So it's 3:05am and I find myself unable to sleep...again! This time it is because of allergies (I think) - runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes. I just took a Claritin, but need time for it to work, so here I am as another last-ditch effort to "count sheep" via blogging in hopes that when I am finished I can just drift off into dreamland.

As usual, I'm in that state of "can barely keep my eyes open but feel too miserable to actually sleep" - that state where even when you do try to lie down you just toss and turn and the sheets feel really itchy and you're hot and then you're cold and your pillow feels unusually stiff and uncomfortable - where TRYING to fall asleep feels more painful then just prying yourself out of bed and propping your eyes open a bit longer. Then, add that my mind is also spinning with all kinds of randomness, and I give up. I'm awake!

So what is whirling in my head? All kinds of things, but one is that I feel like after a year of being on the road quite a bit, things have begun to slow down significantly. Some blame it on the economy, but I am tending to wonder if the Lord is simply trying to get my attention - perhaps in some way to prepare me for a change or new season to come.

For those whom have been asking and others who have been wondering and haven't asked - there is presently no plan for a follow-up record. Sales didn't go as well as hoped for Fearless Now, and radio hasn't shown much interest up to this point (though I've had a wonderful promoter who has been working really hard!)...and so that is where we stand.

Sorry to disappoint any of you who might have been waiting for other news. I will continue to write and submit songs to Vineyard Music for them to consider using on other projects, but it does not appear I will be recording another solo project like Fearless Now in the near future.

Thank you to many of you who have written me and expressed your interest in a second CD. Maybe down the road another opportunity will come, and I will be sure to let you know if it does!

I walked into this whole thing knowing that all I could possibly offer was my "loaves and fishes" and that it was ultimately up to the Lord what He wanted to do with it all. So though there are moments that I struggle feeling like maybe I didn't "do enough" somewhere along the way or that I have "let people down" somehow, I always come back to holding it all with open hands and trusting that God knows what He's doing and that there must be a reason.

I feel honored and privileged to have had the opportunity I have had through Varietal Records these past few years and Vineyard Music this past decade. Though that relationship with the label and my dear friends and worship leaders around the country will continue, this season as a "worship artist" seems in some ways to be coming to a close.

Now I could be wrong, and perhaps it is premature for me to post a blog of this sort...but I'm not good at pretending by any means and this is just the honest truth about where I'm at personally, what the numbers are saying, what I wrestle with God about, and how I strive to live my life - transparently.

So what does this mean for me? Well, in all reality, not a whole lot will really change in the near future, though my husband and I both are waiting to see what the Lord has in store for us as a couple. At some point this year it is likely I will look for another day job, whether secular or ministry-related. You have to pay the bills somehow, you know? Joshua is waiting to find out this spring if he passes ordination for the UMC, and then we will find out whether we are staying at this church another year, or whether the UMC will move us elsewhere for him to pastor full-time.

Our heart's desire would be to serve side-by-side together at the same church in a place where both our gifts are embraced, and ultimately where the Lord would provide for us financially to do so. For that we pray and wait.

In the meantime, as invitations come, I will continue to lead worship or teach at churches/events - both here locally and around the country - and also will continue to help with music once a month at my local church. It has been on my heart to try and find new ways to reach out to the community in which we live, and to support both my husband and our church in Flowery Branch, and that has been in my personal prayers.

Thank you to everyone who supports and encourages me in so many ways! I will continue to serve the Lord through worship, songwriting, teaching, and mentoring as long as He opens the doors for me to do so...for I know that when I do those things, I feel His pleasure.

It's now 3:38am, and I feel as though I just might be able to doze off to sleep now. Thanks for reading to my late-night update on life!

Catch you next time...

For His Glory,
Sheri