Packing for WINTERJAM

Hello everybody!
Tonight I had chocolate with my friend's because it is Brock Gill's birthday. It was a good celebration to a long day! I spoke and sang at the Warner Brothers sales conference, then drove the van over to the WinterJam loading spot. The merch bins Emily packed up weighed about 150 lbs each, and my manager Glenda and I unloaded them in the rain... BOO! Thankfully the production manager was there and we had a hand, and I'm not complaining- I am so thankful they are hauling those things around so we can have a little more space to spread out in the van, since I am the only artist not on a bus ;)
Tomorrow Emily and I will leave here, swing by Gotee (my record label), swing by starbucks and say goodbye to our roommate that is working early and head to Kadar's (my drummer) house for one last rehearsal. Once we polish the show, we will drive to Roanoke, VA and spend the night there with some friends. I am of course excited, but I'm also a little unsure as to what to expect. I have had so much help getting prepared for this tour, so many people investing in me and praying for me, and now its do or die time. It's either going to all be worth it, or I'm going to fall flat on my face under the watchful eye of my childhood idol. No pressure ;) Ok, maybe I'm being dramatic- It is exciting, and a perfect season to rely entirely on my God to provide and take control.
Packing on the other hand... oh brother. I have no idea what to take! This whole "planning ahead" is hard for me. I like to throw a whole bunch of stuff in a bag and decide along the way. I "feel out" my outfits depending on what kind of a mood I'm in- somedays I want to wear a tutu, and other days it's a good old tshirt and jeans. I guess you'll just have to come out to a show and see what I decided on that particular night!
Here we go everyone!
S

Video Blog from Springfeild, IL

We just did a show in Springfeild IL. It rocked my socks off. I am so excited for Winterjam! Here is a video blog from backstage....

Well, I flew from Indianapolis to Atlanta but first had to switch planes in Chicago. On my plane, I was somehow first class, which has only ever occured once in my life. It's probably because I wasn't supposed to fly out of Indy but had it changed last minute. Well, on this plane out of chicago to atlanta that I wasn't originally supposed to be on, I met the sweetest, most genuine lady named Deanne. I noticed right away as I boarded the plane right behind her that she was sweet natured. She asked the flight attendent very politely to hang her coat up and the attendent responded by saying it was for first class passengers only, to which Deanne responded ever so politely and quietly, "I am first class." that was my first impression of her, and I was impressed at how she handled a situation many people would've gotten offended over. So when I saw that my seat was next to her, I was refreshed because Im not really the "first class" type and it can be a bit of an intimidating environment ;) anyway, we started talking and didn't stop for the entire 1.5 hour flight, I actually wished I could hve more time with her. She has such an inspiring story and she really was such a delight! I felt as though I was with an old friend. She told me she worked for Warner Bros and that she had worked hard to get where she was at, but seemed much more interested in me than talking about herself, so when we exchanged cards and I saw that she was the VP of video on demand for the WB I said "wow! Vice pres! Impressive!" to which she replied with a smirk "I told you I worked hard." Anyway, she so blessed and encouraged me! She even helped me find my way to the runners picking me up for the show and she instructed them to take good care of me! It's amazing the impact and difference you can make in someones day or life by a simple plane ride conversation! I invited her to come check out a winterjam show near her in Jan, I so hope she comes!!!
Ok I'm off to Springfeild, IL for another YEC! It's going to be my trial run-through for winterjam!
Blessings!
S

Christmas EVE!!!!! I have a present for you!

Hello! Last night I was driving with my sweet roommate Lindsey to Indianapolis. The plan was, she would drop me off there where my brother was flying into, and my mom would pick my brother and I up and take us back to her house in West Lafayette, and Lindsey would continue to her home in Illinois. Buuuut.... there was an ice storm. Matt's plane was delayed, as were we (because we stopped to buy my CD and get coffee ;) and by the time we ended up in Indy, the roads had begun to ice over. My mom pulled an executive mother decision and told Lindsey she was coming home to West Lafayette with us. In fact, the roads were so bad, my mom didn't even drive the hour south to pick us up, Lindsey and I got Matt from the airport and HE drove us the "hour" north at an average speed of 25mph. The drive took us about 4 hours. Since we hadn't planned onpicking up another passenger and his luggage, we were a little cramped for space.... check out the picture of Lindsey crammed into the back seat! We saw trucks off the road in ditches, fishtails, spinouts etc. It was such a relief when we pulled onto my mom's street, Matt thanked himself outloud... only to fishtail around our final corner. It was funny!
Anyway, just thought I'd share about that.... Now I want to give you a Christmas present!!!!!!!! My music video is released. If you havent seen it here, I'm posting it so you can watch it and laugh at me! We basicaly goofed off for 12 hours and just happened to have a camera on!
Check it out- tell me what you think!

