Singer/songwriter
Joy Williams recorded a debut album, graduated from high school
with honors and traveled the country to sing with some of the
best-known names in Christian music. With a Dove New Artist of
the Year nomination and a second album climbing the charts, Williams
is completely focused on doing whatever it takes to fulfill God’s
calling on her life. Williams recently spoke with Amber Weigand-Buckley,
managing editor for On Course magazine.
PE: What made you
pursue a career in Christian music?
WILLIAMS:
I was 14 when someone heard
me sing in church and offered me a record deal. I prayed with
my family a lot about it and asked God to direct my spirit. I
didn’t feel peace about it, so I just said no. I knew if
God wanted me to sing professionally, He would allow it to happen
in His timing. He brought it back around two and a half years
later, and I was much more secure knowing that my life was more
rooted in Him.
PE: How would you
define yourself as an artist?
WILLIAMS:
I’m just a regular girl who loves the Lord. Whether I’m
recording an album, ministering on stage or sitting at Starbucks
with a girlfriend, I know that I’m called first and foremost
to be a child of God and make disciples.
PE:
Your first album was put together when you were in school. How
did things change with the second?
WILLIAMS: During
my first album, I was focused on keeping all the commitments I
had to others in my high school. I was flying back and forth on
the weekends and every holiday to record the album, and didn’t
have a lot of time for songwriting between homework and studying.
When I graduated I had a lot more time to be proactive on this
album. I wrote more songs, and I’ve been able to spend a
lot more time praying and asking God what I’m supposed to
be writing about.
PE: How is your
music a direct outgrowth of your relationship with the Lord?
WILLIAMS:
Working on my first album, I wanted the music to be indicative
of my relationship with Christ and how I was growing. It seems
like every day I’m learning something new. There are songs
on my new album that continue to reflect what is in my heart.
But I want people to be really directed toward Christ, not misdirected
towards me.
PE: Is it hard being
on the road?
WILLIAMS:
At times, I feel like I have no sense of normalcy in my life.
The constants that keep me grounded are digging into the Word
every day and asking the Lord to help me to have His words in
my heart. I root myself in the Bible, not in what I do, or wear,
or how I perform. My life is about who I am in the body of Christ.
The other thing that is really important to me is I’m held
accountable to the pastors in my home church and their wives.
PE: What vision
do you have for your generation?
WILLIAMS:
God has anointed our generation. I see our world as being “rocked”
by our generation. I just want to be a part of that. I want to
encourage anybody who is feeling timid to believe that God has
given each one of us a calling.
PE: What is your
goal for 2003?
WILLIAMS:
I want to see other people, this life, even myself, the way my
Heavenly Father does. I want to truly have the eyesight of Christ.
WILLIAMS: