Well, we’re definitely into the Christmas season now, my favorite, and the busiest time of the year. Seems like a music marathon at my church with all the special music and rehearsals, but I love it.

Speaking of Christmas, I put up my Christmas song (titled, very originally, “A Christmas Song”) on my myspace page. Go and check it out if you have a minute at http://www.myspace.com/shawjennifer. If you’re on myspace, make me a friend! I’d love it.

By the way, if you didn’t know, there are links to all of my sites, as well as several of the retailers who carry my music, my dad’s website and testimony, and Ryan’s site under “Links”. That way you can find these things!

“Rescue Me” is up at #9 now on the Indieheaven radio chart. Thanks for all the support in getting me to the top 10, and don’t forget that you can vote every day! You can get to indieheaven by clicking the link on the left side of my home page (or check “Links”).

Also, if you’re in a voting mood, please vote for me for the Indieheaven Momentum Awards. This would be awesome for me because the grand prize is a really large grant to record the artist’s next album, and I could really use that! You can find the ballot on their home page, but remember, you only get to vote once from any computer, so read it carefully! I’m up for Song of the Year (Be Still), Album of the Year (Be Still), Female Vocalist of the Year (um, me), Contemporary Artist of the Year (still me), and Inspirational Artist of the Year (yep, that would still be me), and you can just go and select me for all of those categories, if you so choose. So go vote!

Also wanted to let you all know that we are working on our store here to allow people to download individual songs, so that would mean you could download it here directly, and we could also offer “Godspeed” and “The Christmas Song” and some of my other new music that is not yet on an album, so keep an eye out for that.

In addition, my music is now available at itunes and many other digital distributors, as well as CDbaby.com, indieheaven.com, and here. We’re still working on national distribution, but if you’re in central Ohio (coincidentally where I am!) you can also get the CD at all Moments With Majesty stores, and In His Presence (Gahanna, OH).

Thanks, and I hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas remembering God’s greatest gift to all of us, Jesus.

Just a quick update. My song “Rescue Me” is currently at #27 on the Indieheaven radio chart – please head over there and vote for me! I’d love that song to go to the top. You can get there by clicking the Indieheaven graphic under the track list on this page and then click “radio” and the orange radio tower graphic. Thanks!

I would love it if you would pray with me about some possibilities for national distribution that have come up. We would love to get distribution, and would really like to be in God’s will in everything, so would you please pray for our discernment and wisdom, and that we would desire God’s will above everything, and that if it is His will, the deal would happen. Thanks again!

I am booking dates for the spring, so if there is some way I can minister in your area, let me know, I’d love to hear from you!

We’ve just added my new song “Godspeed” to the site – please take a listen and let us know what you think. Just click on the link right above this.

Also, my song “Rescue Me” has been added to the indieheaven radio chart. Please head over there and vote for me! All songs start at the bottom of the chart, and “Rescue Me” has already jumped over 70 places, from #153 to #75 in only 3 days! That is amazing to me. Thanks for voting, I’d love for this one to go to #1! Just click on the indieheaven link under the track list, click “radio” at the top, and then on the orange radio tower graphic and find me.

On that subject, before my song “Let There Be Light” timed off the indieheaven chart, it stayed as the #1 Adult Contemporary song on the chart for 7 weeks, and was the #3 song overall.

I’m booking concerts and worship leading for the year now, so please contact me if I can worship with you at your church or event – I’d love to come!

Just some new and exciting stats to post here. “Let There Be Light” is now the #1 Adult Contemporary song on the Indieheaven radio chart. It’s also the #4 song of any genre. And on The Spirit Radio, I have been either in the top 3 or the top most requested artist for the last several weeks. “Be Still” and “Let There Be Light” are both in rotation over there. Please head over to either of these places and vote for me, or request my songs – thanks!

Many of you have asked about getting my new song “Godspeed”. I’m working on getting it up for download to support ALS research, so stay tuned for info on that.

I would like to thank the many, many people who have written with their support and prayers for me and my family at this time. We appreciate it so much, and God has really answered those prayers, as we have felt Him very near to us, even in our grief. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for praying for us!

My wonderful, hilarious, loving, strong, brave dad went to be with the Lord yesterday, August 30th, 2006. I am so happy for him that he is not in pain anymore, that he is healthy, and has a new body, and is celebrating with Jesus. And I am overcome with sorrow for my own loss, and for my family and my mom. How do I conceive of a world that doesn’t have Dad in it?

I keep thinking of a poem I always loved when I was younger. Dylan Thomas wrote a very famous piece when his father was dying which ends with the lines, “Do not go gentle into that good night./ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” I always thought this was truth, he was entreating his dad to fight for life, to fight to stay, and I loved Dylan Thomas because he was a genius, an artist with words, and he wrote brilliant poetry. But he was wrong.

Only if this is the only light we’ve known would we want to rage against its dying. But we know a Light far greater than any light we would see here. Rather than rage against losing what we cannot keep here, shouldn’t we be running toward the greatest Light there is? My dad was not going to live short a miracle from God. His disease was painful and terrible and caused him unthinkable suffering. So, what a blessing that God gave us the gift to be with him, and see that he did go gently “into that good night”, and to know that the light did not die, but that he is dancing in it in heaven!

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.” (Psalm 30:11-12) That is true today for my dad, and I know it will be true for our family as well.

My dad loved us tremendously. I am the most blessed woman in the world to have been loved by the parents I was given, and I thank God for the honor. My dad was the one who gave me a glimpse into how much God must love us, if it was more than my dad did. And I know that his greatest sorrow was leaving us. But I also know we will see him again, and that he is in the presence of his first and greatest love, Jesus, who welcomed him with his most-desired words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

“Better is one day in your house than a thousand elsewhere.” (Psalm 84:10) Daddy, I’m so happy you’re there. And I love you, and I’ll be looking for you when I come.

To God be the glory.

Well, we’ve been very busy here. School’s starting for the kids, we’ve been setting up more concerts, and we’ve been over at my parent’s a lot helping out with my dad.

Please take a second to head over to Indieheaven (the link is under the track list) and rate my song on their radio chart by clicking on “radio” and then the orange radio tower graphic – I’d really appreciate it! And if you’re on myspace, come and say hello! You’ll find me at myspace.com/shawjennifer.

God bless you, and thanks for visiting – drop me a line if there’s anything I can do for you.

Well, I’ve been spending some time over at myspace (myspace.com/shawjennifer)and I’ve had over 1000 plays in just the last few days. It’s pretty crazy, I think. I’ve gotten emails from all over the country, as well as Bali, Australia, Ireland, Afganistan, the Netherlands, even a man in Korea asking my permission to translate my songs for use at his home church. God is amazing, and it’s such a reminder that the family of God spans the world.

My song, Let There Be Light, is up to #5 on the Indieheaven radio chart(indieheaven.com – click on the orange radio tower graphic to go to the chart) – help me out and go and rate it! It’s so fun to be up there with so many other great songs.

Also, I’ve got two songs, Be Still, and Let There Be Light in rotation at The Spirit Radio (tsrradio.net) – feel free to go and request me.

The more I pursue this, the more I think that I must, in everything I do, give all of this, all of it to God, and hold nothing back. Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be the glory. How do you express your overwhelming love to your Savior who has given you everything? I guess that’s why I write music. But even that, I know God has given to me. To God be the glory! I love you, Jesus.

My dad is somewhat stable but still doing very poorly. Thanks to everyone who has contacted me telling me that you are praying. We can feel it, and we appreciate you so much. Please visit his blog at davechilcoat.com if you have time, and see why I’m so proud of him!

I’ve been getting some more radio play, both on the indieheaven radio chart, and at The Spirit Radio. On indieheaven, my song “Let There Be Light” is now up to #15, which is great, and on TSR, both “Let There Be Light” and “Be Still” are in rotation and have consistently made it into the day’s Top Ten! Thanks to everyone who’s been going and rating me, and feel free to keep it up!

I went to the studio last week and recorded a new song called “Godspeed”. I was really pleased with the way it came out, but it was very hard to do as it’s for my dad, and things really aren’t looking good. For more information on that, please click on “story”. We (my whole family) would really appreciate your prayers – it’s been a very hard time for all of us. Please pray specifically for relief for my dad from the pain, and for my mom. Thanks.

I’ll be booking more performance dates starting in the fall. Please let me know if there’s any opportunity for me to minister near you. Thanks for checking out my page, and visit often!

My song “Let There Be Light” got on the indieheaven radio chart last weekend at #129, and today I’m at #38! Pretty exciting – head over there by clicking the link under my tracklist, clicking “radio”, and then clicking on the orange radio graphic and give me a rating. I’d love to be in the top 10! Thanks!

My concert at Karl Rd. Christian Church has been changed to August 19th at 7:30 and is following the church’s 40th annual fish fry at 5:30. Tickets are needed for dinner, and I’ll give you the prices when I have them. For more info, call the church at 614-888-3444.

I’m also headed down to Florida in September, and will do a set for the opening of Community Bible Study in Vero Beach on Sept. 15th at 9:30 am. We’re also looking to set up another concert or two while we’re down there.

On a personal note, my dad is really not doing well at this point, and the family would really appreciate your prayers. Thank you!

I’ve launched a page at Indieheaven.com – go and check it out! Also, I applied to their radio chart and was accepted which is very cool. “Let There Be Light” is now on the charts! If you have a second, head over to http://www.indieheaven.com/go.idh?section=radiochart and give me a rating. You can help me move up the list! You can check out my indieheaven page by clicking on the graphic below my album track list, or on the words beside it. You can listen to the entire album there as well.

On the performance front, I’m going to be doing a full solo concert at Karl Rd. Christian Church on August 26th. I’ll give more details as they get finalized. We had a wonderful concert in Grand Rapids, and really enjoyed all the wonderful people at the Covenant Village of the Great Lakes. They made us feel really welcome, so thanks!