Five years ago, fledgling songwriter Nichole Nordeman would have never guessed that she'd become one of Christian music's most popular and acclaimed artists, not to mention a wife and mother. We caught up with the Dove Award winner during Gospel Music Week 2003 to discuss her dramatic life changes and the effects they'll have on the years ahead.

Let's start by looking at your future plans. Woven & Spun has been out for a while now, so after your new live album, how much have you thought about your next project?

Nichole: Zero. I'm in a season of re-evaluation, because there's so much happening in my personal life with the baby on the way. My husband and I have only begun to scratch the surface of understanding what this is all going to look like. How on earth do I manage to marry career, motherhood, travel, ministry, and marriage … and then prioritize those in the right order?

So I'm not making any kind of official announcement or anything. I'm probably going to take some time off after the baby comes, but I haven't decided how much time that'll be yet. Obviously, I feel very called to do what I do and God has shown me unbelievable favor. I've seen that as it relates to success – our version of success – in Christian music. I don't have any plans on leaving that.

Who are you looking to mentor or lead you through this upcoming juggling act you're talking about?

Nichole: [My husband] Errol and I have a really small circle of people in our lives, some of which are immediate family and others being close friends from within and outside the church. Those are the people I really count on for perspective and for accountability. When they see something in me, they ask me, "Are you unraveling? Because you're giving me answers that aren't 'Nichole' answers." They sense that I'm going on autopilot, and I need them to tell me what they see in me.

Everybody needs those people in their lives, not just artists. They gently tell me to re-examine my schedule and the effect on who I am and who I am becoming. They stay in my face, which is good.

When your song "Holy" quickly gained popularity, it really took you by surprise. Did you look back on it again with a different perspective after all of the airplay records and accolades came about?

Nichole: As a songwriter, everything feels so personal. Every song that I'd ever write is from my experience. I've never sat down to say that I'd love to write sort of a big-picture song about life in Christ or grace or whatever. I'm not a thematic writer, so I tend to write more like, "This is where I've been, for better or for worse."

It's always shocking to me when someone says, "That's me, that's the story of my life. I've been there. I am there." It's just this tremendous sense of "kindred-spiritness." I specifically remember sitting down to write "Holy" because I just wanted to tell the story of where I had been spiritually. Many of those places were far, far away from the faith where I grew-up in and how I made this roundabout, full-circle turn back to the cross and what that meant.

It was weird, and it continues to be wonderfully weird to realize that so many people shared that experience. It's a reminder to me about how much bigger the picture is and how it's about shared experiences and affirmation.

Whether it's in poetry or songs or whatever else, what have you been writing about recently?

Nichole: Oh, not a lot. You know, I go through really intense periods of writing. Usually it's around the time of writing for a record, but it's not all music writing. It's journal writing, poetry writing, it's essay writing. But then I go through periods when I just don't have a whole lot to say. I've made the mistake of attempting to draw from a well that is dry. The bucket really feels empty when I go back and read what I'd written during those times – musically or otherwise.

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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