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Exclusive! Interview with Dove award winning singer- song writer Babbie Mason
by Marie Grossett 1. Your book Embraced by God reminds us about God's unconditional love. Why do you think Christians would doubt God's love in the first place, when the Bible constantly tells us about his agape love? When we don't know the truth, we will be tempted to believe the lies and myths that we've been told or that we've heard. Those lies and myths are numerous. Some of those lies and myths were told to us by others who meant to harm us. Things like, " You'll never amount to anything.' No one loves you and no one ever will." " You're damaged goods." "You'll never be good enough." But when we know what the God of the universe says about us, we will live differently. God says in His Word that we are accepted in the Beloved. The Bible says that God loves us as much as He loves His own Son and that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are His treasure and He takes great delight in us. When you know this truth it makes a difference in the way you see your past, your present and yoru future. 2. Tell us about a time when you did not feel embraced by God and how you overcame that? I can honestly say, I don't remember a time when I didn't know God loved me. But often in my Christian experience, particularly as a young child, my relationship with God was driven more by a dreadful fear than by unconditional love. There have been numerous times when I felt, I didn't qualify, that I wasn't worthy, or that I fell hopelessly short. I think a lot of women are like me in that there was a time when I looked in the mirror and I didn't like what I saw. There have been times when I felt like I didn't measure up or that I wasn't beautiful when I compared myself to others. I felt like the cultural standard was just beyond my reach. But I can't stress enough here, that when we replace what we feel with what we know to be true, we will no longer make people the standard of excellence. We have to stop giving people that much power over our lives. Psalm 45:11 tells me that "The King is enthralled with your beauty. Honor Him for He is your Lord." God finds me beautiful and His opinion of me is the only opinion that matters. I want to live in such a way that beauty shines from the inside out. 3. What do you want readers to learn about Embraced by God? I hope to help the reader gain a deeper assurance..a greater confidence of God's love as it relates to their own God story. Some might find it easy to conclude that God loves the next person more. But the word of God assures us, that His love is not just for the next person. It's for all of us. It's for the woman who feels stuck in a loveless marriage. It's for the single mom trying to make ends meet. It's for the teenager who wonders what life is all about. It's for the man who wonders if he matters. And it's for you, no matter who you are or what you are going through. The book gives the reader the opportunity to sit down each day over the course of 21 days to celebrate God's amazing, deep, sweet, abiding love for us. God's love gives us significance. Jesus is the only One Who validates us and values us and gives us the love we so desperately hunger for in this life. I hope to help the reader understand more clearly that we are deeply loved by God. He loves us as much as He loves His own Son, Jesus. And I hope to help stir up the reader's heart and bring them to the place where they recognize that this kind of love demands a response. To respond to His embrace with heartfelt dedication and obedience. 4. What made you go into the music ministry to begin with? Straight out of college I told my dad who was a pastor that I wanted to go into the music ministry. He said, and I quote him here, "No you don't need to go into the music ministry. You need a JOB." Next thing I knew, I was teaching middle high music and English. I taught school for 8years. Little by little, my singing engagements began to compete with my job, until I was forced to decide to stay in the classroom or leave to follow my heart. So I retired from teaching. But my husband reminds me often when he says, "You didn't quit teaching. Your classroom just got bigger." So, I believe I was just following the desire that God placed in me from the very beginning. Of course, there was a season where I wanted to do things my way. I had a dream of going to Detroit to become a Motown singer. But God showed me a better way by leading me to a great Christian university, Spring Arbor University, where I got involved in the music department and God really began to stir up my gifts while I was on the campus there. It was a place where I could exercise my gifts, but more than that, my faith in Christ became my own. 5. How did you feel when you won an award for your singing-song writing? It's one thing for my mother or my husband to affirm my gifts and talents. I appreciate their opinion of me, but I know their opinion of me can be a bit biased. But when that affirmation comes from your peers, it's quite humbling. It's an acknowledgement that hard work and diligence can pay off. 6.What inspired you to do events like 'Embrace' and the 'Inner Circle'? I suppose my love for people inspires me to host these events. The Embrace Celebration for Women is a ninety minute concert to help women understand how much the God of the universe loves His daughters. The event features beautiful worship music, God-honoring testimonies, a women's choir, and the power of the word of God spoken over our lives. Add to that the celebration of Christian sisterhood, laughter, and a huge dose of encouragement, and you have an event that is making an eternal difference in the lives of women as they come to understand how much God loves us. I've always loved sharing my knowledge concerning the art and the craft of song writing and helping others jumpstart their ministries in the area of music. At the Inner Circle gatherings, I get to pass on my knowledge and experiences to help others launch their dreams. Hopefully, by doing this I can help someone get farther down the road or avoid costly mistakes. 7.Do you have any more books in the pipeline? The book Embraced By God, has inspired a women's Bible Study by the same name, to be released this fall. The course is an 8 week study that allows women to unpack the seven themes that I talk about in the book, plus a week for the wrap-up. The Embraced By God message is a life-changing message. Once we begin to understand God's relentless and fiery love, we'll never ask "Does my life matter? Or "Does God really love me?" The Embraced By God book and study will help to settle those issues once and for all. 8. You have such a busy schedule what do you do to relax? We live on 32 acres of woods, water and weeds. So there are really beautiful views in every direction. I love interior design and bargain shopping. I enjoy growing pretty flowers. And I really enjoy fishing! People tell me that they don't like to fish. Usually they don't like to fish because they have never caught anything! If you ever have the pure joy of landing 'the big one', you'll be hooked for life! Babbie's book Embraced By God can be brought on Amazon and all major on line and local bookstores Marie Grossett aka Vanessa Grossett is a published Author, and has interviewed best selling and award winning Christian Authors. She is a Literary Agent at The Authors Care Services ltd. www.theauthorscare.co.uk [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |