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I've learned the lesson that this is how God has wired me. In terms of writing, "When it's time, it's time, and I'll fill you up." So, this is just currently a season of not writing for me and I'm not going to make the mistake of pushing it. It is a season of observation and of listening for me, which almost always has to precede the writing anyway.

That idea of forcing things seems to relate well to any Christian's daily walk in general. Sometimes we try to get back to a great spiritual moment from the past because we think it was better there. Do you agree?

Nichole: I can't speak to anyone else's experiences, but to me it's the experience of going to see a movie that you absolutely fell in love with, and then being devastated by how weak the sequel felt a year later. There's just something that feels real contrived about, as you described it, wanting to get back to a specific place spiritually all over again. And I don't know if that's what God intended.

If a season is truly a season, then we need to remember that seasons pass. What does that mean to want to get back to where we were spiritually? Was it because it felt really great or because you had a lot to say at that moment?

I'm a huge believer these days of living in the moment. I want to be very present in this moment, even if it's a dry one. I want to learn that lesson and not to try to move quickly through it because it's a little too awkward or too uncomfortable or too quiet. I believe the quiet and the empty moments are ones for preparation and readiness – when we sometimes may hear the voice of God when we wouldn't have otherwise.

There are a lot of things going on in your life right now. Are you feeling a lot of inner peace as well?

Nichole: To be totally honest, things are a bit tumultuous right now. That's simply because I'm facing so many stressors and so much radical change. It's all wonderful change, but the last couple years of my life have been very transitional and they continue to be.

Moving to a new city was a stressful thing. Getting married was a truly wonderful and blessed experience, but it was also challenging and stressful at times. Expecting a baby that we didn't plan on was yet another surprise and an example of when God writes a different script than the one you were expecting. He seems to say, "Okay, this is my version. Feel free to take a look at it."

I don't feel afraid and I certainly don't feel anxious, but I do feel different. I know that things are about to really change for Errol and me. Things are going to change spiritually for me as well. I can't imagine going through this process of becoming a mother and not being affected on a spiritual level. I've heard people say that bringing another life into the world is the closest thing we get to the physical and the spiritual really meeting. I can't imagine it not changing what I have to say in my music or in what God reveals of himself to me. It's radically different, so I'm bracing for a change.

Nichole's tour schedule was planned a year in advance – before the baby came into the picture. She plans to keep as many of her commitments as possible as she prepares for motherhood. In the meantime, her new album Live at the Door releases on May 20. For more about Nichole, be sure to visit her artist page, where you will also find a review of Woven & Spun. You can listen to song clips and purchase her music at Musicforce.com.

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