Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Singer/Songwriter Staci Frenes

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.

I’m thrilled to have Staci on the show this week. I met her a few months ago at an event where she was the speaker. She’s a talented singer/songwriter and we’ll be playing a few of her songs. We’ll also be chatting about simplifying life by “Making Room” for the good stuff (Staci’s theme). You won’t want to miss today’s show! Thursday at 4:00 PM CST.

More about Staci: Staci Frenes is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter whose folky-pop music you might hear on CCM or mainstream radio, major TV networks such as NBC, CBS and ABC, and feature films. She tours nationally, singing, speaking and leading worship. Her latest CD, Snapshots, is an eclectic group of songwriting demos about love & friendship, faith & change. Staci is a World Vision artist and speaks on behalf of children who live in the poorest areas, many of whom are orphaned and vulnerable. She makes her home in Northern California with her husband, their two kids and yellow lab, Jazz. For more about Staci, please visit www.stacifrenes.com.

Please leave a comment {HERE} for a chance to win one of Staci’s CDs! One winner will be chosen at random and notified next week via email. Don’t forget to leave your email addy! 🙂

What Staci would tell you over coffee:

When I was eight, my Grandma hung proudly on her wall a song I wrote which began, You’re awfully sweet, you smell like meat! From that stunning start I was a flurry of journals and scribbled rhymes that lifted off the page and became melodies. At twelve I begged my non-musical parents for piano and guitar lessons to put these melodies to music. By the time I entered the tumultuous teenage years, writing songs was how I made sense of my friendships, my faith, loneliness, fear. It was how I analyzed, deconstructed and put back together life in all its beautiful chaos. I felt both saved and discovered by it.

During the winter of my twelfth year I was also discovered and saved by an understanding of God and His love for me, something I’d never been told before. I committed my life to Him, and remember, even at such a young age, feeling the beautiful synchronicity of this new faith and my passion for writing songs. The two were inseparable, and became the closest thing to a calling as I have ever known.

I was raised by hardworking, loving and practical parents who recognized my musical leanings but advised me to have some way to earn a living. So, I got a BA in English from UC Berkeley and taught school while spending weekends playing my songs wherever I could: churches, coffeehouses, festivals. I met a boy named Abe who shared my love for God, for music, and for laughing a lot. We got married, and eventually added two beautiful kids (a boy and a girl) and a yellow lab to our family. After a few years and a few albums, I quit teaching and now I travel and sing and write songs, plus make lunches, walk the dog and do dishes.

I want to keep working diligently, with discipline and passion at this thing I’m called to do. I want to create and find opportunities for my gift because I believe it is the least I can do with what I’ve been given. It’s my investment, my offering, my worship.