Hey Internet friends.

I know there are a lot of you out there that have blogs and are already linking here, but I wanted to mention something new we are starting here where you can add your blog to my blogroll in the spirit of creating a special community.  Here’s how it will work.  Over on the right you will see a new link called “blogroll”.  Click on that and enter your information.  I will check out your blog once it’s submitted and as long as there isn’t anything inappropriate on it I will link back to you.  Make sure your blog is linking here.  Sounds fun right?  

Also, once you are linked on there, make sure to go check out some of those blogs.  

Happy Linking.

-nat

g’day, mate!

Wait a second….wrong country. Sorry about that. I’m not in australia, but I am in England and it is AMAZING! We weathered the flight okay, the babies slept the entire flight (thank you for your prayers), and have adjusted incredibly. BIG news….Bella is now walking – everywhere! She is still stumbly-bumbly, but she’s walking! And now that gracie sees her walking, she has taken her first steps. She is now up to 7 steps! Yep, and all this happened in England. Incredible. The church we are working with here is amazing. Check them out. They are Abundant Life Church in Bradford, UK. This place is awesome. The worship is so authentic and real and the teaching is life-changing. Order their stuff. you won’t regret it. We have also had a bit of time to see around the beautiful British countryside. It is so breathtaking. I haven’t seen a billboard since i’ve been here. How refreshing.

I’m back in the good ‘ol USA on Monday. I’ll write more soon. Till then, I’ll
tell the queen you say hello

xo,
natalie

 hello peeps,

i have some many things i want to talk to you about. actually, there are 2 things that have been on my heart in particular, that i want to blog at length about and just don’t have the time
today. so check back often in the next little while and i will get to it very soon!

okay – just a quick little update on what’s been happening. we finished the “Relentless” tour on sunday night. oh my goodness, we pulled off some pretty funny tour pranks. first, when Ashmont Hill started the show, we had to do a few things to them. their newbies – i mean, we HAD to prank them, right?

so Phil and Will always love to take their mics off the stand all dramatically. so what did we do? we taped them to the stand. so in the middle of the song, they are trying to grab their mic off the stand and it won’t budge. pretty funny.  funnier, however, is what we did to Jimmy Needham.  I met with the announcer of the concert and told him to prep the audience. then we distracted Jimmy while he did so. we asked the announcer to tell the crowd not to clap at the end of Jimmy’s first song. not a clap, not a whistle, not a peep. so Jimmy takes the stage, playing and singing his heart out, trying to get the crowd all revved up. he finished his song and nobody made a sound! Jimmy looked like a deer in the headlights and whispered in to his mic, “that was it. that was the end of my song.” still nothing. he looked like he was going to throw up. them myself and my band popped out from back stage and started cheering like crazy for him and then the audience went nuts for him. it was HILARIOUS. heartless, maybe, but too funny. he knew we were going to do something, but he never expected that. it was awesome.

But then my band pulled one off on me. one my song, “what are you waiting for”, i turned to look at my guitar player, only it wasn’t my guitar player. it was my bass player. and my guitar player was on bass. and my drummer was on keys. and yep, you guessed it, my keys player was on drums. it totally threw me and i started cracking up. i could barely sing the song. scarier, though, is that they actually made it through the song on different instruments. those boys are talented. but i pray i never see matt on the drums again. (sorry, matt!) i love the people i travel with. they make life on the road very fun.

we then had a video shoot on monday night. it is for “I will not be moved”. i think it will be my coolest video yet. we shot it at the old state prison in Nashville, at night nonetheless – freaky! it is where they filmed alot of “the green mile”. that was cool. can’t wait for you to see it. the pic above is of me and the band at the shoot. sorry you’re not in the pic, tiff! where were you?!!! yes, tiffany, my incredible BGV is in the video, and she looked awesome.

now i am frantically doing laundry and packing for my trip to England. we leave tomorrow and it is going to be an awesome trip. but pray for the flight if you think about it. we are taking the twins. 2 babies on a 10 hour flight to England? help me, Jesus!

much love,
natalie

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-”The Real Me,” penned by multi-Dove Award winning Curb singer/songwriter Natalie Grant, has been recorded by Clay Aiken on his best-selling new RCA/19 Recordings release, On My Way Here. The album debuted at #4 on The Billboard 200 for the week of May 24.

“‘The Real Me’ reflects my own journey of self-discovery and what God has shown me about who He is and who I am,” Grant says of the ballad, which was featured on her 2005 watershed release, Awaken. “God has a divine purpose for our lives, and there’s such comfort and peace in knowing that even when our lives are a mess, He sees the incredible beauty underneath.”

Last month Grant became the first artist in 13 years to win the GMA Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year three consecutive times. Her critically-acclaimed seventh recording, Relentless, released in February and was the highest debut and top album by a female artist on both Nielsen SoundScan’s Top Christian Albums and Christian Retail charts. With a formidable foothold at mainstream media and radio, Grant is a featured speaker and performer on the Women of Faith and Revolve Tours and is an outspoken advocate for victims of international human trafficking.

Check out Natalie’s version here.  Check out Clay’s version here.

so, I watched American Idol last night. I have a love/hate relationship with this show. I love the fact that it gives a voice and a chance to some really talented people who may have never had a shot without it. It gives a platform to some great voices that many times would have been considered “not-marketable” or
whatever. So I think that’s great.

I also love “Idol Gives Back” and the fact that they are using that platform and the millions watching to help people in need. awesome.

But then there’s the hate part of the equation. Excuse me while I step on to my soap box. I think it instills a fascination with “being a star” into youngins’ everywhere. That’s what they see. All you have to do is get in to the top 10 and you’ll have your picture in People Magazine, you’ll go on a tour and be a rockstar for a moment. I think it does the same thing for some of the contestants. Say they’re “#6″ and they become a household name, get picked up in limos, walk the red carpet a few times, and then the shows over, the tours over, they had a record deal for a second, and then the next season starts and they’re forgotten about. I think it’s unfair to some of them because it sets them up for unmet expectations and dissapointment. Just listen to a few of the past “cast-off’s” and it’s weird because their whole lives seem to revolve around their moment on American Idol. I don’t know, it just seems unhealthy to me. And then there’s the times on the show when they perform all together. It’s really bad broadway. And why do they have barry manilow nights? it makes me break out in hives. Did i really just spew all this in my blog? Sorry.

As you can see, it’s been building up for quite awhile. I’ve stepped off my soap box now! One great thing is that the show has given us some incredible people to listen to and look up to.
So now let me be a hypocrite for a while. There’s all these reasons that I hate this show but you can be guaranteed that I would never miss the finale. or the auditions. and a few shows in between. And so I’m back to last night.

Jason Castro – why did you forget the lyrics? You are so pretty and I want to love you, but this late in the competition you got to bring your best game.

Syesha – this girl has an awesome voice and she is GORGEOUS. and when she cried last night, i cried. Wait a second, I hate this show, remember????? And then there’s

David Cook. Is he getting a little arrogant? He seems to be. But he is my
favorite. I hope he wins because his voice has some grit.

Okay – and then there is the Archuletta kid. His voice really is amazing. So pure and beautiful. Can
he even drive yet? Exactly. And there is something troubling about him to me. i don’t know. Is he too perfect to anyone else? Hmmmm, the show sucks you in, doesn’t it. Okay, I love this show. No, I hate this show…no, I love it….no, I hate it….no, I love it.

Love it or hate it, it’s like a car crash….you just can’t look away.

xo,
nat