10 Questions with ... Tammy Trent

1. Brief History/synopsis

Hello. My name is Tammy Trent and I have NO prior arrests! LOL I was born and raised in Grand Rapids MI. My parents were divorced when I was 7 years old and I threw myself into the love of sports to stay focused and find something I could put all my energy into. I excelled in Basketball and still hold records to this day at my High School. I went to public schools growing up, playing the drums in the pep bands and school rallies. I soo loved it and all my many friends whom are still a close part of my life today. My first job was working at a Family Christian Store at the local mall and it was my favorite job ever because I got to listen to Christian music ALL DAY LONG and read every credit on the inside of every album. That's where I learned soo much about the music industry. But it was in my youth group where I learned the understanding of true worship and the pursuit of God's call on my life. I moved to Nashville in 1999 to continue that pursuit and have lived here in my home for almost 16 years now.

2. What does a normal day at home look like for you?

I can't lie. I like to sleep in. That means I don't set my alarm before 9am. :) And another truth is that I love to stay in my sweat pants for as long as the day will let me around the house. I'm not a coffee drinker, so you'll never find a cup of that stuff in my hands LOL Well, maybe if it has lots of cream and sugar, then maybe it will go down. I love doing Body Pump at the gym 3 or 4 times a week. Summer time you'll find me out at my pool during the day hanging with my family and friends grilling out. Mowing the grass, trimming and pruning the trees and shrubs. Painting anything that needs it. Fixing the furnace or replacing a light fixture. In other words, there is always something fun to do around the house, but I LOVE being outside. And in the Winter you'll find me laying by the fireplace or out in the front yard making snow angles for all the neighbors to see whenever it snows. LOL But you'll never find me in bed before 11pm.

3. How can people connect with you?

I love connecting with my friends and fans, so I'm pretty active on Twitter @tammytrent, Facebook (Tammy Trent Music page), Instagram.com/tammytrent and my personal website www.tammytrent.com where you can email me directly from there anytime and check out my other music projects as well as all my books, including LEARNING TO BREATHE AGAIN (Thomas Nelson Publishing) and BEYOND THE SORROW (J Countryman Publishing)

4. How much do you travel, what are the challenges?

I took an entire year off the road about a year ago because I had been going soo hard for soo long. I felt like I really needed that time away so I could figure out what God might have next for me. It was in that season of waiting when I realized that God had birthed in my heart a reservoir of new songs. So now, through this new album my schedule of traveling will pick up again and I will feel completely refreshed getting back out there. The challenge is always in the early morning flights, making friends with the not so friendly TSA agents sometimes, long travel days, pouring your heart out on the platforms, 2 hour meet and greet lines afterwards, short nights rest, early morning flight back home, a few days rest until you do it all over again. There are many challenges, but the rewards are greater seeing a life renewed and a heart coming back to faith and hope somehow through my own ministry. It's worth it all.

5. What's the biggest "God moment" that you've ever experienced, personal or professional?

It was definitely the moment when I was at the lowest point in my life. I was two days into the grieving process from the tragic death of my husband and I was in a hotel room in Jamaica all alone crying out to God in the bathroom. I was soo numb and soo broken and soo lost and all I wanted was someone to hold me and tell me I was going to be ok. I missed the touch of my Mom especially. So I asked God, "If you can see "this girl", if you can hear "this girl" could you please just send someone to hold me. I'm not asking for a thousand angels or a hundred angels, but just ONE angel that would hold me. God if you're real could you do that for me." I opened my eyes and began to walk out of that bathroom and into my room. I could hear someone in the other room from the ajoining door. I made my way over to that opening in the doorway and saw a beautiful Jamaican woman standing there. I asked her if she could come into my room and make my bed. Then she looked at me with the sweetest of compassion and said, "I've been trying to get to you. I could hear you crying and I've been trying to get to you. Could I just come in and hold you?" Wow! Wow! Wow! I knew at that very moment in my life that yes Tammy, God is very real and You are never alone. He answered my cry and it was the biggest "God moment" of my life.

6. What's the last book you read?

"God's Not Dead - evidence for God in an age of uncertainty" by Rice Broocks. Faith in God is rising, yet so is skepticism. The reality is that people come to a place of faith not against reason but through it. That's why the first step of faith is to believe God exists. There is evidence for an intelligent Creator everywhere you look. People of faith cannot afford to be passive and disengaged. We must, at least, be as bold in our witness for Christ as skeptics are in their attack against the faith. God is most certainly not dead, so make sure you are equip for any spiritual battle that comes your way.

7. How did you become a believer. What caused you to want to serve God in full time ministry?

I was raised in the church since I can remember, but it wasn't until the age of 13 when I began to understand what a real relationship could be like with God and that I had a personal choice in the matter outside of my parents wishes too. I choose Christ and was baptized that same year and ever since that day I couldn't imagine a life without my faith. It was in church and in my youth group growing up where I realized how much I loved ministry and wanting to be used of God in some way to make an impact on this world for Him.

8. Take us thru some of the songs on your latest project Sunny Days. What's the "story behind the song".

"I'M RUNNING" - I could see her trying desperately to make her way through the crowd to get to me as I was leaving my event. I thought, no worries, just one more autograph or hug. But then she stopped right there in front of me, smiling through her tears. I could see her struggling to find the words. But it was her words I journaled and will never forget.

She said, "Tammy, I've been running my whole life chasing after thing that never seem to fit. I've been lost, broken and empty. But tonight I felt hope. I felt loved. I felt captured and not abandoned for the first time. I can't stop smiling knowing that I finally found where I belong and this is a new start for me. I want Jesus to be in my life".

Amanda, I wrote this song for YOU and anyone else who is running....someplace. Keep running....but run straight to the one who will do more than just get your through the storm. You are never alone! Jesus says, I will be with you whenever, wherever and FOREVER! Matthew 28:20

"DON'T LET HIM BE THE LAST TO KNOW" - "Tammy - My husband went to heaven almost 3 months ago after complications from a car accident. I'm completely heartbroken, lost, angry & confused. Now I'm left 23 weeks pregnant with our first child and I don't know if I can do this alone. I'm trying soo hard to believe that God has a plan and that I need to trust His will. Can you please give me any words of wisdom on how to get through this? I know you understand my pain."

I sat down and wrote this song for Emily. My words of love and wisdom to her and anybody else feeling a life crushing blow would be to allow the Lord to walk this road WITH you and promise that He'll ALWAYS be the FIRST to know exactly how your feel and what you need. He will never leave you alone. And as surely as the sun will rise HE will always come for you. - Jeremiah 29:11

"SUNNY DAYS" - Well I sat in the studio talking to my producer one day about this song I wanted to write. I told him I had the title for my new album written down on a sticky note on my computer at home for the last 3 years, and that I wanted to write a fun summer song reminding the listener to embrace the seasons of life, however hard they may seem....this too shall pass....the sun will always come out again....and with it comes new life....new bloom....new growth. God is soo committed to us and will never let us go. This is my song welcoming a new season of life on my own journey of loss and triumph, too. Yes, there are sunny days, but there are also rainy days. Both are a part of the seasons of life, and they have their own distinct purposes. Troubles are all around us and they do not discriminate in their visitations. Problems are a part of life. It is also part of life to - if you choose - to find resolution and growth in the challenges you face.

"WELCOME HOME" - What can I say about this timeless song? It has meant soo much to me since I first recorded it in 1997. I guess you'd call this my "signature song" and one I'm soo proud to sing. Not just because of the music, but because of the powerful lyrics. It's a song about the prodigal coming back home because of the mercy of God. He's always waiting for our return when we doubt the way or the truth and wander from time to time. I love that promise that He'll never leave through it all. I still put this song on every set list I've written for my events. And now, I re-recorded it on my new album and gave it a new vibe without taking anything away from what made it so special 16 years ago.

9. If you could go back and change two events/decisions in your life, what would they be, and why?

I wish I could go back and change the events of September 10th & 11th, 2001. If I could, my husband Trent would still be alive. I wish I could go back and somehow help my parents keep their marriage together. Because I'm sure I'd be a different girl had I grown up with both my loving and supportive parents in my life every single day. I'm a Momma's girl but I sure would have loved to be a Daddy's girl too.

10. Person you'd most like to have a discussion with, living or dead.....Deities are excused from this question.

My favorite artist and musical influence in my life since the age of 9 has always been Amy Grant. Although we've shared the stage together on the Women of Faith tour AND I have her cell number LOL, I would be overwhelmed if I ever had the change to sit down at a great restaurant here in Nashville with her and enjoy dinner and conversation. That would be soo amazing. I might not even be able to eat! LOL