• Solo projects: God Of Many Chances (Reborn Records) and Marked For Life (Spring Hill Music)
• Author for Harvest House books: A Ladder Out of Depression, Blessed Are the Desperate for they will find hope and God Loves Messy People, finding hope when things go wrong, (all with Harvest House Publishers) as well as What the Cross Means to Me (multiple authors)
• Contributing Author: Dances of Heaven, Multnomah Press
• Articles for: Release and Living Solo magazines
• Cover story: Virtue and Today's Christian Woman
• Appeared on: James Robison Show, The 700 Club, On Main Street (won emmy forWhirlpool of Depression-2000), Praise Gathering 2000, 100 Huntley Street, Le Sea Broadcasting, TBN Monday Night Live from Miami, Karen Wheaton Show, Prime Time Country (bgvs), The Family Network- Dallas, Harry and Sharon Show (Tampa) 2003, INSP "Celebration" Special 2000, 5 Homecoming Videos (Live at Kennedy Center, Memphis, North Carolina, 2 Indiana Homecoming tapings--soloist/background vocals).
• Studio Background vocals: Amy Grant, Russ Taff, Larnelle Harris, Steve Green, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Watson, Balto movie soundtrack, Barry Manilow A & E special project, Donna Summer, Garth Brooks, Ray Stevens, Andy Griffith, Cynthia Clawson.
• Special Events: Gloria Gaither Friend's Conference, Homecoming Concert, Boston 2001, Sandy Cove Retreat, Gull Lake Retreat, Ridgecrest Retreat Lifeways™ Singles Retreat, Women of Virtue Conferences nationwide, Music California, 2002, Ongoing regional Salvation Army retreats nationwide
• Featured actress/singer: Adams Rib, a four woman musical about women of the Bible

• 3 Dove Awards for "Best Group" and "Best New Artist"
• 5 Grammy Nominations
• Writer for #1 songs: "Sweet Love," "Breaking Through," "I Will Always Come Back To You," "Broken Places," and "Wanna Be."
• Writer for Top 10 song: "Evidence Of Love"
• 12 CDs over 15 years with Word/Warner Brothers
• Appeared: Johnny Carson Late Night, Grammy Awards (nominated and singing with Sandy), The 700 Club, 100 Huntley Street, Dove Awards (multiple performances), Talk of the Town (numerous times), Le Sea Broadcasting, Christmas Special (live 1996), Recorded both Young Messiah CDs, performed Young Messiah Tour/video 93-94, PBS Special on Country Legends

• Born (as in city/state): Nashville Tennessee...one of the few natives!
• Favorite season: Autumn, hands down. I'm enthralled with the colors, cooler weather, any excuse to build a REAL fire, no gas logs, and it helps that almost all of my family has birthdays from September and October. Plus I was a majorette and autumn reminds me of marching bands and twirling fire!
• Favorite holiday: Christmas
• Favorite food: King crab legs, lobster, and steamed artichokes.
• Favorite junk food: Fritos..any size.
• Favorite musical style: I cannot choose a favorite. I passionately love classical music, especially Puccini, am crazy in love with anything Stephen Sondheim ever wrote for Broadway, and consistently listen to the Eagles, Don Henley, Sting, Annie Lennox, Ashley Cleveland, and Manhattan Transfer. Call me musically schizophrenic.
• Favorite book: (Aside from The Bible) Anne Lamotts' "Traveling Mercies".
• Favorite movie: "Gone With the Wind", tied with all of Christopher Guests' films "Spinal Tap", "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman", running a close first to "Seabiscuit", "When Harry Met Sally", and everything I've ever seen by Stephen Spielberg. Call me movie schizo as well.
• Most embarrassing moment: Hard to pick, there are so many 'blonde moments' in my repertoire. One of the worst was while doing a scene/costume change for a Broadway Revue, live performance at the Opry House, the scrim fell and there we all were in our....well, without our costumes. That and the time I fell over the monitor while singing for Sandy Patty's performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.
• What would you do if you were not a recording artist/author? Oh how I wish I knew. Many times I've wondered what else I might do. Most likely, I'd try and open a little book store like the one in the movie "You've Got Mail" that went out of business because of the big chain stores. Then maybe I'd be a Walmart greeter. Seriously, perhaps I'd have pursued teaching theater/music at a high school.
• Favorite scripture: Psalms 34:18
• Favorite book in the Bible and why: Isaiah; the prophecies of Christ's coming and the description of a real man and yet a Messiah. The encouragement in Isaiah 54 to women who feel widowed, as I see divorced women as our current largest growing number of widows in this new century. Isaiah is full of hope, and full of truth about being a human being of faith in a godless world.
• Bible hero: Apart from Christ...who completely fascinates me the more I study about his life here...Peter...who represents so much of my own doubts, and faith, and falling and ups and downs and still moving on beyond his failures.
• Bible character you most relate to and why: Hannah, who cried out for God to hear her plea for a child. I have children, but I felt like my face was continually forced to see whole and complete families all around me after my divorce. I shook my fist, and cried out to God for another chance at marriage. The physical description of Hannah, too weak to eat, crying as if she were drunk, seems very much like a clinical depression which I went through. Then she watched the Lord give her Samuel and three other children once she offered him all of her heart. I'm no Hannah, but I've been to that intersection of offering God everything just to find His peace. And He has blessed me with a new marriage, and more than my heart could dream or imagine as it says in Ephesians.
• First job: Working in a book warehouse during summers between high school.
• Favorite Christian record: Michael W. Smith's first Christmas cd.
• Hobbies: Theater....reading....roses....rest.

