Author Kim Gentry-Meyer Takes Readers Beyond the Sunsets in 'Herald-Reflections'

Through a comprehensive exploration into the word “herald” (ok, a simple Google search using AI tools), we find that this declarative moniker is a messenger, especially one announcing important news or proclamations, often for royalty.

Award-winning singer/songwriter Kim Gentry-Meyer believes that the most important news or proclamation for royalty in the history of the world is delivering the Good News of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. So much so, that the former Mrs. Massachusetts has released a new book called Herald Reflections.

Essentially a companion devotional-type book to her 2023 musical release Herald Herald Reflections takes a multimedia approach as it features songs, paintings, artwork, Scripture, and short devotionals that are designed to honor and glorify God while serving as an encouragement to others.  

I recently sat down with Gentry-Meyer to discuss the significance of the word herald, why she chose an unorthodox approach to put this book together, and her hope that people would become heralds in their daily lives.

If you were trying to encourage a friend or family member to take the time to read Herald Reflections, what would you say to convince them?

It's a devotional book and it is very accessible. It's very readable. It's to the point. It offers some encouragement that everyone can use. That's the heart behind it. I just want to be encouraging. I want to speak to people in the way that art speaks to them. There are paintings that you might enjoy. There's a link to each of the songs from My Herald album. If you'd like to listen to music, if you prefer to read poetry, I have the lyrics to each song there. And if you prefer  to read a devotional, I have a brief one for each chapter, which covers each song. It talks about the story of the song and the heart behind it. And most importantly, it lists out all of the scriptures I used to write each song. So, each devotional is based on the song, which is based on Bible verses. And I didn't just list the Scripture references. I wrote them out, so you don't have to stop and go look them up. I want this to be really seamless and painless.

Like an immersive experience? 

Yes, an immersive experience. Listen to the song while you're looking at the painting, reading the lyrics, or reading the devotional. There are some reflection questions that you can do. There are prayers. That part of it really lends itself well to group study, not just individuals. You can experience this book by yourself or with a group. It's not an overwhelming book. I personally don't enjoy books that have tiny little type that you can hardly read and that are very long. We’re all busy. I wanted something that you can grab it, read for five or 10 minutes, listen, watch, and get something out of it. The fonts are easy to read. It's easy to open if someone has some kind of dexterity issue. It's a soft cover, so that makes the price point a little friendlier.

What is the significance of the word “Herald” in relation to your testimony and how the album and book came to be?

That word really represents everything that I'm doing in ministry right now, I call it my ‘Herald Ministry’, because it really hinges on that word. I guess it's maybe three years ago now, that I was just talking with the Lord in my quiet time. I first asked Him, ‘Lord, who am I to you?’ I was kind of at a crossroads. I was at a stage where I felt I needed to know what's next. What can I do for you? Who am I to you? I know what Your Word says. I know I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. I receive all that Your Word says, but I need something specific from You. 

I need some guidance and some encouragement. And He said to me, as clearly as I've ever heard the Lord speak to my heart, He said, ‘You're my Herald.’ And I thought, what in the world? And I said, could you say that again? And He said the same thing. ‘You're my herald.’ That's it. That was it. And so, I just had to kind of absorb that. But the more I thought about it and read every context of it that I could find that referenced Herald in the Bible and historically, they're people who tell the good news. They're sharing and carrying the news. And so, of course, I want to be a herald.

I think we're all called to do that. I don't think it's something that I'm just called to do, but because He spoke that word to me, I was really able to develop a ministry around it. And now, what I want to do is just encourage others. Hey, let's do this. Let's be Herald's together. Let me help you and encourage you, to step out of your comfort zone and step into your giftings. The world needs you. Just do what the Lord's put in your heart to do. I'm going to do that by example. I'm going to step out and do it no matter how scary it is.

So, you felt that God was telling you to record an album, paint on canvas, and to write a book. Does anything lie beyond these three areas as part of your “Herald” assignment?

I don't know. I have found that He only gives me really one step at a time. I'll say, Lord, what do you want to do? The first thing was when I kind of accepted this Herald assignment, so to speak. I said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And He said, ‘Do an album.’ That was it. And then I said, okay, Lord, I'm doing this album. What do you want me to do now? He said, ‘Paint.’ And both of those things, I was resistant to. I just felt like I'm not good enough, or, I've already done that. Been there, done that. I don't see there being a way for me to do that. But He said, ‘Do it.’ So I did it. I put together eight original songs I'd written, and that’s the Herald album. 

And when He said ‘paint’, He started giving me images of sunsets. And I had not painted for quite some time. I started painting and then I started to go through those two things and I kind of was like, well, Lord, what's next? I just kept really feeling like, well, I've been telling everybody the song stories, and I've been showing them the paintings because I have one painting for each of the eight songs. But I would like to have something that someone could literally hold in their hands, and it could be more accessible. You know, how do you be a herald?

That means getting it out to the masses. That means really getting the word out. And so there was only so much I could do one-on-one, talking to people and telling them the stories behind the songs and the Bible verses and all of that. But if I do a book, I can get this out to the masses. So, I really felt like this was the next step in my Herald ministry as far as reaching more people with the Good News.

Many of your paintings are incorporated into this devotional book, truly making it a mixed media type of project. Does weaving this artwork into the book make your job as a writer more difficult or does it simplify things making the writing process easier?

I tend to do things my own way. With this book, what I've heard from folks is that this is really unique. I don't know that I've ever seen a book exactly like this. I just did it the way I wanted it done. I did it the way I would like it and how I thought might be most accessible to people. I felt like it was additive for me. It just made the job of trying to convey the paintings and the devotions easier for me because it just pulled together everything in my Herald ministry. I do think it's multimedia because you do have the visual art, you've got the music, and then you've got the writing.

I really like the structure of this book … a painting, the song lyrics, Scripture, a reflection, questions to think about, and a prayer. What went into your process for setting up the book in this manner? For me it makes it a more worshipful experience.

I'm so glad to hear that. I was really careful not to look at any other books while I was working on this. I wanted it to just be really original in the sense of what I thought it should be, and how I was being led to put it together.  It just made practical sense to me. I thought it makes sense to have something to kind of visually look at while you're reading the lyrics to my songs. There is a QR code that takes you to YouTube to watch the lyric video version of it. Then, when you turn the page, you have a little devotional you can read. You have the reflection questions, and you have a written prayer. It just kind of made sense to me.

Everything builds off of each other. So, when you do the devotional reading, I refer back to the painting and the song. The questions do the same. And so it all just builds on itself. I thought it would be logistically easy for people. Also, I was just looking for something that is not going to be a heavy lift for people. They can put as much time and effort into it as they want, but they don't need to look at the book and think this looks so overwhelming. I've been guilty of doing that.

As you have worked through all facets of the projects which culminate with this book, did God teach you anything new? Did He show you anything that you needed to see or hear?

Absolutely. One of the main things is just step out and do it. And I think about the times I wanted to do something that I'm doing now, but I did not have the confidence, or I did not think it was to the level it should be. And so I just didn't do it. It's taken me to this age and stage, I think, you know, to step out and do what I'm doing. And He's kind of been just saying to me, ‘See, you know, we've been wanting this for a while and I deposited this into you, you know, quite a while ago.’ And so, now that I'm actually seeing, seeing things happen it's just some confirmation to keep going. 

After people have had a chance to “experience” Herald Reflections, as an author what would you like to see readers get out of that experience? What is your greatest hope for the book?

I definitely hope it encourages people. I hope they could remember one or two of the Bible verses in there, take that with them, and carry that in their heart. An incredible accomplishment would be that after reading the book that they would want to be a herald. That they would just start thinking things through and talking with the Lord. He’s the one who co-authored everything with me. My hope is that my readers would ask God what they can do to be His herald? At the end of the day, that’s what I really want.. And I hope that people will be drawn to Him through these songs, the writing, and the paintings, even to just draw people in and to help them pause for a moment and just listen to what the Lord wants to say to them. I hope people would find a deeper revelation of how much He loves them.

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