Well, the wait is over. I can officially say that my pride and joy, the project that took me from “random girl that sings at church” to “Nashville recording artist” and “singer/songwriter”, is FINALLY available for purchase!!!! I released the record yesterday (February 5th) and have received such a remarkable response already. I am completely humbled and blown away by the support and excitement that this project has generated. I can hardly believe how many preorders we took and how excited people are!
I took the CDs to school today to sell (at least to my coworkers), and the Dean of Students bought one and immediately started playing it over the intercom!!! I freaked out, ran to the office, and started shouting something about “is this REALLY happening?!” (not remembering that everyone in the school could probably hear me shouting ‘is this REALLY happening?’ over the intercom). Needless to say, I’m super excited about the places that God has already been taking this project, and the experiences in which He has yet to lead me.
Here’s a little update on life since October! We finished up the main chunks of BGVs while I was in Nashville, and things started getting added little by little (like strings, steel guitar, etc). As everything was wrapping up, Gordon (my wonderful producer) began to dream up ideas about my songwriting abilities. He thought that I had a few killer songs on this record that might be able to land me some sort of publishing deal. Things have been pretty exciting to dream about and I will continue to keep you all posted as things start to unfold 🙂
Speaking of dreaming, I have been doing a lot of of that lately… it seems to be my theme this year. I have been continuously surrounded by people, quotes, books, songs, advice, etc. that remind me and encourage me to dream, and not give up on those dreams when they seem impossible. I bought a poster when I was in Nashville, and it was the beginning of the inundation of what I call my “necessity to dream”. The poster says, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined!”
I believe that God has the power to slap you over the head with an idea that He wants to get across, but He doesn’t always do that. Over the past few months, I have noticed God strategically placing people in my life to steer me in the right direction– in the direction of my dreams. So many things have happened very “coincidentally” lately, and if it had only been one instance, I might have actually thought it was coincidence. However, there has been far too obvious of a theme occurring, and I know that God is working. There have been very few obstacles for me on my journey through this record, and I can only imagine that God is pointing me in a very specific direction. I have been praying for so long for God to reveal to me some sort of clarity as an artist, as a singer, as a teacher, as a friend, and as a Believer! I truly believe that He blesses our persistence in prayer, and my situation as of late is absolute proof of that!
Therefore, as one who is a firm believer in following dreams and achieving goals, I say, GO! Pursue your dreams and goals with passionate persistence! God will point you in the right direction… but He requires our faith in Him to get there!
Love you all! Now, go out and listen to “The Reason”!! If you don’t get it from me personally, it will be available on itunes SOON!
Natalie Cromwell 