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Journal

Hey friends!

Hey friends!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the experience of a lifetime traveling to Los Angeles for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards! My song “Free To Be Me” was nominated in the “Best Gospel Performance” category. Even though I didn’t take home an award, it was an honor just to be nominated and included among such fine company. What a day it was!

Well well well. There is so much I want to say about the recent events in my life. I don't even know where to begin! Matthew Goodwin came into my life last September, though I didn't know then that he would become the man I'd marry. In late summer, he will be my husband! I am beyond thrilled and so incredibly excited about what God has in store. It's funny--things don't typically turn out exactly as planned, but if you live a life of obedience to God and trust Him even when you can't see the promise being fulfilled, He will fulfill it in due season.

Well, my second GMA week is officially behind me. Phew. What a whirlwind! Last year at GMA I couldn’t get arrested, as they say, but this year was a much different story. Back to back interviews with radio and media folks, showcases, lunch meetings, and plenty of catching up with people that I only see once in a blue moon kept me very busy. But what would GMA be if it weren’t a week’s worth of running around? Let’s just say that Starbucks was my friend. And I wasn’t even there for the whole week! I had a show in Minneapolis on Tuesday night, so I missed a good portion of it.

I had high hopes for blogging regularly during WinterJam, but now the tour is over, and this is my first attempt in months. So much for resolutions. My reasons for not blogging are not necessarily noble, but they are actually good. The thing is, I’ve been so intent on not wasting any opportunities to get to know people on the tour that I’ve barely opened my laptop at all.

It's a snowy day in Nashville (which still stumps this Florida girl), and I'm sitting in my living room thinking back on some of the awesome things God has done in the last year and a half since I've lived here. It really is pretty incredible to think about all that He has done. Many dreams of mine have come true, and He has taught me so much. I feel like a completely different person than I was before this city. Every time I used to visit when I still lived in Florida, Nashville just felt like home.

Hey friends!

Oh dear friends,
It's been forever since I've written to you. Please forgive me! I've been just a tad busy with the holidays and the start of WinterJam. In fact, I'm currently sitting on my dressing room floor at the arena in Charlotte, NC for the 4th stop on the tour! I got off the stage about half an hour ago, and I thought it would be a good time to reach out and say hello.

Have you ever been wrong about someone? I mean really wrong? Maybe you assume they act (or don't act) in a certain way because of deficiencies in their character, personality, etc. Maybe you treat them with contempt, internally judging them, externally putting them down. Gosh, I know I've done it. Time and again, I continue to scrutinize my brothers and sisters. Then there comes a moment like today, where the noise all around me suddenly disappeared, and I was left with the words someone told me hanging thick in the air like tree branches. I couldn't cut them down without watching them fall.

"Melikalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day. That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway."

I cried when I left Hawaii. Honestly. All flights into Honolulu should be one-way, because by the time you get there you don¹t want to leave--not ever. Speaking of not leaving, our server, Courtney, at one of the restaurants in Waikiki beach came to Hawaii on vacation a few years ago from the mainland and NEVER LEFT! Can you imagine? Smart girl...