Good Morning All!

This is Sarah. Just wanted to catch everyone up . . . I am amazed at all that happened last week. The Christmas song we recorded, "Christmas in Heaven" is a beautiful, anointed song that will minister to thousands of people! Getting the right vocals on the song was tough - but well worth the hours and hours it took. My producer, Paul, was really able to caress a new, more contemporary flavor out of my voice that I think you will all be excited about. We also wrote two great new songs. One of them is called "Not Today" and is a very fun, tap-your-foot, dance-along-with-it song. The other is a great new worship song called "Open." We worked ALL night last Wednesday (the day I did the radio interview at AFR and drove from Tupelo back to Nashville . . . I was exhausted when Paul looked at me around 10 p.m. and said, "Hey, what do you think about this tune . . .?" We then stayed up until 5 a.m. writing this song. It will be an incredible part of worship for many down the road!

There is so much to look forward to ~ I am singing at a Mary Kay event tonight, will be out in Coleman, MI next week, will speak for the Red Hat State Convention in a few weeks and am most excited about the 1st annual Chad Schieber Memorial Run on October 18th (you can walk it, too :-) I am beginning the 'book writing' process, and the CD is completely written and now we begin the 'fun' part . . . the music! All of that, and yet the loneliness of grief is still so profound. I miss my beloved so very, very deeply. October brings with it the last of our 'firsts.' It will be the anniversary of Chad's passing. Will you please pray that we will know the perfect way to mark this day?

I am sure that wherever you are in your life today, that you have pain and that you understand that common thread of loneliness that accompanies pain. Please be encouraged. Our precious Heavenly Father will not leave you alone in your pain. He promises to be 'near to the brokenhearted.' He is so good, and so faithful. Psalm 62 says that we are to wait quietly before Him. He ALONE is our rock - a fortress where we WILL NOT be shaken! Steel away with God today, my friend. Let His sweet Holy Spirit minister to your pain today. Be still and know that HE IS GOD!

Building 429!!!

We were just about to leave the AFR station when we saw Jason Roy and Jesse Garcia of Building 429 going into the studio with Dave. We both love their music, so it was great to meet them and get a cool picture of the two guys with Sarah. They have hearts for Jesus, and were fun to talk to!

This is definitely one of the best parts of being in Christian music...the other people in this business are talented, interesting and really out there serving Him.

The Wonderful American Family Radio Family

What a great group of people! Everyone we met and spent time with at the home office of American Family Radio was so nice and so warm...they truly live the conviction of their hearts as Christians. Sarah is in this picture with Jim Stanley, on left, and then David Brock and Rick Robertson.

Our day started with lunch with a group of the on-air people and other staff, at a delicious restaurant in Tupelo called "Peppers." We then went back to the station where Sarah did an interview with David Brock...pictured in the studio below.



Sarah then had the opportunity to share her testimony with many members of the staff of AFR. The Lord really had the glory in that room, and we made a bunch of new friends as we met with people afterward.

All in all, it was a wonderful day with wonderful people, who really serve HIM in all they do!
Thank you to all the AFR folks for making us feel so welcome...southern hospitality at its best!

Fun Pix from Natchez Trace

We had a super trip down to Tupelo...a stop at Starbucks, a lazy wind through northern Alabama, and then a lovely drive down the Natchez Trace Trail, which is like driving through a park, but for many, many miles...we took these wonderful sunflower pictures there, laughing and free....

Later, we listened to some of the new songs, which made me (Krystn) cry....the songs are very intelligent and authentic. Some are sad, some are hopeful, all are honest.

We had a wonderful dinner with Jim Stanley, from AFR, and his warm and friendly wife, Collette. They are super nice people and we enjoyed our time with them very much.

Check back for the update on our day with the wonderful people from American Family Radio!

Road Trip to Tupelo!

Today, before I even got back with our morning(noon) coffee...Paul and Sarah had written most of an upbeat song...as Sarah said, it is amazing that something exists that was not here before! These two are very creative and it is lots of fun to watch them work.

We were in the studio until well past one am today....nightowls! The song is sounding great and is so perfect for Sarah....here are some of the lyrics...

December hasn't changed
This town looks the same
They still light the tree in the city square
There's red,white and green shining everywhere
And I wish you were here.


This afternoon Sarah and I leave for Tupelo, Mississippi, where we will be guests at the home offices of American Family Radio, one of the stations that is playing "Show Us Your Glory."
We are so excited to be part of that musical family! We will get to meet the folks there for lunch tomorrow, and then she will be interviewed by David Brock for his afternoon show, heard by many, many people each day! What a blessing and opportunity for Sarah to share her testimony. Please pray for journeying mercies, and for the Lord to do His wondrous will through her interview tomorrow...

