad to fill, so stop by our website at www.foresterministries.com and take a look at us!
-Joshua
Well, something interesting that's happened.... something interesting.... something.... I may need a new toaster! Okay, I'll testify of my own stupidity. This past Saturday, my two nephews were spending the weekend with us and we took them sledding on what my parents affectionately call Dead Man's Hill. (It makes black diamond hills look like they're for Pebbles Flinstone) Anyway, I like to go down on my back (with a sled) because I go faster. Unfortunately, I hit a bump and the edge of the sled came up under my shoulder blade and.......... injured me. This is where the dumb part comes in. My nephews and I found a back path that had two ramps on it for sledding. Did I sit on the sidelines like an intelligent idiot? No. I went down a couple of times and was fine. It was the time I went down again on my back that I decided I'd rather have a hernia. To make matters worse, we received a Wii for Christmas (I hope there is at least one jealous reader). Did I refrain from playing boxing and baseball like a smart peanut? No. Now I'd rather give birth.
As far as our ministry goes, we have received several new bookings and we are eagerly looking forward through the new year to see what God will do with us in 2009. We still have empty dates that we would be glad to fill, so stop by our website at www.foresterministries.com and take a look at us!
-Joshua
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