Do you remember who your first concert was? [LAUGHS] And you're going to have to share it. Listen, mine is just as bad, I promise. OK. I can't wait to hear. Cheetah Girls. OK. [LAUGHS] Oh man. And I'm loving life. The cheetah print is coming back, so this is like my childhood. Yeah. Cheetah Girls was my first concert. Oh, jeez. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Excited to be able to get to know your journey, Emily Bea, how you got to be here in the Saints Channel studio. Let's start at the very beginning. Always a very good place to start. Always good. Maybe your musical journey. When did you know that you had a voice that needed to be shared? Yeah. So I grew up in a pretty big musical family. What does that mean? My mom was pretty musical and it was the requirement to play piano, so we always had to be involved in some type of musical lesson. But we also were a big soccer family, so soccer was an option; music wasn't. So that's how my childhood was. Could you ever combine the two, be singing on the soccer field or kicking a ball while playing the piano? I could. That would be cool. That would be awesome. How big is your family? I have three other siblings and then my parents, so ... Any of them pursue music? So, my little brother does. We all play piano and guitar, but my little brother and I are more the ones that kept going, and he'll perform with me a lot when I do shows, and he's awesome. So, a lot of parents, I think, have that expectation of their kids, right? It's important for you to be musical, because it was important for us. But not every kid listens to what their parents--I know, shocker. Guilty. How did you--or why did you--listen to your parents' voice? I don't know. I just feel like music just kind of meant something to me in a way that maybe some other kids don't feel it and helped me get through some hard challenges and cope through some hard things. Tell me about one of those times that music helped you. So soccer was, like I said, something I did a lot growing up. When I was a freshman in high school I ended up tearing my ACL right before high school tryouts, which was the worst. And so, with that injury, it's a nine-month recovery process and surgery. And so I remember when that happened, I was just super bummed and just trying to go through all this therapy, healing, and getting through that. And that was actually when I turned to music a lot and would just try to write songs that expressed what I was feeling. And I realized this is something that I love to do, but soccer was still kind of that priority. And then basically got back to playing soccer; two months later I tore it again. Oh my gosh. Same exact ACL. And so I was like, What in the heck is going on? So I was like, clearly God's trying to tell me something, and that's not my path. And so I just gave up soccer and just put all of my efforts into music. And it's just really been such a blessing, a blessing in disguise, for sure. You think about healing, and sometimes we think just strictly the physical healing, right? You tear that ACL, you have to do the physical therapy and be able to reconstruct it. And then, in your situation, you tear that thing again. Talk a little bit more about, maybe, the emotional or the spiritual healing from having your sights set on something only to have your body fail. Right, yeah. I mean, that was a tough one. I remember asking God in prayer all the time, just like, Why is this happening, and what are you trying to show me, and what's my purpose here? And I wouldn't say I ever got the clearest answer, but I think it was just that leap of faith and just knowing that I was blessed with a talent that I can share goodness and my testimony and lots of different things. And so it just felt right and something that it felt like I needed to be doing. And it's turned to show lots of different ways that I chose the right thing. So you have that time, nine months, that's forever, especially for a high school kid. Yeah. And you decide to flex into writing music? Yeah, writing music. It was kind of still, I would say, a little more of a hobby than a career path at that time, but it was fun. What made the transition? Once I released my first album when I was in high school, I went to the [INAUDIBLE] and was trying to do more of the open mics to get on the gigs there, and once I released original music that I could perform and promote more of my own music, that's kind of when I think it turned more to that career path, I guess. So, that's a big undertaking. I mean, you talk about it like, oh, and then my first album. But you're still in high school. Right. I mean, where did you even learn to do something like that? Trial and error. I feel like, honestly, I didn't know what the heck I was doing, but I just googled a lot, and I had a good friend in high school who was kind of doing the same thing, and she kind of took me under her wing and helped me know how to get into the little gigs. And I honestly don't remember. It's been a hot second since I released that. So I don't really remember, honestly, how I knew what to do. Do you remember what the first song that you ever wrote was? Even--whatever it might be, do you remember what it is? Yes, I do. Yeah, it was a song I wrote--I'm a twin. My twin sister passed away when she was two days old. And so kind of, again, the reason I love music is I was having a really bad day, and I just went to the piano--not the piano, the guitar, and I just was really--it's not great, but I just wrote out my feelings and missing her and just not understanding why she couldn't be here with me. And so that was my very first song I ever wrote, and yeah. It's been kind of special. So, being able to deal with the death of anyone, certainly, but of a twin, right, so much in common that you share, although not very old when she passed, how have you been able to grow from that and learn from that throughout your life? So, I've just recognized a lot, even from a young age. My mom would tell me these stories of how I was crying in the crib because my sister couldn't be there with me. And I think from a young age I recognized that she was a part of me and that that was missing. And just growing up also just really thankful, I guess, that I have the knowledge that I'll see her again and that we'll be a family forever has been really, really great. And I think things that maybe would tempt me or make me struggle don't really have that effect on me, because I know where I want to be, and I know that I want to be with her and to see her again and to live with her. As we look at opportunities to be inspired, certainly the music that you produce is amazingly inspiring. People can hear not only words of encouragement but a hope that kind of rings out through your lyrics. So let's talk a little bit about the song that you're going to play for us. So, this song is called "Forever with You." I was inspired about my great-grandparents, actually. So, when I was about 16 years old, my grandparents lived in Idaho, so we were visiting with my great-grandma; my great-grandpa had passed away at this time. And so we were just visiting with her, and we asked her if she'd just tell us the story of how they met. And we were filming this, so we actually have the footage of her saying this, and so I have a little snippet of it for people to watch on my Instagram if they want. But she just sat there and was just telling us how they met at a church dance and he asked her to dance with him, and I guess that that dance--there was kind of a little competition that night. So they ended up getting tickets to the next dance. And so dancing just became their little thing. And at the very end of this little interview we did with her, she just said, "All it took was a dance to know that I liked him and I wanted to dance with him the rest of my life." And I just remember being super touched by that, I mean, a fresh little songwriter and, of course, a girl--we're just moved by all the cute love things. I just remember I wanted to write a song about their love story someday and to honor them. And my grandma, her name was Lila. She had red hair, the same exact color as mine, and I just have this connection with her that I can't even explain. But I wrote this song in her perspective. And I remember after I finished writing this song, I just sobbed, just because I felt their presence there, almost just like this validating thing that it was good and that they approved it. And it was just such a sweet experience. So this is definitely one of my favorite songs, as cheesy as that sounds. No, not cheesy at all. Just has a really special place in my heart. [MUSIC - EMILY BEA, "FOREVER WITH YOU"]

