“God’s the one who sees us as beautiful, and we can either choose to agree and say, ‘Thank you. I feel cherished and loved and I choose to believe that,’ or ‘I disagree’ and work like crazy to improve on His work.” Nichole set that very idea to music and created, “Beautiful For Me,” which is featured on the show. “Initially it was, ‘Beautiful To Me,’” Nichole says as she describes the song. “But as I thought about things from God’s perspective, I changed it to say, ‘Beautiful for Me,’ which made it more about belonging. He created us to be beautiful FOR Him alone, and I thought that was an important distinction. “The song is written from God’s perspective…I so much wanted to capture that moment where a person realizes from the Lord’s vantage point how beautiful He really thinks she is,” she continues. “And how broken hearted it must be for Him when His own creation is so unhappy with the work He’s done and spends a lifetime trying to improve upon it. I just wonder if that doesn’t break His heart a little bit.” It was Nichole’s heart that prompted Big Idea to pursue her in the first place. “After we read the script for SweetPea and saw that we had a creative story with a very compelling lesson about true beauty, we immediately thought of Nichole,” explains Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Big Idea. “Many of us at Big Idea are fans of her music and have appreciated her focus on helping girls develop a positive self-image. As a mom of young children and a prolific songwriter, we knew that she would have something meaningful to say. ‘Beautiful For Me’ perfectly captures the heart of SweetPea Beauty, encouraging girls with the truth that God loves them dearly and delights in who they are.” Sweetpea Beauty—A Girl after God’s Own Heart released July 31. For more information, log onto bigidea. com and to keep tabs on the latest and greatest from Nichole, log onto NicholeNordeman.com. Nichole Nordeman is one of the most regarded songwriters and artists in the Christian music community. This, along with her passion to embrace and encourage the pursuit of inner beauty…healthy beauty…prompted Big Idea to contact her. Not many women would be comfortable on the front page of a magazine…with no make-up. Chances are, Nichole Nordeman wasn’t either. But she braved it and came clean for CCM Magazine’s special issue on true beauty. It was this very cover that led Big Idea, the production machine behind the VeggieTales franchise, to connect with Nichole on their latest project, Sweetpea Beauty—A Girl After God’s Own Heart. The new children’s show is all about discovering inner beauty and our identity in Christ…oddly enough, Nichole is all about the same things. niChole nordemAn Your guide to the neWest hAppenings in ChristiAn musiC By Caroline Lusk WhAt’s NeW 14 CCM