Singer/ songwriter balances ministry and motherhood

ATLANTA, Ga.—Singer/songwriter Christy Nockels has lightened her touring schedule, now that she has three young children.

"I've prayed to somehow make this work with three kids, and the Lord has shown me this target sign to reflect on," Nockels said. "This image constantly reminds me that if I focus on the things I need to do for my husband, children and the life that I need to have with them, that is the main target and keeps things in perspective for me. Every area of my life needs to reflect living for God's glory and his renown, and that starts with taking care of my family."

As a young girl, Nockels' parents realized God had given her a gift to minister through music. She grew up in Oklahoma as the daughter of a pastor and a piano teacher, which infused her heart early with a love for music and God's word.

"I sang my first solo in church when I was 8 or 9 years old," Nockels said. "I remember my dad saying, 'Why don't you find a song that means something to you, and share it with our church family?'

"I'm so thankful for my parents' encouragement, and as I look back now, it's so amazing that God gave me the opportunity to sing in front of people at such an early age. It made me feel completely at ease in front of audiences, and I started singing in church quite a bit and joined choirs and ensembles.

"I really developed a love for music early in life, and I started writing songs when I was in seventh grade. I still have stacks and stacks of those papers hidden away in a box. I didn't really know what I was doing back then—it was just who I was. When I look back on it now, it amazes me quite a bit to think how God was really stirring my heart towards what I am doing today."

Although Nockels limits her touring schedule to be able to spend more time with her family, she still serves as a worship leader at Passion City Church in Atlanta and frequently leads worship for women's conferences around the country. Before moving to Atlanta, she and her husband, Nathan, often led worship for Metro Bible Study at First Baptist Church in Houston.

"I really desire to put songs with biblical truths in people's homes, cars, and their hearts and minds— that's something that I feel like God has called me to do. I've always said, 'With the right song in their mouth, people can change the world,'" she said.

The inspiration for the songs on her newest album, Into the Glorious, came in the midst of ordinary life experiences such as cleaning the house, waiting to pick up her children from school or at the grocery store.

"I hope that these songs are a way for people to renew their minds and reflect on what Christ has done and for people to draw them near to him," Nockels said. "In whatever season of life someone's in, it's so amazing for people to sing praises to God while conveying their thoughts and prayers to him.

"The concept for this album really started when I was talking with a friend who is an incredible songwriter and mother of nine children. To top it off, she homeschools all of her children. She's an amazing, godly woman. With tears in my eyes, I asked: 'How do you get the laundry done and also find time to write songs? And how do you shepherd the hearts of your children so gracefully?'  She told me, 'You have to invite the glorious into the mundane.' That really struck me. 

"It's like God was letting me test that truth in my own life. I didn't have two hours to sit down and write a song, but God used the little moments that I experience every day and did something extraordinary through them. I hope that when people listen to these songs that they'll go on a journey in their hearts.

"The theme of this record that is woven into all the songs is this sweet truth—in what seems like the mundane, ordinary times in our lives, we serve an extraordinary God who knows right where we are. During those moments when everything is given over completely to the Lord, that is when God is able to do extraordinary things in and through us."