(SINGING) Play the song in my heart, take me back to the start, where it all began. In a church you took my hand. So we danced through the night deep into the morning light. It was then I knew my forever was with you. I want to dance with you till my days are through. Spend all of my nights wrapped in your arms holding me tight. And every step you take, by your side I'll stay. 'Cause all it took was a dance, oh, to know forever with you.

From that night it took a while, oh, to walk down the aisle. Nervous as can be, until I saw you look at me with those crystal eyes so blue, wondering, What did I do? Always mine you'll be, and now you'll choose forever with me. Now I'll dance with you till my days are through. Spend all of my nights wrapped in your arms holding me tight. And every step you take by your side I'll stay. 'Cause all it took was a dance, oh, to know forever with you.

With you.

My red faded to gray. And our legs don't move the same. So I'll hold your hand and dance this way.

I danced with you till your days were through. I spent all of my nights wrapped in your arms; you held me tight. With every step I take to be with you I can't wait. Oh, to have one more dance with you, my darling. Hold on, I'll be waiting to spend forever with you.

Did your great-grandmother ever get to hear that song? No. I think she passed away when I was probably 17, and I was 21, probably, when I wrote that. So as you sing that song about your great-grandparents, singing it up to heaven and hope that they hear. Oh, yeah. There's been several times performing that song that I just break down. And it's just a weird thing. Like I just feel them very present, and it just makes me super emotional. And there's some days I rock it, like, finally I got through it, but other times it's really hard, just because it's very personal. You think of your great-grandparents' relationship, and you yourself are married. What lessons do you take from all those generations before and bring into your relationship? Honestly, I actually played that song for my husband at our wedding dinner. I was like, "I haven't finished yours yet, but this one's pretty good. So this one will be good." But I mean, yeah. Their love and that example, I feel like it's, from a young age, when I witnessed my grandma talking about that story, just helped me recognize what I wanted when I was finding a future husband and kind of the marriage that I wanted to have. And so I feel like they've established a really good example for their future generations, in just that love. I don't know. It's amazing. Yeah. Perfect. I love them so much. You can hear it as you sing. And I love being able to hear that connection that you have with--it's the lyrics and the song and just the emotion that comes from it. Thank you. So much of yourself goes into songwriting. Does it ever make you nervous? In like a vulnerable way? Yeah. Actually, no. There's a lot of songwriters who are scared to be vulnerable in their writing, and I totally get that, because a lot of times it's a very vulnerable, personal place to write from. And some people are nervous to say whatever it is. But for me, I've found, especially as a listener for other songs, I've found that when writers are really vulnerable, I actually connect to the song a lot better. And knowing that, too, if I'm vulnerable, in a way, sometimes people, when they listen to it, they apply it to their lives very differently. So maybe what I wrote the song about will mean something completely different to them when they listen to it. So I actually don't get nervous, because I love to say things how it is and just because I feel like they're stronger and better that way. Why do you think there's such a need for hopeful and inspirational music? The world we live in, jeez; it's such a hard world we live in. And I think that a lot of people turn to music for that healing and that--whatever they need, I guess. I can count so many times when I've been having a bad day and I just want to listen to some crazy song just to get it out, or if I want to listen to just a really hopeful song to give me that hope and that peace. So I feel like there's that need, 100 percent, for the hopeful songs. Why do you feel that need? I feel like it kind of just hits home a little bit differently when you write that, because I think we all go through really hard struggles. And, as a songwriter, that's one of my coping mechanisms in healing. And so I feel like I need that a lot, too, just to remind myself that things are going to be OK. A lot of times when I've written songs for different things or just to kind of go with it, it helps me, sometimes, maybe more than it was planning to help someone else. Which I think is interesting. Being able to play music in front of a live audience is a different experience than being able to record in a studio. You're able to see if it's connecting with people. How do you feel like you know that what you're hoping is landing with the people that are watching? A lot of times, especially like with that grandparent song I just played, a lot of people shed lots of tears, I think, because everyone can relate to that, losing somebody in some way or that love. So, I mean, tears, I can tell that people are connecting to it. And also just people are very kind, and they'll come up to me or message me and tell me the impact that a song has had on them, which I'm always grateful for. But that's been an interesting experience, performing live, to see the facial, I guess, expressions on people's faces when they listen to songs. Certainly during the recent pandemic, you're not able to perform. You're not able to do any of those in-person things. Yes. What was that experience like for you as an artist? It's been different. I mean, for me, I have actually been focused on recording right now, so I wasn't doing actually a lot of performing anyway. But I think it's been weird, because my life is very revolved around music, just not to have that music all the time. Like a month or so ago, when COVID was mellowing out a little bit, I actually got together with a couple artists in a room for a different project we were working on, and it was just so fun. Like, we were like, we just needed this today. We just missed music and just being in a room with artists and just music. So it's been sad to not have that music. Have you ever thought of quitting?

Yes and no. I feel like if anytime I have, it's been very brief. But I love it, and it's something that brings me joy, and ultimately I know that I've been blessed with the talents to give and to bless other people's lives. And I feel like that that's honestly helped me keep going a lot, just knowing that what I have, I've got to share it, and I've got to use it; otherwise it's going to be gone. It's fun to look at someone's life, as we're sort of doing here, talking about where you started and where you are now. It's often coined the phrase that it's a journey, right? That we start at one place, we find ourselves in another. But then there's still so much journey ahead of us. Yeah. Being able to really, truly find the joy or happiness within that isn't as easy for some. How do you do it? Lots of prayer. Honestly, I feel like joy is one of those things that's--it's hard because we know that it is a choice. We have to sometimes choose it. And I know with mental health, I've had a lot of struggles there, too, with anxiety. And a lot of times I want to feel that joy and I literally try to tell my brain to be happy and that it's going to be fine, but sometimes with mental health it's hard. Like you can't just flip a switch and be fine. But I have found, though, that no matter what struggles we go through, whether it's big, whether it's small, that there still always is joy to be found; whether it's really hard or not, there still is joy in life. And I think that if we choose to find it we will. Finding the courage to be able to push through trials is one of the things that to me is the most inspirational. Tell me about a trial that you went through. My life, man. I feel like I'm a very accident-prone, illness-prone person. Oh man. Like I mentioned with my sister, that's been just an ongoing trial. Do you still think about it pretty regularly? My sister? Yeah. Yeah. I feel like it's--just over time, it's really interesting. I do not like my birthday. It's been really interesting. The past, probably, three or four years, I am super emotional on my birthday, just because she's my twin and we would share that together. And it's almost just that reminder that she's not here. So that's been interesting, the older I get. I just really--I'm a mess on my birthday. With most people that's not the case. That's the day to celebrate. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I mean, I'll get over it, and it'll be fine, but I don't know. Like, another trial--actually, more recently--this is very personal, and I haven't shared this with a lot of people. But I had a miscarriage in March, right before this whole pandemic started, which obviously brought another factor into everything. And that was really hard, because I have some other things that kind of prevent me from getting pregnant pretty easily. And so it was kind of a miracle and exciting that we got pregnant. And, obviously, when that got taken away, it was just like really hard to understand, Why did that happen, and what was the purpose, and what was the plan for that? And so it's been really, really hard for me, and a lot of trials, what I've been learning is really just to let go and let God. That's kind of been my motto, just through a lot of trials, is that we can't control a lot of things that happen to us. We can't control all of our fears and things we worry about. And we just have to let God just take care of the rest and know that He knows better and the plan that He has is much greater. But we want to. Boy, do we want to. Right? I'm a very perfectionist, control personality, which is, I think, why it's been a struggle in a lot of trials in my life, just to, like, freak out and just be, like, What the heck is going on? I think that's a message that would resonate with a lot of people. How are you able to find that? We want to be in control so much. We're constantly dealt things that we don't know our way through or why that would even happen. Yeah. What can we learn from you about that? Oh, I feel like I'm still trying to learn. I think it's really just having that faith and understanding that the plan that we have for ourselves isn't, probably, what the plan is ultimately going to be and just to have that faith that whatever happens, whether it doesn't happen in your favor or something not awesome happens, just to have that faith and just hope and knowing that it will be made right someday, no matter what we have to face. You talked earlier about collaborating, being able to work with other musicians. What is it about that that's so exciting? I think it's just inspiring. To me, I feel very motivated to write and to perform when I'm in a room with a bunch of really talented musicians. When I go to concerts a lot and watch some of my favorite artists perform, it just motivates me and inspires me to write better songs and just to continue going. And I think that's actually a key factor in the times that I've felt like I want to just quit because I'm not good enough or that I'm not writing the best songs, is just seeing people, inspiring me again and just lighting that fire to just keep going. Do you remember who your first concert was? [LAUGHS] You're going to have to share it. You know, listen, mine is just as bad, I promise. OK. I can't wait to hear. Cheetah Girls. OK. [LAUGHS] Oh man. And I'm loving life; the cheetah print is coming back. So this is like my childhood, yeah. Cheetah Girls was my first concert. Oh jeez. Did you get--I'll tell you in just a second. Did your mom drop you off? Did you go with girlfriends, or how did that work? I think I was probably older than I should even be to like the Cheetah Girls. But I don't know. I was probably 12 or 13, and my mom and my sister came with me. One of my neighbors kind of had an in with the Cheetah Girls, because she was a voice coach, and so she got a poster that was signed by them. So I was just loving life. I hope you still have that somewhere, like, in your bedroom. I do. It's actually hanging in my married house, in my wall. [LAUGHS] I love it. All right. I'll tell you. I'll tell you mine. Imagine me and a couple of my brothers were packed in the station wagon with Dad. We went downtown and we saw, on his Time, Love, and Tenderness tour, Michael Bolton. I am embarrassed to admit I don't even know who that is. Oh my goodness. [LAUGHS] Hey, I'm sorry. I couldn't act like that was funny if-- Do you remember the Honda commercials around Christmas, where there's one guy singing? He's got gray hair; he's singing about a Honda? That is the best I can give you. OK. It is--to set the stage, if you don't know Michael Bolton, Michael Bolton would be, like--imagine what your mom would maybe listen to when your dad was away on a work thing and she's like, "Oh, I really love him. I've been missing him so much." And then place that in the '80s. That's what Michael Bolton sounds like. Yeah. (SINGING) Time, love, and tenderness. We were honestly the youngest ones there by at least 30 years. But you loved it. But we were going to a rock concert with Dad, and he had gotten free tickets I think he won off the radio. And we were like, we are the coolest people ever. It's no Cheetah Girls. It's fine. What about now? Who's your inspiration now, musically? I feel like that changes daily. In my songwriting, Ben Rector. He's my favorite artist. He's just a really amazing songwriter. What is it about his songwriting? I don't know. Just the way he can tell these stories and you just are there. Like, you're just in--whatever the story is, you're just placed there. He's really good with that imagery and just painting that picture for his listeners. But he's also very honest and real, and his music is very uplifting too. I think with the radio these days, you have the fun beats, but I'm missing that lyrical goodness. And so I love his songs for the realness and just the honesty and just how uplifting and good I feel when I listen to him. And they're very life-oriented too, I feel like. So, amazing. So, interesting. You talked earlier about the lyrics and how sometimes they can apply. You're probably doing the same thing with his music as people would do with yours. Right, yeah, exactly. There's so many people that listen to more of the beat and the rhythm of the song, and that's what they're naturally drawn to, but I definitely am more of that lyric side. I'm a sucker for good lyrics. Do you know one of the lyrics of a Ben Rector song off the top of your head? All of them. And then how it would apply or how you've kind of been inspired by it? One of my all-time favorite songs of his is "The Men That Drive Me Places," and it's him talking about the taxi drivers that drive him to the airports and stuff and that he makes small talk with. And basically he's half the man of the men that drive him places. So it's just bringing a lot of honor to these men that drive him to places where he's this hotshot guy, this musician that's performing for all these big crowds, but all these people who don't have the coolest career are just these amazing people who work really hard. What's your songwriting process like? Is it lyrics first? Melody first? I'd say it's the music side of it. So the guitar, the piano, whatever, and then I'll, like, hum a melody on top of it. And then, based on that, the syllables and all of that, I'll write the lyrics to it. And you kind of have to, obviously, have that foundation with the music to know what type of song it's going be. You're not going to write, like, a way depressing-sounding song and really happy lyrics. I mean, that could be cool. That could be interesting. But that's typically what I do. A lot of people are different, where they'll write almost like the poem, lyrical side first, and then they'll match the music with it. But for me, personally, I have to kind of--I'm an emotional songwriter. I have to feel it out first. And it's interesting. A lot of times I'll just be, like, mumbling these words, and then it will just all of a sudden spark this weird idea, and then you write the song. It's a really interesting process. Tell me about how you get those melodies. Because I've always thought, man, if I hear something, I'm always worried it's already a song. And I'll be like, oh, no, it's the Beatles that I just wrote a song from. Exactly. How do you know that it's yours, streaming you? Melodies are really hard to explain. Honestly, I just play something and just hum something on top of it that's within the same key, melody, and that's my favorite part of writing, actually. A lot of people have a hard time with the melodies, but that's, like, my jam. I love my melodies. Do you find yourself locking yourself away in a studio for a time, or, like, today I'm going to write from this time to this time, and that's how it works? In a perfect world that's exactly what I would do. I am actually really terrible at setting time to actually sit down and write. A lot of times, too, because I get frustrated when it doesn't come fast. And then I'm like, OK, we're done. Which is not what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to keep going. So I don't know. For me, I tend to write the best music really early in the morning or really