Oh, Mercy,Mercy Me: My Interview With Mercy River

Let's be honest, no matter how tall I sit, or how wide I open up my airway, or how deep I breathe and push from my stomach...I still can't sing well. 

BELIEVE me I have tried! Just yesterday I sang my way through all 37 of Whitney Houston's greatest hits, and while I belt it with the best of them...I think my singing can only be described as..."Meh..." and sometimes "Ouch".

So, I had a lot of fun asking Mercy River to answer the following questions. And believe me when I tell you that I have no jealousy {maybe a little...okay a lot}.

Enjoy the interview with these amazing Singer's and Performer's and then make sure to enter the giveaway so that you too can enjoy their new album "Higher". This album has gotten me through my pile of dishes every morning for the last 14 days in a row. (Yes I put off loading till the morning...so gag if you want to.)

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The lovely Erin asked us some questions about performing...so we thought it would be fun to do this post “interview style!”  As far as who is who: Brooke’s the blonde, Whitney’s brunette, and Soni is Auburn. 

How do you overcome nervousness?


Brooke: I still get nervous for almost every performance we do. I think a lot of it comes with experience. But a big turning point for me was when I started to realize that my performance wasn't about me. It was about the audience. As soon as I turned my focus on them, and forgot myself, it became a little easier.
Whitney: I’ve always struggled with stage fright. But 5 years ago a good friend shared a scripture that has REALLY helped me (paraphrased, of course). 2 Ne 33:4-- "And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my [performance] for the gain of [His] people.  And the words which I have [sung] in weakness will be made strong unto them; for [they] persuadeth them to do good...and [they] speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him.” I think of this every time I sing, and realize that even if it isn’t perfect, if my heart is in the right place and the Holy Ghost is with me, the right message and feelings will be communicated. 
Soni: I don't think I have overcome nervousness, and probably never will. That’s one I just have to pray for help and rely on the Lord to help me think about my audience and what they need instead of being self conscious on stage

How do you gain confidence as a performer?


Brooke: Ha! I've never felt so inadequate! I think it boils down to three things-experience, getting back up after each failure, and again, focusing on the audience. 
Whitney: To be honest, I gain confidence through Brooke and Soni. We joke that someone always has to be the “Big Sister.” If two of us are nervous, the third has to step in and be brave for all of us. When I feel humiliated or anxious or afraid, one of them will step in and lift me up. 
Soni: Practice hard!

How do you get ready for a performance? 


Brooke: Rehearsals and PRAYER
Whitney: We put a lot of time, thought, heart, and prayer into EACH performance.
Soni: Pray a lot and practice hard

How do you practice?


Brooke: We rehearse as a group 1-2 times a week when a performance is coming up. I also sing quite a bit in the car...much to the dismay of my kids.
Whitney: We all live 90 min apart, so we have to meet in the middle to rehearse. Most of the time we have our kids with us, so we bring snacks and toys and videos...and we nurse, change diapers, bounce babies, and kiss owies WHILE we practice. Some rehearsals are more effective than others (!) but we trust that the Lord will step in--take all we can give--and make it enough.
Soni: In my car, that is where all of my personal practicing gets done, because my kids are buckled in and can't get into too much trouble.

How do you choose wardrobe?  

Brooke: Ummm...trial and error. We always tell people this is the hardest part of Mercy River. Again, experience has helped us with this. I get a kick out of our first performance "costumes.” We also get a lot of help from Kristi at Karma Boutique on Main (in Pleasant Grove, UT). She’s a lifesaver!!
Whitney: I have zero fashion sense, so Brooke and Soni figure it out and I just nod. (To be honest, many of the things I wear on stage are borrowed from Brooke’s closet.) We usually start with one piece and go from there. But it is always a challenge because our bodies are always changing--we have to work around pregnancy and baby weight and all that.
Soni: I just let Brooke do that

What is a favorite performance experience? 


Brooke: For me, it was Layton's Time Out For Women (in Feb 2012). We had just finished recording our 3rd album, and had to jump right into rehearsing for TOFW. It was exhausting and I thought there was no way we could pull it off. Plus, I'm from Layton, so the thought of failing in front of hundreds of people I KNEW was so scary. We prayed and fasted our little hearts out. ("Heavenly Father, I don't think I can live with another humiliating performance!") When it came time to perform, I felt the spirit blessing us. Being on stage felt so comfortable, we remembered our speaking parts and our songs sounded on. It was such a humbling experience. 
Whitney: There are so many....There was the girls camp in Utah when we got a flat tire (all of us pregnant at the time). There was the performance in Orlando when Soni lost her voice--and got an amazing blessing from Michael Wilcox. There was the Stake Youth Conference in Canada where we made lifelong friends. There was the benefit concert in Idaho for a brave young mother with breast cancer. I could go on....!
Soni: TOFW Boise 2010 I was 9 months prego due any day. I just remember it being such a fun day, I couldn't sing the greatest but it was a good performance. Then we got on the plane that night to go home, as soon as I got home I went to bed exhausted, 6 hours later I woke up in labor! A couple hours later went to the hospital and my baby was born.....perfect timing :) 

Thanks for the fun, Erin!
Love, Mercy River

Follow Mercy River's March Blog Tour

Here are the stops they will be making in March 

Now for the GIVEAWAY

 There are TONS of easy ways to win so pick a few. 

Feeling Christ In Christmas by Denalee Chapman

Thanksgiving was approaching and as a member of the Relief Society Presidency, I felt
special gratitude as my calling offered me an intimate look into the lives of those who
needed help. This was the year that I came to know, first hand, that challenges for
some give others the opportunity to serve - and thereby come to know Christ. The more
I helped, the happier I became and the more peace I felt in my heart. What I wasn't
prepared for was to be a recipient.

When my husband came home, emotionally worn from trying to figure out how to tell me
he had been laid off, I was absolutely shocked. This was a new type of trial for us and
my lack of experience in this frightened me a bit. Our children were no longer small -
everyone was old enough to understand as we held family council and discussed our
immediate future. The next couple of years would be a time of sacrifice, developing
faith and humility, and seeing humanity at its best. Our two grown children, with families
of their own, often paid the power bill or stashed a little cash in my wallet. The three
kids at home pooled their income from babysitting and yard work to help pay the
mortgage. We all learned the difference between wants and needs. It was a time of
growth.

We lived in a ward that was so inclusive, it seemed impossible to feel neglected. On the
outside, word spread quickly that we had joined the growing ranks of unemployed.
Inside our home, we found that there is so much to be grateful for. We stopped thinking
about "things" and thought a whole lot more about "being". We decided that this
Christmas would be one of gifting service to each other.

I let the Relief Society President know that we were opting out of being listed on the
Angel Wreath around the Bishop's door. The ward could focus on purchasing toys for
the younger children in the ward whose parents needed help. I looked at the "wish lists"
on our fridge that included everything from blue nail polish to a trip around the world.
Starred were the items that the kids really wanted: books for Bryan; a curling iron for
Sierra; a blow dryer for Azure. Through the year I had already purchased a few
Christmas gifts, so although they weren't the hoped for items, I knew it would still be a
magical Christmas.

Thanksgiving we sat around the bountiful table and each expressed gratitude for things
that really mattered. We've always been big on Christmas, so it took most of the day to
decorate. We blasted Christmas music, played games, and enjoyed being together.
And that was how we expected our holidays to continue ... Christmas cheer from just
being together. We planned to make it our best Christmas ever. And it was. But in
ways that we hadn't expected.

The first anonymous Christ-like act of Christmas joy came when my daughter was
checking the mail. She came in with the usual handful of envelopes in one hand, and a
single envelope with no writing on it in the other. "A guy walked up to me and asked me
if I'm a Chapman. Then he handed me this envelope." We opened it up and found it
empty inside except for 3 crisp $100 bills. We were all overcome. We wanted to thank
him - we wanted to do something for him. But he was gone and our daughter had no
idea who he was. What this did for me, personally, was cause a warmth in my chest to
build and spread so fast that my entire body was filled with love. And hope. And joy.
Like most people, I really enjoy being on the "giving" end. To some $300 could be
temporal. And I'm sure we used it for bills or gifts ... I honestly don't remember. But
what I do remember is that the gift was so much deeper than what $300 could buy. It
was the gift of a really good feeling - feeling Christ in Christmas.

That was the beginning of the best Christmas ever. One day I opened a letter from my
parents and inside was money to spend on Christmas. Another day a card from my
brother arrived with money to order in pizza. We had friends drop off gift cards and
treats. Other anonymous gifts of money arrived and with each gift, our hearts swelled
bigger and the tears seemed to hang out at the surface ready to burst forth whenever
there was a knock on the door. One night the Bishop showed up with a Christmas card.
He said he was just the delivery boy - that someone had given him the card to deliver to
us. Inside were 3 American Express gift cards. We felt so loved and so known. We
came to know that Heavenly Father was completely aware of us and that the good
people in our lives were so in tune and functioning on a high spiritual plane.

A couple of days before Christmas our Relief Society president showed up at the door
with gift bags in hand. This was a surprise to all of us - especially since our kids did not
have tags on the Angel Wreath ... "Merry Christmas," she said. "There are some people
in the ward who specifically asked to buy for your children even though you weren't on
the Angel Wreath."

