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You know that feeling of accomplishment when you see an idea come to life? Or a sense of pride when something you were a part of flourishes? It’s almost spring, and soon those seeds being planted will bloom and grow.

There are families in Southeast Louisiana who’ve been able to have their needs met to the tune of over 14,000 meals – YOU did that. Over 8,000 local students went back to school with the supplies they needed – and YOU made that happen. Across the globe, over 100,000 children have heard the good news of the Gospel through a shoebox gift – and yes, that’s also thanks to YOU.

You have made such a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve – thank you for your kindness and generosity. Your support means the world to us! Without it, we would not be able to have the impact we do on our community and world – thank you!

Soon, there will be an opportunity for more seeds to be planted. Please pray for God to continue to provide and to keep using this LifeSongs family to make a difference.

Sincerely,

I haven’t written a blog since last year! I know it’s only February, but are you feeling like me, that we’ve had a year’s worth of events in a month ? Since my last blog , I’ve experienced a wedding, two funerals, an epic Grand Canyon adventure as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas along with all of the other extra events surrounding those Holidays.

The Pollyanna side of me wants to say it was epic and amazing, but the reality is, while it was wonderful, there was more conflict during these times than I have ever experienced in my entire life. Anxiety set in between rude people on the airplane, flights getting delayed , and also tending to some caregiving responsibilities that went into overdrive. As if that wasn’t enough, then along comes the sadness and flood of emotions that happen with the loss of a loved one.  Families just trying to process the hurt and loss sometimes end up lashing out in unhealthy ways …

I never really struggled before with letting words go, but for whatever reason, I guess as I was grieving, I took every word about everything personally and then just stewed in the yuck! Have you ever done that? Played a conversation in your head over again and gone through all of the coulda woulda shoulda talk? Well, I did and I literally was overwhelmed and anxious having my own little pity party feeling like I tried to do things right and then ended up not being able to please everyone anyway.

So grateful our Church always has a fasting emphasis at the beginning of the year! When you really press in and just lay whatever it is at God’s feet , God does show and give you exactly what you need.

For me perspective came through the story of Joseph.

This was Joseph’s response to the injustice inflicted by his brothers: “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5, NIV). Later, he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

Joseph did not say, “Oh, that’s OK. Don’t worry about it.” No, he called the betrayal what it was — evil against him that resulted in 13 years of slavery. At the same time, he chose to forgive the wrong done to him and allowed God’s grace to flow through him. He opened the door for reconciliation. We can’t avoid conflict, but we do get to choose how to deal with it. Do we make the rip worse, or do we do all we can to mend and heal?

Life delivers many reasons to be at odds with our sisters and our brothers. Let’s look for ways to be at one with them instead. Let’s also look for ways to be family to each other, to stand up for each other as dearly loved daughters and sons of a Good Father. Because the family takes care of each other, and entrusts to God the matter of justice.

When we passed forgiveness around the table in the serving dish of grace at my home, we weren’t saying that what had gone on in our family was right or that it didn’t matter. We were saying yes, it was wrong, it did matter, and now we were choosing to let it go.

Joseph’s forgiveness ends Genesis, the first book of the Bible. We close out the epic narrative with a portrait of forgiveness that continues throughout the entire Bible, and it all begins with a very mixed-up family.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth and RESET of a New Year!

As you make a list of who you want to bless this Christmas & New Year, remember LifeSongs! Your gift makes an incredible difference to this ministry! And LifeSongs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, so your end of year gift of $100, $500, $1000 or any amount is tax-deductible.

And while this is a time of joy for us, many are searching. Join us in prayer that those who listen will find the reason we celebrate – Jesus!

Thank you for making that possible. Each person that God reaches through LifeSongs, is because of you! And we are excited to see what God has in store for our partnership in the coming year!

Just to give you a little glimpse into what we have planned in 2025… LifeSongs will start a new Sunday morning worship show in the new year (hosted by Paul). And we’re working on a new podcast to share with you as well. These new ventures are made possible by you! Thank you!

We hope your Christmas is full of joy and that an exciting new year awaits you.

Gabby spent some time getting to know Seph Schlueter – and now you can too! Like, how does a touring artist never go into a Waffle House? And what’s the secret to becoming a successful songwriter? All the answers – with Gabby and Seph!

A post shared by Seph Schlueter (@seph_schlueter)

*This is an audio transcription of the Podcast Interview

Your favorite musicians, exclusive interviews, local artists, all on the LifeSongs podcast.

Hey, hey.

Hey, how are you doing?

I’m doing so good.

Thank you so much for making the time to meet with me. I wanted to start with a Lightning Round. We call this the LifeSongs Lightning Round. An icebreaker, just some quick questions.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee.

Coffee, only right answer. I’ve got some right here.

Let’s go.

Yes, yes.

I just threw mine out.

Favorite season.

Ooh, summer.

Summer, okay, cool. (Hey summer.)

Waffles or pancakes.

Waffles.

Waffles, same. I’m a Waffle House person, for sure.

I’ve never actually been to Waffle House.

What?

This is crazy, I know.

It’s the best, highly recommend.

So Facebook or Instagram?