How has God used your own story to impact lives through your ministry? Being honest about the 'underbelly' of my life, divorce, single parenthood, dating again, clinical depression, near date rape, has given others a chance to find hope. I tell my story, and how faithful God has been..And He does the rest. It never ceases to amaze me how powerful sharing is without pretense.

What is the passion that drives your ministry? Knowing that telling my story through books and songs gives hope to others.

What has been the biggest difference in your ministry from being part of a group to being a solo artist? More than ever, relying completely on God to give me the strength to speak and sing and make His message heard in spite of myself. There's no one but me on the platform. I have to be completely in the moment, relating eye to eye with the people, and leaning with no reserve on Jesus. I visualize Him standing by me, literally there, with his arm on my shoulder, helping me through each event.

How has being a songwriter helped fuel your writing as an author and visa versa? Song writing and journaling, and book writing all come from life experience. Life experience all revolves around conversations, intersections, experiences hurts, pains, joys from my kids, husband, friends, observations....it's a never ending process.

What themes are running through your new project "God Of Many Chances"? I pray that people hear hope as the main theme. Hope in spite of who we are, Hope in spite of where we've been, Hope in spite of what's happened or may not happen. Forgiveness, hope...Confession...hope... Belief in the face of defeat..hope. Hope, hope hope. Without hope, we cannot survive, or even find the energy to find faith. Hope is a crucial theme in the Bible, and a the core principal of my ministry.

Share about the sound you were going for on this new record. I simply had a blast doing this project, because I had no restraints. As a session singer, I like to sing many styles of music. First Call did lots of styles. Reborn encouraged me to go in the studio and be myself. So I stretched out like never before, even doing all the voices on a cappella pieces as a tribute to First Call efforts. Annie Lennox inspires me. She tries all kinds of sounds, but you are always drawn to what she is doing because it's not predictable. I tried to use my voice with that in mind.

How are the songs on "God Of Many Chances" an extension of your own walk with the Lord? Every one of the 12 songs on the new project was written, co-written by me except for one. Each idea came to me from life! Prayer...how do our prayers torment the spirits of darkness in the sky? "Something Was Broken" came out. Psalms 51: How can I call on God's forgiveness? "Sweet Forgiveness" On and on...each one from a conversation, event or feeling of trying to say something we all feel as people of faith.

What are some of your favorite songs on the new project and why? I love every song for differing reasons. "Parable of the River" was especially sweet to resurrect from First Call's "God is Good" CD. People ask me to sing that song all the time. I've always wanted to do "Shall We Gather at the River" hymn for the opening. It was amazing to sing that with Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White, and his daughter Molly playing accordion with us. "When God Says No" is the cornerstone song of the CD. Suzanne Gaither came to me with this idea, and let me run with it. What a powerful message came out. In concert, it's the highlight of the evening. The a cappella pieces were challenging, and fun and extremely satisfying for me. To open, close and do these at the halfway mark was a wonderful feeling of my past roots in First Call. "My Beloved" was a song I took to David Hamilton two years ago!! I LOVE the idea of God singing over us! What does that sound like? Do we really ever imagine we are that loved? Finally recording this song was a thrill.

What were some of the highlights for you during the recording phase of "God Of Many Chances"? The greatest thing was how God so smoothly brought the best musicians, arrangers and people into the process. When something goes that smoothly, you know it's God's hand. The most precious part of the entire process was that my husband, one of the best engineer/producers in the world, worked like crazy on this project. Brent's input is the creative heartbeat of the production. To have my husband so excited about the work, and his ideas ("Kum Ba Ya" with verses) among pulling in some unknown arrangers, (Mike Lawler) was brilliant. I feel like this project is truly a milestone for him as a producer.

What message do you hope listeners will take away with them after hearing "God Of Many Chances"? That as the lyric to the song says, "In God's hands; Nothing is wasted, it can never be too late." So often, we feel condemned, as if God cannot love us for any of a thousand reasons. I want people to hear this project and know that they are infinitely loved, sung over, rejoiced in, and called beloved by the Creator of the Universe.

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