late, just when the world's quiet and you can actually think and not have to stress about things. I actually don't like to write when my husband is there, which is interesting. He's like, "Why?" I'm like, I just feel like I'm not in my zone, you know? People often talk about the early morning hours and the late hours and sort of those precious moments. What does it mean to you? I don't know. I think, like I said, the world's just quiet. When you're going through the day, there's just so much on your mind and you're looking at something which triggers all of these thought processes. So with my students, a lot of times, of songwriting, we do a thing that's called the "morning pages," where you'll write--right when you wake up, you'll just start writing down all of these thoughts that you're having, or these words, because when you first wake up, you haven't lived your day. You haven't gone through anything. And so the freshest and maybe the most creative ideas are in your head at that moment. And so when you're actually ready to write a song, you can go to that little list of some fresh ideas. But I think it's just that the world's quiet and you don't have to have all this noise. I love that. Distracting you. You also mentioned that you teach students. So, to those that are looking to have either music as a passion, as a hobby, or want to make a career out of it, what would you tell those folks? All of the above, those questions? Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I'm going to take all the questions. Ooh. I think, don't be afraid to--like, for people who start an instrument and they hate it, I think a lot of times people just have that one bad experience with an instrument, and then they just give up because, like, oh, music's not for me. But for me, I started with piano lessons, and I took more of the classical training side of things, which was not my thing. I think that's why I fought my mom a lot, just because I didn't love it and it just wasn't what I liked. But then once I started guitar, that was kind of more fun, I guess, and what I liked. And then when I did piano lessons later, it was more of a chording, songwriting route. So I would say don't have one negative experience, maybe, even with a teacher. Like, try a different teacher, and just allow yourself to grow and to experience all types of things in music. Because just because one thing doesn't work doesn't mean something else will. Being able to chat with you about your life, we've sort of taken a snapshot from the beginning of your music to where we are today. Oftentimes we sort of miss that there is more from beyond today and a lot of stuff in between that we haven't talked about. People--musicians especially--will talk about that being a journey. Let's dive a little bit more into that for you. Within your journey, ups, downs, how have you been able to find that joy? I think it's just that leap of faith, almost, and just not quite knowing but just having that faith that, whatever that plan is for you, that it's going to be made right in the end and that it's all going to be OK. You ever lose sight of it? Absolutely. Way easier said than done. I feel like I can be really strong and awesome when someone else is going through something and I'm giving the advice, but when it's me facing it, it's really hard, sometimes, to point out what that truth is that I believe, because it's so--it's hard. And it's really not an easy thing to go through. How have you been able to find it? You obviously have. You're able to share it through things that you write and the music that you play. How have you found the joy? Found the joy? I think just knowing the eternal perspective of life and the reasons that we're here. We weren't sent here just to have awesome days and that it's just going to be this awesome ride. Although that would be pretty cool. That would be awesome, yeah. So I think just keeping that eternal perspective and just understanding that we are not going to come here and just have easy days. We're going to have to go through those hard days. And those are, ultimately, the days when you're uncomfortable and it doesn't feel good, that you actually grow and you are stronger and you kind of see your purpose a little bit better. So I wrote this song a couple years ago, and it was for a camp, and so they had a theme. So I kind of had to follow their theme a little bit. So that's where the idea came from. OK. So their theme was "joy in the journey." And I just remember at that time in my life, I was struggling finding that joy. And so it was an interesting thing to try and write a song that I was struggling with. So, real fun learning moment. But when I wrote it, I wanted to be very honest and real, that life is not struggle for five seconds and then everything's great. Because a lot of times we struggle for a minute before we see that joy, or maybe it's just a glimpse of joy, or maybe the struggle's not taken away but we just learn to live and to accept how it is and just try to find that joy. And so I wanted to be very real about that. And it was just one of those songs that took me a second to write, because I wanted it to be a specific way, but God was like, "No, this is not what they need to hear. This is not what you need to hear. This is what it needs to be." And the moment that I let it do that is when it came. And it turned out to be way more than I ever imagined. And honestly, yes, it was written for this camp, but it actually helped me in return, in a lot of ways that I needed. Can we hear it? Yes. We're going to switch guitars. All right.

