Kate Carlson’s new EP, Radiant, is now available! After many years of dreaming, weeks of writing and recording, and several weeks of waiting, it finally arrived on our doorstep.
Yes. I am a proud mom! BUT I’m most proud of her heart for God and leading people into authentic worship. I’m proud of her for using her gifts and talents to further His kingdom and the message of freedom in Christ.
If you will indulge me for just a few minutes, I’ll tell you a little bit about Kate (from a proud mom’s perspective, of course). Living in Nashville, it seems that everyone you meet is an artist or has moved here to be one. Anyone working in the music industry will probably ask Kate one question –
What makes you any different from all the others out there?
Kate’s goal has not been to become famous for her singing. Making this CD was not about trying to make a name for herself. Her intentions have been to live out the call that God has placed on her life, a call she realized when she was 12 years old. At that age, she had sung in the main worship service numerous times, and she began singing with the youth worship team at the church we attended. The summer that she turned 14, she traveled for 6 weeks along the West Coast and into Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma with the Young Continentals. This tour is what really began shaping her into a worship leader.
Soon Kate began to have opportunities to be a part of worship teams at a couple of churches in our area. She continued to lead worship for the youth as well. And for several years, Kate served faithfully in a local church, being a part of the worship team on Sunday mornings and working with the youth worship team on Sunday nights. However, God did not allow her to get too comfortable with that.
In the Spring of 2009, my husband and I had a conversation one night over dinner. We both felt that God was about to change things up a bit for us. We knew that for this season, our role would be to support Kate in whatever God was calling her to do. She was not to do this thing alone. And sure enough, 2 days later, she came to us and told us that she believed God was calling her to step out of her comfort zone and trust Him to lead her into new things.
We began visiting various churches in the Nashville area. I know this may sound strange. Why leave a church where you are actively serving to visit other churches? All we knew at the time was that Kate was to visit churches and learn whatever God was going to teach her there about her call, her ministry, and we were to support her. This was difficult for all of us. For Kate, leading worship is like oxygen for her soul. She felt she may die, not knowing when or if she would be serving in a church in this capacity again. For the rest us, it was hard to leave a church family that we loved.
About 3 months into this journey, Kate began to get calls to fill in for worship leaders in various churches in the greater Nashville area. This quickly became a weekly thing, and so our family would attend the church she was leading worship at each week. We were amazed at what God was doing in our lives, and sorry for the times we’d allowed doubt to creep in. While this is not the ideal situation in most people’s minds, we have gotten to meet a lot people along the way, some who have become dear friends. We’ve also had the opportunity to partner and serve with different churches in their local and global outreach missions.
Last October, Kate received a phone call about an outreach opportunity that would begin to put some of the puzzle pieces together for us. Some of the “why’s” we had for the road we were traveling would begin to make sense.
This post is getting much longer than I expected. Rather than wear you out with the whole story today, I’ll tell you the rest of the story tomorrow. In the meantime, if you’d like to order a CD or purchase the downloadable version of the songs, there are buttons in the sidebar of this page and on Kate’s blog, too.
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Here the love of a mother never gets boring! I can sense your pride! And you are so right, after a couple conversations with your sweet Kate, it is MORE THAN CLEAR that she is NOT in this for her fame, but for the love she has for her FATHER!! God IS using her, in ways that she may never know. I am proud of her for letting God lead her, and for you and your family for being there to support her along the way! I am one of those that has been blessed because you both were obediant to the calling of God, allowing our paths to cross. I can nont wait to get my copy of the CD! Love ya both! Terry aka Pink
Thanks Terry! Appreciate the encouragement you've given to both of us.
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