Your guide to the newest happenings in Christian musiC By andy argyrakis What’s NeW Velasquez: It’s great. We understand each other’s lifestyle. We understand each other’s joys and sometimes frustrations. More than anything, we get to sing songs about our Savior—the One who brought us together—and hopefully make an impact in other people’s lives with the music that we get to make together. Raising kids on the road is not easy, but thankfully children adapt well to anything; and when you’re on the road with mom or dad, you hope that they develop some sort of love for music and develop some sort of artistry. Whether they follow in our footsteps or not doesn’t matter; I just hope they use whatever gifts they have to honor and glorify our God. CCM: What can we expect from you in Countdown to Jerusalem and The Encounter? Velasquez: It’s really awesome to be able to do films that are safe for the whole family. Now that I have children, I realize how important that truly is. You’re trying to guard your children from seeing the things that you don’t want them to see. Children change everything… CCM: Tell us a bit about the new English album you’re working on. Velasquez: The new English album, which we are recording in Nashville, is a good representation of where my life is at the moment: my relationship with God, my husband and my children; the joy that God has given me and brought into my life. The tentative title for this record is Diamond. That song, in particular, is very special to me. That’s a song that came from my life experience during the past five years. It’s amazing when God can turn something that you feel is ugly into something beautiful. That’s what God did for me in my life. The last five years for Jaci Velasquez have been filled with plenty of developments, starting with her marriage to Salvador singer Nic Gonzales in 2006, followed by the births of their sons Zealand David and Soren Arthur in 2007 and 2009 respectively. In the middle of starting a family, she’s managed to record 2008’s studio CD Love Out Loud, launch a co-headlining tour with her husband’s band, prep a new CD and still have time to film two new movies The Encounter and Jerusalem Countdown, which will release later this year. CCM: What is it like being married to a fellow musician and raising a family on and off the road? Jaci Velasquez 12 CCM