May 8/08

At a recent concert I was approached by a very wonderful woman whose smile was contagious. Little did I know but she is facing cancer and the outlook isn't good. But during our conversation she continued to praise God! What a testimony to me. To see someone face a trial such as that and continue to share the joy of the Lord shows the strength of our God. It was a reminder to me that whatever I face in life if I have the Lord by my side he will give me the strength to not only endure but also have joy.

December 7/07 Tami

Last night we celebrated a belated Thanksgiving with two of our dearest friends Ruth and Robyn. We also celebrated Colby's recovery and the end of his days of wearing a helmet!!!. We set off fire workes and blew up and shot two of his helmets to pieces. I would have to say that last night was the best thanksgiving i ever had. I look forward to celebrating Christmas with my family in beautiful Tennessee! I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!!!!!

July 12/07 Tami

Life on the road these last few months has been such a blessing. We have met so many wonderful people. I am excited to spend eternity with them all. Sometimes it gets difficult finding a quite place to spend with the Lord but it is so important to seek and know him. My encouragement is that you make time for him. Even if it takes waking up at three in the morning. Like my pastor said "We are only one step away from being a prodigal. We must walk with him every day." There are temptations and trials on all sides trying to distract us from our Lord. I don't want to be a prodigal how about you?

March 3/07 Breana

I was just listening to the Talley Trio and playing solitaire on the computer today and the song “On Time God” came on and it really spoke to me. I think a lot of times as Christians, we will pray for something from God and if He doesn’t answer yes right away we think that He isn’t listening. Mary and Martha called on Jesus to heal Lazarus, but it wasn’t until four days after Lazarus died Jesus showed up and raised him from the dead. Can you imagine the confusion, sadness, and probably even anger they had during those four days? But God knew exactly what was going on. He always has a plan and it’s usually one that’s a lot better than what we have in mind. It is very easy for us to think that we know what is best for us and we have the answers for everything, but that is not true. We didn’t create ourselves, God did, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. If we are willing to let go of the things we think we need and trust that God has the best for us, we will see His will unfold in our lives and feel His peace and blessing every day. I’ve had a hard time remembering this lately, but I just have to constantly remind myself, “God loves me and He alone knows what is best for me. I need to trust Him.”

January 31/07 Tami

GOD IS SO GREAT!  We recently experienced a first for our ministry.  We had just finished a concert in the Knoxville area and the hunger pains hit.  We decided to splurge that night and instead of our regular eating places (Taco Bell and Cracker Barrel) we went to Don Pablos (a Mexican Restaurant).  Whenever we enter a building we tend to make a statement by the amount of people in our group (11).  That night was no exception.  Upon entering the restaurant the manager replied what’s the occasion and John answered honestly by saying “we’re hungry”.  Then he asked why so many people and we shared that we were a gospel group that had just sang at a local church.  He asked if we would sing for him and John joking replied “sure we will sing for food”.  I am sure you are starting to anticipate what happened after that.  We sang and when the bill came the manager said it was already taken care of.  We were amazed!  It gets very expensive feeding an army and it was such a blessing.  As great as that was, it even gets better.  While we were eating a woman who was eating with another group of people at the restaurant came over and handed Rich a $100.00 and said “thank you for spreading the gospel”.  WOW!  We ate and walked out of the restaurant with more money in our pockets than we came in with.  He is our great provider.

January 8/07 Breana

We, as a ministry group, have prayer time every morning starting at 9:00 . We all gather in our living room, which, for now, serves as the office for the team, and start by bringing up any prayer requests we have or requests that others have asked us to pray for. While we were doing that this morning Tami brought up a conversation she had with Lucas. She had told him that if Jesus didn’t return during his life it is very possible that he will see physical persecution to Christians. Lucas then said, “But we live in America .” Exactly!  A country that accepts everything, except the truth. That may sound a little harsh, but if you honestly look around and think about it, it is very obvious. There are states right now that are trying to make it illegal to talk against homosexuality in church! That is just the beginning of it, it is going to become harder and harder to “freely” speak about God anywhere. My point in saying all that is this, now is the time to get up and share the truth. God has called us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” We have a responsibility from God to uphold and it is only going to become harder to do that as time goes on. God puts people in our path everyday that need to know Jesus. Can you imagine the impact Christians could have if we just share with one person everyday? It would be incredible! I will be honest and say that I haven’t been faithful to do that, but I am willing to start. I want to be bold in my faith, and I pray that you would be too. Jesus Christ died for us so that we could live with Him forever in Heaven! That is a very powerful message, and one worth sharing, don’t you think??

December 11/06 Tami

In just a few days it will be the anniversary of Colby's accident. I remember Christmas last year was spent in the hospital. In an effort to give our oldest son as close to a normal Christmas as possible we split up the day with both John and I trading off with Colby. I will never see Christmas the same way again. I am thankful that John and I have both our sons with us this year. No matter what is under the tree, the greatest gift is spending the holidays with my family. To God be the glory, honor and praise!

December 1 06/Breana

I had the most wonderful weekend and I just thought I'd share. I spent it with my adorable boyfriend Justin. It started on "Black Friday" morning at 5 am when we left to start our Christmas shopping. We began our search for the perfect presents at Wal-Mart. To my surprise it was not too crowded and we managed to get through without any black eyes or broken ribs. From there we went to Best Buy, which was a whole different story. We had to wait in line just to get in! It was crazy. Next, we hit the mall and took a break from shopping to see a movie. We saw "Facing The Giants". It was a very good, christian movie with a great message. It's only downfall was the acting. But once you get past that, it is very good. After we were done shopping we met with his brother and sister in law and went to the Ice Bears hockey game. Our seats were awesome, We were right on the ice! But, the Ice Bears were horrible! The final score was 4-0! By the end of the game we were exhausted and I think we both slept pretty good that night. The next morning Justin picked me up around eleven and we headed to the Vols game!! iT was the first time I'd ever seen the Vols or a football game, so it was very exciting for me. Even though the only things in football I know about are safety's and blitzes I had blast! Then, that night we went to the "Fantasy of Trees" in Knoxville. It was beautiful. So... that was my wonderful weekend and needless to say I was exhausted by the end, but it was worth it. I have the best boyfriend in the WHOLE WORLD!

November 9 06/Tami

Now that the holidays are near (my favorite time of year) I am sure many people are starting to think about shopping, baking, decorating and food. I have already started listening to Chistmas music (sick, I know). Let's make an extra effort this year to remember why we celebrate Christmas. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

October 3 06/Tami

It is hard to believe that we are leaving for a tour in our old home state of washington.  Yes, it does rain a lot there. But unlike the rest of our group I love the rain. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends, but I will have to say that this last year has confirmed for me the saying "Home Is Where The Heart Is". The more we are on the road I realize that true contentment comes in the moment. I will have to say, that is not always easy to apply when you experience some of our hotel experiences. Home is driving up to a church and realizing that you are meeting the family you will be spending eternity with. We are so amazed at the love of the body of christ. I am looking forward to our heavenly home where we get to be with our entire family (the home that will end all those hotels.)

September 21 06/Tami

we recently returned from NQC. Looking back on the week I would have to say that the thing that i enjoyed the most was the opportunity to see our old friends and meet so many new ones. It was a blessing to hear that so many people have been ministered to through our songs. We look forward to our upcoming months of ministry. We hope that we will be able to see some of you at our upcoming concerts.

September 7 06/Jackie

I just want to start off by giving God thanks and praise for His awesome provision this year. We just got back from the Gatlinburg Gathering, and for those of you who do not know what that is, it is a 3 day convention in Gatlinburg, TN where some big name artists (i.e. The Trio) and some not so big name artists that are starting out (i.e. THe Crist Family) sing for the weekend.  There is also preaching every night and preaching on Saturday and Sunday morning. Anyways, the Lord blessed our time there this past weekend and He really opened my eyes to just how real the call to ministrty is for our group.

Oh yeah, and if you ever get the chance to hear Jack Lassiter speak, DO NOT pass it up.

August 7, 06/Tami

Jackie turned 17! I am so proud of her. She is an incredible person. one of the greatest blessings about singing with my family is the opportunity to be with my neices. They work hard at keeping me young and their laughter is contagious. Happy Birthday Jackie!

June 22, 06/Tami

One of my favorite devotional books is "My Utmost For His Highest". In one of my recent studies it was talking about that true service is not defined by what we do for God but rather what we do based on our relationship with God. I think so many times we do things because it is the Christian thing to do. God wants us to serve out of love for Him. What a convicting thought that was for me. I want my service for Him to be a reflection of my relationship with Him.

May 31/06 Rich Jr

We just returned from a great weekend in Alabama and Georgia. Jim and Cyndee Foster of Southern Gospel Radio AM-1270 in Columbus, Georgia put together three wonderful concerts for us there. We had great time fellowshipping with them over the weekend, and we ate more food than you can shake a stick at!! Most importantly however, the Holy Spirit was alive and well in all the concerts and we were blessed by seeing many lives touched.

We finished the vocals on our newest project at Crossroads Records last Wednesday. It will be going to final mix on the last week in June and we should have a master in our hands the first week in July. It has a street-release date of early September and we should have pre-release product ready to sell and ship through our website by the first of August. The songs the Lord gave us on this project are amazing! It is another one of those projects that could have several radio singles and it's hard to pick a favorite they are all so good! We're thrilled with the project and I think you will enjoy hearing that familiar Crist Family blend as well as some exciting new sounds from The Crist Family.

We are happy to announce that our second single to radio "Great Beyond" written by Tami Crist Starkel has just broke into the top 40 on the Singing News national radio chart. That makes two top 40 singles in our first two radio singles. Our third single "I Know Why" written by Daryl Williams and Mary Brown was just released to radio on the June Crossroads airplay sampler. Make sure and call your local station and put in your request for "I Know Why"

We are so thankful to the Lord for answering our prayers to get more and more bookings. God is using radio as well as many other avenues to throw open the doors for the Crist Family to minister. Thank you again for your prayers. We love you lots!!

May 25/06 Tami

Yesterday we finished our vocals on our newest project. There is a song titled "Every Step" that has my heart. When I first heard the demo I knew the song needed to be sung by our group. The lyrics are at the heart of what we went through with Colby. Every step that we took God was right there with us. I am looking forward to sharing the song with you because I know that there are many of you that have gone through struggles and have experienced the peace of our Lord in your lives. I also know that there are many who need to know that God wants to take every step with you. Our God is faithful!!

May 2/06 Tami

What a great and awesome God we serve! We recently returned from Singing In The Sun an event held in Myrtle Beach, SC. We all enjoyed the opportunity to listen to other groups singing praise to our Lord and visiting with people at our booth. I would have to say the highlight of my week was having the opportunity to thank Libby Perry of  The Perrys for the large part she played in getting the news out about Colbys accident and encouraging people to pray. I thank the Lord for the many prayer warriors that placed my son before Gods throne. I have always believed in prayer but I have to admit that I have a greater respect for it than I ever have before. God sustained John and I through it all with the power of prayer. Here is a picture we took of Colby and Libby:

April 9/06 Rich Jr.

Hi friends,

We are off this weekend and I am sitting at my desk having a great cup of coffee while waiting on the 4 women of the house to finish getting ready for church. I have just enough time to send you some current news before starting to yell the "countdown to departure" to the gals. It's the same every Sunday and I know you are smiling because it is a universal thing!!

The storms that hit Tennessee came right through our home town of Maynardville, but fortunately they broke up as they hit our valley. We live in a somewhat sheltered area as the 57 acres our three families live on is in a Hollow. We feel fortunate to have made it through this storm especially after seeing pictures of so many who lost homes and even loved ones. Please be praying for all the families that have had such great loss.

We will be leaving later this week for Indiana. We have a weekend full of concerts there and are looking forward to our time with them. Please check our website for locations and if you are anywhere in the area, please come out and visit. We would love to see you!

We just recently learned that our current single "Great Beyond" has debuted at #58 in the May issue of the Singing News radio Chart. It is currently at #38 on the US Gospel News chart and our prior single "It's Been A Journey" is also still holding in the top 80.

We really appreciate radio and its listeners support and it is really helping our ministry to grow. There will also be an article featuring The Crist Family in the May issue of the Singing News Magazine, so be looking for that.

I hope you are all having a great weekend and had a great day of worship at church.

I look forward to writing you again soon.

April 6/06 Gail

We recently had the chance to travel to Florida for the first time to sing at the Lighthouse Children’s Home in Tallahassee with the Mark Trammel Trio and Dixie Melody Boys.  What an incredible opportunity and a great time of ministry!  The Lighthouse Children’s Home is actually a home for troubled teen-aged girls.  It houses approximately 30 girls who have decided that they want to get a new start and change their lives.  It is an awesome place and the girls were great to be around.  God is definitely at work there.  We’d love to be able to sponsor a girl at the home on a monthly basis (when we get some money).

Tallahassee is a long way from East Tennessee .  It took us about ten hours to get there.  The concert began at 7:00 pm and we didn’t arrive back at our hotel until midnight .  What a long day (especially for the kids and us “old” folks)! 

On Sunday we drove to Dadeville , AL where we sang at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in the evening.  The church and pastor were so warm and welcoming to our team – a very hospitable group of people.  A few church members even invited the guys back for fishing. 

It was a great concert but the best part about it was when three people raised their hands indicating that they had accepted Christ as their Lord & Savior.  What an awesome time!  The reason we travel & sing/share about the Lord is to give others the hope we have in Jesus and seeing someone accept Christ for the first time makes it all worthwhile.  I am praying for them each day that they are getting a good start in the Lord.    

February 28/06 Tami

This past weekend we had the privilege to sing at Sonlight Baptist Church in Halls, TN. I feel so blessed every time we get to be with the family of God. During our concert I thought about what it will be like when we all get to heaven and are worshiping together as one family. Thank you Sonlight for showing me again how exciting that will be. I can't wait to spend eternity with you all. Or as they would say here Tennessee Ya' all.

February 20/06 Rich Jr.

I was reading in Mark chapter 10 this morning.  It’s a story I’ve read many times before about the rich young man that went away sad when Jesus asked him to give up all he had and follow Him.  You know the whole camel and eye of the needle thing….but then right there at the end of that passage was something that stuck out to me that I never really noticed until now.  Maybe because of the place we are in as a ministry where we wonder how the next bill will be paid or how we will make it to the next concert or event.  In verse 28 good ol’ Peter says “we have left everything to follow you!” and then the part that hit me is what Jesus says next…”I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age and in the age to come, eternal life.” 

 What a promise to those who will forsake all to follow Him and share the gospel!!  We have nothing to fear as His promises are true.  We serve an awesome God and I can’t wait to see what He has for us in the future.  Until then, we wait patiently and continue to be obedient to the call He has on our lives.  We know that in the end the eternal life that we have been promised in heaven with Him will be worth every second of our service to our Lord. 

February 15/06 Tami

This Valentines Day was different than the ones John and I have shared in the past. We would usually go out to a nice dinner together. This year we spent it with our kids. We played hide-n-seek and charades by candlelight. I have to admit I was sad when the evening began that I wasn't getting to do something special, but now I realize that what I did was more special than I realized. The three most important men in my life spent the evening with me. We laughed and had so much fun. Watching Colby run and hide and do motions for charades was such a blessing. Thank you Lord for my husband and two sons.

