Waking Up

I do not use an alarm clock anymore.

Every morning, I wake up to the voice of my little daughter, Chiara.  She doesn’t use many words yet (she’s only 13 months), but she clearly communicates, “COME GET ME!”  

When I open the door to her bedroom, she greets me with excitement.  Almost immediately, she exclaims, “Pretty!”  She points to various items in her room, saying, “Pretty, pretty, pretty!” the whole time.

When we see David (Dadda) and Jamal (our 2-year-old son), she also declares them, “Pretty!”  Jamal responds, “I’m handsome.”

Chiara genuinely sees the world as a beautiful place, meant to celebrate.

I want to bottle her innocent wonder and take it with me during the day.  I would like it to radiate in my smile like it does on her face, and echo through my music like it rings through her sweet voice.

It’s a beautiful thing, waking up to rejoice in the beauty of life.

Last month was a little crazy, with a trip down to Indiana to record the lead vocals for my new CD, and then finishing the production long-distance, mixed with a big flood in Grand Rapids.  We had record rainfall this year, but we are now enjoying simply beautiful weather.  

The floods have subsided, and I hear lawn mowers in the background as I type this.  There’s a promise of something new in the air.  I want to acknowledge it, be aware of it, celebrate it.  

The “Interior Gaze” CD debuts May 31st.  I’m so excited to share it with you.  

Peace,

Amanda

More than Emotion

I recently returned from a trip to Boise for the Idaho Catholic Youth Conference.  Here’s a photo of David and me with Chris Kreslins, the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Boise.

Chris and his wife Rose have been long-time friends of my family.  Chris invited me to give my first-ever concert of original music, in Grand Rapids, over a decade ago.  

While we were out in Idaho, I presented a breakout session to a group of about 800 young women about the dignity of femininity.  Talk about girl time, to the extreme.  We even started the session with a Taylor Swift music video.

As part of the message, I taught my original song, “More Than Emotion.”  I wrote the song when I was 16.  If my 16-year-old self could have seen nearly a thousand young women singing those words, I would have been shocked!

You’re more than emotion

You’re deeper than tears

You’re wider than happiness

Stronger than my fears 

Although I don’t always feel like everything is going to be okay, my trust in God goes beyond what I feel or the outcomes that I imagine.

Living my dreams and trying to walk with integrity can be really fun.  Other times it can be really challenging.

At the end of the day, my music and my identity as a woman is based on a love that reaches farther than mere emotions.  I began this discovery at a young age, and I try to relearn it daily.

Peace,

Amanda

P.S. Today marks the birthday of Deacon Ken Baldwin and the 10th anniversary of my first-ever CD release.  Deacon Ken Baldwin was my high school youth group director, and he initiated my first CD.  Thanks and happy birthday, Deacon Ken!  

My Letter from the Pope

From visiting foreign countries (including the USA), to writing encyclicals, to canonizing new saints, Benedict XVI was busy during his relatively brief pontificate.  

During the past 8 years, his presence as the head of the Roman Catholic Church made a direct impact on my life.  In particular, his sentiments about meeting the truth through beauty have shaped my career path. 

More than anything, his humility is striking. 

I was at a hotel in Wisconsin when I heard the news.  The Holy Father was stepping down from his role as the Pope.  Someone in a TV interview that morning expressed how rare it is for anyone to willingly give up power.

This quote in the New York Times from Pope Benedict's last audience gracefully echos of real virtue.  

"To love the church also means having the courage to make difficult decisions, bearing always in mind the good of the church and not of oneself." 

Although he was referring to the church in this quote, I could easily insert someone else's name.  For instance, "David."  If I think about this in light of loving my husband, it is a compelling challenge. 

"To love (David) also means having the courage to make difficult decisions, bearing always in mind the good of (David) and not of oneself."

Food for thought for this dreamer.  Speaking of dreams, a couple years ago, I received a once-in-a-lifetime letter from Pope Benedict XVI.  

I had recently released my CD "Living His Story."  Jay Round, my producer, told me his friend Mic Carlson was traveling to the Vatican for an audience with the Pope.  Jay gave Mic a copy of my CD to bring to the audience, along with a letter from me asking for an apostolic blessing.  

Not long after Mic's trip to Rome, I received an official-looking letter in the mail.  It was from the Vatican, expressing Pope Benedict XVI's thanks and blessings!  David kindly scanned it so you can see for yourself.

Check it out. 

Have you heard that the Pope has an iPod?  Maybe my CD made it onto his playlist. 

In case you use iTunes, also, I'm including a link to a free podcast I gave a few years ago about the Holy Father.  In the interview, I describe how my music, ministry and marriage would not be the same without him. 

Good bye, Papa Bene.  Thanks for beng an image of servant leadership.  God-speed and enjoy the peace and quiet. 

Amanda

You might be from Wisconsin if...

Hello!

We just returned from our mini-tour of Wisconsin.  I loved it.  David and our kids came along, and we stayed with friends and extended family most of the trip.

I performed several concerts, mostly near Green Bay and Milwaukee.  I hope to return this summer for more events in more cities.

I grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but I’m a Wisconsin native.  Based on real encounters with fellow Cheeseheads, I compiled a list of indications that you, too, might be from America’s Dairyland.

You might be from Wisconsin if...

• Someone tells you she eats French toast with cheese, and your response is, “Weird.  I’ll have to try that!”
• You repeatedly remark how nice the weather is when it is sunny and over twenty degrees.
• After shoveling through two feet of snow to get to your grill, your wife calls out the window, “You’ve grilled in colder weather!”
• Customized ads on YouTube try to sell you the perfect pairing of chocolate and cheese.
• “Packer colors!” is your first comment when your tan-colored dog gets into a can of green paint.
• You saw the power outage during the Super Bowl as the perfect opportunity for the Packers to storm the field, capture one of the teams, and win it all.

Go Pack Go.  Next football season is only 7 months away. 

Amanda

P.S. David and I were featured on the cover of Grand Rapids FAITH Magazine this month!  Here’s in the link to read, “The Author of Every Love Story.”  

An Epiphany

Epiphany: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential
meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace 
occurrence or experience.

(Thanks, Dictionary.com) 

-------------------------------------

I think it is best to be specific in prayer.

Last year, I hoped God would give me the answer to some important questions for Christmas.  The answer finally came this Christmas.  

For the past couple of years, I have been wrestling with the role of faith as an artist.  Pope Benedict XVI has spoken of the artist’s “great responsibility to communicate beauty (Meeting with Artists, 11/21/2009).”  Many of the Church documents talk about the importance of true art.

I appreciate the vote of confidence.  But I wonder what it means for me specifically.  And am I a “Catholic artist” or an artist who is Catholic?

That’s the question I hoped God would answer last year.  Instead, He gave me more time to ponder. Finally, this Christmas Season it dawned upon me after I tucked our daughter in for the night.  The answer is (drum roll, please): both, and.  

How Catholic is that?  Our faith is full of mind-boggling paradoxes, like how we describe Jesus Christ:

True God, True Man

Word made Flesh

The Beginning and the End

The First and the Last

I suppose being a “Catholic artist” and an artist-who-happens-to-be-Catholic isn’t so baffling.  It is not the black-or-white answer I anticipated, but I tend to overanalyze.  (I’m writing a song with that title, by the way.) 

Apparently, I need to relax.  Sometimes God might call me to stand under a spotlight and speak about the beauty of Catholicism.  At other times, He might lead me to sing some love songs with the love of God in my heart.  In both circumstances, I live out my vocation as an artist, embracing my responsibility to communicate beauty.

I’m grateful to begin 2013 in the beauty of a simple epiphany.  It was worth the wait.

After Christmas Mass with the fam!  Photo courtesy Deanna Rae Photography 

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Amanda, David, Jamal & Chiara