My dear friends Bob and Scott up at WTGN

Doing Scripture songs with the kindergartners in Patti's class

The most awesome fan mail ever!

I walked into this bookstore, and look whose book was featured on the counter??

The rest of this May has been all prepping for the new CD and radio stuff. I had a great time with Dan Hutchins on WLQV. I did his “God 3-2-1” show up in the Detroit area, and it was the first time I’ve been on. We talked about the music and about my new book, and it was great to get to know him and his ministry up there.

The next day I went up to Lima, OH, and visited my old friends at WTGN. I’ve spent quite a lot of time on air with Scott and Bob! In the morning, I sat in with them for their show “Rise and Shine” and then taped a series of interviews with Bob for “The Christian Home” which will air over a few weeks in July. The people at this station have been so kind to me over the years – I truly appreciate them! And now they tease me mercilessly – it’s like being part of the family.

I also had one pretty fun and funny day when I stopped into my friend Patti’s kindergarten class and taught the kids how to write a song. They use my kid’s music for Scripture memory, so we did that too. We had such a good time, and the song they wrote was pretty great! Plus, they write me the nicest letters. 🙂

Then today I did one more interview on Faith Radio with Michelle Strombeck. This was another new one for me, and I loved getting to talk with Michelle! This station airs in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin which is right where I was last year, and am hoping to go back again, so I appreciated her help in spreading the word about the new book!

And speaking of the new book, I just had to include one more picture. I walked into a Christian bookstore at the end of my trip to Florida a couple of weeks ago and my book was featured right there on their counter! It was so funny. My mom said to the college guy working there, “Wow, I’ve heard that’s an amazing book!” and he said, “Oh yeah?” and she said, “Yeah, she wrote it” and he laughed and then looked at the back cover at my picture and did a double take and never really recovered. Good times.

Now, back to prepping on the new album. I’ve spent several weeks over the past several months down in Nashville writing with my producer Paul Marino. I am so excited about the songs God has given us! We’ve already started some of the production, and I will go down to Nashville again in July for the main push on recording. It will be out sometime in the fall – we’ll get you all the title and the release date as soon as it’s all set!

Right now, though, I am just in the whirlwind of all my kids finishing up the school year and then we are taking off on vacation to, where else, Florida! I just can’t seem to get enough of that heat. 🙂 I’m just anticipating spending all that time with my husband and kiddos. It’s going to be great.

With Chris and Ruth at WEEC

Sitting in with Ron and Kate on the morning show at Moody Radio Florida

Girlfriends in God event at First Baptist Indian Rocks

At Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Orange Park

Back to First Baptist Indian Rocks

First strawberries of the season from my garden when I got back!

Just got back from Florida (again!) for the third time this year. I’ll be back in June and July as well! Good thing I like it down there – I think I sing more there than anywhere in the country.

The day before I left I spent the afternoon over at WEEC in Springfield, OH. They’ve been great to me over there, and Chris, the program director, asked me to come do a live show with them. I sang a song acoustically (they have a piano in one of their studios which is very rare!) and then we talked about the book and the new single, which, by the way, is now in the Top 40 for Billboard. “Life Not Typical” is somewhere in the 20’s now, and we’re hoping it will get on the Top 20 chart soon! Had a great time with Chris and Ruth, and also taped an interview about the book to air later.

The next day I flew down to Florida and did a more intensive interview with Kate Bruington at Moody Radio Florida on the book, and also hung out a bit with Ron and Kate on the morning show. It was great to see them both again!

That night I went to do a Girlfriends in God event at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks in Largo, Florida. This is an annual event on Mother’s Day weekend, and we had a great concert that night – really enjoyed getting to know some of the women and also working with the Women’s Ministry director, Teresa. It was also nice because I’m doing a few more events with them next week, so I got to meet some of the women I will be working with then.

Afterwards, my mom and I drove about halfway to Jacksonville and spent the night. The next morning we drove the rest of the way because I had a women’s event at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Orange Park. This was a really interesting church, as it is redesigned mall space. They did a beautiful job, and the coordinator of the Mother’s Day event, Dina, was just lovely. The women’s event went well, and the next morning they had me back to do their service.

On this service, I was about half of it. They gave me the sermon time. They had their worship band do the congregational worship, though, and I am so glad because they were so much fun! I had a great time worshiping with them. There was also an incredibly sweet moment when a woman was called up on stage, and her husband who was in the Army and had been deployed for months surprised her by Skypping into the service and asking her to renew her vows. They put him up on the big screen, and she was just so surprised and touched – it was a beautiful moment for Mother’s Day. I was also touched because so many people at this church sponsored World Vision children. This was a blue collar church, and I am always blown away by people’s sacrificial generosity when a church steps up like that. Thank you!

After that we headed back across the state, stopping to hike a bit in Ocala National Forest as my mom’s Mother’s Day gift. The next morning I did a mom’s event back at First Baptist Indian Rocks, and it was so sweet to get to know those women! Everything that could go wrong on the tech side did – the sound wasn’t working, the video wasn’t working – but God was working. We just rolled with the punches, and the Lord really used the time.

That afternoon my mom and I drove across the state again to visit friends in Vero Beach for a few days before heading back to Largo to do a last women’s event at First Baptist Indian Rocks. We had better luck with the tech this time, and all in all, I had a great time with this church and will look forward to seeing them again! And when I got home, I picked an entire bowl of strawberries from my garden – in May! Who would’ve thought? I had to share.

Prepping for the first session of the retreat at Cherry Valley Lodge

The picture in the hallway outside my door

I’ve had a little down time since the last trip which has been very nice. I did an interview with WLBF, the flagship station on Faith Radio Network with Bob Crittendon when I got home. They are a great station in Montgomery, AL, and the network broadcasts across several states in the South. I’ve visited them before, and Bob is a great guy. I really appreciated his help in getting the word out about my new book, and we hope it will help so many families dealing with special needs, SPD, and autism.

This past weekend I spoke and led worship for the women’s retreat for Grace Point Community Church in Lewis Center, OH. This has been a great church to work with, and they had the retreat at Cherry Valley Lodge which was great for me – it’s only 45 minutes from my house! It’s a rare treat to get to do local things, and finishing up a date and then going home is an amazing luxury! And, in a weird twist, the picture in the hallway outside my door was pretty much exactly my two dogs – had to share. I have two miniature schnauzers, one black and one light grey. Guess they were trying to make me feel at home. I had a wonderful time with the women. We talked about Esther and God was really moving and present there.

The thing that touched me the most, though, were how many women sponsored World Vision children that weekend. Almost 40% of the women there sponsored a World Vision child, and I was just blown away! This was not a particularly large retreat, and to have them step up that way just touched my heart. Helping children is such a passion for me, and I so appreciate these ladies!!! Thank you for being the hands of Jesus in the world. And, by the way, if any of you would ever like to sponsor a child through World Vision, there’s a link on my home page, or you can always email us for more information – info@jennifershaw.com – and we would love to answer any questions and set you up! You can save a life in Jesus’ name. Thanks!