November 29/05 Breana

“This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 I’ve heard a million and one times that God loves me, but when I heard it again this weekend at the retreat with my youth group it really sank in. God knows me more than anyone. He knows all my sins, mistakes, fears, and angers yet He still loves me completely. Since I am in the ministry and we are gone quite frequently it is difficult to make close friends and feel that kind of love. It is easy to get caught up in the feeling of loneliness and forget that there is someone who loves me all the time and desires that relationship. God does not need us, He didn’t have to send His son to die for us, but He did because He loves us so much and wants us. I am so grateful for His love. I just want to encourage you to remember that God loves you no matter what and He wants to spend time with you and develop an amazing relationship that is like no other.

November 18/05 Rich Jr.

Lisa and I just got back from spending a few days in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee for our 21st wedding anniversary. We had such a great time being away together, our marriage just seems to get better with age (poor eyesight)!

I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Lisa is truly Gods perfect gift to me and I thank Him for letting us share our lives together. She made some pretty cute kids too I might add. They were a big help to us in keeping the fort held down while we were away.

Well, we have some news for all of you who put in your guess as to what the next radio single will be. Thanks to all of you who participated, it was fun to see what y'all thought. I was amazed at how spread out it was. I guess it's a good thing that so many of you like so many of the songs and we really appreciate all the great comments you had about the songs. Here are the names of those of you who guessed the next single that Crossroads Records (our record label) will be sending out to radio on the January Crossroads Airplay Sampler.

Ray H. Jenkins

Becky Murphy

Gail Joyce

Rich Crist Sr (Daddy)

Bill Jacobson

Jean Phillips

Diana Williams

Mort Wagner

Phil Simons

Beth Anderson

Judy Peters

Faith Long

Rich Crist Jr

Tami Starkel

The next single to radio is……………………………….GREAT BEYOND

Thanks again, we love y'all

November 3/05 Rich Jr.

Hi Friends,

God is really doing miracles and answering prayers with our first ever radio single “It’s Been A Journey” from the album “Worth The Trip”.  Below are the results after about 3 months of radio play from some of the major charts in SG (Southern Gospel).

Singing News National Radio Chart #36 up from #46 last month, which is up from #73 on its debut month.

US Gospel News Chart #56 up from #73 last month, which is up from #98 on its debut month.

Thesoutherngospel.com chart #7 up from #16 last month, which is up from #30 on its debut month.

Sgmusicforum.com chart #12 up from #16 last month, which is up from #20 on its debut month.

Our next radio single will go out to radio the end of December 2005.  It would be fun to hear your guess on what you think the next single will be off of our new album “Worth The Trip”.  Please send your ideas to:

If you guess the next single, I will post your name on our website and on our email update once the song is selected.  I will only post your first and last name.  Your email address will not be posted.

1.  Great Beyond                                                      

2.  I’ve Come A Long Way                                     

3.  It’s Been A Journey (Current Single)               

4.  I’ve Got Victory In My Soul                            

5.  I Know Why                                                      

6.  Jumpin’ In

7.  Don’t Look At The Storm

8.  Stepping Stones Of Faith

9.  He Knows

10.  It Takes Faith

11.  Draw Me Close

We are so thankful to God that He is using radio to get us out there in order to do more ministry.   To God be the Glory!!!

Rich Crist Jr

The Crist Family

www.cristfamilymusic.com

October 28/05 Tami

I have a new baby!!!! I want to introduce you to the newest member of our family. Her name is Daisy Duke and she is now 7 weeks old. When I came home from our trip to Washington John had her waiting in our room. I knew something was up when I saw a leash strung across the floor and then a collar and then a dog dish and finally a doggie bed. All of which were making a path leading to the cutest beagle puppy of all time. So here she is:

Oc tober 18/05 John