And this song was originally written on the piano, but we're going to give you a guitar rendition tonight. I love it. Never before.

[MUSIC - EMILY BEA, "JOY IN MY JOURNEY"]

(SINGING) I've been walking down long roads. I've been places where I felt so alone. I've been searching for something, for anything that brings me to you. Back to your arms to feel your embrace, back to my knees I fall into your grace. When you find me caught in the rain, when fear and doubt try to change my way.

When you find these tears in my eyes, when I'm blinded by all the world's lies. Oh, you show me what I struggle to see: joy in my journey.

In times when I stumble, in times when I'm broken and bruised, your love heals; it lifts me and reminds me the path to choose. Back to your arms to feel your embrace, back to my knees I fall into your grace. When you find me caught in the rain, when fear and doubt try to change my way. When you find these tears in my eyes, when I'm blinded by all the world's lies. Oh, you show me what I struggle to see: joy in my journey. And every step I take towards you, I find your hand to guide me through.

'Cause in the garden felt my pain, walking with me every day. You found me, Lord, in the rain, when fear and doubt tried to change my way. You wiped the tears from my eyes. When blinded by the world, you gave me light and showed me what I thought I couldn't see: there's joy in my journey.

There's joy in my journey.

Wow. Thank you. On the guitar, not on the piano. That was amazing. Thank you. Having God as a songwriting companion, that makes some pretty amazing work. Exactly. Touching, just to be able to hear it. And almost as if, as you sing, you can almost hear, whether it's the overtones or something musically, where it's almost a duet with you and God. I love that. It's really special. What do you have coming up? My album that will released in the fall is a home-themed album. So it's-- What do you mean, home themed? So it's all about my family and my home. So my grandparents' song that I played today will be on that, a song I wrote for my mom, my dad, my husband. I'm writing a new one about my sister that passed away, and then I wrote one, actually, when I was pregnant that was going to be a little lullaby child song. So that will be included on it as well. Very cool. I'm really excited about that one. It's going to be really special. Emotional, for sure. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. It's so great to see you. [MUSIC PLAYING]