Instagram.

Instagram? Same. Early bird or night owl?

Both, but mostly morning bird.

Wow, how can you be both?

I’ve learned to be healthier, but I would say like naturally I could do both of them very easily.

Okay, that’s cool. That’s cool I’m definitely a night owl. Rainy or sunny day?

Ooh, rainy.

Rainy, okay. It’s the rainy day vibes. The book, the movie. (Rain, rain on my face.) Call or text?

Call.

Cool. I love that. Coke or Dr. Pepper?

Dr. Pepper.

OK.

Mountains or beach?

Beach. The beach guy.

Book or movie?

Book. I love that. OK, cool.

So our first real question is, I’m the newest person on our LifeSongs team, and I’m very excited. I was teaching for the last two years, and my husband’s a songwriter, and I’ve always kind of been an appreciator of music. When I was teaching I was so busy and I was kind of in the car and I turned LifeSongs on because I’ve always been a listener to LifeSongs and your song, Counting My Blessings came on and I felt kind of convicted. I sat there and reflect in my car by myself. I felt kind of convicted of not really having a positive perspective to see the good of God in the season I was in. I was kind of just, I was not really having a grateful attitude and so I really think of that song. That was kind of God leading me into this position at LifeSongs and so I just wanted to appreciate your authenticity and your songwriting.

That’s so beautiful.

Because your writing skills and your artistic ability, it really shines through and I really appreciate it. So I wanted to kind of share that. What song that you’ve written would you say is the most vulnerable or most relatable for you?

Oh, does it have to be one that’s come out yet or no?

No, it doesn’t have to.

There’s one I actually wrote like a little over a year ago. It’s called This Side of Heaven. It’ll probably come out next year.

Okay.

It’s like all about this idea that one day in Heaven, you know, we’re going to be able to worship with, you know, no pain, no fear, no doubt. But on this side of Heaven, we do get to give Him the gift of our worship from a place of those things. And so I’m not going to waste my praise here. I’m not going to waste my worship here. I’m still going to see this side of Heaven.

Definitely feels it is a very, very real sentiment for sure. I love that. We’re so excited to hear that coming out soon. What are ways you feel help you in the songwriting process or what most inspires you?

I would say daily prayer is a huge one for me. I feel like just like showing up in daily, getting in the word and letting the Lord speak to me is always just a place where I go to for, it’s probably the first place I go to for just songwriting ideas or themes because it’s like, it’s real and it’s personal to me. So I feel like that’s kind of the first place I’ll go to and has been just like a huge help in my own songwriting journey process of you know. Lord, what have you been speaking to me? What’s been moving my heart? What have you been convicting me with? And let’s write that, you know.

Yeah, that’s so good because God is endless. He is always revealing different parts of himself. Super awesome. So like I said, my husband is a songwriter and he shares his music with our church. What advice do you have for other Christian artists, musicians, and songwriters?

Oof. I mean I would say a couple things. Number one, on the spiritual side, again just pray daily. Like just let the Lord speak to you and like form your heart daily. You can’t overstate its value.

That’s good.

I think number two is just serving. For me, I mean I spent years just serving and you know doing ministry at a middle of nowhere ministry in Ohio. And I think just finding opportunities to serve and make it about allowing the Lord to use that time to form your own heart and your own dream, your own desires. But two, just like, just laying down, like laying down everything and really making sure you’re coming to the Lord, not trying to just push your own agenda or self-promote, but like to really like, hey, I’m gonna lay things down and just come to you Lord and serve this church or serve this ministry or serve and just get really low first before you now, because God, you know, before he exalts he humbles. And so being able to actually put yourself in that place of humility I think is so huge and so I think those two are really big and then practical just do it every day. Like write if you’re a songwriter – write as much as you can. If you’re a worship leader, lead worship, even if it’s just to yourself and yeah you know you’re in a place where you can just go and worship the Lord and do it all the time. When the Lord does elevate you, you’re ready for it. I think so often people are, oh, I want that place, I want that whatever, but they’re not willing to, you know, the word passion means to suffer for it, to suffer with. If you’re really passionate about something, you’re willing to suffer for it. You know, you’re willing to, you have your time for it, you’re willing to sacrifice for it. And so if you really feel it’s a call in your life, then be willing to sacrifice for it.

One of the songs I love, and we play it on our station all the time, is Love Me Still. What is it? Love Me Still? Okay, sorry. Blanked for a minute. I love that song so much. Can you kind of share the story behind that song?

The chorus kind of came first and just this idea of how do we talk about us really rebelling from the Lord in so many ways about how he still loves us. And you know, I think we say that generally, like, hey, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. God still loves you. But what if we spell that out? I’ve been the rebel who’s run from your arms. I’ve turned my back and I’ve broken your heart. I’ve known what’s true and I’ve still chosen to lie, but you love me, you love me, you love me. And just helping people confine themselves in those descriptions of like, yeah, wow. I have done that, I have done that, but you still love me. And so I think that’s kind of where the song really was rooted in and took its shape from.

I love how raw the words are. Like, I sit in my car and you have those moments in like worship where you’re just in your car and you’re just with the Lord. And it’s just one of those moments. And I love the lyrics and how I’m always this person that loves being honest and being vulnerable and being relatable because I feel like we can all hide behind the plastics. So I love when worship is just real like that and people can kind of relate to it on a really deep level. And I appreciate you being honest with yourself and your music, with what the Lord’s doing in your heart. Super awesome. What is the hardest thing about being in the Christian music industry?

The hardest thing for me is that it is an industry. I think my experience has just been so many amazing people and so many lovers of Jesus, which is amazing. But also it’s balancing the fact of what’s putting bread on your table is also ministry for the Lord. And I think sometimes those things can get mixed up and priorities can get mixed up a little bit. The hardest thing is just keeping the most important thing the most important thing. Keep Jesus at the center of it and keep making sure that: is there a spirit of competition or is it a spirit of collaboration? Am I trying to build the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Seph? I think those things that I think more than most places and most careers, it’s definitely just a really real thing that I think has a lot of spiritual weight to it. It’s no small thing. It’s like what James talks about: not many of you should be teachers because you’re going to be held to a higher standard. You really have to know that this is a call from the Lord because you are held at a higher responsibility representing God to so many people. And so there has to be this holy fear of the Lord of like, would I do this well? Like would I represent you well and be more about you than about me?

When did you feel like the Lord was calling you to make music?

I would say it was after high school. I joined this ministry in Ohio called Damascus and it was there. I had played music for a while. I wanted to be like the next Shawn Mendes growing up. You know, like get viral off like a YouTube video or something. But I didn’t know if it was like a call for me. Like it wasn’t really for the Lord at that point. And then I think after I really met him in high school and just wanted to serve him and live for him. And then after high school starting to lead worship more and just seeing the power it had on people all the time. I think that’s where the Lord really made it clear like, hey, like this is a gift I’ve given you, like this is the way I love to communicate with my people and so I’m gonna give you these songs and give you this call so that you can bring me to these people. So I think it was probably, you know, 18, 19 years old or so, just really when the Lord began to make that more clear.

And I love that you had that gift before you were called and God was like, let’s turn this to be something for me. That’s amazing. Yes, and clearly He’s blessed that. He blesses everything that we surrendered to Him. That’s so amazing. What artists inspire you the most and what artists are you listening to the most right now?

Wow, you know, a big Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake thing.

Yes, they’re so fun.

For sure, I love Ed Sheeran and his songwriting and his live shows and just him with the looper pedal is just so cool. Listen to him a lot, I would say. I listen to a lot of Benson Boone right now.

Okay.

I don’t know if you know Benson Boone, he’s just got all sorts of fun, creative, creative things. So those are kind of the top people I’m listening to these days.

Very, very cool. So what’s next for you and what can we be looking forward to?

I’m going on tour. I will be with Danny Gokey, Mac Powell and Tasha Layton.

That’s gonna be a great tour, wow!

Yeah, I got 12 dates with them and then next year will just be a lot of releasing new music. Got a lot of releases already planned for it and more on the way and more touring and all that kind of stuff. So I think next year will be really fun, busy year, but with a lot of really good things. So I’m really excited for this upcoming year.

What does Christian radio mean to you and what could you say to our listeners here at LifeSongs?

Yeah, I mean, I think Christian radio is something I grew up on, listening to. My mom would turn up. When we went in the car and since diving into this world, I mean, only a little over a year, I feel like everywhere I go, I’m hearing people share testimony about how Christian radio has impacted them and their lives and has made a difference in their day to day. And I think it’s just been so cool to see the ministry of it.

It is.

It is a ministry, you know, it is a way that people are encountering the Lord, they’re encountering the gospel. So I think just encouragement to those listening, like share it, support it, talk about it. It is changing lives, like the Lord is using it to impact so many people. And so it is a gift. So if you have it, be grateful for it and pray for that. Just ask God how you can support the mission.

Seph, thank you so much for making time for this interview and for all of your honesty and vulnerability and the questions. I really appreciate it.

Yeah, thanks so much. Great to meet you.

Yes, great to meet you too.

Paul spent some time with Riley Clemmons talking about music, life, influence, loss and Michael W. Smith.

Things get REAL, y’all!

A post shared by Riley Clemmons (@rileyclemmons)

*The following is a transcript of the podcast audio.

Your favorite musicians, exclusive interviews, local artists, all on the Lifesongs podcast.

Hey, Lifesongs family. Welcome to the podcast. We’re so excited to have you here. This is Paul, and I’m excited to have acclaimed recording artist, Riley Clemons, on the show with me here today.  Riley, thank you so much for being here.

Oh, I’m so excited to be here. This is gonna be so much fun.

So it looks like you live in Nashville. Did you grow up in Nashville?

I actually did. You know, they call us unicorns here, but I did grow up in Nashville. Born and raised Nashville, Tennesseean.

That’s awesome.

Yeah.

I have a cousin that lives there. I went there a few years ago to visit, and they took me to a place called Biscuit Love. Have you been there?

No. Listen. That’s a touristy spot, and I’m glad that.. but I know exactly what you’re talking about. We do have It’s amazing.

It might be touristy, but it’s amazing.

I mean, growing up in Nashville, the city has grown so much.

Uh-huh.

The traffic is worse, but the food keeps getting better. We have so much food.

It’s Music City. And so what could you not love about Music City? Did you always know that you wanted to be in music and write songs and stuff like that?

Yeah. I mean, I look back. I started so young writing songs and making music that I didn’t really ever think about coming up with a backup plan. It was, like, immediately, that was my first love was making music and telling stories. And that’s always what I’ve wanted to do.  So, no, there was never any backup plan. I always knew that this is this is what it was. It was just a matter of how to do it.

Right. It was just gonna have to work.

There are beautiful things about starting so young. There are challenging things about starting so young. But I think one of the more beautiful things is you have a naive sense of, I can do anything. That really helped me a lot. You know?  My adult brain hadn’t quite picked into Right. Okay. We gotta figure out a backup plan.

Nobody was there to tell you you couldn’t do it. You’re just you were going on it.

Me and my family too we’re not backup plan kind of people, for worse or for better.

Right. What’s the thing you love most about being a recording artist?

I think one of the greatest treasures of doing this for a job, which is still so crazy, you can hear that coming out of my mouth. One of the best parts is the connectivity with people.  It continues to fascinate me how much songs can connect people with different stories. We were going through things that carry the same emotional resonance. It blows my mind. And so that’s the thing that keeps me going on the tough days and on the good days is hearing the stories about people who have connected with specific songs, hearing about their testimonies and what they’ve walked through and what they’ve been through, all of it. I love the people side of it.  I’m a people person to my core. I love people.

Yeah.

And I love getting to meet people. And, yeah, getting to do this has been a really special way to get to meet lots of new folks.

And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about is is the people, the people that you can touch and minister to and connect with. And that’s really for any industry. If you’re not reaching people and connecting with them, then what are we really doing?

That’s exactly right. It’s not just specific to being an artist and writing songs and playing them. It it’s no matter what career you’re in or what you’re doing. It is that human connectivity that that gives life meaning and purpose, and it inspires me every day. It really does. True.

What’s the thing that you dislike the most about leaving before an artist?

Oh, gosh. There are some downsides to the job, but they’re it’s nothing crazy. I would say I don’t always love the business side of it, but it I mean, everything’s everything’s a business that that Yeah. No.

I get that.

Like, I would be great to never see data and streaming numbers and all that. I just wanna write songs and put them out, and I want them to find the people they need to find. So that would be the downside. Yeah.

No. I get that. I grew up in a ministry family. You know, there’s that part where you get to connect with people and all that, but then there’s also the business side that, you know, you gotta pay the bills. And it was always the part that was just like, like, I just wish I didn’t even have to think about this or worry about it or anything like that.  With all the success that you’ve had, you’re getting over a 1000000 streams per week. You’re climbing up to 60,000,000 for your career. With all of that and being such a source of inspiration and encouragement for all of these millions of people, how do you handle that? How do you handle having such influence with so many people’s lives?

Depends on the day.

Right.

I’ve handled it differently the older I’ve got. You know, I think that’s part of the thing that you just learn by experience is, I definitely in my most unhealthy, I have a lot of imposter syndrome where it’s the whole Why me God. I don’t get it.  I feel very underqualified. I get people telling me all the time, oh, my daughter looks up to you so much, or thank you for being a good role model. And it’s it’s the greatest honor and privilege in the world. And there’s also this part of you that, you know, you feel the weight of it. And, anytime music is ministering, It’s such a great honor and privilege.  But I I think it’s just, it’s always important to me that people know I am as imperfect as they come, and I’m very grateful that God is using my songs to to meet people where they’re at. And I’m so truly grateful to be a vessel, and I’m grateful to be an imperfect representation of God’s people. You know? I’m honored to be. I would say I handle it better now.  I used to really, really feel a lot of pressure from myself to put on the hat of go be perfect.

Right.

Go be the perfect Christian woman. That’s what they want for you. I really thought that for a long time, but I see now that that’s not that’s not where people connect.

People don’t connect to perfection. I heard somebody say once that people will celebrate you for your successes, but they’ll connect with you because of your failures.

That’s good.

Yeah. We we so often wanna just show the best side of us, but it’s really the not so good side that people can go, man, I’ve I’ve got that too.

I deal with that. I think a lot of people can relate to what you’re talking about even though they don’t have it maybe on such a mass scale, but they feel like they’ve gotta uphold an image for, you know, their family or for their coworkers or for whatever situation they’re in. How do you balance the idea of being, you know, authentically Riley, but at the same time, Riley Clemons, you know, this international recording artist, showing enough of yourself to where people can connect, but not so much that you’re just airing out all of your all of your stuff. You know what I mean?

I think it it’s a very instinctual thing.  I definitely listen to my gut on a lot of that. And it depends on the situation too. It’s like, there are certain times that I feel more led to share things with certain people, even if they’re a perfect stranger. It’s a fine balance. I think at the end of the day, I wanna connect with people.

Like you said, on what are the failures? What are the weaknesses? What are the things you struggle with? Where do you what are the insecurities? How are you vulnerable?

The laundry list of things. It’s literally a work in progress. That’s the best answer that I have for it. Every single day, it’s a work in progress of figuring out how to balance the tune, what that looks like and feels like, and all that kind of stuff.

Do you find that it’s gotten lighter with time or does it still feel very weighty?

You know, it’s both. It’s both. I think it’s still the same honor and I still feel a great responsibility. I really do. I don’t think that will ever go away.

But I do I do think it’s gotten easier to be authentic. I peeled away a lot of the layers of, what I feel like people want from me. You know? And I think a lot of that just comes with growing up too. You know?

When I was 19, it was harder to be myself because I was I was still in the throes of figuring out who I was.

Right.

I’m still in the throes of figuring out who I am, but I think it’s you have more years under your belt, more experiences, more heartbreak, more failure, more all of it. You know? It’s it’s easier to be yourself when you’ve walked through those things, and that’s part of the story.

I love the authenticity that you bring to your music. I’ve listened to Jesus Cries, you know, a bunch of times, and I just love the message of that song. Because, you know, growing up in church and I think I saw that you grew up in church as well. Do I have that correct?

I did.

So we we’re very familiar with church face and and the idea that we have to put on this image. And, you know, so often I’ve heard faith preached from a place of it’s a denial of emotion. But I like to think of it more as, like, true acceptance of emotion and the ability to deal with it. And, you know, if I’m angry about something, it does me no good to deny that I’m angry. It does me a whole lot more good to say, look, I’m angry about this or I’m sad about this.  I’m depressed about this. And the beautiful thing about that story of Jesus Wept, I saw that that was the inspiration for the song. Jesus, 1, waited for Lazarus to die before he showed up. And 2, knew he was about to resurrect Lazarus, but then still took the time to cry and show empathy. To sit in the mud with his friends and with his family and say this really stinks.  I love that you brought that into music.

Thank you. I think that, you know, I I continue to learn even go through hard stuff. Like, I am recently coming out of a pretty heavy season of stuff that’s just happened in my personal life. And even sitting with family and friends, a big takeaway for me, even reflecting on Jesus Christ and the inspiration for us, like, sometimes you just have to sit in the uncomfortable feelings, and you have to pray through them.

And sometimes you you just have to cry. You know, I think it’s like in our human nature, we wanna go from the hurt to the healing in a snap of a finger, but it just doesn’t happen that way. It just can’t. That’s not how it works. And so the song like Jesus Cries, I look back on a heavy season of grief and sadness and walking through the loss of my aunt Sharon to cancer and quickly followed by a really depressive season.

I look back at something like that, and I think of how comforted I was to understand that Jesus wasn’t this far removed, distant deity who’s looking down and just shaking his head like, but we alright. Let’s get to the come on. Let’s get to the it wasn’t it’s not like that. I don’t believe it’s like that. It’s based on scripture.

It’s this closeness. It’s in those moments of sadness that the empathy of Jesus is very powerful to understand. And understanding that Jesus, glorified son of God, is Jesus, man of sorrows as well. He was no stranger to betrayal, hurt, grief, tears, and literally wept at the tomb of Lazarus, with Lazarus’ sisters, with Lazarus’ family. And it says his spirit was heavy.

He was he was he was grieving. It was I could go on and on about it because I think that the empathy of Jesus is is not talked about as much as it should be, to be such a powerful faith transformer. It certainly has transformed my faith to understand that, and I believe that the same Jesus who weeps with Lazarus’ family and weeps with my family in the middle of grief also weeps with you and what heavy season you’re going through.

Especially in, like, American culture, we have this propensity to see God and Jesus almost like a businessman who’s got something he’s trying to get accomplished through you, and you just need to get on board and everything else just needs to fall by the wayside and indeed to just focus on what he has for you. But I’ve I’ve come to learn in life that Jesus is way more concerned about who we are on the inside than what we achieve on the outside.

And he’s way more interested in being with us in those sad moments than he is about just, like, alright, get over it so that we can go and do something great for somebody else. He he’s really with us. When he says that he’s with us and he’ll never forsake us, he really meant that. And it wasn’t just that he’d never leave a a location. It was that he would never leave you when you’re not feeling up to it that day, when you’re feeling anxious, when you’re feeling sad or depressed, he’s not going anywhere.

And he’s sitting there with you until you are ready. Yeah. Exactly. You know, it’s so real. I find in the heavy seasons of life, that those are the times that I’ve really found myself calling out to Jesus in desperation sometimes.

Do you know, just when my heart is so heavy, I don’t know what else to do. And I think that when we have that that interaction and that intimate connection with Jesus in those times, it really builds so much faith. It builds so much character. I do believe that our hardest moments, our heaviest moments, can make us so much stronger on the other side of them. And not just on the other side of them, I think we get stronger as we walk through them.

People forget the bravery and the strength it takes to get through a hard day. Sometimes getting through the day is the biggest accomplishment, and that is something to celebrate. That’s a beautiful thing. And I love what you said. The the heart of Jesus is to be intimately interwoven and connected to us all all the time.

But that that’s so true. He won’t leave or forsake us. And he can deeply empathize with our pain. He knows pain. How do you walk the fine line of being honest about how you’re feeling and what’s going on in life, but also speaking faith and believing that he is a promise keeper who’s gonna be true to his word.

You know, I’ve always found it interesting that in, like, the worst of worst spots, like, my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer several years ago and passed away from it. And one of the toughest things during that time was dealing with the I am healed according to the word of God. And, you know, she is sick, and we are going through this, and it is difficult. How do you find balance in that? Not just with your own personal life, but also in how you represent God through your songs and through your music.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just Oh, thank you. Yeah. She she was amazing.

And to be honest, it’s when looking back, it was one of the worst times in life to be sure, but it was also just one of the most beautiful times in life because of how our family came together and because how she walked through it. I mean, when I tell you she was just such a lover and a person of faith and and just walked with the Lord through that whole thing, she was such a great example to everyone that came in contact with her during that time.

It’s amazing. That is so wow. That is so beautiful.

You know, I think that just as you the balance of it, I think you just have to talk about it. For me, you can be a person of deep faith and also talk about the things that upset you and make you have questions. And I think you just hold you you hold both because that’s I think that sometimes it can be dangerous, you know, when somebody is walking through something like what you’ve walked through or in those heavy moments, you’re saying, well, you know, God’s the ultimate healer and everything’s everything’s gonna be fine and it’s all gonna be meant to be. It’s like, great, that makes me feel so much worse.

Right.

That’s easy to just slap a Bible bumper sticker on it and put a band aid on it and just move on. It’s also really important to sit in your feelings and look at other people’s feelings enough to be able to really say like, no, this is hard. This is hard to reconcile with. This makes me angry. This makes me so sad that my stomach hurts.

You know, like, this makes everything feel dark and heavy. I think you have to. There’s a lot of good that comes from not only telling that to the Lord because he can he can handle that stuff. I I I believe that. I know that to be true, but also finding community, whether it’s family or just people you trust that you can be honest and say, no, this is hard.

This is so hard. This hurts. And I I think that there’s a lot of freedom in just in in saying that, in getting it out and not holding it in and trying to put a band aid on things. You gotta move through it. It’s amazing how the world opens up to us when we decide to drop the mask.

You know, we think we’ve got to put on this image for everybody. But, really, that’s what’s keeping us from connecting and from building community and from building strong friendships. When we learn just to drop the act, God brings us into such a and that’s with him too. Not only does that help us connect with other people, but until we’re willing to drop the act with God and be honest with how we feel, we’ll never develop a deeper, stronger relationship with him. You’re so right.

That’ll preach right there. But wearing the mask doesn’t do a lot of good. Yeah. You can’t shove things down. They, they will always come back up.

I find it’s better to try to deal with them and walk through them even if it’s a messy process than shoving it down and ignoring the feelings. At 24 years old, you’ve been in the industry since what, like 17 or 18? Yeah. I put out my first song when I was 18, but I started co writing around Nashville when I was 14 or 15. Yeah.

I mean, I was I was learning how to write. I’d always written songs for myself and Mhmm. Just sitting in my bedroom and started writing around town to see what it’d be like to be an artist and definitely took my time learning and soaking it all in and, released my first song called Broken Prayers when I was 18. I think I was 18. Yeah.

In 2018. And, it’s crazy. Time flies. Time flies so fast. It really does.

Was your family in the industry as well? No. Nobody’s in the industry. Okay. So you really didn’t know what you were getting into initially?

Well, yes and no. Growing up in Nashville, you’re you’re around it enough to feel like it’s not a strange thing. Mhmm. It’s more commonplace than it would be growing up in Wyoming, you know. So that was good.

My mom had more of an understanding of the business. My parents are business people in general, so they understood that aspect of it and were just really fantastic leaders and helpers as I was navigating that. As a 18 year old, you know, I didn’t know what I was doing. I learned on the job every single day. I felt like I was learning on the job.

What new things are on the horizon? I think I saw that you have a Christmas EP coming out. Yes. I have a couple Christmas songs coming out this Christmas, and I’m also going on a tour this Christmas with the absolutely iconic, can’t even believe the words are coming out of my mouth, Michael W Smith.

Oh, that’s awesome.

Oh, he’s just been my favorite. Some of my earliest interviews I ever did when I was 18 and thought it was absolutely the craziest thing that people wanted to interview me. They would always ask dream collaboration, and I would either say Stevie Wonder or Michael W. Smith.

Those were, like, my go to answers. Good answers either way. Yeah. They’re they are good answers. Solid answers.

Did you go more the traditional route with the Christmas, or did you do some originals? Both. Both and. Okay. Awesome.

Mhmm. Yeah. I love it when people try something new, but I also like to hear just the old classics at the same time. I do too. I like both, and we we try we’re bringing that to the Christmas season this year.

It’s both the classic and familiar as well as the original. Thank you so much for being on the podcast with me, Riley. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

It was so much fun. So much fun. Thank you for the time and asking great questions.

Local listener supported LifeSongs Radio makes a difference. Hey, this is Riley Clemmon and when you support this radio station, you provide hope and encouragement through uplifting lyrics and community outreach to thousands of other listeners.

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Ah, Christmas. The twinkling lights, the smell of fresh-baked cookies, the heartwarming carols wafting through the air. And then… the burnt cookies, the tangled lights, and the desperate Amazon Prime order placed on December 22nd. If you’ve ever felt the sting of holiday stress or found yourself yelling at a roll of wrapping paper, you’re not alone. But here’s a little secret: it’s the mess, not the perfection, that makes Christmas so special.

Somewhere along the way, we bought into the idea that Christmas needs to look like a Hallmark movie—spotless homes, pristine gingerbread houses, perfectly coordinated outfits. But let’s be honest: that level of perfection is exhausting. If you’ve ever stood in the middle of a chaotic holiday kitchen with flour in your hair and a smoke detector blaring, you know that Christmas rarely goes as planned.

So, consider this your official permission slip to let go of the pressure. You don’t have to have a Pinterest-worthy tree or bake the cookies from scratch to create joy. In fact, it’s the little mishaps that often bring the biggest laughs.

Every family has its traditions—some intentional, and others… not so much. In our family, one of those “traditions” was my grandfather burning the bread. Every single year. It didn’t matter if we tried timers, reminders, or even appointing someone else as the bread-watcher—somehow, the rolls always came out resembling charcoal. But it became a running joke, and the smell of burnt bread became as much a part of Christmas as the scent of pine.

Then there was the year everything felt different. My mom was in the middle of her battle with cancer, and for a while, it seemed like Christmas would be overshadowed by fear and exhaustion. But instead, the family rallied. Everyone pitched in—My aunt cooked the turkey, my brother and I decorated the tree, and everyone made sure the bread came out just right. We laughed, sang carols, and shared our favorite family memories. It wasn’t the prettiest or most picture-perfect Christmas, but it became one of the most memorable—because we were together.

Even the very first Christmas was far from perfect. The birth of Jesus didn’t happen in a pristine palace or under perfectly controlled conditions. It happened in a stable, surrounded by animals, in the most humble and unexpected of settings. Yet from that messy moment came perfection—a story of hope, love, and salvation that still resonates today. It’s a beautiful reminder that even the messiest beginnings can bring about the most profound joy.

So this year, let’s rewrite the holiday script. Burn the cookies? Laugh about it. Have to wrap a gift in yesterday’s newspaper? Call it creative. Let the kids decorate the tree, even if it’s lopsided. The truth is, the best memories are the ones where everything doesn’t go according to plan.

Now, here’s a challenge: think about your own “messy and merry” holiday moments. What’s a time when things didn’t go as planned but ended up becoming a cherished memory? Share it with your family, write it down, or post it online. You may be surprised how much joy those imperfect moments bring to others.

At the end of the day, Christmas isn’t about having it all together—it’s about being together. So go ahead, embrace the chaos. Celebrate the imperfections. Let the messy moments create the merriest memories.

Here’s to a Christmas season that’s gloriously messy, wonderfully merry, and uniquely yours.

Before leading worship alongside Maverick City Music – Stephen McWhirter shared his incredible story and goofed off Josh & Libby on Friday’s Morning Show!

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Josh called the Turkey-Hotline at Butterball to get the 4-1-1 from Jan about #NationalThawDay and some helpful tips on cooking the perfect Butterball Turkey this Thanksgiving!

Visit BUTTERBALL.com, call 1-800-BUTTERBALL or text 844-877-3456 for all you Thanksgiving cooking needs!

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Good morning on the LifeSongs Morning Show. Today is a very special day, one week till Thanksgiving, and that makes it National Thaw Day. And who better to talk about thawing a turkey than the experts at Butterball. Jan, thank you so much for joining us on the morning show.

My pleasure, I’m happy to be here.

So break it down for me, what is National Thaw Day?

It’s the day that you should start thinking about that turkey if you haven’t done so already. If you have it in your freezer, take it from the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. If you haven’t purchased the turkey, you might want to think about getting to the store, because it takes a long time to thaw it, and it needs to be thawed in a cold method. The easiest way to thaw it is in the refrigerator. Leave the turkey in the original wrapper, put it on a tray, and allow one day in the refrigerator for every four pounds of turkey. So a 20-pound turkey, for instance, would take you five days to thaw.

Yeah, but then you have to pluck the feathers and all that. It’s going to be a bit of a mess.

No. Our fresh turkeys have no feathers.

So if you missed it, the official Butterball mathematical equation for thawing a turkey is one day per four pounds of turkey.

That’s correct.

Awesome. Now I heard this – this actually I have a request from my program director to ask this question. She heard that you guys at Butterball now have a bake from frozen turkey. Is that actually a thing or is that an urban tiktok legend?

That is a new product that we’re rolling out this year. And it is cooked from frozen. So you just take it out of the package and put it right in the oven. So by next year it should be in all states. Bbut this year it’s not. But I don’t know if people would find it in your area or not. But you can check our product locator on our website, Butterball.com.

Okay, limited edition. If you’re listening to LifeSsongs and you come across the Butterball Cook from Frozen Turkey, take a picture, send it to us, because I want to see. That sounds pretty awesome. My mom says her mother, back in the 1960s cooked their Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave. Is that something you recommend at Butterball?

