This week on Real Talk with Rachael I'm speaking with singer, songwriter, and author Ginny Owens about finding hope - the topic of her new book Singing in the Dark. Ginny became a household name as the Gospel Music Association’s 2000 New Artist of the Year. Growing in notoriety as both a singer and a songwriter, winning 3 Dove awards and multiple ASCAP Awards along the way, Owens has sold over a million records over the course of her career. A top performer on the Christian radio charts with hits like “If You Want Me To,” “Free” and “I Wanna Be Moved” among others, Owens has released no less than 11 full albums and 3 EPs, and her music has also impacted mainstream audiences at Lilith Fair, the Sundance Film Festival and the White House.

Key Points from Our Conversation:

• Her experience of living with blindness helped inspire her new book. We all live with an element of darkness in our lives on this side of heaven that distorts our view of God and therefore our hope in Him. Singing in the Dark talks about what it looks like to find lasting hope through engaging scripture with song.
• There's always a negative message that repeats in our minds, often about our value. Once that "dark song" becomes stuck in our heads, it's difficult to overpower its message with love. We must replace our song our doubt with the truth of our worth in God's Word. Like anything else we want to get good at, it will take daily practice. 
• In her Song for Inner Peace chapter, Ginny talks about Paul's letter to the church from prison found in Philippians 4. Despite his circumstances, he knew that Christ was the secret. The bigger Paul's view of Jesus became, the more that he believed Jesus was powerful enough to handle every pain, sorrow, and fear he was facing. The more he was about Jesus' work, his earthly circumstances lessened in comparison. He saw a Jesus who loved him enough to suffer and die for him, so he knew he was never alone.
• “The bigger our view of Jesus gets, the more can walk through whatever comes next.”
• If you want to expand your view of Jesus, start by meditating on Philippians 4:4-13. We tend to think the more scripture we read the better, but God instructs us to spend time thinking about what it says about who Jesus is and who we are. Invite God to speak to you through scripture.
• Resting requires intentionality. Set aside time for things that fill you like community, purposefully setting aside time to spend with God, and even napping. 
• We get burned out when we're driven by anything but Jesus. God never wants us to be depleted of our resources, but it requires self-discipline to determine what we need to operate best and trust God the most. 
• Accountability requires showing up and being vulnerable with the people you trust and admitting you can't do it alone. 

Let’s Get Real Practical:

Our simple steps this week center around accountability.

1. Find in-person community
2. Let your community in
3. Listen to trusted people when they speak into your life

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