CD Release!!!! ....Finally

Well, February 12th was a goal of mine, it was the day my first record was set to release. I had worked on this record for ten long months, splitting my days between 5am starbucks shifts and long hours in the studio. For one reason or another, the release got pushed back to May. Gotee was going through a lot of changes including a distribution change- so, we held off. When May came close, we weren't ready still, so they said maybe July? Maybe September? Nothing too official was set, just a late summer/early fall release. Well, it was a hard summer, between vocal nodules, a blown transmition, and not having a ton on the callender, (therefore having some inconsistencies with players) I was discouraged to say the least. I felt like I was constantly fighting failure. The icing on the cupcake of discouragement for me was hearing from TobyMac that my coveted slot on the 2009 winterjam tour was potentially being taken away from me. It was the first time the harsh reality that my dream may never completely come true, crept into my heart.
Today is December 23rd and my record is in stores nationwide! Gotee agreed on distribution under the Word/Warner Bros. Company so you can pick it up anywhere or download it off itunes. I just stopped at a Family Christian bookstore and saw it on the shelf for the first time!!! Check out the video of it below!!
I'm also gearing up for the 2009 winterjam tour with TobyMac, Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, PureNRG, Francesca Batestelli and Newsong. I'm the spokes person for some of the tours sponsors so I get to play with a camera backstage and on the road ;) I've got some tricks up my sleeve, so you probably shouldn't miss it! Plus my first video just released! More on that tomorrow.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is: God is good. I trust Him, and I'm excited for what's in store!!!

WinterJam/Xmas Prep

Its time to prepare! I worked on padding the bed we built in the back of my van today, and I had my first rehearsal with Albert, Nathan and Kadar for the 2009 WinterJam tour. We rehearsed at my church and I got to show the guys some tricks I have up my sleeve for the performance. Albert took a bit of a dive when he got a little into a song and jumped over the monitors onto a carpeted platform.... the carpet was actually just a large rug that was quite slippery and it slipped right out from under him and before we knew it, he was flat on his back, playing his guitar ;)
Speaking of Albert, tonight was our church Christmas party. I got a text about a half hour before the party from Albert saying "What's you're favorite xmas song, I signed us up to perform at the party tonight" so I stood on the stage with my iphone in hand for lyrics to Silent Night. Who doesn't know the lyrics to Silent Night?! ....Well, ME! At least not all 3 verses ;) I thought it was funny, people actually thought I was texting while I was up there!!! Anyway...
I hope everyone is excited about Jesus' Birthday!!!! Jacob and I got to give some of my best friends in the whole world their presents today!
Blessings!
S

Still Processing

I just finished my Bible study. Im working on a Beth Moore study called "Believing God" and it is really making me think. She encourages you to calculate the risk of truly believing God is who He says He is. She prompts the questions "What do you have to lose, or gain?" And the truth is, well... Everything. But if He is who He says He is, He can be trusted.
I'm trying to wrap my head and heart around the idea of losing everything. Not to be a pessimist and assume God asks us to lose everything we love in order to follow Him, but I can't rule out that possibility either. Take for instance the rich young ruler in Matthew who wants to follow Jesus, but just cant give everything up. Sometimes it costs everything to follow Jesus. But if He is who He says He is, its worth it. We have a lot to lose in America. Our comfort, our status or reputations, our dreams etc. I sense a new importance to hold loosely to such things. I'm not necessarily suggesting anything drastic externally, but internally, we need to be abandoning the attachments of the heart...
As I blogged previously, I spent the first part of last week in El Salvador with Compassion International. Our last night in the country, we had dinner with 2 graduating sponsor children: David, age 17 and Wendy, age 17. They had never met each other before because they had attended different projects for the past 10 or 12 years, but both students had discovered a passion for music throughout their enrollment in the Compassion program. Immediately I felt connected to these strangers as they shared their testimonies of growing up in an impoverished country with little hope and undiscovered dreams until Compassion stepped in and helped them recognize their potential. It was beautiful to hear how they had discovered their God given talents and dreams as they learned about their Creator in this long term program. But because they were graduating, and their finances are extremely limited, their next steps in this journey were big fat question marks. They knew what they were good at, they knew what their dreams were, but they didn't know how they were going to accomplish them. Yet, instead of a defeated, downcast attitude, I was beyond inspired by their trust, hope and dependency on Jesus Christ. I kid you not, there was a sparkle in each young persons eyes. David stood up and boldly announces his plans for the future consisted of A.) Trusting Jesus, B.) Trusting Jesus and C.) Trusting Jesus. It was so easy for them to live in the freedom of faith. The adventure of knowing nothing except that the God of the universe adored them and was going to take care of them. They lived in the peace that He has it under control. They were at His beckon call, all they wanted was to use their gift in advancing His kingdom on earth, and whatever He asked of them- He would supply their need to do it.
I used to be like that. Oh, the simplicity of believing God like a little child. I believe He is calling me back to that place. Praise Him because there is hope for our calloused, comfortable, critical, and competitive hearts.
His word is true, His promises are good, and He is tickled silly pink in love with us.

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus