What a night we had last night.

Very surreal, honestly. I got to perform with Wynona which was a life highlight for me. she is so talented and even more gracious. My band rocked, the singers were insanely awesome, and if I do say so myself, my shoes were “hot”! of all the Dove Awards I have attended, this was by far the best show. Great staging, production and diverse talent.

I am definitely not too cool to admit that I am a fan of christian music - always have been. it is an honor to be a part of the community of Christian artists. the pre-show included a performance by Phil Wickham. WOW.  If you don’t know his music, check it out. It was one of my favorite performances of the night.  What a shame that it wasn’t televised.

I was so proud of my sweet Bernie. He conducted the strings on the Casting Crowns performance of “East to West”.  He then went on to win song of the year for that same song, as he wrote it with Mark Hall.  Winning female artist of the year was special for me but I also felt several others in the category deserved it.  

The awards are sweet and I love that we take time to honor one another, but they do not define us. And in the end, they don’t matter. whatever “enlarged territory” they may bring me, I pray my art, and more importantly, my life, will represent the Christ i claim to serve.

Right after the show we went back to work. my bus rolled at midnight and carried us to Pennsylvania. Now we’re on to Ohio. I will post some pics when i get home.  I forgot my photo card reader, so i can’t get the photos off my camera. I am, after all, technically challenged.
Nothing but love for all of you.

xo,
natalie

Hey guys.  Just wanted to let you know that I have joined Twitter and am having a great time updating it.  It’s basically little text messages that I send out throughout the day explaining what I am up to.  You can join my little group by clicking HERE and “following me”.  I would love for you all to be a part of it.  

We had a great night at the Doves last night.  More on that in a little bit.  Have a great day!!

-natalie

I have a virus. What bad timing. My nose is all plugged up, my throat is killing me and my body aches. Somehow, I have to get better. I am desperate to clear my nose so i can sing tomorrow night on the dove awards with wynona. then i have 4 shows in a row following that. Pray for me if you think of it. So my sister told me about this thing she saw on Regis and Kelly. Turns out it was on Oprah, too. it’s called the Nasalflo Neti Pot. What?

If you would have told me that I would be pouring a pot of liquid up one nostril of my nose and let it drain out the other side I would have said, “uh, I don’t think so.” but that just tells you how desperate I am. So I mixed up the solution, tilted my head in just the right way, and started to pour. But my nose is so blocked, that it just ran into my mouth and i felt like I was drowning. but it did finally bring a little bit of relief. I am going to try it again in a few hours, so stay tuned. The Neti Pot….check it out.  If you’ve got a cold or allergies, it is suppose to be a miracle worker.

Sniffly and sneezy,
natalie

Okay - So check this out. My guitar player found this on youtube. Star magic?
Who woulda thunk?! It’s basically the “american idol” of the Philippines. Too
funny. for those of you who don’t know, they are singing my song, “Keep On
Shining”, from 2001. It was my first “popular” Christian radio single. Maybe now
i can get a T-shirt that says “I’m big in the Philippines.” Just kidding. I’m
actually humbled to know that the music is reaching around the globe, even if it
is old music.

Speaking of American Idol, do you have any favorites from this year? I haven’t

been following it much this year, and have only caught it 3 times, but from what
I’ve seen, I really think David Cook is great. Solid voice and very commercial,
relevant sound. Maybe finally a rocker will win it. What do you think?

-nat

I went shopping today. So theraputic. and I had some wonderful company along with me which made the day that much sweeter. Two of our dear friends from england are staying with us. Charlotte is speaking at the Mercy Ministries 25th Anniversary Conference this weekend, and her husband and kids came along. They are from Abundant Life Church in Bradford, England. check them out.

I met Charlottle at a conference i did in Los Angeles about 3 years ago. We hit it off brilliantly and became fast friends. It was a total God thing. Bernie and I have now been to their church and it changed our lives. Talk about examples of servanthood. They are relevant yet still totally true to the gospel. She’s the kind of friend who speaks truth into your life but isn’t overbearing. She can be fun and silly, yet never shallow. we all need a friend like that in our lives.

The truth is, I’m not good at having a lot of friends. sure, I’m outgoing and bubbly and seemingly a “people-person”. But the truth is that I’m actually quite a loner. Maybe it’s having to be “on” all the time, I don’t know, but I have few close friends. but those I have I cherish deeply.
Do you have that kind of friend? Do you have many friends or just a few close ones? Just curious.

As for me, I’m off to have a spot of tea, as my british friend would say.

xo,

natalie

This is what a sad face looks like. I am at the Seattle airport, getting ready to fly home from our show. The girls were with grandma and grandpa and bella says “boohoo, I don’t want to leave!”
It was a gorgeous day in Seattle - sunny and 75 degrees, and Mt. Rainier looked like a dish of ice ream.

Speaking of ice cream, I’m eating some when I get home. Yep, Starbucks java chip. What’s your ice cream flavor of choice?

-natalie

Okay - so here’s a quick update.

I lost. Yep, that’s right - the Tamale won. Here’s the deal: It’s impossible for me to go to the movies without treats. I mean, IMPOSSIBLE. So, when my sweet husband asks me to go to a matinee, I can’t say no. And when he stops by the drugstore to pick me up a box (yep - the BIG box) of Hot Tamales to sneak into the matinee, it would have been oh so rude of me to say no to his sweetness.

I didn’t even make it into the theater before the box was open and my fingers were red. the only semi-good news: i spilled half the box on the floor. The movie wasn’t great. it had some intense action but was just okay. So if you planned on seeing “Vantage Point”, save your $$ and wait till you can rent it instead.

Have a great day and eat something sweet for me.

natalie

Hi friends.

Welcome to my online diary. Yes - I have entered the “blog” world. I don’t know why that word kind-of intimidates me. Maybe it’s because I have read other people’s blogs and there always so clever and witty. I’ve never felt very clever, certainly not witty, but yet here I am. So here’s the deal: I won’t try to be clever, just honest.

How’s this for some honesty - I am trying to drop 5lbs and i would give my left pinky-finger for a box of Hot Tamales candies right now. in fact, I might even give 2 fingers for the really BIG box. It’s as if the box is calling to me, taunting me, telling me that i will give in and get sticky, red fingers from eating them so fast. but i tell the box that i am stronger, that I will survive it’s silly little taunts.

Who knew that hot tamales were like the devil?

So, come back soon for some more honesty and an update on whether or not I caved to the tamale.

xo,
natalie