COB: Did you ever think, when you were younger, that you would be in this position now? Was this a dream of yours?
Carmen: It has been! Honestly, yes. And I say that because I really don't think I've ever known anything differently. I've been singing since I was five years old in church and I really have only known the performing life, so I guess I've always seen myself doing music. But I think that anyone can say this: you always dream of your life being a certain way, or going a certain way, and I guess I never pictured myself having the past that I've had, the experiences I've had and how life has shaped up, and just the songs I've been writing. I never would have thought that I would be writing this type of music but it's just been such a cool journey. And I think it's a story that only God could have written.
COB: So, in the hard situations where you need to have some courage but you can't seem to find it, what do you do to get over fear?
Carmen: I think with a lot of situations in life it's easy to kind of get wrapped up in emotion. I know for me lately dealing with friends and certain situations or conversations that come up, something I've been learning lately is to just solely base our decisions on the Bible. I've actually been reading through the Bible recently, which is something that has been really encouraging for me, and very, very eye-opening. Just actually looking to Scripture and seeing what it says about how we should live our life. I think in certain situations we can kind of base our decisions on "Okay, what are my friends doing?" Or "What's the cool thing to do right now?" Or "What's the thing that I should be acting like?" But then, it's like, we look to the Bible and God has clear rules and clear guidelines for how to react in certain situations. So, that's been something that's been a conviction for me in my own life: how I treat my friends, how I'm loving others, how I'm talking with my family, and how I act in my marriage. I've been married for a year and a half now, and it's just been cool to look at the Bible with, like how to live and how to treat my husband and how to go about my life in a Godly way.
COB: Have you stumbled upon a favorite passage or book of the Bible yet as you're reading through it?
Carmen: You know, one Bible verse that's been one of my favorites is Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's masterpiece." And, just the beginning of that verse has stuck with me. As girls we deal with insecurities and looking at our life saying, "Why doesn't my life look like that person's life?" And that's just something that we as girls deal with, and I always think of that Bible verse; how it just says that we're a masterpiece. Like, our specific life and our bodies, the way we look, the way that we act, our personalities, those were chosen by God.
He clearly has made us unique and with certain passions and certain talents that He wants to use. Like, for me, He did not give me the talent of being a doctor.
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