Stay tuned and I will let you know what is going on!!

love,
Krystn

What does a producer do?

A producer is a coach, a mentor, a teacher, a facilitator, a joker, and the leader through the myriad levels of the work of making a new song or album...or, that is what Paul does.

Paul is all of the above and more! He and Sarah have been pouring over her journals, and Chad's journals, to find the essential kernels of the emotions that will grow up to be the new songs.

They have been staying up late at night, during Sarah's other trips down here, to write songs that reflect the journey that Sarah has been on...to capture it in music. I was privileged to hear some of their songs today and all I can say is...WOW!!! You are all going to love what you hear!

In the picture above, you can see Paul in front of his computers and sound engineering system. With this amazing program and his expertise, he can lay down the tracks, add instrumentation, tune the vocals, "comp" the pieces of the vocals that sound the best...he builds the song and the sound. With Sarah, he gives her an idea of the place he wants to sound to come from in her voice, and he helps her to interpret the music. He keeps her focused and he asks her for the best that she can give at all times.

He also tells really corny jokes, loves to go out for yummy food to keep us all going, and puts up with our Starbucks addiction.

When you hear the songs they are working on, you will hear the genius that is Paul in there, making the music sparkle and shine!

We also get to hang out with his lovely wife Karolyne and his three great kids, and the dogs and hamsters that are part of his family.

We are filled with thanksgiving and gratitude that the Lord has brought him into our lives!

We Are in Nashville, Recording!

Hi, everyone...this is Krystn, Sarah's sister....I will be making frequent appearances in her blog, as I live her life along with her, and I work for her. Sometimes the voice you hear here will be mine.

This is a very exciting week for us...we have flown to Nashville (through the very windy skies post-Hurricane Ike) to record a very special song called, "Christmas in Heaven."

We first heard the song last April, when we were here for Gospel Music Association Week. We had just met Paul Marino, of the group River, who has now become Sarah's producer...we visited him at his home studio, and he played us the song. We both just sat spellbound on the couch and wept. The song talks to someone up in heaven and asks the questions we all have about what it is like...and, of course, who more than Sarah should sing a song like that? The writers were hoping to have a big country star sing the song...

God however had a different idea...and by August, Sarah was blessed to have the opportunity to record this song, and to put it out to radio for the Christmas season.

So, right now we are in Paul's studio, and he is leading her through the process of recording. It is very tedious and exacting...there are lots of repeats of each phrase and he gives her the ideas he has for making the song sound its best. She sings each part of the song over and over and tries to get it exactly right.

She is in the soundproof room and he sits just outside at his control computer area. Even thought they have been working together for many weeks now, writing songs for her new project, this is the first time they have recorded a song together, and so they have to talk through what each phrase should sound like. Paul is one of the writers of the song, plus he is an amazing producer. He knows exactly how to bring the best out of his artists.

Please, if you are reading this, you are someone who loves Sarah and will pray for her. Will you please take a moment and pray that His anointing will be on them both today and tomorrow as they work on this song?

More later...there is much more happening here this week, so check back in with us often. We would so love to read your comment on our blog!

Welcome to my new BLOG!

Thanks so much for stopping by! This blog is a new venture for me, and I hope it will be a great way to keep in touch. There is a lot of amazing grace coming my way, and I want to give God the glory...He has faithfully led me through the hardest year of my life.

This blog will keep you updated on the triumphs and the tears, and will be a way for me to share with all of you the news about my career, my kids, my life!

Many of you know the story...last October, while running with me in the Chicago Marathon, my beloved husband Chad collapsed and died. I still sometimes cannot believe that...how can that have happened, and how can this be my life? We were sooooo happy...we had such a great marriage...and we were enjoying a season of true goodness in our lives.

And, then, the unthinkable happened...and the kids and I have HAD to go on, even when we did not know how to...even when we did not want to.

Just before Chad died, I had released my first solo album. We had worked so hard for it, on it and with it...and we were so delighted by it. It was to be the foundation of our marriage ministry. Well, that ministry ended when my husband died...BUT, in the Lord's own mysterious way, He has opened up a whole new ministry for me, and is setting the path before me to sing and speak for him in a whole new way, with a whole new message.

The next few posts of this blog will bring you up to date on what is going on now with my ministry. Stay tuned for some truly amazing graces...and some wonderful pictures as we journey through!

Welcome to my blog!