Yes, you can do that. I’ve done a number of them because I used to do microwave cooking schools and demos and so I’ve done it quite often. First of all, you have to have a turkey that’s going to fit in the microwave. When the microwaves first came out in the late 60s and 70s, they were pretty big so you could get do like a 12 pound turkey, but nowadays the microwaves are pretty small in a lot of cases so you can still do it but you’re going to have to have a pretty small one. So it can be done and it does cook faster, but it’s a lot more work.

I think I’ll stick with the oven or the deep fryer or the smoker. Do you actually, Jan, have a favorite method for cooking your turkey?

I would say my favorite method is probably the grill. I love the nice charcoal grill.

Nice. Well, Jan, where can LifeSongs’ listeners go to get all of their turkey questions answered this Thanksgiving?

Well, they can call us at 1-800-Butterball. We have people here waiting to talk to them and answer their questions. They can also text us at 844-877-3456, or they can reach us at Butterball.com, which is a wonderful website with all kinds of information. And we’re also available on all the social channels, so we’re very easy to find.

Well thank you so much, Jan, for taking a moment to share with us about National Thaw Day, and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

I wish you the same. Thank you.

We’ve brined, injected, marinated, spatchcocked, roasted, smoked and fried turkeys over the year and we still haven’t found the PERFECT Thanksgiving turkey recipe. (*Later this week I’ll get to talk with a Butterball representative on National Thaw Day, so maybe we’ll get some helpful tips!) My wife and I have hosted many Thanksgivings – for family, friends and sometimes just our little nuclear four. Preparing the big meal can be stressful – always takes several days – but is such a joy!

We put music on in the house – the whole family gets involved (especially when it is time to make pies). No one enjoys it more than our dog Rose who is guaranteed to get some dropped goodies on the floor. Even though I look back at Holidays-past with rose colored glasses, there are plenty of fights that happen during this time of year too. With so much going on – cooking, cleaning, parties, responsibilities, work, school … it’s not hard to blow up at one another.

Can you avoid hurting feelings by being intentional with one another – making lists – sticking to a schedule … maybe. Sometimes it is inevitable to come into conflict with the people you love most in this world … and I think that’s ok.

I remember when Jesus visited his friends Lazarus and Mary and Martha in the town of Bethany. It was a huge gathering because Jesus travelled with quite the entourage and Martha was busy trying to please everyone. Meanwhile Lazarus was probably hanging with the boys and Mary was simply sitting and listening to Jesus. When Martha blew up at her sister for not helping, Jesus actually told Martha to stop and be with the family.

I’m very much a Martha – this story always rubs me the wrong way because Martha was working so hard to make everyone happy and SHE is the one who get’s chastised? That seems so unfair. Jesus was right, of course. And I have to dwell on this story during the holidays as a reminder that time with Jesus – and our family – is more important than a spotless bathroom or a well brined turkey.

*If you need some help with your turkey – brined or otherwise prepared – I got to chat with an official Butterball Turkey representative on #NationalThawDay!

Hey there.

I’ve been on this “ kick” about LOVE lately. It’s like every devotion I open or podcast that comes up on my feed relates to this topic. I find myself lapping up morsels of wisdom about Love wherever I can get it . I’m thinking maybe it has to do with the fact that within recent months we have had a major election and social media and new outlets have been in overdrive. The news has been reporting in overload and what’s being reported is almost always negative!

I know I’ve been intentionally trying to counter all that “stuff” and fixing my mind on the one thing that sums up what’s missing in all of it: LOVE.

Holidays are coming up and we get to Love more than ever. Some of us have the Norman Rockwell picture and then others, that picture is not quite as serene.

I read this sweet story in one of my recent devotions.

In 1917, a priest named Edward Flanagan opened a home for boys to help the neediest and most vulnerable boys in Omaha, Nebraska. The orphanage took in the homeless boys with criminal records, and the disabled. One of those boys, Howard Loomis, had polio and wore heavy leg braces.

One day, Father Flanagan saw one of the older boys carrying Howard up the stairs. Father Flanagan noticed this kindness and asked him, “Isn’t he heavy?” And the boy replied, “He ain’t heavy, Father… he’s m’ brother.”

Cue the song by The Hollies and sappy tears! This is a beautiful picture of what it looks like to “bear with one another.” In a way, to love someone is to open ourselves to suffering. Their sadness becomes ours. This is one of the reasons we are so often guarded and slow to love.

It can be hard to open ourselves to a relationship that may require from us what could be difficult or inconvenient.

Yet this is what God asks us to do for each other as a community of Jesus followers. He calls us to love in a way that will cost us. God is not asking us to do anything that he has not first done himself. God did not guard his heart from us. He poured it out generously. Jesus bound up his heart with ours. He made our suffering his suffering. He made our pain his pain. And he asks us to do the same for others. This is part of what it looks like to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 NIV

Praying that you can grin and “bear it” this Holiday Season as you might have some people that are hard to love.

God, thank you that you first loved me. Teach me how to love others well.