When the gifts were opened we could hardly believe our eyes. Bryan got a gift card to
Barnes & Nobel; Sierra got a Taylor Swift CD and two curling irons; and Azure opened
up a darling pink blow dryer! I called the Relief Society president - so choked up I
could hardly speak I asked her, "How did these people know what to give the kids?
These were their most hoped-for items. The ones I didn't get for them. How did they
know?" Her answer: "They told me that they had been praying for your family. We
have a ward family who recognizes promptings." The kids were excited about their
presents, but the real gift went way beyond curling irons and books.

We all felt Christ in Christmas.

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Denalee Blogs over at Silver Strands . When Denalee's Mother was diagnosed with Cancer, Denalee cut off all of her beautiful Silver hair, and a wig was made out of it for her mother.

Please make sure to visit Denalee!

I've been featured by...Chocolate On My Cranium

I am BACK!

New York was Amazing and I'm working on a Post to recap my trip.

But guess what?

Today I am a Guest Writer over at

Chocolate On My Cranium

She asked me to participate in her November Grateful Hearts, Giving Hands.
I feel thankful for the opportunity to participate. It has helped me keep my thoughts continuously on what I am grateful for and ways I can serve others.
Now do me a favor. Go read my guest post!
Thanks in advance!

Falling In Love With The Scriptures by Wendy Oswald

 (I asked my neighbor and new friend Wendy to write a post for me covering 

her lesson at our recent Super Saturday.

 She was nice enough to oblige me. You can fine her blog {Here}.)

I was asked to write my class down for a friend that has a blog. So after a partial clean up, I am at home to see if I can remember what I said twice today. :)

I have been thinking about this topic for two months. I decided to ask my husband about it, I like to get his opinion on things sometimes. He went in a totally different direction than I was thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew he was right. So I will give a brief overview of what I was thinking to begin with and then share some of his thoughts with my new direction.

When we read scriptures, it is good to know:

    Who - is "talking" and who is being addressed
    Where -  they are
    What - is being said and what is going on.

Knowing these things is helpful to keep track of the story.

My husband got me thinking about the Why. And then I went to the General Relief Society Broadcast and listened to President Uchtdorf. One on his 5 'forget nots' was forget not the why. And I knew that was what I needed to focus on.

Why do we read the scriptures? (This a discussion part. Feel free to add items to the list.)

1. It is a commandment.
2. To learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus.
3. To invite the Holy Ghost into our day.
4. Our homes are more peaceful when we do read
5. To be an example to our children.
6. To find answers.
7. When we need comfort.

I loved Elder Scott's conference address from this past Conference (October 2011). He basically gave my assignment. Here are some of the "whys" he gave for reading the scriptures.

1. "They are readily available.
2. Inspired communication from the Holy Ghost - Pure Truth.
3. Foundation of truth.
4. Pondering a passage of scripture can be a key to unlock revelation.
5. Calm an agitated soul.
6. Heal emotional challenges.
7. Accelerate physical healing -- I did not know this one.
8. Blessed with an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord.
9. Blessed with a greater resolve to obey.
10. Blessed with a stronger testimony.
11. Greater happiness, peace and attainment in this life."

Elder Scott also encouraged us to memorize scriptures. He shared some of his favorites.

It reminded me of my life. When I was a Merrie Miss in the Primary, we were encouraged to memorize the Articles of Faith. There was a scripture to memorize for each Article. The scripture that I remember from then is Amos 3:7 "For surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

When I was senior in high school, someone I loved and trusted tried to destroy my testimony. This person had wandered from the Church and has lost their testimony. I spent a long night afraid that what I had believed all my life might be wrong. I was too afraid to pray. But my whole being was focused on this question. I believe this can be a form of prayer. I don't think I slept that night. When the dawn broke the scripture I had memorized six years earlier rang through my soul, and I knew that prophets spoke directly with God. That experience and answer are the bed rock of my testimony. When I am in turmoil, I can "cast [my] mind upon the night that [I] cried unto [him] in [my] heart, that [I] might know concerning the truth. . ." And I testify that he "[spoke] peace to [my] mind concerning the matter." (see D&C 6:22 - 23).

That scripture was definitely my friend that night, and in all my troubles since. Knowing that, I am a bit ashamed that I have not continued in my efforts to memorize scriptures. Elder Scott has encouraged me to begin again.

We are blessed to have the scriptures in our homes. It has not always been so. Elder Christofferson related the story of William Tyndale in his address in April 2010. He determined to translate the Bible into English. He had to hide in Germany to work on his translation. He was eventually found and imprisoned for 18 months in a dark, damp cell. Then he was executed. The prophets who wrote the scriptures were at times killed for their testimonies. The brave Reformers often were killed for their efforts to bring the scriptures to the common man. Today we are the beneficiaries of these brave and true men. We often have multiple copies of the scriptures in our homes.

So now the question is How do we read them.

The first time I read the Old Testament, I had just received my mission call. I wondered how I could be a missionary if I had not read the scriptures. So, in an attempt to be obedient, I read the Old Testament. For many years, I considered it as checked off my to do list.

Then I decided to read it again. The second time, I read it with the Institute Manual. These manuals are prepared by the Church education department. They offer testimonies and stories of modern prophets, explanations of ancient culture and vocabulary and insights to ancient geography.

I have found the more I read the Old Testament, the more I love it. And that can be said of every standard work.

I picked one of my favorite verses from four of the standard works to share.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path."  Proverbs 3:5 - 6

Just before His arrest and death, Jesus told his apostles: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth , give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."   John 14:27

After Moroni had been alone for a long time. He had already written what he thought was his last words in the book that would bear his father's name. He included two of his fathers personal letters. The entire world that he knew had fallen into wickedness. Mormon described briefly the depravity of the Lamanites and the worse state of the Nephites. He said, ". . . I cannot recommend them unto God lest he should smite me. But behold, my son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved." In that evil time, a righteous father raised a righteous son. Moroni 9: 21 - 22

Our lives are filled with things to do. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed that we feel like we are running in circles. Jesus told Joseph Smith, ". . . Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee." We need to make time where we can be still and quiet so we can hear Him. D&C 5: 34

The scriptures are a gift - from a God that loves us.
They are an invitation - for us to follow Him.
They are a map - for us to know the way.
They are love notes - from our Father who wants us to return to Him.

Let us open them, and read them, and love them.

I Have Obtained by Laurel Christensen

(please enjoy this beautiful post from my friend Laurel over at Just Around This Corner. She has been the General Manager for TOFW and I met her back when I was working on the set of a music video for Jericho Road. She is my favorite. You'll love her too.)

I woke up this morning almost paralyzed.
The details are not important but I found myself stuck.
Completely stuck with fear.
Fear of what might be.
Fear of what might not.
Fear of what might have been.
Fear of what wasn't.

Simply put, I was a mess.

In the midst of what is truly the best time of my life, I am fighting waves of fear...disbelief...questions...doubts.

It's hard to admit because my TOFW message this fall (did you know I've been speaking at TOFW events? I'll be in Richmond and Phoenix and Salt Lake City too) is all about FAITH which is the antithesis of fear.

I had a moment during my message Friday night in Reno where I knew what I was saying was just for me. Because I had been struggling. I knew it. And He knew it. Thankfully, the women didn't know it.

But, it lasted all weekend.
And this morning, it was just too much.

I had a strong impression to open my scriptures and I found myself reading 1 Nephi 5.

The prophet Lehi has sent his sons back to Jerusalem to get the family records and scriptures. The boys haven't returned and Lehi's wife Sariah is certain the boys have perished. She is certain.
And she's mad. Really mad.

Lehi's response is interesting to me.
He reminds his wife he had a vision and never would have left Jerusalem had he not had the vision. He was simply following the Lord.
And in all the times I have read that chapter, I have never noticed his next choice of words.

His past-tense choice of words.

"I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice..." (vrs. 5)

Did you catch that?

Lehi is in the wilderness.
They have yet to journey to, let alone arrive in, the land of promise he was, well, promised.
And yet, he talks as if he is already there.
As if the Lord has already given it to him.

Oh I love that.

And do you want to know why?

One of the cross references takes you to Ephesians 1:11:
"In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."

Lehi trusted that God keeps His promises.
He trusted that God's promises were set in motion long ago.
And if God keeps His promises that were set in motion long ago, Lehi could live as if God already had kept this promise and that it had been given to Lehi already.

Therefore...

No matter the darts of questioning and disbelief and doubt the Adversary tries to throw my way to convince me, like he did Sariah, that the end is already written...and that it doesn't end up the way God has promised me it will...No matter, I can choose to believe like Lehi.
Because I either believe God's promises to me or I don't.
I either believe God's promises were put in place long ago or they weren't.

And I believe His promises.
And I believe they are in place.
I believe there IS a story already written but it's HIS story for me.
HIS story.
The one that is "predestinated according to His purpose".

And if I believe that, well,
then I, like Lehi, can say "I have obtained."

And I, like Lehi, can live as if I already have.